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Student Council

Nov. 13 , 2006 • Vol. 12:12

This Week

2006-07 District Calendar - year view (pdf)

The Odyssey Begins

Calling all parents! I am looking for a few good moms and dads to help coach our Odyssey of the Mind teams this year.  Odyssey of the Mind is an awesome international program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for elementary to college-aged students.  Students use their creativity and problem-solving skills on challenges that range from building mechanical devices to interpreting literary classics. They then share their solutions at local and state competitions. This is a team-based activity with each grade level organizing a team. Over the years, Larkspur District teams have performed well at regional competitions and earned spots in the state finals.

This program relies heavily upon parent volunteers to work with each team at weekly, after school practices. Teacher advisors will also work with each grade level team this year, as well. If you are interested in entering this exciting world, I would love to hear from you. The regional competition is February 10 and a new coaches training is November 18. It is a truly rewarding experience for both students and adults. I encourage you to participate.

A Moving Experience

Last week we received a much-anticipated delivery of desks at the beginning of lunch. The task before us was ominous – we needed to fill two rooms with the new desks, move the existing desks to two other rooms and remove their current collection of borrowed desks. Essentially four rooms had to be filled and moved in forty-five minutes. Instead of spreading out the job over several days, Mr. Boone and I enlisted the help and support of a cadre of our eighth grade students. For the entire lunch period, about twenty students gave their time and their muscles to the unpacking of sixty new desks and the movement of over one hundred desks. It was heartening to see so many of our students willing to work so hard for so long without any mention of what was in it for them. We all chipped in together and improved four classrooms. I want to thank all of the students who helped us out and tell you that I enjoyed working with you on the impromptu project. If I ever move out of my house, I know a couple dozen people to call.

 - Daniel Norbutas & Andy Boone
- Hall Principal & Assistant Principal

Academic Excellence

Recognition for academic accomplishment is a delicate matter. Our intention is to provide public recognition for students who have performed to exceptionally high standards. In drawing attention to these students, we run the risk of adversely affecting the students who did not achieve to the same standard. It is a difficult challenge. Our society does a good job publicly honoring athletic accomplishment, starting at a very young age. One need only pick up the IJ to see which youth scored a goal. But no such acknowledgement of academic accomplishments exists. Therefore I feel our recognition is an important way of communicating that we do value exceptional achievement.

As a school, we also recognize eight students of the month. These students are not chosen on grade point average, but are selected on their citizenship, effort and commitment to others. It is our hope that with a balanced recognition of students we can honor students in the variety of ways they achieve.

To that end, we will be expanding our Honor Roll and Principal List recognitions this year. Because we feel it is important to also reward growth and continual improvement, at the end of the second quarter we will also recognize students who improve their grade point average from the first quarter. We will continue to do this each quarter of the year so students are reminded that it is important to always try your best and always try to improve.

Congratulations to the students who earned Honor Roll or Principal’s List for the first quarter of the school year. I am proud of you and of all of the students who continue to work hard and do your best.