Shanley Families, I Wish You All Had an Opportunity I've Had in These Past
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In This Issue: September 3, 2021 Shanley Families, • Principal’s Message I wish you all had an opportunity I’ve had in these past days. I really do. • Shanley Athletic Club Let me explain. • COVID Update • Deacons for Life After being named principal back in April, I sought out advice from a • Job Opening handful of Catholic school principals I’ve known over the years. One of • Tailgating them was quite clear: Get into the classrooms, especially in the first • Virtue - Strength weeks. I took his advice. I wish you had the opportunity to see what I’ve • Chaplain’s Corner • Forensics for Success seen. Let me share a little. • From the Counselor One of the math teachers was leading the students through quadradic • SCRIP News • Block Party equations. (You remember those, don’t you? With terror?) She was mirroring her iPad to the white board so that the students could replicate Father Metzger, Shanley Principal her, step by step, in the numerous steps to solve the equation. Facing the Reggie Jackson, Activities Director students with the board behind her, she’d make one move, look up, and Fr. William Slattery, Chaplain check to see the students were tracking her step. She recognized they Office/Attendance ……… (701) 893-3200 were keeping up, and so moved to the next. This continued until the Activities …………………… (701) 893-3255 Fax ……………………………. (701) 893-3277 equation was complete. Not only that, she was color coding the steps! She reviewed the process, noting the different steps according to their color. It PowerSchool Learning: was effortless, or at least she made it appear effortless. I wish I had her https://jp2schools.haikulearning.com back in high school math. Her teaching was…poetic, ironically. You should JPII Catholic Schools have seen it. Twitter: @jp2schools Facebook: jp2schools You saw the same thing down the hall in government class. (Any alumni Instagram: jp2schools out there? Freedoms, guns, troops, warrants, silence? RRR lives on at Check out the Activities Calendar Shanley.) Here early in the semester, I slipped into class as they were for all of this week’s athletic covering warrants…the fourth amendment. The teacher was not simply activities: lecturing her students, but rather was helping the students take notes on https://www.easterndakotaconf the amendment effectively, providing the structure to their notes to allow erence.org/public/genie/187/sc them to extract information quickly in subsequent days. She detailed how hool/1/ to enumerate the subpoints to the amendment. She even told them to Upcoming Dates: leave extra space in their notes, as they’d be returning to the amendment Sept. 6th - No School, Labor Day in future classes to deepen the comprehension after new information was th Sept. 16 - Picture Retakes, 7:30 acquired. She wasn’t simply giving information, but passing it on in a way am-10:30 am Sept. 20th - Homecoming Week the student could return to on their own. That’s effective teaching that Sept. 28/29th – Parent-Teacher bears fruit well beyond the 50-minute class period. It was poetic. You Conferences should have seen it. Oct 1 – No school One more example, although I have several. Head upstairs to the science lab. I sat in the back just as the class was preparing to transition from their desks to microscopes in another part of the room. Transitions are dangerous in classrooms. They’re vulnerable to students getting off track, time getting wasted, and misbehavior to unfold. Not in his classroom. The teacher had given the clearest directions on where students were to go and what they were to do. Each microscope was numbered, and students were directed to specific numbers. Each station had detailed directions on which slides to observe and the observations to record. The transition, which could have easily dissolved into disorganized chaos, took no more than 15 seconds for an entire class of 25 students. That kind of effective classroom management translates directly into smarter students and fewer behavior problems. You should have seen it. Poetic. Now, for a few practical things. Next week I will be activating the weekly email grade notifications on Family Portal. You’ll get weekly grade reports emailed to you, as well as notification of missing assignments. I wrestle with whether these are fitting to send out in high school. There’s a delicate balance between parents proving helpful support to help their children to stay on top of their work, while at the same time needing to step back and have their children take greater responsibility. And of course, each child is different, some needed greater support than others. Therefore, we’ll activate the notification and let you determine how you’ll use them most effectively with your child. One caveat, however. Do realize here early in the semester that assignment grades disproportionality impact the final score. It can be deceiving. For example, if there are only two small quizzes, and one of them is a low score, it has a disproportionality negative impact on the grade. By the end of the quarter, when many assignments have accumulated, those quizzes have a minimal impact on the grade. Do take that into account when interpreting the reports. For this reason, I didn’t want these reports sent out too quickly. But now it’s time. For those of you who have children in activities, the first academic eligibility check will not be done until Wednesday, September 22nd. By then we should have a healthy number of assignments scored. Any failing grades will render your child ineligible to compete in games, in an effort to provid the incentive to double down on their academic work. They can practice with the team, but not compete in games. They cannot regain eligibility until the next grade check two weeks later. These checks are noted on the school calendar sent with this newsletter. The handbook details this policy well. Have a blessed holiday weekend. It looks to be beautiful weather. Spend some good time with your families. In Christ, Fr. Kyle Metzger SHANLEY ATHLETIC CLUB Thanks to all those that came to the SAC BBQ on Aug. 29. It was a huge success and it was wonderful to see so many families and student athletes all together again! If you missed the BBQ, don’t worry - you can still join the Shanley Athletic Club! Go to https://www.shanleyathleticclub.com/ and click on the Join Now button! The mission of SAC is “Taking Deacon Athletics to a Higher Level.” It is SAC’s privilege to support Shanley TV, purchase equipment and help our athletes attain their goals. Go Deacons! In an effort to keep parents informed while also respecting personal dignity and the laws regarding health disclosures, we will be reporting the weekly aggregate number of new COVID positive cases in the Sacred Heart and Shanley newsletters. This number will reflect new cases identified Friday – Thursday in students in grades 7-12 combined with staff who work in the Sacred Heart and Shanley building. Parents of 6th grade students will receive a letter if there is a positive case within that grade level. The letter will outline any further instructions or necessary steps to follow. Parents of Students in grades 7-12 should look for this graphic in the newsletter for the weekly update: WEEKLY COVID UPDATE SHANLEY / SACRED HEART Week New positive cases Aug 30-Sept 3 0 Deacons For Life Kickoff Meeting Tuesday, September 7th, 6:30 pm, Commons. There will be pizza, drinks, and cookies. It’s open to any returning members and anyone new or interested in joining. Job Opening Childcare workers needed to help with the After School Program at Trinity Elementary. Must be 16 years or older. Starting pay is $10.50/hour. For more information, email Mrs. Flieth, Trinity Principal at [email protected]. The virtue of DEDICATION is the strength to be firm on one’s direction and purpose. Mothers are one of the best examples of living a life of DEDICATION. We need and love our Moms but sometimes we don’t tell them that or thank them enough for everything they do for us. O Lord, today we want to thank you especially for our Moms. Help us to appreciate the DEDICATION they show us every day. Amen Chaplain’s Corner Friday is here, and the second week of school is wrapping up, it is shocking how the hustle and bustle returns so quickly! Yet God remains ever in the present, and his promise of mercy does not pass quickly. At Shanley and Sacred Heart we are celebrating the Lord’s lasting mercy as we honor the instrument through which the Father revealed his love for us, the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first Friday of each month is dedicated to Jesus’ Sacred Heart, a devotion which grasps the beautiful mystery by which the Father has made known our salvation. The human heart, which represents the core of loving and knowing, became the place where God’s infinite love met our own. This heart of Jesus, which was completely like our own, loved us and was willing to bleed and expire out of love for us. As we reflect on this most important mystery, we remember that God has called us to return our hearts back to Him. On this first Friday, we come to meet Him, and speak to Him, heart to heart. ~ O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pray for Us! Students Credit Forensics for Success First meeting for Forensics this year is September 7th at 335 PM in room 203 Shanley has a long tradition of excellence in extracurricular activities.