Blue Jay Character

One of the things that has been a priority for me has been to help students develop into good human beings.  To that end, we emphasize doing "the right thing,” having good sportsmanship, and simply treating people in a way that makes the world better.  Our students have been awesome.  I think they get tired of hearing how impressed I am of them when we have assemblies and special presentations.  I have been in other schools so I have a comparison from which to judge.  They are the best audience in our league.

I love to get notices from administrators and parents from other schools when they recognize the quality of our students.  This has happened several times in the past few years.  Our students united with the students from Bullock Creek to support one of their students who was involved in a serious accident that nearly took his life and left him in a coma for a long time.  We received many letters of thanks and gratitude for our support.  There were parents who took the time to send me an email of thanks because of the way our students and fans behaved after losing to Bridgeport in a regional basketball game.  Our fans stayed for the trophy presentation for the other team.  They clapped for their players as they were announced.  They didn't walk over the court, leave, disrupt, etc.  They were supportive and it was noticed by the parents and administration of Bridgeport.  I also received a letter from the principal of Valley Lutheran who was impressed by our students and fans during a basketball game at their school.  We had formed a tunnel to congratulate our players.  Their students were doing the same thing so both student bodies just formed together.  There was no conflict.  There was unity in support of the teams.  I recently received a call from the athletic director from Hemlock who commented on how impressed he was when he went to the visitor bleachers after a JV football game.  He said all of the trash was picked up and there was nothing he had to do on that side.  He couldn't believe it.  I don't know who was responsible, but someone took the initiative and it made Shepherd look good.  Just this past week, I received another thank you from Bullock Creek as they were doing a drive to support a student during our football game.  The note said:

Shepherd High School

Creekers for a Cause would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to your parents and students for contributing to our fundraiser for Katie K.  Even though they did not know this special six year old, they dug deep into their pockets to contribute.  That shows the character of the Blue Jays and we appreciate your support!  Together we were able to raise $4,500 for Katie and her family.

Thanks,

Creekers for a Cause

As I have told the students, what they do matters and people do notice!      

Power School Mobile

The following information was provided from Pearson regarding a new mobile app for Android users.

Pearson Tech Notes

Android Version 1.0 of PowerSchool for Parents and Students Apps Now Available!

 

The PowerSchool for Parents and PowerSchool for Students mobile apps are now available for Android devices! Features include real time access to:

• Attendance
• Grades
• Assignments and Scores
• Standards Progress
• School Announcements
• Teacher Comments
• Grade Point Average
• Lunch Transactions and Balance
• Fee Transactions and Balance

Getting Ready for Mobile

If you have previously enabled access for iOS mobile devices, you are all set to use the Android apps. If not, make sure your schools are mobile-ready by completing the following checklist:

1. Parent and student access are enabled on your PowerSchool server.
2. Single sign-on for parents is enabled.
3. PowerSchool version 7.2.3 (or higher) is installed.
4. Your PowerSchool server is registered with PowerSource.
5. Mobile settings have been enabled for each school.
6. Each school calendar has been set with a “Type” and a “Note” for days when school is not in session.

For complete instructions on configuring your school for mobile access, download the Mobile Administration User Guide here.

For questions or feedback, visit the Mobile Solutions forum on PowerSource here.

Click here for a video tutorial to share with parents, demonstrating how to set up single sign-on.

Click here to download and install PowerSchool version 7.2.3 or higher.

Digital Footprints

In the age of social media, kids are "posting" and "tweeting" and "texting" from the time they get up to the time they go to bed.  Students are no longer limited to have conversations or make remarks in person.  Now, everything is instant.  If a person had a risque picture of a friend back in my day, the only way it would be seen would be one person at a time, in person, at a particular time.  Now, pictures can be seen by thousands at a time, any time and any place.  All digital information that is shared via the web is creating what is called a digital footprint.  The purpose of this post isn't to dig deep into this idea but I wanted to share a couple of links that I think are worth a quick look.  The first is "10 Things Your Students Should Know About Their Digital Footprints" and the other is "5 Things to Know About Digital Footprints."  I would also encourage you to look deeper into this issue as it can have huge implications for future success.

Click the links to view these articles.

10 Things Your Students Should Know About Their Digital Footprints

5 Things to Know About Digital Footprints

Tim Elmore - One Gigantic Predictor of Success for Students

Over my years in education, one of the behaviors that has had a huge impact on students in the ability to delay gratification for a future benefit.  We see it with students who skip class or cheat on a test.  There are, of course, many other social areas that effect students as well.  A researcher, author, and social commentator that I follow is Tim Elmore.  In a recent blog post, he spoke of this topic, and the implications for a student's future success.  He also speaks about ways to help students understand these implications.  I would encourage you to check out Tim Elmore's post.

Click:  One Gigantic Predictor of Success for Students - Tim Elmore, October 3, 2013

Homecoming Week

If you came to the school this week, it may seem a little crazy.  It is homecoming week.  As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the students and staff have really had a great attitude starting this year.  We held another tailgate on September 27th that included a dunk tank, doughnut holes and cider.

Mr. Willett was the one who organized the dunk tank so we thought is was appropriate for him to be the first to take the special seat.  But, there were several who joined him.  Mr. Howard, Mr. Russell, Ms. Chaney, Ms. Gauthier, and Mr. Bush all took a turn.

Pictures have come in from several sources for the new kiosk system we have to highlight school events.  There have been pictures from cross country, football, cheer leading, the tailgates, and other school events.

So, as we begin homecoming week, we are continuing the school spirit we have enjoyed so far this fall.  The girls cross country team put together a video "promo" to highlight all of the activities from homecoming.  This is a very cool video that will help you see the homecoming plans.  Take a look!

Homecoming Promo