Mr Hughes News & Views

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Parent Teacher Conference Schedule Update

It's P-T week in Lower Division. Here is the schedule. We can work out any conflicts. See you soon.

9/29

2:45 Mauch

9/30

7:30 Jotch

8 Bernstein

8:30 Samuelson

9 Counsman

9:30 Hess

10:30 Broderick

11 McMullen

11:30 Cano

12 Ali

12:30 Elwyn

1:30 McCain

2 Tralins

10/1

12:10 Olson

2:45 Coop

3:30 Gilani

Important Survey

Dear Shorecrest Parents,

As you may know, Shorecrest is gearing up for our accreditation visit in the fall of 2011. At the same time, the Board of Trustees is engaging the community in a strategic planning process. A major part of this process involves a school-wide self-study through which we can identify goals to improve all aspects of our school. In order to most clearly identify those goals, we need your help.

On Friday, October 1, we will launch a set of opinion surveys with the assistance of an organization called AdvancED. All stakeholders in our community will be offered the opportunity to participate in online surveys that will provide a wealth of information to the self-study team and the Strategic Plan Committee that will be used to guide the goal-setting process. All students, grades three through twelve, will be taking the survey at school. The survey will also be made available to recent Shorecrest graduates. All administrators, faculty and staff will be participating in the survey. And importantly, there is a survey designed just for parents.

The parent survey will ask participants to gauge their satisfaction with all aspects of the Shorecrest experience, focusing on Shorecrest as a whole and as the Divisions in which you have children enrolled. You will have access to the survey via emails, from the online community, through teachers’ and administrators’ blogs, from E-Bytes and from the Shorecrest web site.

Please take the time to complete the survey when it opens and participate in this important process. We know you have many opinions—both about what we are doing well, and about opportunities for improvement. Let your voices be heard by taking the survey when the window opens October 1^st!

Thank you for your commitment to maintaining the quality of the Shorecrest education, and for engaging in the important process of our self-reflection.

Sincerely,

Michael A. Murphy Kenneth P. Slaby, Chair Jill S. Lemon, Chair

Headmaster Strategic Planning Committee Accreditation Committee

Monday, September 27, 2010

International Day of Peace

The Lower Division's peace dove nest. It was a lovely and peaceful ceremony last week. And leading up to the ceremony we all had a chance to reflect on what peace means to each of us.

Rescued

This Nanday Conure or black-hooded green parakeet was a brief visitor to our classroom last week. We all admired this beautiful bird that I found on my porch stoop. The parrot is part of an unusual community of these birds originally from the pantanal region of South America. A few pets were released in the wild and have flourished here in St Pete. This one was somehow injured and allowed me to shelter it for the night.

Isabelle and her mom took the parrot to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary after school. It is getting the care it needs and will be put up for adoption. Who knows?

Life Lessons from the Rays

Here we are in our Rays' gear after presenting a program at Monday assembly on what life lessons can be learned from our local team. I'll try and post a video of our show.

Our script:

Our teacher Mr. Hughes thinks the Rays have always been good.

The first year he moved to St Pete the Rays were in the World Series.

Ringing his cowbell and wearing all sorts of Rays gear, Mr. H believed that the local team had always been the Rays and had always been winners.

AND GET THIS…he naturally assumed that everyone here had always been BIG Rays fans too and Tropicana Field was always SOLD OUT.

(Shake head) We didn’t have the heart to tell him the real story about the Rays. Maybe someday.

But not now….because he’s such a….well….FANATIC about the Rays.

And why not….it’s September, the pennant race has heated up….the first place Yankees are in town and Mr. H has his game face on.

So here come the Rays. (kids all run out and take up positions in the field)

Yeh Rays!

Win or lose we celebrate our hometown team.

Besides entertaining us with many fun, fast and fabulous games this season, the Rays teach us important life lessons.

Here are some of what the team calls their Rays Factors:

Flexibility…..dealing effectively with challenges and learning from mistakes

Accountability…means accepting responsibility for your actions, no excuses

Consistency means people can depend on what you say and do

Trust your friends and family to support you all the way

Organization means making sure your have all your tools ready to do your job

Respect yourself and others, always do your best and expect others to do the same

We can also learn from what Rays manager Joe Maddon expects from his players:

To have a strong Work Ethic means a belief in the importance of working hard to achieve your goals

To be Caring for your teammates, community and family.

Being Neighborly means to treat others the way you want to be treated.

Playing Smart which means to use your intelligence to solve problems and make quality decisions

Being Bold is to believe in yourself and don’t hold back….you can do it

Staying Fit keeps you full of energy and enthusiastic

Did you know the Rays are not just great ballplayers, but great readers.

Here’s what some of them say about reading.

Starting pitcher James Shields---

“I appreciate the time that I get to sit down with my daughter to read her favorite books. Our favorite books to read together are The Giving Tree and Green Eggs and Ham. Those books are so big in helping her develop her reading skills. And reading is the foundation for a good education.”

First baseman Carlos Pena

“My father was the one who helped me understand how important reading was at a young age. Reading always relaxes me and gives me a break from the routine of everyday competition. Reading allows me to refresh my mind.”

Left Fielder Carl Crawford:

My second grade teacher, Mrs. Johnson, was influential in getting me to read. Reading is fuel for the mind and you use your mind in baseball.

Third baseman Evan Longoria:

“I enjoy the challenge of doing the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper during my down time in the clubhouse. Reading helps expand my vocabulary and gives me a sense of accomplishment.”

Dan Wheeler, relief pitcher:

“I’d like to encourage all kids to read because it stimulates your mind and imagination. My mom was the biggest influence in my life to get me to read as a young student. One book I read more than once growing up was Casey at the Bat.”

And who are you?

I’m the umpire and you’re OUT………of time.

Parent Teacher Conference Schedule