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Post by momto4 on Jun 13, 2008 8:25:04 GMT -5
For the past few years the district has held a "Gold Rush" at the end of the school year where the 8th graders from all the middle schools feeding into WV have a fun day together and I believe the same for NV.
This year we have six middle schools feeding into two high schools. Next spring we'll see those same six middle schools feed into three high schools, with some splits, and many of the ninth graders will be changing schools for tenth grade. All of next year's 8th and 9th graders had expectations of where they would go to HS and with whom, and for many of them this has changed. (Middle school boundaries of course change at the same time, with many kids changing to a different middle school than they'd expected as well)
What can or should be done to help these kids feel positive about this transition? What kind of school spirit can the 9th graders have when they may be heading to a different HS for 10-12?
Part of what may be needed here is the feeling that we are one excellent and strong district and we are all in this together. I think last year's IPPC Unity Basketball Game was a step in this direction. What else might help with this?
What can and should parents do to facilitate this unity? It probably helps that many kids are participating in activities that involve kids from more than just their home school. All of the district's schools have e-mail listservs, so one thing that can be done is to sign up for the listserv for the schools your children currently attend and will attend so you can get an idea of what's going on there. I have done this in the past when we were facing a boundary change. Alternatively you can regularly check the school's home page for news and events.
This doesn't help much with incoming MV parents/students because there is nothing going on there yet. But during the coming school year the PTA will be set up, the staff will be hired, the building will go up, and I heard that someone is interested in getting an apparel sale going, which I think is a great idea. The Fischer MS PTA will be set up during the coming school year as well.
If we can focus on enhancing the positives in the districts, work on heading off potential problems, work together on helping where needed, and consider ourselves one district rather than separate pieces looking out for our own best interests, we can make a difference for students throughout the district.
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Post by gatormom on Jun 13, 2008 11:43:32 GMT -5
I am somewhat concerned about this. I don't really worry so much for the kids, they will be just fine. I am more worried about WV and the families, new and old, working together.
In 2009 when WV opens, a good part of the student body will be new to the school. Many supportive families are moving to Metea Valley and many new supportive families will be moving to WV.
I worry they will not feel welcome or even feel defensive because of the past few months. This is not a good environment. PTA, booster clubs, need the support of all.
I just don't want the district to ignore this. While WV may not be a new school, the boundaries bring many together who have not attended school together in the past.
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Post by doctorwho on Jun 13, 2008 12:06:17 GMT -5
I am somewhat concerned about this. I don't really worry so much for the kids, they will be just fine. I am more worried about WV and the families, new and old, working together. In 2009 when WV opens, a good part of the student body will be new to the school. Many supportive families are moving to Metea Valley and many new supportive families will be moving to WV. I worry they will not feel welcome or even feel defensive because of the past few months. This is not a good environment. PTA, booster clubs, need the support of all. I just don't want the district to ignore this. While WV may not be a new school, the boundaries bring many together who have not attended school together in the past. I agree on this- was not a good start when the booster club president was only enamored with how much more money the 'new' areas would bring in enough to make those comments at orientation. They need to address that perception of the new attendees being walking wallets. As for MV participation ( and I would be somewhat concerned about that also from a unity standpoint, a lot of people traveling a long way to a new environment ) -, you know my opinions on what happens to Watts parents, so I won't beat that dead horse.
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Post by gatormom on Jun 13, 2008 12:19:21 GMT -5
I agree on this- was not a good start when the booster club president was only enamored with how much more money the 'new' areas would bring in enough to make those comments at orientation. They need to address that perception of the new attendees being walking wallets. As for MV participation ( and I would be somewhat concerned about that also from a unity standpoint, a lot of people traveling a long way to a new environment ) -, you know my opinions on what happens to Watts parents, so I won't beat that dead horse. I guess a whole lot of "not a good start" could be flung around in many directions but to be honest, it does nothing to promote a healing environment. I have concern for MV but something tells me that the district has a check list of "to do" when it comes to opening a new high school. I don't want to diminish those issues. I do hope those who will be part of that post here as well.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Sept 3, 2008 22:15:42 GMT -5
An Opportunity Lost This evening as I finished meeting with my students high school teachers I have come to the conclusion that I reached a milestone in my life , I am getting old. With 1 in college and a senior in high school it is interesting when meeting teachers that have had both sons.
As I converse with the industrial arts teacher (well thats what we called the department in my day), actually more like an engineer teacher, it became apparent to me that most of the classes that my high school seniors have taken are far more excelled than most course work I took in college.
The department head gave us the free tour of all the equipment and software that is now available. Output devices that make actual plastic rendering that 10 years ago would only be available at mid to large corporations. The instructor quickly pointed out that these devices were at both high schools. This is a very expensive machine that is probably unavailable at many college institutions. It was then quickly brought up that these machines were purchased thru a state grant program . What did he think
On throughout the evening I was impressed with many of my sons teachers. As it is his final year I am glad that we reside in this district.
I did have one concern and that is what I would like to call an "Opportunity Lost" As my wife and I went from classroom to classroom I could not help but notice how poorly attended this event was. From what we could see some classes there might be 8 parents but unfortunately some had 3 and 4. The opportunity I am speaking of is the chance to "reach out and shake the hand" of the person responsible for your son or daughter's education. It is also a chance to find out just how far the education system has come in the last decade.
This has been a very trying year for many district parents. It has been said that parent participation can drop off at the high school level and there may be some truth to that. The one overall image I took away from this event was that the staff and teachers at the high school level are more involved than ever in the education of our high school students. I hope in the future that many more will enjoy the teaching staff's company.
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Post by WeNeed3 on Sept 3, 2008 22:35:48 GMT -5
I really hope the HS admin can reach out to the students and parents of these 9th graders and do whatever is possible to ease the transition. I think it may be premature to start thinking about next year after only a few days in the school year, but it would be nice to have a timeline of transition so these parents know what to expect and when it will be coming. It seems like many future Warriors don't know if and when their kids will become a part of WV. And it might be hard for some kids to be NV one year and WV the next without any preparation. I bet some kids at WV transitioning to MV won't be able to get excited just looking at a bunch of steel right now. I think these 9th grade "pioneers" deserve some special treatment and communication from the board that some parents in this district unfortunately did not get. The kids deserve this.
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Post by steckdad on Sept 3, 2008 22:58:25 GMT -5
For the past few years the district has held a "Gold Rush" at the end of the school year where the 8th graders from all the middle schools feeding into WV have a fun day together and I believe the same for NV. This year we have six middle schools feeding into two high schools. Next spring we'll see those same six middle schools feed into three high schools, with some splits, and many of the ninth graders will be changing schools for tenth grade. All of next year's 8th and 9th graders had expectations of where they would go to HS and with whom, and for many of them this has changed. (Middle school boundaries of course change at the same time, with many kids changing to a different middle school than they'd expected as well) What can or should be done to help these kids feel positive about this transition? What kind of school spirit can the 9th graders have when they may be heading to a different HS for 10-12? Part of what may be needed here is the feeling that we are one excellent and strong district and we are all in this together. I think last year's IPPC Unity Basketball Game was a step in this direction. What else might help with this? What can and should parents do to facilitate this unity? It probably helps that many kids are participating in activities that involve kids from more than just their home school. All of the district's schools have e-mail listservs, so one thing that can be done is to sign up for the listserv for the schools your children currently attend and will attend so you can get an idea of what's going on there. I have done this in the past when we were facing a boundary change. Alternatively you can regularly check the school's home page for news and events. This doesn't help much with incoming MV parents/students because there is nothing going on there yet. But during the coming school year the PTA will be set up, the staff will be hired, the building will go up, and I heard that someone is interested in getting an apparel sale going, which I think is a great idea. The Fischer MS PTA will be set up during the coming school year as well. If we can focus on enhancing the positives in the districts, work on heading off potential problems, work together on helping where needed, and consider ourselves one district rather than separate pieces looking out for our own best interests, we can make a difference for students throughout the district. the best way to handle this in my opinion is not to involve the kids in all the drama over the past year. treat things as business as usual. get up, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, go to school, repeat.
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Post by gatordog on Sept 3, 2008 23:36:14 GMT -5
An Opportunity Lost This evening as I finished meeting with my students high school teachers I have come to the conclusion that I reached a milestone in my life , I am getting old. With 1 in college and a senior in high school it is interesting when meeting teachers that have had both sons. As I converse with the industrial arts teacher (well thats what we called the department in my day), actually more like an engineer teacher, it became apparent to me that most of the classes that my high school seniors have taken are far more excelled than most course work I took in college. The department head gave us the free tour of all the equipment and software that is now available. Output devices that make actual plastic rendering that 10 years ago would only be available at mid to large corporations. The instructor quickly pointed out that these devices were at both high schools. This is a very expensive machine that is probably unavailable at many college institutions. It was then quickly brought up that these machines were purchased thru a state grant program . What did he think On throughout the evening I was impressed with many of my sons teachers. As it is his final year I am glad that we reside in this district. I did have one concern and that is what I would like to call an "Opportunity Lost" As my wife and I went from classroom to classroom I could not help but notice how poorly attended this event was. From what we could see some classes there might be 8 parents but unfortunately some had 3 and 4. The opportunity I am speaking of is the chance to "reach out and shake the hand" of the person responsible for your son or daughter's education. It is also a chance to find out just how far the education system has come in the last decade. This has been a very trying year for many district parents. It has been said that parent participation can drop off at the high school level and there may be some truth to that. The one overall image I took away from this event was that the staff and teachers at the high school level are more involved than ever in the education of our high school students. I hope in the future that many more will enjoy the teaching staff's company. excellent insight, signmaker. thanks for putting this into words. This is about us interacting with our district where it counts.
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Post by gatordog on Sept 3, 2008 23:38:26 GMT -5
I really hope the HS admin can reach out to the students and parents of these 9th graders and do whatever is possible to ease the transition. I think it may be premature to start thinking about next year after only a few days in the school year, but it would be nice to have a timeline of transition so these parents know what to expect and when it will be coming. It seems like many future Warriors don't know if and when their kids will become a part of WV. And it might be hard for some kids to be NV one year and WV the next without any preparation. I bet some kids at WV transitioning to MV won't be able to get excited just looking at a bunch of steel right now. I think these 9th grade "pioneers" deserve some special treatment and communication from the board that some parents in this district unfortunately did not get. The kids deserve this. And from starting up new HS in Arizona, the WV principal has experience in doing such things. (I have GOT to get her name down )
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Post by majorianthrax on Sept 3, 2008 23:38:49 GMT -5
I think the kids who will soon be Warriors will get along just fine. The beginning will be alittle scary as is anything new but the kids will be the ones to pull things together. It is the parents I am worried about. If you read the blue board there are some posters that have no intention of making a smooth transition and continue bitter rants. That can't help anyone. Among the complaints is the WV has done nothing to reach out to them. Any thoughts on that?
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Post by gatordog on Sept 3, 2008 23:52:39 GMT -5
I think the kids who will soon be Warriors will get along just fine. The beginning will be alittle scary as is anything new but the kids will be the ones to pull things together. It is the parents I am worried about. If you read the blue board there are some posters that have no intention of making a smooth transition and continue bitter rants. That can't help anyone. Among the complaints is the WV has done nothing to reach out to them. Any thoughts on that? I assume we are talking about current 9th who will make move from NV to WV, and to maybe a lesser extent, the 8th graders. Principal Marchiando talked at the Aug open house about this. She stressed that they they are to focus on where they are now and what they are doing now. And to enjoy it and make most of this years experience. I agree with what she said. If individuals want to do some things now on their own such as come to a football game or band concert, that would be great. I hope the adminstration at all schools are working on details. But the students and us parents, lets not worry too much about next year when this one has barely started.
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Post by JWH on Sept 4, 2008 7:13:46 GMT -5
An Opportunity Lost This evening as I finished meeting with my students high school teachers I have come to the conclusion that I reached a milestone in my life , I am getting old. With 1 in college and a senior in high school it is interesting when meeting teachers that have had both sons. As I converse with the industrial arts teacher (well thats what we called the department in my day), actually more like an engineer teacher, it became apparent to me that most of the classes that my high school seniors have taken are far more excelled than most course work I took in college. The department head gave us the free tour of all the equipment and software that is now available. Output devices that make actual plastic rendering that 10 years ago would only be available at mid to large corporations. The instructor quickly pointed out that these devices were at both high schools. This is a very expensive machine that is probably unavailable at many college institutions. It was then quickly brought up that these machines were purchased thru a state grant program . What did he think On throughout the evening I was impressed with many of my sons teachers. As it is his final year I am glad that we reside in this district. I did have one concern and that is what I would like to call an "Opportunity Lost" As my wife and I went from classroom to classroom I could not help but notice how poorly attended this event was. From what we could see some classes there might be 8 parents but unfortunately some had 3 and 4. The opportunity I am speaking of is the chance to "reach out and shake the hand" of the person responsible for your son or daughter's education. It is also a chance to find out just how far the education system has come in the last decade. This has been a very trying year for many district parents. It has been said that parent participation can drop off at the high school level and there may be some truth to that. The one overall image I took away from this event was that the staff and teachers at the high school level are more involved than ever in the education of our high school students. I hope in the future that many more will enjoy the teaching staff's company. excellent insight, signmaker. thanks for putting this into words. This is about us interacting with our district where it counts. The kids will be fine and adapt. It's some parents that just won't.
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Post by sardines on Sept 4, 2008 8:15:47 GMT -5
I think the kids who will soon be Warriors will get along just fine. The beginning will be alittle scary as is anything new but the kids will be the ones to pull things together. It is the parents I am worried about. If you read the blue board there are some posters that have no intention of making a smooth transition and continue bitter rants. That can't help anyone. Among the complaints is the WV has done nothing to reach out to them. Any thoughts on that? I assume we are talking about current 9th who will make move from NV to WV, and to maybe a lesser extent, the 8th graders. Principal Marchiando talked at the Aug open house about this. She stressed that they they are to focus on where they are now and what they are doing now. And to enjoy it and make most of this years experience. I agree with what she said. If individuals want to do some things now on their own such as come to a football game or band concert, that would be great. I hope the adminstration at all schools are working on details. But the students and us parents, lets not worry too much about next year when this one has barely started. I agree that with all of the adjustments we need to focus on one thing/year at a time. There are kids and families all over this district that will be accommodating all of the changes that will occur next year. Many families will have kids at two different high schools and many kids will have attended two different high schools as just as some examples. I personally have always felt it best to take a proactive approach and will pursue information if need be.One thing I learned is that at the high school level one has to seek it out sometimes....the info. isn't always falling into my lap or being sent home in a backpack:).It's kind of a nice transition to college where the responsibility is placed in the hands of the student. The nice thing about NV and WV is that everything is available with the click of a mouse. The websites are great and the information about faculty, staff, athletics, coaches, and club contacts are all available as well. I honestly don't know where my eighth grader will end up next year. I don't know any teachers, coaches or support staff that will be at MV with the exception of the principal. Will Metea really open on time? Will they end up postponing everything for a year? This is why I continue to seek out information at WV, sign on to listserves for clubs my eighth grader is interested in and at the same time research the private schools that my child may decide is the avenue best suited for her. I feel this is my responsibility and I honestly don't expect an onslaught of Metea information when there isn't much to tell the Freshman or Sophomores of 2009-2010. I believe it's best to focus on "now" , make sure my child is prepared for high school academically and remain confident that the social and logistical adjustments will work out fine.Everybody will be making adjustments of one sort or another....my kid isn't an isolated case. I have faith that these kids will do great in any of these schools. p.s. southsidesigmaker ...I loved your synopsis of the high school open house! I do want to remain involved as I feel this time with our kids is so fleeting. My babies will be gone before I know it!
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Post by WeNeed3 on Sept 4, 2008 9:37:42 GMT -5
You make a good point, sardines. I don't have anyone in HS yet, but I understand the need to not "hold everyone's hands" when they are in HS. The information is there for those that want it, and that is good.
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Post by majorianthrax on Sept 4, 2008 22:28:37 GMT -5
I think the kids who will soon be Warriors will get along just fine. The beginning will be alittle scary as is anything new but the kids will be the ones to pull things together. It is the parents I am worried about. If you read the blue board there are some posters that have no intention of making a smooth transition and continue bitter rants. That can't help anyone. Among the complaints is the WV has done nothing to reach out to them. Any thoughts on that? Apparently I need to explain my last post better. On the blue board one poster has really been twisting what I have said. What I wrote was: "Among the complaints is the WV has done nothing to reach out to them. Any thoughts on that?" I was just asking for anyones opinion on the subject. I have a child at Scullen who plays football and he is waiting to hear from WV as well, mostly concerning football. I agree that WV needs to do a better job in this area. I was referring to several individuals who appear hysterical about losing the lawsuit and going to WV. Here are a few of their quotes- "It does seem that some are very anxious to close the book and call the boundaries done like they are set in stone. They are not done, they haven't even started yet and there is an election for a majority of the school board seats before they are slated to take effect!" And another- " AND if Karla Zozulia were to receive just disciple for her malicious publication, MAYBE the healing could begin. Until then, I have no idea what will help. Oddly, telling us to "get over it" doesn't seem to be working." This is what I was referring to. I would have posted on the blue but since I am not on it I hope the poster who twisted my words visits and gets it right.
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