** ALSO AVAILABLE ON INFINITE CAMPUS **

STAFF NEWS AND NOTES

NUTS & BOLTS

24 EDITION 24, ISSUE 19

January 20, 2012 20,

KUDOS - To our colleagues who most recently have assisted with the High School Career Exploration Internship program (CEIP). As written in a letter from the directors of the program: your involvement in our program made it possible for students to sample various career options of interest to themyour participation and support have contributed to the success of our program. Thanks for the willingness to assist go to Liz Carroll, Jen Beach and Kathryn Peterson. Thanks for being willing to give up your time and putting in the effort to show these potential educators what teaching is all about.

Mar. 26 30 Apr. 2 5 Apr. 16 20 Apr. 23 27 Apr. 30 May 4 May 7 11 May 14 18 May 21 25

Social Studies Science Math Art/Tech/H&C Foreign Language PE/Health/Music English Social Studies

Generous Cheerful Loyal Sympathetic Patriotic Trustworthy Fair Cooperative

MID-YAR EXAM SCHEDULE JANUARY 2012

MON. 23 Foreign Lang. 7/8 In Class 30 TUES. 24 Math 7/8 (2 hrs) WED. 25
Earth Science (2 hrs) Science 7/8

THURS. 26

FRI. 27 End of 2nd Quarter

(Mid-morning break?) QUIZ BOWL (Fri, Feb 17)

(1 hrs.) 31

ZONE #1
S. Majewski

PM BUS SUPERVISION ZONE #2 ZONE #3 ZONE #4

M. Demeter T. Jones K. Dornan-Hewitt

CAF
J. Edgar

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 Mon. Jan. 23 Foreign Language 7/8 In Class Tues. Jan. 24 Math 7/8 8:29-10:37 am Wed. Jan. 25 Earth Science 8:29-10:37 am Science 7/8 8:29-10:00 am Ski Club Week #4 Fri. Jan. 27 End of the 1st Semester Mid-morning Breaks Wed. Feb. 1 Ski Club Week #5 Thurs. Feb. 2 New York Voices 7:00 pm PTA/Pac Fri. Feb. 3 7:30 am Coffee with the Principal 7:00 pm The Show Wed. Feb. 8 Ski Club Week #6 Thurs. Feb. 9 7:00 pm Personal Technology Awareness Night Fri. Feb. 10 Newsletter Posted Fri. Feb. 17 Quiz Bowl Feb. 18 - 19 Set Building Weekend Feb. 20 24 No School Fri. Mar. 2 7:00 pm Annual Faculty Basketball Game vs. Lisha Kill Middle School Thurs. Mar. 22 7:30 pm Beauty and the Beast Fri. Mar. 23 Teacher Workshop Day 7:30 pm Beauty and the Beast Sat. Mar. 24 7:30 pm Beauty and the Beast Sun. Mar. 25 2:00 pm Beauty and the Beast Fri. Apr. 6 Good Friday No School Mon. Apr. 9 Spring Vacation Fri. Apr. 13 Apr. 17, 18, 19 ELA 7/8 Assessments Apr. 23, 24, 25 Math 7/8 Assessments Fri. Apr. 27 French Field Trip to Clark Art Institute

MID-YEAR EXAMS Monday, 1/23 Foreign Language 7/8 In Class Tuesday, 1/24 Math 7, Math 9R, Math 8 Period1; 8:29 10:37 Testing; 5 6 7 3 - 4 Wednesday, 1/25 Science 7/8, Earth Science
Sci.: Pd 2; 8:29 9:53 Testing; 4 5 6 7 8 9 Earth Sci: 7:45 9:53 Testing; 4 5 6 7 8 9

Thursday, 1/26 Friday, 1/27 *Not a full period

Open Day Open Day, Last Day of 1st Semester Mid-morning breaks!

Tests are scheduled to end at the times listed. If, for some reason, the ending time changes we will announce it via the PA. Keep in mind that 7th grade mid-year exams are to be counted as a double test grade in the 2nd quarter; 8th grade mid-year exam grades should be stand alone grades, i.e. not counted additionally in quarter 2 or 3. ATTENDANCE INFORMATION While Sue is out Janet Grant will be filling in for her Monday Thursday each week and will NOT have access to email...so if you dont mind contacting the attendance office via phone/voice mail or even notes in Sues mailbox it would be greatly appreciated!! MID-MORNING BREAK FOR STUDENTS Friday, January 27 7:45 8:00 am Clay 7 8:05 8:20 am Clay 8 8:30 8:45 am Calhoun 8 8:50 9:05 am Norris 7 9:15 9:30 am Norris 8 9:30 9:45 am Houston 8 10:00 10:15 am Calhoun 7 10:20 10:35 am Houston 7 QUIZ BOWL NEARS: MODERATORS NEEDED Our annual, Quiz Bowl has been set for Friday, February 17. Moderators are needed. If you would be interested in serving as a moderator, please let R. Moore know.
A proposed schedule is: Per. 1 Calhoun 7 vs. Clay 7 Per. 2 Houston 7 vs. Norris 7 Per. 3 Houston 8 vs. Calhoun 8 Per. 4 Grade 7 consolation Per. 5 ------------Per. 6 Clay 8 vs. Norris 8 Per. 7 Grade 8 consolation Per. 8 Grade 7 Championship Per. 9 Grade 8 Championship Moderator Tim Galvin _________ Lisa Coluccio _______ Phil Coughlin________ Steve Brown_________ ____________________ ____________________ Omar Williams______ Omar Williams______

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Mon. Jan. 23 Grade 8 Foreign Language In Class 7:00 pm BOE Reception for Teachers Receiving Tenure 7:30 pm BOE Meeting Blue Creek Tues. Jan. 24 Math Mid-year Exams 1:00 pm Administrators Counselors Wed. Jan. 25 Science Mid-Year Exams Ski Club Week #4 Thurs. Jan. 26 1:30 pm Administrative Counsel Fri. Jan. 27 End of 1st Semester Mid-morning Breaks CHARACTER TRAIT ASSIGNMENT Jan. 23 27 Social Studies Feb. 6 10 Science Feb. 13 17 Math Feb. 27 Mar. 2 Art/Tech/H&C Mar. 5 9 Foreign Language Mar. 12 16 PE/Health/Music Mar. 19 23 English Kind Patient Tolerant Honest Thankful Polite Considerate

If there are conflicts/problems please let R. Moore know ASAP. New questions are always helpful! If you have any, please write them clearly on a 3 x 5 card, question on one side, and answer on the other side. Label questions as to grade 7 or grade 8. Questions requiring only short, single responses are best! NEW YORK VOICES The North Colonie Friends of Music is pleased to present a special concert: The Grammy Award winning New York Voices will perform in the Shaker High School auditorium on Thursday, February 2nd, 7:00 p.m. The ensemble features soprano and North Colonie alumna Kim Nazarian. Kim grew up in Loudonville and fell in love with singing while a student in Ned Fleischer's Shaker High School chorus. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ithaca College and co-founded the New York Voices in 1987.

The vocal jazz quartet will be backed up by a jazz trio and perform music from a variety of genres. They will feature North Colonie student singers on two selections. The concert is a fundraiser for the North Colonie Friends of Music's piano project. Tickets are $25 for reserved seating, first come-first serve. For more information, see the district's website: www.northcolonie.org For more information on Kim and the New York Voices, go to: www.newyorkvoices.com **We are very fortunate to have the New York Voices visit Shaker Junior High School during the day on Thursday, February 2. They will be in our school for a 10:00 AM concert to all chorus members; that is all students that are in 7th and 8th grade chorus. The concert will take about 45 minutes 1 hour. Please mark your calendars Thursday, February 2, 10:00 AM New York Voices on site. SJHS 2nd QTR. REPORT CARD GRADING SCHEDULE The 2nd quarter report card grading schedule is listed below: Monday, January 23 Grading Window opened Friday, January 27 Last day of marking period Wednesday, February 1 Grading Window closed at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 1 Report cards printed & mailed STAND UP COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES January 11th Book Talk- Mike Donahue Everyone who wants to be involved will have the Mike Donahue book, Reinventing My Normal, read by the next meeting. We will then discuss how we are going to incorporate this book club into the school. Concerns were raised from individuals who had already read the book about how this may bring up a lot of emotional issues for the students involved in the club. To prevent the book club from becoming a large, and perhaps inappropriate, therapy session, we discussed having a guided worksheet to go along with the book (ex: vocab words, how would you have been an ally in this situation, etc.) T-Shirts Days Got some slogans for different colors (green and gray) from Jaimie Weiss that were well received. We may end up going with them!! Our next Shirt Day will be in February. Walk a Mile in Someones Shoes We have directions and templates for this lesson all ready to go. It seems like the plan is to have the 7th graders complete this activity in advisory while the 8th graders complete it in their special area classes (Home and Careers, Art, Tech). This activity will be held off until February, and staff will be informed and prepared ahead of time. (perhaps discuss it at the February faculty meeting) The Movie Pay it ForwardThis whole movie idea continues to be a struggle. There are mixed emotions on the content of the movie Pay it Forward and whether or not it conveys the message we want it to. Various individuals on the committee (including some of the student members) are going to watch the film so that it can be further discussed at our next meeting. The original goal of this idea was to show a movie to the students that would inspire them to stand up for others, and to be tolerant of one another. Pretty much: Dont be a bully! We thought Pay it Forward would work because we could then tie in a Pay it Forward project that would carry on the message after the movie has been shown. **If anyone has other movie ideas, please let us know!** So far, Joan and Suzanne suggested the film Radio. OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE WEDNESDAY, JAN. 25TH We will meet in room A209. Any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact anyone on the committee! PEDALING TOWARD THE PINK CURE Melissa Brandt is participating in a 5 hour Spinning Event called Pedaling Toward the Pink Cure. She needs to fundraise at least $175! Her goal is to raise as much as possible. **Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society, Camp Bravehearts (a local oncology group for women), and The Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center If you would like to donate; 1. Melissa can accept cash or checks. Checks should be made payable to Building Strong Survivor 2. You can also go to the website www.buildingstrongsurvivors.org **Click the "Donate" button on the homepage to place their donation online. There will be a memo box in the checkout where they can specify who to apply the donation to. If you would like to participate with Melissa in this event, let her know! Any amount is appreciated!

ADVISORY PROGRAM BREAK The Advisory Program will implement the annual mid-winter break. The advisory groups will not meet from Jan. 30th Feb 17th. All groups should resume their regular schedule (a minimum of two meetings a week) the week of Feb. 27th. Please inform your students of the break period and ask that they that be prepared to utilize their silent reading time on a regular basis during this time. The Advisory Program groups will be facilitated this year through Friday, May 25th, 2012. The Advisory Program has been operating since 1994 and we recognize the importance of making it a user friendly program for the teachers who volunteer their time to facilitate an advisory group in place of a contracted supervision. It is through your dedication and commitment that the Advisory Program is a successful experience for our students. If anyone has recommendations for this year or recommendations for next year, please stop by Margaret Demeters office or drop her a line. In addition, requests for supplies are helpful. She will set aside 5th, 6th and 7th periods on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 for advisors to stop by her office to share any recommendations or requests with her.

Navigating the World of Facebook, Twitter, Texting, etc Parent Information Night
Sponsored by the Pupil Services Department

Adult ContentPlease No Students.

Social Networkinglearning Facebook & more! Cyberbullyingwhen it crosses the line! Keeping your children safe in our Technology Worlda Community Effort!

Thursday, February 9th, 2012 7:00 PM Shaker Junior High School Auditorium Presentation by Stacey Angell, Jr. High Counselor A FREE EVENT. Any questions? 785.1341 ext. 4521
Informational Packets Provided. Babysitting will be available.

EDUCATION IN THE NEWS From Education Week, Jan. 11, 2012 Key Lawyer in Brown v. Board Dies at Age 94 Robert L. Carter, who as a civil rights lawyer argued the Brown v. Board of Education case both at the trial court in Topeka, Kan., and in the U.S. Supreme Court, died last week in New York City. He was 94. Mr. Carter, who was a retired federal district judge in Manhattan, died Jan. 3 from complications of a stroke, The New York Times reported. He was a chief lieutenant to Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational fund in the 1940s and 50s when the organization led the legal assault on racial segregation in American education. He advocated using the research of psychologist Kenneth B. Clark, whose black and white doll studies suggested that segregation created feelings of inferiority among black schoolchildren. Mark Walsh New Tenn. Teacher Ratings Vary Widely by District Under the state's new teacher-evaluation system, observations by principals make up half of teachers' scores, but a first glimpse at those observation scores shows they are all over the map, according to an open-records request from The Tennessean. But state officials say it is too early to draw conclusions about the new system. -AP

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Think good thoughts and do good deeds. Brian Slater