The General: May 2013 Edition

HISTORY MAKERS
The Lafayette House will be hosting our final House Pride Rally this coming Wednesday and have aptly labeled the theme "History Made." The event will include a number of activities that allow students to celebrate the history they've been making in their first year as Thomas Nelson Generals and will continue to make as they pursue their college and career future stories. Without question, we have a great deal to celebrate in our first year, but we have much more history to make in the years ahead. 

Generals LEADing the Way.

ACHIEVEMENT MAYhem

"The Ceiling Can't Hold Us' was the theme song for Achievement MAYhem.

Both students and teachers alike have been entrenched within Achievement MAYhem throughout the month of May. Over the past two weeks 10th and 11th grade students have taken state aligned End-of-Course examinations and select students have taken a variety of AP examinations. During this time our Generals continue to prove that the sky is the limit. I feel strongly that our Generals and will continue to prove they are capable of performing as well as any students in the state of Kentucky. It's our belief in our students and our community that will determine our success. The answer to how is yes.

What happens in the summer? Continuous cycles of Learning
I've had a number of community members and parents ask me about what our summer plans entail at Thomas Nelson. While we are always learning from our work, the summer offers a concerted time to evaluate the work from our previous year, revise and/or develop visions, and ensure that we are fully prepared for improved outcomes across the school in year two. Building off of the work from last summer, the following visioning teams are in place for the months ahead to ensure we are supporting all Generals. 

Planning and PD Team

Evaluate and revise planning vision.

Recommend best practices in planning for all LEADERs.

Evaluate planning documents and make suggestions about school-wide practices.

Recommend summer PD opportunities.

Evaluate and plan Summer PD opportunities.

School Culture Team

Evaluate and Revise School Culture Vision

Develop LEADER Prep Vision

Recommend use of school space ideas.

Plan parental involvement activities and strategies.

Assessment Committee

Review, evaluate, and revise TNHS assessment vision in alignment with best practices.

Outline best practices in assessment for school-wide practices.

Ensure that assessment practices align with state and national assessments.

Plan assessment PD for LEADERs.

Writing Team

Revise school wide writing vision.

Evaluate and revise vision.

Ensure that writing policies align with EOC outcomes and best practices in writing instruction.

Plan writing PD opportunities. 

LEADing THE WAY
I want to extend a big thank you from the Thomas Nelson staff to all parents and community members that have been integral in making our inaugural year a success. Your support for our work throughout this transitional year has allowed us to work with a great deal of confidence. In turn, we have been able to more directly align our work to the mission of college, career, and citizenship preparation. 

THANK YOU!