Opening Day Presentation

3.  2013 School Report Card (NJ Dept of Ed)
› WHS earned an “A”
 2012-2013 HSPA Scores
 2012 – AP Honor Roll Award
 2012 – Ranked #54 in NJ Monthly
› 2010 #68 2008 #93
 Made it through “Sandy”

4. New Evaluation System
Achieve NJ Act
Kim Marshall Model

5.  Amanda Fernicola – Social Studies
 Daniel Freeman – Social Studies
 Amanda Lentino – Language Arts
 Student Council Officers
 Nicole Fundaro – President
 Armando Gonzalez – Vice-President
 Adam Badalamenti – Treasurer
 Ali Reynolds – Secretary

7. Own
It
Attitude
Professional
Responsibilities
Classroom
Professional
Growth

8. Spend the first day setting expectations &
spend next 179 building relationships so
everyone will meet your expectations
Tod Whitaker
Own your classroom from day 1
until day 180. #Ownit for each
44 minute period!!

9.  What will your first day of class look like?
› Make your students want to come back on
Monday!!
› Be bold! Be different! Change it up!
› Set a positive tone!
› Do not waste Friday, September 6
You have the opportunity over
the next 48 hours to plan the
best first impression ever

11. Own

12.  Review the handbook
 Mark your calendar
 Stay organized
 Paper work
 Deadlines
 Find Balance
› Time for yourself
› Time for family

13.  Staying Informed
› The Source @ WHS
› Waldwick High School Principal’s Blog
› Twitter
 @WHS_Principal
 @WaldwickWHS

14.  HIB (Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying)
› Anti-Bullying District Coordinator – Andrea Hused
› Anti-Bullying HS Specialist – Kristi Fortini
 Review the policy
 When in doubt…..speak up

15. School Safety - Emergency Drills/Procedures
 Familiarize yourself with all Emergency Plans
 Make sure you have a key for all areas you teach in and
confirm you can lock the door
 Review the Emergency Management Plan with all of your
classes in the beginning of the year and once in the middle
of the year
 Contact the office/administration if you notice /observe
anything out of the ordinary that makes you suspicious
 Stay calm and follow directions
 Have all students accounted for during each period
The only way we can be prepared is if we
PREPARE

16.  RDT (Random Drug Testing)
 Substance Abuse
› If you hear about or suspect a student is under
the influence, by law you are obligated to speak
up
You are NOT obligated to talk
about student issues with other
staff members. It’s none of their
business!

17. Own

18. • Hold your students accountable
• Bring out their best
Expectations
• Challenge yourself and your
students
• Depth, Effort, Commitment
Rigor
• Connect with your students
• Show them passionEngagement

19.  You need to BRING it
› Be your best for each & every class
› Creative, Innovative, Passionate = YOU
 Own your classroom
› Establish routines & rules (Be consistent)
› Don’t except “Average”
 Be prepared for the entire 44 minutes
› Down time leads to off task time

20.  Take attendance
 Lesson Plans submitted by Monday 8am
 Webpage updated & ready for 1st day
9/6 (1st Impression)
 Keep your Gradebook up-to-date
 Clean & Safe environment

21. Advanced
Placement
College
Prep
Honors

22.  College Prep Course
› No longer collaborative
› Support Class (Guided Study)
› Why – Transitioning them for College
 Survey Level Courses
› Collaborative settings
› In-Class Support

23. Own

24.  Something NEW = Nervousness
 Supervisor Presentation
› Wednesday, September 4 @ 8:15
 Over review
 Expectations
 Timelines
 Questions

25.  It’s all about “SOTEL”
› Safety
› Objective
› Teaching
› Engagement
› Learning

26.  What you can expect
› Multi-observers throughout the year
› 10 - 20 minute classroom visits
› Face to face feedback
› Written feedback connected to “SOTEL”

27.  The questions everyone wants to
know…… how many visits?

28. As many times as we think are needed
 Our goal is:
 Improve instruction
 Identify good teaching and help make it great
 Take average lessons and help turn them into
special/memorable lessons
 Share what teachers are doing great with
other teachers

29.  Minimum # of visits - Instructional Staff
› Tenured Staff
 7 mini-observations w/ post conference
› Non-Tenured
 1 full observation w/ post conference
 6 mini-observations w/ post conference

30.  Local Workshops
› October 19 - Edscape Conference @ New Milford HS
$30 registration fee (Only 10 miles away from WHS)
› November 23 – EdcampNJ @ Linwood MS, North Brunswick
FREE (About 50 miles away from WHS)
 Waldwick Professional Development Academy
 Connected Educator
› Twitter Chats
› Blogs, YouTube, social media, email list serves, local and
national professional organizations

31.  Have you ever said:
› I wish I had time for __________.
› I wish I had more time to collaborate with
__________.
› If I had time I would have created ________.
› I wish I had time to watch Mr./Ms. teach that
lesson on _________.

32.  PGT – Professional Growth Time
 Passion Projects
 Learning Goal
 Learning Portfolio
› Blog post form The Source @ WHS Personal Growth time @
WHS

33.  Examples of a Learning Goal
 Become a connected educator by developing and
engaging in a Personal Learning Network (PLN)
 Researching best practices
 Developing innovative learning activity
 Creating interdisciplinary lessons
 Engaging in face-to-face professional development
 Learning to use new technologies
 Collaborating on projects with colleagues
 Create legacy projects
 Enhance curriculum
 Find/Research Common Core Resources

34.  Learning Portfolio (Don’t let this scare you off)
› Something to be proud of
› Accomplishment
› Modeling “Life Long Learning”
Learning/improving should
not be thought of as extra
work.

35.  My Goals
› Productive & meaningful post conferences
› Providing additional support to our at-risk
students
› Calling home
› Communication

36. Own

37. 8:15 – 8:45 SGO Presentation (MS Multipurpose Room)
8:50 – 10:05 Department Meetings
 Science Room 301
 Social Studies Room Media Center
 Math Room 305
 Language Arts Room 138
 Special Services Room 201
10:15 – 11:30 Department Meetings
 Physical Ed. & HE Room 301
 World Languages Room 205
 Related Arts Room Media Center

38.  Small Breakout Meetings (Media Center)
› 12:40 – 1pm Guidance, CST & SAC
› 1:05 – 1:25 Survey level teachers &
teachers aides
› 1:30 – 1:55 Blue Print teachers
› 2:00 – 3:30 Learning & Collaborating Time
(Let’s Discuss)

39. We will be following a modified bell schedule for
Opening Day Only: Friday, September 6, 2013.
Homeroom will be extended for 20 minutes.
Period Time
Homeroom 8:05 - 8:25 (20 min)
1 8:28 - 9:09 (41 min)
2 9:12 - 9:54 (42 min)
3 9:57 - 10:37 (40 min)
4 10:40 - 11:20 (40 min)
5 Resume Regular Bell Schedule

40. 9th Grade Tuesday, September 10th Period 9
12th Grade Tuesday, September 10th Period 2
11th Grade Wednesday, September 11th Period 2
10th Grade Wednesday, September 11th Period 8

41. Thursday, September 26th @ 7pm
6:30pm for staff
Dress to impress
Classrooms neat
Class overview
Technology in use
Communication
Expectations
Accountability
Make a great first impression

43. Own

44.  Suicide online Course
 Staff signoff on District Policies
 School closing today 4pm today

45. “Our teachers should
leave faculty meetings
more excited about
teaching tomorrow than
they were yesterday”
Todd Whitaker
@ToddWhitaker