WGHS Staff Bulletin: Weekly Bulletin for October 12, 2015

Congratulations to our Academic Challenge team on a nice showing
at their competition this week at Solon HS. The team finished in
4th place in our division. Congratulations to
Ethan Teare and the entire team!

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney

Important Dates

October 13 - Staff Meeting after School

October 14 - PSAT = 7:30-10:30 - Issued to All Sophomores and Interested Juniors

October 15 - End of 1st Quarter

October 15 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 16 - No School

October 19 - Professional Development Day

October 21 - 1st Quarter Grades Due

October 21 - Picture Retakes

October 23 - Report Cards Distributed

October 26 - 30 - OGT Make-ups (11&12)

November 1 - Daylight Savings TIme Ends

November 2 - Department Chair Meeting

November 2 - Marching Band Concert

Important Information

Math & ELA Test Blueprints - ODE released the Math and ELA blueprints of the Ohio State Tests. It is important that all English 9th and 10th grade teachers as well as Geometry and Algebra I teachers study these blueprints to grasp an understanding of the test construction and outline of the content and skills to be measured on the tests. Click here to access the ODE site.

Be sure to congratulate Benjamin
Johnson for recently being
named a National Merit
Commended Student.

Science and Social Studies Tests - From ODE - "The Ohio Department of Education has released a set of Draft test specification documents, including description of the assessment components and item types, assessment blueprints, and item specifications, to help educators and the general public better understand the design of Ohio’s State Tests in Science and Social Studies. These documents are used to guide the development of the Ohio’s State Tests for Science and Social Studies." Like Math and ELA, it is essential that that Science and Social Studies departments align their tests to the standards and level of questions demonstrated by the state. End of course exams to be given this year in science and social studies include Government, American History and Biology. Click here for test information.

Professional Development Day - The district is putting together a nice Professional Development Day for Monday, October 19, 2015. As Dr. Markwardt addressed in his email this weekend, all information for the day will be provided online and a link will be sent to you as soon as the site is finished.

Connectedness Chart -Evidence shows that students who feel cared for by adults in their school and those that feel part of the school's culture will perform better academically, have higher attendance rates and will less likely be involved in disciplinary issues. Mr. Callahan and Ms. Sargent have created an extremely valuable tool that can be used by all staff to identify any student needing to feel connected to our building. If you haven't already, please take a moment to identify students you have made a connection with. Please revisit this chart in a week and identify and reach out to any student needing a connection. Click here to access the chart.

Public School Works - Please make sure to complete your required training in Public School Works. All training needs to be completed by October 30th.

Advisory Period Programming - On October 1st, Wes Rogge put together a wonderful study skills presentation for struggling students during advisory period . Thank you, Wes! I know the students appreciated your time. Since Wes' session, the CAP team has created a list of possible sessions or programs that could be offered during the 30 minute advisory period. Please let me know if you have any thoughts regarding various presentations that could be offered to our students. Also, let me know if you are interested in presenting a particular topic.