JANUARY 2018 Message from Mr. Mork I want to take this time to wish you all a happy 2018. I hope the holiday season gave you the most important gift of all, an opportunity to enjoy friends and family. The beginning of a new calendar year tends to be a time of reflection for many people, but it can also be filled with a lot of excitement as we look toward the future that lies ahead for each of our students. Course registration for next school year begins Wednesday, January 17th. Students will be making choices that will positively benefit their learning as they work toward becoming college and career ready. Students will have ample opportunity to discuss their course choices with parents and their counselors. The course registration sheet will be sent home with your child. At that time, students and parents are required to review, sign, and return the course registration sheet by Wednesday, January 24. My hope for the new year is that students will continue to work hard and to set goals for themselves, as well as to strive to be the best person that he or she can be. Students should take advantage of all the opportunities given, and thank those who are helping them, whether it is at home, at school, or in our community. Let s make the year 2018 a great and memorable one at Berlin High School! Remember: Together We Can, Berlin Pride Dates to Remember Jan. 10 Cap & Gown for Seniors 8:30-9 a.m. Jan. 15 Teacher Inservice *No School *unless needed as make-up day Jan. 17 Preview of 2018-2019 courses Jan. 18 Jan. 22 Parent-Teacher Conferences in the Gym Parent meeting with Mr. Mork, BHS Room A101 5-9 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24 Arena Scheduling for Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors 8-9 a.m. Feb. 10 Winterfest 8:00 p.m. 12:00 a.m. Feb. 19 Teacher Inservice *No School *unless needed as make-up day The only job you start at the top is digging a hole unknown
Page 2 Athletic Director s Corner @BerlinIndians Be sure to visit our High School web page, Athletic Calendar, r-school, to see the most up to date schedule for all Berlin sport teams. Under the Athletics tab, you will also find an ECC site list with a GPS address for all conference locations. With the winter weather here, the first place to look for game cancellations is also r-school. As soon as a decision is made to cancel a game, r-school is updated by the school. If school is called off due to snow/ice, there will be NO practices. Coaches will do their best to notify the team. Another place to look for those cancellations is on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter @BerlinIndians Booster Club passes are still available in the office, Family is $75 and Single is $40. These passes are good for all home, regular season events for the Winter Season. Please remember to be positive at our sporting events towards players, coaches, officials, visitors, and your fellow Berlin Indian fans. If your son or daughter is playing a spring sport and has not participated during the fall or winter sports, now is the time to start checking to make sure they have everything on file to participate in sports: physical or alternate year card, concussion test (good for two years), concussion agreement and insurance waiver. Berlin High School is committed to focusing on high expectations and, in partnership with the community, prepares all students to be college and career ready as well as lifelong learners, who are productive, empathetic members of society. Come join our Parent Meeting on Monday, January 22 @ 6:30 p.m., in High School Room A101. A time to sit and discuss positives, concerns, or whatever, with Mr. Mork.
Page 3 KIND Committee The KIND committee has been busy with, and planning for, World Kindness challenges throughout the months of December, January and February. Two of the weeks challenges was to Be Kind to the Environment and Be Kind during the Holidays. The KIND committee decided to make homemade peanut butter pinecone bird feeders and give one to each staff member and also to the school board members. Everyone loved the small gift and birds loved it too! The KIND committee will be hard at work for the rest of the school year to spread the message of kindness and to help pay it forward. To see all of the club s activities, please follow them on Instagram at bhskind.
Page 4 Scholarships Applications for the Local Scholarship will be available in March online at the Berlin School website: www.berlin.k12.wi.us Completed applications will be accepted March 1-23 in Student Services. Applications must be completed online and printed. Last year, the Local Scholarship Committee gave over $110,000 to high school seniors who were continuing their education. This is a great opportunity for all seniors who plan to attend college or technical college! Make sure you check out Student Services or our website www.berlin.k12.wi.us under Scholarship Information for more scholarships that are offered that you may qualify for. High School Student Services Scholarship Information Junior Class Fundraiser All candy bar fundraising money should be turned in at this point. Any outstanding money will be added to the student s school fees. If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Femali at 920-361-2000 ext 1106 or afemali@berlin.k12.wi.us
Page 5 Our mission at Berlin High School is to partner with parents to support our students in becoming college and career ready. We feel this is key to our success. We are hoping to partner with all parents of junior students to help prepare them for the upcoming state tests - the ACT and WorkKeys. The ACT test which all juniors must take in the spring is only one of the ways our school is assessed on the state report card. So to help our juniors do well on the required ACT test we have implemented a number of interventions. As juniors, the students will be taking the ACT on Tuesday, February 27 and the WorkKeys assessment on Wednesday, February 28. Both of these state tests are important to your child s future and our ability to support them in their continuous learning to become successful. These tests are the ultimate demonstration of their academic learning and skills, as well as showing they are college and career ready. As a school and district, we are also assessed on the ACT and when our students do their best on this test, we have a more accurate representation of our district. Earlier this year the juniors took a Pre-ACT test to help prepare them. This was a shortened version of the test that included English, Reading, Math and Science tests. We have received the results of these tests and our teachers are analyzing this data to be better able to meet student needs in the classroom. We have given students their individual results and sent a copy of the summary page home to parents. Students also received a checklist of lessons in an online program (Career Cruising) that was personalized for your child to show them the lessons that would be most beneficial for them to work on based on their scores. This checklist was given to them along with their results. Communication is key, and we want to make all junior parents aware of the many opportunities that are available for our students this year. We have been meeting with junior students recently, but it is important for parents to have this information as well. Your child was given a list of opportunities to assist them on the upcoming ACT test. Please ask them to see this information, so you can support their preparation and learning as well. 1. Your child received their entire Pre-ACT report 2. A list of ACT Prep opportunities 3. A calendar of ACT Prep dates that your child can take advantage of 4. Directions on how your child can log into Career Cruising, an online program that your child has been using for several years that has an ACT Prep component Any questions or concerns please feel free to contact our support team at Berlin High School 920-361-2000: Lynn Mork, Principal; Joe Brandl, Assistant Principal; Jodi Becker, Director of Instruction; Matt Willett, School Counselor; Ann Ragus, School Counselor.
Page 6 Pre-ACT On Tuesday, February 27, all sophomores at Berlin High School will be taking the PreACT test. The PreACT is a multiple-choice assessment that helps students prepare for the experience of taking the ACT test and provides information regarding their future performance on the exam. PreACT will provide valuable insights on college and career readiness to students, educators and schools while students still have time to make adjustments and improve. The paper-based PreACT is patterned after the ACT, using the same types of test questions, same score scale, and same format. It is designed to model the ACT test experience, providing students with the ultimate preparation and practice. PreACT includes exams in English, mathematics, reading and science, just like the ACT test, but does not have a writing test. PreACT includes fewer questions and will take less time to administer than the ACT. PreACT score reports will offer a broad view of students college and career readiness, identifying academic strengths and areas for improvement and providing information about careers that match students interests. School score reports will provide data to help teachers and counselors target interventions, inform classroom instruction and guide students in course selection. We will be providing reports to students and parents on their child s results. Teachers and administrators will also be analyzing the results to help in making changes in curriculum and strategies to support student learning. The school will also be providing supports for students in their preparation for the state ACT test in their junior year. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Berlin High School support team at 920-361-2000: Lynn Mork, Principal; Joe Brandl, Assistant Principal; Jodi Becker, Director of Instruction; Ann Ragus, School Counselor; Matt Willett, School Counselor.