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.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Homecoming Week! Under the Sea!
Welcome to Homecoming week at West Hancock High School! It should be a great week filled with school spirit, fun and hopefully some great victories! One of the things I am most proud of our students for, is their positive behavior during homecoming. We have great spirit and lots of fun, but we do not cross the line. Many schools have problems with vandalism and bad behavior during homecoming week. That has never been the case at West Hancock. I am confident we will have a great week!
We finished the majority of MAP testing last week. Thanks to our teachers and students for all of their efforts and cooperation. It went fairly smoothly and I was happy with most of the results. We will be completing make ups this week with Mrs. Johnson in the library.
As we get further into the school year there should be more scores published. Please make sure you are checking into JMC online access so there are not any surprises at the six week mark. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the instructor for your childs course. With e mail access, parent / teacher contact should be seamless.
Last Friday during advisory we watched a John Cougar Mellencamp video called "Walk Tall." The video dealt with stereotypes and prejudice. After the video we discussed in small groups the meaning of the video and how some of the prejudices play parts in our lives today. I will not get into details, because I would like you to watch the video for yourself. Please discuss your thoughts with your son or daughter. We felt it was a very powerful message. Thanks to Mr. Francis for bringing this to our advisories.
Walk Tall - Advisory video 9-16-11
Ms. Shelby Wilson is our new chorus teacher and drama director. This fall we will be presenting Grease. I am very excited about the idea of a musical at WHHS. We have not had one in my five years here. It should be an excellent opportunity for our students. Some of you may be surprised to know, but I was in four different theatrical productions in high school. I had some great times in drama and Grease should be a lot of fun. When my wife was at Waukon High School she was an assistant director and they did Grease, it was awesome! Encourage your students to get involved.
Have a great week and we will see you at all the activities this week!
Mr.Recker
This week will be very busy. The schedule will be as follows:
Sunday - Powder Puff - He Man - We moved the girls inside and had them play VB because of the
weather. It was a fun kick off to our week!
Monday - XC @ Humboldt - 4:15
JV FB @ Clarion - 6:30
VB @ Ventura with NK
School Board - 7:00 - Kanawha
Tuesday - VB - Osage - H - 6:00
Wednesday
Thursday - XC @ Mason City - 4:30
Homecoming Coronation - 7:30
Friday - FB - North Iowa - 7:00
Saturday - Dance - 8:00 - 11:00
We finished the majority of MAP testing last week. Thanks to our teachers and students for all of their efforts and cooperation. It went fairly smoothly and I was happy with most of the results. We will be completing make ups this week with Mrs. Johnson in the library.
As we get further into the school year there should be more scores published. Please make sure you are checking into JMC online access so there are not any surprises at the six week mark. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the instructor for your childs course. With e mail access, parent / teacher contact should be seamless.
Last Friday during advisory we watched a John Cougar Mellencamp video called "Walk Tall." The video dealt with stereotypes and prejudice. After the video we discussed in small groups the meaning of the video and how some of the prejudices play parts in our lives today. I will not get into details, because I would like you to watch the video for yourself. Please discuss your thoughts with your son or daughter. We felt it was a very powerful message. Thanks to Mr. Francis for bringing this to our advisories.
Walk Tall - Advisory video 9-16-11
Ms. Shelby Wilson is our new chorus teacher and drama director. This fall we will be presenting Grease. I am very excited about the idea of a musical at WHHS. We have not had one in my five years here. It should be an excellent opportunity for our students. Some of you may be surprised to know, but I was in four different theatrical productions in high school. I had some great times in drama and Grease should be a lot of fun. When my wife was at Waukon High School she was an assistant director and they did Grease, it was awesome! Encourage your students to get involved.
Have a great week and we will see you at all the activities this week!
Mr.Recker
This week will be very busy. The schedule will be as follows:
Sunday - Powder Puff - He Man - We moved the girls inside and had them play VB because of the
weather. It was a fun kick off to our week!
Monday - XC @ Humboldt - 4:15
JV FB @ Clarion - 6:30
VB @ Ventura with NK
School Board - 7:00 - Kanawha
Tuesday - VB - Osage - H - 6:00
Wednesday
Thursday - XC @ Mason City - 4:30
Homecoming Coronation - 7:30
Friday - FB - North Iowa - 7:00
Saturday - Dance - 8:00 - 11:00
Monday, September 12, 2011
Map Testing Week!
Parents,
This week we will be MAP testing. Mr. Kronemann sent out a letter with details, so I will not get into that. Please encourage your students to do their best on these tests. In the HS we will be testing with the student's first period teacher. We will run a one hour late start schedule each day. Seniors need to report at 9:33 each day. Wednesday will be a 2 hour early out schedule so there will not be any MAP testing. Seniors need to report at regular times.
Things have continued to go well in the high school as we enter our fourth full week of class. Just a reminder the following options are available for your student to get extra help in any of their classes:
Success Center - 3:30 - 4:30 every night
Teacher help - 7:50 - 8:30 or 3:12 - 3:30 (at a minimum) students should make appts. with teachers
during these times.
Peer tutoring that will be set up through our advisory program.
Parents also have on line access to all student scores through JMC.
Homecoming will be next week. We will begin the festivities on Sunday. It will be a great week!
The weather has been very nice lately. Fall is my favorite season! Have a great week!
Mr. Recker
Monday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
JV Football at BK - 6:30
Tuesday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
VB @ BK - 6:00
Wednesday - In - service -1:12 dismissal
Thursday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
XC - CLear Lake - 4:15
VB - Lake Mills - H - 6:00
Friday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
FB @ Marcus Meridan Cleghorn (school in Marcus) - 7:00
Sunday - Powder Puff Football - He Man VB 2:30
This week we will be MAP testing. Mr. Kronemann sent out a letter with details, so I will not get into that. Please encourage your students to do their best on these tests. In the HS we will be testing with the student's first period teacher. We will run a one hour late start schedule each day. Seniors need to report at 9:33 each day. Wednesday will be a 2 hour early out schedule so there will not be any MAP testing. Seniors need to report at regular times.
Things have continued to go well in the high school as we enter our fourth full week of class. Just a reminder the following options are available for your student to get extra help in any of their classes:
Success Center - 3:30 - 4:30 every night
Teacher help - 7:50 - 8:30 or 3:12 - 3:30 (at a minimum) students should make appts. with teachers
during these times.
Peer tutoring that will be set up through our advisory program.
Parents also have on line access to all student scores through JMC.
Homecoming will be next week. We will begin the festivities on Sunday. It will be a great week!
The weather has been very nice lately. Fall is my favorite season! Have a great week!
Mr. Recker
Weekly schedule
Monday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
Tuesday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
VB @ BK - 6:00
Wednesday - In - service -1:12 dismissal
Thursday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
XC - CLear Lake - 4:15
VB - Lake Mills - H - 6:00
Friday - MAP testing - 1 hour late start
FB @ Marcus Meridan Cleghorn (school in Marcus) - 7:00
Sunday - Powder Puff Football - He Man VB 2:30
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