February/March 2012 - Laramie County School District #01

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$Course Syllabus-IB Math 1 - Laramie County School District #01$

4 • February 2012 Public Schools’ ChronicleDildine, Carey prepare students for seventh gradeIt’s that time of the yearwhen Laramie CountySchool District 1schools begin to preparesixth-grade students forthe move up to seventhgrade.It’s exciting, butit introduces a lot ofchanges into the youngsters’lives.In the East triad, CareyJunior High AssociatePrincipal Derede Dardenrealizes how importantthis transition is. She saidthis is mainly becausesixth-graders leave aclassroom environmentthat is very controlled bythe teacher and transferto an environment thatallows students to makepersonal decisions withregard to getting to classon time, prioritizing andcompleting homework,maintaining good studyhabits, using a planner,and much more.Students experiencean environment witheight different classes andteachers with a variety ofinstruction techniques,Darden said. Additionally,they will have theopportunity to participatein more formalizedafter-school activities.“Parental involvementis key to a student’s success,especially with thistransition,” Darden said.“They are an incredibleasset to building apositive and supportiveclimate.”One night in Januaryat Dildine Elementary,the East triad’s largestfeeder school, sixthgradestudents and theirparents gathered for aparent night registrationmeeting.As Dildine PrincipalMike Wortman walkedup to the front of theroom, thebuzz ofconversationdied away andall attentionturned to him.“Goodeveningeverybody,”Wortmansaid. “Juniorhigh can bescary, and Ibelieve thereare three areaskids and parentsstrugglewith—logistics, suchas wherethe cafeteriaand lockers are located,academics, and the socialaspect. Students andparents probably havedifferent ideas aboutwhich one of those ismost important.”Wortman said hebelieves all three are essential,and emphasizedjunior high provides agreat opportunity forstudents to make socialconnections, expandtheir horizons and focuson academics.“For parents, I thinkit’s important to stayconnected to your kids.Make sure you talk tothem and help answertheir questions,” he toldthe audience. “Talk totheir teachers, ask to seetheir homework or findout what they are doingwith homework. It’s importantto get registeredand go online to look attheir grades. If somethingdoesn’t look right or feelright or sound right,make sure you ask thosequestions.”Darden handed outfliers filled with helpfulinformation for theSixth-grade students Alex Spraker and Laramie Lake visit with Carey Junior High guidance counselor,Troy Schimek, while Laramie’s mother Sonja Harper listens.seventh-grade studentsand their parents. Sheexplained the students’safety and familiarizationwith the junior high is apriority. She said that inMay, sixth-grade studentswill be invited to havelunch at Carey so theywill get a good “lay ofthe land.” And in August,a formal seventh-gradeorientation will be conducted.She added: “We arelooking forward to seeingyou all at Carey JuniorHigh next year, and wewant to welcome you.”Carey’s eighth-gradeguidance counselor, TroySchimek spoke to the audiencenext. He explainedthe students’ transition tojunior high is a big step,and that it might initiallyseem scary.“Junior high is alsoone of the more excitingplaces that I can tell youabout,” Schimek said.“Every day is a new day;every day there’s somethingnew going on.”Schimek stressed toparents in order to helptheir children be successful,they need to haveconstant communicationwith both them andthe school, especially ifthey have concerns. Hereminded parents Careywill now house only seventh-and eighth-gradestudents, so the two nextyears will fly by quickly.He explained whatitems would be neededfor registration, thentalked about requiredclasses such as math,English, social studies,science and P.E. Afterthat, he explained whatelectives are available anddescribed how Carey’sclass schedules and periodsare arranged.Schimek told thestudents: “There are somany cool things thathappen at the end of yoursixth-grade experience.Remember, this is thelast time you’re going tohave two recesses for therest of your school career.Enjoy that!”—Photo & text byCindy Keen ReyndersLARAMIE COUNTYSCHOOL DISTRICT 1Dr. Mark StockSuperintendent of SchoolsDr. Tracey KinneyAssistant Superintendent of InstructionJohn LyttleAssistant Superintendent of Human ResourcesDavid BartlettAssistant Superintendent of Support OperationsDr. Marc LaHiffDirector of InstructionBrent YoungAssistant Director of Instruction/School ImprovementAlice HunterDirector of Special ServicesJ.P. DenningAssistant Director of Special ServicesGordon KnoppDirector of TechnologyBOARD Of TRuSTeeSBrian Farmer • ChairmanAnne Beckle • Vice ChairmanJan Stalcup • ClerkGlenn Garcia • TreasurerBob Farwell • Assistant TreasurerHank Bailey • TrusteeSandy Shanor • TrusteeDave Evans • District CounselBrenda Gompert • Executive Secretary toBoard of Trustees & Superintendent of SchoolsChEyEnnE SChoolS FounDATionSean Chambers • PresidentNicole Novotny-Smith • Vice PresidentMary Quast • SecretaryRobert Dahill • TreasurerSue Riske, Cathy Ellis, Marguerite Herman,Esther Martinez & Sheryl Fanning• Grants ChairpersonsPublic Schools’ChronicleMary QuastEditor in Chief • Design DirectorCindy Keen ReyndersAdvertising Manager • Contributing EditorThe Public Schools’ Chronicle is the bi-monthlymagapaper of Laramie County School District 1,published five times a year as a report to parentsand the community at large. Letters to the editoror requests for permission to copy material may besubmitted to Mary Quast, Community RelationsDirector. For print advertising information contact CindyKeen Reynders in the LCSD1 Community RelationsOffice, 2810 House Ave., Cheyenne, WY 82001, orcall (307) 771-2192, [FAX 771-2252]. As a nonprofitpublication, advertising revenue from the printedversion is used to pay for printing costs. All pre-pressproduction, including writing and photography, is doneby Community Relations’ office staff unless otherwiseattributed. All material is copyrighted and may not bereproduced for distribution without permission. Theprinted Public Schools’ Chronicle is direct mailed to allCheyenne area residences and businesses and has acirculation of 43,000.Circulation: 43,000 © 2012The State of Wyoming provides Hathaway Merit andNeeds-based Scholarships to Wyomingstudents attending the University of Wyoming andWyoming Community Colleges. Everystudent who meets the merit requirements can earna Hathaway Merit Scholarship. Contact your schoolcounselor for more information.
Public Schools’ Chronicle February 2012 • 5Marketing for a causeEast students learn by helping othersEast High School’s ManuelFlores has worked for 21years to instill a sense ofcommunity awareness and leadershipin his marketing students.In turn, he said they always seemto amaze him with their creativityand initiative.Students who sign up formarketing classes at East learnabout the basics of marketing,public relations, advertising andbusiness plans. They expandthis knowledge with first-handexperience in operating theschool store, since part of theclass requires each student towork a week over the lunch hourin the store.“Our school store is an extensionfor the marketing programs,”Flores explained. “We seea lot of kids who want to comeback and work more.”While working at the store, studentscreate specials and developpromotions to advertise theirsales. Flores said these experiencesoften entice students to joinEast High DECA (DistributiveEducation Clubs of America).DECA members also use theirmarketing experience to promotecommunity causes. Flores saidDECA students have a chance toparticipate in local and nationalcompetitions.“Our main function is to teachleadership and communityawareness while students learnhands-on marketing skills,”Flores said.Club members are always lookingfor ideas they can turn intocommunity marketing projects,which are then presented to judgesduring the competitions.In the area of creative marketing,Flores said DECA studentsresearch an issue or communityidea. For example, past issueshave included downtown developmentand improving the city’sappearance.“Chapter membersdo directprimary researchthrough personalinterviews and surveys,”Flores said.For example,when researchinghow to improvedowntown and thelook of Cheyenne,students met withthe mayor. Thisinformation is thencompiled and analyzedso studentscan develop a planto help improve theissue.Flores said othercauses have includedpromoting thedangers of texting and driving,the risks of obesity and raisingmoney for cancer research.“We’ve also worked withSafehouse, the Ronald McDonaldhouse in Denver and ARC ofLaramie County,” Flores said.Currently, students are workingto raise money so Cheyenne’sSpecial Olympics athletes canbuy uniforms. “Also, students inour DECA chapter are going tobuddy up with participants andwork with the athletes when theytrain,” Flores said.Flores said students who taketheir projects to state competitioncreate presentation boardsand PowerPoint slides that areshown to the judges. Winners ofstate competition then go on tonationals.“It’s been fantastic,” Floressaid. “Sometimes they win andsometimes they lose but it’s notabout the trophy, it’s about thepeople they’ve helped and thelives they’ve touched.”Flores said students can alsoparticipate in competitionthrough role-playing exerciseswhere they are given 10 minutesJesse Rubalcaba, left, and Austin Jones assist customers Devin Riekens, Troy Painter, Katie Overstreet, Lauren Bacon, AaronEshleman and Heather Glaser, at the T-Bird Nest school store.to develop different responses toscenarios that they act out witha judge.“It’s quick thinking and theyhave to be creative,” Flores said.“They also have to take a test inthe subject matter to make surethey know it. The test counts for50 percent of their overall score.”This year’s competition washeld Feb. 2-4 in Casper. Twentyeightstudents participated.Flores said proceeds from theschool store help offset the costsso students can attend. In addition,two of this year’s DECAstudents—Austin Jones andDean Jackson—have expandedupon the physical store conceptby re-creating the T-Bird Nest asa virtual store where patrons canpurchase products online.“While the store is profitable,the more we can sell, the less weas chapter members have to payfor our trips to state and nationalcompetition,” Jackson commented.“We had no online presencebefore we did this project andnow we have a Facebook pageand a website.”Both students are excitedabout the new website and theirinvolvement with DECA as it hashelped them in the jobs they holdwithin the community. Jones,who is a sales associate at FinishLine and a training manager atJimmy John’s said, “DECA hasallowed me to be more comfortablespeaking in public and hashelped me develop a customerservicemindset.”Jackson, who is a sales associateat Sears, said, DECA hasgiven him a broader perspectivewhen it comes to the businessworld. “We learn a lot of valuablelife skills,” he said. “I know mymanagers, if they ever ask anopinion, always come to me firstbecause they know that I knowwhat I’m talking about. I thinkDECA and our marketing classeshave helped me out quite a bit.”—Photo & text by Mary Quast
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February/March 2012 - Laramie County School District #01

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