November 1 - November 5

 D.C. Everest Senior High School Staff Update

Weekly Happenings

Below Allisha Blanchette and Jo Bailey present at this past weeks WHPE conference in the Wisconsin Dells!

Congratulations to Katie Shulfer (WHPE Promising Professional Award) and Jo Bailey (WHPE Honor Award for recognition of her influence she has upon WHPE and the broader profession) - both received at the WHPE conference.

Here's a picture of Joe Finnegan presenting at the Wisconsin State Music Conference!  

Key Club raking leaves last week!

Congratulations to the Finance Bowl team becoming Regional Champions!

Congratulations to Sara Mlodik who took 12th place at the State Cross Country meet on Saturday!  

Announcements/Week Ahead

Hallway presence - A huge shout out to all staff who consistently spend passing time in the hallway!  It makes a huge difference having teachers in the hallways during passing time.  Please make it a priority to be present in the hallways during passing time - encourage kids to get to class on time - and talk with your colleagues!  Your help is appreciated!

Vertical Teaming Night - Monday is the Vertical Teaming Night from 3:15-6 p.m.  Your department Chair/Coordinator should have communicated with you as to where you will be meeting.  All teachers are expected to attend.

Picture Retake Day - Payne Photography will be back on Tuesday, November 2nd, from 7-9 a.m. only.  All staff who didn't have their picture taken earlier this school year, should do so for the yearbook.  Please remind your students of this on Monday.  

Quarter 1 Grading - An email was sent out by Melissa Barwick with information on the grading process.  Please make sure you adhere to the dates on this email so grades can be completed before conferences for parents to see on IC.

Parent-Teacher Conferences - Thursday, November 11th, and Monday, November 15th, are parent-teacher conferences from 3-6pm with a built-in 20-minute break each night. All teachers are expected to have conferences. There are a few shared teachers, coaches, etc. that may not be here. If you haven’t already spoken to Dawn Seehafer about not being here, please do so ASAP. Parents received an email or paper copy last week with instructions and links to sign up for either a phone conference or a WebEx conference during a 10-minute spot. You will receive a link early this week for you to see your schedule.  If any parent adds/deletes/changes need to be made, contact Dawn.  

Semester Finals - This past week the BLT determined that we will go back to a traditional final schedule.  We will share the detailed schedule with you in the coming weeks.  Per the BLT conversation - it is an expectation that all teachers are conducting an assessment of some sort during their scheduled class time.  This could be a comprehensive assessment, unit assessment, or project assessment.  Students are not allowed to be excused from their scheduled time.

Important Dates:

November:

1          Vertical Teaming Night 3:15-6 pm

2          Picture Retake Day, 7-9 a.m. by auditorium main doors

5          Quarter 1 Ends

8          No School, PD for Grading

9          Quarter 2 Begins

10        BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

11        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm

15        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm
17        Faculty Meeting @ 2:50

23        Normal School Day

24        No School

25-26   Thanksgiving Holiday!

February

17        Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6:30 pm

17        Week of the 17th - 3 parent contact hours

May

25        Graduation 6-9 pm

                        Upcoming Field Trips 

Field Trips - Field trips are still permitted at this point.  Please consider academic and curricular importance when scheduling.  If the guidance changes, we will let you know. See Mike Raether if you have any questions.  

*NO additional field trips on 

• 2nd Friday Count (1/14/22)
• JH Adventure Day??

Field Trip Form from District (click on '2340(A): Field Trip Request' then '2340 (A) Field Trip Request Fillable 5-289-19.pdf.  Please write explanation of field trip along with the destination.

October 25 - October 29

 D.C. Everest Senior High School Staff Update

Weekly Happenings

Congratulations to Sara Mlodik for winning the Cross Country Conference and Sectional Championship!

Check out the awesome story about the new culinary lab featuring our new FC/S teacher Miranda Stroik!

https://www.wsaw.com/2021/10/21/new-culinary-lab-gives-dc-everest-students-leg-up/

Congratulations to Jen Gipp on helping the 16 students below earn their Microsoft Office Specialist Certifications!

Congratulations to our fishing team this past weekend competing in the Halloween Havoc tournament. Caden Wistrom took home first place, Logan Cherek 2nd, and Caleb Zingler 3rd.  Logan had big fish with a 46.25" Musky!

AP Bio conducting a Lab this past week!

Curriculum and Instruction

5 Metacognitive Questions For Students Learning New Material

New materials can leave kids in the fog. Here are five metacognitive questions they can use to find their way and become more independent learners.

By Paige Tutt
October 22, 2021

Confronting new material is an almost daily occurrence in classrooms, but figuring out how new learning connects to what’s already been covered isn’t always clear to students—or even something they know is important to think about. For many kids, when new lessons are taught in class, it can feel like just another disembodied idea or concept to add to the mix, another thing to grapple with or memorize for a test, or explain in a writing assignment.

But grasping the larger framework of how ideas and knowledge build upon each other, how they form an intentional continuum that stretches through units and grade levels and connects to existing background knowledge, helps build deeper, more durable learning. It’s also a critical part of students taking ownership of their own learning.

Many teachers focus on instilling in kids the metacognitive habits to actively reflect on their learning process with the goal of developing self-sufficient learners. But teaching students how to grapple with new material so they see how it fits into the puzzle of what they already know, how it solidifies concepts, or reveals gaps in their knowledge, is just as important.

Here are five questions—inspired by a tweet from TeachThought as well as by the work of several Edutopia contributors—to help students build the metacognitive habits to evaluate new materials and make sense of them, helping them grow as competent, independent learners.

1. What stands out to me? What makes me wonder?

When students encounter new information in Ann Young’s math class at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, she asks them to do an "I notice, I wonder" exercise. They begin by simply spending a few minutes examining the material and noting what stands out to them. "It helps them slow down and really focus on what’s in front of them," says Young. "They write about what they noticed and then turn and talk to a neighbor to enhance and draw attention to things that they maybe had missed." By giving students time to think for themselves and ask questions about the new material, Young is intentionally empowering them to engage critically with it. She wraps up the exercise by asking students what they wonder, creating a window for Young to see where students might need further instruction and getting them to reflect on their own knowledge gaps.

Getting kids to ask themselves this type of question is key here. When teachers ask the class "What stands out?," rather than letting students do the asking, it can inadvertently send the signal that there is "something you’ve already noticed, as a teacher, and you want to know if they see it too," writes educator Terry Heick. This can send the message that "if they do see it, they’re smart, and if not, they can continue to guess what you’re thinking," he explains. "This not only de-centers the student but the content as well, devolving the process into a distracting game of cat and mouse."

2. Which parts or terms are new to me, and which parts do I recognize?

What students think they know and what they actually know don’t always overlap; research shows they frequently overestimate how well they understand content and how prepared they are for tests or exams. But active reflection as they encounter new material can help—they should be looking for gaps in their knowledge, poking at their assumptions about a subject, and contemplating how their thinking syncs with new information.

To help scaffold learning new vocabulary terms and build student agency, Rebecca Alber, an instructor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education, has each student in her classroom create a chart where they write down key terms or concepts from a new unit and rank them as "know it," "sort of know it," or "don't know it at all." On the same paper, students then attempt to define the terms they identified as ones they know or kind of know, giving Alber a roadmap for areas to focus her instruction and giving students a clearer picture of where more work is needed.

3. How does this connect with what I already know?

The beginning of a unit is an excellent opportunity for students to think more deeply about how what they're learning may be tethered to previous knowledge, strengthening both the new knowledge and providing a review of older material. This is sense-making and students should regularly be pausing to contemplate and ask themselves questions about how what they’re learning fits into their existing knowledge framework.

One way to do this is by sketching out a concept map, says educational consultant Kripa Sundar. Concept maps—visual diagrams that show the relationships between ideas and information—can help students organize and structure what they know and prompt the creation of deeper, richer connections. "A student learning about bacteria can create a concept map that includes any relevant ideas—such as specific types of bacteria ("Helicobacter pylori") or ways to describe them ("single-celled organism")," Sundar writes. "This layout allows learners to identify what they know and where the gaps are, in addition to the relationships between concepts."

4. What follow-up questions do I have?

Many students are hesitant to ask questions, or don’t connect their feelings of confusion to a need for more information. To get her students to "identify what they are confused about and then embrace, work on, and wrestle with that confusion as they participate in the learning activities" Kimberly D. Tanner, a professor of biology at Baylor University, regularly asks her students to fill out index cards answering the prompt: "What was most confusing to me about the material being explored in class today?" Examining the "muddiest point" in this way—the place where things got confusing or complicated for students—or doing a quick misconception check, can be powerful tools for students to identify where they lack clarity.

"For many students, it is an unusual experience for an instructor to invite them to share confusions aloud," writes Tanner. "Regular use of the Muddiest Point in classrooms sets a tone that confusion is a part of learning and that articulating confusions is not done solely to inform the instructor, but also to inform students themselves; students can use identified confusions to drive their independent learning or to generate dialogue in review sessions."

5. Why is this idea important?

When teachers routinely encourage students to think about why a new concept or skill is important to learn, or how it links to the real world, it helps students find their own connections to the material and "add their own spin" in ways that clarify for them why they’re engaging with the work, writes eighth-grade English teacher Cathleen Beachboard. "Taking the time to look for and add intrinsic motivation ensures that student engagement is built into the learning process. The best part? Focusing on intrinsic motivators will give students desire, discipline, and dedication to learn."

Students can answer this question via a simple journal jot or a quick classroom discussion. Graphic organizers can also be helpful, says Alber, providing a scaffold to "guide and shape students’ thinking" and allowing them to pull out and organize important information from new content. "Some students can dive right into discussing, or writing an essay, or synthesizing several different hypotheses, without using a graphic organizer of some sort," Alber writes. "But many of our students benefit from using one with a difficult reading, or challenging new information."

Announcements/Week Ahead

October 28th Professional Development Schedule - Linked Here

Field Trips - The field trip form and student list MUST be given to Dawn Seehafer 2 weeks (or longer) prior to trip date.  This is very, very important.  There is a time consuming process that needs to take place by the health room.  Also, if any student's parent did not complete the Annual IC Update giving permission to go on field trips, the student will not be allowed to go.  Teachers, please pay attention to who can and who cannot attend by looking in IC.  If there is no flag by their name on the summary page, they are allowed to go.  Otherwise, it will say "No Field Trips."  Infinite Campus Parent Portal link and Parent Annual Update for Infinite Campus directions  Please see bottom of page for more information.

ACT Updates - Some staff have asked for status updates related to ACT and admission at schools. Please see below:

• Class of 2022 - UW schools are all test optional for this year’s seniors.  Students can choose to send their ACT score to colleges.  It is recommended to send your score if you feel it is a fair representation of your academic ability.  Colleges will not penalize a student for admission purposes if they do NOT send their score.

While the ACT is optional for admission purposes, it MAY NOT be optional for scholarships both at the institution or other scholarships.  It is up to the student to check out the requirements for the scholarships they are interested in.

• Class of 2023 - UW schools have not made a decision on test requirements for this year’s junior class.  We are hoping to have that answer by the end of the 2021/2022 school year.

ACT test options for both classes

All DCE students will take the ACT during the school day free of charge during the spring of their junior year. Any student is welcome to take the ACT or SAT on a Saturday at a national test site in addition to the test given at DCE during the school day. Students can register to take these tests by going to ACT.org or collegereadiness.collegeboard.org. 

Sunshine Club - Attention ALL SH Employees - Who doesn't love a little sunshine in their day?  The Sunshine Club would like to continue giving, but we need the support from our staff.  We are asking for a minimum of $5 per staff member, it is not a requirement. New this year Sunshine Closet, to spread joy more often......  See the Sunshine Collection 2021-22 flyer for all the sunny details! 

To stock our sunshine closet we need your help.  EVERYONE please fill out this short google form to let us know what your favorites are.  Form must be completed by Wednesday, October 27th.

Core Values Posters - There are CORE Values posters in the teacher's lounge for the taking.  If you need one for your classroom, please take one.

Facilities - Here is an HVAC update from Jason Jablonski: “We are on the final stretch for our new HVAC controls in all the schools. By 11/20/2021 Masters Solutions will have all the final control sequences programmed and tested. What does this mean to you?

If you have staff that come in over the weekend the building may be hot or cold depending on the time of year when we are unoccupied. We can manually adjust the system for heating and/or cooling if we know in advance you have an event at your building.”

Important Dates:

October:

26          Benefits Meeting, New PD Center by the new Administration Building, 3:15 p.m.

27          BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

27          Board Annual Meeting, MS, 6:00 p.m.

28          No students, Teacher PD Day

29          Day off

31          Halloween

November:

1          Vertical Teaming Night 3:15-6 pm

2          Picture Retake Day, 7-9 a.m. by auditorium main doors

5          Quarter 1 Ends

8          No School, PD for Grading

9          Quarter 2 Begins

10        BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

11        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm

15        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm
17        Faculty Meeting @ 2:50

23        Normal School Day

24        No School

25-26   Thanksgiving Holiday!

February

17        Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6:30 pm

17        Week of the 17th - 3 parent contact hours

May

25        Graduation 6-9 pm

                        Upcoming Field Trips 

Field Trips - Field trips are still permitted at this point.  Please consider academic and curricular importance when scheduling.  If the guidance changes, we will let you know. See Mike Raether if you have any questions.  The field trip form and student list MUST be handed into Dawn Seehafer 2 weeks (or longer) prior to trip date.  There is a time consuming process that needs to take place by the health room.  Also, if any student's primary parent did not complete the Annual IC Update giving permission to go on field trips, the student will not be allowed to go.  Infinite Campus Parent Portal link and Parent Annual Update for Infinite Campus directions

*NO additional field trips on 

• 2nd Friday Count (1/14/22)
• JH Adventure Day??

Field Trip Form from District (click on '2340(A): Field Trip Request' then '2340 (A) Field Trip Request Fillable 5-289-19.pdf.  Please write explanation of field trip along with the destination.

October 18 - October 22

   D.C. Everest Senior High School Staff Update

Weekly Happenings

Karry Salber will begin with us on Monday, October 18th in the senior high main office. Please take the time to introduce yourself and welcome her. You may already know her as she is transferring from the middle school. She will be a great addition to our building!

Congratulations to Joe Finnegan and our DC Everest Marching Band in their final performance for the 2021 school year. Check out the clip of the band featuring Sean Powers playing the guitar during the performance.  https://youtu.be/mYQlcbS1U40

Great post by Weston Elementary teacher Mrs. Landerman regarding our students and the Teacher's Change Lives program with Mr. Seeley! On a related note, Paul Aleckson has been spearheading a pipeline program to keep our TCL students connected with DC Everest in hopes that they choose to return to our district to teach in the future.  This means you may see a few more alumni practicum or even pre-practicum students in our hallways throughout the year.  

Interesting Information

How Poverty and Stress Influence Students' Behavior

Educators must be especially conscious of using compassionate discipline with students living in poverty. Imagine the stresses felt while growing up poor—insecurity about the basics, living in unsafe conditions, perhaps having untreated health conditions or a parent in jail. Research shows that living in poverty can produce changes in the human brain—from decision making to empathy. As an educational consultant who helps schools apply neuroscience findings, I feel it's crucial that teachers understand how poverty can affect the brain.

The stresses of living in poverty often cause a loss of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex, which plays a role in complex cognitive tasks, social behavior, and decision making. Living in poverty is also correlated with a drop in brain white matter; this lowers communication between the cortex and the amygdala and reduces self-control (Javanbakht et al., 2015). The prefrontal cortex takes a long time to develop, so it's highly susceptible to environmental and experiential factors.

Poverty also affects the amygdala, which produces emotions and helps us respond to others' social cues. When the prefrontal cortex's control is compromised, the amygdala frequently overrides the "rational brain," producing a loss of emotional control and inappropriate behavior. The amygdala's ability to accurately assess social situations can be weakened by constant low-grade stress, and the combination of reduced cortex control and a hypersensitive amygdala can increase aggressive reactions, even if another person's facial expressions are simply perceived as negative (Marsh & Ambady, 2007). Consider how many behavior problems in schools stem from such hypersensitivity—and that changes in a student's brain may truly make it harder for that child to let perceived slights go or stay calm.

Poverty and Empathy

Growing up in poverty can also dampen the development of empathy due to a range of stresses, including stress on parents. Although empathy is built into our DNA, we aren't born with it fully developed. Empathy begins with infant-mother attachment. Around age 11, our ability to assess other people's emotions undergoes a sharp increase, and around age 13, there's an increase in our ability to appropriately respond to others' emotional needs. We hit a peak in assessing others' emotional cues and responding appropriately during young adulthood (Burke & Mackay, 1997).

Infant-mother attachment is critical because it lowers cortisol, a stress hormone that interferes with the development of empathy. One study indicated that cortisol is often higher in infants from low-income homes, presumably due to parental stresses and hardships that make attachment more difficult (Blair et al., 2011). Since responding to the emotional needs of others is key to cooperating with peers and forming friendships, the potential link between the effects of poverty, empathy, and student behavior is important to recognize.

        Increase Empathy - Community service or helping younger children can develop empathy and altruism in students and broaden their cognitive flexibility.

Reducing Poverty's Harm

Fortunately, caring teachers can help reduce or reverse the harmful neurological effects of poverty. Here are three ways to strengthen low-income students' natural capacity for self-control, social behavior, and empathy.

Forge a Positive Social Climate

The amygdala is naturally alerted in new situations and when meeting new people. That alertness is often higher when meeting people who seem different from us—and may be stronger for students living in poverty, due to frequent experiences of insecurity (Puccetti et al., 2021). Consider, for instance, students transitioning to a new school with a large, diverse student population. The risk for misreading social cues and reacting inappropriately rises.

Neuroscientists know that when people discover they have something in common, the amygdala's alertness lowers. So a great way to establish a positive social climate in which students become more relaxed and trusting of each other is to do a series of activities that help students discover things they have in common (Bauer et al., 2019). Teachers might survey students about things they like, then have students with similar interests work together in a group. Since the amygdala responds strongly to symbol, assign a symbol to each "in common" answer and display it at each group table (like a red circle for those whose favorite color is red). Repeat this process until all students have had some opportunity to work together. Physical cooperative activities are ideal; they have greater power than do strict academic assignments to help students realize that they can get along.

Do such activities before natural like-minded groups form in the class. If a student's amygdala remains on high alert because of perceived differences with students in another group before a positive social climate is established, the risk of conflict between group members increases.

We should teach students how to let down their defenses and connect with other students when they first meet.

Teach Social Skills

Many behavioral issues in schools are rooted in social conflict. Larger settings are more likely to promote some social unease for most students—and higher levels of anxiety for many students from poverty—so educators in large schools encounter this issue often.

We should teach all students how to let down their defenses and connect with other students when they first meet. Because the amygdala is always on alert for threats, students who present with threatening or unreadable expressions arouse the amygdala, reducing their chances for social bonding. Teaching students to establish trust and common connections in talking with someone gives them social skills for a lifetime.

Increase Empathy

People can develop empathy and altruism through acts of kindness, which increase activity in the parietal cortex (Weng et al., 2013). Teachers might have students do community service or help younger children. They might also help students develop cognitive flexibility, the ability to look at an issue from multiple perspectives, which is an aspect of empathy.

What "Compassionate" Does

I won't describe here specific techniques for working with students when problematic behavior arises; those can be found elsewhere in this issue. I will stress that disciplining compassionately means keeping our relationship with a student central and remembering how poverty affects the brain.

By developing a trusting climate, teaching social skills, and helping children become empathetic, we can help students who experience poverty overcome these negative effects—so they can thrive in school.

Announcements/Week Ahead

Faculty Meeting October 20 - Our next faculty meeting is Wednesday, October 20th in the IMC at 2:50 p.m.  We will be discussion suicide prevention and learning about our community counseling services available to our students.  If you are unable to attend, talk to Mike prior to Wednesday.  

October 28th Professional Development Schedule - Linked Here

Securing WebEx Meetings - Please review the TechKnow that was emailed on ON Thursday morning on keeping your Webex meetings secure. 

    Note from Tammy T. -  I just wanted to share this as a reminder to staff about upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences. Karen did a great job highlighting this is in the TechKnow. However, sometimes it is missed. We just want to make sure that teachers see this and as set up for success.

Please have teachers check their Webex. This information is in the Techknow. However, our teachers have new MacBooks. Our staff needs to download the Webex App. When it is downloaded staff needs to make sure that they have the privacy and security settings set for their Camera, Microphone, and Screen Recording to have a successful meeting. This is a different process than what the staff has had to do prior. Sharing the information multiple times may allow us to catch all teachers and staff.

ACT Prep Course - teachers needed - The senior high will be offering an ACT Preparation Course in February.  The course will be free to all juniors on a first come first serve basis.  At this time, we can only take up to 80 students as we only have 3 teachers - A math teacher is still needed.  Also, if more students sign up, it would be great to have a second team of 4 on standby.  Teachers would only teach 2 nights and be paid for teaching and prep time.  Please let Dawn know if you are interested in teaching.

Fall 2021 Pay & Benefit Meetings - If you were unable to attend the meeting at the senior high on October 5th, there is one more meeting scheduled offsite:  Oct. 26, @ 3:15 pm  @ DCE PD Center, Suite 302 (Two doors down from new Admin Building).

Picture Retake Day - Yes there will be a retake day on Tuesday, November 2nd from 7-9a.m. for any student or staff member to get their picture take for the yearbook.  This is also a day were students can have retakes taken if needed.  There will be a charge of $7 if nothing is really wrong with the pictures.  If eyes are closed or something like that, it will be free of charge.  Students must bring old pictures back that day to the photographer.

Important Dates:

October:

18-23     Make a Difference Week

20          Faculty meeting, IMC, 2:50 p.m.

23          Make a Difference Day

27          BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

27          Board Meeting, MS, 6:30 p.m.

28          No students, Teacher PD Day

29          Day off

31          Halloween

November:

1          Vertical Teaming Night 3:15-6 pm

2          Picture Retake Day, 7-9 a.m. by auditorium main doors

5          Quarter 1 Ends

8          No School, PD for Grading

9          Quarter 2 Begins

10        BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

11        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm

15        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm
17        Faculty Meeting @ 2:50

23        Normal School Day

24        No School

25-26   Thanksgiving Holiday!

February

17        Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6:30 pm

17        Week of the 17th - 3 parent contact hours

May

25        Graduation 6-9 pm

                        Upcoming Field Trips 

Field Trips - Field trips are still permitted at this point.  Please consider academic and curricular importance when scheduling.  If the guidance changes, we will let you know. See Mike Raether if you have any questions.  

*NO additional field trips on 

• 2nd Friday Count (1/14/22)
• JH Adventure Day??

Field Trip Form from District (click on '2340(A): Field Trip Request' then '2340 (A) Field Trip Request Fillable 5-289-19.pdf.  Please write explanation of field trip along with the destination.

Teacher	Dates	Destination	Form & Class list
Alex Schremp	10/21/21	NTC	Form & Class List
Rose/Jenn/Pernsteiner	11/9/21	Coloma, WI-WI Operating Engineers Training Site	Form No Class List
Jodi Peterson	12/2/21	Green Bay	Form No Class List

October 11 - October 15

  D.C. Everest Senior High School Staff Update

Weekly Happenings

On Friday I walked into Bryan Foster's classroom to observe his entire class working together on a problem.  They had to place a 3 inch cup to catch a projectile launched from a certain distance away.  I was skeptical they could do it - Then I saw this!  It was an inspiring moment to see students so engaged in the collaborative problem solving process.  I thought it was amazing!  Just one example of our teachers and students doing awesome things!

Harvesting the first crop of lettuce of the year...

In case you missed it - John Glynn's Fust Farm got a shout out on ABC World News with David Muir this past week...  https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/year-makes-history-georgias-youngest-farmer/story?id=80422154

Great job by Key club partnering with Bethany Church to set up a community Blood Drive.

Youth Soccer night this week...

Great story on Mike Brierton in the news this week... https://www.wsaw.com/2021/10/08/dc-everest-student-earns-all-137-boy-scout-badges/

DCE Construction Trades students in the process of earning their First Aid/CPR certification! Thanks to Karen Wegge for her partnership!

Announcements/Week Ahead

Advisory - Each week check your grade guardian dashboard in relation to your advisory students. If you have a student in the red or a new student in the yellow, please check in with them to ensure they know what they need to do.  Feel free to require them to stay during ELT until they are caught up. If you need help with the ELT conversation let an administrator know.  We need to make sure students stay on top of their work so it does not pile up and snowball.  

Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences - Semester 1 conferences are on November 11th and 15th.  They will be virtual by Webex or telephone with prior appointment scheduling just like last year.  All teachers are expected to be available for virtual parent-teacher conferences both nights from 3-6 p.m.  Shared and part-time teacher schedules were emailed out again last week with a few minor changes. There will be a 20 minute break automatically added to your schedule with treats in the teacher's lounge to enjoy.

Media/News Reminder - Reminder that ALL media contacts need to go through the Superintendent’s office BEFORE the staff speaks with the media. Staff will always hear from their principal if the media has requested an interview and that staff member has been selected to give the interview because of their expertise and it fits the time frame requested. The only exception are coaches speaking specifically about their team or the game being held.  The local media outlets are having an influx of new reporters. They are trying to tell the reporters this, but it doesn’t always sink in that all our schools are DCE and this contact needs to be made.

Fall 2021 Pay & Benefit Meetings - If you are unable to attend the meeting at the senior high on October 5th at 2:50 p.m., here are the dates at the other schools.

• Oct. 11, @ 3:10 pm                  Junior High IMC
• Oct. 12, @ 7:50 am                  Hatley IMC
• Oct. 26, @ 3:15 pm                  DCE PD Center, Suite 302 (Two doors down from new Admin Building)

 

Important Dates:

October:

13          BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

13          Community Open House, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (not required for staff - but welcome)

14          Fire Drill at 10 am - PLEASE DO NOT RELEASE STUDENTS BEFORE the Fire Drill

18-23     Make a Difference Week

20          Faculty meeting, IMC, 2:50 p.m.

23          Make a Difference Day

27          BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

28          No students, Teacher PD Day

29          Day off

31          Halloween

November:

1          Vertical Teaming Night 3:15-6 pm

5          Quarter 1 Ends

8          No School, PD for Grading

9          Quarter 2 Begins

10        BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

11        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm

15        Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm
17        Faculty Meeting @ 2:50

February

17        Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6:30 pm

17        Week of the 17th - 3 parent contact hours

May

25        Graduation 6-9 pm

                        Upcoming Field Trips 

Field Trips - Field trips are still permitted at this point.  Please consider academic and curricular importance when scheduling.  If the guidance changes, we will let you know. See Mike Raether if you have any questions.  

*NO additional field trips on 

• 2nd Friday Count (1/14/22)
• JH Adventure Day??

Field Trip Form from District (click on '2340(A): Field Trip Request' then '2340 (A) Field Trip Request Fillable 5-289-19.pdf.  Please write explanation of field trip along with the destination.

Teacher	Dates	Destination	Form & Class list
Rose Matthiae	10/13/21	CW Convention/Expo Center	Form No Class List
Alex Schremp	10/21/21	NTC	Form No Class List
Jodi Peterson	12/2/21	Green Bay	Form No Class List

October 4 - October 8

 

 D.C. Everest Senior High School Staff Update

Weekly Happenings

A huge THANK YOU to Jenny Oosterhuis, and Lisa Banks Ohearn for coordinating this past weeks homecoming!  An additional thank you to Caitlyn Filtz, Joel Deboer, Brandon Stremkowski, Joe Rislove, Pete Thorpe, Rachel Lintereur, Hannah Brockman, Alex Schremp, and Jenna Peplinski as they helped coordinate their respective classes as advisors!  Of course big thanks to Todd Bohm, Officer Frank, Jim Sekel and Jeff See for their efforts as well.  Homecoming takes a ton of work by so many - thank you for making it happen for our students!

Senior winning touchdown in Powderpuff...

Announcements/Week Ahead

Parent-Teacher Conferences - We have decided that all PT conferences will be virtual - Webex, email, or phone - for the first semester.  

Attendance - We have seen a considerable increase in the amount of unexcused absences over the last two weeks.  We are going to shift some of our unexcused response processes to focus more time and resources on ensuring we are following up on those unexcused absences.  Teachers, please make sure your attendance is prompt and accurate as it allows us to spend more time with students who need more attention.

ELT attendance - I would ask teachers to have conversations with students individually if they do not show up when requested for ELT.  We are focusing our conversations with students on the ones who do not show up for their academic courses. At any point that you would like administration to address a student about missing ELT - please email one of us the name of the student and the number of times they have missed your ELT.

Wellness Wednesdays - Mental Wellness has rapidly become a challenge for our youth today. By supporting our students in developing health coping skills, we will continue to set them up for success in life. We are starting Wellness Wednesdays to enhance the skills and supports we are already offering our students. We are excited to grow awareness and knowledge around Mental Wellness during these days. Beginning this week October 6th, each Wednesday there will be an announcement and a skill of the day shared. There will then be a table set up at lunch on Wednesdays to demonstrate the skill, share additional information, and student services will be available for discussion.

If you are interested in supporting this discussion, have ideas or coping tools to share, or would like to join us for discussion during a lunch hour please jump in or contact Erin Jacobson (School Social Worker).

Student Living Arrangements - Reminder if you know or suspect a student is homeless, soon to be homeless, or living independently Please let Erin Jacobson, School Social Worker, know. There are supports and services we can offer the student or family.

Make-up Testing Availability - Dawn Whitsett and Yolanda Lloyd are happy to administer tests during the after school program in the IMC.  The folder for tests is behind the counter.  Teachers need to put the name of the student, where to put the test when it is finished, and any directions specific to the assessment.  This would be another option staff and students have to get make-up work done.  If you have any questions, talk to Dawn or Yolanda.

Fall 2021 Pay & Benefit Meetings - If you are unable to attend the meeting at the senior high on October 5th at 2:50 p.m., here are the dates at the other schools.

• Oct. 5, @ 7:50 am                    Riverside IMC
• Oct. 5, @ 2:50 pm                    Senior High Auditorium
• Oct. 11, @ 3:10 pm                  Junior High IMC
• Oct. 12, @ 7:50 am                  Hatley IMC
• Oct. 26, @ 3:15 pm                  DCE PD Center, Suite 302 (Two doors down from new Admin Building)

 

Important Dates:

October:

4        Academic Letter Awards Banquet, SH Auditorium, 7 p.m.

5        Senior Class Picture during ELT - Do not request Seniors for ELT

5        Flu Shot Clinic at Greenheck, 2:30-6 p.m.

5        Benefits Meeting, Auditorium, 2:50 p.m.

13      BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

13      Community Open House, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (not required for staff - but welcome)

20      Faculty meeting, IMC, 2:50 p.m.

27      BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

28      No School, Teacher PD Day

29      No School

November:

1      Vertical Teaming Night 3:15-6 pm

5      Quarter 1 Ends

8      No School, PD for Grading

9      Quarter 2 Begins

10    BLT Meeting, Conf Rm 369, 2:50 p.m.

11    Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm

15    Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6 pm
17    Faculty Meeting @ 2:50

February

17    Parent Teacher Conferences 3-6:30 pm

17    Week of the 17th - 3 parent contact hours

May

25    Graduation 6-9 pm

                        Upcoming Field Trips 

Field Trips - Field trips are still permitted at this point.  Please consider academic and curricular importance when scheduling.  If the guidance changes, we will let you know. See Mike Raether if you have any questions.  

*NO additional field trips on 

• 2nd Friday Count (1/14/22)
• JH Adventure Day??

Field Trip Form from District (click on '2340(A): Field Trip Request' then '2340 (A) Field Trip Request Fillable 5-289-19.pdf.

Teacher	Dates	Destination	Form & Class list
Rose Matthiae	10/13/21	CW Convention/Expo Center	TBD