The Screeching OwlAEC Weekly Plan February 27, 2017

Vision: To create a supportive learning environment in which every student graduates with a high school diploma and is college and career ready to further promote growth in our community.Mission: To create a student-centered, non-traditional learning environment that launches lifelong achievement. Beliefs: To achieve our Vision and Mission, we believe: • Accepting, nurturing, and safe learning environment maximizes success.• Ownership and empowerment builds student capacity.• Collaborative and challenging instruction enhances engaged and authentic learning.• Multi-faceted support is necessary.• Professional collaboration is student-centered.• Family and stakeholder involvement matter.• Connection to extra-curricular activities sustains community history and tradition.

In the Know:I previously mentioned that we needed to watch the number of copies that were being made. I do understand the reason for having high numbers of copies; however, I would like to make an effort to move toward doing things electronically. I have provided a link below that explains how students can annotate Google Docs. This will cut back on hard copies. If there are other activities that currently require a hard copy to be printed, please let me know what those activities are. I will try to find a way to help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksHjXqphcVM

Student Q & A (Updated Wkly.)

Student Spotlight: Alyssa King

Previous School: WAMS

Something most people don’t know about her is…… I want to be an actor.

What do you enjoy the most at AEC?

I enjoy how close everyone is at AEC.

In what way is AEC different than the previous school that you attended?

Everyone is so nice!

Tell me about something that you are currently studying?

Shakespeare in English I

What was the last book that you read? thoughts?

Nobody

It is about this guy who can make himself invisible. He thinks he is the only one that can do this, but he meets a girl that has the same ability.

What was the last great idea that you had?

I had a wonderful idea to write a book.

AEC Staff Spotlight (Updated Mthly.) Michaell Ratchford

What do you do enjoy doing outside of school?

I enjoy spending time with my family. We are a busy family going to our children's athletic and extracurricular events as well as being involved in our church. I enjoy assisting my parents in the part-time catering business.

What was the last great idea that you had?

The last great idea that I had was coming to work at AEC.

When did you know that you wanted to work in education?

My first career was working in the non-profit sector. From there, I started working in the institutional advance area of higher education. My true calling to work in secondary education came when one of my mentors (and former teacher) sat down with me and encouraged me to with work with young people in a more structured setting. This is my 18th year in school counseling.

What do you enjoy the most about AEC?

Where do I begin...AEC is a family!!! I enjoy working with the all the teachers and staff. The students are absolutely amazing and are passionate about learning and they truly care about the well-being of each other.

Who’s Whooo

Thank You Thank you for another great week! Water in the Work Room After hearing about the cloudy water in the staff break room, I asked Mrs. Graham to take a look at it. The problem has been resolved. Office Furniture Office furniture should be set up and in place on March 8th according to what I’ve been told. Please keep your fingers crossed. We are still waiting on the Bookkeeper’s furniture, all teacher furniture, the Principal’s furniture, and the School Counselor’s furniture.

AEC Formal The AEC formal will be Saturday, March 18th. DJ Soundstorm will host the event. The event is scheduled to take place at the Sapphire Hills Event Center at 6:00. We are preparing for 80 students. Staff is permitted to bring their significant other. Hanging things on the walls (watch the paint) Please refrain from hanging things on the walls using tape. The paint did chip off due to tape. Please use the adhesive

putty when hanging things on your classroom walls. Also, please remember that the classrooms will be used by other groups in the evening, so please keep them in mind when decorating the classroom. School Information All school information needs to be channeled through school administration. Information will be disseminated through the AEC Facebook page, AEC website, and the School Reach phone system. Updates Please be sure to send any updates for the weekly updates to me asap.

AEC Continuous Improvement Plan Focus for the month:

Goal 4. Vision: Knowing students well is essential to helping them achieve academically. Educators build strong relationships with each student and learn about their interests, needs and goals to design personalized learning and supports.

Goal 4 Guiding QuestionsHow does the school intentionally promote, sustain and leverage positive relationships among students, staff and families so that all students feel that the adults in the school know, care about and respect them? What evidence exists to show that school efforts to support the affective needs of students are working?

Heads Up!!!!I Chapel Hill Field Trip:

Both Mrs. Ratchford and I have talked to the students to motivate them to attend the UNC-Chapel Hill field trip. If there isn’t enough interest, the trip will need to be cancelled. Please encourage students to turn in their money and permission form asap.

Ask students to break into small groups and discuss how important it is to understand that many people disagree with us simply because they have a different point of view. Debrief the student comments.

Using Literature to Teach Different Perspectives In the classroom, literature can be used to help students see a situation from different perspectives. For example, everyone knows the story “The Three Little Pigs.” We sympathize with the pigs because we see the wolf as a ravenous villain, but is it possible to see the story from the wolf’s point of view? That’s exactly what Jon Scieszka undertakes in his book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. In this humorous retelling, the wolf didn’t huff and puff to blow the pigs’ houses down; instead he suffered from a terrible allergy and, when stopping by to borrow a cup of sugar, accidentally blew the houses down with a big and powerful sneeze.

Listening Actively to OthersOne of the most common obstacles to empathic relationships is that effective listening is difficult, and often individuals don’t listen to one another in conversation. We designed the HEAR strategy to help students recognize and block out that noise as they devote their attention to listening to one another. The HEAR strategy consists of these steps:

Halt: Stop whatever else you are doing, end your internal dialogue on other thoughts, and free your mind to give the speaker your attention.

Engage: Focus on the speaker. We suggest a physical component, such as turning your head slightly so that your right ear is toward the speaker as a reminder to be engaged solely in listening.

Anticipate: By looking forward to what the speaker has to say, you are acknowledging that you will likely learn something new and interesting, which will enhance your motivation to listen.

Replay: Think about what the speaker is saying. Analyze and paraphrase it in your mind or in discussion with the speaker and other classmates.

Replaying and dialoguing the information you have heard will aid in understanding what the speaker is attempting to convey.

4 Proven Strategies for Teaching Empathy By: Donna Wilson & Marcus Conyers Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy has the capacity to transform individual lives for the better while helping to bring about positive social change in schools and communities worldwide. In psychology, there are currently two common approaches to empathy: shared emotional response and perspective taking. Shared emotional response, or affective empathy, occurs when an individual shares another person’s emotions. An example from our own lives came when a group of friends joined Marcus as he crossed the finish line of a half-marathon—they threw their arms up just as he did, mimicking his stance. Individuals in an audience involuntarily mirroring a speaker’s smile is another example of this type of empathy. Perspective taking, also known as cognitive empathy, occurs when a person is able to imagine herself in the situation of another. A good example is a line spoken by Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) in the movie To Kill a Mockingbird: “If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Here are some strategies our graduates around the world use with their students to help develop both affective and cognitive empathy.

ModelingTeachers can be role models who, by example, show students the power of empathy in relationships. It is the teacher who leads individuals to care for the feelings of the others in class. As teachers model how to be positive when learning, students mirror optimistic and confident learning behaviors.

Teaching Point of ViewWe use the numbers 6 and 9 to teach students about different points of view. First, have students look at the number 6 and then the number 9. Explain to students that the idea for this exercise came from an old Middle Eastern legend in which two princes were at war for many years. One prince looked at the image on the table and said it was a 6, while the other prince said it was a 9. For years the battle raged, and then one day when the princes were seated at the table a young boy turned the tablecloth around, and for the first time, they could see the other’s point of view. The war came to an end, and the princes became firm friends. Illustrate with an example from your own life in which something similar has happened in terms of you arguing with somebody simply because they had a different point of view.

2/28- Student Essay- EAMS

3/1- Beta Club backpacking activity

3/2- Student Led Conferences

3/6- AEC presentation @ Commissioners’ Mtg.

3/8- AEC college visit to UNC-Chapel Hill

The Screeching Owl

AEC Weekly Plan

Upcoming Events:

Feb. 27- Student Performance Review Comm.Feb. 28- NC Digital Learning Rubric dueFeb. 28- Student Essay @ EAMSMar. 1- Beta Club Backpack activity (Methodist Church)Mar. 2- Student Led Conf. 4:30-6:00Mar. 2- Counselor’s Mtg. (CO Board Rm.)Mar. 2nd- Make-UP EAMS essayMar. 6th- AEC presentation-Commissioners’ mtg.Mar. 7- MTSS VisitMar. 8-10- CVCC Classes CancelledMar. 8- College Tour (Winston-Salem)Mar. 8- Visit UNC-Chapel Hill/ UNC-GreensboroMar.10-Curriculum Mtg.(WES)@8:45Mar. 14- AEC Open HouseMar. 14- ACBE Mtg. @ 6Mar. 14- AEC Open House @ 6Mar. 18- AEC Winter FormalMar. 18- AEC Winter Formal

Mar. 21- AEC Open HouseMar. 20-22: Collaborative Conf. for student achievementMar. 20- Parent Advisory Mtg. @ 4:00Mar. 20- SST Mtg. @ 1:15Mar. 21- Principal’s Mtg. @ 9Mar. 21- AEC Open House @ 6Mar. 22- Bookkeepers Mtg. @ 10Mar. 24- Rocky Face Trip @ 1:10Mar. 24- Anime Club @ 1:10Mar. 30- Student Performance Review Comm.Mar. 30-31: NCASA ConferenceMar. 30- SIT Mtg. @ 7:15Apr. 6- Counselor’s Mtg. (CO Board Rm.)Apr. 6/7- Community clean-up (afternoon)Apr. 7th- End of Year PDP due to Mr. EvansApril 10- Writing NCDAP RetakeApril 11- ACBE Mtg. @ 6April 12-Principal’s Mtg. @ 9Apr. 14- Holiday: Good FridayApr. 17- Annual Leave DayApr. 14- Holiday LeaveApr. 17-19- Annual Leave DaysApr. 17-19- Student Spring Break

Apr. 20- Student Performance Review Comm.Apr. 20-Students return from Spring BreakApr. 24- SST Mtg. @ 1:15Apr. 25- Test Training Adm.April 26- NCDAP Math Testing Apr. 27- SIT Mtg. @ 7:15Apr. 28- Rocky Face Trip @ 1:10Apr. 28- Anime Club @ 1:10May 2- Student Led Conferences 4:30-6:00May 4- Of the Year Celebration @ ACHS @ 6:00May 9- ACBE Mtg. @ 6May 9-AEC Intake MeetingMay 11- Counselor’s Mtg. (CO Board Rm.)May 11-16- AEC ExamsMay 15- Parent Advisory Comm. Mtg. @ 4:00May 16- Principal’s Mtg. @ 9May 10-16- AEC EOC/ Final ExamsMay 16- End of 2nd SemesterMay 17- Bookkeepers Mtg. @ 10May 17-18- Required Teacher WorkdaysMay 18- SIT Mtg. @ 8:00 am ( most of the day)May 19- Annual Leave DayMay 22- HolidayJune 13- ACBE Mtg. @ 6

June 20- Principal’s Mtg. @ 9July 18- AEC Summer Camp (Bo’s & LRU)July 19- AEC Summer Camp @ AECAugust 2- ASU Leadership Conf.August 7- County Commissioner’s Mtg.Sept. 14- Student Pics @ 8:30Nov. 18- Make Up Pictures