Veterans Day Program

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.