Interesting an Unique names of my 2012-2013 students.

Every year I always have a few interesting names in my classes, but for some reason this year my classes seem to be teeming with interesting and unique names. I also always get a kick out of the spelling that common names get.
Here is a list of a few of them.
Jakota
J'ade
Yusimi
Champaigne
Frankly
Cristion = christian
Masoud
Jamilet = jam ie le
Jasmyn
Banesa
Quintavion = quinn Tav ee on
Yaritza  = yar itz a
Dorcas
Ceidi = sadie
Daylily
Noricke = nor ick ee
Japhet
Estpany = esta pany
Manukhone = I have no idea, he goes by tommy.
Rocio = row sea  o
Jobel = joe bell
Yaraimis
Amaree
Fantija = fantasia
Yaredy = ya ready?
Kenia = kenya
Xiomara = zio mara
Tegist = tee gist
JeCori
Jamila = ja milla
ZJustyna = zest tina

So what do you think? How does your name do in comparison?
With the name I was given I understand how it feels to correct every teacher during the first month of school. I have had a teacher give up on trying to pronounce my name correctly and just revert back to calling me Miss (my last name). So with my own experiences of having an interesting name and spelling I try my best to pronounce everyones name correctly, but as you can see - it's getting harder an harder every year.

I just decided to add the pronounciation guide for those of you who were like me and needed it!

The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries- NYTimes.com

Found this article about teacher salaries and the high cost of chasing away great teachers. I completely agree!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers.html?_r=1#

Summer School!

Very EXCITED right now!

I normally screen phone calls from numbers I dont know, but today I took 2.

Both offered me summer school positions. One at Silverado for the day and the other at Coronado for the night. I took both! Yeah! Plus sides to this decision: 1. Money, to make up for what our district is cutting from our paychecks this up coming year. Tucking it all away!

2. Saving money on AC. I dont have to run the AC at my home while I am at work during the day.

WINNING!

3. Gives me something to do this summer, instead of getting another summer job, or being a vagabond through Utah like I did last summer

Letter to the Editor of the Review Journal- Las Vegas

As all of the turmoil has been occuring at my school this past week and a half I have tried to keep my parents informed on what the current situation at Chaparral is. After reading my blog the other night, my father wrote me the following few paragraphs. I wanted to share them with all of you because it also reflects how I feel about the situation. At the end of the letter he also allowed me to send it in to the RJ as a letter to the editor. I did, now lets see if it gets printed. :)

Letter from Dad to Merika
"I've been around a long time, and have kind of figured out how the federal government functions. Unfortunately the state governments too often do the same things, all of which reflect their shallow thinking.
- Introducing turmoil does only harm to the students, especially the fragile students from broken families that are predominate at Chaparral. Too many students now days don't feel a relationship or sense of belonging to their school, as evidenced by the high dropout rate. What little relationship they feel is because of the teachers, athletic teams, clubs and music programs. Changing out half of the teachers will only discourage another 10 percent of the students - those who were hanging on by the skin of their teeth as it was.
- The federal and state governments are willing to bring turmoil to the school because they are not personally invested. To bureaucrats it's just a "program," but to the teachers the students are real people.
- Too many of the federal and state bureaucrats have become Leftists, believing that socialism and the welfare state are the solution to all of our problems. And to socialists/welfare statists, turmoil is always good, because in turmoil, other changes can be made, all of which further the erosion of American values and the integration of socialist values.
- Schools succeed or fail to the exact extent that our homes succeed or fail. Students come from homes, not from the school. Successful homes produce successful students (for the most part) and broken homes (homes in turmoil) produce broken students (for the most part). Introducing yet more turmoil into the schools will yield ONLY negative results. If the state and district had any sense they would come up with programs to help students at home in their families.
-Instead of being upset by the rallys, marches and demonstrations by the students in support of their school, teachers and Principal; we should be proud that they are exercising their First Amendment Right. All of their demonstrations were done in a respectful manner and all were planned and carried out during after school hours.
- Someone there needs to re-watch the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus," which drives home the point that students need and want the personal and emotional tie to the school, and that emotional link is found not in the core subjects such as Math, English, and History, but in the subjects and activities on the periphery such as band, orchestra, chorus, athletics, and clubs."

More Explanation of Turnaround

I cannot take credit for writing a portion of this blog, a friend at my school wrote it and I felt that I would be unable to write it anybetter than she did, so I am as the education community calls it; "borrowing" her words for my blog.

Many of you know that we have some major problems with the education system in this nation. We could all agree that the economy really stinks too. I have watched the news many times and see how changes are being made in other states seemingly far from Nevada that seem "crazy" to me. We have watched chaos unfold in some situations where people respond to these changes in so many different ways. It's always seemed so far away.

That changed this week. On Tuesday, we were summoned to a mandatory staff meeting after a full day of proficiency testing. We (Chaparral staff) filtered into our meeting room and were told that Chap is becoming a "Turnaround School." You can search the web and find many descriptions of it and its reasons, but to summarize, Chaparral can apply for $800,000 for our school if we do the following:

1) remove and replace our principal
2) remove the entire staff (teachers, administrators, support staff etc) and require that we reapply for our positions at Chap or transfer to another school.
(The new principal chooses those of us he wants to remain at Chap - up to 50%.)
3) turn in the application for the federally supplied funds and HOPE we get them.

That's right, this amazing upheaval may be for nothing. We can't be sure until after we comply with the requirements and go through the process.

Some of my coworkers are taking this much better than others. Everyone had a dozen or more questions and feared for our jobs in this trying economy. According to our union, we all should be able to get a position somewhere in the district. While in our logic, it appears that we will just swap places with another school who takes this process, the District sees it as the way to possibly secure the money needed to function. Our students have not taken to it very well either. They marched yesterday to the District building to meet with the School Board.

I love that our students love and appreciate what we the teachers have done. In the three years that I've been a teacher at Chap, I have seen milestones of growth. However, our scores are still low, higher in many ways, but still low. There are speculations and rumors about why our school was chosen. But the bottom line is that even in this frustrating time, our principal still reminds the staff to follow the contract agreements and for the students to choose proper outlets for expressing themselves as well.

I just want to say that even though this particular situation is not ideal, I do feel that it gave several of my students an oportunity to experience their 1st amendment in action and to see that the community is behind them in many ways. I also believe that stanting up for a worthy cause and having their voices heard, by not only eachother, their teachers or the people at the school, but also by the community, the news stations, and their school board.

Even though the school board was unwilling or unable to reverse their decision to make Chaparral a "Turnaround school" we the people of Chaparral Empowerment High School hope that we have affected change in the hearts of our students, the way the community views us, and maybe have affected the hearts of the Clark County School Board Trustee's and hopefully they will see that there are schools out in their communities that are more than just numbers and stats on a peice of paper; but that they have heart, ties, and loyalities to their school.

I saw a sign that I think tells it best but I didnt get a picture, but heres what it said:

Chap = Family
Turnaround = Divorce
Divorce = Discord

Turnaround Model - Chaparral kids made me so proud

Heres what has been happening in my life right now.



These are a few of my facebook status updates and comments for the past few days.

"Sorry I would have answered earlier, but I was comiserating at the bar with my co-workers; no worries though I was just imbibing in diet coke. They are cleaning house at my school, everyone has to re-apply, but the new principal can only hire back up to only 50%, so the rest of us are being distributed throughout the district, but we have to apply for those as well. My seniority number is so high that I may not be able to find a job."

"I dont think the school board expected this kind of response from chaparral."

"I think the kids showed that they do care and that this deicision has some very negative consequences. We didnt get the decision reversed, but that would have been more then we expected. We just hope that the board will think twice before doing this to another school like Chap. Esp when I have recieved txt and email from people at other schools who wish this was happening to their hostile school."

"I am so proud to be a Chaparral teacher this week. I have never seen such a massive amount of love and support from a student population directed to their principal and teachers. We have had signs, letters, notes of thanks to the teachers, rallys after school, student organized marches to the school district office to show how much they support their staff.
I have had countless students stop me in the hall way to just give me a hug and tell me that they hope I am still at Chap next year. I really hope that the students are able to keep at least a few key teachers who have made a personal connection with the student body so that they can have a little stabilitiy next year.
This exact thing is happening at other schools in the valley and their kids are NOT reacting the same way, Chap=Family. Its not just another school. We have been one of the main stories in the new(print and TV) for 3 days now. I call that awesome!"

Article online, found at one of the news websites.
Several local schools are bracing for major changes involving teachers and staff. Five Clark County schools will soon go through restructuring which could require teachers to reapply for their jobs.
So far, News 3 has identified Chaparral High, Mojave High, Hancock Elementary and Western High as schools being affected. The identity of the fifth school remains unknown.
At Chaparral Wednesday afternoon, more than 100 students rallied in protest when school let out.
Only about half the teachers and administrators who reapply for their jobs will be allowed to return.
“I work at a school that I’m very proud of,” said Chaparral teacher David Winkler. “Love Chaparral, love my colleagues; they’re hardworking people and that’s why I’m here.”
Chaparral, however, is among five low-achieving schools in the district which require serious change. At stake is the district’s share of $9 million in federal funds.
“We don’t want the teachers to get punished for the students’ actions, so we want to prove to Las Vegas that the students can bring our grades up and try harder,” one Chaparral student told News 3.
The restructuring is something the state is calling a turnaround model. It will also involve training and changes in how teachers teach.
The State Department of Education identified the underperforming schools by way of test scores and graduation rates. The district is trying to put a positive spin on the situation, saying it is aware improvements need to be made and that those federal funds are badly needed.
“We want to make sure that our children have the best opportunity to learn and to achieve. If we’ve been doing something for five years and we still have low scores at that school, we should be doing something different,” said Carolyn Edwards, CCSD board president.
Still, it’s a tough sell for those students who are doing well and may be losing a favorite teacher.
The district says no one will be fired in the process, but by next year many will end up at a different school.
The changes are expected to go into effect next school year. This has nothing to do with the impending budget cuts. If the governor’s budget is approved, the budget will have to cut about $400 million, which would result in layoffs.











“It took years to turn this school into a community and will only take a few weeks to destroy their spirit. Many of these children lead fragile lives and the district is about to take away the only positive adult influences some of these kids have. All this to receive additional grant money that will probably never be spent on the students that are paying for it.” ..laura cress (parent of a chaparral student).

Students Take 'Turnaround' Protest To School Board - Las Vegas News Story - KVVU Las Vegas
http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/27152608/d...
LAS VEGAS -- Students from Chaparral High School planned a second day of protests Thursday over the Clark County School Districts plan to put five under-performing schools in turnaround. Thursday, March 10, 2011.

Powder Puff

I had so much fun at the Powder Puff game and assembly today. For those of you who dont know what that is, its the one game a year where the guys are the cheerleaders and the girls are the football players. Its fun, crazy and a good time by all. I am exhausted though. We have been working for days on all the shirts and tutu's for our Junior class boys. It all came together in the end and that is all I could have asked for. The Junior kids who participated were awesome.

Carrying all the tutu's

All the Dancers & Players

Miss Yoder (Senior Class Advisor) & Miss Stout (Junior Class Advisor)

Junior Boys Dancing at Halftime

Two of the senior boys

Tired but finished with the assembly

J & Z modeling the Junior Class Shirt

The Junior portion of the stands

Mom!

Sorry People! I have been so busy that I have been just going crazy, but something funny happened at work today so I thought I just had to share. It was 8th period and the kids were creating travel brochures for different countires in South America and a kid that I could tell was getting frustrated with something he was working on was motioning for me to come over, but I was already helping another student and I made a motion to the first student that I would be there in just a moment. After a minute more the first student must have gotten to his limit of waiting because he turned to me and said very loudly " Mom! I need help with this!" He quickly realized what he had said and began turning red.

So funny!

I wish I could say that this was the first time I had been called "mom" by my students.

Night out

I had to chaperone the Homecoming dance and here is what I wore. What do you think?

Homecoming Week

I am part of student counsel at Chap, I am in charge of the junior class - 2012. We have been preparing for weeks for the combine homecoming/cleat game. Every year our school plays against Eldorado HS for the cleat. Its a trophie we fight over every year. Its intense and tons of fun to attend. With it being the homecoming game we had lots to do to prepare for it. We had to build a float for the halftime show, we had to prepare for the annual tailgate for before the game and we had shirts to decorate for several spirit days - including the day of the game.

Here are the few of the shirts being decorated the week before the game at the house where we built the float.

Here we are just about half way done. The theme was Alice and wonderland and we are showing the battle between the Devious Sun Devils and the Couragous Cowboys for the cleat.

These are some of the finished float and all of our characters. We had the Mad Hatter, Tweedledee & Tweedledum, the white rabbit, the sun devil, the cowboy, & four card people.

Having fun at the tailgate- there was a dunk tank, balloon animals, Spray on tattoos, and of course my booth which was selling spirit bracelets, our class shirts and ice cold gatorades.

Two of my most imaginative students ever - the Cooper boys.

At the game we had the band, the flag team the cheerleaders, alumni, and current students and of course the staff all cheering for our cowboys.



My kids right after tailgate ended and before the game started, Good times.

I had so much fun this week planning and carrying out all the plans for homecoming/cleat, tailgate and everything else. It was fun, but wow I am so tired I cant wait to sleep!

BTW we lost the game by 1 pt in ot. The cowboys played hard, but the sun devils just played slightly better.

"Read" Poster

The staff at Chaparral HS thought it would be fun to make our own "Read" posters for our library. We all brought in our favorite book and then had to come up with a "Read" slogan. It was really fun. My book was Johnny Tremain by Ester Forbes. I read it for the first time when I was in about 5th grade and I have read it several times since. I always love it. It reminds me why I love history.

Here is a brief summary of this fantastic book:

Orphan Johnny Tremain is apprenticed to silversmith Empfraim Lapham when he breaks the Sabbath laws by working on Sunday and suffers an injury to his hand that end his career. He goes to the home of rich merchant Jonathon Lyte with a silver cup given to him by his dead mother to prove that Lyte is his uncle. The merchant accuses him of having stolen it and Johnny is falsely accused of being a fraud and thief. After being exonerated he is befriended by Rab, a young man who introduces him to the Sons of Liberty, a group of colonists who meet secretly to plot strategy against what they consider tyrannical English rule. Young Johnny becomes involved with patriots like Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and James Otis and participates in the Boston Tea Party and the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Random impressions of school so far

As always I was a nervous wreck the night before all the kids came back from summer vacation. I tried to get my home teacher to give me a blessing but in the fashion of my lame ward I could get no one on the phone to help me out, so I self- medicated by giving myself some Tylenol PM and laying down. It did its job and the next morning I woke up refreshed. I just knew that if I didn't get some help I was going to toss and turn all night.

Aug 30Th 2010 was my third first day of being a teacher. It in its self went smoothly, but I just kept waiting for the class I knew that I was going to dislike. To my shock and awe; it never came!! Whoot! Whoot! This might be a fantastic year despite all of my fears. Some may say that you cant judge them on the first day, but when I consider last year and the utter insanity that occurred on their first day I think that I am safe in saying that this year will be better than last year. For those of you who don't know the story I will reiterate it for you. There is a lady at my school who teaches the freshman class and at the end of my first year of teaching she told me that the kids that I was getting the next year had been the worst kids she had EVER taught! She has been teaching for over 30 years! This did not bode well for my upcoming second year of teaching. She also told me that if I could make it though that year that I was golden and that they would probably be the worst class I had ever had. ( After the fact, I have to say that I agree!) I don't want you all to think that every kid was bad because they were not all horrible. I just had the unfortunate luck of ending every day with my two worst classes.

Back to this year. It has been two weeks and so far there is one class that will be a challenge, but I think it has more to do with how many are in the class rather than on their abilities. Its also after lunch with is always a hyper class. (I believe that I had Mr. Shepardsons class right after lunch my 11Th grade year and I also remember being really talkative in his class. How did I not ever get into trouble!?!?)
I have one class that is super quiet, as in there was one day that there was maybe one table taking during the entire class period! Another class is so full of life and fun! Its going to be an experience to remember!

Another thing that has been fun this year is realizing that several of my students are the younger siblings of students I had my first year at Chap. Most of these older siblings have also stopped by during their siblings class to tell them (and me) that it would only be a fun year and they would only get to have fun Miss Stout if they stayed on task and did the work without back talking. They all came with recommendations of how the younger sibling was going to learn lots and do fun projects and generally have a good time. It was really nice to hear these words of praise coming from my students from my first year of teaching. It was some nice validation, even if it is from a kid.

We were making our classroom social contracts at the beginning of the week and there was a kid in one of my classes that suggested that we be benevolent to one another. I was so shocked that this kid even knew that word, so I asked him "what the opposite of benevolent was?" and without skipping a beat he replied "malevolent"! Right then I knew I was going to like this class.

Student aides (SA's): I love having at least one student aide per day so that they can run all of my errands and such, but some how I ended up with one during 7Th period and two official SA's during 2Nd period, and one about once a week during 5Th period when she comes into help me during her lunch! All of them are former students of mine so that is nice. The funny situation with SA's this year started before school started when a former student and SA came to visit, (we will call him Zachary Qunito because that is the famous guy he looks like to me.) and help me set up my classroom. During the time he was helping me he asked if he could me my SA again. He had been a great SA last year and had been a great student the year before when he took my honors World History class; but the rules say that you can only be a SA once, so I had to tell him no. The look on his face was so sad! Some how I should have known that he would come up with a way to be in my class this year. We went and talked to his counselor and signed up for my geography class! Geography is kind of for the more remedial student. So when he showed up for class the first day I just laughed so hard that I almost peed!

There is a new guy who works across the hall from me and I think that I am beginning to like him. The first day we met he asked me for my number, but he hasn't used it yet, so I am trying to not get my hopes up. Its hard though when he is funny, tall, blond, from Chi-town, a math teacher ( you all know how dumb I am in the math department! I need a guy who can do all the difficult math crap in my life.) and the big disappointment is that he is not Mormon. I told my principle Kevin that he needed to hire me a good looking, tall Mormon guy so that I could get married. He did all hire all of those things; they just don't all reside in the same guy. Sad Day!
Well I will be sure to not wait so long to write again.

3rd Year of Teaching Starts Tomorrow!

Well, tomorrow begins the 2010-2011 school year. Its my third year! I cant believe that I am already to the 3rd year. Time sure has flown by. I feel like I just started teaching. Crazy!

My desk area- I painted the pillar. It used to be white.

I haven't felt nervous till just now when I began writing this!

I painted one of my classroom walls this past week with my friend Liz K. I will be sure to post pictures later. Lots of orange and black!

( This is not what I painted, it's just a star from the front of the school.)

This one is mine!


The week of course had to start out badly. We finally got our A/C in the house working, and the temps outside drop by about 20 degrees, gosh! Then the same day the A/C is fixed the garage door breaks. My car was fortunately out of the garage. Shanna's car was still parked in the garage so at 8pm her parents drove down from North Las Vegas to save her car. The door was so heavy that it took all four of us to get it up off the ground! Hopefully they can get that fixed tomorrow.

Well if I am going to get up and meet all those hoodlums I better get some sleep. Night!