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Superintendent's
Desk
As the first semester of the school year comes to a
close, Mr. Pankey feels that our school is making good headway on our
goals. Right now the administration is planning the Teacher’s
Institute for January 4th. The Institute will focus on teaching first
aid and CPR to our teachers. Denise Lareau, Vern Grohler and Dave Munson
will be instructing the seminar. The rest of the day will be spent
discussing new student response materials for the classroom; they will
help the teachers gain a better understanding of what students are
comprehending.
As for the rest of the year, the administration will
be discussing new teacher contracts and the schedule for next year.
Although our district is still adjusting to budget cuts from the state
finance department, Mr. Pankey still feels the year is going well. The
new curriculum is in place and the teachers are responding to it well.
Even with his busy schedule, Mr. Pankey is looking forward to the
upcoming basketball season and the rest of the school year.
By: Savannah Stucki |
Donovan
Elementary School Principal’s
Desk
Principal’s Ponderings
By: Tricia Bianchetta
I’d like to share an
article from The Parent Page, a newsletter produced by the
Life Education Center through I-KAN. The article had such good things to
say about sportsmanship as it relates to parents and the importance of
modeling good sportsmanship (Parentsolutions.com).
Good Sportsmanship Begins in the Bleachers
Avoid criticizing referees:
This teaches the child to have a victim mentality and reinforces that it’s
okay to blame others for his/her performance. Even if the call is wrong,
the referee is doing his/her best.
Use encouraging comments during the game: Save
constructive feedback for one-on-one discussions after the emotion of
the game has passed.
Avoid coaching from the sidelines: Nothing
frustrates a coach more than when a parent yells, “shoot the ball”
when the play intended for your child was to “pass the ball.”
Show unconditional support: Immediately
following the game- win or lose- put your arm around your child and give
encouraging feedback.
Focus on effort and improvement versus winning or
losing: Comment on the improvement you’ve
seen in your child’s performance, no matter how small. If he believes
it’s all about winning, he may come to believe he can never please
you.
Celebrate wins- but tie them to specific behaviors: What
did your team do that contributed to the win? Same thing for losses-
what could your team/you do differently next time?
Counter-balance complaints about the referee: Remind
your child that both teams had the same referee and like players, some
referees are more skilled and experienced than others.
Come Clean: If you do “lose
it” during a game, admit it but remind your child that it’s NOT OKAY
to demonstrate frustration and anger with yelling and behaving poorly
from the sidelines. |
Donovan Jr/Sr High School
Principal’s Desk
After a great
Thanksgiving break with his family, Mr. Abney is happy to get back to
school and keep the momentum going from the great year so far. He is
happy with the staff saying, “They are very proactive; going to
in-services and bringing back valuable information to use.” The
reading program, which was established at the beginning of the year to
improve the reading comprehension level at this school, is continuing
to go well. To encourage students to read, posters outside every
teacher’s classroom has been displayed showing the title of the book
that he or she is reading. Mr. Abney himself is reading Finding the
Middle Ground K-12 and says he has books piling up that he wants
to read. As the year goes along, data will be collected from test
scores and meetings will be made to see how the English program will
progress from there, and says “these programs have been put in place
for the benefit of the students in mind”. The main concern for Mr.
Abney is the financial conditions of Illinois and how it will affect
the school. The Board is planning to approve the budget that has been
set up at the next meeting but nothing is final until the school gets
word on their funding. This means that the budget has to be flexible
with what happens in the future. Mr. Abney also wants the students to
remember that finals are coming up soon and that these count for
one-fifth of the final grade which stays on the transcript. He says,
“Stay focused on your finals and try your best to get grades that
you are proud of’; and he hopes everyone has a safe, fun holiday
season.
By: Cassandra Hustedt |
Dates to
Remember
December-January 09-10
- December 1 – IDEAS meeting @ 11:30 HS Conference Rm
- December 2– HS Student Council Blood Drive 9 am– 2 pm
- December 12– Pack the Place
- December 12– Donovo Soup & Pie Dinner
- December 16– Board Meeting 4:30 pm @ High School
- December 16-Market Day 5:00-6:00
- December 16– Winter District Concert 7 pm @ High School
- December 22-Early Out winter break starts
- December 23-January 3 Winter Break
- January 4– Teacher Institute Day/ No Students
- January 5-Students Return to School
- January 18– No School
- January 18-23 Homecoming Week
- January 23 Homecoming Dance
- January 28– Vision & Hearing Screening 8:30 am
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| Mr.
Lacher
Welcome Mr. Lacher! Mr. Lacher is the new Junior
High Social Studies teacher. He is very excited about beginning his
teaching career at Donovan. Mr. Lacher is a graduate of Olivet and is
originally from Roxana, Illinois. Mr. Lacher was influenced to apply
at Donovan, as he is friends with teachers in the music department and
kept hearing what a great district Donovan was to work for. He is
truly looking forward to getting to know each of the students and
their families as the year progresses.
This year Mr. Lacher is coaching Varsity Softball
and is the Junior High Student Council sponsor. The Student Council is
currently sponsoring Toys for Tots drive and has other projects in the
works. Softball is just around the corner and Mr. Lacher is looking
forward to a great year.
By: Dakota Regnier |
Mr. Manella
Mr. Manella is the new High School Social Studies
teacher. He is a graduate of Benedictine University. Mr. Manella did not
always want to be a teacher. As a child he wanted to be Captain Kirk
from Star Trek. Science was his favorite subject as a student but his
love for history and politics moved him to be a social studies teacher.
Mr. Manella most likes the idea of a small community
and a family atmosphere. These ideals are what made Mr. Manella choose
to apply at Donovan. Mr. Manella stated that teaching is not just a job,
“It is the best job in the world”.
By: Keegan Karr
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Board of Education
Roger Taylor, President
Mike Depatis, Vice President
Leanne Duby
George Wisniewski
Dave Munson
Bill Dorsch
Billy W.Havener |
Donovan CUSD#3
Administration
Jerome Pankey, Superintendent
Tricia Bianchetta, Elem. School Principal
Robert Abney, Jr./Sr. HS Principal
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The Cat Pride Newsletter is brought to you by
the 2009-2010 Journalism class of Donovan Jr. / Sr. High School.
Send comments or questions on this Newsletter to:
2009-2010 Journalism Class
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