. . . and He Took the Cup

With these words, our church completes the act of taking communion -- something we did this week to prepare our hearts for the observance of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  However, this time, my pastor re-focused us on the choice that Christ made, and we traveled to a moon-lit Garden of Gethsemane to examine the most critical decision in all of human history.

The Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" in the hours just before his mockery of a trial and ultimate execution (Mark 14:34).  We are told that his sweat was like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44).  He knew what was coming, and his human side was in anguish over the very thought of his fate.

Although Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer as model earlier in his ministry, I believe that the most beautiful prayer ever uttered actually occurred in this moment - a moment where a decision on the part of the sinless Son of God paved the way for our redemption.

Luke records it beautifully for us:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.  On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."  He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:39-42, emphasis added).

Authentic prayer is dangerous.  Seeking God's direction can be frightening.  However, real peace comes only from knowing and doing the will of God.  As in all things, our ultimate example is Christ Jesus.  May we learn to pray as he did, humbly submitting ourselves to God's beautiful, wonderful, perfect will.

My prayer is that you and your family will draw closer to the Savior during this most holy of seasons.

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

I hope you had a great week!  Hang in there, then end is near!

Introduce Yourself to Evernote

Recently, I began using Evernote to keep up with all kinds of things: meeting notes, web sites, checklists, you name it.  This free app is downloadable on most any device, including the MacBooks you have been issued.

I invite you to read this article about how Evernote may be used in education.  With the coming 1:1 program, you may find this to be a very useful tool.

General Announcements

Here are some things to keep in mind as we head into the new week:

Division Meeting

We will have a division meeting Monday afternoon in room 214.  The primary focus of the meeting will be ideas regarding an advisory program.  I will share with you some things that I learned at a recent conference on this topic.

Liz Carter

Liz Carter will be speaking to our students about social networking issues in two separate assemblies this week.   The schedule is as follows

Tuesday, April 12

7th and 8th Grades

2nd period (immediately following announcements)

Old Gym

5th and 6th Grades

6th period

Old Gym

Choral Assembly

We will be on Activity Schedule this Wednesday as our choral department presents music from their spring concert.

Scavenger Hunt

Kathy Pirtle has once again put together a fun day for our 8th-graders this Friday.  They will be conducting the annual Scavenger Hunt to coincide with their recent study of Treasure Island.  This always shapes up to be one of my favorite days of the year!

Thanks for your hard work this week.  You guys are the best!

Have a Great Weekend!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

Thanks for a great week!  You all do such a fine job each day, and I appreciate every one of you.

Khan Academy

I know I mentioned this last week, but I want to emphasize it this week.  Please take some time to have a look at this website.  Khan Academy serves as a tremendous resource not only for classroom teaching, but for individual student work outside of class.  I have made our parents aware of this resource, and I believe that we should investigate it thoroughly as individual teachers.

Katherine Wolf

We are so pleased to have Katherine Arnold Wolf here at Trinity on Wednesday, April 6 at 8:50 a.m. to speak to our middle & upper school students in Willett Hall.  In April of 2008, Katherine had a massive brain-stem stroke. She was not expected to live or recover. In the time since her stroke, she has relearned to eat, to speak, and is now relearning to walk. To read more about her story of Hope check out her website by clicking here.

Clinton Carter

Like me, some of you worked for Clinton Carter when he was either principal at Robert E. Lee High School or superintendent of the Montgomery Public Schools.  Dr. Carter will be our guest next Wednesday as a part of our Lunch with Leaders program.  If you know him, I'm sure he'd be glad for you to drop by and say hello.

Grade Level Lunches

I would like to begin meeting with grade levels during lunch beginning within the next week.  This will not be necessary for the sixth grade teachers as they have common planning time.  However, this might provide a great opportunity for 7th and 8th grade teams to meet when the schedule is less than perfect.  Look for a specific schedule early next week, and, as always, I welcome your input with respect to this idea.

Principal Evaluation

Thanks so much for your responses on my recent principal evaluation.  In addition to the many kind things you had to say, I was also able to get some fabulous suggestions as to how our program can continue to move forward and be the very best middle school possible.  Your input is very valuable to me.  I count it a very high honor and privilege to work with each of you!

Have a great weekend!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

I hope your first week back in the saddle was a good one!

National Junior Honor Society

Many thanks to Kathy Pirtle, Anita Ellis, Kelly Long, and Elizabeth Mosely for making this year's NJHS induction ceremony such a rousing success.  I would also like to thank Greg Fuller and the SAGE staff for their work.  The ceremony was simply fantastic, and that was due to the hard work of the people mentioned above.  Thank you!!

Professional Development Resources

Here are some resources that I hope you will find helpful in your daily teaching:

TED-ED Brain Trust

This is a new forum you can join for lots of creative ideas for use in the classroom.  I blogged about it recently here.

"Fakebook" and "Twister"

Facebook and Twitter are both locked down here at Trinity during the school day.  However, the folks over at iLearnTechnology have a neat article about alternatives to these two sites that can be used in an educational setting.  I invite you to check it out!

Khan Academy

If you have not looked at Khan Academy, you really need to do so.  There are tons of great educational videos on every subject imaginable.

Have a Great Weekend!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

I have decided to hold off on the professional development links until after Spring Break.

Please remember that we have a division meeting when we return on the 21st.  Otherwise, enjoy your much-deserved vacation!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

K-12 Faculty Meeting

There will be a K-12 faculty meeting Monday afternoon at 3:40 in Willett Hall.  Please let me know if you are unable to be present for this meeting.

Division Meeting

Please make plans to attend a division meeting Monday, March 21 at 3:40pm in room 214.

Middle School Chapel

We will be operating on activity schedule Tuesday as we have a middle school chapel in the old gym.  Our guest speaker will be Henry Tellis.  Henry played football at Troy and in the NFL before becoming involved in the community ministry arm of First Baptist Church.  His work today is with the youth of west Montgomery.  To that end, Henry will speak with our students about using your resources for God, and about servant leadership.

We will also debut the recently-installed sound system in the Old Gym.  No more borrowing from Mrs. Ahna!

Education Brain Trust

The Ted Education Brain Trust is an exciting new venture in education.  It will be created using the ideas of teachers like you. Take a look at this brief video:



Register your interest in contributing to TedEd by clicking here, and be prepared to discuss this potentially powerful resource at our next division meeting.

Professional Development Resources

EdWeb

EdWeb is a networking site for educators.  You may access and explore the content by clicking here.

Your Brain on Technology 

Here is some fascinating reading on how technology "wires" the developing brain.  This is important information for any educator in the 21st Century.

Have a Great Weekend!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

Survey Results

Thanks so much for your participation in our recent survey regarding middle school goals.  Your input has been most helpful.

Our survey told us that we need to to a better job of implementing our Paw Print reward system.  To that end, Coach Ragsdale and I will be announcing specific Paw Print redemption dates, along with rewards, in the next week or so. Coach Rags has already met with a cross section of our student body to get ideas for these rewards.  Additionally, we have spoken with the Montgomery Biscuits about watching a ball game during the school day.  We will announce the date as well as the requirements for this trip within the next couple of weeks as well.

Our teachers overwhelmingly feel that we need to aggressively pursue an advisory program, and it is my goal to implement such a program next year.  Stay tuned for more information on that one.

We are pretty evenly split as to how classes should be arranged when we engage in our "big move" this summer.  This will be open for discussion at our next division meeting.

When we do meet again, I will be placing you into action teams to come up with specific plans for moving our middle school program forward.  Our numbers look good for next year, and I am excited about the future of our school! Thanks, again, for your input!

Blogs Wikis and Other Such Stuff

As we go into the weekend, please check to be sure that your blogs and wikis are relevant and up-to-date.  These have such incredible communication potential, and we need to be utilizing them to the fullest extent possible.  Also, please remember to check your spelling and grammar carefully.  Like it or not, we are judged by the way we write, and educators are held to a higher standard.

Awesome Library

Awesome Library is a great resource for educators.  This site organizes the web with 37,000 carefully reviewed resources, including the top five percent in education.  You may access Awesome Library by clicking here.

Teaching the iGeneration

Educational Leadership recently published this great article which discusses teaching the iGeneration.  In it you will find great advice and some fantastic web resources that you may find helpful in your teaching.

As always, thanks for your hard work and dedication to our young people.  Have a great weekend!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

Middle School Goals Survey

If you have not done so already, please take a few moments to complete the Middle School Goals survey that was sent to you via email earlier today.  Your input is valuable, and will help us move our program forward.  Thanks for your participation!

Youth In Government

Here is a great picture of some of our best students representing Trinity well in our Youth in Government program.  Events such as these go on all year, and help to develop these young people into the leaders of tomorrow.  Many thanks to Rebecca Helms for aggressively promoting and facilitating this outstanding program.

Carpool Changes

Tuesday, February 22, is the day that we try out our carpool changes for afternoon dismissal.  Beginning then, middle school students with lower school siblings will be allowed to exit the building through the main middle school/upper school entrance.  Our hope is that this will improve the overall carpool experience.

Activity Schedule

We will be on Activity Schedule this coming Friday, February 25, for a chapel service.  The service will feature missionaries who will be in town for a conference at Trinity Presbyterian Church.

Professional Development Links

Here are some professional development resources you may find helpful:

Top Ten Sites for Educational Resources

Tech and Learning recently published their list of the top ten web sites containing cutting edge educational resources.  These resources offer a wide range of suggestions and tools that will enhance your teaching.  You may access the list by clicking here.

ExploraTree

ExploraTree is a web site featuring graphic organizers and thinking guides for use in your classroom.  You can choose from their extensive library of pre-made guides or create your own.  All are free and printable.  You may access the site by clicking here.

Have a Great Weekend!

Faculty Notes

Greetings!

I hope you all enjoyed a great weekend.  Wasn't the weather fantastic!

Here are just a few brief announcements as we begin a new week:

1. We will have a brief division meeting Monday after school.  Please plan on meeting in Whittington McLemore's room at 3:40.

2. We are changing our carpool policy some.  Beginning February 22, middle school students who have siblings in lower school will be allowed to exit through the main entrance to Trinity.  All other middle school students will still exit from the steps of Willett Hall.  Please help us communicate that this begins on February 22 -- not before -- and only applies to siblings of lower school students.

3. Please take some time to check out the Trinity professional development website.  This site is rich with resources that will be of tremendous help to all of us, so let's make sure we use it.  You may access the site by clicking here.

Have a great week!

DC Trip Week

Happy Saturday!

I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing, beautiful Saturday!

Just a quick reminder that I will be away for the entire week with our 8th grade students as we travel to Washington, DC.  Randy Ragsdale will be in charge while I am away.  You may have a look at the many exciting things going on in DC by checking out my parent blog or by looking at the Trinity SchoolTube site each day.

Have a wonderful week!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

I hope you have had a good week, and I wish for each of you a spectacular weekend!

Strategic Planning Session

Trinity Presbyterian School is embarking on a season of planning for the future of our school.  This process includes an intensive strategic planning event to take place at Trinity Presbyterian Church next Monday-Wednesday.  Some of you have been asked to participate, and I will be involved as well.  This will keep me out of the office for the first three days of next week, and I will be tied up with this process into the evening each day.

Please refer any issues, etc., to Randy Ragsdale during my absence.

John Gonleh Chapel

Rev. John Gonleh of The Refuge Church here in Montgomery will be here to speak to our middle school students in an extended chapel service this coming Thursday, January 27, 2011.  The chapel will run from 8:45-9:45 a.m. in the Old Gym, and we will run on a modified schedule that day.  Most classes will be about 40 minutes long.

John and his wife Bessie literally ran for their lives in their war-torn African country.  In the process of coming to America, they lost two children, and could not bring their other two to live with them for several years.

Theirs is an inspiring story of survival and of trust in Jesus Christ.  You won't want to miss it!

8th Grade Washington Trip

Our annual 8th grade Washington trip is upon us!  The 8th grade teachers and I will be in Washington, D. C. with 68 of our closest friends the week of January 31.  Randy Ragsdale will be in charge of the middle school during my absence.

I have asked the teachers, parents, and students to pray specifically for the following, and I am asking you to pray in this direction as well:

1. For good weather
2. For good health
3. For safety

The Washington trip is one of the most memorable experiences for our students during their entire journey through Trinity School.  Please layer us in prayer as we set forth to make a difference in the lives of these kids!

Grades and Parent Contact

As always, I encourage each of you to keep the lines of communication open between yourselves and our parents.  Remember, we are working to partner with them in the education of their children.  To that end, please keep grades updated on Edline, and contact parents at the first sign of trouble.  Parents like to hear the good news too, so let's not forget to praise our students when they do well!

Tech and Learning

Our friends over at Tech and Learning have put together a great list of the top 25 Web 2.0 sites for educators.  You may link to the site by clicking here.

Have a Great Weekend!

Happy Winter Weather Day!

There's nothing like a little ice to completely shut down a city in the Deep South!

I hope you have enjoyed your unexpected day off.  Some of you, no doubt, are resting up for the big game tonight.  Good luck to your team (whichever it may be!!).

Let's keep in mind a few important announcements as we prepare to head back to school tomorrow:

1. We will be on Activity Schedule this Wednesday, January 12, for a 6-12 Chapel in Willett Hall

2. Please plan for a special Chapel and activity Thursday, January 27.  The specific schedule times will be outlined in a separate communication within a couple of days.

3. Please remember to keep your grades updated, and contact parents at the first sign of trouble.

Have a great week!

We All Need This Type of Enthusiasm!

I hope you enjoy watching this video of a three-year-old boy conducting the fourth movement to Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. This shows just how music can stir the soul.  This little kid really knows this piece!

Enjoy:

Faculty Notes

Good Monday Morning!

Here are some important announcements and resources as we begin our final "normal" week before exams:

K-12 Faculty Meeting

There will be a brief K-12 faculty meeting this afternoon beginning at 3:40 in Willett Hall.  We will get a synopsis of our SAIS findings at this meeting.

Division Meeting

There will be no division meeting next Monday.  We will regroup when we return in January and will have a look at our recent test scores, as well as chart a course for the second semester.  Enjoy your afternoon next week!

Apple 1:1 Initiative

As you may now know, we have announced that our Apple 1:1 rollout will take place in grades seven and nine.  This means that our seventh grade teachers will have students attending class each day with a Macbook, and the rest of the secondary grades will quickly follow over the next few years.

As we prepare for this rollout, we will be providing many resources for you to utilize in your classrooms each day.  Here is one for starters - the Apple Education page.  Simply click the link to explore why we believe Apple to be on the cutting edge of education, and to get a look at what a 1:1 program looks like.

Stay tuned for more information and training, as well as some possible school visits.  It is an exciting time to be in education, and an exciting time to be at Trinity!

Have a great week!

Faculty Notes

Good Monday Morning!

Sorry for the late and brief post.  Lots of stuff going on this weekend!

The big announcement for us is that we have a K-12 faculty meeting this afternoon immediately after carpool.  The time is devoted to professional development, and you will receive CEUs for you time.

Some Important Upcoming Dates:

6th Grade Camp Cosby Trip - This Wednesday - Friday

Middle School Division Meeting - Next Monday, November 8

Veteran's Day Holiday - November 11

Congress Day - November 19

Middle School to Shakespeare to see Peter Pan - November 30

Have a great week!

Faculty Notes

Hello, All!  I hope everyone has enjoyed a relaxing weekend.

Here are just a few items as we head into the new week:

Faculty Meeting 

There is no faculty meeting Monday.  Some committees will be meeting, however, so check with the chairpersons of any on which you serve to see if you have a Monday afternoon commitment.

Important Upcoming Dates

The 7th grade Government field trip is this Friday, October 29.  Our 7th grade students and faculty (including myself) will be off campus for the entire day.

Congress Day is Friday, November 19.  More information is forthcoming from Rebecca Helms.

The Rule of Three

I discovered this great article in my leadership reading this week.  It discusses the Rule of Three and how this "rule" makes for more efficient meetings.  I believe the concept could also be applied to teaching a 50-minute class, so I hope you will take a few minutes to explore these ideas.

See you tomorrow!

Faculty Notes

Happy Weekend!

Thanks so much to those of you who came out to the "Minute to Win It" 5th Quarter event after the T. R. Miller game Friday night.  The kids behaved themselves beautifully and we all had a great time! (Be sure to ask Karen Harris about her dress, and you'll get an idea of what you missed if you didn't come!)

Here are some important upcoming events you'll want to be sure and mark on your calendar:

Our 7th Grade Government field trip is set for Friday, October 29.  The entire 7th grade will be off campus for the school day visiting our local and state government offices here in Montgomery and in Pike Road.  For further information, see Whittington McLemore.

Also, grades 6-8 will participate in congress Day on Friday, November 19.  See Rebecca Helms for more information about this event.

Part of my "thank you" for our stellar SAIS comments is an afternoon off this Monday.  NO FACULTY MEETING FOR THE MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION!  Enjoy - you deserve it!

Some of you are having students create comic strips to demonstrate that they understand material.  If this idea interests you, this link could be very helpful.

We have recently increased our web presence here in the middle school division.  This article discusses the importance of having such a presence in today's educational environment.

I'm looking forward to seeing each of you Monday!

Faculty Notes

Happy Saturday!

I hope you enjoyed a dress-down day yesterday.  You certainly earned it this week!

Thank you so very much for everything you did to make our SAIS visit a success.  Several of you, along with some of our students, visited with team members, and others covered classes to make this possible.  However, most of all, you each do an outstanding job with our kids, and the visiting team took notice of that in a big way.

Our visitors this week had many nice things to say about our middle school program and about our professional TEAM of educators.  It was obvious to them that you love these children, and that you are passionate about what you do.  Please know that I deeply appreciate each of you and the hard work you do to make our middle school what it is!  Together, we will continue improving for the benefit of our kids.

Now for the announcements:

Please remember that we have standardized testing scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, which includes a noon dismissal.  If you have any questions about your testing responsibilities, please see Becky Shepherd.

We work hard here at Trinity to provide you with as many "perks" as possible.  One of these is the abundant supply of copy paper as well as several ink jet and laser printers.  I am reminded of just how good we have it every time I buy copy paper for my wife to take to her public school job.  Yes, she has to buy her own.

To that end, please be careful with the number of color prints we make -- especially on the library printer.  Ink jet cartridges and laser printer toner tend to be quite expensive and we want to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us.

Our YMCA student groups are putting together a social activity next Friday night following the TR Miller game from 9:15 - 11:15 in Willett Hall.  We need some teachers to assist with chaperoning this event, so please sign up in the copy room if you can help with this.  It promises to be a fun evening and you won't want to miss out!

As educators, we are always looking for ways to take our game to the next level.  I have found Google to be very helpful in my work, and you may want to explore the many ways it can be used to enhance your teaching.  This article shows us 100 ways Google can help the classroom teacher.  I hope you find some useful information!

Have a great weekend!

Faculty Notes

Happy Homecoming Friday!

We all seemed to have survived homecoming week! Now, I hope you'll take some time for yourself this weekend.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as we head out of here today:

SAIS Visit

Our SAIS visiting team will arrive on campus next Tuesday, and will be here through Thursday.  I have asked a few of you to visit with the team for about twenty minutes Wednesday afternoon.  Thank you for agreeing to help with this!  I will be in contact with other faculty members to make sure we can have classes covered for this time span as visiting team members chat with a representation of our faculty.

Thank you for the hard work you have put toward helping us be prepared for next week.  Several of you have served on committees, and have contributed long hours in the preparation of our self-study.  It goes without saying that we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Laura Williams, our accreditation coordinator, who has done an outstanding job of keeping everything on track for us.

Please remember that our K-12 faculty meeting has been moved from Monday to Thursday at 3:40 in Willett Hall.  The SAIS visiting team will present their findings to us at this meeting, so please make every effort to be there.

Please consult this week's Faculty and Staff Bulletin for detailed information regarding our SAIS visit.

Professional Development Resources

Here are a few links that I thought would be useful to you in your daily work here at Trinity:

This site offers tips on how to deal with technology glitches as they pop up in your day-to-day work.  With all of the technology we are adding, we could all use some help in this area!

Many of you are entering into the world of project-based learning more and more.  This site offers seven "essentials" for project-based learning.  I hope you can find some useful information there.

As we assign homework to our students, let's constantly ask ourselves if it is appropriate and enhancing the learning process.  This site gives five "hallmarks" of good homework, and is certainly worth a look.

Thank you, as always, for everything you do each and every day.  You are deeply appreciated!

Have a great weekend, and GO CATS!

Faculty Notes

Greetings!

As we approach the end of the work week, I would like to give you a couple of pats on the back as well as remind you of some important items.

First, I can't tell you how much I am enjoying visiting your classes each day!  It is exciting to see the many different things going on across our middle school program, and it is obvious that you care about what you do and pour yourselves into it each and every day.  Thank you!

Also, I am grateful for the way you are using 21st Century communication tools to connect with your students and parents.  This continues to pay big dividends, and ultimately benefits the children we are called to teach.  Way to go!

Please help us with a couple of items:

We continue to have students who are trying to eat their snacks each day in places other than Willett Hall.  Help us remind everyone that snacks are to be eaten in Willett Hall only, and that students are expected to clean up after themselves.

Along that line, when you have lunch duty, please help us get the tables clean on top and below.  Randy and I are going to begin announcements at 12:20pm each day in order to allow for more clean-up time.  Students should not be dismissed from the lunchroom until their areas are completely clean.  Thanks for your help with this.

Homecoming is next week!  Let's all encourage our students to get into the Trinity Wildcat spirit!  Talk up the themes each day and encourage their participation.  It looks like it is going to be a fun-filled week!

Here is some interesting reading that I hope will get us all thinking less about tests and grades, and more about teaching and learning.  Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!