Yesterday was MELMAC Day. I know the name may be confusing, but we have been fortunate to have a grant awarded through the MELMAC Foundation that can be used for post secondary planning with all of our students. To that end, our entire school was engaged in activities that support post-secondary experiences. I want to congratulate all of the advisors and our students for a successful MELMAC Day. There is no question that if not for the advisors' hard work in organizing and planning a beneficial experience for their advisees that this day could have gone very differently. Many positive comments came from students this a.m. as I walked the halls.

The Senior class conducted a service day to the school since most of them have completed their college plans, and community service seemed a useful time for students to "give back" to their school community. Because of the hard work of the senior class and their advisors, the school underwent a spring cleaning and beautification effort. We now have a cleansed stage, Room 2, library back room, an organized book table where students can grab free reading materials, a newly painted Room 111, a reorganized Computer Lab area, an unbelievable jump pit, and front landscaping that has given the area a facelift. Each advisor and their "crew" spent hours helping to improve areas of the building and grounds. In addition the kids had a breakfast and a great cookout that seniors and Mr. Flanagan organized , and only 2 students were absent! The senior advisors went above and beyond, and their relationships with their advisees got the seniors here, ready to work and have fun.

The Junior class went to multiple colleges in the Boston area. Tours of Suffolk, Northeastern, Leslie, Wentworth, and Emerson Colleges exposed students to the college environment. Though I know that a few students on the Junior trip struggled, one story epitomizes the need to get these kids exposed to new environments. I was listening to a junior student describe Quincy Market to a senior. He was marveling at the scope of the building and its impressive content, and was awestruck about Boston. This was his first experience there, and he was impressed. Several of the college tours went fabulously with students, and I know many positive stories exist that show how beneficial this trip was for so many juniors. I hope we don't focus on the negative or disengaged few, but rather focus on what a well-planned and exciting trip this was for most of the juniors, and troubleshoot any issues that arose.

The sophomore class explored Southern New Hampshire College and others in the southern part of the state. Sue Perkins reports the following:

• I just wanted to touch base and let you know what an awesome trip the sophomores took today and what an awesome group of students and teachers we had on this trip. Each school's presentation was well done and geared to our kids. They received lots of goodies and got to see two very different type college experiences. Even the cake at SNHU was decorated in WHS red and black. They took the time to research our school colors!
• The kids were very well behaved and extremely appropriate. They made us proud and it was a pleasure to spend the day with them. I also want to say how terrific it was to be with this group of teachers. All of them got out of bed early to go on this trip and spent way longer than a school day with students and all made it clear that they enjoyed the day and didn't resent the extra time and effort. WHS teachers are the BEST!!! We had a great day!

The freshman class did a triad tour. 3 separate groups were formed of 13 students each and they rotated through a tour of Bath Iron Works, Southern Maine Community College, and Bath Regional Career and Technical Center (Bath Vocational). As for the freshmen, the behavior was exceptional, the tour of BIW was very impressive, the Vocational Center could not have been more welcoming, and kids got to experience college opportunities as USM and SMCC that opened their eyes to possibilities. In addition, the students toured the house that the carpentry program is building on Congress Street in Bath. The students are at an age when taking all of this is may seem overwhelming, but the exposure to choices is just the beginning of their searches for direction.

What this says to me is that this effort was overwhelmingly a positive one. What I need to say again and again to all who will listen is that we have the best faculty, bar none, whose commitment to students extends beyond the content classroom and into their lives. What a wonderful validation of all you are and all you do.

Thanks to all staff and students who extended themselves to go above and beyond yesterday to create awesome opportunities for students!

It's Been a Long Time--- January 2010

I have been quite negligent with my blog, and for that I give my apologies. December and January whizzed by, no excuses, but it is not too late to give you an update and mention some needs that I have in regards to parent communication.

First, we are ending our first semester with the posting of grades, now that our exams are finished. A snow day and an early release for snow, as well as the workshop day on Friday have extended the time for all projects, research papers, and exam correction, as well as grade posting so report cards should be out by the end of next week. Of course, parents can check grades on the computer, a fact that brings me to my next point concerning how we get parents into the school.

I completely understand that parents are busier than ever, and that PowerSchool helps them to access their student's grades in a way that may seem to negate the need for parent/teacher contact via phone or personal contact. However, I find that our Student Assistance Team often processes students who might have benefited from more parent/teacher communication before a grade is failing of a crisis occurs. I also know that perhaps due to PowerSchool, that many parents choose not to attend the Parent Teacher Conferences that we schedule in the fall and in the spring. Attendance has dropped dramatically at these events, and teachers and I find ourselves frustrated that we don't get to see more parents come in. The one-to-one contact seems very crucial to us, as often students to not communicate the exact reasons for poor grades or for failure and having parents talk directly to teachers insures clearer communication. Perhaps, many parents are emailing teachers with concerns, and that is the reason that attendance at these scheduled conferences is waning.

My question is, "Is there a better type of conference that would attract more parents in?" Some schools have tried a student-led conference in which the student discusses his/her grades with the parent and teacher present, talks about his/her own strengths and weaknesses and then sets goals with their parents and teacher present. We have tried this before, and did get better attendance, but surveyed parents and found that many were not supportive of the change. I would love to have suggestions as to what would work better for all of our parents. We have conferences scheduled for March 25, and we would love to make a format that would better address what parents want. For example, I would love for that night to include a presentation to parents about our major goal in our advisory and in our school that is to have all students form a plan for post-secondary training or college. Most parents have little idea about all of the options we have in our school to support their students in making a plan for after high school.

Please post on this blog with any ideas. I will be putting a link to a short on-line survey in the newsletter, on this blog, and via email to see if I can get your feedback about needed changes. There will be a link to the newsletter on this blog next week.

I will share a few news items to update you on what has been happening and what is to come for big events.

1. We are nearing the end of basketball, cheering, and swimming season. We have a potential shot at the tournaments with our boys' team, they are 9th place as of today, but we have the potential to move up in the ranks with two very important games this week.

2. Our swim team will compete in states during February break with or relay team and some individual competitors.

3. Our Cheerleading Team is preparing to become a competition cheerleading team next year and has attended many trainings to work toward that goal.

4. Next week is Winter Carnival week with a full day of activities scheduled for Friday, February 12th with school vacation following from February 13th-22.

5. We have 20 RSU 8th graders who are potential students considering Wiscasset High School on February 10, 2010. They will visit, shadow, eat lunch with our students, and ask questions to help them with their choice for high school next year.

6. Students are scheduling classes for next year beginning this week, so please check for you student's sign up sheet to see what they are planning.

7. Parent-Teacher Conferences happen in March, and your feedback is solicited, as stated in the earlier part of this blog.