This Week at South Vol. 21

 

Good Morning South Students, Parents, Staff, and Community Members,

 

Please find the Weekly Bulletin for February 10th through 15th (Also Attached)

 

Part I: The News

 

Family Engagement Survey Now Open:

 

Please use the link and code below to take the Family Engagement Survey, which will provide us with important feedback about how well our programs are meeting the needs of our families and community. The feedback will be used to improve how we work with and support South families in the future.  

Link: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/aasb/login

Code: southfamily

 

Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences:

 

Parent-Teacher conferences will take place on Thursday, February 13th from 11:45 am to 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the commons at South High School. Please join us to get an update on how spring semester is going so far. 

 

Volunteers Needed for School Store:

 

PTSO is in need of volunteers to staff the school store each day at lunch. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit the link below to sign up:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b054caaa922a46-201920201

 

South’s National Ocean Sciences Bowl to Compete in Seward:

 

South’s NOSB team will travel to Seward this coming weekend to compete against 20 other teams from around the state in an attempt to qualify for the National competition in April in Biloxi, Mississippi. South’s team consists of: Alys Korosei, Dylan Bailly, Landon Shults, and Emma Ulrich. These students wrote a research paper on human resiliency in the face of coastal erosion in Alaska due to climate change. The team will carry out a 15 minute defense of their research as a part of the competition. 

 

ROTC Marksmanship Western Region Championships: 

 

Last week our AFJROTC Marksmanship Team, consisting of Alekzandr Wiley, Jeffrey Wu, Estelita Waters and Trinity Heine traveled to Phoenix, AZ to compete in the Western Region Championships. The team finished fourth overall, and Trinity Heine was the Western Region Champion--the sharpest shooter in the west, and is in the running to be the National Champion depending on results in other regional competitions. 

 

Repeat Girls Hockey State Champs!:

 

The South-Bartlett Girls Hockey brought home their second consecutive State Championship with their win over Dimond-West on Saturday. The final score was 3-1 with two of the three goals coming late in the third period. Sophomores Zella Aspengren and Sydney Perrault, and Freshman Elizabeth Ramsey scored during the game.  Here’s a group photo of the team with their medals and Championship trophy. (PC: Amy Carman)

 

Spring Sports:

 

The spring sports season is quickly approaching. Please see the bulletin for details on boys and girls soccer meetings as well as deadlines for submitting paperwork to be eligible to play. 

 

Part II: Big Ideas & Their Application

 

In mid-February, we tend to lose energy before rebounding when spring arrives. As a result, now is perhaps a better time than ever to remind ourselves of our purpose, and that is the topic of the final section of The Culture Code. As a reminder, the first two steps in establishing a positive and energetic culture were to create safety and share vulnerability. 

 

The final ingredient is purpose. How we establish and act on our purpose largely depends on how consistently we use common language to tell a story that communicates our shared purpose, and then to connect that common language to our day-to-day actions. 

 

In the author’s own words, “Stories are not just stories; they are the best invention ever created for delivering mental models that drive behavior” (p. 182). 

 

So, the first question might be, what is our story and how does it embody our purpose? 

 

Although we are a collection of over 1300 students and almost 100 teachers, staff, and administrators, and that means we all have slightly different priorities, the three words that have helped me clarify our story are: relationships, relevance, and rigor. 

 

These three words tell a story about what actions we take in our daily work, and place emphasis on: 

 

• Building mutually respectful and productive relationships between all school community members so that we can take the necessary risks associated with learning. 
• Making sure the learning and the extracurricular activities we carry out have an application and connection to the types of experiences and skills students will need when they leave high school. 
• Striving for the highest standards in all of the different kinds of learning that we do so that students are competitive in a wide range of pursuits after high school. 

 

Taking time to reflect on how each of us are working to build relationships, making learning meaningful, and striving to continuously meet high standards will enable us to sustain a culture that has made South High School an enriching environment in which to work, to learn, and to grow. 

 

Have a Great Week South!