So who's gonna get to keep He-Man next week? See you at the game!
Friday, September 25, 2015
Jahmari Moore, Mr. Rouse, and He-Man
So who's gonna get to keep He-Man next week? See you at the game!
Thank You Students!
A Special Thank You goes out to all students that participated in yesterday's decorating of our halls! I'm sure our Teachers really appreciated the nice gesture near the Faculty Cafeteria.....
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Just in case you were wondering.....
Yep....that's right...GO CUBS GO! Don't get me wrong...I don't hate the SOX- I was born in the Chi and am all about South Side Pride...but I LOVE THE CUBS! Been a fan since I used to sit and watch them with Grandpa Rouse back in the day.
That said, I will say this- There sure seemed to be a SHORTAGE of SOX jerseys in the halls today OPRF! What happened.... Mr. Hunter? Mr. Prale? Mr. Young? Mr. Miller? Oh I know...They Gone! We'll see you at Wrigley in October....
Uh huh...and he loves them too:)
Powder Puff Madness & Cheerleading
Wednesday Night was our annual Powder Puff Flag Football Game (although there sure seemed to be a lot of tackling going on out there).
The Seniors came out firing on all cylinders and our Juniors seemed to have a little trouble moving the ball down the field...perhaps I need to start monitoring the amount of "practice time" that Coach Tank and Coach Jeremy have with the seniors...rumor has it that they have already reached out to the Juniors for conditioning and spring practice- and who the heck was Coach Jeremy talking to in the press box? Did he really have a bullhorn out there?
Seniors you've earned it...PIZZA ON the PRINCIPAL!!!!
And although we had some technical difficulties, the football players still were able to get their "whip and nay nay" on after the game...Good Grief!
The Seniors came out firing on all cylinders and our Juniors seemed to have a little trouble moving the ball down the field...perhaps I need to start monitoring the amount of "practice time" that Coach Tank and Coach Jeremy have with the seniors...rumor has it that they have already reached out to the Juniors for conditioning and spring practice- and who the heck was Coach Jeremy talking to in the press box? Did he really have a bullhorn out there?
Seniors you've earned it...PIZZA ON the PRINCIPAL!!!!
And although we had some technical difficulties, the football players still were able to get their "whip and nay nay" on after the game...Good Grief!
Wednesday Late Arrival Work
While you were getting your sleep on Wednesday morning, the adult Huskies were hard at work getting their Teacher/Department Collaboration on. What were they talking about? Ways to teach and support you better! I caught a couple action photos during my visits:
Assistant Principal Ms. Hoffmann and the Counseling Crew:
Ms. Hardin and the Geometry Gurus (appropriately dressed in their PE shirts):
Mr. Heidkamp and the American Lit Posse:
Mr. Seldess and the History Division:
Chief Information Officer Mr. Carioscio & Co. and representatives from D97 talking technology:
Assistant Principal Ms. Hoffmann and the Counseling Crew:
Ms. Hardin and the Geometry Gurus (appropriately dressed in their PE shirts):
Mr. Heidkamp and the American Lit Posse:
Mr. Seldess and the History Division:
Chief Information Officer Mr. Carioscio & Co. and representatives from D97 talking technology:
Mr. Rouse in enemy territory.....
Although it's Homecoming Week, I decided to go and spend some time in enemy territory Tuesday night with the Lady Huskie swimmers as they took on Fenwick. I rocked a bright orange OPRF polo to be certain that I could be seen in the sea of Friars. We had a nice group of parents and students there as well. As for the meet- our girls have MAD SKILLS in the pool! If you haven't seen them in action yet...please go and check them out!
Besides cheering on our girls, I happened to look at Fenwick's swim records and what did I see? OUR OP LOGO at the top of the Boys Pool Records from 2013! Based upon our girls 200 medley relay team that I saw, I have a feeling that we are about to be at the top of the Girls Pool Records really soon! WE NEED TO OWN THAT POOL! Hannah & Co.- we are all counting on you!!!
PS- I also had to harass Ms. O'Keefe and Officer Ruiz for sitting in what I thought was the wrong section. But in all fairness to them- when your kid swims for Fenwick, as a parent you gotta represent! But that's okay....we all know who they root for on any other occasion!
Besides cheering on our girls, I happened to look at Fenwick's swim records and what did I see? OUR OP LOGO at the top of the Boys Pool Records from 2013! Based upon our girls 200 medley relay team that I saw, I have a feeling that we are about to be at the top of the Girls Pool Records really soon! WE NEED TO OWN THAT POOL! Hannah & Co.- we are all counting on you!!!
PS- I also had to harass Ms. O'Keefe and Officer Ruiz for sitting in what I thought was the wrong section. But in all fairness to them- when your kid swims for Fenwick, as a parent you gotta represent! But that's okay....we all know who they root for on any other occasion!
Running Huskies
Here's a pic of Kimathi Johnson and Marty Pimentel running at the Richard Spring Invitational in Peoria last Saturday. The team came in 5th out of 60+ teams and we are ranked 6th in the state and 17th in the nation!
Friday, September 18, 2015
Teach Day Part II
Today I got to sub for Mr. Noble's 6th and 7th Period American Lit classes. Students were watching Spike Lee's When The Levees Broke as the novel they are reading is set during Hurricane Katrina. After watching, I was able to share a personal reflection from my visit to New Orleans last year and what I saw. Thanks for being such awesome students! For the record, there were no disciplinary issues for me:) PS- Mr. Noble's poster collection is unreal!
Principal's Meeting
Friday morning, I started my day at York High School. I attended my first West Suburban Conference Principal's meeting. We meet once a month during the school year and rotate the meeting locations. It's cool to meet with them and visit each other's schools. Today's topics focused around the new concussion protocol for student athletes and new ways to educate students on the dangers of bullying and social media. We also approved the purchase of the regional and sectional plaques for fall athletics. Hopefully a majority of them find their way into our trophy cases in our athletic department. Believe it or not, I am one of the veteran's of the group because I've been a principal at OPRF for 8 years! This is only half of the group- I'll get a better pic next month. PS...I was greeted by a student named Jordan when I walked in who says that he is dating someone from OPRF and will be at our Homecoming next week. Who is that lucky OPRF student?????
Student Discipline Retreat
Thursday afternoon, Mr. Silver, Mr. Medina, and Ms Jackson were working with students who are planning a student led discipline retreat to talk about ways to provide students the opportunity to discuss our current school climate, policies and procedures and make them less punitive. The retreat is being scheduled for Saturday, October 10th. Be on the lookout for additional information coming soon!
Getting My Teach on...
On Thursday and Friday of this week, we have a professional development workshop called Beyond Diversity taking place for about 90 of our faculty and staff members. To support this initiative and make sure that we were able to have the appropriate number of substitutes for the day, many administrators decided to pitch in and volunteer to substitute teach. I was fortunate to be able to substitute for Ms. Gallagher's Sophomore Honors English class 2nd Period. They are reading the novel Jane Eyre.
Spoiler Alert- we feed you way better at school than the portions that she received..and do you know who was really trapped in the attic?
Spoiler Alert- we feed you way better at school than the portions that she received..and do you know who was really trapped in the attic?
Farmer's Fridge @ OPRF?
On Wednesday, I had the privilege of meeting with super Sophomore Talia Brookstein-Burke. Why? Because she asked to meet with me regarding a potential food source that she thought students might benefit from...Farmer's Fridge. They stock their vending machines with fresh and healthy breakfasts, lunches, and snacks every morning with meals made from organic and local produce. Not sure if it something that we can have here at OPRF...but I appreciated Talia reaching out and wanting to meet with me!
Student Travel
On Tuesday evening, I attended a Board Meeting that highlighted student travel experiences over the summer. Students provided presentations to Board members based upon their travels to Ireland, Costa Rica, Tanzania, and the Global Leadership Conference in Europe! Ms. Regina Topf, Director of Student Activities kicked off the presentation and then the students did the rest! Well Done!
The Early Bird Catches the Worm....
On Tuesday, I stopped by a few of the College Callers discussions and was extremely impressed with the number of students who are ALREADY making plans for college! If you don't know what I'm talking about, OPRF hosts admissions specialists and recruiters from colleges across the country to provide you with valuable insight on the application process and college life at each university. How do you sign up? The daily announcements usually provides advanced notice on when particular colleges and universities will be here, but you can always check the schedule located in the counseling areas. Here are a few pics from visits on Tuesday with Yale, DePaul, and The University of Illinois!
Friday, September 11, 2015
Have you ever wondered.....
What we do when students have a day off and we still have to work? We GO TO SCHOOL! That's right, today is Staff Development Day for our faculty and staff! What are we working on today? All things technology. We started our day at 8am with Division Collaboration Time, which is when teachers get together by divisions to talk about their lesson planning and curriculum and how to support you better. Then we went into break out sessions that focused on the following topics:
*Mastery Manager
*Chromebook Pilots
*Google Ninja
*Google Forms/Sheets
*Creating Content/Screencasts & You Tube
A special thank you to our Chief Information Officer Mike Carioscio and our Educational Technology Staff (Marci DiVerde, Amit Martin, Earliana McLaurin, Lisa Vincent, Chris Thieme, and Marsha Shipley) for leading the sessions, John Wells, Christian Martin and Karen Ury for their tech support....and to our Director of Assessment and Research, Ms. Amy Hill- for putting it all together!
*Mastery Manager
*Chromebook Pilots
*Google Ninja
*Google Forms/Sheets
*Creating Content/Screencasts & You Tube
A special thank you to our Chief Information Officer Mike Carioscio and our Educational Technology Staff (Marci DiVerde, Amit Martin, Earliana McLaurin, Lisa Vincent, Chris Thieme, and Marsha Shipley) for leading the sessions, John Wells, Christian Martin and Karen Ury for their tech support....and to our Director of Assessment and Research, Ms. Amy Hill- for putting it all together!
Bending it like Beckham
Even at Open House....
Well in case you haven't heard, and thanks to some smoke from a fog machine that got out of control in the Little Theatre last night...we kinda had to EVACUATE YOUR PARENTS from the building! That's right...we had a FIRE ALARM just before our Open House last night.
Kudos to your parents for leaving the building with the quickness. Unfortunately, the timing resulted in long lines during schedule pick up (why don't you give them your schedules in advance anyway???) and many parents missed your first period classes. The rest of the night went on as regularly scheduled. But hey- at least it wasn't raining, or 30 degrees outside- but you know that only happens to us during the school day, right? Check out some pics of your parents outside of the building.
Kudos to your parents for leaving the building with the quickness. Unfortunately, the timing resulted in long lines during schedule pick up (why don't you give them your schedules in advance anyway???) and many parents missed your first period classes. The rest of the night went on as regularly scheduled. But hey- at least it wasn't raining, or 30 degrees outside- but you know that only happens to us during the school day, right? Check out some pics of your parents outside of the building.
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