Blogging shouldn't be such hard work, but......

I know that I may be the worst blogger in the world in terms of completing entries on a regular basis.  The original intent of this blog was to maintain a written form of communication with parents, students, and the community related to school events and educational issues.  I have FAILED miserably to do this.  I wish that I had some great excuses not to have maintained this site, but in reality, I don't.  I simply haven't made it a priority.  We all know, if we don't something a priority, it is really easy lose track of it.  That's what has happened here.  So, I ask for your forgiveness and ask for a second chance to try to do this better.

And....that's the great thing about education--we are all about one more chance.  When we return to school after our break next week, we will all return revitalized and ready to take on the last few weeks of school. With that energy, we have one more chance to connect with kids, support their efforts, and address skill development.  As parents, we have one more chance to work with teachers to discuss the importance of hard work, resiliency, and creativity and how vital it is to bring these traits to the forefront in whatever we do. 

We have one more chance to work to create the mindset needed to be successful in and out of school.  How important is having a growth mindset in your career?  I'd love to hear.

For more about Growth Mindset, click here:
http://www.mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/index.html

Hope to see you at P/T conferences.

"Why do I need to attend Parent/Teacher Conferences?"

This is a fairly typical question for many high school parents.  After all, high school is the appropriate time for teenagers to move away from parents to some degree.  It is the ideal time for a teenager to learn to advocate for him/her self.  For some parents who have attended conferences for several years, its possible that same message has been communicated (positive or negative) time and time again.  It becomes a bit stale.  So, why do you need to attend Parent/Teacher conferences?

In 2011, several good reasons can serve as motivation.

1.  Did you know that over the past three years, we have nine new staff members.  You may not have met these new additions to the PPHS faculty.  So even if you have a senior, it would be nice to be able to put a face with the name and welcome these new teachers to our community.

2.  You get a chance to pick up your child's report card.  Even if you haven't scheduled a meeting, stop by tonight or tomorrow and pick up the report card.  This at least gives you a chance to meet with a teacher who has a free moment.  If you do not come to conferences, we will send report cards home with your child next week.

3. The cookies are good.  Really good.

4. Edline is obviously our new website host.  If you have not yet activated your account, please stop by and ask for some help.  If you lost the activation code that was mailed last week, this is a chance to pick up another copy.  (By the way--it is REALLY important to activate your account and update all forms of contact information. This new system not only has a calling service that works like School Reach, but we can do blast emails and text messages, too.)

5. This is a great opportunity for you stop by and visit with a teacher that your child thinks is really special.  This is a great opportunity to say thank you. 

6.  This is a great time to hear something positive about your child.  I am confident that you child has developed a positive relationship with at least one adult in this school.   That person is here waiting to tell you that your child is special.  

So, even though this is being posted at the last minute--we'll be here tonight until 8:00 pm.  Friday we will be available from 8:00-12:00.  We really hope to see you there.

Edline is Online

Today marks the beginning of a new era of communication between PPHS staff, parents, and students. The Edline website gives parents and students unprecedented access to classroom information such as assignments, tests, class resources, and supplemental materials.

Teachers have been working on pages for about a month. Please know that we are in the early stages of page development. For now, we hope to maintain classroom calendars that will allow students and parents to view assignment due dates, project dates, and test dates for all classes. As we gain experience and practice more, you will see more detailed information regarding class activities, classroom materials (handouts, worksheets, etc), and classroom notes or PowerPoint presentations.

For now, have patience as we adopt this new program and adapt our practices to maximize its use. Several PPHS teachers have been using websites (typically Google sites) to communicate the same type of information. They have been working to "move" information from existing sites to Edline. This will take some time. Teachers who are new to webpage use have a steeper learning curve, but I am confident that as the year progresses, you will be able to find the information that you would like to know about you child's class.

As we move forward with this implementation, future blogs will focus on types of information you can find on various links. For now, I hope you take time to explore the websites not only for the high school, but for the district and the other schools as well.