January 2020

Good morning, Parents.

I have a couple of things I want to share with you this morning. 

 
First Semester/Second Quarter report cards will be available on Infinite Campus this Friday, January 24th. 

We have changed the date of the Top Ten Banquet to Tuesday, March 10th at 6:00 @ Breaking Bread.

And finally, I would like to congratulate the following Faculty VIP students on being selected for this honor.  As I shared with the students at the meeting last night, I think it is a really meaningful honor because most of our teachers have about 150 students.  Many of those students are really nice and impressive young people, yet each of the students listed below rose to the top in the mind of the teacher that selected them after working together for nearly five months.  Each of these students possesses qualities that allow them to bring something special to that teacher’s classroom that really stands out, and it was nice to hear those things shared at our meeting last night.  We are both aware, and quite thankful, for the quality of students we are able to work with in this community, and we are especially thankful for the positive impact of these Fall Semester Faculty VIP recipients.  

Good morning, Parents.

I want to share a short story from an article in the National Federation of High School Sports publication as a little reminder for all of us, myself included.  If it is not too late to add this to our list of New Year’s resolutions, I would encourage all Dutchmen fans to consider adding this resolution to your list in 2020.  

“The scene is a crisp Friday evening in the fall.  The local high school football team is playing a tightly-contested game against the archrival.  Trailing by five points in the waning minutes, the running back takes a pitch from the quarterback and finds an opening in the defense.  With a quick burst of speed, he’s in the open field.  

A father of one of the players, and the rest of the crowd, raise to their feet in anticipation as the back breaks away with a clear path to the end zone and erupts as he crosses the goal line.  Pandemonium ensues as the father high-fives those nearby, swelling with pride as the school band fires up the school song.  However, the crowd is silenced when the referee signals that a penalty has nullified the touchdown.  The joy on the part of the parent instantly turns to intense anger.  

Without thinking, the parent starts berating the officials at the top of his lungs, the volume and choice of words turning heads in the crowd.  Soon, the parent realizes he succumbed to the emotional peaks and valleys of being a parent spectator, which caused him to embarrass himself, his school and most importantly, his son.  

Similar scenarios happen all to often in communities across the country, proving it is no easy task to be a parent at an event.  For parents, watching their son or daughter succeed or fail in such an unpredictable landscape provides a wide range of emotions that can be very difficult to manage.”

Have you ever experienced that sort of intense emotional reaction at one of our ballgames?  I will admit that I have, but I also think it is important to remind each other that we have school sports programs because we believe these experiences can provide a training ground for our children to learn things like emotional control under stressful conditions.  I don’t think we will ever be perfect, but I do think we have to work hard as parents, adults and role models to try to set the best example that we can in terms of sportsmanship and how we treat others in these emotional situations.

I think we are going to have a lot of enjoyable events to watch this winter and spring, and some of them may get intense and emotional, and I hope we can all do our part to set a mature example of how to control our emotions under pressure.  

Have a great weekend.Scott

Congratulations to the Oostburg High School musicians that represented us at the Big East Honors Band and Choir Concert last night at the Civic Center in Manitowoc.  We hope you had a great experience.

Band–Jada Ritterling, Abiageal Wing, Gregory Gallenberger, Camryn Lund, Emily DeMaster, Lorenzo Christian, Kyle Schinner, and Austin Scholten.  

Choir–Sabryn Bley, Ashlyn Kolste, Payton Navis, Leah Otte, Libby Otte, Angie Trekas, Campbell Van Ess, Levi Dulmes, Misa-el Maier, Kyle Schinner, Lorenzo Christian, Gabe Ludens, Eli Stader, and Ethan Wittneben.

Good luck to all of our students as they begin exams.  Scott

Good morning, Parents. 

 
I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a refreshing break.  As your children return to school, we are in full gear up mode working toward the end of the semester and semester exams.  I sent out information and the exam schedule/process a few weeks ago, but today I thought I would try to share some other pertinent information with parents this morning.  

We feel the exam review process, and the exams themselves, have real value in the learning process for each class.  Since the exams focus on the most important standards learned and practiced from the beginning of the year, this cumulative review and exam process allows students to refresh these skills and also provides another opportunity for them to show what they can do in terms of demonstrating their understanding of each standard.  In most classes, your children are currently being guided by their teachers through a review process of the critical standards of the semester.  Where parents can help most in this process is to nudge your students to spend time each night investing in some extra review and practice, because unlike a normal test or assessment, exams cover a much wider range of topics.  Investing extra time studying prior to exams is critical to performing their best.  

If you have any questions about the exam process, please feel free to call me at (920) 564-2346 x4001. (The schedule and information were once again attached to the email version of this message.)  If you have questions about specific exams, please call or email the teacher directly. Good luck to all of our students on their exams as they finish the first semester.  We hope each student will work hard, invest in extra studying and preparation, and do very well.