November 13, 2016 - No Matter our Differences, We are all Jackets

The Campus honored our Veterans this past Friday with a special luncheon and a program for out students that you can view in the video above.  We appreciate all those who served, and continue to serve, our great nation.  Your sacrifice is what allows us to continue to exercise our freedoms.

There is nothing more polarizing than a presidential election.  It highlights the different opinions of political parties and feeds on the division of our citizens.  We struggle to identify with the political candidates who are elected to represent their given parties and the media feeds on the disparity between their views and ideals.  This year, in particular, reminded me that we must honor the differences that make America, and our community, unique.  The Campus of Calhoun Middle and High School is comprised of a diverse group of students and teachers who represent a variety of values and beliefs.  We could do what the media teaches us, and focus on our differences, or we can choose to focus on what bonds us.

I would present the following common traits of our Campus family: We are a community of learners who want to enjoy our experience at school and who desire The Campus to be a fun and engaging place to learn; we want to feel safe, loved and appreciated; we want to attend a school where we can develop meaningful relationships that will last beyond graduation; we want to feel prepared to enter college and/or career fields that interest us; we want to laugh often and share our lives with each other so we may learn from the experiences of those around us; we want to win; we want to learn from our failures; we want to have the freedom to follow our dreams and express our creativity without fear of judgment.

The above mentioned qualities are what bond us as Calhoun Yellow Jackets.  We are one family of learners, living life together, and we will continue as long as we are afforded the freedoms to do so.  Go Jackets! #JacketStrong

Student Spotlight:
Congratulations to Calhoun High School's Competition Cheerleaders who placed third in the AAA State Championship competition today. Thank you Coach Ginger Reeves and all of our hard working, talented girls! We are proud of you all! Go Jackets!

October 17, 2016 - Principals of the Day... Future Jacket Leaders!

I hope everyone had a wonderful fall break!  It is always refreshing to have the opportunity to step back from the workplace, catch our breath, and prepare for what lies ahead as we approach the quarter mark of the school year.  Today I had the opportunity to be shadowed by two incredible 6th graders who wanted to the "Principal for a Day".  These two are incredible and I can't wait for you to meet both Lilly and Brandon!

I had the great opportunity to visit my alma mater, The University of Florida, this weekend to attend our homecoming game.  It was a fun and exciting opportunity to reminisce and connect with old friends, but I could not help but think about one thing.  That one thing was how proud I am to be a Calhoun Yellow Jacket!  The University of Florida has an outstanding sense of school pride and tradition, of which I am very proud to be a part of, but I kept thinking about how much more I enjoy being a part of the Yellow Jacket Nation.  I asked myself why, and the answer was obvious.  It is because of the incredible kids I get to work with each and every day and the teachers, parents and community who support them.  I am proud that we are providing a future workforce for our state, nation and beyond, but even more proud that we are building lifelong learners who embody the spirit and character that being a Yellow Jacket are all about.  Go Jackets!

Student Spotlight:
It is obvious who my choice is this week... Lilly Bunch and Brandon Webb!  Spending time with them today was the highlight of my day and week.  They are future stars at Calhoun Middle and High School and I am proud to be their principal.  Watch the video and it will be easy to see why they are so awesome!

Staff Spotlight:
Sean Blockley, AFS Lead at The Campus, is out staff spotlight this week.  Sean continues to go the extra mile in leading his team to ensure that The Campus is kept in tip top shape.  He responds to all situations with a positive attitude and is approachable at all times.  I appreciate Sean's commitment to our school and our students.  Without he and his crew we would not be able to function.  Thank you Sean!

October 2, 2016 - Learning... It's a family affair

When it comes to teaching and learning, it is certainly a team effort. Parents and teachers must work hand-in-hand with their students in order to be successful. In order to foster this partnership, Calhoun City Schools has practiced 100% face-to-face parent-teacher conferencing for years. With that said, we at The Campus have held discussions with parents, school governance teams, teachers and students and have discovered that our current practice is not meeting the needs of all learners. We will be revamping our teacher parent conferencing at Calhoun Middle & High School this year and will be focusing on engaging parents and students in dialog surrounding their personal growth. A summary of our new conferencing procedures are found below:

As a part of this model, all students will be engaged in individual conferencing with teachers within the classroom.

• Nine week grades are due by 8am on Thursday, October 20, 2016. 
• October 21 & 25, 2016 - Individual Student Conferencing - Black Day/Gold Day. All students will be given a form in homeroom They will carry the form from course to course and teachers will conference with each student in the class providing grade and narrative feedback for both the student and the parent. Students will return the form to the homeroom teacher at the end of each day. 
• Advisers will scan a copy of each student form and email to the parents based on information provided in infinite campus. Students will be given the original form to deliver to their parents by hand no later than October 28, 2016. 
• Teachers of failing students will make a parent contact (phone or face-to-face conference) if the student is failing their course. If the student is failing more than two academic courses, administration will schedule a conference with an administrator and involved teachers. ESS Case managers will schedule conferences for those on their caseload. 
• Any student with attendance and/or behavior issues will have an administrative led conference with involved parties. 
• Any parent may schedule a conference with any teacher at any point during the year. If more information from the specific teacher is needed after receiving the parent feedback form mentioned above, the teacher's contact information will be provided on the form. 

The goal of our new conferencing model is to make better use of parent-teacher conferencing so that it is done with intention and purpose. We know that not every parent has the need to conference with their student's teacher, but we do believe it is important to have communication in the form of the narrative/grade feedback provided by the teachers this semester as mentioned above.

Just for your viewing pleasure... check out this video re: a parent/teacher communication app from our friend in Kentucky, Principal Brooks:

Student Spotlight:

Congratulations to our Calhoun water polo team! They placed 4th in the state of Georgia in their inaugural year as a program! What a great accomplishment! Please wish each of these student athletes your congratulations!


Staff Spotlight:

This week's staff spotlight is Renae Weldon. Recently Calhoun High School signed off on their 2016 graduation cohort rate. This is a culmination of month's of fact checking and documentation. Renae leads this charge, and after an exhaustive amount of record searching, etc. we have officially signed off on our rate as 97.16-97.19% (depending on the denominator as determined by the state). This is a reflection of our teachers, students and community support and we are appreciative of Renae going the extra mile in ensuring we have appropriate documentation for all students! Go Jackets!

September 25, 2016 - Student engagement... It's all about building relationships!

Check out this example of a substitute teacher struggling to gain control of an unruly classroom.  Thankfully, Calhoun Middle and High School teachers are skilled in the art of engagement!

Student engagement begins with the building of relationships.  Without an established relationship and positive rapport between a teacher and student, engagement is limited.  A student's potential is not delivered to them by a teacher.  It is already present.  It is a skilled teacher that is able to engage the student and channel their full potential.  The following are some characteristics of what I would call a master of student engagement.  A master teacher will...

1. Build positive relationships with students and learn about each individual child.
2. Teach kids first and curriculum second.
3. Ensure that children draw relevance to the curriculum.
4. Work with students to develop a love of learning.
5. Embody lifelong learning.
6. Focus on learning goals as opposed to performance goals.
7. Recognize that there is more to learn in the classroom than the curriculum.
8. Move beyond the four walls and engage the community as the classroom.

I am proud that we have teachers who choose to embody those traits described above.  We are a blessed learning community for sure!  It is not hard to see examples of teachers and coaches who focus their efforts on building relationships.  I witnessed 280+ band members march at festival this weekend.  They had many things in common, but one significant bond was that they all looked to their band directors and coaches for support, guidance and direction.  How do a group of 5 adults coach a team of nearly 300 performers?  They do it through the building of relationships, the development of trust, and the promise of success.  We see this in every school sponsored organization, and it is a thing of marvel at Calhoun Middle and High School.  Thank you to all of our teachers, coaches and sponsors who are so committed to our students!

September 11, 2016 - 911 - History for a New Generation

September 11, 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of an event which will forever be remembered as the day an act of terrorism woke a sleeping giant and brought new awareness to the vulnerability of our nation.  I vividly remember being on the campus of The University of Florida on my way to my French class when I heard students running through a courtyard yelling, "a plane hit a building in New York".  Although this memory will be one I will never forget, we are now teaching a new generation of student.  A generation which will not remember 9/11 with first hand accounts, but will instead learn about this event on wikipedia.  My children (4 year old, Violet, and 8 month old, Clyde) will know only of these events through the stories passed down to them or what they learn in school.  It is my fervent prayer that their generation not experience a 9/11 like event, but I know that this is entirely possible given the current climate in today's world.  How do we combat this?  In a world where many choose to hate, we at Calhoun City Schools will choose to love.  We will choose to love each and every student that walks through the doors of our schools.  We will teach them to love others and to believe that the world is filled with more people who choose to love than to hate.  I hope you will join me in this task as we teach a new generation to love one another, so that Children like Violet here will have hope both now and in the future.

If you missed our survival guide 101 for middle and high school students click here to access all materials shared.

Student Spotlight

Congratulations to the 2016 CHS Senior Homecoming Court!

Staff Spotlight

CHS ESOL Teacher, Crystal Veal, invested in her students on Friday afternoon and evening.  While she could have chosen to head home at the end of a busy week, she remained at CHS to work with nearly 20 ELL students to help them with a written paper assignment.  She then followed this by investing in her students by attending a local church service which she was invited to.  We appreciate Mrs. Veal's commitment to her students.

September 5, 2016 - How to Survive Middle/High School 101

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night wondering what your student needs to do to prepare for college?  Have you ever received that urgent text or phone call from your child sharing that they need money for the field trip you were unaware of?  Do you want to be an informed parent when talking with your child about their school experience?  Are you a planner and like to know all the important events and dates for the year?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to plan on being at The Campus of Calhoun Middle and High School at 6pm on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 for our Middle/High School 101 Parent Meeting.  Every parent will walk away with a survival guide for their child's grade level and will have an opportunity to ask any important questions on their mind during grade level breakout sessions.

August 30, 2016 - Beyond the Four Walls - Moving Offices

Today, I moved my office into the lobby of Calhoun High School and invited the entire student body of CMS and CHS to stop by and share in conversation as they express concerns, or simply want to chat.  Below is the message I shared with my staff based on my insights from today's experience:

Campus Colleagues, 

I wanted to take a moment to share a few things that my experience moving my office into the lobby for a day taught me.  Thank you for indulging me as I pass on these small yet perhaps meaningful insights:

Today I learned...

1. That moving a full suite of furniture in the lobby yourself is difficult, but asking for help in returning these items makes it far easier.  This may seem trivial, but it reminded me that it is okay to ask for help when facing challenging tasks.

2. Students recognize and appreciate when we step beyond the four walls and do something extraordinary.  It did not take long for comments to spread and for students to come visit the "crazy" principal with his office in the lobby.  Sometimes it takes an unusual gesture to stir conversation and create a buzz around campus.

3. Students want to have open and honest conversation with their teachers and administrators but are often timid in doing so.  We have to sometimes remove those barriers in order to create an environment where these open conversations are welcome.

4. We have some pretty incredible students!  Our students are so observant and their knowledge and insight they imparted upon me today was quite overwhelming.  I have summarized a few of those items below:

• We have students who love to learn and engage in active learning experiences.  Even the ones who struggle to love school, shared that they enjoy when the learning is hands on.
• We have teachers who love their students and care about their profession.  EVERY student I spoke to today had positive things to say about their teachers.  No student shared a dislike for a teacher.  They may share that they don't like the subject, but they all said they knew their teachers cared for them.
• We have students who struggle with many external obstacles ranging from the threat of deportation to family money problems, etc.  
• We have a sense of school pride which is acknowledged and felt by all to some degree.  

5. Our students are curious.  If we engage them in the classroom with strategies which challenge their preconceived notions of "school" they will be putty in your hands.  I would sit working today, and students would come by and take pictures, share a smile, give me a thumbs up, etc.  They want to be challenged to think of things in new ways.  Redefine your classroom!  Get beyond the 4 walls!

6. It's not always about having a conversation... it's about being present.  Most students did not stop to have conversation.  Most simply wanted to see what was going on in the lobby... what they had heard about.  As I would see those same students walk back through later in the day I would engage them in conversation and this opened a conversation which I would not have had if I was not present in the lobby... in the hall... to speak with them specifically.

7. We have awesome teachers!  I saw so many teachers supporting students in the hallway... walking with students... sharing a friendly hello.

8. Our community appreciates seeing what we are doing in our classrooms.  I gathered a lot of positive attention via social media, text messages, email, etc. from parents and community members who saw I was doing something a little out of the ordinary today.  Our families love to see what we are doing with their kids.  Be sure to share with them!

Every day I am proud to be a Yellow Jacket.  Today, I was especially proud to be one.  I want to thank each of you for allowing me to work along side you as we meet the challenge of educating more than 2100 students across grades 6-12.  My challenge to you today, and the rest of the year, will be to ask, how will you move your classroom beyond the 4 walls?