Monday Morning Memo --- February 10, 2014

Upcoming Events:

MON. (2/10) PTSA Meeting @ 9am In Room 500

TUES. (2/11) Leadership Council @ 7am In Room 500

We'll be looking to set our upcoming Smarter-Balanced

Assessment Schedule for Spring 2014

WED. (2/12) LATE START WEDNESDAY, 1st Period @ 8:37am For Students

Department Meetings For Staff :)

GIRLS WATER POLO vs. NEWPORT HARBOR @ 6pm

All students who go to this game @ Newport Harbor will receive a

FREE TICKET to the dance on Thursday night!!!

Community College Information Night @ 7pm In PAC

Join Police Commander Paul LeBaron for a night of important

information for parents for FREE.

THUR. (2/13) PACK THE GYM FOR THE FOLLOWING EVENTS:

*** FOOD TRUCKS ON CAMPUS STARTING @ 5pm

*** BOYS BASKETBALL vs. HUNTINGTON BEACH @ 7pm

*** UNITED WE DANCE (SCHOOL DANCE) @ 9pm

FRI. (2/14) NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS :)

COMMON CORE AQUARIUM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Make sure to email Kathy Currie with your observation preferences for this week's AQUARIUM at kcurrie@losal.org

MON (2/17) NO SCHOOL FOR EVERYONE --- President's Day

ATHLETICS: This is the LAST WEEK BEFORE PLAYOFFS for Winter Sports.

And to gear up for all the excitement

, we're running the following promotions and activities this week @ Los Al:

*** IF YOU GO TO THE GIRLS WATER POLO MATCH ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT @ NEWPORT HARBOR @ 6pm, YOU GET TO GO TO THE BASKETBALL GAME & DANCE ON THURSDAY NIGHT FOR FREE!!!!

Our Girls Water Polo Team is headed to the playoffs this year, but not before they take on Nationally-Ranked Newport Harbor in the pool this Wednesday night. Water Polo matches are super-fun to watch, and the action is non-stop... so come support the Lady Griffins this Wednes-day and get a free dance ticket, too!

& On The Horizon...

2/22 --- Race On The Base!

2/28 --- LosAl4Life Prize Giveaway!

3/14 --- iHeartLosAl PTSA Fundraiser @ Glory Days in Seal Beach

.............. Unlimited Possibilities!

Details For Los Al's 2nd Common Core Aquarium...

Choose Who And What You'd Like To Observe Friday During This Schoolwide Instructional Networking Opportunity.

This week's Common Core Aquarium is going to feature Los Al teachers conducting lessons that highlight our signature practices across content areas...

With the success of last year's Common Core Aquarium (the nation's first... read here), Los Alamitos High School is proud to present this year's expanded Instructional Networking offering for our entire staff...

Please rank the 4 sessions available in order of preference and send an email to Kathy Currie (kcurrie@losal.org) to RSVP. You will attend 2 teaching sessions Friday morning --- one from 9am -10am, and one from 10:10am to 11:10am --- and can pick from the following topics:

Brandon Hart --- Room 500

Students will use technology tools to collaboratively problem solve and master content knowledge and skills.

Subject - Economics

Focus - EdTech, Supply/Demand, and Understanding Markets

Ray Coriaty --- Room 816/817

During the 45 minute lesson, Dr. Coriaty will take the students through the first five or six paragraphs of a nonfiction piece, focusing primarily on author's purpose. Questioning strategies will be highlighted, as well as the function and purpose of providing evidence whenever formulating an answer; additionally, students will look at a cover from The New Yorker, and analyze and discuss the visual text as a vehicle in determining the theme(s) the artist wishes to convey.

Subject - English

Focus - Close Reading

Lauren Helm --- Room 153/154

This lesson demonstrates two of the Depth and Complexity prompts for Common Core. The lesson seeks to build student knowledge of animal behavior so that they can identify and give evidence for types of behaviors in text, media, and personal experience.

Subject - Biology

Focus - Animal Behavior, Depth & Complexity

Tracy Lundblad --- Room 405/406

This session will begin with students playing a quick review game that will target necessary math skills needed for the lesson. Students will then explore the value of the social network Facebook and come up with ways to calculate the number of connections between users. Discussion related to the outcome will follow. This lesson is aligned with common core strategies and will focus on student talk, group work and engagement.

Subject - Algebra

Focus - Recognizing Patterns, Student Talk, Gamification Of The Curriculum

The Galapagos @ Los Al:

Students Use Forks, Knives, And Spoons To Turn Themselves Into Finches And Fend For Food...

This picture may look like it was taken at Los Al, but it's really a candid shot of finches fending for food across the many islands of the Gallapagos...

Sitting in class, taking notes, and listening to lectures can only be effective for so long for teachers. As we all know, "mixing it up" in class can enhance the engagement of instruction for, both, students and teachers. In Biology, fortunately, there are many opportunities to get students up and moving and learning in different ways.

Mr. Awad relishes these opportunities, and just last week he took his students on a field trip to the Galapagos Islands (located just outside his room on a corner-patch of grass). The task for students was to collect Kidney Beans (or food) using the different beaks (forks, knives, or spoons) that they were born with. The team with the most beans wins (or survives), while the other teams slowly eat less and less until they eventually become extinct. The spoons win, of course...

Now, it's conceivable that Mr. Awad could simply tell the story of the Galapagos finches to his students and explain how birds with different beaks were found on different islands. And, it's conceivable that many of his students would "get it," and be prepared to do well on an upcoming quiz or test on the topic. But, having students actually experience parts of this natural selection theory for themselves allows them to better understand the premise and apply it in different contexts.

So, the next time you feel the need to break up the routine of class, take your students outside. With a well-planned activity, the odds of increased engagement are strong. And who knows, you may even catch Mr. Awad out there with his Biology students visiting another foreign island conducting some more real-world experiments!

EdTech Extraordinaire:

If You Haven't Yet Requested The Services Of Ms. Callella... You Will Be :)

Word is quickly spreading that Ms. Callella's expertise is helpful in maximizing the use of technology in the classroom. With over 500 chromebooks on campus, nearly 200 iPads, and countless Web 2.0 tools at the fingertips of teachers and students, getting some advice from Ms. Callella is almost becoming a prerequisite. Email her today at tcallella@losal.org for assistance.

Week 21 2013-2014... IN THIS ISSUE:

Upcoming Events

Los All's 2nd Annual Common Core Aquarium

The Galapagos @ Los Al

EdTech Extraordinaire: Trisha Callella

Who's That Guy With The Camera???

Signing Day 2014: 8 More Student-Athletes Headed To The Next Level

THE BIGGEST & BEST FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR IS COMING!

Click HERE to buy your tickets to the 2nd Annual iHeartLosAl PTSA Fundraiser taking place Friday, March 14th @ Glory Days

Beachside Grill from 7pm - 11pm. We've rented out the entire restaurant, so it'll be just #losal friends, families, and community supporters coming out on a Friday night to support our Griffins.

Can't wait to see you there!

"C" Is For "Copy Room" & "Collaboration":

In Schools, Some Of The Best Ideas Are Born In The Copy Room...

Ms. Meider and Mr. Farvour both come up with a Brilliant Idea at the exact same time during a quick collaborative chat in the Copy Room last week!

It's a pretty well-known fact that at Google's offices around the world, there is very little expectation that employees come up with great ideas while sitting at their desk. In fact, as many of us have seen or read about, Google is renowned for encouraging skateboarding, basketball, shooting pool, and other recreational and creative activities at their offices to facilitate leisure and comfortability for the purposes of employees generating great ideas.

Google wants people to interact. At Los Al, we want the same thing...

Since teaching in a big comprehensive high school can be inherently isolating due to geography, the Copy Room and Main Office are important hubs of culture, conversation, and the cross-pollination of ideas and people from different departments and roles in our mission to open doors of opportunity for young people.

If this hasn't happened to you already, one can always find an interesting conversation brewing in the Copy Room, as teachers ask questions, offer opinions, and share perspectives on issues they're seeking help with or offering advice on. In fact, that's what's beautiful about large comprehensive schools --- a diversity of ideas and experiences in doing meaningful work for kids.

So, the next time you need to make some copies, don't be in such a rush. Plan some time to hang out in the Main Building, grab your mail from the Mail Room, stop by and chat with a counselor, bump into an Administrator, pop into an office, catch up with a colleague, and the list goes on...

The more you can get outside of your classroom and connect the goings-on of campus with everything you're working on for your students, the better the experience of going to Los Al will be for each and every one of our students!

Signing Day 2014:

8 Athletes Are Headed Off To Compete At The Next Level... That Makes 22 This Year!

This picture collage captures some of the sights and sounds from Signing Day 2014.

Los Alamitos High School celebrated Signing Day last Wednesday, the day in which scholar athletes sign an intent to attend prestigious colleges and universities on scholarship for their academic and athletic accomplishments. We are keenly aware at Los Al that this level of excellence is made possible because of the dedication of highly skilled teachers and coaches and the ongoing support of parents, families, and community members. Here's where these 8 students are attending: