Mrs. Miller's Cardinal Chronicle

I loved high school back in the 80s. I had my notebooks (we called them "tablets") and my super cool pen where I could click and choose from four different colors. I had the outline of my notes color coordinated, and taking notes as the teacher lectured felt like an accomplishment for me. I liked it. I memorized facts and felt confident going into a test. In a nutshell, I played school well.

Fast forward to today, and the whole educational system is different. I can find facts in no time via Google on my phone. I don't need to go to the library, learn the Dewey Decimal System, and search for the most recent (although already outdated) information on a topic. School is different now. Learning is different now.

That's why the above quote caught my attention. We no longer need to memorize all the facts because we can so easily find them with the click of a button. Education today needs to prepare our kids for a fast paced, challenging environment where we need to teach our kids to think. This means our kids need to ask questions, have collaborative conversations, and challenge responses to gain a deeper understanding of learning.

The buzz word is "higher order thinking", which means thinking on a level that is higher than memorizing facts or telling something back to someone exactly the way it was told to you. Higher order thinking skills (HOTS) is often used to refer to the transferring of information, critical thinking, and problem solving. These are the skills we want our students to practice in order to prepare them for life beyond high school. As a leader, I am committed to working with my team to focus on just that!

Although the quote below refers to parenting, it applies to education too. I played school well back in the 80s. Instead of my super cool pen that allowed me to choose black, red, blue, or green with the simple click of a button, kids can now buy Pilot Gel Pens with like 30 colors! There are individual laptops for kids and Google Classroom. These did not exist when I was a high school student.

Therefore, I can't expect our kids to learn the same way I did or many of us parents did. They don't need to. The world is a much different place, and it's our obligation to teach them for the world we live in now and for the future yet to come.

Life is complicated. I was reminded this past week, when meeting with families during conferences, that our kids have some pretty heavy things going on in their lives. Those situations can carry over into our school day and impact attendance, attitude, and motivation. That is why it's so important to for us to lead and teach with empathy.

According to Amanda Morin in the article, Teaching With Empathy: Why It’s Important, "Empathy is a powerful tool that can help you better understand what’s driving your students’ behavior and find strategies to help. It can also help you connect and work through difficult moments together." And when we connect with our students, they are better able to learn from us. Teaching with empathy will be a focus for our team at GHVHS.

Six GHV students auditioned for the All-State Band and 4 students auditioned for the All-State Choir. A very big congratulations to Jaycelynne Piper for being accepted into the band on clarinet, and to Wyatt Haubrich (bass) and Jessa Heitland (alto) for being accepted into the choir!

Congratulations to girls' cross country runner Katelyn Knoll as well as the GHV boys team for qualifying for the state cross country meet.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Zach Flatebo for placing 13th in the state. WAY TO GO!

Come watch our amazing and talented actors and singers this weekend for our fall musical! We also get to see the artistic talents of those who helped with the set, lights, sound, etc. It take a lot of behind the scenes work to make a musical happen.

Come support our kids and staff members for their hard work!

Mon., Oct. 30

6:00-7:00 p.m. - Girls Basketball Player/Parent Mtg.

Tues., Oct. 31

11:45 a.m. - Northwest Iowa Community College Rep

Wed., Nov. 1

3:40 - 4:30 - PLT Meetings

Thurs., Nov. 2

7:30 a.m. - Interact Mtg. - Rm. 9

Fri,., Nov. 3

10:27 a.m. - Iowa State University Rep

7:00 p.m. - High School Musical Production - “The Addams Family”

Sat., Nov. 4

7:00 p.m. - High School Musical Production - “The Addams Family”

Sun., Nov. 5