$1006.37...

CMS held their 2nd annual Mini Relay for Life on Friday, May 27.  The day was filled with many meaningful activities that were topped off by the "Minute to Win It" competition held between four of our staff members and their assistants.  Winners of the competition were Mrs. Dirkx, Mrs. McQueen, Mrs. Siskow, and Mr. Box.  Their assistants were runners up:  Mr. Peters, Mrs. Stork, Mr. Schmidt, and Mrs. Polking.  Competitors took part in four activities:  Face the Cookie, Dizzy Mummy, Defying Gravity and Egg Roll.  

 Mrs. McQueen prepares for her first challenge of Face the Cookie.  The goal was to move three Oreo cookies from their foreheads to their mouths using only their facial muscles.  Mrs. McQueen won this challenge with getting 2 Oreos in 60 seconds.

Mr. Box, confident, that he was going to win it all, struggled with all three challenges...Maybe next year, Mr. Box!!

 Mrs. Dirkx and Mr. Peters came in second in the Dizzy Mummy challenge.  Lucky for them they had the small rolls of toilet paper!!

 Mrs. McQueen dominates the challenge of Defying Gravity by keeping her three balloons in the air the longest!!

Mrs. Dirkx relied on the assistance of Mr. Peters and the pizza box on this challenge.  Sorry guys!! That's a disqualification!!











At the end of the day, three very luck individuals were face with a delicious cream pie for the great efforts students and staff put into collecting money for the American Cancer Society.  Mr. Raymond, Mr. Trullinger and Ben Wellendorf met their fate of being showered with cream pie after students presented representatives of the American Cancer Society with a check for $1006.37.

Do Highly Qualified Teachers Need Charisma too?

Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, pressures have mounted for educators.  Ensuring that all children can read by the end of third grade as well as be proficient in reading and math by 2014 is a great feat for some educators, especially those who work with students who may have specific learning disorders or meet at-risk criteria.  The combination of all these factors, plus increased assessments and documentation have resulted in increased stress for teachers, as well as a decrease in empathy.  Dr. Robert Brooks believes that the relationship a student has with his/her teacher greatly influences performance in the classroom.  Not only are students more likely to work harder and go out of their way to learn complicated tasks when they have an instructor who genuinely cares and models that compassion, but the students are less likely to demonstrate disruptive behavior (Brooks, 2011).  So much emphasis is put on hiring teachers who are highly qualified to teach the subject matter that the key component to engaging students and ensuring that they will learn is overshadowed.  Both Julius Segal and the Massachusetts Department of Education found that at-risk youth were able to beat the odds against them when there is a presence of a charismatic adult whom they know they can turn to and will advocate for them reiterates this philosophy.  In most situations, this individual is the teacher.  For this reason, as administrators seek to hire the most highly qualified teachers, they should also be seeking the most highly charismatic teachers.  Together, both qualities will lead to improved student success.

Brooks, R. (2011). Education and "charismatic" adults: to touch a student’s heart and mind. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/education-charismatic-touch-heart-mind/  

Where did the year go?

Wow!!  It seems like just yesterday we were starting yet another school year.  But here we are, 180 school days later, and summer vacation has officially started for the Ladehoff kiddos!!  For me, it means the beginning of summer school and getting all that work done that I wasn't able to accomplish during the school year.

No big vacation plans for the summer for us.  I will be readily available all summer to work on the massive conversion of data from by "baby" PowerSchool to our new information system, Infinite Campus.  It's a bittersweet time for me.  I know the move will be beneficial and create far less headaches in the long run, but I will miss the convenience of knowing where to find everything I need in the blink of an eye.

It is my hope that within a few days the weather warms up and we can officially start summer mode by lounging in the pool, relaxing on the patio, and reinstating the Sunday night neighborhood social.