** ALSO AVAILABLE ON INFINITE CAMPUS **

STAFF NEWS AND NOTES

nuts & bolts

25 EDITION 25, ISSUE 10 End of the 1st Quarter Edition Wed. Feb. 6 Thurs. Feb. 7 Wed. Feb. 13 Fri. Feb. 15 Feb. 18 Feb. 22

2012 November 9, 2012

KUDOS - In the follow up kudo department, to everyone associated with last weekends productions of Alien Equation and Oh, What a Tangled Web. Total attendance was over 400 people for the three performances making it a very successful event for our students and our school. Thanks in particular to Dianne Hobden, Tracy Henry and Judi Stott for their efforts in preparing the students for and directing these performances and to everyone else who played a role in any way. These drama performances are a great opportunity for our kids who have an interest in theater and they serve as an excellent community event that highlights the opportunities that we provide for our students. Thanks to all for the great job! - To Tracey Maynard who gave up personal time to provide an overview of the REACH program to our Building Council this past Monday. Traceys overview was particularly helpful for our parent members who do not have the day to day knowledge and involvement with the kids and REACH. Thanks, Tracey, for your willingness to share one of our model programs with our Building Council! - To everyone who participated in the Dip Fest held on Tuesday. This was certainly our most successful food fest in terms of the number of entrants with 14! And all 14 dips were very different. It was certainly hard to choose. Particular congrats go to Stacey Angell for her break the mold with sweetness dip which garnered 1st place honors. 2nd place went to Erica McCarthy and her Buffalo Chicken dip which was selected by many. And lastly 3rd place honors went to Harry & David who teamed up with the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Company to create a perfect blend of spice, flavor and smoothness. The recipes for the top three dips will be published in Nuts & Bolts as they are made available. If anyone is interested in a recipe of another dip please check with Lisa in the Main Office; she has the key linking creators of dips with particular letter assignments. Great job by all; it certainly changed the flavor of the Workshop Day! - To our music department colleagues Erin Slater, Desiree Burke, Omar Williams, Dan Chouiniere and Mr. V. for their efforts in preparing for and participating in last nights District Music/Faculty Recital. This has, become an annual event which showcases the considerable skills of the Districts music faculty. If you have never attended it and you really want to hear good music you should plan on doing so in the future as you will have a very enjoyable evening hearing and seeing the impressive skills that these colleagues of ours possess. It is also important to note that there was a special guest appearance by John Gara and Bob Bedell, who works to keep their musical skills well hidden! Thanks to everyone for your efforts for last evenings program and making it such a successful night! PM BUS SUPERVISION: ZONE #1 ZONE #2 ZONE #3 ZONE #4 CAF E. Mailloux S. Majewski E. Mastaitis K. Matthews T. Maynard People are reminded to be on duty on a daily basis to make sure that supervision is provided.
ALL STAFF MEMBERS ARE REMINDED THAT THE BUS SUPERVISION IS AN ASSIGNED DUTY AND IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR ALL STAFF MEMBERS TO BE WHERE ASSIGNED DUTY; IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ARRANGE FOR REPLACEMENT PERHAPS BY SWAPPING WITH A COLLEAGUE.

7:00 pm The Show Ski Club Week #5 7:45 am First Semester Students of the Month Reception 7:00 pm PTA/PAC Ski Club Week #6 Quiz Bowl No School Mid-Winter Vacation Thrifty Gracious Ambitious Courageous Resourceful Joyful Kind Patient Tolerant Honest Thankful Polite Considerate Generous Cheerful Loyal Sympathetic Patriotic Trustworthy Fair Cooperative

CHARACTER TRAIT ASSIGNMENT Nov. 13 16 Science Nov. 26 30 Math Dec. 3 7 Art/Tech/H&C Dec. 10 14 Foreign Language Jan. 7 11 PE/Health/Music Jan. 14 18 English Jan. 28 Feb. 1 Social Studies Feb. 4 8 Science Feb. 11 15 Math Feb. 25 Mar. 1 Art/Tech/H&C Mar. 4 8 Foreign Language Mar. 11 15 PE/Health/Music Mar. 18 22 English Mar. 25 28 Social Studies Apr. 8 12 Science Apr. 15 -19 Math Apr. 22 26 Art/Tech/H&C Apr. 29 May 3 Foreign Language May 6 10 PE/Health/Music May 13 17 English May 20 24 Social Studies

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Mon. Nov. 12 No School Veterans Day Tues. Nov. 13 Last Day of the 1st Quarter 2:30 pm Guidance Department Meeting Wed. Nov. 14 2:30 pm PST Thurs. Nov. 15 7:45 am Science Steering Committee Meeting 1:30 pm Administrative/Council Fri. Nov. 16 No Special Events Scheduled Sat. Nov. 17 8:00-10:00 am Saturday Support 7:00 am 5:30 pm Musical Auditions ARTIST IN RESIDENCE SCHEDULE Frank Giorgini began working with our Studio Art students to construct a ceramic model of the United States this past Wednesday. The schedule for his remaining visits is: Session 2 Mon., November 19 2.5 3 Hour block in the morning Session 3 Fri., December 14 1.5 2 hour block in the afternoon Session 4 Date/Time allotment to be determined These sessions will involve all Studio Art students. Lists of the students will be published ahead of time so that teachers can plan accordingly. The students need to be part of these sessions; they can not be held out for other activities or events. DODGE BALL, ANYONE? It's Dodge Ball time again! On Friday, December 14 at 7:00 P.M., the Student Council will be holding the second annual Dodge Ball Tournament for both faculty and students! For anyone who played/attended last year knows what a great event this was. Everyone had a blast! The tournament will operate in the same fashion as last year: Faculty and students will form a team of eight people (all within the building), four males and four females (it doesn't matter how many teams we have). Students will play each other first, and when a winner is determined, the faculty teams will then play while students watch. Once we have a faculty team winner, the winning student team will play the faculty team. We encourage creativity with this event by coming up with a team name, captain, and making team t-shirts. We will also have a dj and will be selling concessions. There will be a $5.00 fee for students playing on teams and for those who will be coming to watch. We are very excited to do this again and know it will be very successful! Start thinking about your team, and once your team is formed, please let Kristina know the team name, captain and members. We want to start promoting this event early! Thank you and have fun!!! SJHS QTR. 1 REPORT CARD GRADING SCHEDULE The 1st quarter report card grading schedule is listed below: Tuesday, November 6 Grading Window opened Tuesday, November 13 Last day of marking period Monday, November 19 Grading Window closed at 8:00 a.m. Monday, November 19 Report cards printed & mailed
** THE GRADEBOOK WILL BE CLOSED TO THE PORTAL FROM 3:00 P.M. NOV. 9th UNTIL 8:00 A.M. NOV. 19th **

LONG-TERM CALENDAR OF EVENTS Fri. Nov. 9 Newsletter Posted Spanish 8 Field Trip Mon. Nov. 12 Veterans Day No School Tues. Nov. 13 End of the 1st Quarter Mon. Nov. 19 Artist in Residence Day #2 Tues. Nov. 20 SJHS Open School Day Nov. 22 Nov. 23 No School Thanksgiving Holiday Tues. Nov. 27 7:00 pm SJHS Parenting Program Thurs. Nov. 29 7:30 pm SJHS Concert #1 7:00 pm PTA/PAC Meeting Fri. Nov. 30 Bus Drills Mon. Dec. 3 Bus Drills Tues. Dec. 4 Clay 7 Field Trip to Proctors Theater 7:30 pm SJHS Concert #2 @ SHS Thurs. Dec. 6 7:30 pm SJHS Concert #3 Fri. Dec. 7 Newsletter Posted Tues. Dec. 11 7:30 pm SJHS Concert #4 Thurs. Dec. 13 7th/8th Grade Chorus to Colonie Center 7:00 pm SJHS Art Show Fri. Dec. 14 5-week Interim Point Artist in Residence Day #3 Tues. Dec. 18 Select Chorus to Our Lady of Hope Hall Geography Bees After School Dec. 24 Jan. 1 Mid-Winter Break No School Wed. Jan. 9 Ski Club Week #1 Jan. 14 Jan. 25 Mid-year Exams Wed. Jan. 16 Ski Club Week #2 Mon. Jan. 21 No School Martin Luther King Day Wed. Jan. 23 Ski Club Week #3 Fri. Jan. 25 End of First Semester PTA Activity Night Mon. Jan. 28 Second Semester Begins Wed. Jan. 30 Ski Club Week #4 Fri. Feb. 1 7:30 am Coffee with the Principal

INTERIM ASSESSMENTS SCHEDULED First quarter interim assessments are currently scheduled as follows: November 9 English 7, Math 7, Calhoun 7 Social Studies November 13 Social Studies 8, Science 8 November 14 Clay 7/Houston 7 Science These first quarter interim assessments are completed during class time. There will be no special schedule arranged.

PANIC BUTTONS Just as a follow-up to the faculty meeting: For rooms with a "panic button" The button has 3 positions: Middle is the parked position, Up is the 'privacy' position.... disabled for all buttons installed prior to 2005. If your room existed before then, this position can be used to make it more difficult to accidentally make a call because the privacy (no call-in to your room) has been disabled. Putting your button all the way up means you will have 2 clicks down to call out, thus reducing accidental calls by students who think it is a light switch. If your room was made after the Fine Arts wing was added, don't use the privacy position because it will lock out the office from calling in. A single press all the way down will call the main office and the receptionist will answer... to be used for relatively urgent requests only... not a convenience to save a trip. A true emergency... you or one of your students with a medical emergency, or an out of control person, or physical violence, weapons: Press and release the button repeatedly 5 or 6 times. This makes the office phone triple-ring to reinforce that this is a true emergency. Your room number will show on the LED monitor of the phone with HELP! flashing. If no one answers the phone within 8 rings, your room number will be broadcast throughout the school once. If the phone is still not answered by the 15th ring, the room number will be announced over and over until the phone IS answered. If you hear a room number near you being called.... GO THERE and see if you can help. The 4 digit number will call 2-2-0-9 meaning B209 needs help. A wing is 1, B wing is 2, C wing is 3, D wing is 4, and the art/music wing is 5 on the first digit. If your room does not have a button, email Lisa Carroll and we will compile a list and see if we can get the situation rectified. If you have a phone in the room, you should have the nurse and front office on your speed dial instead... or even use 9-911 if you need to. Dial 0 for the receptionist. Please email Lisa if your rooms speakers are not loud enough for PA announcements so we can get them fixed. PA with a tone are coming from the phone and PA announcements without a tone are coming from the PA microphone. Announcement from the phone do not go to all areas of the building or outside... that why there are 2 systems. Thank you for your patience. DIP FEST RECIPES Chocolate Chip/Toffee Cookie Dough Dip INGREDIENTS: 1 cup of butter softened 16 oz cream cheese (not Reduced Fat) 2 cups of sugar 3 teaspoons vanilla 4 tablespoons of brown sugar 2 cups of mini chocolate chips 2 cups of toffee chips DIRECTIONS: Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add all remaining ingredients and mix until well-combined. Serve with chocolate graham crackers. Ericas Buffalo Chicken Dip INGREDIENTS: 2-3 Chicken Breasts 8 oz. Cream Cheese, Softened 3/4 cup Blue Cheese Dressing 1/2 cup Hot Sauce 1/4 cup Crumbled Blue Cheese 1 cup Monterey Jack Cheddar Cheese DIRECTIONS: In a medium pot, boil 6 cups of water and add chicken breasts. Boil chicken breasts for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked. Drain water and shred chicken using two forks to pull the meat apart into small pieces. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, blue cheese dressing, crumbled blue cheese, and hot sauce. Stir until smooth. Add the shredded chicken and stir together. Spread the mixture into a 9X9 glass dish and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover with foil to prevent cheese from burning. Russ, Harry and Davids Easy Dip INGREDENIENTS: 1 Jar Harry & Davids Pepper & Onion Relish 1 Brick Philadelphia Cream Cheese DIRECTIONS: Toss the cream cheese in the microwave to make it stirrable, not liquid. Mix in the relish! You can increase as desired; maintain the above proportion. BUILDING COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES - NOVEMBER 6, 2012 Present: Russ Moore, Mike Mitchell, Omar Williams, Bob Bedell, Mike Moffre, Holly Blau, Lisa Proskin, D. Gaynor, Colleen Corcoran Absent: Mary Kay Lowe Dr. Moore brought the meeting to order at 3:15pm. He thanked Mike Mitchell and Lisa Proskin for delightful snacks. Ms. Proskins bundt cake was quite delicious. 1) REACH - Overview: Tracy Maynard shared her valuable insight with the council towards the REACH program. The program is in its fifth year It generally targets the following student population: o Students who are of a long-term risk for dropout at the high school o Students who are at risk of failing o Students who could be candidates for the PST.

Students are recommended through their academic teachers o Students are seen during their study hall times or during the 20 minutes of silent reading or after school. o Students are seen on a need basis. Most REACH students are seen two to three times a week. Parents are notified before students are placed in the program. Parents are also contacted throughout the students placement. There are four teacher aide positions. Each TA works with a group of four or five students at a time. The average mid-year load for REACH is approximately 70 students; by the end of the year will be in excess of 100. REACH also works with all new entrants to the junior high. o One third to a half of these new entrants stay with REACH for the entire year. REACH also set up and conducted a study skills program for students in early September. This year 85 students were invited; 65 students attended. Last year the total population of REACH was 150 over the course of the school year. This year, Tracy feels that they will see over 220 students. o Before REACH, these students are 100% at risk to fail academic classes and to attend summer school. o After REACH, 80% of students pass all academic classes and do not need summer school. Tracy, working with Miel Fajen, is currently setting up a long term study to see how students in the high school who attended REACH are doing academically. A very thorough and informative presentation. 2) Updates October 30 - Our first Anti-Bullying Day was a great success. Students, after turning in permission slips, watched the movie Pay it Forward and then came up with ideas on how to pay it forward. November 2 - Part of our Pay It Forward theme we had our Caps for Kids day. We raised over $200. November 6 - During our In-Service Day Dr. Moore is asking the faculty to look at and revise our Mission Statement. November 7, 19 & December 14 - Our Artist in Residence, Frank Giorgini, will be creating a relief map of the USA with Studio Art students. November 8 - All District Faculty Music Recital November 20 - SJHS Open School Day November 27 - Parent program on internet safety: Stacey angel presents. 3) Next meeting is December 10 at 3:15pm Snacks: Dave Gaynor Notes: Mary Kay Lowe MARSHALL MEMO Nine Ways to Maximize Differentiation in Classrooms In this article in Principal, Bill Brown (Capella University), Patrick Tucker (Cincinnati assistant principal), and Thomas Williams (Sacramento principal) list ways that differentiation can be maximized: Universal design of lessons Ensuring that all students are engaged by a variety of instructional strategies, with a mix of direct instruction, reading relevant material, audiovisual aids, demonstration, discussion, hands-on experience, checking for understanding, and peer reteaching. Cooperative learning Getting students working in groups of 2-5 on structured activities that require students to experience different roles, become positively interdependent, get formative feedback from the teacher, and be accountable for results. Questioning Asking questions at different Blooms levels and involving all students in answering. Individual attention Working with students one-on-one as well as working with the whole class and small groups. Classroom libraries Having a variety of reading and interest levels in the rooms book and magazine collection. Classroom environment Arranging desks and other furniture to allow students to work in groups and give the teacher easy access to students (versus the rigid desks-in-rows format). Technology Making good use of computers, smartphones, tablets, and software to give all students a chance to succeed. Special-education plans Being aware of students unique needs and planning curriculum and instruction to maximize student success. Additional staff Making full use of co-teachers, aides, parent volunteers, and others to increase individual attention, and giving teacher teams the time to plan together. 9 Practices of Second-Order Schools by Bill Brown, Patrick Tucker, and Thomas Williams in Principal, September/October 2012 (Vol. 92, #1, p. 3235), www.naesp.org

THE THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Are they going to be giving us true feedback or are they just going to be filling out a form? A Colorado educator on the states new teacher evaluation procedures as quoted in Marshall Memo 457