As you spend time with our students and staff, you begin to realize the fast paced world that we all live in today. Everything is fast, quick, faster. And then everything must be decided quickly into something you like and agree with or dislike and disagree with. However, take heart - the ability to slow down to communicate can be seen in many of classrooms daily.
What I see reinforced daily by some of our outstanding teachers is that slowing down and using stories can be highly effective when communicating with this age group. Stories, personal reflections, and memories are an excellent tool to talk and engage with each other. When I am in classrooms, there is power when a teacher or student takes the time to share. This also takes place in conversations between classes, when students visit teachers during lunch, and during extracurricular time. Stories matter - especially when they are personal stories. While one may receive the teenage eye roll or distant look, our kids are listening. Our students, compared to their peers, are excellent at personal interactions with each other and adults. This is an area that makes our campus very unique. During this week, we had an international speaker visit and two different groups visit and tour WHS. One of the common compliments delivered to me as people leave after their time with us is the ability of our students to engage directly. Eye contact, body language, ability to ask questions and true listening skills are skills that this community develops at the highest levels. Do we as parents still receive one word answers, if not just the angstful teenage grunt - yes! But do rest easy that when our students are engaged with teachers, visitors and each other, they are phenomenal. Everyone returned to campus after Spring Break rested and ready to go. We are excited as we head towards the last few months. We have a multitude of major events to go, and we look forward to an exciting and memorable finish. Have a wonderful weekend.
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As we get older, there are a few universal truths that get discussed regularly. One of these is how quickly time can progress as our students move from elementary to middle school, and as they then move on and complete their time at Westlake High School.
The old adage of "time flying" is remarkably true. For a little mathematical perspective, here are the numbers: Freshmen - 19% completed at WHS but 75% with K-12 experience, Sophomores - 44% completed at WHS and 83% with K-12 experience, Juniors - 69% completed at WHS and 90% with K-12 experience, Seniors - 94% completed at WHS and 98% with their full district experience. As I am planning on attending a wedding weekend beginning this evening of two former Chaparrals, I was reminded of a conversation I had with one of their moms last fall. There is a large gap in age between her second and third child (10 years). She said the greatest change she made in raising these two kids was the amount of interaction she created with her youngest child during her senior year. She made it a daily priority to spend time with her baby girl during the last part of her Eanes experience. She and her daughter scheduled time every day to have 5-10 minutes dedicated to their relationship. That looked very different each day, but she made me promise to spend time with my girls every day - for time does move quickly. If you look at the numbers above, it may be time to schedule that daily time in now! As I am close with the kids, it does appear the youngest did actually enjoy the daily time as well. Our parents have raised some fabulous young adults so reward yourself with the gift of time with your kids. Spring break is a mere 7 days away. We are anxiously awaiting how next week will progress with the calendar adjustment of a week of a new quarter beginning before the break, coupled with Daylight Savings Time occurring during a non-Spring Break week. With a large organization such as a high school, we shall see if there is any impact. The extremely cold weather had a very calming effect on the campus earlier this week, which was quite pleasant. I have learned over the years that you never know how adjustments can influence a large group, but that also is what makes showing up to a high school campus intriguing daily. Have a wonderful weekend! If one wants to see the impact of the ever changing patterns of Texas weather, a high school is a fabulous space. With three thousand folks in one building for at least 8 hours a day, the weather can instantly change people’s attitudes in a hurry. You have the kids who love the cold and get excited about the brisk air between classes. You have the kids who simply hate it when the weather goes below 60 degrees and the passing periods become a game of how to manage the walk between their classes without ever going outside. Some love the heat while others shy away from the sun at all costs. Some will walk through a drizzle to heavy rain while others have umbrellas and ponchos handy in their backpacks daily. And then if it snows, we all lose our adult minds and immediately become little kids again as seen when our students took to venturing outside on February 8th to “play in the snow” while taking videos and pics.
We hope y'all enjoy the warm Saturday before turning around to cover the plants and shrubs on Sunday night. For those who love consistency, we can look forward to our Austin summer where we know we will have hot and extra hot as our forecast for a smooth 3-4 months. Next week will be the end of our third quarter at Westlake High School. The calendar is unique this year for we will end a quarter before spring break with an extra week between the quarter ending and the beginning of Spring Break 2019. We hope this will actually provide a little relief as the end of quarter usually brings an abrupt break, but the extra week may have a positive impact on our students and staff. We hope you have a wonderful weekend. |
Steve Ramsey: WHS Principal BlogPrincipal's Weekly Reflections Archives
May 2019
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