Week beginning September 17, 2007
GREAT Monday morning to EVERYONE out there in CYBER-land! How are you doing this fine day? I hope all is well with you and yours, and I am truly grateful, glad, thankful, and happy that you’ve visited www.southernleecavs.com and checked out another edition of The Liberator! The past 7 days have been absolutely FABULOUS for us on all fronts, and I will report to you on a variety of topics, ranging from our academics, athletics, band, extracurricular activities, and things that are COMING that affect the Southern Lee family!
I had the wonderful opportunity to do some traveling on behalf of our school system during the past week, with my first stop being in Durham, North Carolina for the Graduation Project conference. The Graduation Project, also known in some circles as the Senior Project, was adopted as a statewide initiative for total adoption and implementation for all high schools beginning with the graduating class of 2010. This means that this year’s current sophomores must, along with the current requirement that they score a level 3 or higher on the “Big Five” EOC’s (Algebra 1, Biology, Civics and Economics, English 9, United States History) complete a Graduation Project that consists of:
1. An 8-10 page research paper on an approved topic using MLA style
2. A portfolio of student work that chronicles research/work/performance efforts in the approved topic
3. A tangible product that shows proof of mastery in the approved topic and
4. A presentation using technology such as Power Point before a panel of judges who represent the field of the approved topic.
Each portion of the Graduation Project is scored on a rubric, and the student must earn a minimum score of 3.0 for the offering to be considered proficient. The student must wait until the summer of their upcoming senior year to propose their topic of interest to the Graduation Project committee who will in turn approve it to allow the student to begin their plan of work.
Southern Lee High School is ahead of schedule in terms of implementation of the Graduation Project, as we have coached our sophomores on this requirement, and it is a requirement in English 9 and English 10 classes for students to select a topic of interest for research, write a 5-8 page research paper, and present this research paper to their peers in presentation format during their English classes. The students also keep a chronically-organized notebook that is periodically checked by the teacher.
Switching gears, Southern Lee hosted the third-annual “Sneak Preview” of the Southern Lee High School Sound Machine on Tuesday, September 11! The band, led by Matt Miller and Drum Majors Doris Clark and Jamal Gardner performed a few of their field and show tunes to a delighted audience. The band then did an outstanding job on Saturday evening at the Brick City Classic in tandem with LCHS (more on that later!).
Our first PTSO gathering of the year was held on Wednesday, September 12, and although I was hoping for a larger turnout, we were VERY ELATED to host the parents and visitors who came! We had a grand time, as we discussed the following topics:
1. What does AYP mean?
2. Southern Lee “met growth.” Should we be happy?
3. What is up with the writing scores for 10th graders? What’s going on with the test and why aren’t kids doing well?
4. There are diploma pathways? What are those and which one is my child on?
5. I want to walk the halls and sit in my child’s classrooms to monitor instruction to see if we’re getting a quality education. Can I do this?
6. We heard that there are gangs in schools. Are there? And if so, what are YOU (Southern Lee) doing to stop them?
Our staff answered ALL of these questions and then some! When it was over, representatives from our Student Services Office, various academic departments, administration, and the Athletic Booster Club were on hand to chat with parents and students, and answer any other questions that were raised.
IF YOU MISSED the September 12 meeting, don’t worry. We want to make this a monthly event so we can continue to have clear and positive communications with our school community. IN THE NEXT LIBERATOR, I will announce the date and time of our NEXT PTSO gathering, which will feature presentations from school personnel on a variety of topics!
TODAY-September 17-marks the day that your student will bring home their first set of academic progress reports so that you will be able to know where your student stands academically after the first three weeks of instruction. We provide students with progress reports every three weeks, so that there are no surprises about their academic standing. When your student comes home from school this week, please ask for these progress reports. IF HE/SHE SAYS “I DIDN’T GET ONE,” call your child’s teacher at 718-2400, or send them an electronic communication. Just visit www.southernleecavs.com and check out our faculty e-mail directory and send them a note to clarify what’s up!
We are also doing something exciting today. Our students are reporting to their Homeroom/Advisory section, and our seniors will receive an updated record of where they stand academically, detailing the number of credits they’ve earned toward graduation, how their name will appear on their diploma, and when their appointment date and time is to meet with one of us to discuss their plan of work to complete high school and to take any and all standardized assessments that will enable them to transition from high school to the next cycle of their lives, be it college, work, military, or trade/industrial school. We’re very excited about this initiative, and just as we enjoyed a high rate of success of graduating our seniors in 2007, it is our goal for 100% of our graduating seniors in 2008 to have a clear plan to success after life at Southern Lee!
BIG UPS to our Athletic Teams! Give them a CYBER HUG for the great job they’ve been doing thus far! The following athletic teams are competing and faring well thus far:
• JV and Varsity Men’s Soccer-Varsity team is currently in 2nd place in the Cape Fear Valley Conference!
• Women’s Tennis-Very competitive team led by Kirsten Carlberg and Amanda Dowd!
• Men’s and Women’s Cross Country-led by Addison Johnson and Keely Wood doing VERY well in CFV competition!
• Women’s Golf-Karli Heimbecker and Taylor Frazier are leading the way for the Lady Cavaliers on the Links!
• JV and Varsity Football-The program opens conference play this week vs. the Triton Hawks!
• JV and Varsity Volleyball-Picked up BIG WINS vs. Overhills last week and have some POSITIVE MOMENTUM!
Please continue to support Cavalier Athletics by coming out to the games!
Lastly, I enjoyed seeing you Friday and Saturday at the attempted and successful Brick City Classic Game. The Cavaliers did an absolutely fantastic job in avenging last year’s loss by bringing “The Brick” home to Tramway Road behind a total team effort featuring 450 yards of total offense and a defense that gave up only 241 total yards to LCHS! The Sanford Herald will help to coordinate and orchestrate the awarding of “The Brick” at a ceremony to be held at Southern Lee on Monday, probably during lunchtime OR during football practice. Please visit www.southernleecavs.com to check out pics from this event!
Well, that’s about it for this edition! I’m looking forward to chatting with you/checking you out on a visit to Southern Lee. If you see a car parked in the principal’s parking space during the day, that means I’m here, and if I’m not in the halls or in classrooms, I’d love to host you!
Be cool, and I’ll see YOU on the halls!
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