I'm sure Simone Biles wasn't thinking about teachers taking risks and chances on kids with her quote, but it really connected with me this week. Each day we have a choice to take risks to make a life-changing impact on students or we can choose to just go through the motions. It's not easy and I know I'm not perfect in this work, but I want to always choose to go out of my way to let people know that we believe in them.

In life we have to keep showing up and taking chances for OUR kids - and remember, ALL of the students at SHS are OUR kids. You might not see the results of your hard work and that is sometimes the most difficult part. In the moment/day/week/year, you don't know if your effort is making a difference. But as Simone says, "I'd rather regret the risks that didn't work out than the chances I didn't take at all." So this week, really try to take a chance on a kid and don't give up on them!

Thank you for all that you do for our students, staff, community, and each other!

Ignite-Connect-Empower

As many of you know, Ashley will go shopping at Teacher's Treasurers and reaches out to the staff to see if she can pickup anything that is needed around the building. Not only does she take the requests, she also delivers them to the classroom for each teacher. Recently, Mrs. Quinlin picked up a tank for Mr. Stanich's mini-movers program and we had a little fun with it in the main office. She always goes out of her way to help others.

Along with her support of students and staff in the building, Mrs. Quinlin also continues reaching out to students who have been moved for one reason or another to the CEC. I received this message from Mr. Martzall this week and I wanted to share:

"What can a teacher possibly do during their prep?"

Last week, like she always does with students whom she has had in class and that have found their way over to our program, Ashley was checking in to see how some of them were doing. She also let me know how a couple of students who returned to SHS were doing as well.

She reached out via email about the possibility of coming to visit with one particular student whom she had formed a relationship with. It just so happened that this student walked into my office at almost the same time I read the email. We called Mrs. Quinlin and they set up a time to meet for lunch during her prep period.

The student and his family have been through a great deal of hardships and he is really struggling. I picked up lunch for the two of them and they spent about an hour catching up and going over his grades and setting some realistic goals. While, I did not eavesdrop on their conversations, I could see how happy and excited he seemed to be talking with her. He is extremely bright and is a very smart kid, just has lots of baggage. I talked to him before he left today and he mentioned that not only does he not want to let his mom down, but he doesn't want to let Mrs. Q down either.

There is so much more that goes into the story, like his lunch order and how he didn't know what to order from Subway because they don't go out to eat, how he was late to school and missed the bus, but wanted to be here and not miss her coming. At the end of the day, she believed in him and donated her time to make him feel special. I have no doubt in my mind he will make it, and she will be a big part of that!

She made a difference...during her prep.

I'm sharing this as a reminder that you have the power to make a difference in a child's life every day - just like Mrs. Quinlin did.

Congratulations to the SHS Students of the Month!

Art - Isabel Cafiero

Business - Esther Li

C9 - Maiyah Coleman

C9 - Lalchawi "Isaac" Thara

Counseling - Mayte Abarca Rodriguez

English - Ava Miller

FACS - Lilly Cowins

Main Office - Mark Griffin

Math - Naw Poung

PE - Gabe Harmon

Science - Marco Escoto-Dominguez

Student Services - Zach Messman

• Sam Hanley for presenting to students about how to synthesize evidence at the AP-TIP SOS January session.
• Our school counslors for spending this past Wednesday at SMS to share scheduling information with our current 8th graders and for being available to meet with parents after the 8th grade parent night meeting.
• Our class sponsors, Joe Leonard, Stacy Matlock, and Sam Hanley for planning the upcoming Winter Snowcoming week.

"Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition."

- Abraham Lincoln

It was great to welcome the Class of 2028 and their parents to SHS this past Wednesday night. Families were able to seamlessly walk through our weapons detection device while they were greeted by Officer Patterson, SHS administration, the school counselors, and the Cardinal. When parents entered the auditorium, they were entertained by an SHS string quartet that was organized by Mr. Wright and a picture slideshow of all that SHS has to offer students, courtesy of Mrs. Berghoff. Mrs. Fierce then shared the graduation requirements and scheduling information so families can begin preparing for the next 4 years! The counselors and English department chairs were then available to help answer any questions parents had.

Mr. Winebarger's AP World History class watched a video about how to get a perfect score on the DBQ portion of the AP exam. Students then reviewed the scoring rubric and individually scored another student's practice DBQ response. The students were playing the role of the AP scorer and were having to think about whether the response met the rubric's criteria.

Ms. Mariutto's Fiber Arts class was wrapping up their circular weaving project and in the planning phase of the next project where students select a picture they will use to recreate working with wool and felt. The students were determing where to prioritize their time as Ms. Mariutto walked around helping students set timelines, giving feedback and assisting with their projects when needed.

Representatives from the Army worked with our PE classes this past Thursday. Students were able to go through varies activities and fitness challenges they might see in the military.

Representatives from the Air Force worked with our football and baseball players during iPass this week. They provided leadership and team-building opportunities along with a fitness challenge. At the conclusion of the session, students were provided with food and the Air Force donated to our athletic program.

The AI in Education slideshow is linked here. Included is information about using AI for planning, building rubrics, differentiating reading levels, supporting EL students and students with exceptional needs, using prompts correctly to yield the results you are looking for in AI, and much more.

Feel free to reach out to me if you want a quick run-down of the presentation or specific tools, or reach out to Jason Williams, Shelly Smith, Steve Drwecki, or Elaine Miller for their expertise. We thank them for their support.

Would you rather....:

Communicate telepathically - 20%

Know every single language on the planet - 80%

Website: https://www.perryschools.org/sh/
Location: 971 East Banta Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-789-4800
Twitter: @SHS_Cardinals