Monday Morning Memo --- January 28, 2013
Upcoming Events:

 

MON. (1/28)  iHeartLosAl Awards Ceremony - 6:30pm, PAC

                    

                    Encourage Your Students To Come Support 

                    Their Friends!!!  We're giving away thousands                         of dollars in scholarships and prizes!!!

 

TUES. (1/29)  COME SEE WRESTLING!!! (Free 7-Eleven

                      Soda Coupon For All In Attendance!)

                    

WED. (1/30)   COME SEE BOYS SOCCER!!! 
                      (Free "Saturday School Pass" for all students  
                      in attendance!)

                      COME SEE BOYS BASKETBALL!!! 
                      (Free Coupon For A Stack Of Pancakes 
                      From Denny's!)

THUR. (1/31)  COME SEE GIRLS SOCCER!!! 
                      (Free 7-Eleven Soda Coupon For All In 
                      Attendance!)

                     COME SEE GIRLS BASKETBALL!!! 
                     (Free T-Shirts For All In Attendance!)

FRI. (2/1)    Los Al Live, Comedy Improv Show:  3pm & 7pm

                  COME SEE BOYS BASKETBALL!!! 
                  (Food Trucks On Campus Behind The P.A.C. 
                  from 5pm - 8pm... Get Your Grub On!!!)

                  PACK THE GYM DANCE w/ Fountain Valley
                  After The Boys Basketball Game - 9pm - 11pm 
                  (FREE w/ Attendance To The Game)
 
                  COME SEE BOYS SOCCER!!!  
                  (Free 7-Eleven Soda Coupon For All In        
                  Attendance!)
 
Also, all week we will be collecting money for the American Heart Association and for $10 students and parents can buy an AHA shirt.  Please encourage all your students to support these activities and share this info all week long!
 
& On The Horizon...

Feb. 5     Staff Meeting @ 7am w/ Dr. Kropp in Room 500      
Feb. 5     Dr. Kropp Walkthrough @ Los Al
Feb. 7-9  Drama Show: Great Gatsby 
Feb. 8     Dr. Sandra Kaplan Professional Development, Day 3
Feb. 15  Staff Development Day --- Common Core "Aquarium"
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday:
As Roby Megill & Phil Bowen Move On, Los Al Remembers Two Legends
      
Teacher Roby Megill and Assistant Principal Phil Bowen are leaving Los Al at the semester.  We celebrated both of their careers this week with cake and hugs all around!

It's been proven time and time again... you can't just walk away from Los Al.  We won't let you, the kids won't let you, and at the end of the day you won't even let yourself.

This place is special.  And for Roby Megill and Phil Bowen, they're both a huge reason why it's easy to say "I Heart Los Al."

Roby Megill.  Coach, leader, Health Department Chair, and integral personality on staff.  His years of teaching and service at Los Al have been done with a smile on his face, and even larger smiles on the faces of his students.  But not to worry, one of his very own student teachers from the past, Jimmy Contreras, will be picking up Roby's classes.  And we look for the same bubbling enthusiasm and work ethic from Jimmy as we got from Roby for many years to come.

Phil Bowen.  Dedicated, loyal, reliable, Safety Plan creator, and responsible for the ongoing health and welfare of our student body.  His years of leadership have resulted in close relationships with students and staff, and in his words "I can walk into any room on campus, and it's ok... people are like 'It's just Phil.'"  That familiarity and closeness will be missed.  And we'll be filling his position with a TOSA until we open it up to the public this Spring.

Change is the only constant.  Fortunately for Los Al, we're doing all the right things to keep attracting people with talent, who want to not just be at our school, but be completely an utterly of it as well.

You will be missed...
"Algebra Al Fresco," And Other Final Review Opportunities:
How Gamifying Your Curriculum Can Help Kids WIN!

If you look hard enough into the glare, you can see Mr. Ford leading his students in a Final Review session last Tuesday.  Algebra Al Fresco, as its called, is a way to change things up and prepare students for their assessments at the same time.

 

It's a teacher's number one fear:  Are they bored?

 

Heading into Finals, one easy way to alleviate this concern is by gamifying your curriculum or instruction, and switching things up for a bit.  

 

Lots of teachers did just that this past week, as engaging games of Jeopardy, PollEverywhere, eClicker, and even Twitter-based review games were being held all over campus in multiple disciplines.

 

Shari Kaulig played a boisterous vocabulary game in her Spanish III class, while Karissa Ferrell and Pauline Grimshaw both used point-based games to incentivize student review.

 

In this age of Android and iOS apps at the tip of our students' fingers, it only seems right to use the context of games, points, rewards, and competition to inspire and engage our students in learning whatever skill or concept is in front of them.

 

As Common Core quickly approaches (as in just months away), students will be expected to do more with the skills and knowledge they acquire, and manipulate their learning in ways that may be sometimes best assessed through a game.

 

So, break up that routine and add some games to your repertoire.  For a list of interesting classroom constructs for games in different disciplines see the links below.  Good Luck:

  

List of Math Games:

http://www.multiplication.com/teach/classroom-games


Board Games For History:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/3140/games-in-the-history-classroom� 

 

Powerpoint Games (All Disciplines):

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/ppt-games/ 


Twitter Games (All Disciplines):

http://h30411.www3.hp.com/posts/1118287-Five_more_ways_to_use_Twitter_in_the_classroom  � 

The EEATT Website Has Been Launched:  
Tell Us What You Need, Today!!!
by Mark Celestin & Dan Bennett
 
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN GET OUT OF THIS ARTICLE IS THAT THE "EEATT" WEBSITE FOR LOS AL TEACHERS HAS LAUNCHED!!!!
 
 
CHECK US OUT LIVE HERE:
 
 
 
On this site you will be able to do a number of things...
 
1)  Request an iPad for classroom use:


2)  Request EdTech Coaching from Mark, Dan, or someone 
     who can solve your instructionally-related question/issue:


3)  Access the growing EEATT Menu of apps and tools for 
     classroom teachers, complete with links to reviews and     
     downloads for every suggestion:



And so much more!!!  So, now that 2nd Semester is here, let the EdTech Coaching begin!  Just contact Mark or Dan at the following, and let us help you in whatever way you need:

Mark Celestin - Room 816, mcelestin@losal.org
Dan Bennett - Room 700, [email protected]
Week 21, 2012-2013... IN THIS ISSUE:
Upcoming Events
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye
Games In The Curriculum
The EEATT Website
Banquets Celebrate Success
"Collab" Is Fab
 
This Just In... 
Johnny B was spotted wearing a tie this weekend!
 
At Los Al, We Celebrate Success:
The Role Of The Banquet 








 
What a banquet!  Football players, coaches, parents, and supporters came together at The Grand in Long Beach to celebrate a tremendous season for Los Al.

Work hard, play hard!  We've been saying that all year at Los Al, and it's something we believe in, both, on the field and in the classroom.  

But make no mistake, as important as it is to keep students focused on a singular goal and a vision for success, it's just as critical to celebrate their success along the way.  That's where the function of a Banquet comes in.  It's an opportunity to come together and celebrate the process and results of a season of hard work.

For Coach John Barnes, the football banquet that took place this past weekend had almost nothing to do with him.  The day's festivities were centered around Player Awards, Student Scholarships, and Parent Involvement recognitions.  As player after player was individually recognized for their contributions during the year, parents teared up and clapped for their child in a show of support for their commitment to the team.

The "Banquet Season" is ongoing in Los Al's athletic and activities-based culture because it's a way for like-minded stakeholders to come together and celebrate all at the same time.  For students, it's an event they remember for years and years to come, as it's impossible to keep working hard without being recognized for all of that effort.

So, what does this have to do with teaching and learning?  Everything.

The spirit of "The Banquet" should be alive and well in all of our classes.  Along with homework, tests, quizzes, and assignments, it's important for teachers to stop and celebrate the successes of their students every so often throughout the year.  In fact, it's those pauses in the flow of our classroom that sometimes make the most difference, and can motivate students to keep on learning, even when the workload gets a little longer or a little more rigorous.
"Yes, That's A Patella:"  Mr. Hansen Engages Students With His Knowledge, Personality, and Natural Interest In The Human Body...
 
Smart?  Check!  Dedicated?  Check!  Fun to learn from?  Check!  Mr. Hansen does wonders for the students he teaches in his Sports Medicine class each day...
 
It's pretty much impossible for you to work at Los Al, or attend Los Al, and not know who Mr. Hansen is.  He's not only our District Award-Winning Athletic Trainer, he's also a phenomenal classroom instructor, building up the knowledge base of students eager to follow almost exactly in his footsteps.

And the reason for all of Mr. Hansen's success is simple:  relationships.  Over the years, Mr. Hansen has developed a unique ability to demonstrate palpable caring and regard for the students he works so closely with.  His calm intelligence and genuine empathy make the students in his class, and our players on the field, completely trust his instruction and recommendations when it comes to the human body and how to prepare and heal it for optimal performance.

So, the next time you see Mr. Hansen taping up a volleyball player, or transporting a student on our training cart, know that he's also an incredibly effective teacher preparing students for careers in Sports Medicine as soon as they graduate from Los Al.
 
NEW PICTURE 
DOWNLOADING SITE

From now on, if you need a picture from any of these Monday Morning Memos, 
 
The pics there are high quality, easy to access, and always downloadable.
Like us on Facebook
 
Follow us on Twitter
Los Alamitos High School
3591 Cerritos Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720   
(562) 799-4780