The Principal's Desk

Driving Safety

2012-01-18T05:34:00.000-08:00

I have a son who is just about to be able to drive. That scares me. I remember thinking when I first received my drivers license that I was skilled enough and was a good driver. I never thought about my parents being worried or nervous about me being out on the roads. However, I do know that I made some reckless decisions while driving that could have easily ended up tragically. I came across a web site that is devoted to promoting driving safety by real people telling their stories about tragedy that struck them because of driving carelessness. The one that was first brought to my attention was one on texting and driving. There is another about wearing a seat belt. I think one of the things that struck me in watching some of these videos was the impact the tragedy has on everyone after it's over. The link below is to the Utah Safety Campaign web page. Take a few minutes to visit this site and at least look at the videos. As I write this, the featured video is about wearing a seat belt, but there is a very good one about texting and driving in the center of the page called "Texting and Driving Destroys Lives." I know that as an educator my first thought is getting this message to the students, but these messages are good for everyone. For many of us adults, we may not maneuver our vehicle recklessly, but we may be just as careless if we are distracted. If I text and drive, am I any better than I was as a teen? Click here to visit the site.

Instant Alert Communication System

2012-01-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

At the school, we are always trying to find ways to better communicate with parents. This has been a concern for decades. We have parent/teacher conferences, Friday Folders, parent meetings, and mail information home. With the increase of technology tools, we have tried to increase communication using technology. Doing so provides more timely notification, and it saves the expense of several mailings. To this end, we have implemented the Power School student management system, which allows parents instant access to student grades and attendance. It also provides email links to teachers. We are now adding another tool to help communicate better with parents. It is the Honeywell Instant Alert for Schools. This technology allows us to use the contact information parents/students provide to send an automated message of important school related information such as school closings or delays. We are just getting started with this system so use will be limited at first. Parents will receive a test call in mid January and the system will be up and running shortly thereafter. The links below contain more information about this system.
Parent Letter from Ms. Bunker, Superintendent
Frequently Asked Questions for Parents

Dress Code Clarification

2012-01-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

January 3, 2012

SHS Students and Parents:

We want to wish you all a Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and are eager to jump back in to school as we continue this second trimester. We are writing to share with you some information and clarification about the SHS dress code as described in the student handbook. Although our existing dress code covers the majority of what is deemed inappropriate for school attire, there are always new trends popping up, and currently there are a couple that do not meet the handbook language which states that clothing should be “modest” and not “suggestive or revealing”. This is not a new policy, but new trends are requiring us to remind students and parents to ensure adherence to the existing one. In the case that clothing is deemed too tight, too revealing of undergarments or the lack thereof, and/or drawing of attention as a result, it is not considered modest and can be disruptive to the educational process.

It is with this in mind, that we are sending clarification on the recent trends in our young ladies' attire that have increased the wearing of off-the-shoulder and one-shoulder tops and spandex pants, leggings, or tights worn as pants without being covered to mid-thigh. We believe these items are not appropriate for school for the reasons stated above, and we will enforce the “dress code” accordingly.

Some have tried to label the issue as one with "yoga pants," and though some yoga pants do contain spandex and are inappropriate for students to wear to school, some are cotton without spandex and are acceptable to wear as pants. These are not the items of concern. At this time and unless this becomes an issue of confusion, we do not foresee a blanket statement prohibiting "yoga pants," though through our research on this issue, we have found a number of schools that have. Students should know that spandex, tights, spandex/form-fitting yoga pants, exercise pants or leggings may not be worn unless there is a garment worn over them that meets the mid-thigh length requirement. In the case that a student's clothing does not meet the expectations, we will handle the situation the same way we do every question of clothing appropriateness: by pulling the student aside, privately indicating the issue with the clothing that does not meet code, and asking the student to change or call for a change of clothing before returning to class. This being said, students are expected to learn from such a situation and not have a repeat incident of this nature; therefore, repeated offenses against a reasonable request will be considered an act of insubordination.

We believe we live in an exceptional community with smart young people who come from families that value education.

Thank you for your continued support of our school and our efforts to ensure the best quality educational experience for your son/daughter.

Respectfully,

Mr. Bush and Ms. Bridges

Helping Parents Navigate Technology with Their Kids

2011-12-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

I have two kids. I know it can be very difficult to navigate the many issues related to the use of technology. There is cyber-stalking, social networking drama, pornography, and other dangers related to technology. It seems very difficult to keep kids from finding ways to get to inappropriate sites and using social technology irresponsibly. My wife is the Media Specialist at Shepherd High School. Consequently, she seeks information about media/technology resources. She offers support to teachers, students, and parents. She came across the article .xxx won’t make porn more accessible IF… . I thought it might be a good one for parents to review. I hope there is something in this article that you find helpful! Click the article to hyperlink to it.

New Single Parent Access For Power School

2011-09-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

New Power School Parent Access Setup

Power school has had an upgrade that allows parents to have a single personal log-in for all of their students. In the past, parents had to have a separate log-in and password for each student. The link below is a tutorial on how to set up the new parent access. The tutorial walks you through the entire process and is very good. It is under five minutes, but will give you all that you need to set up this access.

You will need your old parent log-in and password. This is now considered the “access key”. This is what you will use to link your new account to your student. If you have difficulty, please contact the office for assistance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk9UBBJ4BP8

Start of the 2011-2012 School Year - Parent Letter

2011-08-09T05:24:00.000-07:00

August 3, 2011

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

Students should have their schedules and locker assignment with this mailing. It is important to note that the drop and add process is the same as it was last year. Meetings with a counselor are being arranged by appointment only. Students/parents should call the high school office and sign up for an appointment time to speak with a counselor. The appointments are being scheduled for Monday, August 29^th through Wednesday, August 31^st from 8:00 – 2:30. Additional times may be added if needed. More specific details can be found on the high school web site. Students should be aware that they will not be able to change classes after these dates unless one of several criteria is met. These criteria are in the student handbook. Students should see a counselor during this time if they have any questions. During that same time, new students can meet with a counselor for new student scheduling.

The building will be open on the dates above for freshman and new students so they can pay their book deposit and check on their locker assignment. Students should take care of their book deposit before school begins to ensure that they are able to receive all of their text books. The book deposit is $10.00 and is refunded when a student graduates or leaves SHS. Checks should be made out to Shepherd High School or you should have exact change. If a student paid his/her deposit but has a media center fine, he/she needs to pay the fine before they will be able to check out a text. Students who wish to drive to school must first acquire a parking pass. Students may also use this time to pick up a parking pass with a $5.00 deposit that is refundable at the end of the year after the parking pass has been returned. These passes are for the main student lot on the west side of the building and the lot on the south-west corner of Hall and Fourth Street.

The high school teachers typically like to welcome you and your student to an Open House/Meet the Teacher Night. This year this event will be held on September 13^th from 6:30 – 8:30 in the auxiliary gym. One of our goals is to develop an even stronger relationship with parents and students so I highly encourage you and your student to attend this event.

instant access, but it enables us to save postage cost by not sending progress cards through the mail. However, some may wish to receive a hard copy or may not have access to the Internet (Power School). In this case, please return the “Request For Progress Report” form so we know that you wish to have a hard copy mailed home. We only send progress reports home for students who are achieving below a 70%. We create a list of these students and compare that to those who want a hard copy that is then mailed. We will also mail home report cards to everyone at the end of each trimester. Power School has added a good feature for this year that should help parents with more than one student in Shepherd schools. Beginning this fall, parents will be able to have a single “parent login” that is linked to all of their students so you will not have a separate login for each student.

The first day of school will start September 6^th at 8:05 with a brief opening assembly followed by each period like any other day. The opening meeting will take place in the auditorium. The first day is a half day for students, and there is a predesigned half-day schedule that we will follow. Students will be release at 11:05 on the first day. Students should bring their enclosed schedule with them when they come to school on the first day as we will not have reprinted copies available. Please be aware that students will receive a student handbook on the first day and the contents will be reviewed. The student handbook will also be posted to the web site for your reference.

The athletics department is once again offering passes for 2011-2012 sports. Family passes are $150 and includes immediate family, but excludes post high school children/siblings. An individual pass is $90, and a student pass is $60. Please be aware that these passes do not include tournaments including SHS invitational and state tournaments. These passes can be purchased in the high school counseling office between the hours of 7:00 - 2:30. Please make checks payable to Shepherd Athletics or have the correct amount. The office does not have money to make change.

Daily student announcements and updates related to the building are posted by 9:30 a.m. on the high school web page, http://shepherd.edzone.net/hs/index.php. Please use this resource to remain informed about building activities and important dates. There is also a link to my blog which will have information about school events and helpful information about the state of education at Shepherd High School and the state. This year there will be an emphasis on posting information that will help parents support their son/daughter’s educational and social development. The blog link is http://shepherdhigh.blogspot.com/. This blog has an RSS feed so if you utilize an RSS reader, you can have updates automatically post to your RSS reader.

We look forward to another great school year and to having the school busy with students, parents and teachers once again. Shepherd Public School is a great school in a great community. Student, parents, community, and staff working together make the difference that ensures that students meet their highest potential.

Sincerely,

Douglas J. Bush

Principal

MACUL 2011

2011-03-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

I am at the 2011 MACUL (Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning) conference. This is always a good conference. Shepherd Public Schools has always placed a priority on the use of technology. This conference helps provide ideas, tools, and connections that help promote the use the technology to enhance instruction. SPS has high school teachers, elementary teachers, and building administrators here. Thankfully, we are able to use federal Title IIa funds to send people to this conference. It is very big. There are over 4,000 participates at this conference! It will be interesting to see what is brought back from this year's conference that will improve instruction back in the buildings.

Parental Involvement with Homework

2011-01-12T06:07:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently sent me an article on the importance of parental support when it comes to the academic success of the students. The article contain many good points, but what I want to share is a simple list of "10 Ways to Help Your Kids With Their Homework." I don't want to steal from the author of these suggestions so I will provide the link rather than copying them in this blog, but I would encourage you to look at the 10 suggestions. They may not all be practical for your situation, but how can you use this information to maximize your student's success? I hope you find this link helpful!

Click here to check out - 10 Ways to Help Your Kids With Their Homework.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T06:16:00.000-08:00

When I was a student at Shepherd High School, one of my teachers told me about the "relativity of time." I listened intently. It seemed to make sense at the time, but it makes even more sense now. Let me try to explain and show why saying "hello" to 2011 already seems crazy.

The idea of the relativity of time is that your years pass relative to your overall years of life. In other words, when you are two years old and you live two more to be four, you have double your years of life. It has doubled in two years. Now, when you live four more years and are eight years old, you have double your live again. It has taken four years. Since it is a doubling of your years of life again, the time seems "relatively" the same as the first two. The four years seem to pass as fast as the two. If you carry that our further, you would have the same effect from eight to sixteen, sixteen to thirty-two, thirty-two to sixty-four, etc. That is a little scary!

But, the older I get, the more it makes sense. It is hard to believe how far away the year 2000 seemed when I was a high school student in the 1980s. Now, we are not only passed the year 2000, but we are already in 2011. I know that people always say, "It goes fast." The older you get the faster it seems to go. I guess the lesson on the relativity of time is true. As the years roll by, it makes more and more sense.

Happy New Year, everyone! Enjoy the year and don't waste a moment of it. It really does goes, too fast!

Good Bye, Mustache!

2010-12-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

Written on December 20, 2010.

Well, I am sitting in my office contemplating what tomorrow will look like. Or, should I say what I will look like. Over the years, SHS has generated thousands of dollars for the Shepherd Tri-Township's Christmas Outreach Program. This outreach helps provide gifts to families in need. SHS has done a fund-raiser called "Penny-Pile-Up" for about 10 years. In recent years, the Student Improvement Team, who initiated Penny-Pile-Up, included the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in memory of Kara Spindler and Darren Wiles. During this time, there have been many class competitions and incentives that usually involved a staff member doing something that would motivate the students, like shaving a head, doing a skit, or in my case shaving a mustache. I am not sure how I feel about it. I started this mustache when I went to Florida for spring break my Junior year of high school. That would be the spring of 1986. Let's see, that is 24 years. My kids are wondering what is under there. They are afraid I will look like the people in the "Got Milk" commercials. I guess if that is the case I will have to take advantage of a tanning package to even things out a little. My wife, Kristi, and I have talked several times about the incentives, hoping that the students actually understand the importance and value of giving and sharing with others. We don't want students to donate just to see a crazy antic. We also want to provide an incentive that makes it fun. It was under that thinking that I offered up the mustache. It looks like it has provided some motivation. The students raised over $1,500. I don't know how much over the $1,500, but that was the important number to me since that was the goal the students needed to reach to see me get my mustache shaved off. They even auctioned off the "right" to do the clipping/shaving. So I don't know what I will look like tomorrow, but if it helped provide an incentive for students to donate to others so they can have a brighter Christmas, it was worth it!

P.S. The students did raise the $1,500. So I did have to shave. I started growing it out again, though!

A Parent's Guide to Facebook

2010-12-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

I know that Facebook is a huge part of our social culture. But, many parents struggle with how to guide their kids because their kids are usually one step ahead of them on the learning curve. The annotation below has several links that can help parents with this social media. I hope you find this helpful.

Connect Safely - A Parents' Guide to Facebook

via Free Technology for Teachers by noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Byrne) on 11/8/10

Connect Safely, a resource reviewed last year on Free Technology for Teachers, has just released a new 32 page guide to Facebook for parents. A Parents' Guide to Facebook is a soup-to-nuts guide to Facebook privacy settings, profile settings, group settings, and more. For parents who "just don't get Facebook" the guide offers great explanations of the appeal of Facebook for teenagers and what teenagers do on Facebook. The guide provides a run down of recommended settings for teenagers and explanations of what those settings mean.

H/T to Sylvia Martinez for the news about this guide.

Applications for Education
If you occasionally find yourself fielding questions from parents about Facebook and social networking, A Parents' Guide to Facebook is a good resource to refer them too.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
Phishing Detection Education
Zilladog - Kid Friendly, Parent Monitored Email
Safe Computing Tools for Kids - Windows Based

Sending Large Files on the Internet

2010-12-13T05:59:00.000-08:00

My wife, Kristi, is the media specialist for Shepherd Public Schools. She shared the information below with me, and I thought it might be good to post for everyone. I hope you find this helpful!

Sending Large Files on the Internet

Have you ever needed to send a file to someone electronically and the file was too large to email? With the close of the semester or grading period nearing, large files that represent a culmination of the term’s assignments or projects may need to be sent via the Internet. Whether the file is a PowerPoint/Keynote presentation, spreadsheet, video or audio file, sending these files via email is problematic due to content filters and file size limits. There are several resources that you can use to send a file to someone via the Internet if emailing a very large file is not permissible.

One of the those services is Dropbox. With Dropbox, you can upload files and access them via any computer that is connected to the Internet. If you are collaborating with others, you can share folders or individual files bypassing email filters or file size limits. It is free, quick and easy to use Dropbox. You can install the Dropbox app and easily move files into your online Dropbox without navigating to the Dropbox website by using their application. The free Dropbox is limited to 2GB of space and if you share Dropbox with others, you can get an additional 250MB of space. If you sign up with a .EDU email, each person that you refer to Dropbox will earn you an additional 500 MB of space instead of just the 250 MB.

There is an app for Dropbox! You can sync your files and access them anytime, anywhere via the internet on a computer, iTouch, iPhone, iPad, etc.

Author’s Note: If you are interested in signing up for Dropbox, I would greatly appreciate the extra space earned if you use my personal referral link although it isn’t necessary to use this link to begin using Dropbox: http://db.tt/dHoct9T. (This is not Kristi's link... It is from the original source on the Discovery Educator Network.)

DropItToMe

DROPitTOme is a service that is used with a Dropbox account. DROPitTOme allows you to send files to your Dropbox via email. Once you connect the service to your Dropbox, you will receive a personalized email that allows you send attachments that are posted to your Dropbox. The service is easy to use and setup and most importantly, is also free to use!

(Source: Discovery Educator Network. "DEN Blog Network - December Ed Tech News You Can Use." Message to the author. 6 Dec. 2010. E-mail.)

Veterans Day Program

2010-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Shepherd High School and Middle School are hosting a Veterans Day Program on November 11th. The high school has held a program since 1997. The middle school started to have a program of their own, but last year the programs were combined. Veterans are invited to attend and are celebrated at the program. There are special music presentations by the choir and the band. There are special readings that also celebrate the sacrifice of the veterans.

If you see this post before the program, please consider attending. The program is in the high school gym at 9:00. It is good for our students and is always enjoyed by the community guests and veterans. There is a special reception for the veterans following the program.

Cross Country State Finals

2010-11-07T11:49:00.000-08:00

I went down with Mrs. Bridges to the Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. This was a very exciting time. Both our boys and girls qualified. I don't want to mention names of runners because they all did well, and I don't want leave anyone else. The boys ended up in 3rd out of the 27 teams that qualified. This is very good. A few of the runners set personal records. The girls ended up 9th. This was also very good. Their goals was to make the top ten, and they achieved this goal. Both teams had tremendous seasons!

Creating a Positive School Climate - Motivational Speaker October 27th

2010-10-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

We know when students feel more comfortable at school with a positive school climate, they are more likely to maximize their success academically. Shepherd Public Schools takes creating a positive school climate very seriously. Of course, we know that it takes parents, students, teachers, administrators, and support staff working together to create this. We are very fortunate to have such great parents and students, as well as a staff members who help to establish high expectations and who are committed to supporting students so they have a positive learning environment.

There are many special programs that each building within our district has to help support a positive school climate. This post is to let you know that the high school is hosting such a program on October 27th. With the help of a Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal Grant, we are able to bring in a nationally recognized motivational speaker. The speaker is Mr. Craig Conrad. I want to encourage everyone to check out his website for more information. It can be found at http://www.craigconrad.com/ .

Mr. Conrad is going to present "The Unstoppable You" to the high school and middle school students during an assembly on October 27th from 8:05 until about 10:30 a.m. After this, Mr. Conrad will interact with student leaders at a lunch meeting He is also going to meet with the teachers during their staff meeting after school. The day ends with a community presentation in the cafeteria at 6:30. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. One of the main goals of this program is to sustain the energy that will inspire the students, staff, and parents together to create the most positive school climate possible. We hope to see you there!

Open House/Meet the Teacher Night

2010-10-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

I know it is a little short notice on the blog, but Shepherd High School is having an Open House/Meet the Teacher night on October 14th. The event will be held in the auxiliary gym at 6:00. The format will be a brief welcome and general information by me followed by time for parents to meet with individual teachers. There will be tables set up for each department so parents can stop by and talk to any teacher they like. Parents can also ask questions about homework expectation, major assignments, and other information related to their son or daughter's classes. It is very informal. We invite all of the parents to stop in and see the teachers, especially the teachers who are new to the staff this year.

School Improvement

2010-10-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to send out a post to let people know about the professional development that we are doing this year. We are using some federal Title IIa funding to bring in a literacy coach to help our staff. She is working most intensively with English teachers, but she is also working with the the other departments on "writing across the curriculum." This has really been positive professional development.

Another very exciting initiative is the development of a new RTI/SIP Team. That stands for "Response to Intervention and School Improvement." This group is going to look at data, current initiatives, potential interventions, and best practices to improve student achievement.

I will try to update more as we get further into the year, but I wanted to get the word out that we are continually trying to improve, and the teachers and administrative staff are committed to doing whatever it take to help students succeed!

Progress Reports

2010-10-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

I want to encourage all of the students and parents to keep checking student grades through the student/parent portal of Power School. Parents and students have web access to student progress and attendance. There are logins and passwords for both. If you don't know your login or password, please contact the high school office. There is also contact information for the teacher so progress issues can be addressed directly and quickly!

First Week 2010-2011

2010-09-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well, one week down already. I am sure for many of you it seems like we were just here. But, we have several new staff members who are starting a new experience. It was about this time 19 years ago that I started my experience in teaching for Mt. Pleasant Public Schools at the Isabella County Jail. I guess I had several new "starts to the year", though. After being in the jail, I stayed in Mt. Pleasant to administer a grant program so I was in Mt. Pleasant a total of four years. I went to Odyssey for a year, and then came to SHS for five years. In 2002, it was time to pursue the administrative route. I remember there was a lot of anxiety about heading to Farwell to be an assistant principal. Though I was only there two years, I gained some great experience. However, it was not where I felt I had a great match so I continued to check area postings. It was that searching that led me to Midland Public Schools. I had a great experience there, but after only two years, I had the chance to come back to my home at SHS. Every new start has its own excitement. I am sure our new teachers are sensing that now. You never know where your path will lead. I have experience with inmates and angels, forty year olds and fourteen year olds, seniors and sixth graders, poor communities and rich communities, large schools and small schools. I hope all have a good start of the school year, and I hope all of our teachers enjoy the start of this year as it is one more step in their personal professional journey.

New English Courses

2010-09-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

I know that there has been some concern that Shepherd High School will no longer track students in their English classes. Beginning with the 2010 – 2011 school year, students in 11^th grade students will all take 11^th grade English, and 12^th grade students will take 12^th grade English. The 11^th grade classes will be an amalgamation of the previously taught American Literature and Junior English, while 12^th grade English takes the best of English Literature and Senior English.

This is not a decision that was made without thought and consideration. There has been a perception that American Literature and English Literature were classes for the “college prep” students. The reality is that we now have over 85% of our students going to a college or university. If we have a college prep class that is taken by 50% of the students, yet 85% of the students are going on to post-secondary training, what happens to the other 35%?

We have also done some statistical analysis of results in the 11^th and 12^th grade English classes relative to the college readiness standards as determined by ACT. These college readiness standards are nationally accepted standards. This analysis indicates that there are elements from each 11^th grade class and 12^th grade class that could help our student be best prepared for post secondary success.

This curriculum position is also supported by the National Council of Teachers of English. Here is the position statement from the National Council of Teachers of English regarding tracking or ability grouping. The highlighting is mine. It can be found on their website: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/tracking

Resolution on Tracking

· last edited 2 years, 10 months ago

1991 NCTE Annual Business Meeting in Seattle, Washington

Background

Members of the NCTE Committee on Tracking and Grouping Practices in English Language Arts (K–12), who proposed this resolution, urged that classrooms should be communities of learners in which collaboration occurs among students of many abilities. They warned that when students are placed into tracked/ability-grouped classes, this language collaboration which aids learning may not occur. The committee members pointed out that placing students in tracks or ability groups, especially those based on standardized test scores, can have a negative influence on teachers' expectations of students and students' expectations of themselves. Be it therefore

Resolution

Resolved, that the National Council of Teachers of English support curricula, programs, and practices that avoid tracking, a system which limits students' intellectual, linguistic, and/or social development;

that NCTE urge educators and other policymakers to re-examine curricula, programs, and practices which require or encourage tracking of students in English language arts;

that NCTE support teachers in their efforts to retain students in or return students to heterogeneous English language arts placement; and

that NCTE expand its efforts to educate the public about the effects of tracking.

We are continuing to enhance our offerings without tracking students. Hopefully, we will be able to offer trimester electives specific to literature and/or writing. The long-term plan is to have an Advanced Placement Literature course, which is nationally recognized. For more information see the following link http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html. Regardless, everyone will have a high level of expectation.

I hope that helps some understand the rationale. I know there will probably always be philosophic differenced to this move, but I believe it is the right direction for our English department.

Start of the Year

2010-09-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the day we open another school year. I know that students get excited, but so do the teachers and the rest of the staff. We sometimes complain because we know how busy things are going to get, but I think many of us get ready to get back into the routine.

The construction projects are almost done. If you have not been by the school recently, you will be surprised at how it looks. The parking area is complete. There are trees and plants to decorate the between the elementary and the high school. It looks really nice. The auditorium is scheduled to be done the middle of October, and there will be little touch up projects until December.

There are a lot if exiting things that happen at the school so please take time to look at the high school web site at www.shepherd.edzone.net/hs for school news.

Shepherd Teachers Come In Early For Professional Development

2010-08-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

We are two days away from the start of school for Shepherd teachers, but some very dedicated 6th - 12th grade teachers agreed to come in early for professional development. Through federal Title IIa funds, the district has hired a literacy coach to support our school improvement goal to increase language arts proficiency. These teachers realize that fostering continuous improvement in student performance requires constantly reviewing the "best practices" and research in their field.

2010 - 2011 Start of Year Parent/Student Letter

2010-08-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

August 17, 2010

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

What seems like a short time ago, we eagerly entered into the summer by closing another school year. The administrative and office staff members have been working hard during the summer to complete year-end reports and plan for the upcoming school year. We have continued to have a busy and hectic summer due to the construction projects. We also have been very busy hiring new staff. We had to hire eight teachers who will be teaching in the high school. We were sad to see so many veteran teachers leave, but we are excited to have some great new teachers on staff. Now, as summer begins to give way to fall, it is time, once again, to provide information that will hopefully ensure that the beginning of the school year goes very smoothly.

Students should have their schedules and locker assignment with this mailing. It is important to note that the drop and add process is the same as it was last year. Meetings with a counselor are being arranged by appointment only. Students/parents should call the high school office and sign up for an appointment time to speak with a counselor. The appointments are being scheduled for August 25^th and August 26^th from 9:00 – 3:00. Addition times may be added if needed. Students should be aware that they will not be able to change classes after these dates unless one of several criteria is met. These criteria are in the student handbook. Students should see a counselor during this time if they have any questions. During that same time, new students can meet with a counselor for new student scheduling.

The building will be open on September 7^thand 8^th from 8:00 – 3:00 for freshman and new students so they can pay their book deposit and check on their locker assignment. Students should take care of their book deposit before school begins to ensure that they are able to receive all of their text books. The book deposit is $10.00 and is refunded when a student graduates or leaves SHS. Students who wish to drive to school must first acquire a parking pass. Students may also use this time to pick up a parking pass with a $5.00 deposit that is refundable at the end of the year after the parking pass has been returned. These passes are for the main student lot on the west side of the building and the lot on the south-west corner of Hall and Fourth Street.

The high school teachers typically like to welcome you and your student to an Open House/Meet the Teacher Night; however, we have not been able to schedule this event for this year due to construction. When we left at the beginning of the summer, we did not know when we would be

starting this fall. Please continue to access the high school web site for information regarding school activities. We will post this information on the web page and on our sign.

Parents with students who attended Shepherd High School or Middle School should remember that we have a student management system that has a Student/Parent Portal that allows parents/students to check student progress and attendance. For those who do not have a user id and password, we will be creating those and getting them to you as soon as we can after school starts. Enclosed with this letter is a “Request For Report Card” form. Because parents can access grades at any moment through Power School, we will no longer send a hard copy report card through the mail. The new student management technology not only gives parents and students instant access, but it enables us to save postage cost by not sending report cards through the mail. However, some may wish to receive a hard copy or may not have access the Internet (Power School). In this case, please return the “Request For Report Card” form so we know that you wish to have a hard copy mailed home. We create a list of those who want a copy and mail progress reports. We will also mail home report cards to everyone at the end of each trimester.

The first day of school will start September 13^th at 8:00 with a brief opening assembly followed by each period like any other day. Students should bring their enclosed schedule with them when they come to school on the first day as we will not have reprinted copies available. Please be aware that student will receive a student handbook on the first day and the contents will be reviewed. The student handbook will also be posted to the web site for your reference.

The athletics department is once again offering passes for 2010-2011 sports. Family passes are $150 and includes immediate family, but excludes post high school children/siblings. An individual pass is $90, and a student pass is $60. Please be aware that these passes do not include tournaments including SHS invitational and state tournaments. These passes can be purchased in the high school counseling office between the hours of 7:00 - 2:30. Please make checks payable to Shepherd Athletics or have the correct amount. The office does not have money to make change.

Daily student announcements and updates related to the building are posted on the High School web page, http://shepherd.edzone.net/hs/index.php. Please use this resource to remain informed about building activities and important dates. I also try to share some educational thoughts and provide some updates through my blog at http://shepherdhigh.blogspot.com/. This blog has an RSS feed so if you utilize an RSS reader, you can have updates automatically post to your RSS reader.

Sincerely,

Douglas J. Bush

Principal

New School Year is Close

2010-08-12T17:45:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I had a post. It has been a very busy end of year and summer. It is nice to see the construction is getting near an end. We are quickly getting ready for the new school year. It will be very interesting with several new staff members. I am looking forward to starting the new year, but I am not quite ready yet! I have a lot to do before students roam the halls.

Graduation - 2010

2010-06-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we had our first graduation in our new gym on Friday, May 28th, 2010. Unfortunately, there are still some construction bugs to work out. The transformer that was installed by Consumers was too small so we could not fire up the chillers. This made it very hot with the unseasonably hot weather. The set up looked good and everything went very well. We look forward to many more successful graduations at Shepherd High School.

Students at Youth In Government

2010-03-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

I am currently in Lansing with several students at a program called Youth In Government. This is a very cool program that allows students to actually serve all aspects of state government. The students get to use the House and Senate chambers. They get to use the committee rooms. They debate and pass bills. A youth governor reviews and either signs or vetoes passed bills. I would recommend looking at the following link to see what the program is about.

Click here to access the link.

The students arrive on Wednesday and leave on Sunday morning. There are some fun activities, but there is a lot of serious work. These students are debating important issues that impact our state. They have a chance to share their ideas and learn from others from Detroit to Gladstone. The conference is as diverse as the state. They also get to hear from current legislators about current issues.

Here is an update from the conference.

Our students did well. Luke Salisbury was honored as the Blue Legislature Lt Governor. Hadassah Huber received an award for most outstanding work in Written Press. James Newman was Honorable Mention as the best Blue Legislator. And Aaron Moore was recognized for his bill becoming law. There are nearly 800 students here and hundreds of bills, only a few of which made it into law!

Here are a few pictures from this year's trip.

Hadassah Huber and Aaron Moore are getting ready during a general session.

Luke Salisbury being sworn in as the Lt. Governor of the Blue Legislature. Luke had to run for this position at the fall conference in October.

Michigan Capitol Building

The Capitol Senate Chamber. The students actually sit in the seats, talk at the podiums, and vote on the bills!

House Chambers

Aaron Moore in Senate Committee

Me! A Self Photo Outside the Capitol

Aaron Moore speaking during his party caucus.

Hadassah Huber writing an article for the Written Press. At the conference banquet, she was recognized as the outstanding Written Press writer.

James Newman in Committee

Luke Salisbury in Committee

As Lt. Governor of the Blue Legislature, Luke had to sit at the head table for the conference banquet.

Hadassah, Aaron, and James at the Conference Banquet

Opening of the New Gym

2010-02-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

Well, this week we were finally able to open our new gym area. Everyone was very excited. We had our opening game this Tuesday (2/16/10). Rather than write a lot about it, I am going to place a link in this post to the Morning Sun's video news article.

Click here to access the article.

It's Been A While

2010-02-18T04:04:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a while since I posted my last Blog. I have had a hard time staying on top of things since late November. My dad passed away on November 22nd. Needless to say, it has been emotionally and physically draining, while also taking up a great deal of time to help with all of the paperwork, account transfers, estate issues, etc. My dad was one of my biggest fans. I know in this position that people aren't always going to like what you do. I have had people yell at me, threaten me and swear at me. But, I always try to do what I think is the "right" thing to do. It is easy to do what is popular, but it is sometimes hard to "do the right thing". My dad helped me with "doing the right thing." I miss him. He was so pleased that I was the principal at Shepherd High School - where he graduated, where my mom graduated and where I graduated. Of course, there are tons of other relatives, too, including my sister, folks from the early 1900s all the way to my children here now. I hope to stay more up to date as things settle back to "normal".

Parent Meetings

2010-01-19T04:32:00.000-08:00

The counselors are conducting informational meetings for students and parents for next year's registration. There is a meeting for current 9th-11th graders on January 20th beginning at 6:30 in the High School Cafeteria. The goal of the meeting is to make sure that the students and parents have the information necessary to develop their educational development plans. The main topics are the Michigan Merit Exam, preparing for college, graduation requirements, scheduling of 2010-2011 school year, Michigan Merit Curriculum and graduation with honors. There have been a lot of changes over the years and big changes since parents were in school.

There will also be a transition meeting for the current 8th grade students. This meeting is also in the High School Cafeteria, but this meeting will begin at 7:00. In addition to some of the topics mentioned above, 8th grade students and parents will receive information about making the transition from middle school to high school. This is a good opportunity to get to know a few staff members in the high school as well as getting information to help plan for a successful high school experience.

Please consider attending the appropriate meeting if you have a student who will be registered at Shepherd High School Next Year.

Homework Perspective

2010-01-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

I came across an article that I think might be helpful, especially to teachers and parents. The article is an interview with Cathy Vatterott, Associate Professor of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In this interview, Ms. Vatterott touches on some of her findings from research related to education in the area of homework. There are some interesting points that I hope will cause any reader to pause and consider. Homework is always a topic in school reform and school improvement. This research based article can help provide some perspective on this discussion. Please take a few minutes to read the article liked below.

Click here to access the article.

Great First Week

2009-09-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

After an extended summer vacation, the halls were busy again this week with students and school activity. Construction is continuing around us, but we are rolling along. There are a few obstacles to overcome, such as make-shift office space for the administrative and counseling office staff and a classroom that is not completed. By mid October, the classroom is suppose to be ready. By the end of October the offices are suppose to be ready. So, we will have one more move to make this year, which will hopefully be the last move for a long time.

I was amazed with how well the first week of school went. We started the week under construction, going a full day on the first day, having a full five-day week, extending the day by 20 minutes, and having nice, hot weather. Despite all of that, everything seemed to go very smoothly. I know that a lot of that had to do with the preparation of the teachers and the great attitude of the students. From my perspective, it was greatly appreciated. Shepherd is a great place!

We hit the ground running, and Homecoming week is next week. There was no easing into the 2009-2010 school year, but as smoothly as it started, I don't think we needed to ease into anything.

Here we go!

2009-09-14T03:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted. I guess I was enjoying the summer and not thinking about school as much as I should have. It has been a wild summer with the construction. I have made my second office move with only one more to go before it is all done. The building looks good to start school, especially considering what it looked like last week. We are getting right into things with a full day, class meetings for homecoming, and of course, classes. I hope everyone has a good start to the year!

Something for Parents to Consider

2009-07-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

I came across a web article recently that had to do with the use of technology by students. I thought the point in the article was at least worth consideration. Parents may want to review/consider taking more control over their student's access to technology. The article describes some of the potential harm that can come from students who have access to technology 24/7. For example, a parent could say good night as their student heads to his/her bedroom and then the student could sit in his/her room texting/chatting until 1:00am. There are obvious implications for their academic performance at school the next day. I encourage parents to do a family assessment on what technology their students have access to and when they have access. Could they be harming their academic success due to fatigue, sleep deprivation, and motivation due to access so some of these social networking applications?

Click here to check out this article.

More Summer News

2009-07-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

I have been out of the office for much of July traveling with family. I have had some great times, but it makes the summer go really quickly. The good thing is that I can see big jumps in progress on the building project when I return. It is exciting to see.

I will be in the office working as normal until school starts. There is much news about the school these days. With the construction, it was necessary to adjust the school year calendar. Please check out the Shepherd High School home page for the 2009-2010 calendar. Click here to jump to this page. If you look at the left side of the page, the section has two calendar links. One is "Calendar" and the other is "Text Only Calendar." The first will show you the 2009-2010 calendar in a monthly calendar format. The other simply lists the significant calendar dates for the school year. You can look at one of those links for the specifics, but the adjustments call for a longer school day by 20 minutes and a shorter school year to allow for the summer work that is needed yet this year and what will be needed next summer.

Another big item out there is the state of school financing. We are potentially facing massive cuts in our state aide. As of now, some of the reduction will be offset by federal stimulus money. But, that will only help with the short fall for the coming year and will only cover a portion of the reduction for 2010-2011. After that, there is no stimulus money left to offset the reductions. I encourage you to research this funding problem and contact your government officials as you see fit. Those who have been in education for many years view this as the worst financial crisis for schools they have seen. Please keep an eye on this topic.

I hope the summer is going well for everyone!

Brief Summer Update

2009-06-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone is getting a good start to the summer. It took a while for the warm weather to arrive. As I write this, it is probably the hottest day of the year. It is supposed to be in the low 90s today. If you have not had a chance to drive by the school, it is really looking different. The office area was being torn down about the day after school let out. One day I drove by and saw a Bobcat in the office tearing things down on the inside. The new gym area is coming along well. The tall walls are starting to go up. It looks big! The lights for the football field were installed shortly after school got out. They have started on the concessions area and bathrooms at the sports complex. There are crews all over. It is exciting to see. The elementary work is coming along well, too. Starting in the fall we will have a very different feel with all of the physical changes to the buildings.

Click here to see a few pictures from June 23, 2009.

Michigan Merit Curriculum Interview

2009-06-24T04:25:00.001-07:00

The link below is to a radio interview that was done by WCFX in the spring of 2009 regarding the Michigan Merit Curriculum. The interview included the superintendent from Mt. Pleasant, the superintendent from Beal City, and me. We left a link to interview on the high school web page for several months, but we are moving it to the blog to make room for some other items.

Click here to hear the interview.

Have A Great Summer!

2009-06-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a great year! I hope everyone has an enjoyable summer. My family is doing a lot of traveling, but I hope to use much of the summer to prepare for a good start to next year. The summer will go by quickly! It will be exciting for people to back to school after having been away for the summer because the construction is moving along so fast. I hope they continue to make good progress. I want to be able to start next fall in the new office!

Congratulations!

2009-06-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the SHS baseball team that won its first state championship this past weekend. The team had a remarkable season. The boys were so focused all year. It is great to see all of that hard work pay off. We are so proud of their accomplishment!

Family Memories

2009-06-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

I know that I have talked about Google Docs a lot at work. We are using the applications more and more to collaborate and share documents. Well, today I started a Family Memories document and shared it with my immediate family. I intend to make this a living document that we continue to add to as we create memories. You never know what is meaningful to others until they start to share their memories. For example, when I knew that I was going to propose to Kristi, I was afraid that she would say no. I didn't tell anyone what I was going to do. We went to a play at Christmas time and before the play (Phantom of the Opera) we were talking about church and singing in church. To make a long story as short as possible, Kristi made the comment, "We would have to be married before I would let you hear me sing." Little did she know that I already had the ring and planned to ask her to marry me sometime, somehow after the play. I had no idea what I was doing or how to go about the whole thing. I took the ring out of my bag. Just as I turned around to try and figure a way to actually propose, Kristi turned and walked toward me. The thing that came to mind was to open up the engagement ring box and say, "I want to hear you sing." Well, she didn't say, "no". There have been many memories since then - some good, some not as good. But, the rules of the memories document is that they need to be positive or sentimental memories. It will be interesting to look at this over time and see what is memorable to each of us!

2009-05-17T14:17:00.001-07:00

Have you ever noticed the difference between people who have a difficult time with change and those who seem to relish it? I guess it all depends on the type of change. None of us like change that is the result of something tragic. But, there are many things that change our lives or things that we initiate that change our life. I think there are some of us who have adult ADD, while others are a little OCD. I don't want you to tell on anyone, but I would be more in the OCD camp while Kristi would be in the ADD category - generally speaking. I don't like changes when it comes to my routine and what I have become used to, but I do always look to make changes that I believe will help improve things. I am always looking at things that I need to do to make my house better or improve my job performance or improve the school, etc. But, I don't like change for change sake. I don't like to break what has become tradition. There is something in my core that gets troubled by changing traditions. Some people can just "roll with the changes", but others of us feel very uncomfortable inside. We are sure facing some changes for some of our high school staff. As you all know, enrollment in the high school is down, and we have to reduce teaching sections. Either you or one of your colleagues will be facing changes for the coming year. Some will adjust to the changes more easily than others.

MACUL

2009-03-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am here at the MACUL Conference (3/18-20/09). This post is to provide those who attended or are have interest the presentation, "Apps For Administrators: Tools to Support SIP...and More" that Kristi and I are did on 3/19/09. You will be able to go to my Google Site and click the presentation attachment of the slide show if you click the link below. Much of the presentation was demonstration of the applications mentions from web tools so what you will see is what was discussed, but the actual demonstration will not be in the slide presentation. Please feel free to contact me through the comment feature of this blog.
Click here to see the presentation.

For those who were in the session, please use the link below to complete a survey about the session. It will require a password that will be provided to you at the session.
Click Here to take survey

Starting To See The Change

2009-03-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

It seems like the vote on the bond proposal was a long time ago. I guess it depends on how you look at it. It was almost a year and a half ago. I knew when the proposal passed that there would be the reality of the long, long process of moving from design, to bidding, to actually seeing the new construction and renovations. I pulled in at 6:30 this morning and arriving at the same time was a large truck, probably here for the demolition. All morning it has sounded like a truck stop out my window. Those are great sounds to hear, though. That means all of the planning, drawing, changing, and bidding work that goes on behind the scenes is done, and we will now start to see physical evidence of the change. We have been able to see a few signs of change with the demolition of the football stands and the construction of the new sports complex. However, we aren't able to use those facilities yet, and they are a ways away from where we work every day. I know that we will have some inconvenience through this construction, but it should be awesome when we are done. It is a great time to be a Blue Jay!

What Do You Think About?

2009-03-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

When you have the time to think and plan about things other than school or work, about what do you get excited? For me, it is travel. Kristi and I have taken a cruise five of the last six years. We took our first with the prompting of our brother-in-law whose boss's wife is a travel agent who specializes in cruising. Well, after that first one, we were hooked. Since that first Eastern Caribbean cruise, we have done the Western Caribbean, Hawaii, Southern Caribbean, and Mexico. We just finished booking our sixth cruise. We are going back to the Caribbean, but are hitting a couple of new places. I know that I have said before how much I like to travel. Kristi and I have considered how we can incorporate travel into a post retirement job. We will be doing more traveling than just the cruise. The cruise is just for us this year. We have taken the kids on one cruise because the entire family was going, but we want to wait until the kids are a little more independent before we take them again. We are working on a Route 66 road trip out to the Grand Canyon with them for this summer. I hope you have time to think and plan for some special times that don't have anything to do with school or your work!

Treat Life Like a Golf Scramble - Pick Each Other Up

2009-02-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

I like to ski. It has been a good winter for skiing. Unfortunately, it is hard to get to the slopes enough. I have purchased a ski pass for the last several years at Crystal Mountain. My mother-in-law works there, and it is a great place to ski. I just started skiing more seriously about five or six years ago. I have mixed feelings about this time of year. I want to have more opportunity to ski, but I am ready to be able to golf, too. I don't have enough time to do either, but I enjoy them when I can. I used to be very competitive and get upset if I didn't golf well. There is really no score in skiing, but I have advanced my skills so I feel pretty good about that, but golf is a different matter. There is always that score to let you know if you are making progress or not. I never really cared about beating a fellow golfer. For me, golf is an individual sport. I wouldn't mind having a higher score than someone I was playing with as long as my score was as low as I wanted. I used to get mad. I would toss my club and get so upset that the rest of my round would be shot because of one wayward shot that "ruined" my round. Now, I don't get too upset. I am just glad to have the opportunity to slow down, enjoy being outside, and leave everything else behind. The older I get and the less opportunity I have to golf, the more I like to play golf in a "scramble." I can have fun and make good shots, but if I have that wayward shot, I have a team mate to pick me up and make a shot that we can take as a team. The beauty of the "scramble" is that it is generally unlikely that everyone on the team will all have a wayward shot at the same time so collectively the team does better than any individual could. I guess the same could be said for most other things. There are times when we need to pick each other up. We are stronger collectively than we are individually. Encourage and support those around you.

Where Did You Think You Would Be By Now?

2009-02-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

I recently sent these thoughts to the high school staff in my building. Though the content is specific to teachers, I think the idea applies to everyone - both those who have created a long personal history and those who are hoping to have many more pages to fill.

When you were 20, where did you think you would be by the age you are now? That may be too difficult to narrow down. For some of us that was quite a while ago. Most of us were in the middle of completing college degrees at age 20. Do you remember when you first thought you wanted to be a teacher? If you can remember back that far, what did you answer when you were asked, "Why do you want to be a teacher?" Would you give the same answer today? I remember a former teacher asking me that question when I told him I was going to be a teacher. I don't remember my specific answer, but I am sure it had to do with helping people and providing students with the skills I developed and the opportunities I had because of my high school experience. I think my answer would be a little deeper now as I take a more global view of things. Did you think, "I want to end up in Shepherd, Michigan for my career in education?" I would guess that most of you didn't have that plan in mind when you set out. Yet, here we are. Think back to all of the students on whom you have had an impact. I hope you can look back on your career so far (for some it is a longer look than others) and have a sense of accomplishment and happiness. I hope you still have the same enthusiasm for education that you did when you first began! It is easy to get mired down in the negative stuff of the job. Remember, the students we currently teach or students we taught and who are now working adults make up the society in which we live. That is an important and difficult task, worthy of honor and respect. I challenge you to look to the greater good and all of the positive aspects of your job - your influence on students, your colleagues/friends, and the history you have created and continue to create for yourself.

We all create a personal history - page by page, day by day. Whether you are a teacher or in any other profession, see the good that you do and continue to create that positive history that makes up who you are.

Anything Worth Getting Just Right Is Worth The Effort

2009-01-19T04:13:00.000-08:00

Fudge! That is what I say with a gleam in my eye when ever I get close to Mackinaw City or Mackinaw Island. I always walk by the fudge shops debating on which shop to ultimately settle on for my purchase. If I am on the island, I tend to buy a few 1/4 pound slabs and get one free. At least a couple of those have to be for me. One of them has to be for immediate consumption. I carefully pull out the selected fudge and use the plastic knife they provide to cut off a very well-defined piece of fudge. I just can't hack up good fudge. Well, I have always thought it would be cool to be able to create fudge like they do on the island. I have watched them pour the hot, liquid fudge on the marble table and start to stir and flop the fudge with their long-handled stirrer that looks like a wide putty knife. I have thought I would like to be able to make fudge that way. So, last year I put a marble slab on my Christmas list so I could make Mackinaw Island style fudge. Amazingly, my uncle somehow was able to find a marble slab that I could use at home. It is about 2' X 2'. With a little research on recipes and technique, I took my first crack at making my Mackinaw Island fudge over Christmas break. I bought a 6" putty knife and stirred the fudge into a long log of fudge like they do on the island. I cut it into slabs like they do on the island. I am still doing a bit of experimentation, but I think it turned out pretty well. To get it just right, I will have to continue to work on my technique, experiment with ingredients and flavors, and research more from the experts, which will mean that I will have to make a lot more fudge! Making successful students is a little like making fudge. You have to have to passion for it so you will take the extra effort to make it happen. You have to continue to work on your technique. You have to experiment with what and how you put things together, and you have to continue to research best practices. Some of the ingredients are good by themselves, just like students. But, some are hard to take (unsweetened chocolate or vanilla) by themselves, just like students. Once the unsweetened chocolate and vanilla are added to the sugar, the cream, and the butter, the combination makes a good final product. Anything worth getting just right is worth the effort.

Running on the Teeter-Totter

2008-12-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

I was struck by something this past week. I guess it is not a huge thing, but I just thought about all of the things that I would like to do and how I just can't get to them. I always have a tasks list that is longer than my ability to do them. I am sure that most of you feel this way. The problem is that I truly have a desire to do some different things in my job such as having lunch with students, getting into more classrooms, talking with teachers, helping teachers collaborate, and many other things. But, the reality seems to always be that there is a report to complete, a meeting to attend, a plan that needs to be documented, POs and budgets to be managed, conference requests to review, discipline that needs attention, and all of the other tasks that go along with the job. Please don't think that I am complaining. I like what I do. I believe that I am pretty efficient. I just think I could be more effective if I could do some of the things that I would like to do. It seems like more and more is required of us. Probably every generation of administrators felt that way. I have always thought that if I could just get a little farther ahead, I could get to some of the other plans that I would like to follow. But, just when I think I am getting close, something comes up and my stack rises to a level that puts me behind again. I guess it is a matter of priority, but it all takes time. I feel the same way at home. There are projects that I have planned to do since our house was built four and half years ago. There are household plans and family plans that get squeezed out by the lawn, snowy driveway, the trash, the bills, etc. I am sure that you can all relate to that. The trouble is that I feel such an internal struggle because I know I could get farther ahead at school if I took more time here, but I am sure my family believes that I already spend too much time doing school work. I know that if I can be home more, I can get farther ahead at home, but then I get farther behind at work. It is a tough balance. It reminds me of standing in the middle of a teeter-totter with someone throwing work responsibilities on one end that makes be run to the other end to balance. Just when I get far enough down the teeter-totter to balance the work responsibilities, more home responsibilities are thrown on the other end. So, I run back and forth trying to keep balance. With all of the that running, you would think I would be a little thinner! I hope you are able to keep balance.

Maybe trying to keep balanced is why I like to travel so much!
Honeymoon Trip July 7, 1996

Deer Hunting in a Rural Community

2008-11-24T05:34:00.000-08:00

Living in a rural community that has many sections of woods, corn fields, and deer make it is easy to see why deer hunting is important to many of our students and our community. It also underscores why we have traditionally had no school on opening day. I know that this is a safety issue in our district. With so many hunters and guns out, it is not a good idea to have kids waiting on a country road for a bus to pick them up. It is also an attendance issue because we have so many students who would miss school to go out opening day. Some students and teachers don't care about hunting but love having a day off in the fall. I know people who use this time to "hunt for sales". Actually, my wife, Kristi, and I have traditionally taken the day to kick off our Christmas shopping. This year we didn't have this extra day off because opening day fell on a Saturday. I suppose some feel like they were robbed of a day. I am not a huge outdoors man, but I have hunted. I went as a high school student, but due to many factors, I really got out of it for a long time. I went out again last year for the first time in about 18 years. I didn't get anything. But, this year I went out opening day and did have some success. To my surprise, I got an 8-point buck. I know that some of you may not like this kind of thing, but I truly care about deer starvation and vehicle/motorist safety when it comes to the deer population. We will process the deer and use as much as we can, just like the old days. I actually was able to get a doe in addition to the buck so we will have a good supply of meat. I hope that those of you who hunt were successful. I always feel a little sense of guilt about shooting the deer because they are beautiful animals, but I also know from the DNR that overpopulation hurts the deer as well.

Social Networking

2008-11-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I am one of the "hold-outs" when it comes to Facebook or My Space. I know a lot of people who really enjoy this "social networking" and staying in contact with people. My wife is one of those people. Maybe some day I will finally give in to these applications, but for now, it seems like I don't have time to do the things that I need to do - let alone keep up with all of the social networking stuff. The only experience I have had with My Space is being named by students when there are student conflicts being discussed. I think it would be best not to repeat what it said, however! I try to use technology that helps me with my job. Even the blog that I do has work-related themes. I am sure this will come as a great surprise, but I am really a shy person so social networking isn't a natural priority. My shyness is something that I have worked on forever. When I was younger, I was so shy that I would never even talk to a waitress in a restaurant. Finally at 17, my mom told me she wouldn't tell the waitress my order any more - just kidding, but it did take me a long time. I wish interacting with people came more naturally to me. It is a wonder I ever married. When I was first hired at Shepherd, my wife Kristi stopped to introduce herself to me. I know she probably will tell a different story, but the way I remember it is that she stopped to introduce herself to me. I guess that gave me enough courage to begin communication with her, and the rest, as they say, is history. I don't want people to misunderstand. It is not that I don't want to see people and find out what people are doing, but social interaction on a non-professional level is hard for me. I enjoy finding out what others are doing and finding out what direction life has taken them, but I don't seek this information out - unlike Kristi who could probably run an effective presidential campaign with all of her social networking connections. I am still holding out. I have to work on my social disorders slowly. I don't want to shock my system. For now, the phone, email, voicemail, and even a little chat is about as far as I can go. I know some of you are well past that, but I am sure there have to be some other folks out there like me!

Cell Phones: A New Challenge for Educators

2008-10-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

As educators, we take advantage of a lot of advancements in technology. Technology has impacted our ability to research. It has shaped our methodology. It has helped the ability to collaborate with colleagues and communicate with parents. These are all good things. But, with these advancements, there are also challenges that make the job of education more difficult. Though students must sign an acceptable use of technology form that addresses most computer issues such as viewing inappropriate sites and using the computer for non-educational purposes, there is an increasing problem with the use of cell phones, especially those with multi features such as camera,video, and internet access - not to mention the increasingly popular text messaging. Schools across the nation are struggling with the issue of cell phone use in schools. It seems that every student has a cell phone, and they have become a natural part of who the student is. Students have instant communication with each other every waking moment so it is difficult for them not to use these devices during school. But, these can be a distraction to education when students feel their phones vibrate during the presentation of a lesson, pull out their phones under their desks and see a text message to which they promptly respond. Many schools have taken the view that catching students using a cell phone to communicate during school is simply a digitized version of a handwritten note. These have been confiscated by teachers since the days of the one-room schoolhouse. Educators tend to rely on the TLO vs. New Jersey standard that viewing and using the information found on a cell phone is acceptable as long as there is "reasonable suspicion" that a rule violation has occurred. Just like the original complaintant in the TLO case, students today see the review and search of their phone as a violation of their privacy rights. The crux of the issue is whether or not the school officials have "reasonable suspicion" that reviewing or searching will lead to evidence that a rule violation has occurred. Educators see searching a phone as not different from searching a locker, a backpack, a purse, or even a student's pocket. Just like in the days of TLO, groups like the ACLU have cried fowl for such searches. As a principal, I can tell you that dealing with this issue is very frustrating. What is probably most frustrating is that we have clear rules/expectations about the possession and use of cell phones. We have these expectations in writing. We talked with all of the students at class meetings, and we have made PA announcements. Yet, students ignore these expectations because the risk is worth the reward. Though the simple disobedience of the rule is bad enough, students use cell phones and text messaging to cheat on assignments, take inappropriate pictures of other students at school, communicate about drug deals, and many other inappropriate behaviors that impact the school environment. The struggle for school officials is how to maintain a positive learning environment facing the struggles brought about by the way students use the ever-changing and advancing technology. Can you imagine a one-room school house teacher being dropped into a classroom today. For that matter, imagine dealing with this issue of cell phones and text messaging just 15 years ago. It makes Star Trek and Back To The Future seem not that far off!

Shepherd Homecoming 2008

2008-10-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

October 10th was a very special Homecoming day for Shepherd Public Schools. It was a bit chaotic with all of the hoopla, but it was a fun time for the students and community. I think the staff enjoyed it as well, but I know they have to deal with a lot of extra stress during the Homecoming week. This is especially true of the advisors. I am fortunate because I have been able to experience Shepherd Homecomings from a variety of angles. My parents were graduates from Shepherd High School, and I have lived in Shepherd all of my life. So, I remember Homecomings as a kid in elementary and middle school. I remember Homecoming as a high school student and a football player. I remember the excitement of being a football player during the Homecoming week and receiving special attention. We had the same traditions that we have today - floats, halls, the pep assemblies. I know that there is much more to the game than the wins and losses, but I am glad to say that we won the three Homecoming games in which I played! I remember coming back to the Homecoming parade and the game as an alumni and eventually as a staff member. These last two years I have been able to experience Homecoming as the principal. I can't remember every Homecoming at Shepherd High School, but I know I have been to over thirty. It is interesting to me to contemplate the various ways I have experienced Shepherd High School Homecomings! This year's was an especially cool experience. The floats, halls, assemblies, and class competitions were good as always, but the game was something special since it was the last time a varsity game would be played on the only field Shepherd football has known - at least as far as any research could determine. The game was very exciting. We won. But, what was so significant was how the players, the band, the coaches, and the fans all came together after the game to celebrate. That was a very special moment. The next home varsity game will begin a new era of Shepherd football as we inaugurate the new football field and sports complex. History is interesting. We have a strong football history here at Shepherd High School. We will play our first home game in the new complex 100 years from the first organized Shepherd football team in 1909. The history and tradition will continue. Homecoming may take a new shape, but hopefully all alumni and friends will return to Shepherd High School Homecomings with pride and fond memories!

The ZAP! Room

2008-10-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

As you know, it takes parents, students, and teachers working together to ensure a suitable learning environment for all students so they can maximize their success. Of course we want students to do the very best that they can, but we are very concerned about students failing classes and not gaining the skills needed to be successful. We want students to stay on track to graduate with their class.

As a staff, we have been reviewing predictable indicators that correlate to failure. One of the most significant factors is students not doing their homework. Not only have we reviewed our student data, but we have worked with other schools that have come to the same conclusion. The reason for these failures is two-fold. First, students who do not use homework to ensure they have the requisite skills before a test, typically score poorly on tests. Secondly, work that is not submitted cannot demonstrate that a student has mastered the material. Thus, the student’s grade is lowered. We do not want failure to be an option!

We are beginning a new initiative at Shepherd High School to make sure that students do their homework. Last year our science department piloted a program called ZAP! (Zeros Aren’t Permitted). The results of their pilot were very successful. Missing homework assignments decreased and as a result failures decreased. The high school staff is taking this initiative from pilot to full building implementation. The ZAP! Room Guidelines are below.

When homework is not done by the specified time, students are assigned to the ZAP Room. Zeros Aren't Permitted. The ZAP Room will run in the media center at the east end from 3:00 – 4:00. Not doing homework is not an option.

When assigned to the ZAP Room, the student will be notified and the teacher will record the date and time of next Zap Room to which the student was assigned.

The Student’s name is shared with Zap Room supervisor.

The date of the Zap Room that the student is assigned must be at least 24 hours in the future so parents/guardians can be notified and transportation issues can be addressed.

Parental contact can be personal or through voicemail, but teachers will document the contact.

If homework is completed anytime prior to the beginning of Zap Room, the student does not have to attend, but completing the work does not mean that a student will get full credit or partial credit for the assignment.

Once a student enters the Zap Room, he/she must stay for an entire hour.

If a student arrives late to the Zap Room, they are not allowed in.

If a student misses the Zap Room, they choose to attend RTC during lunch to complete their work for the next 3 days.

If homework is not completed in the three days in RTC or the student does not attend RTC, the student is suspended until the parent(s) come in for a meeting with the principal, teacher and student.

The bottom line is that failure is not an option, and this initiative is designed to eliminate one factor that significantly contributes to failure and becoming behind on credits.

We know that parents desire the best for their student. We also know that their cooperation and support will greatly enhance the success of this initiative. To help Their son/daughter avoid the ZAP Room, parents should check with their student each night to make sure that they have completed their work. As the assignments are completed, grades will improve.

It takes all of us working together to maximize success!

My Birthday Message

2008-10-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

Written October 3, 2008

Well, today is my birthday! I really don't feel any different. The way my back and knees have been aching, I have felt forty for the last few months. I guess there are times in life when you get introspective about where you are in life and how things have gone so far. I feel very blessed. I am where I want to be in life. This introspection also leads me to marvel at how quickly I got to 40. It seems like I am the age the my parents ought to be. A few years ago I was contemplating life and how fast it was already going. It is so true that the older you get, the faster it goes. One of our retired teachers shared this insight with me when I was a student here. Mr. Ronk explained to me the relativity of time. I am sure it all makes sense to you, but it struck me even as a high school student. He explained that every time your life doubles, the passing of time feels the same. In other words, the 4 years from 4 to 8 seem to pass at the same rate as the 8 years from 8 to 16. That is a little scary because it seems like I got to 40 so fast. That means I will get to 80 in what has seemed like a short time to get to 40. It is easy to get caught up thinking about retirement and counting down the years. I have quickly caught myself when those thoughts pop in my head. If I am ready to retire, there are a lot of other realities that will be a part of that time as well. It is possible that one or both or my parents will no longer be living. I know they could go at any time, but with age the probability increases. My kids will be out of the house. They have already gotten older so fast it is hard to remember all of the stages of their development. That is very sad to me. I never want to wish away my present. Every day is important. Please don't wish away your present looking with envy at the perceived benefits of the future. It will get here fast enough! I know! I am 40! Many of you know because you are older than me! :)

I am going to leave you with a poem that has always been one of my favorites from John Milton. It it about the passing of time - 40 and beyond!

On Time

John Milton. 1608–1674

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race,

Call on the lazy leaden-stepping hours,

Whose speed is but the heavy Plummets' pace;

And glut thyself with what thy womb devours,

Which is no more than what is false and vain,

And merely mortal dross;

So little is our loss,

So little is thy gain.

For when as each thing bad thou hast entomb'd,

And last of all, thy greedy self consum'd,

Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss

With an individual kiss;

And Joy shall overtake us as a flood,

When every thing that is sincerely good

And perfectly divine,

With Truth, and Peace, and Love shall ever shine

About the supreme Throne

Of Him, t'whose happy-making sight alone,

When once our heav'nly-guided soul shall climb,

Then all this earthly grossness quit,

Attir'd with Stars, we shall for ever sit,

Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time.

Teachers and Sleep

2008-09-29T04:18:00.000-07:00

I was just reading an article on sleep. It was short so it didn't put me to sleep. The article is reporting on a study that was done by Ball State University regarding teachers not getting enough sleep. From personal experience, I can confidently say that I think this would be true of administrators as well! According to the article, researchers at Ball State University claimed that many teachers may not be getting enough sleep at night to be fully effective in the classroom. The study reported that "some 43 percent of teachers surveyed said they slept an average of six hours or less per night, while half admitted to missing work or making errors due to a 'serious lack of sleep.'" Denise Amschler, a professor of physiology and health sciences and co-author of the study, said that teachers with sleep issues tend to fall into two categories: 1) those who are overcommitted with work and family obligations and don't get to bed until after midnight; and 2) those who go to bed at a reasonable time but can't fall asleep because of worry or stress about school. This study is under review by the Journal of School Health. I know that it seems like the older I get the more I have to do and the less time I have. I am sure we can all relate to that. Our society is so fast paced we tend to give up sleep to catch up. We have a great teaching staff at Shepherd High School, but we need to stay healthy. Take care of yourself and take a nap! Oh, but not during class!
http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2008/09/23/tm_sleep.h20.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mrss

Pressure For Change

2008-09-19T06:53:00.001-07:00

I know that it sometimes feels like we are under a lot of pressure. I was just down at the OEAA (Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability) fall conference. I know you are jealous of that great opportunity! There were more sessions than I could attend, but I know that from the ones I attended regarding AYP, Ed Yes, and the graduation/dropout rate that the pressure is going to continue and surely increase. It made me think about other industries. There is pressure in every field. Non-profits have the pressure of always trying to get enough donations to provide their programs. Publicly funded organizations have to rely on government allocations that have to be spread between competing interests. Private companies have to compete with each other for market share. Everyone has pressure. Industries have to be more competitive, more efficient, more cost effective, and less wasteful. It is true that they can just raise their price if they need more revenue, but they won't obtain more revenue if their competitor can offer the same product at a cheaper price. That is why they are all trying to be more efficient to reduce cost and maintain a solid profit margin. I guess my point is that there is pressure in any job. That pressure causes changes. Change is tough. You can continue to re-evaluate and change to be more effective, competitive and push back against that pressure, or you can let the pressure squash you. When you feel the pressure that we all face in education, remember that you are not alone. No matter what career you were in there would be pressure causing change. The issue isn't the pressure of the employment. The question is how you handle that pressure!

Creating a Sense of Community With the Maple Syrup Festival

2008-04-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, this weekend was the 50th Annual Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival. I have only been a part of it for 39 years. Of course, I was only six months old for my first one. I don’t know what others think about the festival weekend, but I really like it. I am sure that a lot of it is the nostalgia of it all. I have so many memories from when I was kid.

I remember my dad serving as the President and Vice President of the Shepherd Sugar Bush Corporation and all of the other years that he worked to support the festival. I remember my first job of community service for the syrup festival was pushing little pills in the holes that were drilled in trees to insert the hardware on which the buckets were hung. The purpose of the pills was for the health of the trees. The purpose of choosing me was because I had small fingers and could push the pill in the hole! I graduated to collecting sap and watching the evaporation process at the “sap house” when my dad was working. I also helped can the finished maple syrup and helped make the maple candy. Over the years, I have done most every job there is during the pancake and sausage meals.

All of this work by the community serves to benefit the community. There are material contributions, but for me, I just like the sense of community that the festival brings. Everyone (well many) comes together to pull off this weekend of activity as well as preparing the product for which the festival is held. This gives Shepherd a sense of identity. Many people know of Shepherd because of its maple syrup and the festival or because they know of the school. Speaking of school, the school basically gives its facilities to this community event. I don’t know when it started, but I know that school has been canceled the Friday of the big weekend for as long as I can remember so all of the set up can be done. The high school, middle school, and main elementary host activities throughout the weekend.

As the current Shepherd High School principal, I can appreciate the excitement of the students. I always got excited, too. To be truthful, I may get more excited now. I want to experience all that the festival has to offer and to do it all. I want my kids to do all of the same things that I did as a child. This year was no exception. I don’t think my kids fully understand the significance to me, but I want to help them understand the tradition of the festival and giving back to the community. I think this was one of my best years.

I try to do as much as the festival has to offer. This year I was able to do the following:

Ø Take my kids to the carnival rides (I remember when there were no carnival rides.)

Ø See the antique tractor display

Ø Watch some of the farm stock tractor pull

Ø Visit the Train Depot Museum

Ø Visit the Sugar Bush

Ø Visit the Little Red School House Museum

Ø Watch the Parade of Emergency Vehicles

Ø Work the pancake and sausage meals and then partake of the same

Ø Visit the indoor crafts

Ø Visit the outdoor crafts

Ø Ride the Navy flight simulator

Ø Watch the Chainsaw Carver Show

Ø Watch a little of the Saturday tractor pull

Ø Watch Cow Patty Bingo

Ø Watch the special 50th Anniversary fire works

Ø Watch the parade

Ø And – I had to buy some maple candy and maple syrup!

Of course, one of the highlights is just being able to spend time with family and see old friends in town. I hope that all who read this can appreciate the benefits of being part of a small town community!

Questions & Answers

2008-03-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

This post is designated for individuals to ask questions that may come up regarding SHS issues or education issues. This post allows for viewer comments. If you have a question, please click the "comments" button and ask away. I don't guarantee to have all of the answers, but I will do my best. Please don't use the blog for specific, personal issues. A phone call or email is a better format for that.

Here is a good starter question.

Q: "If the priority for the new bond proposal was the main elementary, why are the sports complex and Winn elementary starting first?"

A: The main reason that the design and construction schedule has Winn and the sports complex first is actually because the main elementary and main campus improvements are the biggest. The design phase is so much more involved that it simply takes longer to prepare. The Winn project and the sports complex projects are relatively small. The design time is much less so these projects can be started before the design phase of the main campus is complete. If the project schedule put the Winn and Sports complex after the main campus, the overall completion of the entire bond project would be even longer. The architectural and construction management firms are trying to maximize efficiency to get the overall project done as quickly as possible.

Knowing Your Principal

2008-03-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at blogging. This is a way for me to share information about being the principal at Shepherd High School.

It is great to be back working in my home town. I have lived in Shepherd all of my live. I literally have never lived outside the village limits. One of my claims to fame is that I lived at home until I was 27. Before you laugh, just consider how much money I was saving. I didn't really have a good reason to leave! I finally moved out when I was married. Even then, I lived in town.

I graduated from SHS in 1987, and I stayed at home while I was attending Alma College. I was able to get done in four years with a double major in history and political science and my teaching certificate. I graduated from Alma in April of 1991. That fall I was hired by Mt. Pleasant Public Schools to teach in the Isabella County Jail. I taught GED prep and some basic skills to help inmates earn a diploma. I also taught a couple of other adult education classes. I only did this for about a semester until I was offered a position as a grant administrator. This was a very big step for me because I had a chance to start doing some administrative work.

I knew that I needed to work in a regular K-12 position if I ever wanted to pursue administration in a K-12 building. After a total of four years in Mt. Pleasant, I applied for a position in Shepherd at Odyssey. I was hired and worked at Odyssey for a year (1995-1996). I then took a position in the high school. I finished my administrative master's degree in 1998 and then continued to work at SHS until July of 2002.

In July of 2002, I was hired by Farwell Area Schools as a high school assistant principal. This was a very good experience. I was glad that Farwell took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to obtain administrative experience. After two years, I decided to try for another position. This time I applied for a position with Midland Public Schools. I was hired to begin the 2004-2005 school year. This provided me with more great experience. I was the Level I Assistant Principal at Northeast Middle School. I went from a small rural school to a large city school and from high school to middle school. I went from a school with limited resources to a school with expanded resources. I also went from a school with seven administrators to a school with many more than that. I really liked working in Midland, but I was still living in Shepherd. Midland, as nice as it was, was not "home." In 2006, I applied for the head high school principal position. My past experience really helped to make a case that I should be hired for this position. When it was all said I done, I was hired and began at SHS in December of 2006. I have been at SHS since then.

One thing that I didn't mention is that when I first moved from Mt. Pleasant to Shepherd, I met this new teacher. This new teacher and I got to know each other over the course of a few months (September to December) and by December 24th we were engaged. Kristi (Sneary) and I were married the following July - July 6th, 1996. As you can figure, we worked as colleagues until I left in 2002. When I returned in 2006, she had taken a position as the district media specialist.

We had a son, Alex, in 1998 and a daughter, Adri, in 2000. Now we all go to the same place every day. This is very cool. I am glad to be back in Shepherd where my wife works and my kids go to school.

This introduction is a little long, but it is an overview of how I came to be the principal at Shepherd High School.