My Holiday Wishes

We're on the countdown to Christmas! One more week of school and then a few days at home before Christmas Day. Then another week until we're welcoming in 2014 when the ball drops on New Year's Eve. As we close out the 2013 entries for the In Your Corner Blog, I would like to use this week's entry to share My Holiday Wishes... for each of you!

I wish that each one of you gets to spend time with your family. Real time. The kind of time when you look at each other and talk to each other. So put up your cell phone. Sit down at the dinner table. Play a game. Watch a show together. Go for a walk. The time we have with our family is precious. Make an effort over the next two weeks to spend some time with those you love.

I wish that each one of you remembers to show appreciation for the gifts you receive. We all have visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads. Sugarplums... and gifts. Some of you are hoping for a phone, a tablet, a PS4, new clothes, videos, sports gear, hunting gear, art supplies, books... the list goes on and on. Whatever you receive this season, remember to show appreciation because any gift, large or small, represents the love and sacrifice of another person. Please accept these gifts with a smile, a hug, and a thank you. 

I wish that each one of you remembers that you are loved (by God and others). We all have different circumstances in our lives and we will all have different experiences over the holidays. Whatever your traditions, your meals, or your activities, I hope that you feel that love.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, SMS!

Enjoy your holiday. I'll see you in 2014.

Miss Nass

Mr Smith and I enjoyed our visit with Santa!
We asked for all of your Christmas wishes to come true!

Holiday Giving

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

We've got snow on the ground and a very unique Christmas tree in the media center (thanks, Ms. Denhart!) We've got Santa coming to school Friday for a photo op. You can't flip the tv channel without finding a Christmas movie. Yes, this IS the holiday season.

It is also the season for making lists. I'm not talking about lists of what we want to get, lists a mile long with items from Best Buy and Macy's. I'm talking about lists of what we plan to give!

What can you give this season? Will any of these items make your list?

• Can you give your parent an hour of extra help at home (cleaning or doing dishes)?
• Can you give your sibling an hour of fun by playing a game with him/her?
• Can you give a neighbor a hand by shoveling his/her sidewalk or driveway/
• Can you give some attention to an elderly person by asking him/her to share a story?
• Can you give peace to your classmates by going an hour, day, week, month without gossip?
• Can you give joy to someone by singing a song?
• Can you give a smile to a classmate or staff member that you've been acting harshly toward?
• Can you give some relief to your parents by dropping an item or two from your wish list?

How about including some low cost gifts, things that you make? Can you make ornaments or cards? Can you bake something? Can you regift something that is important to you? Is there something you have or that you wear that a younger sibling would love to have?

I hope you all give some great gifts this year. Give gifts from the heart. And warmly receive such gifts from others. 

Grab a pencil and paper or crank up that iPad and open up Notes.

Start your giving list today.

Let's Do This!

Last week was a great week for Scottsburg High School basketball. The Warriorettes defeated the Lady Eagles Tuesday night in Austin. The Warriors defeated the Austin Eagles Wednesday night.

Both games were well attended. In fact, the boys game was played in front of a packed house at Meyer Gym on the newly named "Donna Cheatham Court." The pre-game flag ceremony was just as impressive as the crowd of Warrior supporters!

How can this picture not get you fired up for what is ahead for you at SHS??

It is our job at SMS to help you have a quality learning experience, to help you grow as a person, and to help prepare you for high school. To help you do this, I try to keep up on happenings at SHS. In reading up on the week's SHS basketball success, I noticed an interesting comment from SHS Principal, Ric Manns. Mr. Manns commended his student fans for supporting the teams and for cleaning up their own cheer block after the game.

Wow. How impressive is that? Whether home or away, SHS students clean up their own messes. We do that in our lunchroom and in our classrooms, but we've not done this at ball games. I think we should. What a classy way to act as fans and to support our custodians like we support our teams.

Starting tonight, let's do this. Whether you are a player or a fan at ANY SMS game, let's clean up every bottle, can, and wrapper in our seating area. Let's do our jobs on the court and in the stands! Let's get ready for SHS! Let's do this!

30 Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I hope your week is full of family, fun, and just a wee bit of learning (at least on Monday and Tuesday). Like many of you or your parents, I have enjoyed watching the Facebook posts of friends this month. Many of them have undertaken the task of making one post every day stating something that the author was thankful for. I don't post on my FB daily.  So instead I'll publish my 30 Things For Which I'm Thankful list here.

I'm thankful...

1) for God's love.
2) for my health.
3) for my job.
3) for the chance to work in a job that matters.
4) for the roof over my head.
5) for my brother Steffan and his wife Sandy.
6) for my sister Heidi and her husband Jason.
7) for my sister Kari and her husband Tom.
8) for all 15 of my nieces and nephews.
9) for international adoption (the way I got 3 nieces and 4 nephews!)
10) for Diet Coke.
11) for $1 large Diet Coke at McDonald's.
12) for the fact that I drive by a McDonald's on my way to work each day.
13) for an office staff that is creative, hardworking, and joyful.
14) for our passionate and professional teachers.
15) for laughter and love.
16) for the fact that I look OK in purple.
17) for non-certified staff members who support our learning mission.
18) for a tech team that is so devoted that they are willing to work 24/7 if needed.
19) for all of the school and college teachers that I've had.
20) for all of the global educators that post on Twitter and teach me now.
21) for the leadership team at SCSD2.
22) for the organizational skills I inherited from my late mother.
23) for the sense of humor I inherited from my late father.
24) for the fact that my parents didn't bail me out when I struggled.
25) for the fact that my parents made me pay for college.
26) for the fact that my parents always read books.
27) for the closeness I have with my siblings and their families.
28) for my friends.
29) for the Louisville Cardinals.
30) for the students (current and previous) that I've had the privilege with which to work.

I hope that your Thanksgiving is filled with the things for which you are thankful! I challenge each of you to make a list. Thirty different things. Go. Write now. :)

Enjoy your holiday.

Inside SMS Classrooms

I get the chance to walk the halls of SMS and I get to observe classes, sometimes from outside the door and sometimes from inside the door. What amazes me is what I see inside SMS classrooms.

I see kids that
... do what they are told to do.
... never do what they are told to do.
... eventually do what they are told to do after they whine and moan.
... can sit for 30 minutes.
... cannot sit still for 30 seconds.
... were raised in a reading-rich environment.
... have no books at home and no interest in reading.
... love to come to school.
... can't wait to go home.
... know they are loved by God and family.
... haven't yet realized that they are loved by God and family.
... are interested in the subject.
... are not at all interested in the subject.
... care about their grades every time they turn something in.
... only care about grades the day before report cards are due.
... like to be called on to share.
... are horrified if they are called on to share.
... understand that directives from a teacher are sometimes necessary.
... view any directive as "being yelled at."
... know that a good education will open doors for them.
... haven't figured out the value of their education.

I also see professional educators that
... work hard to inspire and educate ALL of the above kids.
... devote hours to curating digital content that is accurate and relevant.
... believe "every day is a new day."
... sponsor clubs and sports and attend events to support students.
... I respect and admire.

Thank you to our teachers and instructional aides.
Our students are so lucky to be inside SMS classrooms!

Happy American Education Week.

Our Distinquished SMS Teachers

A Football Story

You can't hardly turn on the television this week without seeing coverage of a football story out of Miami. Jonathan Martin, offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins, left the team. He apparently was fed up with a pattern of bullying and harassment from another team member, offensive lineman Richie Incognito. Reporters have accessed a number of voice recordings and texts where Incognito uses racial slurs and profanity toward Martin. The Dolphins have suspended Incognito indefinitely. Martin has not returned to the team.

This incident has put a spotlight on bullying.
Questions are swirling.
Was this bullying?
And, if so, who is responsible?
And, what should be done?



The SMS definition of bullying includes three components.
1) The person who bullies intends to cause harm/distress for the target.
2) The behavior occurs in a pattern over time.
3) The person who bullies has power over the target.

So...
A pro football player repeatedly sends rude/inappropriate messages to a rookie teammate over time. Is this bullying? What do you think and why?  What should happen next?

Discuss this in Connect this week and check out another football story in our Bullying Prevention Bundle.

But is it normal?

Last week our Connect groups were asked to open up a discussion on the topic of bullying. We watched a short clip with some images depicting bullying and bullying prevention. In a previous entry in this very blog, we also read about the problems that bullying can cause for the target, the person who bullies, and the bystanders (those that witness the bullying.) Remember that bullying has a global impact. It reaches lots of folks.

But is it normal? Our fall school climate survey shed some interesting light on this topic.

Students, teachers, and parents were asked if bullying was a normal part of growing up. Interestingly, we aligned pretty closely on the generalization that bullying is NOT normal (students 76%, parents 78%, teachers 80%).

The percents changed quite a bit when the question was phrased more personally. When asked if being a bully is normal, the overwhelming majority said no. Being a bully is NOT normal (students 94%, parents 98%, teachers 100%). Overall, our community thinks that being a bully isn't a regular, cool thing.

The community got a bit divided on the third "normal" question... is it normal to get bullied?
How do you think the numbers came out? If there was a difference, why do you think that occurred?

Talk about this during a Connect this week and find out more about how 'normal' bullying is by checking the new segment on the Bullying Prevention Bundle on our main web page.

Regardless of the national figures and local opinions... I think SMS should set it's own normal. I think it should be normal to NOT BE a bully and to NOT GET bullied. What a great normal that would be!

I've never...

I've never been eulogized.

I've never stopped my heart by overdosing.

I've never made bail.

I've never had relatives come visit me in jail.

I've never been arrested for theft.

I've never had the police looking for me.

I've never stolen anything to get money for drugs.

I've never been so desperate that I'd break the law.

I've never hurt my family with bad decisions based on addiction.

I've never had friends say they were done with me because I'm always high.

I've never let friends down by choosing drugs over them.

I've never lied to my kids or my boss because of drug use.

I've never craved drugs so bad that I've not taken care of my daily responsibilities.

I've never asked around for where I could get drugs.

I've never wanted more powerful drugs in order to keep me higher longer.

I've never hurt myself or damaged property because I was high.

I've never been embarrassed about something I did when I was high.

I never tried to fit in or zone out by doing drugs.

I've never looked for my second hit.

I've never tried drugs for the first time. Ever.

No marijuana, no meth, no heroin, no unprescribed narcotics, no tobacco. Nothing. Nada.

I hope you join me in "Neverland."

PS: For those that have loved ones that have struggled with parts of this path, remember that YOU do NOT have to go down this road. You can take the road to Neverland. We'll help you and cheer for you every step of the way!

Help Wanted

As the school principal, I have many responsibilities. One of the most important tasks is to promote a safe and secure learning environment.

Researchers clearly state that kids can't learn if they don't feel safe. Kids worried about being hurt or humiliated won't be able to concentrate on their teachers, their class discussions, their iPad content, or any of the things they should focus on at school. If kids are stressed out about what other kids (or adults) might do to them, they've got more problems besides not learning. Being consumed by stress or fear is not healthy (physically or emotionally.)

In a bullying situation, the person that is being bullied is called the TARGET. It is my job to help targets and to do all we can to prevent future targeting.

But it is also my job to help people who bully. Did you know that people who bully are likely to have social problems as adults? Did you know that people who bully have high chances of losing jobs, losing relationships, and going to jail? I don't want this for any of you!

And what about people that see bullying? What about the kids that see bullying in the hall or the bathroom? How does bullying impact witnesses? You guessed it. Being a witness to bulling increases stress and distracts from learning.

Getting bullied is bad. Being a bully is bad. Seeing bullying is bad. And being the only person trying to prevent bullying is bad. Help wanted.

I call upon each of you to help prevent bullying at SMS. Over the next few months, we're going to have a series of activities during Connect. We'll look at our school climate survey results, bullying prevention research, and most importantly, we'll work TOGETHER to prevent bullying at SMS.

Image is Everything?

The Cannon camera company had an "Image is Everything" commercial that was pretty popular in the 1990's. It featured tennis star Andre Agassi who was known for being flashy. While the commercial was popular, it was also pretty controversial. Was image everything? Weren't people more than just their looks? Shouldn't you get to know someone for who they are and not just judge the 'book by the cover?'

According to BusinessInsider.com, image is very important.  According to their blog, "the way you present yourself has a profound impact on your career. And it's not just your body language or how you dress, the Internet has presented folks with countless new ways to bolster their personal brand -- or completely ruin it."  (Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-your-image-is-everything-12-2011?op=1#ixzz2grX2ubxF)

I share this quote with you because of the last four words... 'or completely ruin it.'

Technology affords us many opportunities. Just one of which is the opportunity to share our image with the class, school, community, and world. As we are learning to be good digital citizens, it is important for us to remember that our image isn't everything... but it is a very important thing. A positive image is helpful. A negative image may be disastrous. Business Insider goes on to say

• it takes 0.1 seconds to make a lasting impression on a stranger.
• 45% of employers use social media when making hiring decisions.
• your reputation impacts others that share your name (your family).
• if it's on the internet, it could be there forever.

As you select images to use in web profiles (like MBC or other social media), post in photo galleries, or use in presentations, ask yourself if the image will help or hurt you. Think about this every time you post an image. Every time you post an image your are creating your brand.

And just in case you don't know this already, sticking out your tongue in a sexual manner, holding a camera above your head to take a picture of your cleavage, pulling up your shirt to photo your belly, posing with smooch lips, and flashing gang signs will NEVER get you a scholarship. These photos do not enhance your brand. These photos can embarrass your family and likely embarrass your children when they see them in 30 years! For all of these reasons, these photos should not be used in MBC or in your PST Conference ePortfolio.

I challenge each of you this week to think about your Conference ePortfolio cover shot. Your task is to capture a picture of yourself as a learner. Be creative. Make a quality brand. And don't stick your tongue out.

Weighing the Hogs

You may remember from my College Go Week story (on the intercom last week) that I got my bachelor's and master's degrees from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State is known for veterinary science, engineering, agriculture, and education... just like Purdue is in the state of Indiana.

I fondly recall a statistics class in my masters program. The professor shared tons of examples that related to agriculture and there is one that makes me smile. Weighing the hogs doesn't make them fatter.

Well, hogs, it's time to weigh you again. Acuity starts this week.  

I certainly don't mean to offend. You aren't hogs (although I've heard that some of you snort when you eat!) The comment is an analogy regarding our standardized testing program and my personal frustrations with it.

Let's take Language Arts. In LA class, you take three Star Reading Tests. You take three Acuity Predictive Tests. You take three sessions of the ISTEP+ test. You also do four local quarterly writing assessments.  In 180 days, you take 13 tests. You are weighed 13 times.  We give up 7% of your class periods to take tests to determine your general progress. This doesn't include any class periods to take tests over your actual class content. Whew. 

Math comes right behind with 9 tests. Science and Social Studies have standardized tests, too. Yes, hogs, we are weighing and weighing and weighing.

I would bet that our agriculture community would agree. It's not weighing that makes a hog fatter. It's what you do with the hog between weighings. It's not testing you that makes you a better learner. It's what we do together between tests.

So, now that I've bashed the excessiveness of our state testing system... here is what I need from you. I need you to do your absolute BEST effort every time on every test. That may sound backward but here is why I ask this from you.  The testing data helps us make decisions on instruction. Accurate decisions need accurate data. Overtesting is not good. But overtesting and getting lazy/inaccurate data is worse!

SMS, good luck on your tests. Go 'hog wild' with your effort. Let's show them that we're fatter... I mean smarter!

I Say Yes!

I prepared a list of explanations. Not excuses, mind you, but explanations as to why our ISTEP+ scores were low. First, we embarked on a massive transformation into the digital realm. Never before had there been such wholescale change in our school for ALL kids and ALL teachers in ALL grades. Second, the ISTEP+ system was glitchy and we had kids that were bumped out of the tests. You might recall the hubbub last year as CTB/McGraw Hill had underestimated it's ability to handle the huge volume of test takers on it's servers. And of course, we always have the Lexington Academy handicap. The residential school in Lexington had 9 middle school students that took the ISTEP and their scores go on our school totals even though they don't attend here. These scores tend to be low (and they were).

Here's the funny part. When I opened the school reports and started looking at area schools, I quickly realized that I should push aside those explanations and look for different ones... about why we CRUSHED IT on the test!

Congratulations, SMS students and staff! Your ISTEP+ scores were awesome! Here are two bits of data that put our performance in perspective.

Area School	Percent Pass          Both LA and Math	Percent Change from 2011-2012
Silver Creek	71.89	-5.11
Salem	71.28	+3.26
Scottsburg	69.71	+3.1
Henryville	67.78	no test in 11-12
Jennings County	67.43	+11.12
Madison	62.3	-4.3
Seymour	60.49	-3.33
Austin	59.5	+0.7
Southwestern	56.9	no score report 11-12
Hoosier Virtual Academy	44.79	-3.32

Well, well! When comparing SMS to the other schools that residents can drive to, we must be doing something right. The state of Indiana average growth for middle schools was +1.1. SMS grew +3.1. Our combined pass rate of 69.61 is the best we have EVER had. 

This happened in a massive change. In a difficult time. And BTW, if we took out the failures of the Lexington Academy students, we'd have been 1.2% higher... like a 71.2%.

I am so very proud of our school. And I am so humbled. This incredible performance is due to the hard work and dedication of so many. 

Is the iPad sometimes frustrating? Is Study Island hard? Is digital math practice a big challenge (since you can't just guess wrong and hand it in?) Do some lessons FLOP when we try new tools to expand student thinking?

Does our new learning environment appear to be working? 

I SAY YES!

Words to Live By

I got a chance to attend a technology meeting at Center Grove last week. I was struck by a graphic on the wall in hallway. It was so cool I took a picture.

Give More, Expect Less

Hope More, Fear Less

Dream More, Doubt Less

Laugh More, Complain Less

Listen More, Talk Less

Love More, Argue Less

I am setting a personal goal to do these things this week. Will you join me? What would our school week look like, sound like, feel like if we all committed to this? Who's in?

Have a great week. Learn something. Encourage someone.

Hats and Hearts at SMS

Thanks to all of the SMS students and staff that participated in Hats on for Hearts Day on Friday. We had a wonderful display of hats... and hearts! Thanks to those that sported fishing caps, furry hats, and no hats (but decided to donate anyway!)

We collected $310 and our awesome SMS Student Council is going to MATCH that amount so we are sending $620 to the American Heart Association via Mr. Eldon Cutter. Mr. Cutter is going to participate in his second annual Heart Walk this Saturday and he'll turn in our big donation at that time.

For those of you that are new to our school, there is a pretty amazing story about Mr. Cutter's interest in the Heart Walk...

On May 9, 2012, during REACH (our homeroom), I had symptoms of an oncoming heart attack. I identified those symptoms by comparing them with the SMS Life Science lessons I taught on Cardiovascular Systems and Health and confirming those symptoms with a former student's poster the I left on my classroom wall. I was taken to the ER at Scott Memorial Hospital. EKGs, Stress Tests, and a Heart Catheterization led me to a Coronary Triple By-Pass Surgery at Columbus Regional Hospital on June 12, 2012. 


The American Heart Association supports great medical advancements made in heart medicine.  My cardiac blockages and aneurysm (rupture would be instant death) were diagnosed before a heart attack occurred.  For me, these medical advancements resulted in successful surgery, very little pain, and being released from the hospital 3 days after surgery.  

Thanks for your support via the SMS Student Council Hat Day fund raiser.  I plan to walk on Saturday on behalf of my students, co-workers, family, friends, and others who are heart disease survivors or victims. 

Check out my AMA Heart Walk web page if you want to learn more. Also, I'm inviting anyone who wants to join me for the AHA Heart Walk which is held on Saturday, September 14, 2013 at the Ivy Tech Community College, Columbus, Indiana. Pre-Walk Activities begins at 8:00 am and the Opening Ceremonies at 9:00 am. Thank you!

Go, Mr. Cutter, Go! Have a great walk. Our HEARTS are behind you every step of the way!

Training Wheels

My Big Campus is a wonderful online community for sharing content and posting assignments. It provides learners MORE access to information, MORE chances to turn in work, and MORE access to help.  In my opinion, the best feature is the chance to practice real-life social media skills. This is a good thing... because we need MORE practice!

Our MBC system allows students to post on discussion boards to help develop the important skill of knowing how to participate in an online community. Social media participation is really important because your digital presence can impact your employment and your social lives. Did you know that a major way to hire people now is to LOOK for them in online communities and to see what contributions they make? Did you know that millions of people find their spouses in online communities? And of course you remember that social media posts are public... and permanent, right? What you post online will be there for your kids to see...

With all of that in mind, let's think about last week's Grade Level Community Discussions about the Good Student App Package.  How did we do with that?  The discussion board sought input on app suggestions. The directions stated that if you liked a post, you could "heart" it.

Did anyone see a post that did not follow those instructions? Did anybody see a post that was off topic or irrelevant to the discussion? Did anybody see argumentative or unkind statements? Did anybody get frustrated with activity feeds that filled up with comments outside of the boundaries for posting? Without calling anyone out (no names!)... we got a bit off track.

Remember these things when you are participating in a digital discussion:

1) Think carefully about whether or not you should contribute to the discussion. You do not need to weigh in on every single comment posted by community members.

2) If you feel compelled to post, stick to the purpose/question. Before you send a yeah! into 100 peers' feeds, remember that 'hearting' a comment gives positive feedback without creating additional posts.

3) Prior to hitting the "submit" button, re-read your post for convention. You may need to edit your grammar errors or the handy "help" from auto-correct.

4) Prior to hitting the "submit" button, re-read your post for content. Would group members view your words as helpful/informative or would members view your words as disrespectful or condescending? Review the message. How will the words impact others in the community?

We'll practice a grade-level discussion again soon. And I know we'll do better. Our former Assistant Principal Jason Roseberry once said, "My Big Campus is like Facebook with training wheels." It's a good thing we've got training wheels. Our ride last week was pretty shaky.

Until we ride again...

The Cold Hard Truth

I enjoyed our Open House last Thursday. It is always nice to see parents in the building. Thanks to all of the students that attended and led the schedule tour portion of the program. You did a remarkable job keeping your parents on track with the three minute passing periods! Equally impressive was the job the teachers did in giving their seven minute presentations. It is REALLY HARD to give a meaningful seven minute program. It is so much easier to talk for 20 or 30 minutes.

Mr. Smith draws a crowd of interested parents.

From what I could see, teachers used their time wisely to give parents the flavor of what happens in class and to demonstrate the variety of ways for parents to keep up with instruction and to communicate with staff.  It was very exciting to visit room after room where parents were told how to engage with our learning programs at SMS! 

Between the free hot dog dinners (thanks Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Couch!) and the schedule tours, I shared a 25 minute presentation about our SMS learning community. If I had to pick ONE slide that I think was most important for the night, it would be the Acknowledgements slide... it included The Cold Hard Truth about learning at SMS.

THE COLD HARD TRUTH

#1. THIS IS HARD.  We are doing amazing things here at SMS. Teachers and students are developing new skills and becoming new kinds of learners. People from all over the state are admiring our work. But that doesn't mean that this isn't hard. It is.

It is hard to remember passwords. It is hard to learn the steps to find, complete, and upload work. And it is hard to have such huge accountability in your assignments. With Study Island and Accelerated Math Live, there aren't any "throw away" or "let's guess" moments. We need to think through everything. Just like broccoli, we may not like this... but it is good for us. All of this thinking, learning, and remembering is hard. But it is so worth it... so stay with it!

#2. THE INTERNET IS NOT 100%.  We are totally blessed with consistent and fast internet access at SMS. But we know that not every student has internet at home... and sometimes there are internet problems in locations that do have access.  Because of this cold, hard fact, SMS teachers use extended timelines for internet-required activities. For instance, a teacher on Monday will say "do this by Friday." This allows students ample "in building" time to work on-line. We also use annotation programs to download work and provide extra school time during Connect and the final 15 minutes of Silent Reading.

If you responsibly manage time, you should have no trouble with internet access. However, if procrastination gets the best of you, don't forget that you can get wireless access a the Scott County Library, McDonald's, and outside the doors to any SCSD2 school building. Try to plan ahead, however, and avoid these urgent trips to a wireless access point.

There you have it. The Cold Hard Truth. When you do this difficult work, I want you to know that I KNOW that it is not easy. Remember that I'm In Your Corner every step of the way. Have a great week and enjoy your Labor Day off next Monday!

Welcome to In Your Corner, SMS!

Welcome to In Your Corner!
This blog will be updated weekly with a message from me, Principal Kristin Nass.

A History Lesson: We've had a weekly newsletter at SMS since before you students were born. We've changed the name over the years. It was originally called the WHEMS Weekly. (Does anyone know what WHEMS means?) Our newsletter has been called The Scoop for the last several years and recent readers know that I've had a column on the back page called In Your Corner for the last few. I've used In Your Corner to inform, celebrate, motivate, share, and yes, sometimes to rant! I write about things that are important to our school an about things that are important to me. Eighth graders have read my column for two years. (Thanks for that!)

Back to Now: This year I'm upping my game and making this a full-fledged blog. This will allow me to write longer when I need to and add pictures and videos when I want to. I'm excited about expanding. You can get to this blog by clicking on the In Your Corner link in the corner the Scoop back page.

Don't forget that you can always get to the Scoop from our Scottsburg Middle School web page! Select the SCOOP link from the main page. From there you can see ALL of the Scoop issues! If you ever need to go back and check something or if you are absent on a Monday, you can always get the news!

And you can always get to this blog... just in case you forget who is In Your Corner!