We would like to congratulate Valerie Taylor for the being the Westlake High School Educator of the Year. Valerie currently serves as our Humanities Instructional Partner. She provides support, guidance and acts as an advocate for our English and Social Studies teachers. Valerie also teaches our Capstone Seminar and Research classes with Mrs. Crocker and Mrs. Dupre. Valerie has many roles including coordinating our New Teacher Academy, collaborating on Early Release and Summer Professional Development activities, GT Coordinator, English STAAR accelerated instruction, and Writing Workshops for Eanes ISD. With tremendous effort, Valerie also takes the time to support all of our teaching staff outside of the core areas. This year provided a unique challenge for Valerie as our STEM Instructional Partner took another position within our district which left all departments with Valerie. She assumed this new challenge with high levels of grace, appreciation and motivation. Valerie has been on our campus since 1990 as a teacher and then instructional partner. She has won numerous awards at the state and national levels. Congrats on a wonderful year and being selected by our WHS staff for her contributions to our community of learners. On April 19th, our campus will have the opportunity to hear from Bob Duke. This speaker is part of our campus’ goal of presenting information on a wide variety of topics that can influence daily, healthy decisions. This speaker will be presenting on the impact our thoughts and expectations may have on our happiness in this modern world. Mrs. Valerie Taylor helped find this speaker as part of our Social and Emotional education.
Guest Speaker: Dr. Bob Duke, April 19th On Thursday, April 19th, we will have a guest speaker for the entire school. Pure junior and senior 1st period classes will report to the PAC right after checking in with their 1st period teachers. All of these teachers will need to accompany their classes to the PAC. All other classes will have the presentation streamed to their classrooms. Below is information about the speaker and his title and topic and the bell schedule for the day. This presentation is aligned with our focus on Social and Emotional Learning for the year. BIO: Bob Duke is the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Centennial Professor and Head of Music and Human Learning at The University of Texas at Austin, where he is an University of Texas System Distinguished Teaching Professor, Director of the Center for Music Learning, and Clinical Professor in the Dell Medical School. For the past six years, he directed the psychology of learning program at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Dr. Duke’s research on human learning and behavior spans multiple disciplines, and his most recent work explores the refinement of procedural memories and the analysis of gaze in teacher-learner interactions. A former studio musician and public school music teacher, he has worked closely with children at-risk, both in the public schools and through the juvenile justice system. He is the author of “Scribe 4” behavior analysis software, and his most recent books are Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction, The Habits of Musicianship, which he co-authored with Jim Byo of Louisiana State University, and Brain Briefs, which he co-authored with Art Markman, his co-host on the public radio program and podcast “Two Guys on Your Head”, produced by KUT Radio in Austin. PROGRAM TITLE: How to make yourself unhappy… DESCRIPTION: All of us are faced nearly every day with expectations that are defined by others. Combined with the goals we set for ourselves, these expectations can so overcrowd our thinking as to diminish our quality of life, sense of well-being, and joy. We will discuss the relationships among aspirations, feedback, and emotions, and how best to structure a healthy, happy life. It’s been a good, solid week at WHS. We hope you have a fabulous weekend!
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Steve Ramsey: WHS Principal BlogPrincipal's Weekly Reflections Archives
May 2019
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