February 2015 In The Spotlight

From the Desk of Dr. Cotton

Ensuring that each of our students is equipped with the necessary skills he/she needs to be successful upon graduation is our number one priority. The administrative staff is working to devise opportunities for professional learning and development that will enhance teaching and learning in HCPS. One of those opportunities will come at our first annual Teaching and Learning Conference on May 27 and 28, 2015. On these last two days before summer break, we will come together at FC Middle School to learn from HCPS professionals and collaborate with one another so that the planning we do in June and July will assure us a successful 2015-2016 school year. Mark these dates on your calendar - I'm excited to see you there!


Second Quarter Starfish Award Winners 

Campbell Court's Jackie Younger inspires students to be the be very best they can be each day by promoting self-esteem in everyone she encounters. Not only does she greet each student by name and with positive affirmation each day, her kindness and caring for each individual is evident in every moment of the time she spends with them. Ms. Younger continues to exhibit the contagious enthusiasm of a first year teacher and leaves a lasting positive impression on all students whose lives she touches. She is an exceptional model for her peers.

Leonard Price, Assistant Director of Facilities Maintenance, sets an example all employees should follow. Leonard demonstrates a level of passion and dedication to making sure our facilities are safe and comfortable for our students like no other. He is always friendly and treats everyone fairly and with respect. Leonard is on call 24 hours a day and works many of his hours on weekends without complaint. Our students and staff are fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated employee.

Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized with the Superintendent's Starfish Award? Third quarter nominations are being accepted through March 16.


Congratulations!

Axton Elementary's Daphne Bullock was one of the many HCPS staff members who directed her United Way donation to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library initiative, which will ensure that children in our community receive one book per month for a year. Ms. Bullock's name was drawn as the winner of a digital photo frame in our district-wide donation drive for DPIL. 

Learn more about how you can support this United Way partner. Want to learn more about where your United Way donation will be used? Visit UWMHC today.



Staff Engagement Survey

Have you completed the 2015 HCPS Staff Engagement Survey? This survey allows you to provide important feedback regarding the climate of your school and the district, as well as weigh in on professional learning opportunities for the future. Please take a few moments to complete the survey this week. Problems loading the survey/need technical assistance? Let us know at mhatchet@henry.k12.va.us.

Exabyte Challenge Winners

      

Drewry Mason Elementary's Lorrie Aldridge and Sanville Elementary's Annie Baker have successfully completed the Exabyte Challenge and won Apple TVs for their classrooms. Learn more about completing the challenge and winning equipment for your classroom on the Tech This Out site.

Are you taking advantage of the resources available to teachers at VMNH? Check out their monthly newsletter here.

Want to share great resources with HCPS colleagues? Send your recommendations to mhatchet@henry.k12.va.us.

Happy 2015, HCPS!

Congratulations, Exabyte Challenge Winners!

Drewry Mason Elementary librarian Velaine Bonebright and Bassett High School Earth Science teacher Amy Jarrett will start classes in 2015 with an Apple TV in their learning spaces. Bonebright and Jarrett completed Phase 1 of the Exabyte Challenge by submitting dynamic technology-rich, integrated lessons. Impressive lesson plans involving creativity, communication, collaboration, and/or critical thinking earn teachers a chance to receive an Apple TV for the classroom (the device is used with a SMARTboard and allows teachers and students to airdrop presentations from a MacBook or an iPad onto the screen).

From the Desk of Dr. Cotton

You already know this, but our students are great. Not only do they come to school every day ready to be part of the teaching and learning that occurs in our schools, but they work hard beyond the school day on our athletic fields, in our student organizations, and in our community. Today, I had the privilege to hear from four students competing in the local American Legion Oratorical Competition (and to take a selfie with them!). I could not be more proud of the work ethic and communication skills that they are demonstrating through this process. Thank you to each of you for motivating our students to be their absolute best every day and to work hard to excel inside and outside of the classroom.

A New Year, A New Mindset

The beginning of a new year often leads us to resolutions for change in some area of our lives. Are you resolving to approach things differently in 2015? Researcher and author Carol Dweck asserts that we should approach life with a growth mindset. Listen to her philosophy (and how it applies to our classrooms) in this TED Talk. 

How might you apply this to your own daily life? How can it be applied in our classrooms?

Thanks to You!

Thanks to your contributions, United Way of Martinsville-Henry County will touch the lives of community members through support and programming in 2015. With 54% of our employees giving (twice as many as last year!) and an increase in donations of $5,822.96, we are helping to equip families in our community for success. We are especially excited that 98 area children will receive one book per month during 2015 due to the donations of HCPS employees directed to the Dolly Parton Initiative.

Kudos to Collinsville Primary and Stanleytown Elementary for increasing participation to 100%!


Need Some Motivation for the New Semester? Listen to this student's perspective: Do You Believe in Me?

Are you taking advantage of the resources available to teachers at VMNH? Check out their monthly newsletter here.

Want to share great resources with HCPS colleagues? Send your recommendations to mhatchet@henry.k12.va.us.

From the Desk of Dr. Cotton

November was a busy and exciting month for us! In addition to hosting Hometown Hero and HCPS graduate General Dennis Via, I had the honor of meeting with some of our area legislators on Take Your Legislator to School Day and in participating in Campbell Court Elementary's Flat Stanley project (Senator Bill Stanley, Delegate Les Adams, and Mary Franklin, aide to Delegate Danny Marshall, were happy to join in on a Flat Stanley photo). Through each visit, our guests continued to comment on the exciting nature of our classes and on the student engagement in the classrooms they visited. As always, I was happy to share that what they were seeing is what you do so well every day. Your continued emphasis on the 4Cs is evident and is making an impact on our students and our community!

Are You Reading Creating Innovators?

Administrators in the BHS and MVHS zones recently met to discuss chapter 2 of Creating Innovators. Using the Text Rendering Protocol, members of the group shared sentences, phrases and words that they found important in the chapter entitled "Portrait of the Innovator as a Young Man," about Kirk Phelps "a high school and a college dropout." Phelps' teacher and mentor, Ed Carryer, reminds readers that "Academic content is not very useful in and of itself. It is knowing how to apply it in new situations or to new problems that matters most in the world of innovation." How are you applying content for the innovators in your classroom? Do you see the word or phrase you would choose to summarize chapter two in one of the wordles above? If you haven't read chapter 2 yet, begin with the video ("Chapter 2 page 31") and meet Kirk Phelps.

Be Part of Giving Tuesday

We've enjoyed Thanksgiving, survived Black Friday, shopped locally on Small Business Saturday, and experienced Cyber Monday...but are you ready for Giving Tuesday? Challenge yourself and your students to give on #GivingTuesday and share your story on our website via Twitter (@hcps_va, #hcpspride). Want to learn more about Giving Tuesday? Visit the UWMHC site today.

RECOMMENDED READ:

 10 Tips for Slowing Down

This week is Winter Preparedness Week! Are you ready?

Want to share great resources with HCPS colleagues? Send your recommendations to mhatchet@henry.k12.va.us.

 

The EXABYTE Challenge is off and running!!!

The EXABYTE challenge is a way for teachers to obtain technology-rich classrooms of the future.

Last week, two teachers were awarded an Apple TV for their classrooms. 

Angela Morris, a Biology teacher at Bassett High School, will use her Apple TV for students to share their research on the mechanisms of Genetics. Students will use their iPads and Socrative to provide answers to questions from their Performance Tasks. Answers can be air played to Morris’s SmartBoard via the Apple TV. Morris said, "I am very excited to use the new technology in my classroom and to see what my students can gain from utilizing technology in the classroom." 

Joanna Griffith (Rich Acres Elementary) also earned an Apple TV. She is using the Apple TV with her students and their new iPad Airs. “With an Apple TV and the iPads, my students will be able to create presentations using Keynote and Garage Band to generate reviews.  Each student or group of students will then teach their classmates as their presentation is shared on the SMART board using my Apple TV.” 

Congratulations to these two deserving teachers!

Want to learn more about how you can earn an Apple TV for your classroom? Visit The Exabyte Challenge on our Tech This Out page today!

From The Desk of Dr. Cotton

I have had the privilege of being in many of your classrooms recently and am very excited about the learning taking place in Henry County Public Schools. Your implementation of our new curriculum is impacting our learners in so many important ways. Take a moment today to talk with your students about the great things happening in their classes and join me in thanking your colleagues for their innovation.


UWMHC 2015

Did you know that $0.99 of each dollar you donate to United Way stays in Henry County? $0.90 of each dollar goes to programs and services (like Boys and Girls Club, Smart Beginnings, and Grace Network) that directly benefit your community. Our goal this year is 100% participation - be part of the campaign for our community and donate today...no donation is too small!
                                                       
Are You Following Us?

If you're not already connected to our school community on-line, you should be! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest to keep up with HCPS news, events & alerts. You can connect to our Parent Resources on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and read the Family Five blog as well...and don't forget to connect with Dr. Cotton via his blog and on Twitter.

Public Presence

When we want to know more about an entity, we tend to head to its website. What does your website say about you? Can students and parents use it to discover more about what's happening in class? Think about ways to use your website as you consider flipping your classroom or ways to use your website for students who are absent.

RECOMMENDED SITE:

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

Want to share great resources with HCPS colleagues? Send your recommendations to mhatchet@henry.k12.va.us.

In the Spotlight is changing format!

October is Connected Educator Month. In the spirit of being #connected, In the Spotlight is changing format. Be sure to check back on a regular basis - it's not just a monthly newsletter any more!
 

Have you contributed to the United Way campaign yet? Our goal is 100% participation - no donation is too small!! Don't forget that you are eligible for a chance to win a digital photo frame if you direct your $27 donation to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library! See your United Way campaign coordinator to donate today and make a difference in our community.

Reflecting on Practice
Teachers often reflect on their practice and learn a great deal from the reflections of others. Thanks to Beth Jones for sharing this powerful reflection from Grant Wiggins!
 
Save a Little, Earn a Lot
What would you sacrifice today for a better retirement tomorrow? That second cup of coffee? The car-chase app on your smartphone? The super-large popcorn at the movies? Small sacrifices now can add up quickly when it comes to retirement savings.

If you’re a member of the Hybrid Retirement Plan (employees hired on or after January 1, 2014) and are thinking about starting or increasing voluntary contributions to your defined contribution component, check out the power of investing over time:

• Pass up that $4 coffee every day, save and invest at 5 percent and over 30 years, and you could end up with an extra $187,000 in retirement.
• Pack your lunch one day each week instead of going out.  Saving $7 each week, invested at 5 percent, could add up to more than $212,000 in 30 years.

It’s not even that big of a sacrifice, is it?  To start making all that money, visit www.varetire.org/hybrid and enter your User ID under Defined Contribution Log-in.

Whether you're a Hybrid plan employee or a VRS Plan 1 or Plan 2 employee, make sure you have a plan for investing in your retirement.  October 19-25, 2014, is National Save for Retirement Week, a national effort to raise public awareness about the importance of saving for retirement.  Held every year during the third week of October, National Save for Retirement Week provides an opportunity for employees to reflect on their personal retirement goals and determine if they are on target to reach those goals. Visit www.nagdca.org/dnn/NewsEvents/NS4RW.aspx for more information.

 

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month 
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Do you know the recommended breast cancer screening guidelines?

The earlier breast cancer is found, the better the chances are for successful treatment. A mammogram can often identify breast changes that may be cancerous before physical symptoms develop; however, some cancers that are not apparent on a mammogram may still be felt by a woman or her health care provider. For this reason, the American Cancer Society recommends the following guidelines for finding breast cancer early:

• Women age 40 and older should have a mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health.
• Women in their 20s and 30s should have a breast exam by a health professional every three years. Beginning at age 40, women should have a breast exam every year.
• Women should know how their breasts normally feel and report any breast changes promptly to their health care provider. Breast self-examination (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20s.

For a free email reminder, go to www.cancer.org/MammogramReminder or call 1-
800-227-2345 to learn more.

Thanks to Trissie Blankenship for this edition's 

RECOMMENDED SITES:

The Connected Classroom

Google Drive + Edmodo

Want to share great resources with HCPS colleagues? Send your recommendations to mhatchet@henry.k12.va.us.