Staff News and Announcements
Staff News and Announcements
Embedded Files
Comet Shout Outs (Sunday, December 8th, 2019)
Comet Shout Outs (Sunday, December 8th, 2019)
Nikki Harting and Diana Williams for helping out with Final Countdown Tutoring!!!! Special thanks for their math expertise.
Katie Gabrelcik is AMAZING. I have loved working with her this year and I am so thankful to co-teach with her. She is great at supporting every student that she encounters, even if they are not on her case load. She supports me daily and has amazing ideas. I wouldn't survive without her.
Bud Strudtoff has been an awesome addition to our pod! He is also an awesome baker!
Tracy Brockway - Thank you for always caring for students and making parking duty look good!
Travis Murray - He's doing an amazing job bringing our WL department together to move forward in our curriculum and understanding of the proficiency standards while honoring everyone's voice
Gina Fox: she has taken over the special ed. supervisor role with passion and grace. She is always there for teachers, willing to listen, willing to brainstorm and is "in the trenches" with us. She is a great leader.
Carol Lehman - All your hard work you do with the E+R=O and your work ethic in your classroom
Nicole Paxton - All your hard work each day in your classroom bringing such a good balance with your students!
Kristi Stephens - Your positive attitude and your drive to becoming better each day!
B2 English teachers... good luck as those papers come in! We've got your back, will give you your space and provide you food as needed!
Linda Dumstorff for making our Thanksgiving so much fun. Thank you for taking our personalities and putting them in scarecrow form.
Megan Pay for always being so positive and a team player everytime.
Bud Strudthoff - It would be easy to say your amazing sweets you make OR your amazing photography BUT it is really just your overall JOY you bring to the staff and students each day!!
Lorri Allen and the activities staff for organizing the staff v student basketball game. That whole department stepped up and made things happen. Great people!
Dan Distel - Thank you for trying ways to bring the staff together and make it a fun environment to work in. You make the staff feel supported and loved! The funny emails help too :)
Bobby Dodd - For being open to new ideas and always looking for ways to make the student - and staff - experience better.
Cindy Donnelly - The things you do with the bank, Naviance and college 101 is AMAZING! Mason is lucky to have you!!
Mary Ellen Theisen is such a breath of fresh air! She is an insightful resource for both the students and the staff. She is a huge value in my classroom and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to collaborate with her this school year.
Shout out to the SCSF classrooms teachers and paras! Love being part of the team with them. These classrooms could not run as well as they do without the help of everyone in those rooms.
Both Kim Ashman and Debbie Darland are very appreciated for all they do for us in the afterschool programs world. They both always help our programs run smooth without any interruptions and we do appreciate you both.
Andy Schur, Erin Rankin, Nicki Paxton are the BEST PEOPLE EVER. I absolutely love working with them. That is all.
To whomever got the ME / MI bus stop kids into the language lab during our lock-down... THANKS! I had assumed my children were already on the bus when the lock-down occurred. It's nice to know that the staff keeps a watchful eye on these kids too!
A3 POD - All the teachers in my pod are awesome. We support each other, we laugh with each other, and sometimes we even cry with each other. Thank you for being exactly who I need every day.
Paul Reedy who so graciously shares our bubble room with my 2 kiddos before they get on the bus!
Pam Maue, Sara Mowell and Marlene Boyle who our 9th grade freshman support team could not live without! You all are an integral part of our success! Thank you for working so incredibly hard and for your dedication!
Gina Fox: you are the best!!! Accessible, knowledgeable and professional! Thank you for excellence!
Lloyd Zacharius-you are awesome!! Thank you for realizing our needs and for wonderful speakers!!!
Robyn Jordan continually brings an attentive, compassionate and selfless energy to every interaction I have with her. You make me better Robyn, thank you!
Mark Meibers is the best collaborator buddy. He keeps me on task and ahead for the week!! I couldn't teach Algebra 2 without him, Thanks Mark
Jonothon Sauer and Andy Schur - A big shout out for keeping the R Factor in front of us. It is becoming a part of our culture!
Jordan Reid gives a HUGE Shout-Out to the six basketball WARRIORS that sacrificed life and limb representing her in the Cross Mason shoot out last week. Planika-A. Johnston-Gabrelcik-Faulk-Sehti and 1984 Mr. Ohio Basketball Nathan Coates.
Michelle Bruewer and TJ Wilson have organized a great book club for MHS that just finished it's third discussion. Read the new Malcolm Gladwell book in January!
Angie Johnston is a great team of 8 leader!
Laura Spitzmueller is amazing to work with. She is kind, funny, and always here to support teachers with anything we need. I also love that she is helping promote a positive spirit in our building with the Comet Shout Outs. Thank you for being awesome!! (-:
Nikki Harting has gone above and beyond to support one of her students, giving up her own time to support him academically and emotionally. Her flexibility and problem solving is amazing!
Katie Holmes has been a lifesaver for a very challenging student; getting her to the highest grade she's had in over a year and making the student feel successful.
Maggie Long-She goes above and beyond EVERY SINGLE DAY for her students!
I was worried about a student this week and I asked Jeff Schlarger, Michelle Kohler, Brandon Rompies, and Andy Schur for help. All responded quickly, professionally, and positively--this is a great place to work. Thank You!
I would like to give a shout out to the all club/organization and team advisors. They are amazing and do such a fabulous job. Our students are so lucky to have such dedicated people working with them.
Genny Wittenbach - She takes time out of her day to help me out whenever I need it. She brightens my day!
Steven Fragale for being such a good listener! His positive and encouraging words were just what I needed at the end of a rough day!
Big shout out to Mr. Affatato and Mrs. Roth in supporting students in Hope Squad work to bring Kate Fagan to Mason!
Shout out to Jere Clark and Bonnie White for all of their time and efforts with the Student Success Lab pilot!
Keri Thompson- you are amazing!!! The work you do to bring invaluable learning opportunities to students is incredible! Thank you for all that you do!
Shout out to Nikki Harting for her compassion and flexibility in supporting a student with unique life circumstances!
Tina Leder- you are an awesome Team of 8 Leader!!
Randy Hubbard- big shout out for his unwavering commitment to supporting his colleagues, just because.
Need to Know
Need to Know
Building Collaboration for December:
- December 9th, 11th and 13th: Building Collaboration meetings (7:05 AM)
- December 13th: Big Rock Focus Team meetings (7:05 AM)
- December 16th: Building Collaboration meetings (7:05 AM)
- December 18th: No Building Collaboration meetings
- December 20th: RockStar Celebration meeting (7:05 AM)
Monday, 12/9: MHS Administrator Meeting (2:35 PM - Front Office)
Tuesday, 12/10: MHS PTO Meeting (6:00 PM - Large Commons)
Tuesday, 12/10: MCS BOE Meeting (7:00 PM - Harvard Room)
Wednesday, 12/11: MCS District Walk-Throughs at HS (All Day)
Wednesday, 12/11: MCS Financial Information Update (2:35 PM - Auditorium)
This Week in Connect Time :
- December 11th Connect Time Agenda
- This is the last Connect Time of the 1st Semester. You will be able to create your connect session for January 8th prior to leaving for Holiday Break.
MHS OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) for the 2019-2020 school year
Improve Your Instruction
Improve Your Instruction
- Will This Be On the Test? - Here's how to use metacognition to avoid that question. Learn strategies to increase student engagement.
- The Power of Learning Principles - Blog from Allison Zmuda, Jay McTighe, and Grant Wiggins - Why learning principles are important and protocols to help develop them.
- 15 Ways for Students to Use Google Keep - Help students get organized, take notes, track progress and more with Google Keep. Check out this digital tool!
- Student-Designed Review Games with Quizizz - Planning to spend hours on creating review activities for your students? Why not have them create their own review games with Quizizz?
- It's Report Card Time and I Despise It - As educators prepare to submit first semester grades, Teaching Tolerance shares this teacher's story reminder from one of them to their students: "Never, not ever, can you be reduced in my mind to a number and a letter."
- December Teacher Collaboration Time - Are you looking for colleagues to collaborate with during Tuesday/Thursday Collaboration time? Wanting to share ideas, brainstorm, develop lessons, have meaningful discussions and connect with colleagues? Feel free to add to the wall if you have something that you would like to open up to others for collaboration. Just click on the plus sign under the date in which you are wanting to collaborate, and add the brief description and location.
- Do you want to push yourself to grow and improve? The Never-Ending Conference is a great way to follow your own professional growth trail. You are able to present an area of expertise or attend a session. The opportunity is yours. Don't miss out!
Safety First
Safety First
-During the Dec. 11th Connect Time, we will be reviewing A.L.I.C.E with the students. Please use the following SlideShow for information and table top discussion. Dec. 11th
As we continue to examine Safety practices at MHS, we will be having tourniquet training for the building during the week of December 9th-13th from 7:05 am to 7:35 am. Mason Fire in collaboration with Mason PD will be running the training with support from the school nurses. We have divided up by departments, so please report to the Harvard room on your designated day. We are doing it by Department (as opposed to by Pods), to still allow for two days of department collaboration time for the week. The American Red Cross website provides excellent information if you are interested in additional resources. We will cover many of these aspects during the training.
Schedule:
December 9th (Monday) 7:05 am-7:35 am
Visual Arts Department
Language Arts
World Language
Admin Assistants
Applied Tech
December 11th (Wednesday) 7:05 am-7:35 am
Perform Arts Department
Business Department
Intervention Department- all teachers plus other support staff
Mathematics Department
Science Department
December 13th (Friday) 7:05 am-7:35 am
Social Studies
Learning Commons Staff
ESL Department
Guidance Department
Teacher Academy/Biomedical
Health/P.E. Department
Administration
Big Rock Connection
Big Rock Connection
Culture Team:
"Let's face it. In today's world, the external environment is not going to provide consistent positive energy. That's only going to come from within us." -- Tim Kight (<--- Click to watch the video.)
As we make our way through these last two weeks, make a decision to be the positive energy for your family, students and colleagues. Choose to make your 20 square feet a source of motivation for everyone around you.
And a reminder: The next Connect Time dedicated to student R-Factor training is January 22.
Inclusive Excellence Team: In the blog post Rethinking Holidays in Schools, Alex Shevrin Venet provides questions for reflection that is worth checking out. Questions such as, " How do we balance honoring and celebrating students/families/teachers and their cultural and religious values with a commitment to inclusion for all and not preferencing one culture over another?" allow us to step back and think about the big picture.
Personalized Learning Team:
Teachers often ask us how we can ensure students are accessing quality content. They want to turn some of the research process over to students, but are afraid they may not find the best materials.
Check out Jennifer Gonzalez's Cult of Pedagogy Podcast about Content Curation. Content Curation engages higher order thinking, puts students in the driver's seat for research, and helps them filter out unhelpful sources.
Wellness Moment
Wellness Moment
By working with students day in and day out, you gain a valuable perspective on how they are doing physically, emotionally, and mentally. Though we have many different resources for guidance and assistance within our school building, it’s important to build relationships and engage in dialogue with caregivers as well. At times, facilitating caregiver conversations can be challenging or uncomfortable. Check out strategies for working holistically with your student’s family.
Remember: Staff Yoga Monday, 12/09 from 3:30-4:30pm in MHS Dance Room AND Thursday, 12/12 from 3:30-4:30pm in ME KIVA. Staff from all buildings are welcome to attend. Sign up at DRISHTIQyoga.com or on the DRISHTIQ Yoga App.
Counselor's Corner
Counselor's Corner
If you were unable to attend the Junior Parent Meeting, here is the link to our powerpoint. Counselors are also meeting with juniors individually to answer specific questions about current and future plans.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_eEfzadCZNxN0f3gByLrxhEXfxNjDpHFHe1qf0raGew/edit#slide=id.p4
Sophomores interested in applying to Scarlet Oaks and did not attend the meeting, can see Sally Clark in the guidance office for more information. We will be taking a field trip January 24 for all who are interested but applications for programs are open now.
SAVE THE DATE: College Credit Plus Informational Meeting
January 16
6:30-8:30 PM
Mason HS Auditorium
If students are considering taking College Credit Plus (CCP) classes for ANY part of the 2020-2021 school year (including summer courses), it is strongly recommended that they attend this meeting with their parents to become familiar with the process. CCP representatives from the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Sinclair Community College and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College will be on hand to answer questions regarding their specific programs and application process. Attendance at this meeting is STEP 1 of the CCP process.
Ohio’s College Credit Plus program can help students earn college and high school credits at the same time by taking college courses from community colleges or universities. The purpose of this program is to promote rigorous academic pursuits and to provide a wide variety of options to college-ready students. CCP is open to students in grades 7-12 who meet the academic requirements published by the Ohio Department of Education and the specific colleges and universities involved in the program.
An intent to participate form will be posted on the MHS school counseling web page by February 3, 2020, and will close April 1, 2020, which is the deadline to notify the school district of intent to participate during the next school year.
For more information about College Credit Plus, please click on this link: https://www.ohiohighered.org/content/college_credit_plus_about
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