Updates from the Week 4/27/2012

The biggest news of the week is that science teacher Wendy Martin made it to the semi-finals in the “LIVE! with Kelly” show’s search for the Top Teacher. Channel 8 news was here Friday for the announcement and it should be on the news tonight. We are able to cast votes through 3:00 p.m. Monday, April 30th.  In the words of Al Capone, “Vote early and vote often.” Congrats to Wendy, she truly deserves to be elected.  Click here to read the letter about Wendy by Abby Gruefe.  Click here to vote.

Monday was a stellar in-service day for our teachers and administrators at Assumption.  We took a road trip to visit Dewitt High School and learn about their technology initiatives, specifically their 1:1 computer program.  We were able to spend some time learning from their director of innovation and technology, as well as students and teachers.   We then were out in their building watching teachers and students work with this program.  I have to say it was an amazing thing to witness.  Their people are not only passionate about technology, but also about providing a great education.  They were so helpful and willing to spend time talking to our teachers about how they are implementing technology in the classroom.  

This visit led to a lot of great conversation this week in regard to our own 1:1 initiative for next year.  Our teachers seem truly excited by the educational possibilities created by our project.  That being said, there is still some work to be done.  Eric and I will be meeting with our “ad hoc” student tech team Friday to discuss the areas we need some help with.  I am excited to have students evaluate this initiative and help with the future of Assumption.  

I attended Bettendorf Community School District’s technology plan meeting  Monday night.  It was certainly a learning experience and there was a lot of value in attending this meeting.  It always pays to know what the competition is doing.

We began the renovation/addition to the daycare.  This will be a large part of our summer projects and it will hopefully be completed by the start of school next year.  As with all of our projects, we will keep the timeline flexible because I am sure that something will come up.  

The Scott County Principals met on Friday and had a great discussion on additional ways to partner together to enhance our schools.  Subjects discussed included adding a curriculum/director of innovation position, site survey for Mediacom, algebra numbers, Spanish pretest numbers.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update 4/20/2012

I got a text this morning.  It said, “Happy April Knight Day! An Assumption supporter’s favorite holiday, second only to Christmas.”  While my good friend was no doubt trying to be funny, he isn’t too far from the importance of today.  April Knight is such a big part of not only the success of Assumption, but also a huge part of our history.  As always it is shaping up to be a fun night.

One thing that always amazes me during this time of the year is the planning and execution of April Knight.  It certainly takes a lot of generosity, caring, teamwork, communication and flat out hard work.  All of this is made possible through people who care deeply about Assumption and who are willing to be part of the team that puts together such a wonderful event.  There are so many members of the Assumption Family that deserve thanks including:

·        Susie Foster, whose efforts as April Knight Coordinator are      certainly exceptional.

·        Liz King, Carey Jones and Laura Reyhons who spend           countless hours of their time to make sure this goes off         without a hitch.

·        Auction Committee

·        Check-In/Out Committees

·        Decorations Committee

·        Live Auction Helpers

·        Reservations Committee

·        Student, Parent, and Employee Raffle Tickets Sellers

·        Individuals who hosted and attended the Outing Club                Luncheon and Gift Gathering Parties.

·        Those who supplied food and drink and donated gifts for          the auction.

·        Other volunteers who did the “little” things

·        Guests attending April Knight

·        School employees that went above and beyond the call of        duty to ensure the success of this wonderful event. 

For those of you who have been around the Assumption Family for some time, this dedication is probably not surprising.  In fact, I think at times we forget how special a thing we have here.  Just as the fish don’t realize they are in water until they are taken out of it, we are constantly immersed in this dedication and sometimes forget to appreciate it.

Once again I want to tell all of you how much I appreciate your dedication to Assumption.

See you all tonight!

 Check out the items for Auction here!

Weekly Updates 4/13/2012

The Policy Committee received the proposed update for Assumption’s acceptable use policy for computers.  While our old policy was good, it needed some updates considering the rate technology has changed over the last five years.  One thing that we did was to make the policy a little less specific than it has been in the past.  I know that might sound scary, but when the policy was enacted there were no smartphones, iPads, or Kindles.  We need to write a policy that not only covers current technology, but future technology as well.

Speaking of technology, I had two meetings this week with hardware supply companies.  The first was to discuss our current technological resources and future initiatives such as 1:1 with the company that supplies most of our computer hardware and the majority of our annual software licenses.  .  The second meeting was to go over some quotes for increase bandwidth and what we will need to accommodate that upgrade.

I had a little bit of time this week to watch the Iowa 1:1 conference, which is held annually in Des Moines.  Last year I was able to attend in person and found it to be invaluable in planning for all our technology upgrades.  This year, they gave the option of either attending in person or watching the conference online.  Since I had a packed schedule most of the week, I watched online and it was better than being there in person.  Instead of having to sit through the individual breakout sessions, I was able to bounce back and forth if the session I was watching wasn’t holding my interest.  What a great strategy for this conference!  If you are interested check out their website, you can find it here:  http://www.iowa1to1.org/

I have been working with a couple school districts to set up visits for our teachers. Central Dewitt is in their first year of a 1:1 computer initiative and I have had several communications with their superintendent, Dan Peterson, about setting up a day for some of our teachers to see how it works.  This would be a tremendous opportunity for all of us to see first-hand where our 1:1 could take us next year.  I’ll keep you updated on that process.  

Carey and I met with the new accountant for St. Paul’s School and Parish.  We took the opportunity to share a little bit of history on things like the Family Tuition Plan, Embracing Our Future and the STO.  We also spent some time on subsidy and the historical changes that have impacted how Assumption is supported.  It was a great meeting and as always we are here to help our local parishes and schools. 

I spent some time listening to Nicole Peterson from AEA 9 talk about the Iowa Core Thursday evening, including the C-Plan, state testing and the K-12 implementation plan.  While I certainly understand some of the frustrations amongst school people in regards to the Iowa core, I do feel that this initiative is an important step to making education better in Iowa.  If you have any interest, check out the webinar:  https://iowa.adobeconnect.com/_a830042961/p2y0u7x67a1/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal

Finally, on Friday I will be judging the civic oration contest at JFK.  It is always great to be in our elementary schools and this event holds some special meaning for me considering I participated in the civic oration contest at St. Paul when I was the same age as these students.  I should thank Mrs. Funderbruch for encouraging me to participate in that contest.  It turned out well for me, I won. :)

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update 4/6/2012

A couple of updates for the week:

I spent some time on Friday with our teachers listening to them present on the ways they incorporate technology into their classroom.  It was great to see they are using some very innovative approaches into daily instruction.  The technological advances of the last 20 years have given us a way to communicate and teach in ways we never thought possible.  The variety of techniques our teachers are using is impressive.  Our students will be exposed to many different platforms in their four years here.  Nice job teachers!

The Embracing Our Future 2.0 Campaign continues and the response has been great!  People feel the value in such a progressive program and the numbers back up their feelings.  I truly look forward to each meeting with our supporters and hearing their opinions of the successes of our tuition assistance program.

I had a meeting with the English department this week to discuss weighted grades and grading procedures.  One of the things we discussed was the historical basis for AP classes and weighted grades.  At one time the number of these classes at Assumption was staggering.  We have done a great job of cleaning up our AP offerings and holding theses classes to high standards.  We also discussed the logistical and philosophical processes used for grading.    It was a good discussion and we will continue to explore research based strategies.

On Friday we had a meeting with the Board of Directors to begin to bring the 360 evaluation process to a close.  I would like to thank everyone who participated in this process.  We couldn't have continual improvement without the input of all of our stakeholders.  Thanks to the teachers, parents, staff and board members who took the time to offer not only strengths, but also areas for growth. 

We sent out an email on the early bird drawing for April Knight.  It does a nice job of detailing the last several of school improvements.  If you missed it feel free to check it out here. 

I participated in the Scott Co. tech coordinators meeting this week.  It was a great discussion covering a broad range of topics including printing, curriculum and future initiatives.  See a copy of the notes from the meeting here. 

Have a great Easter weekend!