CHAMP Meeting

Tonight's CHAMP meeting brought to light many of the great things going on at CHS.

• Mrs. Rumple and some of her students from her Healthy & Safe Foods course talked about what they are doing in class.  Mrs. Rumple's classes are very popular and it was interesting to hear her discuss the history of the content she teaches... from teaching girls (mostly) how to make a 'Murphy Bed' to a much more modern curriculum that teaches building relationships, becoming good consumers, decision making skills, financial management, preparing for careers, and of course cooking & food safety.  Mrs. Rumple also talked about how they use the website http://www.mypyramid.gov/ in class to discuss and plan for healthy eating.  (This is a great resource... check it out!)

• Two members of Mrs. Black's 1st ever 'Successful Speaking' course talked about their experience in the course and the different types of speaking techniques they learned.  This class did a lot of public speaking and were also responsible for recording our daily announcements.  In addition, the students talked about their final exam project for the course.  The project was to research and present about a charity of their interest.  The group that gave the best presentation was awarded a cash prize donation (courtesy of the CHS faculty) for their charity.  Here is a clip of the presentation of the check. 

• Finally, two students, along with Ms. Sneddon and Mrs. Kramer, talked about the toy drive they sponsored right before Christmas for patients in Dayton Children's Hospital.  The students rode to Dayton at the conclusion of the toy drive to deliver the presents and had a meal at Golden Corral (courtesy of CHAMP!) Look below for a video summary of the project. 

• Finally, Mr. Luebke gave a quick update on some of the things happening recently.  Most of the conversation centered around discussion of 21st Century Skills and how CHS is changing to keep up with a change in expectations of graduating seniors.  More information to follow regarding 21st Century Skills and how changes at CHS will impact students in this regard.  Below is Mr. Luebke's presentation.  Click on the right arrow to advance the presentation.

CHAMP Meeting 1.31.2011 on Prezi

Learning About Leaders

One of the new classes we added to our curriculum at CHS this year is 'Leadership for Life' -- a course designed for any student interested in being a leader in any realm.  Mrs. Mitchell-Payne uses a variety of strategies and activities to teach the students about leadership.  Recently, each of the students had to pick a famous leader and generate interview questions and answers for that leader (revealing WHY this person would be a leader).  Then, they dressed AS THEIR LEADER during the interviews, which took place during class.  Some of the famous leaders they chose (just to name a few...):

Eva Peron (on left)

• John F. Kennedy
• Rosa Parks
• Eva Peron
• Jacquelin Onassis Kennedy
• Oprah Winfrey 

Oprah Winfrey gets interviewed by Ellen Degeneres

Instead of just learning about individual leaders, students actually experienced those leaders.  They did a great job!  Below is a video clip of one of the interviews:

Smart Boards Make a Big Impact

In the past two years, Celina City Schools has upgraded classroom technology significantly with the installation of interactive white boards (AKA Smart Boards) into nearly every classroom.  These interactive white boards allow teachers to project their computer screen onto the board and then write, view, and manipulate content while standing at the board.  Smart Ed Services, the company that sold and installed our boards, recently did a commercial about Celina City Schools and what the Smart Boards have meant for us.

CHS Guidance: Tip of the Week from ACT: The GPA Myth

This is the 3rd post in a series on the Bulldog News Blog featuring other blogs in our school. Teaching 21st Century Skills has become a primary focus for CHS and communicating with students, parents, and the community is a vital component in that process.

Several staff members have started 'blogging' (see my blog roll in the left sidebar). Different teachers have different reasons for blogging... some use it to solicit feedback and writing samples from students, others use it to display student work, and still others post assignments and notes. Today's feature is the "CHS Guidance" Blog, the new online portal for the Guidance Department.  On their blog, you will find links for more information about Testing, Registration, College Visitation and Scholarships (among other things).  The guidance counselors plan to post relevant information and tips at periodic intervals.  Check out their blog at http://chsguidance.celinaschools.org.  

CHS Guidance: Tip of the Week from ACT: The GPA Myth: "Check out the following tip from ACT College Planning Resources.......

"It doesn't matter which classes I take in high school, as long as my grade point average is high."

If you're playing the GPA game and taking a light schedule that isn't challenging, it will catch up with you at the college level very quickly. One of the things admissions officers pay attention to, besides GPA, is course selection throughout high school and especially senior year. They like to see students have momentum going into the freshman year. If you sit back your senior year, it's hard to recapture that momentum.

Course selection can also affect admissions test scores. If you just go for a good GPA, you'll be less prepared for college and will score lower on entrance exams.

For more information about college exploration and career planning check out the ACT website: www.actstudent.org

HALFWAY

The Seniors have started their countdown already!

At the end of 3rd period today (Tuesday, January 18th), we will officially be halfway through the school year!  Hard to believe that it goes by that quickly.  Seems like an appropriate time to reflect upon the 1st half and some of the great things going on here at CHS.

During the 2010 - 2011 school year, we have: instituted a brand new schedule (trimesters), increased our school spirit dramatically (newly formed Spirit Squad, Spirit March), upgraded our announcements, began Project Wisdom, had a tornado scare, cheered on our sports teams to major victories (football team beats St. Marys for 1st time in 11 years, Volleyball team goes to Regionals, and Hannah Fleck runs in the State CC meet), held Rachel's Challenge, raised $2,787 for local families through Dime Wars, and held 2 blood drives through the American Red Cross.  And that's only a few of the highlights.

When it comes to the blog, here are the top five posts by number of page views this school year to date:

1. Spirit Squad Christmas Contest Video
2. Homecoming Assembly a Hit
3. CHS Spirit
4. Freshmen Scholars
5. CHS Announcements Take on a New Look

I hope you enjoy browsing back through some of the blog posts, reviewing the great things going on here at CHS.  Imagine what the 2nd half might bring!

CSHS Visual Voices: 1st CSHS Alumni Exhibit Scheduled

This is the 2nd post in a series on the Bulldog News Blog featuring other blogs in our school. Teaching 21st Century Skills has become a primary focus for CHS and communicating with students, parents, and the community is a vital component in that process.

Several staff members have started 'blogging' (see my blog roll in the left sidebar). Different teachers have different reasons for blogging... some use it to solicit feedback and writing samples from students, others use it to display student work, and still others post assignments and notes. Here is a recent post from the CHS Art Department's "CSHS Visual Voices" Blog.

CSHS Visual Voices: 1st CSHS Alumni Exhibit Scheduled:

Come join us for our first ever Alumni Exhibit. It will be held in conjunction with the Annual Student Art Show on Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 2-5pm in the High School Cafeteria. All CSHS graduates are invited to bring in artwork created in high school that was shown in the art show or any artwork that has been created post-graduation. Drop offs will be during the week prior to the shows opening. Contact Amy Sutter (amy.sutter@celinaschools.org) or Kathy Place (kathy.place@celinaschools.org) with any questions.

Learning in Action

First year CHS teacher Mrs. Kelly Newcomb recently gave her students a unique experience.  After writing and illustrating their own children's Christmas stories, her students took their finished product and gave their own lesson to Mrs. Davis' 1st graders at East Elementary.

Learning during this lesson certainly extended beyond the classroom walls... the 1st graders were quizzed by the high schoolers on their comprehension of the story.  The high schoolers, knowing their work would be published, viewed, and critiqued (by the most savvy of children's story readers!), did their best work.  According to Mrs. Newcomb, "I was so proud of all of my students today.  They worked really hard and took their work seriously."

Blood Drive

Today's blood drive is the 2nd (or 3rd if we count the one scheduled on the snow day 12/22/10) of the school  year.  Nearly 100 students have signed up to donate blood today which will generate approximately 70 pints of donated blood for the American Red Cross.  Every donor will receive free breakfast from the Celina McDonald's restaurant this morning.  

For a Good Cause

When Mrs. Black first presented the idea for an 'Oral Speech' class, we had no idea it would turn into something that could impact the world.  In the end, that is exactly what happened!

The course is not referred to as Oral Speech... at CHS it is known as 'Successful Speaking' and in its first go around, the course has left a footprint on the world!  For their final project, pairs of students were asked to choose a charity they were passionate about and then present to the class the needs of the charity or organization.  On the last two days of class, students gave heart-warming presentations, leaving few dry eyes in the classroom.  Clips of the videos were put together and shown to the staff who in turn chose the best presentation.  This group was awarded $250 from the CHS faculty 'Jeans Fund' to be donated to their charity.

This is a video of the student winners being awarded the money for their charity.

Dime Wars

A Senior adds to their winning total!

Student Council once again held the Dime Wars competition just before Christmas Break.  The competition between grade levels is used to help raise money for the StuCo Santa Fund which Student Council uses to purchase Christmas gifts for families in need in our area.  This year, the Senior Class of 2011 won the competition.  Student Council advisor Mrs. Mitchell-Payne pointed out that "Even though the students enjoy the thrill of the competition and the bragging rights if their class wins, the real winners will be the kids in need in our community."

The total raised this year for the StuCo Santa Fund was $2,787.54 with more than $2,000 coming from the Dime Wars and another $750 coming from other fundraisers.  This was enough to purchase gifts of clothing and toys for 55 kids in the Celina area for the holidays.

Thanks to all of the students that participated!

Winner Announced for the 2010 Spirit Squad Christmas House Decorating Contest

Voting is finished and a winner has been determined for the 2010 Spirit Squad Christmas House Decorating Contest...  Drumroll Please...

"And the winner is...  House #5"!  Congratulations!  View the video to see the houses again.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest and to those of you that took the time to vote.  We look forward to the 2nd annual contest next Christmas and hope to have even more participants!