2018-2019: Episode 9
Hello again readers,
We apologize for the big lapse in the blogs recently. We tried an experiment with just using Twitter and Instagram (both still used almost daily) instead of the blog but word on the street is that people like the links and writ-ups as well. So, we are happy to oblige and welcome back to the TEAM WHS Blog!
WHS Gives Back: The last day to donate is Tuesday 12/11! Check out the WHSGB website and the PayPal link for easy online donations. All donations go directly to children who live in Winchester. Thank you for your help and support!! Thank you to our PFA for partnering with us and really helping us organize this program this year. Your unwavering support is deeply appreciated!
We also had a great week last week kicking off the season in style with two traditions that we love. Our WHS Chorus singers spent the afternoon eating lunch and then singing for our senior citizens at The Jenks Center. We also had a fantastic pancake breakfast that was organized and run by our wonderful post-grad students who work with the indefatigable Mr. Huber!
Seniors letter link: We sent this letter out to the parents of the class of 2019 last week. We hope that you can reinforce this message at home with any age student you may have. The message can be used at any time!
Mid year exams: The following link is our Tentative Mid-Year Exam Schedule. The exam schedule is accurate. However, we will be double checking our bus times and therefore may update this form be the end of next week. The good news is that exams are still 2 months away!
Nobel Laureate comes to WHS: Last week, a number of our science classes had the wonderful opportunity to attend a presentation by Dr. Richard Roberts, a Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine for discovering mRNA splicing as well as Introns in Eukaryotic DNA. Dr. Roberts came to WHS to share with us his journey of triumphs and occasional failures that led him to the Nobel Prize as well as to encourage WHS students to be curious and confident, and not to be disappointed if things don’t go as planned because failures may lead to new and exciting discoveries.
Student Goal for the Week: Kate Bicks, Mila Splawska and Anna Caggioni, all Class of ’22, have a great goal for this week! Thinking of others is a great way to spend the week! ‘Tis the season!
Performance Based Assessments: Have you been hearing from your student about a new focus by WHS on Performance-based assessments? What are PBA’s? Essentially, a number of WHS staff members have been trying to find news ways to assess student learning that moves beyond the traditional paper + pencil test model. PBA’s are also tied closely to the first beacon, “Individualized Pathways to Success” of our WPS Learning Beacons
Mrs. Timmins recently shared a really great example of a project her students did for an assessment. We also shared a video of Madam Milner’s French students doing a timely presentation on climate issues all in the the target language on Twitter last week.
PBA’s will not replace all traditional assessment methods. The point is that PBA’s are a great way to offer variety and increase student’s creative voice while assessing that the they are absorbing the material in front of them and that many of our WHS staff is always trying to think of new ways to work with our students. They may see them as “projects” and in a lot of ways they are. However, we are using them more and more instead of the classic multiple choice/essay model. Ask about these at home!
Meet the newest Sachems: Take a minute to say hello to Melissa Gifford also please take a second to say hello to Grace Cohen-Pratt , say hello, again, to Tricia Driscoll and lastly say hello to Courtney Ledoux (aka Wilson)
2018 Pep Rally Recap: Some fun video from the Pep Rally 2018 thanks to Mr. Moriarty.
EnKA Holiday help: Please see this ENKA Holiday Gift Card & Help link for information on the EnKA holiday help program.
WINspiration: “Complacency is the forerunner of mediocrity. You can never work too hard on attitudes and effort.” – Don Meyer (the weekly WINspiration is emailed to our students every Monday morning at 8 AM)
As always, thank you for reading this week!
Dennis Mahoney
teamwhs 