It is Thanksgiving week! We will have an early dismissal on Wednesday and no school on Thursday and Friday.
We are into the second week of Hex 3. Report cards on line should be updated and if there were any incomplete grades, they should be updated by the end of today. As a reminder, the semester ends before Christmas break and semester tests will be on December 22nd and 23rd.
Congratulations to the football team on a great season. Getting to the state finals was an awesome accomplishment and the boys did great! Congratulations to coach Sanger on his 300th victory. He has had a wonderful career here at West Hancock. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get to 300 wins. But I'm sure coach would tell you he couldn't have done it without the support of the community and the efforts of many individuals over the years.
We will be having our High School parent advisory meeting on Wednesday November 30th at 5:15 in the high school library. If you have not attended one of these in the past do not be afraid to stop in. We usually have around 5-7 parents but I would be happy to have more. I usually have an update on things going on in the high school and we have time for parent questions and concerns. I will post the minutes from our meeting on one of my blog posts.
This week is the week to give thanks and I would like to share a few things I am thankful for as we continue through the school year:
I am thankful.....
- we have a large percenatge of our students who are hard working and dedicated to their success in academics and extra curricular activities
- that we have a good number of students taking classes trhough our academies, on line courses and other means to challenge themselves and earn college credit
- that the one to one computer initiative has been a success at the high school
- we have teachers trying new and different things every day to engage students in the classroom
- we have such a supportive community at West Hancock for all of our academic and extra curricular activities
- that our new new staff have transitioned well into our school
- that those peopled who have changed positions in our district have found success in their new positions
- that we will have air conditioning this spring
- that so many people have been happy with our new bathrooms
- and most of all - That the students, staff, parents and community members continue to work very hard to sustain and build an excellent "Learning Community" for resdidents of the West Hancock Community School District!
I could go on and on, but I just wanted to share some of the great things that are happening in our district! Have a great holiday and enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
West Hancock vs. Lisbon for the State Championship
Good luck to the Eagle football team as they head to the UNI Dome to play in the state championship game! Go Eagles!
We hope to have a "Sea of Red" today at the dome.
We hope to have a "Sea of Red" today at the dome.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Eagles are Soaring!
What a week to be an Eagle! The football team defeated Madrid 48-38 to reach the state finals. The drama department presented Grease on Saturday and Sunday and it was a great show. We had almost 400 people attend the show. It was a very exciting weekend!
Thursday was the end of Hex 2. Report cards will be available on line on Wednesday. Please remember that the hex grade is just a progress report. Hex 1 rolls into hex 2 and so on. Students do have until Thursday to turn in any late work from Hex 2. Please remind your students of this. If your son or daughter has an incomplete it is bercause of missing assignments.
We will be doing an advisory scavenger hunt on Thursday. Students will be working in groups to find clues and send picture messages back to the facilitators. This will be agreat chance to build team work, higher order thinking skills, and good rapport in our advisory groups.
We will be having a pep rally at 2:50 for the football team in the high school gym. That night the football team will eat in the high school lunch room at 5:00. There will be a community pep rally after the supper at 7:00 in the high school gym.
Good luck to our football team on Friday. Kick off is at 2:05.
Thursday was the end of Hex 2. Report cards will be available on line on Wednesday. Please remember that the hex grade is just a progress report. Hex 1 rolls into hex 2 and so on. Students do have until Thursday to turn in any late work from Hex 2. Please remind your students of this. If your son or daughter has an incomplete it is bercause of missing assignments.
We will be doing an advisory scavenger hunt on Thursday. Students will be working in groups to find clues and send picture messages back to the facilitators. This will be agreat chance to build team work, higher order thinking skills, and good rapport in our advisory groups.
We will be having a pep rally at 2:50 for the football team in the high school gym. That night the football team will eat in the high school lunch room at 5:00. There will be a community pep rally after the supper at 7:00 in the high school gym.
Good luck to our football team on Friday. Kick off is at 2:05.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Weekend Activities
Congratulations to the Eagle football team on their victory over Gehlen! They will play Madrid on Friday November 11th in the UNI Dome at 1:30.
Good luck to our competition cheerleading squad tomorrow!
Good luck to our competition cheerleading squad tomorrow!
My day as a student!
On November 2nd, I headed out into the school to take part in eight classes. I tried to pick eight different classes based on grade level and subject. This was a lot of fun and I got a realistic view of how our school functions every day in the most important place - The Classroom.
1st period - Mrs. Lang's government class
Mrs. Lang's students were learning about Gerrymandering. We got up and moved around as she explained how districts could be unfairly and illegally set up to give one group or party an advantage.
They also discussed how Congress is made up and what the powers of Congress are. The students took notes on their lap tops.
On a side note, Mrs.Lang had the students in Government e mail current legislators and ask some questions. One student had already received a response and it was from Tom Hancock, the state Senator from my home district. It's a small world!
2nd period - Mr. Francis' Exploring Tech Class
We started this class off with a quiz. My knowledge of tools is not as good as some of our students. The students seem to do pretty well on this quiz. Mr. Francis was checking the knowledge the students had of all the different tools. After the quiz the students began working on their different projects. See the great pictures below.
3rd period - America At War - Mr. Clark
This is a new class this year and I was excited to see how things were going. The class began by watching part of film about the Mexican American War. There was good information about the generals and battles as the United States took on Mexico. Mr. Clark was able to use his overhead projector and computer to project the film on his overhead screen. The class then used their lap tops to answer questions about the Mexican American War. Mr. Clark had loaded the documents to Sharepoint and the students had information sources to draw from in order to answer questions about the film and the war. Check out these students working together with their laptops.
4th period - English 9 - Mrs. Winter
Mrs. Winter is our new English teacher. Our freshmen are reading Animal Farm. I was able to join a group and read Chapter 2 of Animal Farm. Thanks to Nicole and Logan for allowing me to be in your group! The students worked in small learning groups as they read through the Chapter. I'm a big fan of Animal Farm, as a history major, the ties to the Russian Revolution are very intriguing.
5th period - Independent Office Projects - Mrs. Kudej
This class was working on a business project in a virtual world. This was a neat way to work through some of the business concepts they are working through. Some of the students were working a graphics project for the Quarter final game against Lemars. This class has done the programs for the whole year. They have done a great job. Below Lance Hillenga works on his virtual job!
6th period - American Literature - Miss T.
These students were discussing literary terms realism, regionalism and naturalism and they tied into three stories that they were reading or had read. The class had great discussion and got into some good higher level thinking. We also discovered what some of the records were for the coldest temperatures were in the history of the world. These students are reading a Jack London story on line in Miss T.s class.
7th period - Physics - Ms. Carlson
Acceleration, Velocity and Distance are all terms that were used in Physics today. The students are figuring out problems using math and science together. They seemed to be working well together. I figured out why I was a Social Studies teacher and not a Physics one! The students are working with challenging problems.
8th period - Biology - Mrs. Schoenwetter
The biology students were working on a lab. They were discussing movement from high concentrations to low concentrations. They were using the logger pros and computers to chart their results. The students worked in groups and seemed to be doing well on the lab.
This was a great day! It was fun to take in a whole day in the classroom and see what great things our teachers and students are doing. Thanks to all of the teachers and students who made me feel welcome in their classrooms!
1st period - Mrs. Lang's government class
Mrs. Lang's students were learning about Gerrymandering. We got up and moved around as she explained how districts could be unfairly and illegally set up to give one group or party an advantage.
They also discussed how Congress is made up and what the powers of Congress are. The students took notes on their lap tops.
On a side note, Mrs.Lang had the students in Government e mail current legislators and ask some questions. One student had already received a response and it was from Tom Hancock, the state Senator from my home district. It's a small world!
2nd period - Mr. Francis' Exploring Tech Class
We started this class off with a quiz. My knowledge of tools is not as good as some of our students. The students seem to do pretty well on this quiz. Mr. Francis was checking the knowledge the students had of all the different tools. After the quiz the students began working on their different projects. See the great pictures below.
3rd period - America At War - Mr. Clark
This is a new class this year and I was excited to see how things were going. The class began by watching part of film about the Mexican American War. There was good information about the generals and battles as the United States took on Mexico. Mr. Clark was able to use his overhead projector and computer to project the film on his overhead screen. The class then used their lap tops to answer questions about the Mexican American War. Mr. Clark had loaded the documents to Sharepoint and the students had information sources to draw from in order to answer questions about the film and the war. Check out these students working together with their laptops.
4th period - English 9 - Mrs. Winter
Mrs. Winter is our new English teacher. Our freshmen are reading Animal Farm. I was able to join a group and read Chapter 2 of Animal Farm. Thanks to Nicole and Logan for allowing me to be in your group! The students worked in small learning groups as they read through the Chapter. I'm a big fan of Animal Farm, as a history major, the ties to the Russian Revolution are very intriguing.
5th period - Independent Office Projects - Mrs. Kudej
This class was working on a business project in a virtual world. This was a neat way to work through some of the business concepts they are working through. Some of the students were working a graphics project for the Quarter final game against Lemars. This class has done the programs for the whole year. They have done a great job. Below Lance Hillenga works on his virtual job!
6th period - American Literature - Miss T.
These students were discussing literary terms realism, regionalism and naturalism and they tied into three stories that they were reading or had read. The class had great discussion and got into some good higher level thinking. We also discovered what some of the records were for the coldest temperatures were in the history of the world. These students are reading a Jack London story on line in Miss T.s class.
7th period - Physics - Ms. Carlson
Acceleration, Velocity and Distance are all terms that were used in Physics today. The students are figuring out problems using math and science together. They seemed to be working well together. I figured out why I was a Social Studies teacher and not a Physics one! The students are working with challenging problems.
8th period - Biology - Mrs. Schoenwetter
The biology students were working on a lab. They were discussing movement from high concentrations to low concentrations. They were using the logger pros and computers to chart their results. The students worked in groups and seemed to be doing well on the lab.
This was a great day! It was fun to take in a whole day in the classroom and see what great things our teachers and students are doing. Thanks to all of the teachers and students who made me feel welcome in their classrooms!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Conferences College Fair and Lots of Activities!
Parents,
It is a busy week here in Eagle Country!
Conferences will be from 4:00 pm - 7:45 pm in the high school on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Please make an effort to stop in and see your student's teachers! Our college fair will be on Tuesday from 4:30 - 6:00 pm. Please see last week's blog post for more information on these two events.
Congratulations to our Cross Country team on their participation in the State Cross Country Meet! The Wolfpack had a great season!
Good luck to the football tonight in their quarter final match up with Woodbury Central. Kick off will be at 7:00pm at Bob Sanger Field!
The chorus had their first conert of the year and I thought they did a nice job. Congratulations to Ms. Wilson and the chorus!
We will have 1 hour early outs on Tuesday and Thursday this week for conferences. There will be no Success Center on those nights.
Our advisory groups got to watch videos produced by our TAG students last Friday. The TAG students did a nice job with these videos.
There will be no school on Friday.
Have a great week!
Happy Halloween! (please see the Halloween post for some holiday fun!)
Tuesday – 1 hour early dismissal – Conferences – 4:00 – 7:45
It is a busy week here in Eagle Country!
Conferences will be from 4:00 pm - 7:45 pm in the high school on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Please make an effort to stop in and see your student's teachers! Our college fair will be on Tuesday from 4:30 - 6:00 pm. Please see last week's blog post for more information on these two events.
Congratulations to our Cross Country team on their participation in the State Cross Country Meet! The Wolfpack had a great season!
Good luck to the football tonight in their quarter final match up with Woodbury Central. Kick off will be at 7:00pm at Bob Sanger Field!
The chorus had their first conert of the year and I thought they did a nice job. Congratulations to Ms. Wilson and the chorus!
We will have 1 hour early outs on Tuesday and Thursday this week for conferences. There will be no Success Center on those nights.
Our advisory groups got to watch videos produced by our TAG students last Friday. The TAG students did a nice job with these videos.
There will be no school on Friday.
Have a great week!
Happy Halloween! (please see the Halloween post for some holiday fun!)
Weekly Schedule
Monday – FB Playoffs 2nd round – Woodbury Central – H – 7:00 pm
Wednesday
Thursday – 1 hour early dismissal – Conferences – 4:00 – 7:45
Friday – No School – Comp day
Playoff Football – Quarter Finals
Thursday, October 20, 2011
45 days into the Semester? Do you know where your student is at?
It is true, today is our 45th day of the semester. Half way through the semester, it is hard to believe, but it is reality. The question I am asking parents is, do you know how your child is doing in school so far. If you have not asked any questions or checked grades on line yet, now might be a good time. Report cards were posted on line at the end of Hex 1. Those students whose parents who we do not have an e mail for, had report cards given to them at school. If you want a paper copy of the report card shoot Peg an e mail or send a note with your student.
As we reach the half way point here are some interesting questions to ask about your relationship with your student and their involvement in school.
1. Do I know what classes my student is taking this semester?
2. Which classes are going well for them and which ones are a struggle?
3. Which types of classes is my student interested in and how will that play into
their future?
4. How is my child's attendance? Aside from medical problems has my student
missed a large number of days?
5. If my student is a junior or senior have we discussed the future? Career?
College? Armed Services? Working world?
6. What can I be doing to help my student be as successful as possible
in school?
Conferences are coming up on November 1st and 3rd from 4:00 - 7:45 in the high school. If you have not had contact with your student's instructors this would be a great time. We are also encouraging parents to meet with their student's advisor at conferences. The advisor - advisee relationship is an important one and this would be a chance to touch base and see how things are going. We will be hosting a career fair on Tuesday the 1st from 4-7. This would be a chance for junior and senior students and parents to learn a lot of information about college opportunities. Please make plans to attend the conferences and college fair.
We will host a college planning night on October 25th in the high school at 5:30. This will be a good chance for juniors, seniors and their parents to learn about financial aid and the FAFSA. The FAFSA is the "Free application for federal student aid" and required for anyone seeking financial aid for college. It is important that seniors get this document filled out as soon as they can during their senior year.
We have had an excellent fall here in all of our activities! Congratulations to our Volleyball, Football and Cross Country teams as they head into the post season. The cheerleaders continue to do a nice job at our games and in preparation for competition. In case you have not heard, GREASE is the word in the high school drama department. We are very excited to have our first musical in a few years. The band had a nice showing at Algona Band Days and continues to play for the football games. Our first choral concert will be Thursday night in Kanawha. Speech tryouts are taking place this week.
On a personal note, Congratulations to my brother Kevin and his new wife Katie. They were married last weekend. My brothers and I have spread out to Florida, Wisconsin and Hancock County but we still remain close and have a lot of fun when we get together. We probably get along a lot better now than we did in high school. Encourage your students to get along with their siblings and enjoy this time together. It goes by pretty quickly and soon they will all be grown up.
Have a great weekend!
Mr. Recker
As we reach the half way point here are some interesting questions to ask about your relationship with your student and their involvement in school.
1. Do I know what classes my student is taking this semester?
2. Which classes are going well for them and which ones are a struggle?
3. Which types of classes is my student interested in and how will that play into
their future?
4. How is my child's attendance? Aside from medical problems has my student
missed a large number of days?
5. If my student is a junior or senior have we discussed the future? Career?
College? Armed Services? Working world?
6. What can I be doing to help my student be as successful as possible
in school?
Conferences are coming up on November 1st and 3rd from 4:00 - 7:45 in the high school. If you have not had contact with your student's instructors this would be a great time. We are also encouraging parents to meet with their student's advisor at conferences. The advisor - advisee relationship is an important one and this would be a chance to touch base and see how things are going. We will be hosting a career fair on Tuesday the 1st from 4-7. This would be a chance for junior and senior students and parents to learn a lot of information about college opportunities. Please make plans to attend the conferences and college fair.
We will host a college planning night on October 25th in the high school at 5:30. This will be a good chance for juniors, seniors and their parents to learn about financial aid and the FAFSA. The FAFSA is the "Free application for federal student aid" and required for anyone seeking financial aid for college. It is important that seniors get this document filled out as soon as they can during their senior year.
We have had an excellent fall here in all of our activities! Congratulations to our Volleyball, Football and Cross Country teams as they head into the post season. The cheerleaders continue to do a nice job at our games and in preparation for competition. In case you have not heard, GREASE is the word in the high school drama department. We are very excited to have our first musical in a few years. The band had a nice showing at Algona Band Days and continues to play for the football games. Our first choral concert will be Thursday night in Kanawha. Speech tryouts are taking place this week.
On a personal note, Congratulations to my brother Kevin and his new wife Katie. They were married last weekend. My brothers and I have spread out to Florida, Wisconsin and Hancock County but we still remain close and have a lot of fun when we get together. We probably get along a lot better now than we did in high school. Encourage your students to get along with their siblings and enjoy this time together. It goes by pretty quickly and soon they will all be grown up.
Have a great weekend!
Mr. Recker
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