Random Notes from the Underground

Hello folks...a few things:

Vertical Team Meeting 2/8/6
I owe Cheryl & Mia an apology. Yesterday I remembered that my meeting was this morning, so I spoke to Cheryl and then forgot to update everyone else. I knew that I had a meeting, but did not make the connection between that meeting and our meeting. Many apologies.

After I speak to Mia, we'll go from there.

Language Walk Through
The The Language! walkthrough scheduled for 2/14 has been rescheduled for March 21st. Robin is the only one who will be affected by this, but everyone else should make sure their respective house is in order (I don't know what I mean...I know I'm making sure my room is presentable. Cachinga.)

Door Design Contest
As I mentioned at the faculty meeting, and as displayed on the assignment sheet I popped in your mailbox yesterday, McKinley is doing an interhouse door design contest. Here is the assignment sheet in case you misplaced it.


Lead Teachers Meeting 2/8/7
We met this morning at Burgard High School. Julie Romain presided. We discussed a number of things, which are outlined below:

• Workshops for 3/28 Superintendent's Day - Julie is looking for workshop ideas for this date. She wants to know the type of professional development teachers are looking for. So, if you have any ideas, either email her directly through Lotus notes or shoot some ideas to me and I'll forward them. So far, we proposed Pre-AP strategies, Task 2 strategies, and a few more that I can't remember. Technology maybe. Something about books. Anyhoo, if you're looking for guidance, get some info to her (her email address is most likely jromain@buffaloschools.org...if not...look it up in the district address book that accompanies Lotus notes).
• AP Workshops - AP Language teachers and myself will be attending an AP workshop on 3/28. If we can think of any specific things we want the presenter to...present...we should send him suggestions at oman9@aol.com. His name is Frasier O'Leary and he did a 4-7 pm workshop for AP Literature teachers.
• Book Selection Rubric - We are continuing to hone the book selection process. At this point we have developed a rough rubric. We are making sure that books have a good combination of literary merit, scope (diversity/culture/cross curricular possibilities), accessibility (reading interest/appropriateness/reading level), and thematic relevance.
  
• Remember, thematic relevance means how well the works fit with the themes we will be using by grade level. If you've forgotten, 9th grade will be "Rites of Passage/Coming of Age," "Struggle for Self Definition," "Loss of Innocence," and "Journeys, Pilgramages, and Quests for Enlightenment." 10th grade will be "Crossing Borders: The Immigrant Experience," "Overcoming Obstacles," and "Our Heritage: The Family Saga." 11th grade will be "The Decline of the American Dream," "Alienation of the Individual," "Changing Landscapes: Cities, Factories, & Capitalism," and "Social Inequalities." 12th grade will be "Magical Realism," "Mystery; Reality and Illusion," "Romanticism/Victorian Ideals," and "Science Fiction and Fantasy." For the record, I hate the 12th grade stuff and will actively campaign for something different. Just don't tell anyone (smirk).

Anyways, if there are questions, comments, or concerns, let me know via email, air mail, in person, or via the comments.