Man, what a GREAT WEEK TO BE A CAVALIER! The first instructional week of the 2007-2008 school year is officially “in the books,” and I must report that it was a pretty good one! On our first day of school on August 27, we welcomed 1,111 students into Cavalier Country, and by the end of the week, that number had grown to 1,147! We have 1,209 enrolled, and I fully expect to see a new wave of students to arrive after Labor Day. For some reason, probably related to academic calendars in northern states where the year does not begin until after Labor Day, schools across our region experience a surge in enrollments/first day appearances of a large number of students. I do not expect anything to be different at Southern Lee.
I think the biggest accomplishment that we had on week one is that, for the most part, all of our students knew where they needed to be and that they had, for the most part, a slate of classes that complimented what they had registered for. In some cases, course selections had to be altered because of the following reasons:
Class sizes were in the mid-30 to upper-30’s in some cases!
Some students were enrolled in Career and Technical Education courses who were not in that particular pathway (see a later section for a detailed summary).
Some students found, after consulting with their counselor and parent, that they were registered for courses that they did not need for promotion/graduation, and schedule adjustments were made accordingly.
Schedule changes continued to occur well into the evening on Friday, August 31, and we expect, with the exception of a few rare cases, that students are where they need to be to fulfill their individual course of study.
On another front, a major “blip on the screen” was our traffic pattern that we experimented with to make entry and exit into and out of our school easier and safer for everyone. If your student drives to school or if you have elected to bring them/pick them up to/from Southern Lee, both the Hickory House Road and Tramway Road entryways and exits are open with the following flow:
If you enter off of Hickory House, you continue to the traffic circle and drop your student off and exit using the service road leading to Tramway Road.
If you enter off of Tramway Road, you will turn right in front of the building, drop your student off at the designated drop off point, and continue to exit at the Hickory House exit.
We found this to be very accommodating, and it made for a VERY smooth week of school and safe movement into and out of our building as we operate around the construction of the new SanLee Middle School.
Now for the fun part…You have heard about some relatively ambitious instructional and climate goals for our school, and I am pleased to announce a couple of things:
First: On Wednesday evening, September 12 at 6:00 p.m. in our main gymnasium, we will host another Parent/Teacher/Student Organization Rally for our school. Research is available suggesting that high schools (or any school for that matter) with high levels of school-home communication and effective parental involvement experience high levels of academic/instructional-professional climate achievement. At our PTSO rally, we will have information available regarding:
Graduation/promotion requirements.
Effective home/school relationship building.
Information about the various academic pathways and what students and parents should know when registering for classes.
Information for parents of graduating seniors about “what’s next” for their students.
A tour of our building and if time allows, our grounds and facilities.
Information about how parents can stay “in the loop” about what’s going on at Southern Lee, how they can help, and what to do when they wish to volunteer their time and experiences.
Meet and establish relationships with Southern Lee High School administrators, counselors, teachers, and staff.
Representatives from our Athletic Booster Club will be available to share information about membership and how you can support Cavalier Athletics!
Letters of invitation will go home with students in English and Spanish on Thursday, September 6, so when your student comes home, simply hold out your hand! I hope to see you there!
Speaking of frequent communication (another goal for our school), you can expect the first round of progress reports to come home on Monday, September 17. These progress reports are itemized and will give you and your student an idea of what their grade would be if that date were the last day of the grading period. You and your student will receive progress reports every 3 weeks, inclusive of interim reports, also known as Report Cards.
Again, it was a good first week of instruction at Southern Lee, and with your help, involvement, and pushing your child to excel higher, it will be a great year! It is important to all of us that our students are provided with opportunities that will challenge them, and it is of equal importance that you and they know what courses they need for promotion/graduation/post-secondary opportunities if they are on the College/University Pathway, the College Tech-Prep Pathway, the Career Prep Pathway, or the Occupational Course of Study. Together, we will “get it right” and ensure success for our students!
I will leave you with a new thing that we have at Southern Lee that it designed to enhance critical thinking skills and to help our students with developing an opinion and developing their writing skills entitled “What Does It Mean?” “What Does It Mean” is the last entry on the weekly teacher newsletter our administration publishes, and teachers in certain academic areas put the thought on the board and teachers use it as their “Sponge Activity” or “Bell Ringer Activity.” Students will either share their opinions about what it means verbally, OR they’ll put their thoughts in writing in their daily journal. My challenge to you is to sit with your student and ask them what they think the statement means and listen to your student as they develop a mature philosophy about things.
If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, instead of going over to greener pastures, put some fertilizer and seed on your own.”
Until next time,
HDL
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