** ALSO AVAILABLE ON INFINITE CAMPUS **

STAFF NEWS AND NOTES

NUTS & BOLTS

24 EDITION 24, ISSUE 20

January 27, 2012

KUDOS - In the overlooked kudos department, to Seth Harris who also recently assisted with the High School Career Exploration Internship Program (CEIP). Seths name was omitted from last weeks kudos inadvertently. We certainly appreciate Seths willingness to assist a high school student who was exploring a possible career in education. Thanks, Seth, for your willingness to help out! - To Omar Williams and Mr. V. for their efforts with last Friday evenings annual Jazzaret program. As written in letter of thanks from Deb Keough, District Music Supervisor: To Omar: Congratulations on an outstanding performance by the Shaker Junior High Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Labthe audience was very impressed with the performances of both ensembles and enjoyed your collaboration with the High School ensemble as well. To Mr. V.: Thank you for your work in coordinating student servers for theJazzaret on Friday, January 20. The evening was a great success in part due to your efforts with our students. We certainly second the congratulations and thanks! - To our colleagues who were appointed to tenure positions at this past Monday evenings Board of Education meeting. Our congratulations go to Trina Schanz, Sam Rossi and Omar Williams. Although the tenure assignments do not take affect until September 1 of this year, we are pleased that all three of them now have a more long term relationship with Shaker Junior High School and our District. Congratulations, Sam, Omar and Trina on this very special recognition! The tenure appointments are well earned and will benefit our students and our school for years to come! - To our colleagues who have worked hard over the past weeks and months to ensure that the instructional program at Shaker Junior High School remains as high quality as it always is. We want to thank Tori Jones for her first semester of work filling in for Kelly Denniss maternity leave; April Peluso for filling in for Trina Schanzs maternity leave in Houston 7; to John Pelletier who has filled in for April Peluso in the REACH program; and to Laura Gunnip-Paine who has served as a permanent sub for the past four weeks. We are very fortunate to have such high quality people ready, willing and able to step in and keep our programs functioning smoothly. Thanks for all of your efforts!

Fri. Apr. 27

French Field Trip to Clark Art Institute

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Mon. Jan. 30 1st Day of the Second Semester Tues. Jan. 31 2:30 pm Guidance Department Meeting Wed. Feb. 1 2:30 pm PST Ski Club - Week #5 Thurs. Feb. 2 Ground Hogs Day 7:00 pm PTA/PAC Fri. Feb. 3 7:30 am Coffee with the Principal/PTA President 7:00 pm The SHOW CHARACTER TRAIT ASSIGNMENT Feb. 6 10 Science Feb. 13 17 Math Feb. 27 Mar. 2 Art/Tech/H&C Mar. 5 9 Foreign Language Mar. 12 16 PE/Health/Music Mar. 19 23 English Mar. 26 30 Social Studies Apr. 2 5 Science Apr. 16 20 Math Apr. 23 27 Art/Tech/H&C Apr. 30 May 4 Foreign Language May 7 11 PE/Health/Music May 14 18 English May 21 25 Social Studies Patient Tolerant Honest Thankful Polite Considerate Generous Cheerful Loyal Sympathetic Patriotic Trustworthy Fair Cooperative

ATTENDANCE INFORMATION While Sue is out Janet Grant will be filling in for her Monday Thursday each week and will NOT have access to email...so if you dont mind contacting the attendance office via phone/voice mail or even notes in Sues mailbox it would be greatly appreciated!! MID-MORNING BREAK FOR STUDENTS Friday, January 27 7:45 8:00 am Clay 7 8:05 8:20 am Clay 8 8:30 8:45 am Calhoun 8 8:50 9:05 am Norris 7 9:15 9:30 am Norris 8 9:30 9:45 am Houston 8 10:00 10:15 am Calhoun 7 10:20 10:35 am Houston 7 QUIZ BOWL NEARS Our annual, Quiz Bowl has been set for Friday, February 17. Moderators are needed. If you would be interested in serving as a moderator, please let R. Moore know. A proposed schedule is: Per. 1 Calhoun 7 vs. Clay 7 Per. 2 Houston 7 vs. Norris 7 Per. 3 Houston 8 vs. Calhoun 8 Per. 4 Grade 7 consolation Per. 5 ------------Per. 6 Clay 8 vs. Norris 8 Per. 7 Grade 8 consolation Per. 8 Grade 7 Championship Per. 9 Grade 8 Championship Moderator Tim Galvin__________ Lisa Coluccio________ Phil Coughlin________ Steve Brown_________ Ken Rizzo___________ R. Moore____________ Omar Williams_______ Omar Williams_______

PM BUS SUPERVISION ZONE #1 ZONE #2 ZONE #3 ZONE #4 CAF A. Shortle A. Favro C. Froehlich J. Gara C. Germinerio People are reminded to be on duty on a daily basis to make sure that supervision is provided. ALL STAFF MEMBERS ARE REMINDED THAT THE BUS SUPERVISION IS AN ASSIGNED DUTY AND IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR ALL STAFF MEMBERS TO BE WHERE ASSIGNED DUTY; IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ARRANGE FOR REPLACEMENT PERHAPS BY SWAPPING WITH A COLLEAGUE. LONG-TERM CALENDAR OF EVENTS Fri. Jan. 27 End of the 1st Semester Mid-morning Breaks Wed. Feb. 1 Ski Club Week #5 Thurs. Feb. 2 New York Voices 7:00 pm PTA/Pac Fri. Feb. 3 7:30 am Coffee with the Principal 7:00 pm The Show Wed. Feb. 8 Ski Club Week #6 Thurs. Feb. 9 7:00 pm Personal Technology Awareness Night Fri. Feb. 10 Newsletter Posted Fri. Feb. 17 Quiz Bowl Feb. 18 - 19 Set Building Weekend Feb. 20 24 No School Fri. Mar. 2 7:00 pm Annual Faculty Basketball Game vs. Lisha Kill Middle School Thurs. Mar. 22 7:30 pm Beauty and the Beast Fri. Mar. 23 Teacher Workshop Day 7:30 pm Beauty and the Beast Sat. Mar. 24 7:30 pm Beauty and the Beast Sun. Mar. 25 2:00 pm Beauty and the Beast Fri. Apr. 6Good Friday No School Mon. Apr. 9 Spring Vacation Fri. Apr. 13 Apr. 17, 18, 19 ELA 7/8 Assessments Apr. 23, 24, 25 Math 7/8 Assessments

New questions are always helpful! If you have any, please write them clearly on a 3 x 5 card, question on one side, and answer on the other side. Label questions as to grade 7 or grade 8. Questions requiring only short, single responses are best!

NEW YORK VOICES The North Colonie Friends of Music is pleased to present a special concert: The Grammy Award winning New York Voices will perform in the Shaker High School auditorium on Thursday, February 2nd, 7:00 p.m. The ensemble features soprano and North Colonie alumna Kim Nazarian. Kim grew up in Loudonville and fell in love with singing while a student in Ned Fleischer's Shaker High School chorus. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ithaca College and co-founded the New York Voices in 1987. The vocal jazz quartet will be backed up by a jazz trio and perform music from a variety of genres. They will feature North Colonie student singers on two selections. The concert is a fundraiser for the North Colonie Friends of Music's piano project. Tickets are $25 for reserved seating, first come-first serve. Order forms are available in the main office.

For more information, see the district's website: www.northcolonie.org For more information on Kim and the New York Voices, go to: www.newyorkvoices.com **We are very fortunate to have the New York Voices visit Shaker Junior High during the day on Thursday, February 2. They will be in our school for a 10:00 AM concert to all chorus members; that is all students that are in 7th and 8th grade chorus. The concert will take about 45 minutes 1 hour. Please mark your calendars Thursday, February 2, 10:00 AM New York Voices on site. SJHS 2nd QTR. REPORT CARD GRADING SCHEDULE The 2nd quarter report card grading schedule is listed below: Friday, January 27 Last day of marking period Wednesday, February 1 Grading Window closed at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 1 Report cards printed & mailed ADVISORY PROGRAM BREAK The Advisory Program will implement the annual mid-winter break. The advisory groups will not meet from Jan. 30th Feb 17th. All groups should resume their regular schedule (a minimum of two meetings a week) the week of Feb. 27th. Please inform your students of the break period and ask that they that be prepared to utilize their silent reading time on a regular basis during this time. The Advisory Program groups will be facilitated this year through Friday, May 25th, 2012. The Advisory Program has been operating since 1994 and we recognize the importance of making it a user friendly program for the teachers who volunteer their time to facilitate an advisory group in place of a contracted supervision. It is through your dedication and commitment that the Advisory Program is a successful experience for our students. If anyone has recommendations for this year or recommendations for next year, please stop by Margaret Demeters office or drop her a line. In addition, requests for supplies are helpful. She will set aside 5th, 6th and 7th periods on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 for advisors to stop by her office to share any recommendations or requests with her.

Thanks, Laura, for all your efforts and we know that we will see you regularly in our classrooms! PTA/PAC MEETING SCHEDULED Our next PTA/PAC meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, February 2 beginning at 7:00 pm in the Library. If you have not attended a PTA/PAC meeting you should consider doing so. Agenda items include: 1. Mid-year exam feedback 2. SINI update 3. Events, programs, etc. 4. Other Hope to see you there as it is always good to have a school presence to show our appreciation for what the PTA provides to our school. ATTENDANCE UPDATE Many people have read the article in the recent edition of The Times Union detailing attendance issues in a neighboring school district. In the past, I have run in this publication updates on staff and administrator attendance for the various days of the week. While that chart may be resurrected in the future, at this point in time, it may be helpful for people to know where we are as a staff in terms of numbers of absences. The following totals combine sick days, family sick days and personal days: the total # of days missed followed by the # of teachers. 0-3 4-6 6+ 60 (82%) 6 (8%) 7 (10%)

Certainly not in the same category as the absences which were detailed in The Times Union! NWEA ROUND TWO As publicized previously, we will be administering the NWEA tests in ELA and math to sub-groups of our population three times during the course of the year. The first administration was in late November early December, the second administration is scheduled as follows: ELA Friday, Monday, Tuesday - February 10, 13 & 14 Math Wednesday, Thursday, Friday February 15, 16 & 17 Students taking the ELA include special education students, remedial reading students and all students enrolled in the 7th and 8th grade G classes. Students completing the math NWEA include all students enrolled in 7th and 8th grade G level classes and special education students. Mark your calendars for the round two of NWEA! SPECIAL PROGRAM BEGINNING As part of the comprehensive work completed during the SINI review process and the development of a Comprehensive Educational Plan, one idea that should benefit many of our students is being implemented. Beginning Monday, January 30 we will be implementing an after school literacy program for some of our most needy students. Students will be invited to attend 2 days a week either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday. Two classes will be held each day after school, one from 2:25 3:05 and the second from 3:10 3:45. The classes will not be grade level based but instead will be literacy based with attention to all facets of literacy instruction. Students invited will be a selection of special education students and regular education students but all students will benefit greatly in this additional time on task. Counselors are currently working feverishly with English teachers and special education teachers to identify a fairly small number of students to begin this program. The after school classes will be held in C108A, the room located just outside of Dawn Saverys office in the Houston Hall Principals Office. This should be a very helpful program as any students would benefit of this additional time spent on literacy based topics. This program, in particular, speaks to the seriousness with which the entire district has taken the issue of literacy prompted by our SINI status in ELA. WELCOME JESSICA TORRISI We want to welcome Jessica Torrisi to Shaker Junior High School to teach the previously mentioned after school program. Jessica has been serving as a .6 Reading teacher at Shaker High School. These additional 2 classes after school make her a 1.0 appointment and brings a much needed program to our school. Jessica earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Adolescent Education from the College of Saint Rose and her MS in Literacy from the University of Albany. She holds initial certifications in English Language Arts grades 7-12 and Literacy grades 5-12. Since November 2009, she has been a .6 reading teacher at Shaker High School, and she has a variety of experience all that contributes to her expertise and knowledge base as a teacher. Welcome, Jessica! We are glad to have you joining our school and conducting what could prove to be a very valuable and beneficial program!

THINK SPRING! AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETYS DAFFODIL DAYS If you would like to order daffodils as a contribution to the American Cancer Society, please complete the order form by FEBRUARY 17, 2012. Place your payment by check and order form in an envelope with your name on it in Stephanie Majewskis mailbox. Order forms are available in the main office. Delivery of the flowers is expected to be around March 20, 2012. According to the American Cancer Societys website, donations for daffodils are 50% tax deductible. The items offered in exchange are: S A bunch of 10 fresh cut flowers (no vase) for $10 S Potted plants (potted bulbs w/ mini daffodil blooms) for $10 S THE GIFT OF HOPE (2 bunches of 10 flowers & a vase delivered anonymously to cancer patients in local hospitals) for $25. THANKS AND WELCOME BACK As mentioned in kudos previously in this issue, we want to welcome back Kelly Dennis from her 1st semester maternity leave and Trina Schanz from her almost 15 week maternity leave. We are please to have both returning to their regular positions at Shaker Junior High School! We want to thank Tori Jones for spending the 1st semester filling in for Kelly Dennis in the LRA classroom located in Norris Hall. The program has maintained its integrity and its excellence under Toris guidance. We are very pleased to have Tori remain with us as a permanent sub beginning Monday, January 30th. Thanks to April Peluso who took a temporary leave from her REACH aide position to teach math in Houston 7, filling in for Trina Schanz. It is always so helpful when we have a person who is familiar with our building being able to step into a classroom. The instruction continued without a hitch. Thanks, April, for all of your efforts and we know that you will pick right up in the REACH program beginning Monday! Thanks to John Pelletier who came out of retirement to fill in our REACH program in Aprils short term move to math teacher. John is very familiar with our school, our practices and our approaches; and he is excellent at working with students! He truly stepped in and did an excellent job in our REACH program. We wish we had another position available to keep him!! Thanks to Laura Gunnip-Paine for serving as a permanent sub for the past 4 weeks due to Matt Goebel stepping in for a maternity leave for Julie Basile in Norris 7. Laura is an excellent sub and is regularly requested by teachers upon their absences. And we were very pleased to have Laura step in for a short period of time. As with John, we wish we had another position to keep her!!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK If the going is easy beware! You may be going down hill. Greg Taunt