Shanna Zolman Night

Come support Shanna Zolman
Syracuse/Wawasee Community Night
with the INDIANA Fever

Indiana Fever vs. San Antonio Silver Stars Saturday, August 5, 2006 Tipoff - 7:00 p.m.
Doors Open - 6:00 p.m.*
*Subject to change

As a member of Syracuse/Wawasee community, you, along with your family and friends, are invited to participate in a McDonald's Family Night presented by The Indianapolis Star with the Indiana Fever! Come cheer on Shanna Zolman, former Wawasee High School player who now plays with the Silver Stars.

By purchasing tickets through this offer, you will also:
*receive a food voucher good for one FREE hot dog, bag of chips and small soft drink!
*receive a FREE T-shirt!
*receive a 10% discount coupon good for either Home Court location!
*see your group's name in lights on the scoreboard during halftime of the game!

To place your order, complete and return the order form below, along with payment, or visit http://consecofieldhouse.com/groupsfever.asp
Event #1424. Your group ID is SZ.

They must receive your order by Wednesday, August 2, 2006.

2006-2007 School Year and Registration Information

While I am really not trying to rush us through summer, I thought some might want to be able to plan ahead!

K-8 registration for the 2006-2007 school year will take place at the student's home school on Wednesday, August 2 and Thursday, August 3 from 12:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Wawasee High School registration is on Tuesday, August 8 and Wednesday, August 9 from 12:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Textbook fees are as follows and were approved by the school board at the June meeting:
Kindergarten $58.30; Readiness $75.40; Grade 1 $100.05; Grade 2 $99.45; Grade 3 $117.60; Grade 4 $101.70; Grade 5 $100.75; Grade 6 $108.15*; Grade 7 $106.75* ; Grade 8 $102.35*

*Some fluctuation will occur at grades 6, 7, and 8 depending on the courses in which a student is enrolled. High school textbook rental fees are based on the courses in which a student is enrolled.

If you want to view the corporation calendar for the 2006-2007 school year, click here. You can click on 2006-2007 Corporation Calendar and view and print the calendar.

Friday Fun

Since I don't have any Friday Funnies, I thought I might provide a couple of links just for fun.

If you have ever wondered how we ended up using the @ symbol in so many ways, check out this link.

If you have been following the World Cup, you might be interested in this prediction. Hmmm, I wonder if these guys have heard of March Madness.

Summer Reading List for Students

Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed has released a summer reading list. Her June 9th press release states, "Summer reading has been proven to improve students' academic performance in reading and other school subjects."

The list contains more than 300 book titles which were suggested by educators. There are three grade spans for the lists: primary; intermediate and middle school; and high school.

Take a look at the list here and click on Summer Reading List 2006 Edition.

Encourage your child to choose some books to read over the summer.

Wolfe Third in State - Golf Team Sixth

The Wawasee boys' golf team finished sixth (not fifth as previously reported) in the IHSAA golf state finals. Congratulations to Coach Coverstone and the Warrior golfers for a successful season! See state final team results here.

Senior Andrew Wolfe finished third in the state in individual scoring. He shot scores of 70 on Tuesday and Wednesday. See individual results here.

Dr. Stock Published

While Dr. Stock is out of the office, those of us here at central office want to take a moment to share with you one of his recent accomplishments.

Dr. Stock was recently published in the May edition of The School Administrator for this blog site, The Wawascene. The publication highlights the various means superintendents are using to communicate with the school community.

You can access the article here.

Thanks, Mark, for moving the Wawasee community into a new age of communication!

Video Games, What Are They Good For?

With apologies to Edwin Starr and the Indisputable Truth. Here is an article praising video games that give your brain a workout.

Here is an article illustrating how West Virginia schools will be using video games to combat childhood obesity.

Here is another article discussing the positives and negatives of technology and students.

How Does Indiana Rank?

According to an Indianapolis Star article printed last Saturday, Indiana ranks 32nd in the nation in the amount of school revenue that goes toward classroom teaching. You can read the article here. That information was taken from a report done by an independent research group called Federal Funds Information for States (FFIS). The article also provides a link to the full report. The report shows a number of state rankings and comparisons that relate primarily to various levels and sources of school funding across the nation. The specific ranking that is spotlighted in the Star ranks all fifty states in the amount of K-12 spending devoted to instruction in 2003-2004.

I would encourage reading the full report, and I would offer a few observations:

1. As the Star article indicates, it is difficult to compare statistics across states since it is almost impossible to know if everyone is defining terms in the same way.

2. The recently enacted HB 1006 provides for the State Board of Education to define terms for Indiana in four (4) areas: 1)Student Academic Achievement, 2) Student Instructional Support, 3) Overhead and Operations, and 4) Non-operations. Of course, this doesn't mean that the definitions determined by Indiana's board will be the same as any other state.

3. The same report that ranks Indiana 32nd in the amount of revenue dedicated to K-12 spending also ranks Indiana 13th in the nation in terms of the outcomes on the Armed Services Qualification Test for 2003 (the most recent available). According to the Congressional Quarterly's State Fact Finder 2006, "The results provide the best single measure of performance of high school graduates being tested by an employer using criteria approximating aptitude for work."

4. The FFIS report concludes with the following: "For some states-such as Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey and New Mexico-the rankings (between the amount devoted to K-12 instruction and the outcomes on the Armed Services Qualification Test) are similar. But for others-such as Alaska, Georgia, Oregon and New York-they are disparate. This suggests there there is more at work than just the share of total spending devoted to instruction, notwithstanding the appeal of a simple solution to a complex problem."

Guest Bloggers on the Docket

I will be taking an 8 day vacation trip starting next week so there will be guest bloggers keeping the fires burning here at The Wawascene.

Ms. Swartzentruber our Director of Curriculum and Mr. Evans our Director of Finance will be filling in.

Stay tuned.

I tried to leave a low baseline for them so it won't be too hard for them to exceed the blogging standards I have set so far!

See ya when I get back.

Wawasee Golfers Headed to State

The Wawasee boys' golf team is headed to state to compete for the state championship.

Article here.

Friday's Funnies

I'm walking into the building this morning, and one of my little second grade boys says, "Hi, Mrs. S., today's Show-n'Tell!!" in a very excited voice.

Understand that my caffeine hasn't settled into the brain yet - I muster a smile and say, "Really?" - almost enthusiastic. "

Guess what I brought? (Pause) I found it at the bus stop......" (uh-oh)(you'll never guess and I'm not making this up.)"Wanna see?"

"Sure" I said, a little concerned, definitely awake now and VERY curious. (At this time, I'd like to add that this child finds his way to the principal's office regularly!)

"Loooook!" - and he opens his backpack. And, up against his books and homework, is a possum. A dead possum. From last year. You know the kind, flat as a pancake, roadkill, just fur and bones. Completely intact. Eye sockets looking back at me.

I peered in, smiled and said, "COOL!" (Well, it was....) And off he went to his classroom - I wasn't going to spoil his fun. And I went to my classroom and died laughing.

Board Meeting Highlights

At Tuesday night's 7:00 PM board meeting, the board:

• approved a $1,119.57 donation to Small Engines Class at WHS from Alan Tehan of Precision Automotive
• approved minutes, claims, personnel items, a resolution allowing Superintendent and Dir. of Special Services to sign student residential placements, and approved FFA summer activities
• heard a report from Ms. Fry, Director of Guidance, regarding future changes in graduation credit requirements that would affect incoming freshman
• approved financial report and Text Book Rental Fees
• approved administrative contract extensions including a 2007 change that will include administrators paying the same insurance premium percentages as the teachers
• approved permission to advertise for purchase of 5 new buses
• first reading of the state required new Student Wellness Policy, there was much discussion on this and there may be revisions and more discussion
• heard a report from Dr. Stock on the 2006 senior class (similar information that was posted previously on the blog site here)
• established June 27th at 5:00 PM for a short meeting to approve bids on the WHS valve and plumbing project

The meeting adjourned around 8:00 PM.

Correction

The funeral for Mrs. Hursh will be Thursday at 11:00 AM at Calvary United Methodist Church in Syracuse. Sorry if this created any confusion.

Thank you to the individual commenter who corrected me.

Mrs. Hursh

It is with great sadness we announce that Mrs. Beth Hursh, former Wawasee French teacher, passed away this week after a long battle with cancer. She was well known, not only for her passion for foreign language, but also for her long time involvement with Wawasee's highly competitive Academic Super Bowl teams.

Even after her retirement for health related reasons, she continued to support the Academic Super Bowl teams when able.

The funeral will be Thursday, June 8, 2006 at 11:00 at the Yoder Culp Funeral Home in Goshen.

Friday's Funnies

When you have had a rough day, here is an option, consider resigning from adulthood. I found this on a teacher website.

A "just for fun" idea for an overstressed day...

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant.
I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.
I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.
I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.
I want to return to a time when life was simple; When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.
All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.
I want to live simply again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.
I want to believe in the power of smiles,hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.
So . . . here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.

And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, cause........ ......"Tag! You're it."

Wishing staff and students a safe and happy summer.

And hoping parents stay sane. Have yours said, "I"m bored," yet? Give 'em a day or two.

More about the class of 2006

It has been popular in various media outlets, especially the Indy Star to publish dropout rate statistics using exiting 8th graders or incoming 9th graders and projecting those numbers out to the senior year and claim that those not “graduating” are “dropouts.” Using the Indy Star’s methods this year's senior class at Wawasee would have what looks like a 74 % graduation rate and/or a 26 % dropout rate. These methods ignore the complexity of modern circumstances.

Here are some statistics from this year’s senior class at Wawasee that refute some of the doom and gloom claims by the Indy Star.

In the spring of 2002 there were 275 students leaving 8th grade.
In the fall of 2002 there were 282 incoming freshman.
In the spring of 2006 there are 208 graduating seniors from that incoming class .
On the surface that looks like a 74 % graduation rate and/or a 26 % dropout rate.

However, here is the rest of the story:

12 students received certificates of completion or attendance. 7 were students with diagnosed special learning needs and 5 were foreign exchange students

18 students are in still in the Alternative School working on the diploma track or working on a GED. They may graduate – just not in four years

6 have already earned a GED

4 are working on the GED somewhere else

1 student passed away

29 transferred to other schools

14 transferred into WHS and graduated on time this year

14 of the 208 graduating received their diploma through the Wawasee Academy

0 Transferred to home school

1 was expelled and never returned

12 students left or disappeared and we withdrew them eventually without receiving a transfer request

5 dropped out (through the exit interview process)

If we consider the 12 who disappeared + 5 who dropped out + 1 who was expelled and never returned, that makes 18 students we know have left the system. Assuming they are all "dropouts" and that they have not continued school somewhere else, would make the drop out rate 6%. If all of those in the alternative school dropped out too, then it could go up as high as 12% from this incoming group of freshman.

Assuming realistically that several of them will graduate, I would guess the true drop out rate is closer to 7 % or 8% not the 26% you will read in the newspaper.

The most amazing statistic is that 93% of the 208 students graduating were here for all 4 years.

And that folks is the rest of the story.

WHS Commencement Reminder

The graduating seniors will be honored on Friday, June 2, 2006 at WHS at 7:00 PM.

Thanks to all the parents, grandparents and educators that played a part in their lives. Earning a high school diploma for some students is more difficult than it has been in my lifetime.

And still...a high school diploma is just a first step towards achieving independence.

The following changes have taken place, many of them in just the last 10 years or so:

1. High school graduation exit exam: This exam was first required in 2003. It was made more difficult in 2005 by increasing the academic standards. It also added more Algebra questions to it, almost turning Algebra I into a "gatekeeper" course to graduation. The test is given to 10th graders in the fall, although students get numerous chances to try again.

2. Eliminating lower level classes: In the last decade Indiana high schools have eliminated almost all lower level Math and English classes except for some for students with special learning needs.

3. Core 40 has become the default curriculum in the high school: It used to be that parents chose the college preparatory curriculum for their 8th graders entering high school. Now the Core 40 college prep courses are the default high school program and parents have to "opt out" of it if they don't want their children taking those classes.

4. Students with special needs must pass the same classes and take the same tests to receive the same diploma: They are allowed more accommodations although the academic standards tested must remain the same. Nevertheless, some students with special learning needs used to receive a diploma and now some of those students may receive a certificate of completion or attendance for going to four years of high school.

Statistics as of Wednesday, May 31, 2006:

The 2002 class of 8th graders had 275 students enrolled at the end of the year. The incoming freshman class showed a beginning enrollment of 282 students. The senior class of 2006 will graduate 208 students. Amazingly enough, according to guidance department numbers 194 students in this class were here all four years of high school.

There were 10 certificates of attendance and 2 certificates of completion given.

Commencement will be Friday, June 2, 2006 at 7:00 PM in the high school auditorium.

2% circuit breaker: Will it blow the circuit?

The last state legislative session ended in a flurry with state lawmakers passing a law that has become known as the "2% Circuit Breaker." It's intended purpose was to cap your property tax payments at 2% of the assessed valuation of your property. Sounds simple and logical on its face. The side effects however, could be higher interest payments due to declining bond ratings; loss of funding for some schools, cities, libraries and towns where the total rate is over 2%; and possible loss of services and programs.

Proponents say people are worried over nothing. They evidently believe that rising property values will make this a non issue. (Reported here, in The Star.) Critics say the law was passed with absolutely no plan for replacing the lost funding. Critics also point out that if rising property values will keep the rates under 2% of assessed valuation then it's all a political lie anyway. If you still pay the same in property taxes then, "WHAT WAS THE POINT?" Was it just to pretend they lowered property taxes? Was it a pre-election year move?

Only time will tell if the lawmakers had intentions of passing some other type of revenue replacement for all the towns, cities, municipalities, schools and libraries that could lose funding as a result of this law. Or, only time will tell if property values rise so fast that most taxing locales end up under the 2% cap anyway.

Story from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette this weekend is here.

Charlton Scholarships Announced for Wawasee Students

1st Source Bank as Trustee for Donald L. Charlton has announced the establishment of the Donald L. Charlton Scholarship.

This scholarship trust was funded at Don's death in July 2004 and has assets in excess of 1.4 million dollars.

Don was a lifetime Milford resident and he created this scholarship fund for the benefit of graduates of Wawasee High School. While the amount of each scholarship will vary, there will be around $65,000 available the initial year. These scholarships may be renewable and also may be available to students already in 2 or 4 year colleges at the present time. Preference is given to students who reside in Van Buren or East of Jefferson Township and go to Wawasee High School. This was Don's wish as this is where he was born and raised. By spending only a small percentage of the fund in any year, this scholarship fund should provide ongoing financial support to qualified applicants for many years.

For more information contact John Elliott, Vice President and Trust Officer at 574-268-1207.

We are blessed to live in a community where our students are valued and remembered in such a manner.

Friday's Funnies

This has made the rounds before, but here is a modified version. Have a great weekend!


Jesus took his disciples up to the mountain; and gathering them around him, he taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are they that mourn.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Be glad and rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven.

Then Simon Peter said, "Are we supposed to know this?
And Andrew said, "Do we have to write this down?"
And James said, "Will we have a test on this?"
And Philip said, "I don't have any paper!"
And Bartholomew said, "Do we have to turn this in?"
And John said, "The other disciples didn't have to learn this!"
And Matthew said, "May I go to the bathroom?"
Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked to see Jesus' lesson plan and inquired of Jesus, "Is this compliant with Title I federal regulations? Does it align with the Indiana state standards and the NCLB?

And Jesus wept.

Summertime Blues

I have been an avid wakeboarder for around 6 years. Skiing is pretty boring (take that Ora Freeman!) compared to the freestyle fun of wakeboarding. However, lately my wife has been nagging me to act my age which I am pretty sure means "quit."

Our boat is a Supra Launch with a 37 gallon gas tank. In order to throw a really big wake we weigh it down with around 2,000 lbs of water filled "fat" sacks . The bad news is that when you pull the wakeboarder out of the water you can practically watch the gas gauge go down. The good news is that you can go "big" and crash in ever more creative ways.

I easily went through a half tank of gas in an early morning Saturday session.

With gas pushing three dollars a gallon I'll probably end up anchored in the middle of the lake on Saturday mornings with my feet dangling off the swim platform of a decked out wakeboard boat. Just sitting with a cane pole, watching the bobber bob up and down in the waves...just tryin' to act my age.

Oh well, that's not all bad.

The Academy at Oakwood

I am making a plug for The Academy at Oakwood and its summer retreats. This youth leadership program provides a variety of customizable leadership activities for youth, adults, churches or businesses. And...its right here in our own backyard.

Check out their Grand Opening on June 1, 2006 from 4-6 PM when they unveil their state of the art 50 ft climbing wall, boulder room, giant swing and a 300 yard Zip Line. That's right! It's time to let that "inner James Bond" out!

Check out their web site describing their many programs at www.leadershipaao.org

What is a "failing school" under NCLB?

Recent news releases continue to publicize the "failing schools" under the federal law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). What is a "failing school" under this law?

Essentially there are 37 ways for a school to "fail" and one way to succeed. To start with, the definition of "failing" is misleading. Under the law, "failing" means the school didn't meet its progress goals that go up each year until the goal is 100% in 2013-2014.

A school must meet its goal of all children passing ISTEP tests by 2013-2014 and it must continue to have more students pass each year in order to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

In order for a school to avoid "failing" it also must have all subpopulations make progress till it makes 100%.

What are the subpopulations? Special Education students, Poverty students, Limited English students, White students, Asian students, African American students, Hispanic students, Native American students etc.

If any of these populations do not make their AYP towards 100%, than the entire school is labeled "failing."

Example: Let's say that everyone in the school passed the ISTEP tests except some Special Needs students with diagnosed handicaps. And let's say their AYP goal was 80% but only 75% of the Special Needs students taking ISTEP, passed it. In this scenario, the entire school would "fail."

By 2013-2014 most schools in America will be labeled "failing." Achieving perfection is certainly a noble goal to shoot for. However, labeling the entire school as a "failure" is misleading, and even disingenuous.

Here, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette lays out some of the NCLB issues.

Friday's Funnies

Open Wide...
On the morning announcements, a first grader announced, "Please get ready for a moment of silence and medication."

You Found it Where?
I teach 8th grade U.S. history. I constantly remind my students that accurate spelling is very important in social studies. Despite this, during our unit on colonization I cannot describe how many settlers were seeking religious freedom in William Penn's colon!!!

Cops & Robbers
Little Johnny's kindergarten class was on a field trip to their local police station where they saw pictures, tacked to a bulletin board, of the 10 most wanted criminals. One of the youngsters pointed to a picture and asked if it really was the photo of a wanted person. "Yes," said the policeman. "The detectives want very badly to capture him." Little Johnny asked, "Why didn't you keep him when you took his picture!"

Would you Believe...?
It was my first year of teaching, and I was blessed to teach 8th grade Language Arts. They had to do an autobiography of themselves. One male student did not turn his in till almost two weeks later. This is what he wrote: The biggest moment of my life was when I got my period for the very first time.

Maybe next time this gentleman will read the report before "borrowing" it for a grade.

Have a great weekend!

Pools and Press Boxes

Someone in the community recently posed a question similar to this... "How come the school board delayed and agonized over whether or not to reopen the high school pool for $30,000 but never batted an eye over replacing the press box on the high school track and football field for $130,000?"

• The high school press box is a one time expense and might not have to be replaced for 20 or 30 years. It was the original box.
• 
  The money for the high school press box comes from construction funds which do not affect instructional programs
• 
  The press box was dangerous (I poked my finger through the rotting ceiling which was also supporting the floor for the deck on top)
• 
  The high school swimming pool cost of $30,000 is an annual cost from the General Fund which comes from the same fund as intructional programs
• 
  The swimming pool decision also included $43,000 in estimated upgrades and repairs that came from construction funds

These are just a few of things that the school board had to consider when wrestling with the issue.

More on video games

Many parents of middle schoolers may have noticed the amount of time their children spend on the internet playing "Runescape." It evidently is the latest thing.

Runescape is a multiplayer internet game where people play against each other by trying to get ahead in an imaginary world. Participants, borrow, trade and barter in an imaginary universe that is basically a giant global economy in cyberspace. They have to deal with unethical players as well as ethical players. If they enter unprotected areas (known as "the wild" according to my son) they can have their goods stolen. ("That's why I never go there," he told me. ) As they get more money and goods they are able to sell them to improve their weapons so they can protect themselves against bigger "monsters" which is evidently how they achieve higher ratings. While there is some violence it isn't your typical "shoot-em-up" graphically violent video game.

The irony is that students will likely remember more about economic interdependence through Runescape then they will by reading and testing on the chapter on "American Capitalism."

It isn't all good though. Sometimes my 12 year old won't even go outside for hours on end. Eyes are glazed. He forgets to eat. Chores? What chores?

A recent commenter on the first post wondered what the impact of all this is on teachers.

Current brain research is proving that students today seemed to be "wired" differently. They are growing up in a visually intense, highly stimulating world. Their need for novelty, fun, and interaction appears to be much higher than previous generations. I think it means as educators we need to provide much more variety in instructional methodologies than we currently do.

That's my take on it.

Video Games: Maybe they are not ALL bad.

EDUCATIONAL IMPACT OF VIDEO GAMES: INDIANA TEACHER REPORTS FINDINGS

A group of Indiana high school students traded in their textbooks for a multi-player video game and achieved higher test scores than students learning the exact same material the old-fashioned way.Under the watchful tutelage of David McDivitt, an enterprising Social Studies teacher at Oak Hill High School in Converse, 64 sophomore students played "Making History," the historical simulation game from Muzzy Lane Software. Another group of students used their standard history textbooks along with the usual lectures and assignments that define a typical day in high school.Both groups were attempting to learn the same material: the political and economic causes of World War II.Both groups were tested on their knowledge of key events, such as the 1938 Munich Conference and their general knowledge of European geography.

One group—the students who played "Making History"—learned more facts and wrote more sophisticated essays in tests conducted after a week of game play. According to Mr. McDivitt, "Making History" also addresses several key components of Indiana's state curriculum guidelines for secondary education."For every teacher using a video game in the classroom there are probably a hundred others watching and wondering about the real educational impact of this technology," says Mr. McDivitt."I am not an expert in statistics unless it has to do with points allowed by my defense on the Oak Hill Golden Eagle football team. But what I am seeing here is the game players are doing better on assessment. The kids who played the game scored as well or better on every single test question we administered."Mr. McDivitt applied a common set of questions to both groups of students prior to game week, and then tested the students with the same questions after each group had completed their learning cycles.What he found was a noticeable and in some cases stunning difference in the degree to which the game-play students improved compared with the textbook students.Here are some of the highlights (percentages indicate the relative increase in performance from the pre-lesson test to the post-lesson test):

Identify the countries of Europe on a blank map outline:
Game Players: 70%
Non-Game Players: 45%
Explain the significance of the 1938 Munch Conference:
Game Players: 90%
Non-Game Players: 55%
Define the reasons for the start of World War II:
Game Players: 67%
Non-Game Players: 35%

"I am not saying that games are the panacea for all of education's problems," says Mr. McDivitt. "But there is no doubt anymore that the right video game integrated properly with traditional curriculum has a clear and meaningful impact on the quality of learning."

Flame away! :-)

Graduating Early

Indiana has a seven semester rule which essentially means that students must complete at least 7 semesters of high school before graduating. Leaving after only three years requires special exceptions.

It has seldom if ever happened at Wawasee, but here is an article regarding some students who did and some students who were eligible to leave early and didn't.

With trimester credits there will be more students with enough credits for graduation but that doesn't mean they all will be ready for college a year early. Decisions like that are probably best made on a case-by-case basis.

2 hour delay Tuesday

Wawasee is on a two hour delay Tuesday.

The fog formed out of nowhere. It was clear around 5:00 AM and then it socked in.

Medium thick fog everywhere. Of course it could change again by the time this gets typed!

Drive carefully.

More on MySpace.com

Most parents are aware that children today do a lot of communicating through the internet. A number of interactive websites such as MySpace.com have become very popular. Like most things in this life, it isn't ALL good. Because there has been some abuse of these sites both by young people and by adults, there are people trying to limit their use.

Here, the LA Times reports a bill that would attempt to ban these sites from schools and public libraries.

First of all, many schools have already blocked access to these sites just to keep students "on task" if nothing else.

Here is a provocative article defending the use of such sites by children.

My position on this issue is that these trends are impossible to halt through simply passing laws that ban their use at school . It's like the current laws banning the sale of pop at school. It isn't that big of deal to ban pop at school. BUT, does anyone really think that this will change obesity patterns in society?

Parents must continue to monitor and be a part of their children's daily lives in a positive way. And, schools must support those efforts. That includes monitoring when possible what they put in their minds and what they put in their bodies. And still, children will push the limits and parents and schools will not always be looking over their shoulder.

Let's hope the values and ethics you have taught them as a parent will carry them through the day.

Friday's Funnies

Newly discovered quotes from mom's of now famous people:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S MOTHER:"Again with the stovepipe hat, Abe? Can't you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?"
BARNEY'S MOTHER: "I realize strained plums are your favorite, Barney, but you're starting to look a little purple!"
MARY'S MOTHER: "I'm not upset that the lamb followed you to school, Mary, but I would like to know how he got a better grade than you!"
BATMAN'S MOTHER: "It's a nice car, Bruce, but do you realize how much the insurance will be!"
GOLDILOCK'S MOTHER: "I've got a bill here for a busted chair from the bear family. You know anything about this Goldie?"
LITTLE MISS MUFFET'S MOTHER: "Well, all I've got to say is if you don't get off your tuffet and start cleaning your room, there'll be a lot more spiders around here!"
ALBERT EINSTEIN'S MOTHER: "But, Albert, it's your senior picture. Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something....?"
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MOTHER:"The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!"
JONAH'S MOTHER:"That's a nice story, but now tell me where you've really been for the past 3 days!"
SUPERMAN'S MOTHER: "Clark, your father and I have discussed it, and we've decided you can have your own telephone line. Now will you quit spending so much time in all those phone booths!"
And finally...
THOMAS EDISON'S MOTHER:"Of course I'm proud that you invented the electric light bulb, dear. Now turn off that light and get to bed!"

Board Meeting Highlights

Last night at the school board meeting the board...

1. Recognized students in several activities/events:

Mileage Competition in Indy
KYLA students
KEYS students
Danyl Wallace selected to IU Molecular Science program
WMS Academic Super Bowl Students
WHS Art students taking 1st place at Winona Lake

2. Approved Milford PTO donations and donations from Frontline Maufacturing
3. Approved claims, minutes and personnel items
4. Heard a report from Mr. Metcalf on the Career and Technical program
5. Approved the financial report
6. Approved Mr. Steve Perek as the new Dean of Students for WHS for 2006-2007
7. Aproved student handbook changes for 2006-2007
8. Approved 2007-2008 school calendar
9. Approved additional textbooks for various courses and subjects for 2006-2007
10.Discussed moving the June board meeting to June 6

A Tribute to Mom

This was posted last year in honor of upcoming Mother's Day.

My mother passed away a few years ago, leaving behind a wonderful tribute and family legacy. On Mothers' Day it seems appropriate to remember her.

When I was 8 years old, my father passed away after losing a battle with a brain tumor, leaving my mother a widow at age 32 with three children under the age of 8. Mother had been a stay-at-home mom and dad was an airline mechanic for Delta Airlines. Mom did not have marketable job training that would provide a living wage.

Unsure of what to do, she moved our family from Michigan to Ohio to be closer to her parents. She bought a small home and enrolled in college at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio. Her goal was to become a classroom teacher.

My brother, sister and I can still hear her late into the night, studying by reading outloud to herself. I can hardly imagine the stress and workload of a single, widowed mother of three young children taking a full load of classes at the university.

Mother graduated with academic honors in four years and got her first full-time employment as a third grade teacher at the age of 38. I can still remember how excited us children were that mom could finally afford to buy soda-pop for a family treat.

From my earliest memory, I knew that I was going to go to college because mom did, yet the greatest gift my mother left us was her spiritual example. She overcame all obstacles placed before her, and although her life could never have been described as easy, she was satisfied in what life had brought. She never complained, but set a solid example of honesty, integrity and work ethic that has remained a legacy, not only to her children but all who knew her. She never remarried, but chose to dedicate her life to God, her family and her elementary school students.

From her example of going to college and working hard, her three children continued their education as well. In her last few years while fighting cancer, she helped me finish my doctoral dissertation by entering all my data into spreadsheets. My sister completed her college degree and passed her CPA exams and my brother went back to school to finish an MBA.

The research says that one of the highest correlations for educational achievement for any individual is found by tracking the educational degree of the mother. It certainly seems true for our family.

Here in America, the greatest land of opportunity the world has ever known, let us be thankful for caring and dedicated mothers who model the values and work ethic that made America great. Especially those single mothers who must play many roles for their children.

Mothers, take courage, your children will not forget the legacy you leave them. May it be a positive one.

Friday's Funnies

A little girl came home from school and said to her mother, "Mommy, today in school I was punished for something that I didn't do."The mother exclaimed, "But that's terrible! I'm going to have a talk with your teacher about this ... by the way, what was it that you didn't do?"The little girl replied, "My homework."

The teacher came up with a good problem. "Suppose," she asked the second-graders, "there were a dozen sheep and six of them jumped over a fence. How many would be left?""None," answered little Norman."None? Norman, you don't know your arithmetic.""Teacher, you don't know your sheep. When one goes, they all go!"

The child comes home from his first day at school.Mother asks, "What did you learn today?"The kid replies, "Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow."

Have a great weekend.

No Fog Delay Wednesday

Mostly light fog in our area with just a few medium-heavy spots.

Regular time today. It was worse around 5:00 am.

Have a good day.

What makes a high school great?

If you have 10 minutes, here is an interesting article on the question, "What makes a high school great?"

In the next 5 years there is going to be a great deal of national attention paid to the structure and curriculum of the American high school. Here is a look at what some are saying and doing about it.

Note: It is the Washington Post and it could require you to register.

WMS Academic Super Bowl Results

WMS teams finished in the following places on the state level at the recent state competition (in Class 2):

Math: 3rd
English: 9th
Science: 1st
Social Studies: 13th
Interdisciplinary: 9th

The science and math squads will get a plaque and individual medals from the state. The English and Interdisciplinary squads will get a certificate.

Well done, coaches and students!!!

The Great American Boycott

If any of you wish to follow the national boycott today, Education Wonks has put together a blog post with several national links that show how this is developing across the nation today.

Click here to follow the links.

Friday's Funnies

Did you hear about the teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his boots?
He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on. When the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet." She looked and sure enough, they were.
It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet. He then announced, "These aren't my boots."
She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream,"Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to.
Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. He then said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear them."
She didn't know if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again. She said, "Now, where are your mittens?"
He said, "I stuffed them in the toes of my boots..."

Her trial starts next month.

Thinking Ahead to Friday

Fog doesn't appear to be in the predictions for Friday morning, but this is Indiana and you never know what can happen in a few hours.

So here is the deal for Friday:

Option 1: Cross your fingers there is no fog delay

Option 2: Go with a one hour delay and then dismissal time could be changed to 30 minutes later than our scheduled release time. Remember tomorrow is the early dismissal day. (Yeah - like you forgot!)

Option 3: Cancel school Friday and run the last student day on June 1 as a half day.

Weather reports look fine right now - but just in case.

Optimism or Utopia?

The federal law called No Child Left Behind requires ALL children (technically around 98%) in the school to reach proficiency in Math and Reading by 2013-2014 or the local school and school district is labeled "failing." Is this realistic? Is this fair?

Well, evidently there is a growing "Expectations Gap" between the national public and the educators.

A recent poll seems to indicate that most parents believe the schools where their children attend will be able to meet this goal. However, most teachers surveyed weren't so sure that it was attainable.

Article here.

My take on it? It is possible to approach 100% proficiency on an ISTEP Math and Language test each time it is given. But, what has to be given up to get there? Will society tolerate the sacrifices necessary?

Teachers are already decrying the narrowing of curriculum. It already feels like "Math All Day and Reading All Day" especially to our elementary staff.

We are making progress in Math and Language but how much further will society tolerate the narrowing of curriculum?

Herein lies the gap between what policy makers foist upon schools and what local patrons really seem to want for their children.

Blogger Publishing Problems

As you can tell there have been posting problems at the blogger.com site. You can tell that I tried repeatedly to post the fog delay. Then sometime in the afternoon they all appeared! I have been blogging for 16 months straight and this has never happened before.

Try here first, but if you don't see anything then tomorrow morning try Hoosier 103.5 FM. Bill Dixon never gets it wrong! :-)

As for Channel 16, well...you better try another channel if you like the TV crawler announcements. They almost never get it right. Somehow their internet posting service never gets the message to the TV screen.

Monday - 2 hr. Fog Delay

There is a 2 hr. fog delay for Monday. South end of the district wasn't too bad between 4:50 am and 5:50 am but west and north ends are very foggy.

Heh - remember its DST (Daylight Savings Time - not FDST (Fog Delay Saving Time)!

Have a safe morning.

Monday - 2 hr delay

There is a 2 hr. fog delay for Monday. South end of the district wasn't too bad between 4:50 am and 5:50 am but west and north ends are very foggy.

Heh - remember its DST (Daylight Savings Time - not FDST (Fog Delay Saving Time)!

Have a safe morning.

Monday - 2 hr. Fog Delay

There is a 2 hr. fog delay for Monday. South end of the district wasn't too bad between 4:50 am and 5:50 am but west and north ends are very foggy.

Heh - remember its DST (Daylight Savings Time - not FDST (Fog Delay Saving Time)!

Have a safe morning.

Monday - 2 hr. Fog Delay

There is a 2 hr. fog delay for Monday. South end of the district wasn't too bad between 4:50 am and 5:50 am but west and north ends are very foggy.

Heh - remember its DST (Daylight Savings Time - not FDST (Fog Delay Saving Time)!

Have a safe morning.

Monday - 2 hr. Fog Delay

There is a 2 hr. fog delay for Monday. South end of the district wasn't too bad between 4:50 am and 5:50 am but west and north ends are very foggy.

Heh - remember its DST (Daylight Savings Time - not FDST (Fog Delay Saving Time)!

Have a safe morning.

Friday's Funnies

School is important - but probably overrated. Look at what we can learn from our mothers!
(Thanks from Jeff N. who must remain anonymous because he comes from another school district that starts with W and they don't claim him!)

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
"Because I said so, ! that's why."
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
7. My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
8. My mother taught me about the science ofOSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"
15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"
20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wawasee High School Academic Super Bowl

This past Tuesday, Wawasee High School's Academic Super Bowl teams participated in regional competition at Northridge. Wawasee participated in class 2 competition. From our school the science and fine arts teams received first place recognition in our class. The social studies, math, English, and interdisciplinary teams finished third.

On May 10, the Syracuse Lions Club will be hosting a banquet to honor the students' hard work.

Thanks to the faculty sponsors, volunteers and especially the students for representing us so well. Thanks for all you do.

Grab a shovel.....

The Wawasee Middle School Builder's Club and Key Club are joining together to participate in a School Beautification Project at Wawasee Middle School. It will take place on May 5th, beginning after school and ending around 5:30, and on May 6th, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. Kiwanis club members from North Webster, Syracuse, and Milford will all be present.

We are asking for volunteers to help and to bring along gardening equipment, especially wheelbarrows, rakes, and shovels. We will be planting trees and flowers, placing mulch around the school, and "building" a WMS sign on St. Rd. 13. It will be a great day to get out in the sun and enjoy the beautiful May weather.

Join the students AND your local service club members by stopping by!

For more information call WMS at 457-8839 and ask for Katie Jones.

Dropout Nation?

One of our regular readers, a parent in the community with preschool age children, has asked me to respond to the current dropout controversy.

As many of you know, Oprah ran a series on highlighting the student dropout issue. Time magazine also ran a series and part of the story involved the schools in Shelbyville Indiana.

Here is a link about the stories.

Here is an alternative view of the dropout story claiming that the "dropout crisis" is largely another "manufactured crisis."

My take on it is this:

It is still a crisis for the individual student who does not finish high school, even if there is room to argue about how large the problem really is.

Yet, something troubles me. The same school that produces the MIT graduate, the FFA leader and the local Building Trades carpenter produces dropouts too. Does that make it all the schools fault?

One huge problem I see is the lack of good paying jobs for everyone. What good will it do America's parents with or without a high school diploma if there aren't enough high wage jobs to provide people a chance at the American dream?

It is a great goal to get 100% of America's students to obtain a high school diploma under increasingly higher standards. But let's hope they have a high wage, productive job available in which to use their new skills.

My fear is that the middle class may slowly be disappearing.

Board Meeting Update

At last night's school board meeting, the board:

• approved the board meeting minutes and claims
• heard a report from the superintendent on the costs of maintaining two swimming pools and heard a recommendation to leave the WHS pool closed
• the board voted 3 to 2 to reopen the WHS pool by the start of the next school year
• approved the bid to replace the deteriorating WHS press box
• approved the SE roofing bids
• heard a report from the superintendent on the creation of the Wawasee Educational Foundation
• received potential student handbook changes from the principals
• approved possible summer school programs contingent upon state funding levels
• approved new textbooks in several classes and subjects

The next regular school board meeting is May 9th at 7:00 PM in the administration office.

Immigration Boom Affects NE Indiana

Many northeast Indiana school districts have experienced a large increase in students who speak English as their second language. According to the Indiana Department of Education website, five school districts in this area are listed in the top ten districts in Indiana when comparing the percentage of students who speak English as their second language.

Goshen News article here.

Wawasee has not experienced this phenomenon like others. I believe it is primarily due to the housing differences and the fact that most of the manufacturing companies that have job openings are located close to or in Elkhart county.

The Wawasee Middle School Academic Super Bowl Team Wins Conference Title

The Wawasee Middle School Academic Super Bowl Team won the conference title on Thursday, April 13. Wawasee had 92 points and Edgewood ended up with 91 points. The individual teams that placed first were Social Studies and Interdisciplinary.

The teachers had quite an excitable group to ride home with Thursday evening. They are looking forward to the state competition on April 29.

Congratulations to WMS staff and students!!!!

Single gender schools?

Gary, Indiana is evidently proposing several single gender schools.

As brain research continues to explore the physiological differences between men and women, some proponents are advocating they learn differently and therefore could and a few even say "should" be educated differently.

Friday's Funnies

Open Wide...

On the morning announcements, a first grader announced, "Please get ready for a moment of silence and medication."

You Found it Where?

I teach 8th grade U.S. history. I constantly remind my students that accurate spelling is very important in social studies. Despite this, during our unit on colonization I cannot describe how many settlers were seeking religious freedom in William Penn's colon!!!

Job Opportunity

I was teaching a 2nd grade class in career education and had the students drawing pictures of themselves as adults. I put "When I grow up, I want to be..." on the board and asked the students to come to me for any other spelling they needed as they completed their pictures. Caitlin came up to me and asked how to spell " princess." After a number of other students asked for help, Caitlin was back for "whales." Since I had told the students they could draw any number of future jobs, I suspected nothing. That is, until Caitlin appeared with her elaborate drawing of a young lady in long gown and crown on a bluff by the ocean directing whales to do her bidding. You guessed it--it was labeled--When I grow up, I want to be "The Princess of Whales."


Have a great Easter Weekend!

Oprah and Dropouts

Did any of you see the Oprah show on high school dropouts? I didn't see it but I have seen some individual reactions to it. Here is link that overviews what it was about.

Those of you that saw it, what was your reaction?

Detroit Dress Code

Detroit Public Schools is considering a strict dress code.

While this dress code appears to be less strict than school uniforms, it isn't far off either.

I get asked privately sometimes how I feel about school uniforms and I admit to being somewhat skeptical. I think it might make some things a little easier in terms of managing our schools but at Wawasee in particular I am not yet convinced that the difference it makes is that great.

In other words it solves some problems and then creates others.

Another Reason to Finish College

Welcome back from Spring Break!

This chart is for all of you who are reviewing your child's college acceptance letters and are starting to wonder if the cost for college is worth it!!

In the long term the short answer is - yes!

Live Fort Myers Beach Cam

Here is your Fort Myers Live Beach Cam just to make all the non-southern travelers (like me!)jealous.

Click Here

Have a safe holiday.

PS: Blogging will still occur but it will be light since traffic always lowers during breaks. Be careful!

Friday's Funny

A middle school recently was faced with a unique problem.

A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked him to show the girls how much effort was required.

He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

Have a great spring break!!

Wawasee property tax rate is the lowest in the state

Since property taxes are currently a hot topic in the Indiana legislature and will continue to be for some time, I thought I would share some information about the WCSC tax rates.

Because the Wawasee area has so many lakes and lake property, Wawasee School Corporation is ranked second in the state in property wealth per pupil. This property wealth, called assessed valuation (AV) impacts property tax rates by driving them down.

Wawasee Community School's property tax rate is now the lowest of any public school corporation in the state. This ranking data is available on the internet by clicking here and then clicking on "Top 10 corporations" under the title "Delve Deeper into Data." Then click on 2004 tax rate (before CAGIT).

These rankings are based on the latest state figures using 2004 (before CAGIT) tax rates. CAGIT stands for County Adjusted Gross Income Tax which some counties have used to lower dependence on property taxes. Using before CAGIT taxes is a better picture of the true tax impact.

You will see two school districts ranked lower than Wawasee on the chart. However, Brown County's tax rate says 0.000 because apparently they don't have their assessments done. The other one, Prairie Township in Laporte, is evidently not a public school system like ours because it has no students. I assume they are taxing the whole county for some administrative school services under the Prairie Township title.

The highest rate in the state is Medora Community School Corporation at 2.4755. The state average was 1.4457 and Wawasee had the state's lowest public school tax rate of 0.8605. So what does that actually mean for a tax payer? Let's say that your property tax bill shows about $1,000 going to schools. (Remember, not all property taxes are school taxes although in most counties it makes up a pretty good chunk of it.) If you lived in the higher tax rate areas your bill could be around $2,877 for schools. If you were just taxed at the state average you have approximately $1,680 going to schools.

Another way to look at it is to add $292.60 for every $50,000 of assessed valuation in your home over and above your current WCSC property taxes. This is what you would pay if your home was taxed at the state average. If your home was located in the highest school tax area of the state you would have to add $807.50 for every $50,000 of assessed valuation in your home.

Some people have said the only reason the rates are so low is because the home values around the lakes are so high. That is true. However, if you owned a home of similar value in another school district you would pay THEIR tax rate not ours. Having said all that, while we would like to take credit for such low tax rates we should remind everyone that we (meaning administrators and school board members) have minimal control over tax rates and no control over the funding formulas the state uses. When your property VALUES go up, it lowers the taxing RATE to fund the formula. The school system does NOT get more revenue just because the property values increased. In fact, the state essentially withholds state revenue and sends it to other schools. While towns and municipalities can often capture some increased revenue when AV’s go up, schools cannot. In fact, this year and next year mark the first time in my administrative career that our school system received no new money through the state funding formula.

When the debt payments for Wawasee Middle School come off the tax rolls in 2007 I am sure it will help maintain our "lowest" tax rate status in the state of Indiana by driving them even lower.

However, there is good news and bad news for local taxpayers in this situation. When our AV is high and tax rates are low, the state funding formula will kick in and try to drive those rates up closer to our state designated “target tax rate.” The state’s purpose in this is to try to create a little more tax rate equity across the state.

New Laws Affecting Education

In the 2006 Indiana General Assembly there were 155 education related bills introduced. Thirty-five bills affecting education were passed. Here are the items that passed in various bills that may be of local interest.

1. When moms and dads live in different school districts, the parent with physical custody may now elect either school district tuition free if they do so within 14 days before the first student day

2. Requires a principal to notify a parent if a student who is at least 18 years old is interrogated by a police officer at school in a situation where the student is a suspect

3. Special purpose buses (the small white school buses you see in WCSC are special purpose buses) cannot obstruct exits or emergency exits in the bus (It means the golf team has to careful where they pile their golf bags ;-)

4. Authorizes the state board to oversee consideration of statewide cooperative purchasing of school supplies and materials, encourages pooling of liability and property and casualty insurance, permits sharing services with other school districts, plans to upgrade financial reporting systems for school corporations

5. Principal must report to law enforcement if a school employee is harassed or battered by another person

6. If a person knowingly possesses a knife on school property or buses and intended it to be used as a weapon it is now a Class B misdemeanor

7. ISTEP - Before Oct. 1, 2006 the department of education shall review ISTEP and make recommendations reflecting: a long term plan that is simple, less time consuming, less expensive, prompt results, fall AND spring testing, measures individual growth each year, moves to on-line testing, makes grade 10 test into a college prep test. The new program will be called REACH

8. Raises the drop out age to 18 unless the student proves financial hardship, illness or court order

9. Permits a student who is at least 19 and not enrolled in school, or 17 with school permission, to enroll in a "fast track" college program at Ivy Tech that will permit a high school diploma to be earned while enrolled at the college

Some bills that failed to pass:

1. Kindergarten tax credits (vouchers)

2. Open Door Law changes (this would have required a 48 hour public notice every time a board member called other board members to discuss board issues)

3. Referendums on school construction projects

Friday's Funnies

Actual misphrased excerpts from student science exam papers

Charles Darwin was a naturalist who wrote the organ of the species.

Benjamin Franklin produced electricity by rubbing cats backwards.

The theory of evolution was greatly objected to because it made man think.

Three kinds of blood vessels are arteries, vanes and caterpillars.

The dodo is a bird that is almost decent by now.

To remove air from a flask, fill it with water, tip the water out, and put the cork in quick before the air can get back in.

The process of turning steam back into water again is called conversation.

A magnet is something you find crawling all over a dead cat.

The Earth makes one resolution every 24 hours.

The cuckoo bird does not lay his own eggs.

To collect fumes of sulfur, hold a deacon over a flame in a test tube.

Parallel lines never meet, unless you bend one or both of them.

Algebraical symbols are used when you do not know what you are talking about.

A circle is a line which meets its other end without ending.

The pistol of a flower is its only protection against insects.

The moon is a planet just like the Earth, only it is even deader.

We believe that the reptiles came from the amphibians by spontaneous generation and study of rocks.

English sparrows and starlings eat the farmers grain and soil his corpse.

By self-pollination, the farmer may get a flock of long-haired sheep.

If conditions are not favorable, bacteria go into a period of adolescence.

Vegetative propagation is the process by which one individual manufactures another individual by accident.

A super-saturated solution is one that holds more than it can hold.

A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an obscene triangle.

Blood flows down one leg and up the other.

When you haven't got enough iodine in your blood you get a glacier.

It is a well-known fact that a deceased body harms the mind.

Humans are more intelligent than beasts because the human branes have more convulsions.

For fainting: rub the person's chest, or if a lady, rub her arm above the hand instead.

For fractures: to see if the limb is broken, wiggle it gently back and forth.

For dog bite: put the dog away for several days. If he has not recovered, then kill it.

For nosebleed: put the nose much lower than the body.

For drowning: climb on top of the person and move up and down to make artificial perspiration.

To remove dust from the eye, pull the eye down over the nose.

For head colds: use an agonizer to spray the nose until it drops in your throat.

For asphyxiation: apply artificial respiration until the patient is dead.

Before giving a blood transfusion, find out if the blood is affirmative or negative.

Bar magnets have north and south poles, horseshoe magnets have east and west poles.

When water freezes you can walk on it. That is what Christ did long ago in wintertime.

Have a great weekend!

Educator's Affirmation

I have taken a few excerpts from an article making the rounds on the internet. This was forwarded on by Mrs. Thornburg and Mrs. Brady. It comes from a posting titled, An Educator's Affirmation. I edited it for length.

Schools don't teach values? The critics are dead wrong. Public education provides more Sunday School teachers than any other profession.

You want heroes?

For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day. An Argyle, Texas kindergarten teacher hugs her little 5 and 6 year-olds so much that both the boys and the girls run up and hug her when they see her in the hall, at the football games, or in the malls years later.

A Michigan principal moved me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk .. one that said "I love you!" He said he'd never been told that at home. This is a constant in today's society .. two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.

You want heroes?

Visit any special education class and watch the miracle of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are awed by the dedication they witness.

There is a sentence from an unnamed source which says: "We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have that we have neglected to give them what we did have." What is it that our kids really need? What do they really want? Math, science, history and social studies are important, but children need love, confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen, standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and assurance of responsible people.

You want heroes?

Then go down to your local school and see our real live heroes. The ones changing lives for the better each and every day! None of us are perfect, but I would put our profession up against any when in comes to being heroes!

Full day K in 07/08?

Governor Mitch Daniels is promoting full day kindergarten programs in 07-08.

I would support this if all schools receive full funding to implement it. As so often happens it comes as an unfunded mandate or it comes at the expense of current programs.

Ms. Swartzentruber, our Curriculum Director, held a Reading meeting with Kindergarten and first grade teachers yesterday and this was a popular topic. The curriculum requirements have gotten so much higher that there is little doubt that most educators would support this move if it is funded appropriately.

Let's hope Republicans and Democrats can lay aside partisanship games and work together for public education next session.

Bird Flu Planning ?

Have you seen the Chick-fil-A ads with the cow saying, "Eat more chicken?" Hmmm. We might want to rethink that one!

This was just posted 35 minutes ago and was forwarded to me courtesy of Bill Dixon at 103.5 FM. Just thought you might like to read it first here.

This is NOT an emergency announcement in anyway, it is just an announcement regarding a federal planning initiative.

The federal government has begin discussing long range plans for how the nation's schools would handle continuing education in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak. If this type of outbreak were to happen schools would be affected for weeks not mere days. This means that education would have to continue in a coordinated fashion without physically being in school.

While this is still a pretty remote possibility - the feds nevertheless feel planning should start just in case. I am sure the state department of education will pass along more information in the next few months.

More on college

"Fresh Thoughts" is the name of the Indy Star newspaper's online editorial page for college students. This provides college students a forum for editorial opinions.

Here is one college student expressing how important it was that his parents exposed him to the idea of going to college while he was still in middle school.

For you parents looking at college tuition.....

New Indiana Reading Initiative

Rumor has it...Indiana has announced a new Reading initiative called, "Getting ahead with books."

Friday's Funnies

I teach preschool, 2 year olds. When I was Pregnant with my 3rd child, I saw no reason to tell my class because they were so young. As the year was coming to an end, I grew quite large. One of my little darlings came up to me and said," Miss Ilene, your belly is getting very fat!" I asked this little boy if he'd like to know why, and he said yes. I told him I had a baby in my tummy. He walked away, saying nothing. The next day, this happy, never cry child pitched a fit when his mother tried to leave. She pulled him aside and they talked for a few minutes, and the little boy calmed down, and the mom was grinning from ear to ear. I asked what happened and she said, "Adam thought you might eat him, you've already eaten a baby."

At Math time, I told the kids that we were going to talk about Even and Odd. One boy yelled out- "I know that story. It's in the Bible! " After I quit laughing, I said- "I think you mean Adam and Eve. "

Every school year with first, second, and third graders I do an activity I call "The United Shades of America." We match our skin color to "people color" paints and paint portraits and walls, make hand-print murals, and celebrate who we are and how we look. The colors are called everything from cinnamon, peach, and mahogany, to toast. When one third-grader's skin color matched the "wheat" color, he became so excited, he hollered, "I'm finally Student of the Wheat."

My first grade class and I were on a field trip. We were walking along a board walk that stretched over a wetlands area. Along the board walk were little plaques with donors names engraved on them. I heard one boy ask another, "What do you think all these names mean?". The other boy responded, "They must be the names of people who fell off and died!".

Have a great weekend!!

1st Annual Mentor-Mentee Banquet

Approximately 120 people attended the first annual mentor/mentee banquet for Wawasee Middle School recently. The North Webster Community Center donated the room and kitchen for the event.

The WMS Mentor Program pairs adult volunteers with middle school students who meet together once a week for 30 minutes or so. The program seeks to provide additional adult role models and positive relationships with adolescents.

Congratulations to all mentors and to Dr. Jon Mark who was chosen as Mentor of the Year based on length of service and volunteer hours contributed. There were many other worthy mentors who contributed to the program and they were all recognized that evening.

If you are interested in joining the volunteer effort contact Katie Jones at WMS at 457-8839. Please consider joining the volunteers. It takes 30 minutes a week and there is a waiting list of students to be matched up.

School Board Meeting Highlights

At the WCSC Board Meeting last night the board:

• Heard a parent concern regarding a student conflict. Dr. Stock explained the school district's policy and practice regarding discipline of students for incidents that occur outside of school
• Accepted a donation for NW Elementary from the Indiana Swap Shop to be used for needy children
• Recognized Mr. Phil Metcalf for receiving a state award on behalf of the Career and Technical Center for the Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) Workshop held annually in conjunction with the Warsaw Career Center
• Recognized Mr. Randy Warren and students Becky Clayton and Sarah Banghart for their work on the FFA District Leadership Contest
• Approved claims, personnel actions, Milford 6th grade trip to the Ford Museum and the FFA National Contest overnight trip
• Approved the purchase of a new student management system and internet based grade portal
• Approved Rex Miller as the Milford Library board replacement
• Approved advertising for bids on the replacement of the deteriorating WHS press box
• Dr. Stock reported on the gathering of information regarding a future recommendation on reopening the pool and current planning underway for possible summer school programming
• Ms. Swartzentruber reported on the Alternative School noting that the academy has increased 131 credits earned in one month and reviewed the student testing schedules for the remainder of the school year
  
  The next meeting will be held on April 18th at 7:00 PM

Academic Super Bowl Results

Congratulations to all those involved with Academic Super Bowl. At the NLC competition in Goshen, Wawasee received 3rd place overall. In individual competitions, the math and science teams received 2nd place. Finishing with 3rd place were the social studies and interdisciplinary teams.

Way to go, Wawasee!

Good job Warriors!

Sectional Basketball Champs. Regional finals at Blackford County.

Another great job from the student athletes and the coaching staff of Wawasee High School.

I appreciate so much the sportsmanship of our athletes and our coaches and adminstrators who seek to uphold high standards in an age where we often feel like we are swimming against the tide of culture.

Great season guys. Hold your heads high.

Friday's Funnies

Responses from students to various quiz questions.

Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.
Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.
Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (e.g., abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts - the brainium, the borax, and the abdominal cavity The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Q: What is the fibula?
A: A small lie.
Q: What does "varicose" mean?
A: Nearby.
Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section"
A: The Caesarean Section is a district in Rome.
Q: What does the word "benign" mean?'
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Have a great weekend!

WCSC Board seeks candidates for Milford Library Board

By state law, the local school board is required to appoint at least one position to each community library board. Due to Pat Hurd's resignation on the Milford Library Board, it is my understanding that there is an opening for an east Jefferson township or Van Buren township resident.

Milford Library Director Julia Frew would be able to answer any particular questions about the duties. If anyone is interested, please mail or e-mail a letter of interest complete with biographical information to Dr. Mark J. Stock here in the corporation office, and your materials will be submitted the school board for consideration.

Regional Weekend!

Wawasee Gymnasts, coached by Nika Prather, will be in the IHSAA Valparaiso Regional Friday evening. Led by Laura Capps 5th place in the Floor Exercise and 3rd place in the Unevens (5th in the All-Around), Wawasee advanced as a team, finishing 3rd in the Wawasee Sectional.

Way to go gymnasts!

Dropouts leave because school is "boring?"

Why do almost 30 percent of our students drop out of school? According to the Christian Science Monitor...

Now, a new survey, released Thursday, suggests that the problem, while deep, can be fixed. Most students don't drop out because they can't do the work. Nearly 90 percent had passing grades when they left school, according to the survey of dropouts by Civic Enterprises. Their major reason for opting out? The classes were too boring.

I suppose in our MTV, iPod, DVD, Hi-definition, instant gratification world called middle-class life in 2006, listening to a lecture could be considered less than dramatic entertainment.

But that doesn't mean it is not important.

Warriors win back-to-back sectionals!

Wawasee beats Northwood in the championship game Saturday night.

Wawasee has replaced 4 starters this year and yet worked their way back to sectional champs again!

Good job Warriors! It was nice to see the gym packed with Wawasee green.

The regionals will be held in Blackford which is northwest of Muncie.

Warriors beat Raiders!

Warriors beat Northridge and will go to the sectional finals Saturday evening at 7:30 PM.

Goshen news article here.

Go Warriors!

Sectionals Tonight

Like this photo? Want to see a Warrior basketball player thinking dunk? Don't get excited - I said "thinking" about dunking.

Click on the side bar link titled "Warrior Photoblog" to see more Warrior photos. This photoblog comes courtesy of journalist and photographer Ora Freeman who has started his photoblog to show some of the excellent photos that don't always make it to the newspapers.

Catch the Warriors in action tonight against Northridge at 6:30 PM in the Northwood Panther Pit.

Friday's Funnies

While doing some assessments with my Kinders for the first 9 weeks, I had Joel sitting at my table working with colors and numbers and shapes. Pushing some plastic circles, triangles, squares and rectangles across the table to Joel, I asked him to name them and then slide them back to me. He looked at me for a moment as if to say 'Are you for real?' then shrugged his shoulders and began: 'Janet', he said, pushing a circle towards me. 'George' (a rectangle), 'John' (triangle) ....It was all I could do to NOT fall in the floor exploding with laughter as he continued to name all the shapes I had given him!!

Tim wanted to show little Karl something funny but Karl ended up with the punchline:
Tim: "What's a doggie say?"
Karl: "Woof!"
Tim: "What's a kitty say?"
Karl: "Woof!"
Tim: "What's a cow say?"
Karl: "Woof!"We were already chuckling, but this was the topper:
Tim: "What's Daddy say?"
Karl: "No."

We were riding home from school in our minivan. Donovan was sitting directly behind me. She said (with a bit of a whine), "Mommy, I got an owie at school today." I said, "I'm so sorry, Honey. Where is it?" She said, "It's on my hand. If my hand was this country, then my owie is right below Utah."

At our house with 2 very strong-willed boys living here, we have had many discussions about forgiveness. Our children have been taught that Jesus said to forgive others, "seventy times seven." The other day when Ben did something to upset Ryan, I reminded Ryan that he needed to forgive his brother. Ryan quickly announced, "I think I have forgiven him the maximum number of times."
Ryan, Age 10

Have a great weekend!

WCSC teachers work IHSAA state meets

Congratulations to three Wawasee teachers who have been chosen to represent IHSAA state championships this winter season. Wawasee teachers involved in the IHSAA State Championships for winter sports 2005-06 are:

Roger Karns, Social Studies Teacher at WHS, served as a diving judge for the Boys' Swimming Championships,
Pam Schumm, ScienceTeacher at WHS, served as an announcer for the Girls' and Boys' Swimming Championships
Jay Smith, WMS Science Teacher, has an evening Girls' Basketball Championship game this Saturday.

Way to go Warriors!

K12 Planet Down Again

For those parents who have tried to use the parent internet connection to check on your children's grades, we apologize for the poor service especially at trimester grade time.

We received the following message from the software company:

Due to an error in the database used by K12Planet, service is currently unavailable. Chancery is working to correct the problem as quickly as possible. At this time, we do not have a specific time when service will be restored. Our expectation is that we'll require an additional 48-72 hours to correct the problem.

We understand the impact that a disruption in service has to teachers, parents, students, and administrators. Our team is committed to providing you with the most secure, reliable, and available service. We appreciate your continued patience.

Kim Whibbs Support Analyst Chancery Software

Go Warriors - Win Sectional

Stop by tonight. The Warriors play Lakeland tonight at the Northwood Sectional.

Go Warriors!

Indy Star - HS recruiting on the rise

This news article from the Star says high school recruiting is on the rise.

As more and more private schools recruit, middle school students are getting invitations in the mail to attend various high schools. If the legislature allows public school choice it could lead to widespread "recruitment" of students, especially athletes.

I am not opposed to public school choice but I am not sure I like the idea of overt high school recruitment of students.

Team manager with autism - suits up - scores 20!

Uplifting story right here.

Right when you think America's sports mad culture goes too far, a coach steps up and rewards an autistic student's hard work and dedication as team manager and lets him suit up for a game.

Who would have thought he would shoot the lights out of the gym!

Friday's Funny

By Andy
from PA

I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and experience a little public speaking. And it gives me a break and some guaranteed entertainment. Usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant.

"This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday. First, Mommy and Daddy made him as a symbol of their love, and then Daddy put a seed in my mother's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had a video camera rolling. The kids are watching her in total amazement. "Then, about two Saturdays ago, my mother starts going, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, "Oh, oh, oh!'" Now the kid is doing this hysterical duck-walk, holding her back and groaning. "My father called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my mother to lie down in bed like this." Erica lies down with her back against the wall.
"And then, pop! My mother had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!"

"Then the middle wife starts going push, push, and breathe, breathe. They start counting, but they never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother . He was covered in yucky stuff they said was from the play-center, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."
Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder - just in case another Erica comes along.

Have a great weekend!

Slippery Slope?

Florida has approved teacher pay and bonuses based upon standardized test scores. Article here.

Most people know I have no problems with the limited use of standardized testing to evaluate changes in student performance patterns in a school district. But I limit their use to trying to decide if our teaching interventions are changing the patterns of student achievement. I think tying employee pay directly to these results may prove to be a slippery slope.

Why? In all social science research, isolating the independent variables that affect student learning is very problematic. It would be hard to implement such a plan fairly and consistently across the state. Denver, CO had a plan that was based more on teachers accomplishing various training programs and skill sets. That sounds like it would be a little fairer.

Just my .02.

Carnival of Education Week 55

Take a stroll down the midway of the Carnival of Education. It's a who's who of the Educational Blogosphere. Click here or click on the link on the side bar called The Education Wonks to sample a variety of offerings from teachers who blog and other bloggers who submit their posts to Ed Wonks.

Enjoy the weather and sunshine this afternoon/evening. What a beautiful day! Sometimes I forget what the sun looks like.

Teacher shortage looming across America?

From the Des Moines Register:

Fewer people are choosing teaching as a profession in Iowa. A trend that educators say stems from low pay, increases in college tuition, negative publicity about schools and pressures brought on by the federal No Child Left Behind law, which demands steady school improvement. New teacher licenses decreased 23 percent from 5,831 to 4,508 between fiscal 2000 and 2005, according to the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. The state is bracing for an even greater drop this fiscal year, with only 2,166 initial licenses granted so far.

I have seen first hand Kosciusko county teachers doing more for kids under more difficult circumstances than ever before in our profession. My hats off to them.

Teaching is one of the most honorable and yet difficult professions there is. I hope our young people do not give up on entering the profession as appears to be the trend in this news article.

Our students need dedicated and caring professionals now as much as they ever did.

Warriors win sectional, Karns - Coach of the Year!

The Wawasee Warriors won the 2006 IHSAA Sectional Championship at Wawasee Middle School on Saturday, February 18. The Warriors advance seven athletes to the State Championships, including all three relay teams.

Warrior Coach Roger Karns was named Indiana Swim Coaches Association Sectional Coach of the Year.

Times-Union article here.

Shanna Zolman article in Gazette

Most Shanna watchers already know this. Story in Fort Wayne Gazette on ex-Wawasee star now playing for Tennessee.

Friday's Funnies

Things I learned after my very first Valentine's Day Party in Kindergarten:

1. Never attempt to have a Valentine's Day party with 5 year olds without a slew of parent volunteers present.
2. Never plan a craft activity AND passing out Valentines. It might take all day.
3. Never try to stick to Weight Watcher's when 19 kids bring you in your weakness: chocolate.
Karri at Milford

True Story unrelated to Valentines Day:

My first year of teaching I had a little girl named Pam in the third grade. She had a new illness of some kind every day. One day on the way to Phys. Ed. class she developed a sudden and severe limp about 50 yards from the gymnasium doors. "I can't take gym today Mr. Stock, I have 6 stitches in my foot," she groaned. By now, I knew her well so I patted her on the shoulder, smiling to myself and said, "You'll need to tell Mr. Lintz all about it." She limped into class. "Mr. Lintz, Mr. Lintz," she blurted out, "I can't take gym today I have 6 stitches in my foot." He said, "Sit down on the bleachers Pam and take your shoes off." He got the class started on warm-ups and sat down beside her. She had loosened her laces but had not removed her shoes. He told her again to take off her shoes and turned back to the class. He changed their calisthenics routine and turned back to Pam. She had her shoe off finally, but did not remove her sock. "Pam, Pam, please take off your sock now so I can see your foot," he requested. She carefully and painstakingly slid off her sock. Mr. Lintz lifted her foot up and looked it over carefully. "Pam, I don't see any stitches."

"They ain't put 'em in yet!" she replied.

Have an " ice" weekend!

Another Wawasee grad makes good!

In yesterday's issue of USA TODAY, they published lists of their 2006 All-USA Academic Teams. One of our former students, Lucas Speakman, made their 2nd team! This means that they consider him among the top 40 college students in the country!

Luke, now a college senior, has already published two articles. One is titled "Computational chemistry research on benzaldehyde molecule and gallium pentahydride."

Yeah - what he said!

Way to go Luke.

Thanks to Stephanie Szynal for the info.

Five facts about IQ

Here are five interesting facts about IQ. Click here for the article.

1. Staying in school makes you smarter.
2. Your birthdate could affect your IQ.
3. That book-smarts-vs.-street-smarts thing is true
4. You're probably "smarter" than your grandpa.
5. What you put in your mouth can affect your brain.

Thanks to Cheryl Conroy, teacher at North Webster, for the link.

Spring ISTEP bill is dead

The Indy Star says spring ISTEP testing is not going to happen this year. Article here.