@chs_dmurray: Week in Reflection

Schedule Task Force Update

 The Schedule Task Force was formed three weeks ago to assess our current bell schedule. Our team continues to meet with a focus on the extracted data from our school database.  This insightful group of teachers have been digging deep in a needs-based inventory of how we can refine our time to meet the needs of all of our students.  Over the past two weeks, the group has worked on creating survey questions for students, parents, and staff to assess their individual experiences with our bell schedule.

Our lens of focus will determine how:

1. Our collaborative team will assess the data of our schedule with regards to how we use our time, where time is wasted, and how our needs are being addressed.
2. Our collaborative team will define areas of refinement and areas of reinforcement with our current schedule.
3. Our collaborative team will determine wants and needs that are assessed (through data) and make action steps.
4. Our collaborative team will communicate to the Faculty Advisory Committee and the Professional Learning Committee team members clear minutes.
5. Our collaborative team will visit selected high schools in pairs of (2) and report to the team noted site observations.
6. Our collaborative team will share insights and recommendations to the Faculty on December 14.
7. All action steps and communications to parents/students will be formulated from the December 14 meeting.

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This survey will serve as essential data for the Scheduling Task Force as we assess the current bell schedule at Chardon High School. Please consider taking the time to complete this survey; it will provide useful insight to help steer the committee in making  recommendations for the 2017-2018 school year. Likewise, an Infinite Campus message and student email has been sent to your son(s)/daughter(s) to take the student survey.

Survey Link (Parents)

Chardon High School enters the United Nations

Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation and/or academic competition in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. MUN involves and teaches researching, public speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities.

Participants in Model UN conferences, known as delegates, are placed in committees and assigned countries, or occasionally other organizations or political figures, where they represent members of that body. They are presented with their assignments in advance, along with a topic or topics that their committee will discuss. Delegates conduct research before conferences and formulate positions that they will then debate with their fellow delegates in the committee, staying true to the actual position of the member they represent. At the end of a conference, the best-performing delegates in each committee, as well as delegations, are sometimes recognized with awards.

Chardon High School entered the MUN this year under the vision of several students and the direction of Mr. Mike Mosnik. When Mr. Mosnik asked me about this opportunity eight weeks ago, I immediately responded with ABSOLUTELY! Anytime that our students can model real life application of the lessons that they learn in class--what a phenomenal life skill that is cross-curricular! I am so grateful to the students and Mr, Mosnik for their continued focus on living our core values and showcasing the talents of our students!

AWARDS:

Outstanding Delegate - best overall delegate in each cabinet/committee voted on by the chair
Honorable Mention - second place for Outstanding Delegate (best overall delegate) voted on by the chair
Delegate's Choice -  best overall delegate voted on by members of a particular committee

US - no awards
RUSSIA - Honorable Mention - Nick Schragal
SYRIA - Delegate's Choice - Connor Fuerst
TURKEY - Honorable Mention - Connor Prusha
UN SECURITY COUNCIL - Outstanding Delegation - Drew Williams AND Jason Tysl; Honorable Mention - Kyle Gessel

Program of Champions

Congratulations to Nate Kawalec for your first place finish at the WRC Conference meet with a time of 15:45! Chardon Boys Cross Country finished 3rd at the meet.

Congratulations to Mikaylie Park for your first place finish at the WRC with a time of 18:44.7. Chardon Girls Cross County finished 1st in the conference!

Read the article from the News-Herald. 

Girls XC

The Chardon girls successfully defended their team title at Saturday’s WRC meet held at Kenston HS.

1 Chardon            35   
 2 Riverside           55   
 3 Madison            68   
 4 Mayfield           107   
 5 Will. South       131  
 6 Kenston           162  
 7 North                166   
8 Brush                234 

Senior Mikaylie Park led the way, winning the individual championship in a time of 18:44. As has been the case all season, sophomore Denali Selent gave the Toppers a potent 1-2 punch as she finished 2nd in 19:19. The red and black domination  continued with sophomore Molly Greene (6th) and freshman Mila Stropkay (7th) also garnering first team all-WRC honors. Junior Jessica Krebs rounded out the scoring in 19th place, while freshmen Caitlyn Goodrich (21st)  Loganne Foster (23rd)  and Senior Deanna Ogrinc gave the Toppers yet another finisher in the top 25.

The Lady Hilltoppers will head to the Trumbull County Fairgrounds on Saturday for the district championship meet. The girls’ race is scheduled for 4:50 PM.

See all of Pastor Photography's images from the WRC Championship.

Boys XC

The Boys Cross-Country team concluded the regular season with the Western Reserve Conference Championship at Kenston High School on Saturday with a 3rd place team finish.

1)   26  Kenston
2)   80  Riverside
3)   86  Chardon
4)   108  Mayfield
5)   112  South
6)   138  Madison
7)   176  North
8)    260  Brush

Nate Kawalec (Jr) continued an outstanding season with a 1st place finish, running 15:45 for 5k (3.11 mi).
Sophomore Brian Horton finished 2nd for the Toppers, as he has in 6 out of our 8 races so far this year.

Freshman Tucker Keeney finished 3rd for the Toppers with a new personal best time (17:24) and was the first freshman finisher in the conference. Mitch Keeney (Sr) finished 4th for the Toppers and was just 3 seconds from his lifetime best.

Kyle Stropkay (Jr) rounded out our scorers as our 5th runner with a personal best by 6 seconds (17:26).

Ryan Connolly (Sr) and Aidan Macaskill (Fr) rounded out the varsity team and were within a couple seconds of their season bests.

The guys head to Trumbull County Fairgrounds next Saturday afternoon (2:50 pm) for the District Championship.

See all of Pastor Photography's images from the WRC Championship

Hey, all UToppers

On Thursday , October 13th,  Eighteen of our role model students were recognized as #Utoppers for the months of August and September.  What is a #UTopper? Great question.  #UToppers are students and staff members who make a positive impact on the Chardon High School Community.  Students can be nominated by their peers or staff members using the #UTopper nomination form found on Chardonhs.org.  The students recognized live the core values of Chardon High School; Community, Humility, Achievement, Respect, Dignity, Optimism, and Nurturing.  Some of our nominees were recognized for:

• Making a new student feel welcome
  
• Helping and inspiring others
  
• Giving 110% in classes
  
• Dependable friendships
  

Congratulations to our 18 students and 3 staff #UToppers from August and September

Active Substance Abuse Prevention

The first day of the Active Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) occurred on Tuesday. 37 students from grades 9 and 10 have sacrificed their Tuesday morning late-start for such an important task.  CHS students will be presenting substance abuse prevention education to the 8th grade advisory classrooms.  

News from Guidance

Chardon High School will be administering the ASVAB Career Exploration Program (CEP) on Wednesday, November 16th, at 7:30 am. This test is an invaluable tool to help your student with his/her future educational and career plans.

The ASVAB CEP will help your student:

* to learn about themselves and the world of work
* explore occupations in line with their interests and skills
* develop an effective strategy to realize their career educational goals

One of the ASVAB scores is the military entrance score/Armed Forces Qualification Test which your student can use to explore career options in the military. Even if your child's scores are released to the military, by NO MEANS is your child obligated to military service.

Students can sign up for the ASVAB Career Exploration Program in Guidance today. We strongly encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Counseling Dept. at (440) 285-4060 and speak with your child's counselor.

Students/Parents will have the option to not have any scores released to the military upon signing up.

End of the Quarter: How did it go?

From your perspective, how did your son or daughter succeed and make strides in their performance this quarter? What worked? What struggles did you notice?

Chances are, if you are reading this...you truly care about the performance of your children. We all do. 

According to recent studies, only 20% of the population sets goals, and as many as 92% of those goals are never achieved. That said, I’ve never met a highly successful person who doesn’t regularly set personal goals.

Goals are critical. They keep you focused on what’s important, and allow you to make the best use of your 24 hours each day. When tackled correctly, they force you out of your comfort zone and help you grow more than you would without them.

And, perhaps most importantly, they give us control of our destiny. Just by setting a goal, you are taking an active role in driving new and better results in your life. What could be more important than that?
Teaching our teenagers to set goals effectively can be life-changing. However, as we teach goal-setting to our children, we need to make sure we’re showing them how to use goals to have the greatest possible positive impact on their lives.

Here are six strategies for smart goal setting for teens that can help them maximize the potential of their lives:

1. It must be on their terms

The most important thing to remember is that these are their goals, not yours. One of the biggest mistakes we can make as parents is wanting their children to live in their images and in alignment with their definitions of success. In doing so, parents can unconsciously push their children down disingenuous paths that can  result in reduced success and meaning from their goals.

2. Connect their goals to the ultimate currency… happiness!

What we want for our children is happiness on their terms. Now, what does happiness mean? Is it financial success, simply having fun, or is it much deeper than that? The first part of happiness is defined by high emotions such as love, gratitude and joy. The second aspect of happiness involves actions that seem to make time stand still- because they are finding their way and their purpose. The final component of happiness is finding meaning in what is accomplished in life. As we teach them the value of goal-setting, we should orient them toward this authentic life. A great way to do this is to support their process of self-discovery. This could be as simple as a discussion about their interests and strengths, or as involved as applying and sharing their strengths in the service of others.

3. Help them frame their lives

Every year, we ask students to share their dreams and goals. Almost invariably, they focus on planned professions, from athletics to music and medicine to law. Because of the extrinsic nature of our society, it’s easy to get very narrow with our vision for life and lose sight of some crucial components to our happiness. One of the first things you want to do is help your teens frame their lives. Walk them through a simple list of life priorities, which might include things like family, friends, faith, health, education, profession, wealth and social impact. Ask them to consider all these areas as they think about and plan for the future, so they can set goals that will provide the greatest benefit to them. I suggest having them identify their top two or three to get started. This will help them stay focused on a few areas, get some early wins, and set themselves up for larger and greater successes in the future.

4. Teach them to dream big but play small

I see goals more as the critical steps we take on the path to our dreams. The things we measure most often improve in our lives, so we must help teens set goals that are specific and measurable. For example, setting a goal to get straight A’s is much less powerful than a goal to use Cornell note-taking to prepare for each course.. Remember that success is never one huge leap. It is almost always a succession of hundreds or thousands of tiny steps forward… and most likely with a few steps backward along the way. The greatest replicator of success is success. It’s both easy and common to give up on goals – and, therefore, dreams – if they’re too lofty or far away. That’s why it’s essential that goals be discrete and achievable. The sense of gratification they get from accomplishing small yet meaningful goals will help sustain the energy and belief as they move towards greater accomplishments. Help them learn the benefits of keeping goals small, manageable and short-term.

5. They need to take stock along the way

Setting goals can be a double-edged sword. It can drive purposeful action in our lives and allow us to achieve more over a shorter period of time. However, we need to be careful with ourselves and with our children, because goals can also be a source of anxiety.

All of us have the tendency to create a hyper-focus on future circumstances.  This can produce an “I’ll be happy when…” mentality, when what we want is to find inner happiness in this moment. With this awareness in mind, try to intertwine the process of goal-setting with an ongoing habit of recognizing existing successes and accomplishments. The present should never be sacrificed for the future, and goals should simply be tools to get the most out of time we have.

6. Make goal-setting as engaging as possible
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We all know that, when working with teens, we’re competing with a constant barrage of distractions – video games, social media, and high school relationships. This process is predicated on patience and self-discipline, but we need to change it up a bit sometimes to help get the process started.

We all want what’s best for our kids. Teaching them to think in terms of setting and accomplishing goals will help them become their own best sources for fulfillment, and provide the recognition that they control the outcomes in their lives. Through smart goal setting for teens, we can give our children the most important gift any parent can give: the ability to thrive in life without us.

Thank you for sharing your children with us,

Douglas Murray
​Principal