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SYRACUSE - If the Wawasee principals could leave a legacy at their schools, Wawasee School Board President Brian Dawes asked them, what would it be?
Alan Frank, Wawasee High School principal, said his would be that students would be appreciative of each others' differences. That students don't cut each other down, but uplift one another.
North Webster Elementary Principal Jim Garner told the board he would want kids to want to be in school, not be in school just because they have to be. He would like the students to be dependable and show up daily and on time, then pass that on to their kids. If they have that, academics will fall into place.
What's really important, said Syracuse Elementary principal Sue Rathke, is students' emotional IQ, so her school is working tremendously on students' life skills. With good emotional IQ, academics will follow.
Cindy Kaiser, Milford schools, said she wants kids to be intrinsically motivated to do their best at whatever they are good at doing.
What Frank wants at the high school is what Wawasee Middle School principal Joy Swartzentruber said she wants at her school. Students need to recognize and appreciate each others' differences. She also wants kids to feel safe when they come into her building, which is one reason the school is working on the "bullying" problem.
All five of the school principals were at the school board meeting Tuesday to briefly highlight various aspects of their schools.
Rathke highlighted the Math Pentathlon Club at Syracuse Elementary. She said they have really good turnouts to the club and the club goes along with the school's math goals.
"It's a great success," said Rathke.
She also said the Christmas concert is in the gym Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
The Reading Renaissance program was discussed by Kaiser, who said the program has really gotten her students excited about reading.
The middle school winter concert is Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., and the elementary winter concert is Dec. 11.
Garner read the winning essay for the school's Veterans Day program for his presentation to the school board, and said the essay was "pretty amazing."
Swartzentruber spoke of the Accelerated Reading Program at Wawasee Middle School.
She also told the school board how amazed she was with the school's sustained silent reading. Each day for 30 minutes, students are given time to read silently. At first, she didn't know how well it would work, but during SSR, the school is really quiet while students read.
The school's annual PTO craft bazaar is Dec. 6 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Staff development, and the time the school has to put into it because of the time trimester scheduling affords, was the program Frank discussed.
Professional development is a key component of the No Child Left Behind legislation, he said, and with trimester scheduling, Wawasee is able to get that development in during the six half-days provided by the state, during prep periods and other times when possible.
Two Mondays a month, the school has identified those days as department chair days, with department meetings on Thursdays. Once a month, on a Friday, there is a staff meeting.
"Those are the opportunities trimester scheduling has afforded us," said Frank.
Along with staff development, Frank said he wanted to encourage teachers to share their expertise so at least once per trimester, teachers take time out to observe other teachers in the school, and not just in their own department.
"For the most part," Frank said, "I think they enjoy doing it."
He also said a committee is working on recognizing freshmen, sophomores and juniors for academic achievement at the school.
Members of the Wawasee School Board are Brian Dawes, Dallas Winchester, Jeff Wells, Marion Acton and Mary Lou Dixon. They meet at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month in the administration building, Syracuse.
