NOVEMBER 2017 Blog

This school year, Chariho Regional High School Community members are working together to provide students with the tools and skills necessary to become increasingly independent learners.  We’ve started from the premise that all students want to do well if they can, and that relationships are primary to any learning experience.  Faculty and Staff are committed to providing students with increased voice & choice in their learning experiences. This occurs through a gradual increase in training & responsibility with the goal of developing self-directed, motivated, engaged students ready to ascend to the next phase of their learning & life. The end result is that underclassmen are prepared to take advantage of senior year opportunities & to be self-directed learners who can access a variety of personalized pathways aligned to their interests & future aspirations.  We call it The Ladder to Learner Autonomy:




In this month's issue of the blog, we share a welcome message from our new CTC Director, Mr. Auth, promote partnership and committee opportunities for parents, and share information from our Incubator and French classes.

Craig MacKenzie

Principal
@dflamturnover

Andrea Spas
Assistant Principal
@Andrea_Spas

Gerry Auth
CTC Director
@CHARIHOTech


A Word From Gerry Auth, the new CTC Director

After thirteen years in Cranston I’m excited to join the Chariho Regional School District.  I’ve spent the last six years as the Director of the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center in Cranston, Rhode Island.   


As an educational leader in Rhode Island it is my responsibility to prepare students for success in the twenty-first century.   I am lucky enough to be part of the career and technical community and that has provided me with the opportunity to engage in deep and meaningful conversations with many stakeholders in Rhode Island.  Some of the most important and thoughtful discussions occurred when educational leaders in Rhode Island were sitting side by side with our state’s business community.   These conversations have strengthened my belief on how to prepare students for future success.  Students need to demonstrate content knowledge, which is always a priority, but equally as important is developing twenty-first century skills such as communication, problem solving and critical thinking.  Our secondary schools can provide this training directly to students through the compressive high school in collaboration with a career and technical program.  I believe that it is my job to prepare our students to be college and career ready.  It is also my priority to ensure that all students have equal access to opportunities through high quality instruction, meaningful collaboration and engaging instructional practices.
I look forward to visiting each classroom, meeting teachers and talking to students.  My first priority here is the same as the students and teachers...Learn and Improve each day.

-Gerry Auth
Director, CHARIHOtech



CHS-CP (Community Partnerships)

We would like to thank the Frosts' from Higher Grounds for welcoming our CHS-CP (Collective Partnership) Committee to their coffee house on October 18th.  It was a great meeting where parents, Chariho business and community partners, and CHS staff and administrators met with one another to connect, network and share ideas.



It has been rewarding to see this committee expand over the past year.  The initial concept grew from the premise of connecting parents to clubs, organizations and programs aligned with their own interests or interests of their child.  Since then, it has expanded to include community partnerships as well. One example is seen through the partnership between our Marine Technology instructor, Mr. Jacob Guilbert, and Mr. Joe Nadeau, of Petzolds Boat Sales. Through this partnership, Mr. Guilbert was introduced to the owner of Point Judith Marina who has helped create applied experiences and job opportunities for one of our students in the Marine Technology Program.  We will be having another CHS-CP meeting on November 14th at 6:30 at B2B Gateway. A special thank you to the Hoyles for hosting this next meeting! We look forward to seeing you there and connecting!

Please visit our website to learn more about our CHS-CP mission, interactive calendar, ways to support, testimonies, and upcoming meeting dates.  Visit the CHS-Community Partnership website link located on the Chariho High School webpage at: https://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/chs.

A Message from the Health/PE Department

The department is now on Twitter! Please follow @Chargers_HPE for health and PE related updates/topics and to learn how the department is promoting health and wellness!

Committee Opportunities for Parents

We have a couple of opportunities for parents to join committees this year:

  1. Our School Improvement Team is looking for parents to attend our monthly meetings.  Our next meeting is Thursday, October 26th.  Click here to learn more about the School Improvement Team.  If you are interested in attending, please email Mrs. Spas at Andrea.Spas@chariho.k12.ri.us. 
  2. We are in the process of convening a device selection committee to review our current student devices.  The aim of this group is to determine which student device to use in moving forward.  If you are interested in joining, please email Mr. Mackenzie at Craig.MacKenzie@chariho.k12.ri.us.



Incubator

CHS is offering a new Incubator course this year that is the first of its kind in the state of Rhode Island. This course is designed to get students excited about becoming true entrepreneurs by giving them the opportunity to create and fully develop their own product or service. Real-world entrepreneurs and business experts serve as coaches and mentors guiding student teams through the process of ideation, market research, and business plan development. Over the course of the year, student teams learn about marketing, accounting, as well as the legal aspects of starting a business. They have access to a network of professionals to further develop their skills (teamwork, problem solving, presentation, communication) for college and career readiness.  Pitch Week helps to further fire the entrepreneurial spirit by putting student teams in front of actual investors so they can pitch their innovative idea to see if they would have invested in their product or service. Click here to learn more.


An Update from the French Department


To foster proficiency in French, Mrs. Leatham has launched “90 % +” challenges in her French classes. French 2 classes are competing against each other for which class can reach the designated bean counter beaker level first for the most uses of survival French class expressions: each time a student spontaneously uses French in class, beans are added to their class beaker.  On Friday 10/27, the Green 4 French 2 class celebrated winning the first round of the competition.  The French 3 and French 4 classes are competing against each other for which class can sustain the longest continuous use of French in class as measured regularly throughout Semester 1. The reward in all cases is a 30 minute French music and game party in class.  Students are excited to meet these challenges!



The photo shows French 3 students in the oral activity known as “Deux Queues” on September 15 trying to exceed the 10 minutes of continuous French achieved by the other class.

Mrs. Leatham has launched a brand-new French film club after school on Mondays. Students of all grade levels and French proficiency levels are welcome to join. The club’s goal is to watch French short films for inspiration and make French short films to share with the Chariho community at the Chariho Film Festival and/or its own film screening in the Spring. The creativity of the students who have contributed to the initial brainstorming for the club is very promising!

On November 9 2017, Chariho HS students of French 3, French 4 and French 5 will visit the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket where they will learn from French-speaking guides about the experience of French Canadian immigrants to the area during the industrial period and eat a traditional French-Canadian lunch. This museum visit will supplement students’ learning about the French-speaking province of Quebec and prepare them for the 2019 CHS trip to Quebec City.  A second visit to the Museum of Work and Culture is anticipated this Spring (2018) for students of French 1 and French 2.