Celtic Courier: Week of Jan. 26-30, 2015

"Vision to See, Faith to Believe, Courage to Do"

Dear Staff,

We hope you are having a good weekend with your families.  What an exciting weekend for Columbus! Whether it was the National Championship celebration yesterday or the NHL All-Star Weekend, Columbus was at the center stage! We hope you had fun whether it was at home with your family or enjoying some of the big stage events.

This week we say goodbye to Terri Hazucha, retiring effective Jan. 30.  Terri has been our assistant trainer since Jerome opened, and we will miss her.  Terri has had a positive effect on so many Jerome students and families, and we are better people for having known Terri. Samantha Johnson will serve as her replacement until the end of this year.  We welcome back Samantha who was with us previously as a intern trainer.

We also welcome back School Nurse Alicia Plymale from maternity leave!

So proud of our very own Pat Murphy, on the ice at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition!  Great seeing you on TV, Murph! Thanks for representing us so well!

Jan. 30 will be Terri Hazucha's last day at Jerome.  Terri has been at Jerome since Day 1 and we wish her well in her retirement.  Please join us in wishing Terri a fond farewell.  We will miss you, Terri!

This weekend our Band, Choir and Orchestra students competed in OMEA solo and ensemble contest in Reynoldsburg.  Much thanks to Micah, Brian, Jeanne and Michelle for providing this opportunity to our students.  Our students are amazing!

Congrats to Boys BB who won on Friday and Saturday to up their record to 14-0!  They are rated 5th in the State!  Congrats to Jamie Pearson and his entire coaching staff!  Go Celtics!

This Week--

I had a very good initial discussion with my PAC regarding cheating at Jerome and provided them afterwards with the same survey on cheating that we provided you on Friday.  This is an important topic for all of us, and at some point, I will also engage our PTO and parents.  When we see results from students and staff, we will continue to collaborate with you on these results and possible steps we can take to discourage cheating at Jerome.

As we move forward in getting better every day, continue to explore research on effective instruction.

Monday:  TI Retreat

Tuesday: Parent Breakfast in Guidance 7 AM; Girls BB Pink-out for Breast Cancer Awareness

Wednesday: Working Wednesday; Please continue to come together as a same-subject team on the 4 questions, especially on the classroom interventions that your entire team is enacting to focus on learning by providing students who do not learn it the first time extra time and support.  What is the quality of the work that we are asking students to do?

Friday: All Club and Organization photos taken throughout the school day.  Please be sure and excuse students who have group photos as this is their opportunity to be in the Yearbook.

Also, Mock Trial competes at the Franklin County Courthouse.  Thanks Erin Bentley for providing this opportunity to our students!

Looking ahead--

Feb. 3: Pep Rally adjusted bell schedule for Winter Sports pep rally. Also Parent-Teacher Conferences 3 - 6 :30 PM.  Please take time now to invite the parents of any student who earned a D or F for first semester or has one presently.

Feb. 4: Working Wednesday; Scheduling starts; College Signing Day

Feb. 5: Department Chair Meeting; Also Curriculum Night for Incoming 8th graders.  All departments should have a representative and a display in the cafeteria.  If you are presenting, Kay has provided the presentation to you for updating.

Feb. 7: Sweetheart Dance

Feb. 10: State of the Schools Program 7 PM at Rec Center

Feb. 11: Staff meeting

Feb. 16: No School

Feb. 18: Working Wednesday; Freshmen and Sophomore Testing Assembly second period. Staff does not need to attend.  Please use this time for collaboration.

Have a wonderful week on our Celtic Energy Bus where Growth Mindsets prevail!

Cathy

Celtic Courier: Week of Jan. 20 - 23

"Vision to See, Faith to Believe, Courage to Do"

Dear Staff,

What a great week to be a Buckeye and a Celtic!  The week started with the Buckeyes winning the undisputed National Championship and ended with a great weekend of Celtic athletic success, including our Boys BB Team upsetting Westerville South, the #2 rated team in the State!  Wow!

Jeff's brother and his wife Kim with Jeff and I outside of AT&T Stadium doing what Buckeyes do!

Jeff and I at our seats at the National Championship.

The Buckeyes enter the field to fireworks and wild cheering from the mostly Buckeye crowd.

A dream come true-- a National Championship and another special life memory.


Friday night was a sell-out, standing room-only basketball crowd-- the first in school history!  We faced the #2 team in the State with an electric atmosphere and won 72-60!  Congrats to Jamie Pearson and his entire coaching staff and team who has worked so hard to transform our basketball program.  It was also great to see so many staff members there cheering alongside our parents and students!

An electric atmosphere-- a thrilling upset!

Friday our football team also met our new Head Football Coach Bob Gecewich for the first time.  Coach Gecewich is eager to get started!

This Week--

Monday: No School for students and staff.  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day community celebration at 11 AM at Dublin Coffman.  Senior Yannick Gbadouwey will represent Jerome as a student guest speaker at this wonderful event.  I Have a Dream-- one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in the history of our nation.

Tuesday: Girls BB vs. Coffman at home. 7:30 PM.

Wednesday: Working Wednesday.  Please be sure and review your D and F data, both by student and by same-subject team.  Since we are focusing on Question #3, how are we intervening with students who earned a D or F on their exam as a same-subject team?  Questions to consider-- What is the number of D's and F's on exam and what is the reason? Do some teachers on the team have more D's and F's than others?  What could be possible reasons? What is the district data on D's and F's on those common exams or for the parts that are common?  What help and support does your same-subject team need to move forward?

Thursday: Literacy Team meeting 7:20 AM in the media center.

Friday: PTO Breakfast in the lounge.  PAC meeting 5th period.

Upcoming dates:

Jan. 26: TI Retreat

Jan. 27: Parent Breakfast

Jan. 28: Working Wednesday

Feb. 3: Pep Rally bell schedule for Winter pep rally; PT Conferences 3-6:30 PM

Feb. 4: College Signing Day 3 PM

Feb. 5: Dept. Chair Meeting; Also Curriculum Night for upcoming 8th graders 7 PM

Feb. 7: Sweetheart Dance 8 - 11 PM

Feb. 10: State of the Schools, 7 PM Rec Center

Feb. 11: Interims. Staff Meeting

Feb. 16: President's Day; No School

Feb. 18: Testing assembly for all 9th graders and 10th graders -- end of Homeroom and 2nd period.  Teachers do not need to attend.  Please feel free to use this time for collaboration.

Feb. 23-25: PARCC Testing for all freshmen; adjusted bell schedule.  No 2-hr delay.

March 2-6: OGT and PARCC testing; 2-hr delay each day.

March 9: PARCC testing for juniors, US Gov

March 10: PARCC testing for sophomores, US History

Have a terrific long weekend with your families and great week ahead in the Celtic family!

"We can never grow weary of doing good, for we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

A growth mindset never gives up.

Celtic Courier: Week of Jan. 12 - Jan. 16, 2015

"Vision to See, Faith to Believe, Courage to Do"

Dear Staff,

You are receiving next week's Celtic Courier early as I will be out-of-the state this weekend through Tuesday.  And yes--- Go Bucks!

We know this has been a stressful week for you with trying to end First Semester with two snow days, exams to make-up and all of the other responsibilities you have.  Please just do your best with grades if you still have students with missing exams, etc.  You can always do a grade correction next week with George.  Please limit these as much as possible as each one requires George to print a new report card, but certainly we understand some may have to be done given the circumstances.

We had a Principals' Meeting on Tuesday and received some updated PARCC information.  Students in this year's PARCC assessment courses will not take the second semester final exams in those PARCC courses.  The district is cognizant of the amount of testing these students are doing both in Feb-March and again in April/May and feel this is a positive student-centered decision.  It is wonderful to be in a district and in a building that supports decisions that are best for students.

We also don't say enough how much we appreciate all that you do above and beyond for our students.  I thought this was a great graphic from Twitter that you would enjoy.  Please know how much we really do appreciate working with you every day, and having you lead and learn with our students and with each other.

Monday: Teacher Work Day.  No School for Students.  This time is set aside to work on ending first semester and grades.  Some of you have asked about working in your same-subject teams or colleagues from other buildings.  It certainly can be your choice.  Please let an admin know which building in which you are meeting.

National Championship Game:  Go Bucks!  Beat the Ducks!!!

Tuesday: Grades needs to be posted by 8 AM on Tuesday.  A district common date and time for all High School teachers.  Please do not be late.  If you have a question about how to do your grades or a specific student, please see George or an administrator, whichever is appropriate.

Wednesday: Staff Meeting at 7:15 AM.  Coffee will be provided. Presentation by Special Ed Department. If you have items for the agenda, please let me know.

Also on Wednesday, PARCC Parent Information Meeting, 7 PM in CPA for all 9th grade parents.  Much thanks to all of the teacher-leaders who are presenting this important information.

Thursday: OGT Parent Information Night, 7 PM in the CPA.  Again, much thanks to the teacher-leaders presenting important information.

Friday: Report Cards distributed in Homeroom.  Also on Friday at our Home Boys BB game vs Westerville South, a big OCC game, we will introduce our new Head Football Coach, Bob Gecewich.  Bob comes to us from Maria Stein Marion Local in northern Ohio.  He, his wife, Ashlee and their 3 children will be moving to the Columbus/Dublin area.

Looking ahead:

Saturday, Jan. 17: Special Education is hosting their Winter Formal Dance with students from all three high schools from 6-8 PM.  A wonderful event! Thanks to the entire special ed department and especially Christine Slater-Jones for organizing this special event.

Jan. 19: No School for Students or Staff.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan. 21: Working Wednesday

Jan. 23: PTO Breakfast; Also PAC Meeting 5th period

Jan. 26: TI Retreat

Jan. 28: Working Wednesday

Feb. 3: Pep Rally.  Yes, this is a Tuesday and we will have an adjusted bell schedule.

Also, PT Conference day 3- 6:30 PM

Feb. 4: College Signing Day 3 PM

Feb. 5: 8th Grade Curriculum Night

Have a terrific weekend and next week! Thanks again for all of your hard work!

Cathy

Celtic Courier: Week of Jan. 5- Jan. 9 2015

"Vision to See, Faith to Believe, Courage to Do"

Dear Staff,

Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2015 on the Celtic Energy Bus!  We hope you have had a terrific holiday and winter break with your families!  We hope you experienced lasting family memories and enjoyed rest, relaxation and fun!  Happy Birthday today to Andy Wilkinson!

Celtic sports continued throughout break and our Winter sports teams are doing well!  Much thanks to our of our staff members who are coaches who spent a lot of break providing wonderful athletic opportunities for our students, including coaches Matt Williams, Pat Murphy, Jamie Pearson, Craig Zesiger and Catherine Smith.

What a great break to be a Buckeye!  Wow! Kicking off 2015 beating Alabama the #1 team in the country deep in SEC country.  We were fortunate to travel to New Orleans with many Buckeyes and met my best friend from Marietta, Moe and his wife, for the bowl trip. Scioto has declared Monday Ohio State Apparel Day to "honor" Bob Scott since he made the mistake of wearing his 'Bama clothes every day the week before break.  :) And yes, we have been texting! I even ran into some of Tommy Scott's Bama friends and a frat brother after the game.  Small world.

We also ran into many Jerome students and their families and don't be surprised if students don't bring you prearranged absence forms for the National Championship game in Dallas.  It will help as it is a teacher workday on Jan. 12 but students who go will be traveling back on Jan. 13.

We were so proud to see Brian Stevens halftime show in the Superdome Sugar Bowl and the crowd was wowed by the formations he designed for the Space-themed show.

TBDBITL performs formations designed by Jerome teacher Brian Stevens.

OSU fans stay for the post-game trophy presentation!

Jerome grad Lexie Toth was one of the any Jerome students and former students who followed the Bucks to the Big Easy!

This Week:

This is the last week of the quarter and we know we have more exams than normal to be made-up due to the flu hitting during exam week.  Andy, Mike and Forrest have worked out a make-up schedule in the media center Monday-Wednesday for students who have missing exams.  Please contact them with any questions you have.  Obviously these students will be missing class time to take exams so please do what you can to help these students who are already behind and stressed at the end of the semester.

Please also note that exam grades should be posted by Wednesday so that parents and students have an opportunity to see their grades prior to the end of the semester.  Obviously this may not include students who may be still taking exams on Wed.  All staff are required to hand back exams this week and go over exams.  Please provide students questions and answers and exam data during this class activity so that our semester exams which are summative can also be used formatively in year-long classes. Same-subject teams should provide this exam student and teacher feedback consistently as a team.

Wednesday: Working Wednesday.  Since we have not had one in a while please help remind our students.  Focus: Exam data through PLC work. Please remember that we are focusing on Question #3 this year especially.  What will we do for students who did not learn what we assessed on the exam? Please answer this question collaboratively in your same-subject teams.

Thursday: Department chair meeting 7:15 AM in media center.  Please send items for the agenda.

Friday: End of first semester. TOK day at Scioto for all IB Diploma students.  Feel free to wear your Buckeye jerseys, T-Shirts and Sweatshirts since students are not here on Monday, game day!

Looking ahead:

Jan. 12: Teacher Workday: End of Semester.  No School for students. Workdays are for teachers to work on grading and grade submission.  No administrative or district meetings are scheduled. 7:15 - 2:50 PM.  Regular school-day hours for teachers.

National Championship Game: The Bucks vs. the Ducks!

Jan. 13:  All grades must be submitted by 8 AM.  This is a district-set date and time for all high school staff.  No exceptions.  Please do not be late.

Jan. 14: Staff Meeting 7:15 AM. Parent PARCC Meeting 7 PM for parents of all freshmen.  Chairs-- please be sure you have sent us the name of the teachers who will be presenting from your English, Math,  Social Studies and Science Departments. We mailed letters to parents of all freshmen before break informing them of this meeting.  Please help out by also posting this on Progress Book etc if you have a PARCC course.

Jan. 15: OGT Parent Meeting 7 PM. Will also include PARCC US History.  For parents of sophomores.  We will send this letter via enews tomorrow inviting all sophomore parents. Chairs -- please be sure you have sent us the names of the teachers who will be presenting from your English, Math, Social Studies and Science Departments.

Jan. 16: Grade cards distributed in HR.

Jan. 19: No School. MLK Jr. Day.

Jan. 21: Working Wednesday

Have a terrific week back!  We are so looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Cathy