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** ALSO AVAILABLE ON INFINITE CAMPUS **

STAFF NEWS AND NOTES

NUTS & BOLTS


24 EDITION 24, ISSUE 9

4, November 4, 2011

KUDOS - To everyone who assisted with the family adoption that took place recently. People received an email from Phil Coughlin, Stacey Angell and Lisa Coluccio looking for a lot of materials, toiletries etc. to help out this family that is very much in need. As is usually the case, the response was overwhelming! Thanks to everyone who helped out in ways little or large. It is very much appreciated and will certainly assist this family that has so little. Thanks again to everyone!! - Break a Leg to everyone associated with the drama production The Somewhat True Tales of Robin Hood taking place this weekend. Special thanks go to Dianne Hobden and Judi Stott for their annual effort in putting together this theatrical experience for many of our students. Hopefully you have purchased tickets already but, if not, rest assured you can purchase them at the door. The curtain goes up at 7:30 on Friday and Saturday evening and at 2 pm on Sunday. (Be sure to set your clocks back 1 hour Saturday night). Thanks in advance for what will assuredly be an excellent performance and for providing this opportunity for so many of our kids! - To Aaron Haacker who assisted with last Friday evenings PTA Halloween Dance. Aaron was present to assist with the supervision and also to take photographs for the yearbook. Thanks, Aaron, for your help and for looking ahead to this years yearbook!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Mon. Nov. 7 2:30 pm Faculty Meeting HASCOM Right to Know Tues. Nov. 8 Teacher Workshop Day Wed. Nov. 9 SINI Site Visitor Thurs. Nov. 10 Newsletter Posted Wear Blue Day 7:00 pm Music Faculty Recital Fri. Nov. 11 No School Veterans Day FACULTY MEETING REMINDER A reminder that our next regularly scheduled faculty meeting is set for Monday, November 7. We will begin in the auditorium at 2:30 pm. Agenda items include: 1. HAZCOM Right to Know 2. Mike Donahue Presentation 3. Gift Giving 4. Other CHARACTER TRAIT ASSIGNMENT Nov. 7 10 Social Studies Nov. 14 18 Science Nov. 28 Dec. 2 Math Dec. 5 9 Art/Tech/H&C Dec. 12 16 Foreign Language Jan. 3 6 PE/Health/Music Jan. 9 13 English Jan. 23 27 Social Studies Feb. 6 10 Science Feb. 13 17 Math Feb. 27 Mar. 2 Art/Tech/H&C Persevering Thrifty Gracious Ambitious Courageous Resourceful Joyful Kind Patient Tolerant Honest

PM BUS SUPERVISION ZONE #1 ZONE #2 ZONE #3 ZONE #4 CAF E. Mailloux S. Dunbar 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. LONG-TERM CALENDAR OF EVENTS Fri. Nov. 4 7:30 PM Drama Production Sat. Nov. 5 7:30 PM Drama Production Sun. Nov. 6 Daylight Savings Ends 2 PM Drama Production Tues. Nov. 8 No School - Election Day Workshop Thurs. Nov. 10 Newsletter Posted Wear Blue Day 7 PM Music Faculty Recital - Auditorium Fri. Nov. 11 No School Veterans Day Mon. Nov. 14 End of First Marking Period Tues. Nov. 15 Mike Donahue Presentations 7:00 pm Mike Donahue Parent Presentation Wed. Nov. 16 NWEA Assessment for ELA and Math Thurs. Nov. 17 NWEA Assessment for ELA and Math Fri. Nov. 18 PTA Activity Night Mon. Nov. 21 7:30 PM BOE Meeting Forts Ferry Tues. Nov 22 Open School Day Nov. 24 Nov. 25 No School Thanksgiving Holiday Thurs. Dec. 1 7:30 PM Concert #1 Fri. Dec. 2 Bus Drills Mon. Dec. 5 Bus Drills Wed. Dec. 7 7:00 PM PTA/PAC Meeting - Library Thurs. Dec. 8 7:30 PM Concert #2@ SHS Fri. Dec. 9 Newsletter Posted Tues. Dec. 13 7:30 PM Concert #3 Thurs. Dec. 15 7:00 PM Studio Art Show 7:30 PM Concert #4 Fri. Dec. 16 5-Week Interim Point Student Council Activity Night Mon. Dec. 19 7:30 PM BOE Meeting @ SJSH Library Tues. Dec. 20 Hall Geography Bees Mon. Dec. 26 Mon. Jan. 2 No School Holiday Break FRONT DOOR DUTY There has been a growing concern of students not having their parents sign them out for early dismissals. Students seem to be walking out the front door. Everyone on front door duty, please direct the students to the main office.

THE SOMEWHAT TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD Get ready for The Somewhat True Tales of Robin Hood!! If you havent had chance or been reluctant to see one of our shows, this one would be a good initiation. It is VERY FUNNY, as are the actors. Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Think Mel Brooks and

Any help encouraging students to come would be great word-ofmouth to sell tickets. (Of course, a free homework pass helps, too :) If you would like tickets, just drop Judi or Dianne an email or note and we will set them aside. They are $5 each. Shows are Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5 at 7:30 and Sunday, November 6 at 2. The show is approximately 2 hours with an intermission. Goodies by Perfect Pals. DODGE BALL TOURNAMENT!!! On Friday, December 16, the Student Council will be holding a Dodge Ball Tournament for both faculty and students!! How the tournament will work is as follows: Faculty and students will form a team of eight people, four males and four females (it doesn't matter how many teams we have!) The faculty teams will play each other while the students watch. Students will then play one another, and once a winner is determined, that student team will play the winner of the faculty team! We encourage creativity with this event, by coming up with a team name, a 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 really excited about this event, and think it will be a great time for everyone!! Start thinking about your team, and once your team is formed, please let Kristina or Melissa know your team name, captain, and members! We want to start promoting this event early! Thanks, and have fun!!! MUSIC FACULTY RECITAL The Music Faculty Recital is Thursday, November 10th, at 7:00 pm in the Shaker JHS auditorium. Come hear North Colonie music teachers perform lots of great music from classical to pop to jazz! The recital is sponsored by the North Colonie Friends of Music. Donations of $3 for adults, $2 for students or senior citizens, or $6 for a family will be accepted at the door. All proceeds benefit the Linda Wagner and John Malthouse Awards for graduating SHS seniors.

CHOREAGRAPHER/MAKE UP COORDINATOR NEEDED We have openings in our musical personnel list for a choreographer and for a make up coordinator. If you are interested in either or both of these positions please contact Mr. V. and/or Dianne Hobden for information and let R. Moore know. REPORT CARD GRADING TIMELINE The 1st quarter report card grading schedule is listed below: Wednesday, November 9 Grading Window opened Monday, November 14 Last day of marking period Friday, November 18 Grading Window closed at 8:00 a.m. Friday, November 18 Report cards printed & mailed *Note: the parent and student portals will be closed on Nov. 14 18. TECHNOLOGY LITERACY ASSESSMENT As part of the planning for instructional technology this year, we are implementing an online survey of students technology literacytheir ability to use software tools, make good decisions about Internet resources, and make creative decisions about resources for projects. We piloted the online assessment tool last June in many classes. The students enjoyed taking the test online in the computer lab, and were able to complete the questions in about 2 periods, depending on their reading speed and fluency. The online test asks them to actually use the computer to demonstrate how to select web sites, save files, and other similar tasks, and also asks multiple choice questions about the ethical uses of technology. The assessment is designed to be given to students in the eighth grade, once in the Fall as a pre-test, or baseline measure, and once in the late Spring as a post-test, or indicator of additional knowledge and skills. If you didnt have an opportunity to preview the test last Spring, you can see a demo at www.learning.com. We are using the 21st century test version, and will be administering it to both fifth and eighth graders this Fall.

of r5 Productions, will be speaking to our students on Tuesday, November 15th about making good choices, coping with pressures, and walking a mile in another persons shoes. In addition, he will host leadership groups during the day. He will do an hour long presentation to each individual grade level, as well as a Parent Information night for our North Colonie community. The evening program is designed to educate parents about more effective ways of communicating with their teenagers and the risks of social profiling, bullying, etc. Mr. Donahue has spoken at numerous area schools, been featured on WTEN news, and his direct approach is well received among students. In his presentation, he has been described as someone who relates well to kids without patronizing them and who really walks the talk. He also provides a follow up curriculum to reinforce his message. For your planning, the assembly schedule (high school auditorium) will look like this:
Assembly #1-8:30-9:30 am. Norris 7, Norris 8, Houston 8, Clay 8
Assembly #2-9:45-10:45am. Calhoun 7, Calhoun 8, Houston 7, Clay 7

This will be an INCREDIBLE event for our students and for us as well.

ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT TO VISIT As part of the SINI improvement process Kathy Skeals, our Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, will be spending a significant amount of time in our building. Kathy is visiting to refamiliarize herself with our school structure, practices, programs, instructional approaches, etc. She will be visiting a variety of classes during each one of her visits to our school. Yesterday Kathy spent 2 hours plus in our school dropping in on various classrooms. Her future visits are: Date Thursday, November 3 Thursday, November 10 Tuesday, November 15 Tuesday, November 22 Tuesday, November 29 Tuesday, December 6 Tuesday, December 13 Tuesday, December 20 Time 8:00 am 11:30 am 11:00 am 2:30 pm 8:00 am 11:30 am 11:00 am 2:30 pm 8:00 am 11:30 am 11:00 am 2:30 pm 8:00 am 11:30 am 8:00 am 11:30 am

OBSERVER As Kathy mentioned at yesterdays faculty meeting, we will have an observer visiting us to observe the many approaches we have in place for our students with disabilities. The observer is Renee Beaulieu and she will be spending Wednesday, November 9 with us. During her day with us she will observe many different classes, again, observing the different levels of ELA instructional services we offer. This could include ASC, LRA, G level, regular ed., Fundamental ELA and others. Keep in mind that Renee will decide which classes she spends time in; we will not know ahead of time nor will we be told after the fact. Her observations are of programs, not of individual teachers. Her observations are not evaluative of teachers in any way. We truly hope to develop ideas that could lead to revisions to our programs that will assist not only students with disabilities, but also our entire population. ENERGY USAGE With the heating season upon us and energy costs still an ongoing concern, we will continue to maintain the implementation of the following energy-saving measures: Thermostats in all classrooms will be maintained at 69 degrees during the winter months. All staff are asked to turn off their room lights when the room is not in use. Computers, printers and any personal appliances should all be shut-off when leaving for the day. Personal space heaters are not legal for use in school buildings under established fire code and SED regulations. No item should be stored on or in front of any unit ventilator in any classroom. Heating problems in classroom/office spaces (not enough heat or too much heat) should be reported immediately through the appropriate building channel for service. We request that staff not contact the maintenance department directly. Please be reminded that winter weather results in slippery conditions. Appropriate footwear is always recommended. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. The implementation of these simple measures should allow the district to continue to control energy costs. Please contact Mr. Corr, Ms. Skeals, Mr. Rybaltowski or your building administrator if you have any questions. UPCOMING IMPORTANT EVENT! We are very excited to inform you that our Junior High has partnered with South Glens Falls to secure an outstanding motivational speaker for our school community. Mike Donahue, author of Reinventing My Normal, Hidden Scars, and Talking to Brick Walls, and owner/director

WEAR BLUE DAY Our Stand Up committee has been planning and putting in place a variety of activities to help keep the focus on anti-harassment and anti-bullying approaches. We will be holding several Color days throughout the year, each color symbolizing a specific attribute of positive interactions. Next Thursday, November 10 is Wear Blue Day. We are asking everyone to wear a blue article of clothing to symbolize being a True Blue Friend! Remember, next Thursday wear Blue! WORKSHOP DAY REMINDER Next Tuesday, November 8 is our annual Teacher Workshop Day. The schedule for the day is as follows: 8:00 am District Program Joe Corr - SHS Auditorium 9:00 10:00 am Secondary Presentation Kathy Skeals SJHS Assembly Room 10:00 11:30 am Department Level Work 11:30 12:45 pm Lunch 1:00 3:30 pm Department Level Work

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK When I was a child my mother said to me, If you become a soldier, youll be a general. If you become a monk, youll end up as the pope. Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso. Pablo Picasso

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