Attention Parents!!
The financial aid workshop scheduled for tonight has been postponed due to school cancellation. We will reschedule and post the adjusted date as soon as possible.
January 23, 2012
November 3, 2011
What’s Your Extra?
For those of you that have already graduated from High School, think back to your glory days when you were a student and make a mental list of the clubs, sports and other organizations that you were involved with.
As I took a walk down memory lane, I listed the clubs, organizations and sports that I took part in while attending Whitehall High School.
A long time has passed since I looked so youthful but my memories of being a part of the groups listed are ingrained in my memory as experiences that helped shape my interpersonal skills, work ethic and my understanding of what it meant to be part of something greater than myself.
One of our goals at R-PHS is to connect every student to a group, ensemble, club, sport or other school-related organization to broaden their connection to R-PHS beyond their coursework.
We’re asking students to get involved. We’re asking students: ”What might be an area of interest that we can support you through the formation of a club or support group. ” What’s great is our students are responding with multiple ideas which are quickly turning into newly founded student groups. Since the start of the school year, we’ve added a chess club, GSA, two Bible study groups and our IMPACT student leadership team.
Our Positive Behavior Supports Team has been very busy assisting students with the communications relative to connecting an EXTRA with their current lifestyle. Our most recent video is linked below to give you a glimpse into what our plan is to expand student opportunities at R-PHS.
Great things are happening at R-PHS!
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October 25, 2011
R-P Choirs Welcomes Dr. Adams to Campus
The Reeths-Puffer Choir department welcomes Dr. Kimberly Dunn Adams, Choral Director from Western Michigan University, who will work with our choirs this week Wednesday, October 26th at 7 p.m.
All four R-PHS Choirs: Madrigals, Vocal Fusion, R-P Chorale and Chorus, will have the opportunity to perform two selections each, and then have a clinic work session with Dr. Adams. “This is such a fantastic opportunity for our high school singers to work with such a highly esteemed Choral Professional. I can’t wait to see what insights Dr. Adams will bring to our choirs,” says Schlaff, R-PHS Choir Teacher.
The Performance Clinic will start at 7 p.m., and is open to the public free of charge.
Dr. KIMBERLY DUNN ADAMS is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Western Michigan University, where she conducts the University Chorale, Collegiate Singers, and Grand Chorus. She holds a doctorate in choral conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.M. in choral conducting from Yale University, a B.M. in Voice Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, and a B.A. in Religion from Oberlin College.
Mrs. Adams has earned numerous accolades throughout her career, having been selected to participate in prestigious master-classes and festivals. She has also received various academic awards, including the Lorna Wendt Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, and the Hugh Giles and Hugh Porter Prizes from Yale.
From 2006-2011, Dr. Adams was on the faculty at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and directed the school’s three choral ensembles. While at the University of Wisconsin, she served as the Director of the Women’s Chorus & Masters Singers as well as Assistant Conductor of the Concert Choir. At Yale, Dr. Adams was Director of the Yale Divinity School Chapel Choir, Co-Conductor of the Yale Recital Chorus, and Assistant Conductor of the Yale Camerata. As an undergraduate, she founded the Oberlin Women’s Choir. She also maintains an active performing life as both soprano and mezzo-soprano soloist with various ensembles.
Dr. Adams is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, the Conductors Guild, and Michigan School Vocal Music Association.
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October 19, 2011
The COWS Are Out Of The Barn At R-PHS!
Students in Mrs. Hanson’s chemistry classes have taken full advantage of the Computers on Wheels, or COWS, to enhance their learning. Honors Chemistry students have been using their laptops to watch and listen to prerecorded instructional video lessons prepared by their teacher, then embedded into their classroom support website, known as Moodle. This opportunity for turning a classroom into a student-directed learning center is being well received by her students. Students enjoy having the ability to pause, rewind, or even fast-forward through a lesson giving them the power to practice the content areas over and over again until they’ve reached mastery. “We should do this every day,” said Junior Trevor Barnes. “I was not as distracted today and could focus on my lessons better,” added Junior Charles Thomas.” Mrs. Hanson added, “This instructional strategy allows me to clone myself! I am instructing one-on-one with each student via Moodle, and can be at their side for that just in time support they may need, without stopping the learning of the other students.”
In addition using their Moodle site for flipping lessons, the Advanced Placement Chemistry students have also been using the COWS in the laboratory. The laptops allow the students the opportunity to quickly analyze their collected data by generating titration graphs using a program known as LoggerPro. Students quickly turn their classic pH titration curves into first and second derivatives, thus increasing their accuracy when calculating the equivalence point. Mrs. Hanson has estimated that the Moodle site, along with the COWS, have saved at least 4 instructional days so far this school year as compared to previous years. Please visit the Moodle site for Reeths-Puffer High School at moodle.reeths-puffer.org. Skim down to find the High School Science link. Mrs. Hanson’s Moodle sites are found for both Honors Chemistry and Advanced Placement Chemistry. Log in as a guest and take a look around. You will be amazed!
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September 13, 2011
Homework: The Necessary Staple (Not Evil)
Homework is not something new. High school students have been taking schoolwork home since the elementary invention of the 3-word vocabulary list. Helping students develop day-to-day self-reliance or better yet, self-discipline by completing homework assignments, parents can become allies in building strong life-long study habits.
For parents, the stress of simply getting through the daily grind of conflict with their student about getting their homework done can be overbearing. With this in mind, I want to share four tips that might establish a more workable setting with your Rocket student when it comes to homework.
Tip #1: Understand and make peace with the fact that your student may hate doing homework. As much as we would want them to love homework like they do their facebook time, it simply isn’t a reality. Accepting how they feel about their homework is not the same as agreeing with them. It’s about empathy, recognizing their emotion while still setting rules, boundaries and reasonable expectations.
Tip#2: Try to facilitate rather than intimidate. You can beg, plead, bribe and threaten, but the outcome will be a short-lived acquiescence, eventually losing effectiveness leaving you no choice but up the ante, or threat! Stay positive even when you don’t want or desire to be positive. Praise them, let them know that you’re on their side (or team if you like the athletic vernacular). Humor can be a good tool too. There are lots of funny quotes on homework online. Try a google search and you’ll see what I mean.
Tip #3: Shift the responsibility from you to your student. For many, this is the most challenging of the four tips. Creating the environment for focused study is crucial. Today’s student is used to multi-tasking, IPOD in one ear, TV on ESPN and 10 person chats on facebook is their norm. Consider providing them with music and leaving facebook and TV as their new “bowl of ice cream” for a job well done (homework completed). High school students need (and want) structure. Take on the challenge!
Tip #4: Allow your child to experience the authentic pride in a job well done. Too much help can result in a sense of helplessness. Even high school students can become overly reliant on adult support. Students grow into more capable and confident adults when they are allowed to succeed (and fail) on their own terms. Monitoring their progress and providing them positive verbal cues will build their perseverance and confidence in meeting the demands of the assigned work.
Homework is an integral part of high school life. Understanding that homework provides the repetition needed to deepen student learning, it’s imperative that parents take an active role in providing guidance and support early and often. The results will bring many more gratifying evenings home with your student!
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May 10, 2011
Senior Financial Advisor Presents to Classes
Huntington Bank’s Senior Financial Advisor, Mrs. Karmen Gearhart, paid a visit to Mr. Corbin’s Personal Finance classes recently providing students with valuable information on the world of finance.
R-P senior, Alex Miller shared her thoughts about Mrs. Gearhart’s vist: “Mrs. Gearhart was a wonderful guest speaker! Her presentation was informative and supported a lot of material Mr. Corbin discussed with us in class. The presentation engaged the whole class in discussion too. Her presentation held a deeper meaning for me because I hope to someday become a financial planner like her. The passion she has for her profession only reinforced my career decision. ”
Some of the advice Mrs. Gearhart shared with Alex and her peers was:
- Work on delayed gratification
- SAVE for what you want
- Spend less than you make
- Think about the future you want for yourself
- Be prepared for an emergency
Mr. Corbin had this to say about Mrs. Gearhart’s visit to his class: “What a treat to have such a knowledgeable professional take time out of her day to come and share with our students. Mrs. Gearhart shared with us what a day looks like for her, what advice she has for young people, and covered many topics within Personal Finance. She was a natural with the students and I look forward to her returning next year.”
Mrs. Gearhart also has strong ties to Reeths-Puffer too! She attended R-P in her elementary through middle school years before her father, Mr. John VanNieuwenhuyzen, former Principal of Reeths-Puffer High School left to become Superintendent of Schools in Litchfield School District.
We’re fortunate to have such caring community members such as Mrs. Gearhart, willing to share their expertise with our students.
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January 12, 2011
The Seven Standards of School Accreditation
Reeths-Puffer High School has been accredited through North Central Accreditation since 1972. Over the course of 37 years of quality school accreditation, the North Central Association has evolved to assist schools in identifying quality target area goals, research-based strategies to achieve these goals and measures to monitor the progress of the intended goals.
Reeths-Puffer Schools are one of several public schools in the state of Michigan to engage in district accreditation. This process involves all buildings and their adherence to seven specified standards that assure a quality education for all students.
The Seven Standards of NCA District Accreditation are:
Vision & Purpose
Governance & Leadership
Teaching & Learning
Documenting & Using Results
Resource & Support Systems
Stakeholder Communication & Relationships
Commitment to Continuous Improvement
I will provide to you what the high school has done, is doing and what plans we have for future work in each of the seven standards through posts to this blog.
You will read the commendations that were presented from our visit last spring, the recommendations for consideration and our action plans on improving our services to our students specific to each standard in future posts by standard.
As an instructional staff, are always looking to improve on our programming for our kids. The District Accreditation model allows us to organize our focus our improvmement plans to augment student achievement across all disciplines.
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September 17, 2010
Project Read Receives Grant Support
High School Library Media Specialist, Joan Vincent has been awarded a $2,500.00 grant from Dollar General Literary Foundation for her proposal Project Read 2.0(Reflect, Explore, Analyze, Discuss). The purpose of Project Read 2.0 is to implement literature circles into the 9thgrade English curriculum. A literature circle is a teaching strategy whose equivalent is an adult book club. Students will select their own reading materials from themed reading lists and meet in small groups with other students who are reading the same book. The aim is to encourage student-choice, to develop a deeper understanding of literary elements and to develop a love of reading in young people. Not only will students be discussing books in a face-to-face setting, but they will also be using Web 2.0 tools such as blogs and wikis to share their thoughts and understandings with students reading the same book from different classes. The grant monies will be used to purchase the books on the themed reading list. Mrs. Vincent will be working with English teachers Ms. Ordahl and Mrs. Hynde to implement the project.
Mrs. Vincent (photo above) has also organized a student focused LMC page linked to our high school website. Please click here to review the student supports that have been developed for our students at R-PHS.
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May 26, 2010
Internal Peer Review Report
On May 13th, the district’s Internal Peer Review Team paid a visit to the high school focusing their attention on the high school’s improvement efforts in the seven standards of school improvement as identified by North Central Accreditation (NCA). The seven standards are:
- Vision and Purpose
- Governance and Leadership
- Teaching and Learning
- Documenting and Using Results
- Resource and Support Systems
- Stakeholder Communications and Relationships
- Commitment to Continuous Improvement
Our strategic improvement efforts to improve our goals in reading and writing over the course of the 2009-10 school are directly linked to the seven standards. Our two target area goals are:
- All students will show improvement in reading comprehension across the curriculum.
- All students will support ideas by providing details and examples when writing across the curriculum.
The NCA leadership team responsible for organizing and assisting the improvements efforts at the high school are:
- Linda Hanson
- Nancy Burton
- Diana Hynde
- Julie Kotecki
- Liz Pratt
- Curt Crouch
- Tim McDougle
- Craig Olson
The Internal Peer Review Report was just released to the high school this morning and we want to share the good news with all stakeholders associated with R-PHS. You can click on the link below to review the report.
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May 18, 2010
Bag of Books!
Mrs. Vincent, R-PHS Library Media Specialist, has put together a great opportunity for all high school students for summer reading. The program is titled: “Bag of Books” and provides students with a great opportunity to check out books through the LMC for the summer. Click on the link below for more information.
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