Building Project Update and Professional Development

Building Project Update

It's been an interesting week with the building project.  First, the crane did not arrive last Monday as planned and so no panels were installed this week.  The good news is the crane arrived Thursday and we are expecting the first panels at 7 a.m. Monday morning.  The panels will arrive on trucks that will be spaced out every 20 to 30 minutes.  So, we will have quite a bit of truck traffic when the panels start arriving.  They will start at 7, so please remind your child to be aware when driving into the parking lot and look for trucks driving through the area.  

The crane arrived yesterday on several semi-trucks.  The tracks were carried on one truck, the power plant/cab on another one and the boom on still another.  They spent a good part of yesterday assembling it and are finishing it Friday morning.  It's quite a process to see them assembling this large piece of equipment.  

Of course, each panel is quite large and made mostly of concrete so it will require a strong machine to lift them off the truck, turn them the proper direction and place them in place.  Be sure to follow our Facebook Page as we will be posting updates there throughout the project.  Also, you may have seen  #NHtribe on some items and also many postings.  This is a hashtag and we use it to designate school related items.  If you want to know what's going on at school, you can go to Facebook or Twitter and do a search for #NHtribe and all posts with that hashtag will come up for you to review.  It may be on a building page, a teacher's page, or an activity page.  By searching with the hashtag, you can see all the posts across many pages without having to go to the page.  This being homecoming week, it would be a great time to try it out.  

We're entering an exciting phase of the project.  Stay tuned for more.  

Professional Development

Monday there is no school because of a Professional Development day.  We do professional development during the school year, so our teachers can gain new knowledge to improve their skills and then put them into use right away in their classrooms.  The next month, they will meet again and discuss how the implementation went in their classrooms including what went well and what needs additional work.  They then have time to go back and continue to refine their practice throughout the year.  If this was done during the summer, a lot of time would go by before they actually got to practice what they learned and the follow up is actually probably the most important element.  

This Monday, New Hampton staff along with St. Joe's and Turkey Valley staff will be attending a presentation by George Couros.  He is the author of the book,  Innovator's Mindset.  Last year the school board did a book study on this book and really liked his ideas and thought process.  You can find out more about him by checking out his blog here.  

Final Thoughts

As homecoming week winds down, I want to congratulate Tom Clark for being selected Homecoming King.  Tonight we crown the Queen at the game.  This is an awesome week as everyone--staff, students, and the community--really come out and show their school pride for everyone to see.  I hope to see you at the game, I will be manning the Sharpies for the beam signing.  Come out and cheer on the Chickasaws and listen to our band's great half-time show.  It's going to be a cool fall night, but there's no rain in the forecast.  

Creativity in Practice

Creativity in Practice

Creativity has been in full play at NHHS, especially this week with Homecoming activities, both in and out of the classroom. Creativity includes:

• Define the creative challenge
• identify sources of information
• generate and select ideas
• present work to uses/target audience
• originality
• value
• style

By challenging students and staff to be creative, products emerge that are out of the box, new and fresh ideas, and can move learning to a deeper level.

Students started the week by decorating hallways.  Every year student senate members look for new and inventive ways to begin our homecoming week, including how to hang decorations that will stay for the whole week of our celebration!

Students in Mr. Paulus's class used creativity to work on teamwork skills.  By building towers, they worked in groups and competed with other groups. They were tasked to generate and select ideas and be original to create the tallest tower with dry spaghetti and marshmallows.

Students in advanced chemistry were tasked to balance an equation and create the solution they found in the balance. They started with chemicals and had to work together to define the challenge and outcome.

Mr. Richards, dressed as Wayne, helps students work through problem in algebra. Students first worked with a partner to look for original or alternative ways to solve problem.  The outcome was a presentation of Trasketball after finding a solution in any way.

Finally, students worked through their own personal principle as part of the LEAD group working with Ryan Rausch. Students had to dig deep and reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses unique to their own situations. This was a tough task for students as they had to explain the reasoning behind the goals they have set for the year.

From the Middle: PBL in PE

Project Based Learning in the Content Area:

This week in Physical Education, Mr. Bolt and Mr. Schmitt began a PBL project that involves individual student fitness and life-long goals.  Students began working on this project and it will be going on throughout the entire year.  Students will be able to see if the programs they have made will make a difference in their spring fitness scores.  Students are spending a lot of time making long term and short term goals and reflecting on the progress.  Below is a description of the project and some pictures from the beginning:

Topic:  To Get Fit You Can't Sit!

Driving Question: How can knowledge of core muscle groups affect fitness test scores and improvement?

Project Summary: Students use their own data from the fitness tests to figure out how create an exercise program that will give them positive results. Students will be learning about nutrition also throughout the year and how combined with exercise they can see positive results. Students also learn about lifestyle habits and how physical fit they will need to be to live a healthy lifestyle. Students will be learning about how different exercise programs can help them reach goals. These goals will be shared with others to provide inspiration and the setting of long term goals.

From the Middle: PBL in Action and Homecoming

Project Based Learning in the Content Area:

This year the middle school is working at incorporating Project Based Learning into the content area. Students will be using critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication in the learning process.  Teachers are identifying critical standards and using the standards to set up a learning experience.  Students need to have basic knowledge (surface knowledge), deep understanding (ability to apply knowledge in a higher manner), and transfer learning (apply information in a new and unique situation).  The audience the projects will be presented will vary depending on the topic.  One of the first PBL units implemented this year has been in Mrs. Rodger's 7th grade science classroom.  

Topic: What Does an Animal Need to Survive

Project Summary: Students will research living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) factors for an animal of choice. They will describe how the animal live in their environment. Students will then create a habitat for their animal in another world and describe success of the organism.

Students have been working in groups to learn about what makes an organism successful, habitat factors, food chains and webs, and living and non-living factors. Students are in teams and record process each day while making decisions for the the group for future class periods.

Middle School 2018 Homecoming Dress Up Days

September 24-28th

“Go Big Red or Go Home”

#NHtribe

Monday- Decade Days- 60’s,70’s,80’s

Tuesday- Entertainment Character- Dress as a Movie/TV character

Wednesday- USA Day (red, white and blue)-Teacher Switch Day

Thursday- Future/Past- Students dress as their future self & Adults as their past self

* Parade @ 6:30pm ending in Mikkelson Park

Friday-Chickasaw Spirit Day

*Assembly at 1:20

Each day students will vote for the best dressed and be recognized!

Elementary takes time to celebrate all students for PBIS

This is NH Elementary's fifth year in being a part of the PBIS: Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Program.  Please refer to the brochure handed to all families at open house for any questions. Picture of brochure is below.

Administrators and Instructional Coaches take time out of their day to serve Mr Freeze pops to NH Elementary students for being such great TRIBE students! 

2nd grade Nuss classroom learned a few more ways to work on words-chalk writing and using the Paint Sparkle app on our new iPads!

Students Gain Skills in Communication/Students Participate with School Board/Branding NHSCD

Students Gain Skills in Communication

Students at NHHS continue to work on communications skills including: explanation of ideas and information, organization, eye contact, and body language.  As I spend time in our classrooms, this skill is being used and honed frequently.

Students in Mrs. Leistikow's anatomy class have been working through materials that require communication with at partner to discuss cell transport.  Not only did the students needs to collaborate, but they needed also to be able to communicate their own research to their partners.

Teachers also participate in working on communication skills.  Mr. Hemann and Mrs. Manson work together in math class to assist students in explaining the why behind their problem solving.  This starts with the adults modeling their own problem solving aloud, including being able to show good eye contact and body language while doing so.

Even with the use of technology, students are faced with the need to use communication skills.  Although Ms. Mattke's CAD class is mostly online and self-directed learning, students find communication the best way to help each other and learn from one another.














Students Participate with the School Board

This week the high school was well-represented at the monthly school board meeting.  Cameron Maas was sworn in as the student representative for the 2018-19 school year.  Cam will add a student perspective to the board and update the board on pending students issues and concerns.

In addition, Madisen Fangman and Lexie Maloy shared with the board their experiences showing horses at the Iowa State Fair this summer.  They and other students represented the New Hampton FFA in a variety of events centered around their SAE projects for the 2017-18 school year.









Branding!

You may already be seeing the #NHtribe sticker on vehicles and windows through the community.  If you search #NHtribe on twitter, Facebook and instagram, you will see NHCSD telling the story of what our kids are doing. We encourage you to use the hashtag for school related media.  If you are interest in purchasing a sticker, you can get one in any of the school offices for $0.50. Help us tell our story!

Building Project and Board Meeting Updates

Building Project

     In a little over a week, we should have a crane here and wall panels should start going up.  At this time, we are expecting all of this to start on September 24th and continue until they are complete.  Our project has a little over 200 panels and they will arrive one at a time on a semi-truck.  On the days they are installing them, they will arrive every 30 minutes, so once they get going, the process will move fairly quickly.  Right now the construction crew has been working to install steel any place they can to make sure they are ready when the panels arrive.  Hopefully, the heavy rains will stay away while they get these installed. 

This will eventually be the front entrance of the Middle School.

The roof deck is on the new cafeteria.  This is looking at it from the courtyard.  

Stay tuned as we will post more updates as the building progresses.  

Board Meeting Update

     Monday night is our next regularly scheduled board meeting.  The Board of Education meets at 6:30 in the high school media center on the 3rd Monday of the month.  These meetings are open to the public and I encourage you to attend.  We follow a similar format each month, opening with the "Pledge of Allegiance" and then moving on the "Consent Agenda" which are routine items that are reviewed and approved together each month.  This includes the minutes from previous meetings, the bills to be paid at that meeting, a review of monthly financial reports, and a review of some of the district's policies.  

     We then move into "Receive Communications and Visitors" which is a time for anyone to come and address the board on any topic they choose.  They are allotted five minutes to share any thoughts they may have with the board.  Since it's not on the agenda, the board generally cannot respond, but if they feel it's warranted for further review, they may assign it to the next board agenda or have the administration follow up.  Because of confidentiality concerns, we cannot allow anyone to present on any specific staff members or specific students in an open meeting.  If you have those types of concerns, you are encouraged to contact your child's teacher, principal, or myself as needed.  We encourage you to start with the person closest to the issue as they are the only one who can address it and handle it the quickest.  

We then hear from our administrators in their monthly updates and then move on to business items.  This month the board will be approving pay applications for the building project (it remains well under budget), appointing some committee members and IASB representatives, appointing the school attorney and chief negotiator, and approving a trip for the FFA students to the National convention.  In addition, they will be approving the district's LAU Plan, and approve a request for allowable growth for the special education deficit.  Finally, the superintendent will give an update on school finances, they will spend some time learning some new skills, and they will hear from our Student Board Member, Cameron Maas.  

One thing that will make this meeting different, than most is that the September meeting is also our organizational meeting.  Every other year, we used to have an election in September and after the election the board would organize and elect officers and decide committee assignments.  We didn't have an election this year, but need to conduct our organizational meeting for the new year.  If you are available Monday night, please stop in.  We will be hearing from some students who participated in the state fair this year.  Hope to see you there.  

Giant Chicken Dance/Critical Thinking Skills in Process

Giant Chicken Dance

School is fun! On Friday morning, the entire HS student body had the opportunity to participate in a Giant Chicken Dance with 95.1 The Bull and our friend Bob Svec.  Bob organized this event to kick off the Motorcycle Rally in town and it grew very quickly.  Not only did we get to join, so did many community groups, businesses, along with the elementary and middle school.

Students, staff, and community members gathered in the parking lot downtown and not only danced once, but demanded to do the dance twice. The capacity built with the community and the positive vibes carried through out the day, on the bus back, in classrooms upon return and in the cafeteria during lunch.

High School students scrambled to have a picture taken with the giant chicken and led elementary students, mixing among them to help them participate in the dance.

Critical Thinking Skills in Process

Gathering information and evaluating data are important components in critical thinking.  Teachers and students are pushing to develop and use critical thinking skills throughout the day, from PE to science, from English to professional development.

One of the components of critical thinking also includes justify choices and explaining the process of thinking. Algebra students this week worked on buying a car and explaining the reasoning behind those choices. The transfer of the problem solving to word challenged student to use the math skills in a practical way which they could transfer to life outside high school and as they transition to the age in which they may need to buy their own cars.

Teachers modeled critical thinking during a staff meeting this week where they analyzed attendance data of students from the first few weeks of school.  They also set a driving question to answer as they reviewed data-- "How can we improve student attendance through building and maintaining relationships?"

Students in Strength and Conditioning with Mr. Ciavarelli are beginning to work through the standards for building their own work outs.  By working in partners, they are using critical thinking skills to make choices for their own needs and explain those to a partner.

Ms. Macon is leading Spanish 1 students through story telling to embed vocabulary.  Students are going deeper with critical thinking by making choices for their characters and explaining how a plot line makes sense in as much Spanish as they can while acquiring new vocabulary.

Being intentionally about modeling, discussing and fostering critical thinking is at the forefront as NHHS staff and students continue to work through the process of engaging student more fully in student-centered classrooms and the addition of Project Based Learning district-wide.

Hands On Learning Helps Building Understanding

Hands on learning meets the needs of multiple learner who are kinesthetic learners as well as solidifying knowledge at a deeper level.  This week hands on learning was evident in many classes, including Manufacturing, Chemistry, and Physics.  Continue to watch NHHS social media (https://www.facebook.com/NewHamptonHighSchool/, @sarah_updegraff, s_updegraff) to see on-going learning in our classrooms.

Thoughts on Rain, District Goals, and Problem Based Learning

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I think most would agree we've had enough rain already.  I remember a time when we would talk about rain in tenths of an inch.  It's been awhile since we've done that.  Now we talk in inches.  I've been fortunate as the only damage I've experienced because of the rain has been some washing out of my yard in a few places.  The rain does make it challenging for our building project.  Fortunately, the site is drained well and empties out fairly quickly.  Unfortunately, it leaves behind a muddy mess for the contractors to work in.  But they've been trudging on.  Wall panels remain scheduled for September 24th and we haven't had any water in the building, so things are looking okay.  Hopefully, our football game goes off without a hitch this week and we all go home dry and at a normal time.  

District Goals

The board met in a work session on Tuesday night to discuss the progress on the district goals for last year and discuss what should our focus be for this year.  Prior to the meeting, the board members viewed the movie Most Likely to Succeed.  I shared the trailer in last week's blog.  Some interesting statistics that were shared in the movie include:  65% of today's elementary students will have jobs that haven't been invented yet; 11% of employers believe colleges are effective in preparing graduates for work, but 96% of academic provosts believe college do a good job of preparing graduates; 53% of recent college graduates are underemployed or unemployed, and finally about 80% of students are engaged in schooling at the elementary level, but only 40% when they start high school.  It was a good discussion that really focused on what we need our students to know and be able to do when they graduate from New Hampton High School.  We will continue down the Project Based Learning path with Midmester and J-term at the middle and high school.  In addition, the elementary school will be starting some Project Based Learning within the grade levels.  

As a district we will work to increase collaboration between teachers both in projects and in time to work on district related issues.  We will be fine tuning our job shadow and internship programs to make them more meaningful for our students.  We want to help all students figure out what they want to do or not do after they graduate from high school.  We will continue to focus on the 4 C's of learning: Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Communication.  This doesn't mean we ignore literacy, math, and science, but it does mean we recognize there are other skills that students need to be successful.  We hear it from our businesses and industries and we see it in the world around us.  

Below is a video that discusses the movie:

We will be doing a local screening of the movie Most Likely to Succeed

Project (Problem) Based Learning

You've probably heard something about Project Based Learning (some call it Problem Based Learning or PBL).  This is a style of learning where students undertake a project that has meaning to them to increase their motivation for the project and they learn what they need to learn to successfully complete the project.  We all know when a student is interested in something, they will do what they need to do in order to understand and do it.  How many hours of reading/learning take place as students work to figure out their favorite video game, electronic device, etc.  They want to know more so they do what they have to in order to figure it out.  The same concept is used in PBL.  If we find what they're interested in, they will learn whatever math, literacy, technology, they need to know to be successful.  If they're not engaged in something that interests them, they will go through the motions and do what they need to in order to do well on the final test and then often forget most of it within a few weeks.  PBL tends to cause students to go deeper on a specific subject and because they are engaged in the topic tend to retain it longer.  

Many people did "projects" in school and it should be noted that doing "projects" is not the same as project based learning.  When doing projects, the teacher generally has to "teach" what the children need to know first, and they all are taught the same things, then the student completes a project to demonstrate to the teacher what they learned about the subject.  These are not bad things, but they differ from PBL because the students are learning the same things the teacher wants them to learn.  In addition, the projects often all look very similar.  In PBL, the students are given choices in their learning  and where it goes.  There may be some basic knowledge that is required in PBL, but it is the opportunity for the students to go deeper and have more choices in what interests them that makes PBL different.  Often PBL projects look different for each student.  I don't see us ever getting to a point where we're 100% PBL in our school, but if we can provide additional opportunities 

Here's a short video that further explains PBL

If you have any questions on PBL or anything, please feel free to contact me directly.  Also, be on the lookout for our community viewing of Most Likely to Succeed.  

Collaboration in Classrooms/Music Programs Off to a Start/Making Learning Meaningful

Collaboration in Classrooms

NHHS continues to look for ways to have students collaborate in classrooms.  You will often see students working in groups and problem solving together.  It has become clear that we are so much stronger together.  Collaboration is one of the 4 Cs of Project Based Learning. As we grow in PBL, teachers are working on how to integrate the 4 Cs into classrooms.

Staff is modeling frequently how to collaborate among their own professional peers and also with students. In addition to collaboration, the skills of communication are critical when working in groups.  One of our district goals is to put students in a position where they communicate  more publicly and doing so with their peers is a stepping stone to public performances and presentations.

Music Programs Off to a Start

Both choirs and the band are off to a busy start for the year.  The band will have their first marching performance this Friday at the home football game.  Despite weather not being cooperative, they have been able to do some rehearsal in the band room instead of in the rain or on a soggy field. The band continues to grow and should provide great music to us this season!

In addition, the NuHi Chorale and Chamber Choir have begun work on their Fall performances. Being able to hear them throughout the building is a treat as they grow and continue to become better musicians.  NuHi Chorale has been working on a medley of show tunes that has been especially fun to hear down the hall!

 Making Learning Meaningful

On Thursday I was lucky to see several classroom moving learning past information to application, real world examples, and setting a context.  Mr. Ciavarelli is currently working with students in PE on the skills and game of volleyball including the overhand serve, which all students are beginning to master.  Mr. Frerichs is working with his students to show compassion to one another by helping their neighbors complete problems and critical analyze each step of the math process.  Also, Mrs. Bercik, our new English teacher, is assisting 9th graders through their first novel in high school, Egghead, and talking about good friendship qualities as well as discussing the experience of transitioning to high school.