Volleyball

The reason I blogged about football yesterday is that it was fresh on my mind, but I have a few things to say about our volleyball season as well. I will also admit as far as expertise goes, I can speak at ease about football, and I have none in volleyball.

I can say this from watching our girls play, we were not the same team at the end of the season that we were at the start. The improvement shown by our team was astounding, and you could see their confidence soar as the season wore on. I got the genuine belief that our girls felt they had a chance to win no matter the opponent. Only having one senior on the squad I think the future is bright for our volleyball program.

As stated earlier I am not a volleyball expert, nor do I know how to coach volleyball, but I feel I do recognize coaching. The gains made could not have been achieved without good coaching and patience to work with such a young team and keeping sight that it is how you finish not how you start.

I just want to say kudos to all involved in our volleyball program.

Football

Pittsburg Colgan is a better football team than the Pleasanton Blu-Jays.

I do not want to discuss the difference between private and public schools. I believe in public education and its benefits.

This past Friday night, October 23, our football team played at St. Marys-Colgan. We had three members gone to Indianapolis to the FFA National Convention, which left us with only 14 in uniform. Colgan is down this year in their numbers they only have sightly over 50 playing football. The clock ran the second half, Colgan won the game 39-0. None of this matters.

What matters was the extraordinary effort put out by our players, knowing they were outmanned I couldn't have been more proud of our kids for the valiant effort that was put out. As the game wore on I became more and more proud watching our kids battle, I am very happy to be a Pleasanton Blu-Jay.

It didn't stop at our players either, our coaches coached the entire game as if it were a 0-0 game and never stopped demanded the very best from our kids. The cheerleaders performed throughout the entire night and kept our crowd involved until the end, kudos to you, and your leadership, our fans stayed until end on a cold and wet night the simple thing would have been to get in your car and head home, however, not one person did. I did watch the Colgan fans stream out at halftime as if a fire alarm had been sounded.

Sports are not intended to teach character, but more often than not sports reveal character, and judging from last Friday night that is one trait we are not short on. My hats off to everyone involved.

3 Beliefs of a Professional Learning Community

Planting and nurturing a healthy professional learning community requires that every teacher and employee in a building arrive at three conclusions:

1. I am a professional. My mission is to ensure learning at high levels for every student, measurable by objective evidence.

2. I learn and I help others learn. My students learn more when I collaborate and lean with other teachers, sharing strategies and comparing evidence.

3. My school is a community, greater than the sum of its parts. It is built out of collaborative teams and disciplined professionals that share and learn from their failures and successes.

It's not enough to adopt two out of the three conclusions. It's all or nothing.

Because these conclusions aren't just benign, buzzword statements, adoption can be pretty arduous. Teachers need time and patience to hash through the implications of these terms with other teachers.

Teachers need time to air their concerns, fears, and insecurities before they really assimilate these beliefs. Teachers need time to struggle and even fight through the process of letting go of longer-standing beliefs that conflict with these conclusions, without feeling like they're forfeiting their souls and their individuality.

For leaders, the whole process is less like building a tract house, and more like planting and growing a forest. It takes strategy and experience, nurturing and pruning, and time.

No School

This just a reminder that we will not be in school on Friday, October 23, or on Friday, October 30. I hope you all enjoy your two consecutive three day weekends.

October BOE Meeting

The board was reminded of the KASB Regional meeting in Lenexa and if any members wish to attend to get the registration from Connie or Mr. Gorman. The KASB annual convention is in Overland Park this year, the first weekend of December, members are encouraged to attend, once again, registration can be obtained from Connie or Mr. Gorman.

The BOE discussed paperless meetings but the consensus was to keep the meetings the way they are. We don't use that much paper and both sides could be utilized when copying to save paper, plus the cost of buying laptops for the board would pay for a lot of paper.

The annual USD 344 Employee Appreciation Night is set for October 16. The cooks will be preparing chili and cinnamon rolls. Serving will begin at 5:30 and conclude at 6:30 followed by the final home football game of the regular season.

The board accepted resignations of Mr. Charley Brock, JH/HS Counselor and Ms. Debbie Nall, cook. Mr. Brock will finish our the school year and Ms. Nall will work until October 14, 2009, we wish both of them the best. Jamie Rogers was appointed as JH assistant Girls basketball coach, Carolyn Epps was employed to replace Ms. Nall.

The next meeting of the USD 344 Board of Education is on November 9, 2009, the public is welcome to attend.

12 Warning Signs That Your Child May Be Overscheduled

There may not be a "right" number of activities for every child,but ask yourself these questions to check if your child's getting enough downtime.

1. Does he/she act grouchy, mopey or irritable?

2. Can he/she fall asleep at bedtime?

3. Are his/her grades slipping? Does he/she finish his/her homework?

4. Has he/she started overeating?

5. Does he/she zone out in front of the TV?

6. Is he/she complaining of stomachaches, headaches, or mysterious illnesses?

7. Does he/she get bored easily?

8. Is he/she overanxious about getting approval from authority figures?

9. When heading out the door, does he/throw a tantrum or "lose" equipment?

10. Does he/she pick fights with her siblings or complain you don't love her as much?

11. Can he/she keep track of where he/she is supposed to be?

12. Is his/her schedule draining you or your family members?

If your child exhibits a few of these behaviors on an ongoing basis you may want to re-examine his after-school schedule.