Weekly Update 1/27/12

A couple of updates from the week:

I spent the majority of Monday working with Aaron Randolph from Twin State Technical Services on the new laptops.  In order to get them ready for student use, we needed to make sure they possessed the correct programs.  If we had to install the programs to each computer manually, this would be a very time consuming process, so instead we decided to deploy an image we created to each individual machine, decreasing the amount of time and work to install the programs.  This is a difficult process to set up, but with Aaron here to guide me through it, everything worked out well.  Now, since we do not have to manually install the programs on each computer, they should be ready to go by next Monday!

I have forgotten to mention that we have been working with two supporters over the last several months on the creation of a Teacher Appreciation Award.  We are hoping to have this project wrapped up soon and are in the final steps of making it happen.  I think this will be a great award to not only spotlight some of the great teaching that occurs at AHS, but also to monetarily reward educators who push themselves to constantly improve. 

It was brought to my attention that we had some wiring and power concerns in the auditorium.  Eric Leuth and I met so I could understand the history of the wiring in the aud, and then we brainstormed potential solutions for the electrical needs in that part of our facility.  Eric started running some new lines on Thursday, and that should definitely help resolve the issue. 

We continue to meet with contractors, engineers and architects to look at the heating/cooling solutions for Assumption. I wish I knew more at this point, but it seems like we still have more questions right now than answers.  We know the cost of geothermal and are still looking for prices on rooftop units and some other alternative solutions.  I’ll let everybody know what we find out. 

 

On Wednesday we had a meeting with AEA consultants and all the Scott County Catholic school math teachers.  This was an information session on the changes that will be occurring due to the implementation of the Iowa Core.  I think that there is the potential for some very positive changes to come about because of this reform. 

Speaking of Iowa Core, I will be attending the ICAT technical training on Friday.  This presentation will explain all of the IT steps we have to take in order to make this program available to our teachers.   

On Thursday I met with our rep form Command business systems in regards to our copiers.  The switchover to this company has been a great upgrade for us and I have been pleased with the customer service we have received.

I also have been working with several community members regarding Assumption hosting Acaplooza in our auditorium.  On Thursday, we set a date of May 19^th for their clinic and performance.  We have several students who have been involved with the group putting on this event (Chordbuster Chorus) and Mrs. Williamson has worked hard to get the event here at Assumption.

Remember that next week is Catholic Schools Week and there are a lot of events occurring at all of our Catholic Schools.  We will have students speaking at masses on either the 29^th of January or the 5^th of February.  Our seniors will be heading over to St. Ambrose for a presentation by their campus ministry team and to take part in a service project.  The big event of the week is the All Schools Mass at Assumption on Thursday morning at 9:25.  I invite all of you to attend and celebrate with us.  To end the week we will be taking a group of students to Café on the Vine to serve lunch, our choir will perform at CASI and our junior will be composing letters of gratitude to members of our armed forces. 

  

Have a great weekend!

Friday Update 1/20/12

With no school Monday and a Board meeting Tuesday it has turned out to be a short week, but that doesn’t mean it has been a slow week with musical auditions, a wrestling meet and several big basketball games.  

  

We continue to explore updates to the Assumption facilities.  Eric Leuth and I have been talking with contractors and engineers about the potential for some heating/cooling upgrades to the school.  We are still in the initial research phase of the project, which means a lot of listening and learning on my part. So far our research seems to have resulted in more questions than answers, but that’s all part of the process.

We also continue to look into refinishing the top floor of the convent.  We began the convent upgrade several years ago and it led to the creation of Villa Maria Childcare.  The entire first floor, which used to be mostly windows, is now sided and we would like to do the same on the second floor.  There are options for using this space in the future, and beginning the enclosure process is a logical first step.

 

Our 30 laptops and cart arrived this week!  I spent the last few days readying them for deployment, which is a time consuming process.  Many teachers have already expressed interest in utilizing them, and they should be ready for use early next week.  Hopefully this project will temporarily fill some of our technology needs.

 

I spent a little time out in classrooms today and while there was a lot of great teaching and learning going on, the subject students seemed most interested in was meteorology.  I heard the question “are we getting out early?” several times.  Seems that everyone wants a jump start on their weekend! 

Friday Update 1/13/2012

After 58 degree days in January and an incredibly mild winter, it appears that cold weather and snow have finally decided to make an appearance.  Of course the snow couldn’t wait one more day so we could have the AHS/Bettendorf wrestling meet.  Hopefully everyone can make it out next Thursday to see the rescheduled match.

This busy week began with Chuck and me attending the ICAT training at the AEA.  The ICAT tool is a computer program which provides an avenue for tracking Core Curriculum implementation.  While this was our first exposure to the program, it seems like it will be useful for deriving valuable information.  One thing I like is that it is a good initial step to expose our administration and teachers to the standard within the Core.  It will also give us a great grasp of where we are with teaching 21^st century skills.

I attended the Scott County Catholic Schools Advisory committee meeting on Monday evening and was asked to briefly present on the bandwidth problem our schools are currently facing and what options we are exploring.  Working with different providers has been a major part of this week.  After several meetings, conference calls and email exchanges, I have learned a lot about our options.  The need for speed was hammered home for me this week when I was sitting in one of our computer labs helping a teacher.  I commented on how we are working to get expanded bandwidth and the student sitting next to me asked if I could make it happen ASAP.  I told them I would go as fast as I could.  We are considering striking out on our own for internet access which would give us more control and the potential to expand our speed in the near future without having to rely on the AEA.

 

The mobile laptop lab that we ordered should be here early next week. It couldn’t come at a better time as we are seeing an increased request for computer use.  Some of this use is from students taking online courses.  It certainly appears that the option of taking these types of classes is appealing to many students, which has caused much reflection on the future direction of technology at Assumption.  Significant changes to the way we educate will need to be made.  Students now come to us having grown up in the digital age; the only thing they have ever knows is technology.  They are not “digital converts” like most of us so when a new option is added, like tablets, they adjust at breakneck speed.  We, at Assumption, must be able to meet their needs.

Speaking of technology we decided to try publishing our newsletter online instead of mailing home a hard copy.  I invite all of you to check it out and let me know what you think. 

http://assumptionnewsletter.blogspot.com/view/sidebar

For those of you that are interested in educational policy I highly suggest you take a look at the Recommendation for World Class Schools from Governor Brandstad.  There is a lot of interesting proposals in there that will have an impact on Assumption.

 

Everybody have a safe weekend and enjoy the snow!

Andy

Friday Update 1/6/2012

With students returning on Wednesday teachers had in-service on Tuesday over the Diocesan evaluation process and the career development plan.  Chuck and Eric did a nice job of presenting this information and it is an essential process for continued improvement of our faculty.    As an accredited Iowa school we follow the same evaluation process and goal setting for our teachers that are followed in public and nonpublic schools in Iowa.  

We were able to take care of some small facilities issues over break and the custodians spent a lot of time rejuvenating the floors.  They look almost as good as the first day of school.

We continued the process of looking for increased bandwidth for our data connection to the AEA.  We are starting to see some movement with bids beginning to come in.  I received a better explanation into what happened from the AEA this week.  With the increased amount of bandwidth needed by surrounding schools the AEA not only has to upgrade their own bandwidth, but also the equipment they need to handle this increased traffic.  This will cost the AEA approximately $200,000 in equipment.

We have an impromptu Scott County Principal meeting to discuss Catholic Schools week activities and plans for mass.  For the past several years we have had the CSW mass here at Assumption, but students from each of the elementary schools have a role.  All of our schools will also be participating in a service project at Café on the Vine for the third year in a row.  

At the Superintendents meeting on Thursday I had a great opportunity to listen to the superintendent of Newell-Fonda about technology in schools.   It was great to hear about the process they went through and what they did to ensure success of their programs.  The thing that I got most out of his message was that more than ever what the world needs is talent and it is our job as educators to put our students in a spot where they can be successful in utilizing their God given talents.  We have to look for constant ways to improve what we do.  We should do this not because our current practices are bad, but because constant improvement is the only way to adjust to the ever-changing world.

Good luck to all of our teams this weekend and I hope to see all of you at PV for the doubleheader tonight!