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

Celtic Courier: Week of Dec. 15 - Dec. 19

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

Dear Staff,

We hope you have had a wonderful weekend with your families, a blend of the holiday season and preparing for exam week.

This week:

Monday: If you have seniors who can now exempt their exam due to work turned in on Monday and have sent your list to Colleen, please be sure and update the list so that seniors who can leave.  The same should go for any junior or senior who now turns in work that you determine raises their grade.  Be sure and update the list with Colleen who now no longer has a D or F in your class.

If you have not yet turned in your exam, please be sure and turn it in to Jacobsen no later than noon on Monday.  Be sure and list all team members on common exams.

Please be sure all students are very clear on their exam week.  Freshmen and sophomores are here in its entirety.  Juniors and seniors must have no D or F cumulatively for the first semester.  All students who do not have an exam report to the cafeteria and then we will divide them by subject area to receive extra help and support.

Thanks for your support as we continue our pyramid of interventions and focus on learning during exam week. If you have any questions at all about exam week or specific students, please let us know.  No lunch is served Tuesday - Friday and buses transport after the exam period at 12:55.

Please also make sure your same-subject team is utilizing the class period for intervention prior to exams.  This should be a structured review based on student performance data rather than just a general study center time.

Tuesday: Periods 1 and 2 Exam; Make-up time 1 PM

Wednesday: Periods 3 and 4 Exams, Make-up time 1 PM

Thursday: Periods 5 and 6 Exams, Make-up time 1 PM

Friday: Period 7 Exam, Make-up time 10:30 AM.  Holiday lunch for all staff members 11:30 AM. Baked potato bar. Please plan to attend as we come together prior to the holiday break.

Holiday Break: Dec. 22- Jan. 2.  School Resumes Jan. 5.  All Exams must be graded and the exam grades posted on or prior to Jan. 7.  All teachers are required to go over the exams with the students prior to the end of first semester, Jan. 9.

No School Jan. 12 for students.  Teacher Work Day.
No School Jan. 19:  Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Enjoy these wonderful holiday photos from our Ugly Holiday Sweater Day on Friday:

Have a wonderful last week before Winter Break! We are almost there . . . and the Energy Bus is in full swing!

Cathy

Celtic Courier:Week of Dec. 8- Dec. 12

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

Dear Staff,

We hope you had a wonderful weekend!  What a great weekend to be a Celtic and a Buckeye!  The Hockey team and Boys Basketball team both enjoyed big wins and the Buckeyes trounced Wisconsin!

Jeff and I made the trip to Indy along with many good Buckeyes.  It's always great to be on the road and hear O-H-I-O all around the stadium.

Buckeyes celebrate Big 10 Trophy presentation.

We have 2 weeks until break and only one week to ensure our students are ready for exams.  Please remember that the students' cumulative grades as of this Friday, Dec. 12 are important as they determine privileges and exam exemptions in the following cases.

1. Only seniors in a semester course with an 80% or higher cumulatively for first semester as of this Friday may exempt an exam.  No one can exempt an exam in a full-year course.

2. If a junior or a senior has a D or F as of Friday as a cumulative first semester grade loses the opportunity to come and go during exam week.  You must inform the student as well as turn in the name to Colleen Bender. That is how we can track attendance and who has to be here.

No freshmen or sophomores can come and go during exam week.  Juniors and seniors with all A's. B's and C's cumulative as of this Friday can come and go during exam week. Students with a 7th period study hall or other non-credit bearing course do not need to come to school on Friday of exam week.  As always, we will have teachers available to help students who are required to come to school exam week.

Please review this with your students all this week.  It is important that students know where they stand going into exam week.  If you have questions, please let us know.

Tuesday-- Our Girls Golf team will be recognized by the Franklin County Commissioners and also the Ohio Senate for their 4th straight State Championship.

Boys BB kick off their home opener vs Hilliard Bradley.

Wednesday:  Staff Meeting 7:15 AM.  Presentation by Math Department.  We will also present our OGT data and SMART goal for this year's OGT.  We also hope to give you an update on PARCC.

Also we have 2 Holiday Showcase concerts this week featuring Music-in-the Round with performers from Band, Choir and Orchestra.  Want to get in the Holiday spirit?  Come on Wednesday or Thursday at 7 PM.  It is a fantastic concert!  Much thanks to Michelle, Jeanne, Brian and Micah for all of their hard work!

Friday: Ugly Holiday Sweater Day!  What will Angie Saiter sport this year!  Who will rival her creativity?  Be sure and bring out all of those favorite holiday shirts, pants, socks, earrings, etc. Also PTO Staff Luncheon.  Also PAC meeting 5th period.

Also, all exams must be turned in to Carol Jacobsen by the end of the day on Friday.  All same-subject team members should be listed on the common exam.

Looking ahead:

Exams Dec. 16 - 19.  If you have questions about the exam schedule, please see Mike Aurin.

All re-scheduling of exams must go through an administrator.  We are requiring all students leaving early to take their exams prior to leaving. If a student asks you to re-schedule, please direct them to an administrator first.

Dec. 19: Holiday Staff Luncheon after period 7 exam.

Much thanks to Gretchen George and the Interior Design students for their beautiful Gingerbread Houses being displayed in the main office.  They studied housing styles throughout history and then designed their own home.

Have a terrific week as we continue our great Energy Bus ride!

Cathy

Celtic Courier: Dec. 1-5

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

Dear Staff,

We hope you have had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break with your families! We had a great Thanksgiving, eating too much and taking a hike in the woods of Jeff's brother's home in Galena, finding turkey feathers and tracks of the wings ruffling in the leaves.  The day ended with about 8 wild turkeys walking up the hill of the woods in their backyard and then one-by-one running to get lift and then flying up in their backyard trees close to their home.  Just an amazing sight of these portly yet graceful toms and hens.

On Thanksgiving Day our Marching Band  represented us well in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade and also visited sites in Philly and New York. 

The weekend ended with a great OSU victory over TTUN (That Team Up North) yet bittersweet with the loss of another starting quarterback.  Hard to believe.  We had over 20 friends who flew in from all over the US meet on campus as the old Buckeyes reminisced about this greatest college rivalry, back to the days when only one Big Ten team went to a bowl each year-- the Rose Bowl, and the winner of the OSU-Michigan game determined who would go to the Rose Bowl and who would stay home with the rest of the Big Ten teams.  Bitterly contested games.

The Sankey family tradition lives, going onto the field after a Buckeye victory over *ichigan! Even the new Buckeye baby enjoyed it! :)

The video is inside the new team tunnel leaving the field as we all sang our favorite Buckeye song. :)


This week we start winter sports and getting ready for exams Dec. 16-19 (Tuesday - Friday).  This year we have a Friday exam.  For lunch on Dec. 19 the admin team is providing a staff holiday luncheon before Winter Break.

PD recommendations for this week:  Please try to take time to read these two remarkable and short articles: What kind of mark are you leaving? and the Importance of doing work that matters.  These two articles do an excellence job of highlighting the importance of the work we do, as well as the work that we are choosing for our students to complete.  Do our students believe the work we are assigning them is significant, or is it just a worksheet to complete? Have we asked them? Can we make sure that the work that we assign them does matter?

This Week:

Monday: Central office sent us a draft copy of a PARCC calendar for input over break and we will meet as an admin team to review it.  As we get more info we will share it with you.

Tuesday: Adjusted bell schedule for 20-minute extended homeroom.  We will complete one of our required safety drills in homeroom, watching a video on safety.  You will receive more information from Andy.

Wednesday: Working Wednesday.  Thank you for your continued input on Working Wednesdays.  Please use this time to continue to align as a building same-subject team on preparing students for exams and creating a quality common assessment.

Please remember that your building same-subject team should employ PLC practices to also come up with a same-subject team approach to these important 3 aspects of the exam.

1. Common exam preparation strategies and materials.  These should not vary by individual teachers on a team as it will affect your exam data.  Be sure your team is very tight on exam preparation so that it is fair for ALL students in your subject, not just the students in your room.

2. The exam itself.  Please make sure the exam is common as well as anything else that may affect the exam testing environment, materials etc.  For example, all teachers on your team should use the exam class period prior to the exam time itself for targeted preparation based on your formative data on the learning targets. In addition, decide as a team what materials, such as notecards with formulas, calculators, visual aides, journals, etc that all students in your subject should be able to use on the exam.  This should also not vary on your team.

3. Followup to the exam.  Again, start planning how your team will follow-up with students after the exam as a team.  The entire team should be very tight on going over the exam with students, providing extra time and support for students who do not perform well, data analysis of questions to decide the validity and reliability of the exam etc.  In full-year courses, the exam should become formative assessment to inform you of the quality of your instruction and drive instruction second semester.

Please incorporate these talking points into your same-subject team time.

Thursday: Department Chair Meeting 7:15 in media center.  Please let me know how items you have for the agenda.

Friday: YPA Breakfast.  YPA students will miss the first two periods of school.

Have a terrific week!  We appreciate all that you do.  Dublin Jerome: A school where every student counts or nobody counts.

Cathy

Celtic Courier: Happy Thanksgiving/Beat Michigan Week

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

Dear Staff,

We hope you have had a great weekend with your families as the weather gives us a little break from all of the unseasonably cold weather we have had.

Last week we enjoyed welcoming the Celebrate America Tour featuring former OSU Assistant coach Bill Myles and former OSU and NFL player Roy Hall Jr.

As you know, this week is a shortened week with students and staff in school Monday and Tuesday and then enjoying a well-deserved Thanksgiving Break with your families.  We hope you enjoy the closeness and joy of spending time with your families, whether you stay close or travel. We all have so much for which to be thankful.

I am so thankful to have each of you in the Jerome family and for all of your hard work and dedication to our students.  You genuinely care about our students as people first and it shows in the many emails, phone calls, counselor meetings, SST and IEP meetings we have every week.

I also wanted to share that for Jeff and me this Thanksgiving will be very special.  On Thursday night our daughter Jennifer and her husband Ryan brought us over a very large box.  As we opened it, we found another box, and yes, another box.  Buried deep in a small box and lots of tissue paper was ultrasound images of our very first grandchild and we have been walking on air ever since.  Just ask me to see it-- I have it on my phone and would be happy to share it!

I think back on our lives and how blessed we have been and so will say a special prayer of thanks for one of life's greatest blessings.  At a very dark time in our lives we were so afraid that we would never get to experience the joys of children and grandchildren and so every day of Jennifer's childhood and even still today we relish her life.  And now, we could not be more excited for this new heartbeat in our lives.  Today Jennifer and I will enjoy shopping for her and the new baby!! She is due May 29-- graduation weekend!

Have a terrific Thanksgiving if we do not get the opportunity to wish it to each of you in person. Travel safe and enjoy the love in your families.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  And this is also Beat M*ch*g*n Week, the greatest rivalry in College Sports. Enjoy wearing your favorite College Jersey or shirt on Tuesday! Go Bucks!  Beat the Blue!

Have a great week!
Cathy

Bill Myles shared memories of growing up in segregation to working with great coaches such as Woody Hayes at OSU.

Christine Slater-Jones enjoys winning the free OSU football tickets provided by Roy Hall, Jr.  Christine was going to take her brother, a Buckeye fan, who has spent the last 20 years in the Air Force.

Roy Hall, Jr. gave an inspirational message of devoting your life to helping others.  Roy has established his Driven
foundation to just that, helping those less fortunate.  He also reminded us all that "excuses are the crutches of life."

Celtic Courier: Week of Nov. 17- Nov. 21

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

Dear Staff,

Brrrrrrrrrrrr. Cold. Wind chill.  Snow accumulation possible.  It is hard to believe that it is mid-November and not mid-December with this weather forecast.  We hope you have had a great weekend with your families and that you have fun family times keeping you warm.

What a wonderful week we had last week!

Jerome Staff, CAP Mentors, and community members gather in the gym before Challenge Day.  Because of all of you, freshmen now know how we are all more alike than different.  Freshmen who needed extra help and support were referred for counseling.

We also celebrated Veteran's Day!  Here Jerome teacher and Naval veteran Steve Dickman poses with Dave Weinz, a regular Jerome sub.  Dave, who is battling bladder cancer, is one of our favorite Jerome family members.  Dave is a Marine Cops veteran, a retired Colonel, who starting serving during the Vietnam War and retired for good in 2002.  Semper Fi!

As you know, Monday is a PD Day.  Friday you received an email with the final district locations or the 9:30 - noon time slot and also a copy of the district survey for this time slot.  Only one member from your team needs to complete the survey.  One last look at the schedule for the day--

Workday: 7:15 - 2:50 PM

Schedule:

7:15 AM - 8 AM: Meet at home building with building same-subject team and make sure everyone has a shared understanding of the work of the day.

8- 9 AM: Whole-staff meeting in cafeteria.  Please sit in same-subject teams. We will review the district FIP survey and provide practical PD on learning targets, assessment and differentiation.

9:30 - Noon: Meet in your district-assigned location for PLC and common assessment work.

Noon- 1 PM: Lunch on your own.

1 PM - 2:30 PM: Report back to your home building for "Working on the Work" in your same-subject teams.  Please remember this is PD time and not for departmental meeting (unless focusing on PD), individual teacher work or making copies.

2:30- 2:50 PM: Meet as a whole-staff in the cafeteria.  Whole-staff sharing of ideas and work from day.

If you have questions, please let an administrator know.

Wednesday: Interims due.  Please make sure all student work is graded and up-to-date.  Gold card names are due on Thursday and Friday to Debbie Lindeman.  No names should be submitted after that as it is important we give the feedback to students as timely as possible.  Counselors meet with each Gold Card student and privileges are withheld based on Gold Cards.

Also Working Wednesday for collaborative PLC work.  A good time to continue Monday's PD work.

First Student Council Town Hall meeting after school on Wednesday.  Much thanks to Lacey and Kelly for their leadership with Student Council.

Thursday: Celebrate America Tour in the CPA from 7 AM - 7:45 AM featuring former OSU Coach Bill Myles and player Roy Hall, both motivational speakers.  This event is open to students, parents and staff courtesy of Jerome parent Brett Bohl.  Feel free to stop in.

Seussical the Musical starts Thursday at 7 PM, a fantastic and fun family event.

Friday: PTO-sponsored staff breakfast. Also PAC meeting 5th period.

Buckeye-a-thon at Scioto High School for students of all 3 high schools from 6 -11 PM to support Cancer research.  You will be hearing about fundraisers during the week for this worthy cause.  All 3 high schools are holding fundraisers at lunches or homerooms and coming together Friday night to raise money.

Also Seussical the Musical, 7 PM.

Saturday: Seussical the Musical, 2 PM and 7 PM.

Looking ahead:

No School Nov. 26-28.  Thanksgiving Break.

Dec. 3: Working Wednesday

Dec. 4: Department Chair Meeting 7:15 AM in media center


Have a great week!
Cathy

Brad Richardson greeted a group from Westfall Schools last week to DBA.  If you have any time during the day, drop by DBA and see this fantastic experiential, innovative learning program.  DBA is also learning how to do embroidery in addition to silk-screen.  Drop by and see this business in action.