Professional Development

It's April...
Do you know where your IPDP is?

It's Spring...thinking about dusting off your Individual Professional Development Plan?

As a general rule, for there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to relicensing, teachers, on an average, require 150 PDP's every five years in order to renew their teaching license. At South Shore, we have committed to providing in-house options for at least 30 PDP's every year. Some quick math will tell you that this path would allow every teacher an adequate amount of PDP's to relicense.

iPad Training

This month, we have dozens of teachers and staff members participating in iPad training. As part of this program, participants have committed to two Saturday sessions for a total of 14 contact hours. In addition, every participant who would like additional PDP's, is welcome to propose an individual project. The project should be based on something learned in the training and should be applicable to student instruction. You may earn up to 30 PDP's (total) by accessing this option.

Anyone interested in proposing an individual project should speak with me for further details.

Summer Conference

We have many faculty members who have expressed an interest in attending the vocational summer conference. Connecting for Success will be held at the end of June, this year at Blackstone Valley Tech.

Those attending the conference this year will be fortunate to experience a very knowledgeable keynote speaker. Willard Dagget, Ed.D is the founder of the International Center for Leadership in Education. He created the Application Model and the Rigor/Relevance Framework™. His work in this area, in determining the relevance of curriculum and assessment to real-world situations, makes his focus very applicable to the work that we do every day in a vocational technical high school.

I know that everyone is not available to attend the conference and therefore will not have the opportunity to hear Dr. Dagget speak. If you have some interest in curriculum and assessment that is relevant to your students, your program and to real-world situations, I have a proposition for you! You may propose a curriculum project, based on the work of Dr. Dagget, and earn 10 PDP's. If you are attending the conference, and would like to earn an additional 10 PDP's, you are also welcome to propose a project.

Dr. Dagget's website is: www.leadered.com

Anyone interested in proposing an individual project should speak with me for further details.

If at any time you would like me to review your IPDP with you, I am happy to assist. Just let me know. Also, if your IPDP requires my updated signature, that will need to be done prior to signing out in June.

Have a great week!

Margaret

The Groundhog and other things...

Enough said...

Kudos

Kudos to all of our technical teachers for the excellent preparation given their students prior to the Skills USA competition. South Shore was well represented last Friday at Greater New Bedford, by both our students and our faculty. A round of applause to all of the teachers from all of the shops with medal winners including Allied Health, Autobody, Automotive, CIT, Cosmetology, Culinary, Electronics, Graphics, HVAC, Metal Fab, and PMT.  We know that with you guiding our students, we will be well represented at the state competition!

The state competition is scheduled for April 25, 26, and 27. All teachers, both vocational and academic, who are interested in helping to prepare our students for the state competition should contact Bob Mello to find out how you can help. Our students are a reflection of our school. The more times that South Shore appears on the podium, the stronger our reputation in the vocational community.

Kudos to all MCAS proctors. Thanks to you, we have had two days of  "uneventful" MCAS administration. Your efforts, your attention to detail, your helpfulness in "redecorating", your efficient confiscation of everything electronic, and your ability to remain positive and cheery in the face of high stakes testing are all greatly appreciated! We will be closing out the ELA testing next week and looking forward to MCAS math in May!

Reminder

Looking for something to do tonight? Please consider joining the Parent's Association for a Hawaiian themed, fun-filled evening of fun, music, dancing, games, food, and prizes. The Spring Fling is taking place at the VFW Hall in Whitman. The goal of this event is to raise funds for the scholarship program which helps students pay a portion of their college expenses as well as any trade-related costs for those students entering the workforce. Funds raised are also used for bus transportation for school related field trips, college presentations, workshops, awareness programs, seminars, and various teacher requests benefiting our students.

Summer Conference

Are you planning to attend the Connecting for Success summer conference at Blackstone Valley? Due to weather related cancellations, the dates for the conference are being moved. The conference is now scheduled for Thursday June 27th and Friday June 28th. Interested? See Deb Collins asap for registration information.

MVA

The MVA Conference and Dinner is taking place this week-end. I will be attending the dinner (Saturday night date night) and will bring back all of the up-to-the-minute vocational news. Stay tuned!

Faculty Advisory

In the same way that technical programs have an advisory committee to provide them with input and direction, I would like to launch the idea of an advisory committee for the Principal. The Faculty Advisory (the name is up for discussion) would give me input and feedback on issues that impact all of us here at South Shore. It would provide a forum for collegial discussion and brainstorming.  Some people may wish to attend every meeting, others may only wish to attend if there is a topic of overwhelming interest. 

Interested?

If yes, let me know times that would best suit your schedule and we will plan to begin. I can generally be available at 7:00 a.m. or at 2:30 p.m. if that helps.

Thanks!

Wishing you a wonderful week-end filled with sunny skies and warm temperatures...
Margaret

Welcome to March

Welcome to March...time certainly flies when you are having fun!

Congratulations

The boys basketball team competed in the State Tournament at Mashpee High School on Wednesday night. The team did a great job representing SSVT. Thanks to all faculty members who attended the game and supported our students and coaches.  Also,  congratulations to Antoine Capporotta who competed in the State Wrestling Tournament. Antoine had an outstanding year for the Vikings.

Reminder

The Drama Club will be participating in the Massachusetts High School Drama Guild Preliminary Festival on Saturday morning at Bourne High School. They will be performing Taming of the Shrew. Break a leg!

Wellness

The Wellness Committee met recently to review the SSVT Wellness Policy and to ensure that our school is supporting a comprehensive environment for developing and practicing lifelong wellness behaviors. We are currently looking for suggestions from the faculty regarding activities that you would like to see made available for members of the staff. We currently have over forty staff members participating in the Biggest Loser. Starting on April 1st, Colette will be starting a walking program. Also from the Health Office, Colette is looking into setting up a Stress Free Day!

Thank-you for accessing our Wellness initiatives. All suggestions for other activities are welcome!

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame Committee met recently to review all nominations for the 2013 Hall of Fame Induction. The Committee would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit a nomination. We received many nominations covering several decades of SSVT history.

The Hall of Fame Induction and SSVT Reunion is scheduled for Friday evening, April 26th. Tickets are available by contacting Marie Mariani. Tickets will not be available at the door. All are welcome to attend.

Have a great week-end!
Margaret

T