Spring?

Even though the temperature outside doesn’t feel like it right now, spring is here. We have made it through the winter with a few more snow days than we would have liked, but warmer temperatures are on the way. Believe it or not, summer is just around the corner.

While summer is not too far off, we are still working to address the issues caused by the snow days. As you know, in order to make up the time we missed, our school day now begins at 7:55 am and ends at 3:35 pm. Also, Friday, May 24^th is now a 1:00 pm dismissal day. This schedule permits us to make up much of the missed instructional time prior to SOL testing.

Regardless of the temperature, spring is always a busy time at LCHS. Our spring sports teams have been hard at work and each team is looking forward to a great season. Be sure to check out the link on the LCHS Athletics website for a complete schedule. Our arts programs have been busy as well. The annual LCPS Arts Festival was held on Saturday and it was a great event as always. Also, the LCHS Musical Theater Ensemble presented “Godspell” this weekend. (If you missed this weekend’s performances, they will be doing a final show on Friday, March 29^th in the LCMS Forum.) And, our students and teachers continue to work diligently to get ready for the SOL tests coming up in May. Even though the year is coming to a close, everyone at LCHS is still working hard to maintain our tradition of excellence in classroom, on the athletic field, and in our extracurricular activities.

Also, don’t forget that we will be having our Parent-Teacher Conference Night on Wednesday, April 10^th from 3:45 pm to 7:00 pm. This is a great opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teachers to discuss his or her progress during the 3^rd nine weeks. I hope to see everyone there.

As always, I would like to thank you for your support of Louisa County High School. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 540-894-5436 or by email at smithte@lcps.k12.va.us.

The Misuse of Prescription Medications

Earlier this week, Corporal Clay Hart, the LCHS School Resource Officer, spoke to our students about the misuse of prescription medications.  During his talk, he informed the students about the various dangers of this misuse.  The students were told that they could not only face school and legal consequences, but that these medications can cause significant health issues when used inappropriately.  Corporal Hart shared stories from his experiences as a deputy sheriff of instances where the misuse of prescription medications led to tragic consequences.  Far too often, teenagers feel that prescription medications are "safe" to misuse.  Because of this misconception, we wanted to ensure that our students were aware of the dangers and had the information they needed to make the right decisions.   

If you have not done so, I ask you to please talk with your child about this topic.  As we frequently tell our students, making the right choices is the key to success.  It requires everyone in the community - teachers, parents, administrators, and community members - to work with our students to ensure that they do make the right choices.

As always, I want to thank you for your continued support of LCHS.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 540-894-5436 or at smithte@lcps.k12.va.us.  

2013 Is Off To A Great Start!

Since this is my first post of the New Year, please let me start by saying that I hope everyone had a great holiday and that everyone has a wonderful 2013.  So far, 2013 is shaping up to be a great year at LCHS.

I wanted to thank everyone for a great end to the first semester.  Our SOL and CTE credentialing testing went well and the results we have gotten back are looking great.  As of today, we still have not gotten back SOL scores for the Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and English: Reading tests.  As these were all new tests this year, the scores tend to take longer to get back.  As soon as we do get them, we will calculate grades for these courses and send home updated report cards for those students in these classes.

I also wanted to let everyone know that we are continuing to address the issues caused by the earthquake.  Just before Winter Break, our Automotive, Building Trades, and Culinary Arts classes moved into their new facilities.  These new classrooms are much closer to what we had before the earthquake and our teachers and students are excited about their new spaces.  I want to thank everyone who worked hard to make these new facilities possible.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, LCHS will begin the full implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program this semester.  This program is designed to reduce existing bullying problems among students, to prevent the development of new problems, and to achieve better peer relations at school.  A major component of this program are class meetings.  During these meetings, students will discuss bullying, the impacts of bullying, and appropriate ways individuals can stop bullying.  Holding these meetings will require us to change our ROAR Block schedule slightly.  When ROAR Block begins on January 23rd, all students will be expected to be in first period by 8:07 am on Thursdays.  On Thursdays, students will have first period at the beginning of the day.  The last 30 minutes of the block will be used for either Olweus Class Meetings or club meetings. 

In case you haven’t heard, we have set the date for graduation for the Class of 2013.  The graduation ceremony will be held on Friday, May 24^th at 6:30 pm in the LCHS Stadium.  Should the weather not cooperate, we will hold the ceremony on Saturday, May 25th either at the LCHS Stadium or at a rain site.  While we have been working diligently over the last several months to secure a rain site, as of now, we have not been able to do so.  Once we have a site, we will get that information out to our seniors and their families as quickly as possible.

As always, I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of LCHS.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I can be reached at smithte@lcps.k12.va.us or at 540-894-5436.

Upcoming Events

As I look at the calendar, I can't believe that the end of the semester is right around the corner. But, since we are almost at the end of the semester, I wanted to post about a few upcoming events at LCHS.

First, we will begin our SOL testing on Tuesday, December 11th. If your child is taking an SOL test this week, please make sure that they get a good night's rest before the test. Our students and teachers have been working hard this semester to prepare for these tests and I know that everyone will do well.

Secondly, I wanted to let everyone know that the last day for ROAR Block for this semester will be on Friday, December 14th. Starting on Monday, December 17th, students will be expected to report to school at 8:07. Also, we will be having non-SOL final exams on December 19th and 20th.

Finally, we will be holding our second semester Open House on Thursday, January 3rd from 3:00 pm until 7:00 pm. This will be a great time to meet with your child's second semester teachers. We hope to see everyone there.

Also, the winter sports season is in full swing. Please come out to support all of our athletic teams. Your support is invaluable and our student-athletes appreciate all that you do for them.

I hope that everyone has a fun, relaxing, and safe Winter Break. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 540-894-5436. I can also be reached through email at smithte@lcps.k12.va.us.

Olweus Anti-Bullying Program

Bullying has become a major topic in education over the last few years. The definition of bullying, as given by the website http://www.violencepreventionworks.org/public/bullying.page, is:

            "Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an

            imbalance of power. Most often, it is repeated over time."

Bullying, whether it is physical, verbal, or cyber bullying, has no place at LCHS. We have been working to not only educate students about bullying, but to also ensure that these behaviors do not occur at our school. We will maintain a safe and positive learning environment for all of our students.

One of the programs that we are using to continue to ensure a safe and positive learning environment is the Olweus Anti-Bullying Program. This program is designed to educate everyone in the school community -students, teachers, staff members, and parents - about what bullying is and what can be done to prevent bullying. In addition to faculty and staff training, a major component of the Olweus Program are class meetings. During these class meetings, teachers and students talk about various topics including what constitutes bullying, why some people bully others, and what can be done to prevent bullying. One idea behind the Olweus Program is that open and honest communication can help reduce bullying in a school.

LCHS will begin holding our Olweus class meetings during the second semester. Our plan is to make Thursdays "Activity/Class Meeting Days". Starting when ROAR Block does next semester, we will have Activity Days on the first and third Thursdays of the month and Olweus Class Meetings on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. On Thursdays, all students will be expected to report to school by 8:07. The class meetings and club meetings will take place during the last 30 minutes of 1st period.

As always, thank you for your support of LCHS.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached smithte@lcps.k12.va.us or at 540-894-5436.

 

FALL IS HERE!

The weather is staring to get a bit chillier and tomorrow is the first day of October.  Fall is certainly here.

And, speaking of October, I wanted to let you know about a few events we have coming up this month:

The week of October 1st - October 5th is Homecoming Week at LCHS.  As always, this week will see our students competing in our Spirit Days contest.  On Friday, we will have the Homecoming Parade and the Homecoming game against Fluvanna.  And, of course, we will have the Homecoming Dance on Saturday, October 6th from 7 pm - 10 pm.

On October 9th, Toney Lineberry will be coming to LCHS to speak to our juniors and seniors about driving and highway safety.  Mr. Lineberry is an excellent speaker and his conversation with our students will certainly motivate them to be safer drivers.

On October 12th the U.S. Government classes and the LCHS Library will be hosting our annual "So, Now You're 18 Day".  This event allows our seniors to meet with government officials, hear from candidates for office, register to vote, and participate in a mock election.

Report cards will be going  home on October 19th and LCHS will be holding Parent Teacher Conferences on October 24th from 3:30 pm - 7:00 pm.  We hope to see everyone on the 24th.

As always, thank you for your support of LCHS.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 540-894-5436.

Upcoming Events

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.  I wanted to remind everyone about a few upcoming events at LCHS:

1.  We will have school pictures for students in grades 9 - 11 on September 5th.  An order form was sent home last week, but if you need another, please contact the main office.

2.  Senior make-up pictures will be held on September 6th.  If your senior did not get his/her portrait taken in June, please make sure that he/she stops by the main office to sign up for a time to have his/her picture taken on September 6th.

3.  Our College Planning Night will be held on September 6th at 6:30 pm in the LCHS cafeteria.  The LCHS counseling staff will be on hand to provide information and answer any questions you might have about the college application process.

As always, if you have any questions about these, or any other events, please feel free to contact us at 540-894-5436.