January 24, 2017
Dear Wahconah Families:
We have officially surpassed the half way point of the year
now that we’ve entered 3rd quarter (2nd semester). I last
wrote in the space in November as we were completing the process of settling into
a new school year. It’s absolutely amazing how fast the time is flying by. We
have many plans in motion for the remainder of the school year, some of which
are explain below.
New Program of Studies
While our students and staff are hard at work in class, our
Guidance and Main Office staff are already planning for next school year. We just recently updated our Program of
Studies for the 2017-18 school year and will be posting it on the Wahconah
website, presenting it to the parents of the incoming Class of 2021, and our
guidance counselors will be reviewing it with all of our students in grades
9-11 in their English classes. We’ve added two new science classes and have
updated our Performing Arts offerings as well. Students will be taking part in
Advising Day on Feb. 8th where they will sign up for their courses
for next year. In the meantime, we encourage all students to talk to their
current teachers about their options for next year with regards to their
specific courses. We also encourage all students to seek advice from their
guidance counselor in the days leading up to Advising Day.
Wahconah’s First-Ever Electives Fair
We will be holding our first-ever Electives Fair for
students in grades 9-11 the morning of Feb. 6th in the gym. Each
class will be invited to the gym for one period to meet our elective teachers
and learn more about what we have to offer. Each teacher will have a display
complete with interactive opportunities and handouts for students to review as
they begin to consider what courses they want to take next year. Then, two days
later, students will sign up for their courses on Advising Day. We hope this
new approach to informing our students about our elective programming will help
students decide what to take next year.
School Advisory Council
Early in September I informed every one of our intent to
breathe new life into the Wahconah School Advisory Council. I am happy to
report that we’ve accomplished that! Many thanks to the following parents for
helping to make our school a better place for all: Adam West, Kelly Rinaldi,
Beth Frederick, Amanda Garceau, and Billie Henderson. We meet once per month
from 6-7pm in the Library. While other district schools have PTOs, this group
does not take part in any fundraising or work of that nature. Their role is
purely to advise me and our staff (indirectly) as we seek to make necessary
improvements at Wahconah. If this is something you think you could contribute
to, please contact me at arobb@cbrsd.org
and I can give you more information.
Student Shadow Challenge
School administrators across the country are constantly
trying to find ways to pull the right lever and push the right button to ensure
the overall school experience for each student can be improved. Consequently, more
and more school administrators are taking part in the Student Shadow Challenge.
While this is typically conducted nationwide in February, I’ve made it a goal
of shadowing up to four students this school year (one per grade) for the
entire day. Back in November I ditched the tie, walkie-talkie and dress shoes
for jeans and sneakers to become a Wahconah senior for the day (for the first
time in 25 years). Senior Jonathan Bailey was gracious (and brave) enough to
let me follow him throughout his day starting with homeroom right through our
very last class in Accounting. I took a test in Spanish V (though I never took
the course in school) and I shook off some rust to solve some Pre-Calculus
problems as well. It was one of the most professionally rewarding experiences
as an educator that I’ve ever had. And I’m doing it again! On Jan. 30th
I will be shadowing 9th grader Mikayla Lenski which means I’ll be
taking PE and joining the Wahconah band in the afternoon.
Why is this important? This is a student empathy project. As
an adult working in a school, it’s very easy to occasionally lose sight of what
it’s like to be a student on daily basis. Therefore, the overarching goal is to
learn what school feels like for our students. At the conclusion of the
day I organize my notes and report back to our staff to inform them of my
experience. This is not intended to be evaluative in any way. It’s simply
informative. We are very lucky at Wahconah to have a teaching staff who are
comfortable with their Principal engaging in this sort of endeavor, so I am
forever thankful for their support. And I’m forever thankful for our students
who are accepting of the new “kid” who shows up in their respective classes.
Sincerely,
Aaron M. Robb, Principal
