Classroom Happenings

The first full week of the 2013-2014 school year is over and the students still appear to be excited about school!  Part of the reason for their excitement might be some of the engaging activities they are participating in in class!  Here is a small glimpse into what is happening in our classrooms:

The Morning Announcements

The school day starts off with the morning announcements.  For most students, it is no different than turning on the TV at home and watching the news.  However, for a small group of students and Mr. Grothey,  the morning announcements are much more complicated.  The morning announcements are truly a live TV Show!  Here are a few pictures of the cast and crew of the morning announcements:

The tech crew working hard to make sure the show is ready to start.

Mr. Grothey checks the camera for the first PRIDE drawing.

The camera was working great!

The newscasters make it look easy!

Ms. Suppa's 8th Grade Language Arts Class

Ms. Suppa's 8th graders were put on the "Hot Seat".  The "Hot Seat" Literary Activity, required that students create and perform a question and answer session from the point of view of the character(s) in a story or novel.  This activity could be used for nonfiction as well. 

Mr. Dellinger's 7th Grade Science Class

Mr. Dellinger's students (along with many other science classes) were already doing labs in science class.  Here are a couple of pictures of Mr. Dellinger's students as they rotated through their lab stations:

Ms. Lee's Algebra 1A Class

Students in Ms. Lee's Algebra 1A class got to use their cell phones to help them understand math!  Students who had a "QR Reader" installed on their phones were used as team leaders in class.  Students would work on math problems and then find out the correct answer by scanning the QR code.  If someone in the group did not have the correct answer, other group members took the time to explain how they got the right answer.  

Here is a sample problem along with the QR Code.  Can you solve the problem?  Work it out and then scan the QR Code and see if you got it right!

PRIDE

PRIDE is Red Lion Area School District’s School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Program.  PRIDE is an acronym for Personable, Respectful, Integrity, Dependable, and Engaged.   This program involves setting school-wide standards for expected student behavior.  Students are taught exactly what those expected behaviors are through PRIDE lessons.  Students will become familiar with the PRIDE Expectations Matrix that can be found throughout the school, in their agendas, and on the Junior High website under the PRIDE tab.  Students who demonstrate these behaviors and go above and beyond the expected behavior may receive a PRIDE ticket to enter in our weekly, monthly, and yearly drawings to win incentives.  Incentives range from “Front of the lunch line ticket” to gift cards from local businesses.  This program is based in research and has been shown to improve behavior in schools. 

 We had our first weekly drawing today! 

Mr. Peters and Ms. Stauffer draw the winners live on the Morning Announcements!

Out of 145 pride tickets that were submitted, there were 5 lucky winners chosen.  The prizes for today's drawing included:

1. A front of the lunch line pass
2. Reserved lunch table for a week
3. Free ticket to tonight's football game
4. Lunch outside with 3 friends
5. Sit with a friend in class

Congratulations to our winners, all students who received PRIDE tickets and thanks to our teachers who took the extra time to catch our students doing the right thing!

8th Grade Meet the Teacher Night

     On Wednesday, August 28th, parents and some students came to the 8th Grade Meet the Teacher Night.  This night was a great opportunity to hear 8th grade expectations and to hear what students will be learning in their classes throughout the school year.

Teachers from team 8-I share information with parents.

Parents figuring out how to go from class to class!

Ms. Kinney explains what students will learn in Family and Consumer Sciences.

Race for Education!

The First Few Days of School--The Student Point of View

From the office perspective, it appeared that the first few days were quite successful!  The parents, teachers, and staff members provided some real positive feedback about the start of the school year.  I decided to put the start of the school year through a real test--what did the students think?  I took some time to walk around during our lunches to ask the students what they thought of the first few days--here is what they thought:

THE BEST THINGS:

• THE TEACHERS 
• GETTING TO KNOW NEW PEOPLE
• LUNCHES
• THE FREEDOM OF GOING FROM CLASS TO CLASS
• EXTRA RESPONSIBILITY
• RETURNING AS AN 8TH GRADER
• LEARNING THE LAYOUT OF THE BUILDING--I THOUGHT I WOULD GET LOST AND I DIDN'T!
• AIR CONDITIONING--IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE IT IN YOUR CLASS
• YOU CAN SIT WHERE YOU WANT AT LUNCH
• RIDING THE BUS WITH SENIOR HIGH STUDENTS
• REMIND 101--TEXT MESSAGE REMINDERS FROM TEACHERS
• GOOGLE CHROMEBOOKS!
• BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE (BYOD) PROGRAM
• HAVING A LOCKER
• SO MANY WAYS TO CHECK OUT BOOKS!

WHAT IS STRESSING US OUT!

• LOCKERS, LOCKERS, LOCKERS
• WHAT WILL HOMEWORK BE LIKE? 
• CHANGING FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION
• SWITCHING CLASSES
• GETTING TO CLASS ON TIME
• SMALL LOCKERS
• WAKING UP EARLY
• CAFETERIA CHANGES
• GETTING LOST

Overall, the good far outweighed the bad.  CONGRATULATIONS to everyone involved in helping get the 2013-2014 school year off to a great start!  

Target Give Away

Target is giving away money to schools. Our school needs 25 votes to earn $25. For every vote after that, Target will donate $1 per vote up to $10,000.  Please help our school by clicking on the link below.  You will need a valid facebook account and must be at least age 13 to vote.  You may vote once a week up until September 21.  Thank you for your participation.

Link: http://givewith.target.com/school/29777

The 1st Day of School!

Today we hit the ground running!  Students and teachers alike appeared excited to return to school after summer vacation.  Enjoy some pictures from throughout the day!

Early Birds--Students arriving before 7:17
were eagerly waiting in the gym before
 they could go to first period.

Students arriving by school bus.

Practicing your new locker combination can be stressful!

Learning some new policies and procedures.

Getting to know each other in Ms. Taylor's class.

Lunch was a great opportunity to relax and catch up with some friends both old and new.

A student signing up to receive text message reminders from Mrs. Curry's math class.

Students leaving after a successful first day!

7th Grade Meet the Teacher Night

Thanks to all of the 7th grade students and their parents/guardians who showed up for our "7th Grade Meet the Teacher" night on August 20th!  We had a great crowd and our 7th grade students and parents/guardians got the opportunity to get their student schedules and were able to walk the halls and find their classrooms.  In addition to finding their classrooms, students and parents got to hear:

• a welcome from Mr. Peters, our principal
• how to access the Junior High Blog and Twitter Feed by Mr. Raab, our assistant principal
• how our PRIDE program will recognize excellent behavior from our students by Ms. Stauffer, one of our school counselors
• tips for being successful in 7th grade, by Ms. Bensinger, one of our school counselors
• and about classroom expectations by each of their teachers

Check out the 7th grade spirit from the opening sessions:

Congratulations to all of the teams for showing off the spirit--my pictures weren't the greatest, so I have to say that both teams demonstrated equal spirit!  Let's see if the 8th grade students can have as much spirit as our 7th grade!

Thanks again for coming to our "7th Grade Meet the Teacher" night and thanks for all of the positive feedback. 

Special thanks to our 7th grade and special area teachers who helped our students and parents feel more comfortable about entering the Red Lion Area Junior High School.

Getting ready for school!

While our students were at home enjoying their last few days of summer, the teachers at the Red Lion Area Junior High School were meeting and getting ready for the new school year.  The teachers returned to school and had the opportunity to learn about policies and procedures school wide and district wide that would help support our students!

Red Lion Area Junior High School Twitter Account!

Have you ever asked your child what they did in school?  Have you ever gotten responses similar to, “Nothing”, “I don't remember” or “I learned some stuff”?   Effective communication between school and home can help students be more successful in school!  In an effort to increase our communication with our families, in addition to the blog you are reading, we have also created a Junior High Twitter Feed!

The Red Lion Area Junior High School Twitter Account

Twitter is a social media tool that allows us to send quick messages (called tweets) to the school community.  You can follow our Twitter account one of two ways:

                    

      1)    If you have a Twitter account or once you create your own twitter account, you can search for us on Twitter searching the name “@rlajhs”.  Once you find our page, you can click on the “Follow” tab.

      2)    If you don’t have or don’t want a twitter account, you can still receive our messages if you have texting on your phone.  In order to receive our Twitter messages on your phone, follow these directions:

a.     Send a text with the message “follow RLAJHS” (you don't have to use the quotation marks) to the phone number 40404

Welcome!

Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year!

It is hard to believe that August is already here and the start of school is right around the corner.         I imagine that as each day passes, the excitement, nervousness and anticipation of the new school year continues to grow!  Junior High is an exciting time period in the lives of students.  They leave the comfort of their elementary school and join students from the other elementary schools in our district (as well as students who are new to the Red Lion Area School District) as part of the Red Lion Area Junior High School community!  We have a strong sense of community here at the Red Lion Area Junior High School and we look forward to supporting our students and families and helping them meet with success.

Part of the excitement of the new school year--whether you are entering as a 7th grader or returning as an 8th grader--is you have a great opportunity to have a fresh start!  Take some time to think about your accomplishments and challenges that you have experienced in school. What have you done in the past that helped you be successful?  What struggles have you had in the past?  What did you do to overcome these struggles?  If you feel like you are still struggling in school, who can you turn to for support? (teachers, counselors, administrators, friends, and parents can all offer different kinds of support!)

Clear lines of communication are crucial for success in school!

Parents--get to know the staff that interact with your child on a daily basis (teachers, counselors, nurses and administrators just to name a few).  Share information that you think will help them help your child in school and listen to what they have to say about your child.  Make sure we have up-to-date contact information for you and make sure that you know how to contact us!

Students--Get to know your teachers--they are here to help.  Talk with them and let them know what helps you as a student.  If you don't understand something, ASK! 

Teachers--Get to know your students and their parents/guardians.  Talking with students and their parents offers great insight regarding how to help students be successful!  Keeping parents up-to-date on their child's progress both academically and behaviorally can help students meet with success!


Here is some important information that will help you have a great start to the school year:

First Day of School:          Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

School Hours:                   7:37 am - 2:32 pm

Students are allowed in the building beginning at 7:00 am.  Students who arrive between 7:00 - 7:17 am should report to the gymnasium.  Students will be allowed to leave the gymnasium at 7:17 am and are expected to go to their locker and report to their 1st period classroom.

Student Schedules:         Friday, August 9th

Student's 1st period classes will be posted on the Cafeteria windows on the afternoon of Friday, August 9th.  Students will receive their schedules in their 1st period class on the first day of school.  (7th Graders will have the opportunity to get their schedule at the 7th Grade Meet the Teacher Night.)

7th Grade Meet the Teacher Night:     Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 6-8 pm

The 7th Grade Meet the Teacher Night is a great opportunity for incoming 7th grade students and their parents to get to know the school.  In addition to learning about the Red Lion Area Junior High School, students will have the opportunity to get their schedule and find out the location of all of their classes.

8th Grade Meet the Teacher Night:    Wednesday, August 28th, 2013 6-8 pm

The 8th Grade Meet the Teacher Night is also a great opportunity for our 8th grade students and their parents to get to know the 8th grade teachers and their expectations for the school year!

Once again, welcome to the 2013-2014 school year!  If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the main office at 717.244.1448.

The First Blog Post!

Thank you for reading the first post of the new Red Lion Area Junior High School Blog! 

My name is Brian Raab, and I am excited to be the new assistant principal at the Red Lion Area Junior High School!  The 2013-2014 school year will be my 17th year in education.  I started my career as a social studies teacher at Robert Smalls Middle School in the Beaufort County School District in South Carolina.  The next phase in my career was as a school counselor and department chair at Lansdowne Middle School in the Baltimore County Public School System in Maryland.  After my tenure as a school counselor, I had the opportunity to be an assistant principal at Towson High School, also in the Baltimore County Public School System.  This school year will be my 5th year in the Red Lion Area School District--I spent the first 4 years as an assistant principal at the Red Lion Area Senior High School and this is my first year as the assistant principal at the Red Lion Area Junior High School!

  
As you read this first blog post, some of you might be asking yourself, “What is a blog?”  A blog, simply stated, is a web site that focuses on a particular topic and that is frequently updated.  The Red Lion Area Junior High School Blog will be an additional form of communication used to share pertinent information with the Red Lion Area Junior High School community.  If you come back and visit this blog (which we hope you do!), some of the things you can look forward to reading about are: what our students are doing both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities, what are teachers are planning for their classrooms and information about school wide events!

If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions for this blog, please feel free to leave me a comment or email me directly at raabb@rlasd.net.