Put these dates on your calendars....

I want to write a quick message to let everyone know that we have a couple of important parent nights coming up soon. This Thursday night, January 22, the counselors and our testing coordinator will be hosting a session on how to read the PSAT score reports the 10th and 11th graders received from their Oct.15 PSAT administration. Austin Community College representatives will also be there to share information about dual credit courses and how to enroll for them.The meeting will be held in the CRHS Cafeteria from 6:30-7:30 pm.

The other important night is February 2, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm. This night is geared for parents of incoming 9th graders (school year 2015-16). Information will be shared concerning the academies and academy classes, as well as Pre-Advanced Placement and Advanced Placement classes. There will be general sessions and then break-out sessions to choose from.

Round Rock ISD will host Strategic Planning meetings during the month of January. The process will result in designing the future of Round Rock ISD programs and facilities for the next 5- 10 years. If you would like to share  your opinion, the following meetings are scheduled:

Thursday, January 22: 10 am - 12 pm
Raymond Hartfield Performing Arts Center, Green Room
5800 McNeil Drive, Austin

Thursday, January 22: 6 pm - 8 pm
Hernandez Middle School, Cafeteria
1901 Sunrise Road, Round Rock

Friday, January 23: 1 pm - 3 pm
Raymond Hartfield Performing Arts Center, Green Room
5800 McNeil Drive, Austin

Friday, January 23: 6 pm - 8 pm
Deerpark Middle School, Cafeteria
8849 Anderson Mill Road, Austin

Seniors Graduation Orders- Herff Jones representatives will be on campus for Senior Graduation Orders, February 4th in the Cafeteria 12-2:30 pm.

Seniors and senior parents, watch for the many Project Graduation activities that are coming up this semester. These activities serve as fundraisers to help make Project Graduation a special and safe night for our graduating seniors. You can find a link to the Project Graduation site on our campus website. Specifically you will find it in the list (in red) to the left of the CRHS home page, 

Report Cards, Next Gen Classrooms, and Weather

Happy New Year! We are off to a great second semester and Raider Pride is running high!

Report Cards will be going home Monday, January 12, 2015. We apologize for the delay, however, as you know, our new gradebook software has been challenging.  Since we calculate GPA and class rank based upon first semester grades, we are taking steps to ensure accuracy. The report cards will be given directly to students during second period on Monday.  Thank you for your patience.

I visited Ms. Overman's Geometry class this morning. They are doing some amazing things using technology. Ms. Overman was chosen last year to participate in this year's Next Gen Classroom Pilot. Students use Samsung Galaxy Tablets to work on math problems. They can write on the tablet using a stylus. When they have completed a problem they can hit submit and it is view-able by the teacher. Ms. Overman can project a problem she or a student are working on and everyone can watch as the problem is solved. If a student is absent, they are able to log in remotely and view/interact with the assignment. The system allows Ms. Overman to see which students are logged into the program, which students have submitted their work, and which students are still working on the problems.

The students were enthusiastically engaged and gracious about showing me how they used the tablets and worked their problems.

On the way back to the office, I encountered more technology when I came upon students from Ms. Saliani's Audio/Visual class making a music video.

I hope everyone has a great end to the week. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will not have inclement weather that disrupts our school day tomorrow! Keep watching the weather! I am copying the communication sent from the district this afternoon concerning the protocol for notifying parents and staff of any changes to the school day due to weather:

Special Message Regarding RRISD Bad Weather Procedures

It's that time of year when the weather can be unpredictable and change at the last minute. 

 

Please review the RRISD bad weather procedures so you will not be caught off guard.

• The district does not send out emails or other forms of communication if there are no changes to the regular school day.
• If school is cancelled or the start of the school day is delayed:
  • Every parent, staff, and community member registered to receive eNews messages from the district will receive an email from the district by 6:00 a.m. that morning.
  • Every parent and staff member will receive a phone message notifying them starting as early as 5:45 a.m. The call will come from 1-855-463-8097
• Updates on school closures are also available on the RRISD Website, the district's main phone line at 512-464-5000 and on the district’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.
• The news media will be notified of school closures by 6:00 a.m.

 

I have also added a description of the Next Generation Digital Classrooms initiative taken from the district website, for those who are interested in knowing more about it:

"Through the Next Generation Digital Classroom (NGDC) strategic design and implementation, Round Rock ISD intends to create “incubator classrooms” at each school designed to foster the integration of new teaching and learning with the help of mobile/tablet technology. Currently, this means one classroom at all 51 campuses will be a designated Next Generation Classroom. Fifteen district libraries have been selected to be included in this pilot initiative. The next generation classroom will set standards for what the digital classroom can look like in the future and will redefine the way teaching and learning take place. We will investigate the educational impact of a variety of digital classroom designs, across a multitude of diverse environments in order to determine the best investments to be made for maximum effect."