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Happy New Year!

Welcome back to 2018!

As we start the new year I invite you all to join me in the Happy Teacher Challenge.  You will find the Challenge calendar in your boxes today.  Teachers who complete at least 80% of the challenge and email or tweet me at least 10 days with #happyteacherchallenge will be entered into a drawing for prizes at the end of the month.  Let's kick off the start of the school year with some purposeful fun!

We are just about halfway there.  A reminder that all one-year plan faculty members (teachers in their first three years) should submit evidence of your work towards Standards 3 & 4 as well as your goal attainment by Monday, January 8.  You can review the timeline here.  All evidence should be submitted in the Google folder and you should share the folder (not individual pieces of evidence) with your evaluator.

The new year also means the scheduling process for 2018-2019 school year will be starting soon.  If you considering an idea for a new course or changes to an existing course all please discuss your ideas with your department liaison and me as soon as possible.


  1. Program of Studies – updates and timelines (FOR LIAISONS)
The current 2017-2018 POS will be shared with liaisons on January 2nd. Liaisons should thoroughly review every page that impacts their department and make corrections/updates.
Changes/updates/suggestions for new classes should be made directly in the document by January 16. Please let Linda know when you have completed reviewing your section.  Please discuss big changes and proposals for new classes with me.


  1. Course registration timelines- See attached timeline
Please review the timeline for course selection. Teachers will make recommendation beginning
January 22nd. All teachers MUST have conversations with students before making recommendations.

Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, February 28 from 6-8pm.  This is during the time-frame that the parent portal for course selection is open so parents wishing to discuss an override are encouraged to use this time for that purpose.

Mid-term exams: A reminder to please post mid-term exam schedules and expectations in your classroom and review them with students.  Thanks!


Our meeting time on January 11 will be devoted to individual department work.  Please use this time to work on Program Reviews (science & math), NEASC, and updating the Program of Studies.

As we kick off 2018 I wanted to share a few quotes from George Couros and a visual from Four O'Clock Faculty.  Just some thoughts as we get ready to head into the new year.  
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” – Lucille Ball
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“You never regret being kind.” Nicole Shepherd
“We avoid the things that we’re afraid of because we think there will be dire consequences if we confront them. But the truly dire consequences in our lives come from avoiding things that we need to learn about or discover.” Shakti Gawain
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” Anthony J. D’Angelo
“Stay positive and happy. Work hard and don’t give up hope. Be open to criticism and keep learning. Surround yourself with happy, warm and genuine people.” Tena Desae
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” Neil Gaiman

A reminder about a great opportunity to connect with other educators!  Grow your circle in 2018....

Good morning, 
The Inspired Learning Project blog has been updated with a post and a challenge. Click here to see how you (and others) answer the following questions:
If no curriculum existed, what questions would you and your students want to explore? What's worth knowing?

Also, mark your calendars for the next Inspired Learning Project digital conversation. Join us on January 11 at 8pm EST as we build a common definition of authenticity and share strategies to make sure our students are engaged with real work that matters. Be part of the discussion by clicking here at 8pm on 1/11. 

Have an inspired start to 2018!
The Inspired Learning Team

John Clements, Principal, Nipmuc Regional High School
Dr. Maureen Cohen, Assistant Superintendent, Mendon-Upton Regional Schools
Mary Anne Moran, Associate Principal, Nipmuc Regional High School
Dave Quinn, Director of Technology Integration, Mendon-Upton Regional Schools


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