OHS Information Technology

CAT5e Copper Cable

You have probably seen one of the cables pictured above somewhere in your house.  If not, turn your computer around and there is most likely one plugged into it or if you have a wireless connection, look at your router and there is one of them there.  This cable is one of the ways information is transfered throughout our nation.  It is made up of 8 smaller wires that have to be connected exactly the right way in order for it to work properly.

If one connection is not in the right spot or is not connected properly, the wire does not work.  When you send an email, at some point that message will travel through some copper cable before it gets to where you sent it.  If that cable is not properly connected, the information goes no where.  Think about how important that is to the society we live in.

In Dean Work's Information Technology classes, Opelika High School students are learning how computers work and how to create the cables that carry the information we depend on and they are doing an amazing job at it.  This semester Opelika High School certified 39 students as "Copper Cabling Specialists"  This means that there are 39 more people (teenagers right now) in this world that can ensure the information our society depends on continues to get where it needs to be.

You might also know that fiber optic cables are another way information is transfered.  This is mainly because of our societies growing demand for bandwidth and speed.  Opelika City Schools plans on offering students the opportunity to earn a certification as a Fiber Optic Cabling Specialist beginning with the 2016-2017 school year.

Academics, Arts and Athletics

This fall has been exciting as we have watched communities come together in Bulldog Stadium to support their teams.  Often we will hear such comments as "I wish people cared as much about academics as they do athletics."  In reality, the two go hand in hand.  Whether it is athletics or other extra curricular activities such as band, showchoir or theater, these are an important part of education.

First let's look at some of the skills that students learn in these sports and extra curricular activities.  These are skills that are also taught in the classroom and are life long skills.
1.  Be a team player.  Students are taught that it is not a one man show.  All students have to do their job, or the end product suffers.  While some students may have more individual skill, it takes the whole group -- a quarterback cannot win a game without his offensive line, a soloist cannot conduct the orchestra and light the stage, etc.  Neither can a CEO run a company without his/her staff.
2.  Persevere and work hard.  While players are preparing for a game, they are working hard day after day.  They go over and over the same plays.  They look for their mistakes and how to correct them.  This is the same message that is in an academic class.  Go back over the problem or assignment.  Look for what you may have done wrong.  Keep working until it is right.  Make it your best work.
3.  Self discipline.  When students participate in sports and activities, it is expected that the students will be on time, listen, stay focused and be responsible.  The classroom also needs students to be on time, listen, stay focused and be responsible.
4.  Be a person of strong character.  On or off the field, on or off the stage, in or out of class, teachers work with students on how to be men and women of integrity. Teachers, coaches and administrators are teaching students to be honest, trustworthy, dependable, accept diversity.....and the list goes on.  These character traits are emphasized on the playing fields, on the production stages and in the classrooms.

Probably one of the most important aspects of extra curricular activities is about relationships.  Research shows that when students are a part of a group, they are less likely to drop out of school and are more likely to make good grades.  Why?  Because there is an adult in the school with whom the student is connected.  Teachers diligently work to form relationships with students in their classrooms and get to know the students.  In elementary school, for the most part, students are with the same teacher all day long.  These teachers know the parents, how the child gets to school, who their friends are, etc.  In middle school, a teacher may only have 50-60 minutes a day with a student.  That's why our team concept is so important.  The team of teachers work together to ensure that they know the students beyond just their class time.  By high school, students may only see a teacher for 96 minutes for one half of the year.  Yet, the amount of time spent in extra curricular activities far exceeds the class time.  The coaches, club sponsors, directors, etc., become the adult that establishes a strong connection with the student.  Because of those connections, many students do better in academics.

During my career, I have found that most people do value academics as much or more than athletics.  But, athletics provides a venue for communities to show their support.  They cannot come cheer on a science class, but they can cheer on a team.  They cannot leave work and walk the halls to say "well done", but they can applaud at a performance.  To me, when a community supports the arts and athletics, they are supporting academics.  It all works together.  I am so thankful that I live in a community that shows it's support of our students and for our academics by filling Bulldog Stadium on a Friday night.  Thank you for rewarding our students for their hard work both on and off the field.  It's great to be a Dawg!

The Importance of a Rich Vocabulary

As we continue to identify areas where our students need to improve, we often come back to the fact that many students today are weak in vocabulary.  What exactly does that mean?  As children grow and develop, their brain is acquiring knowledge through everything they see, do and hear.  When children go on vacations and experience new foods and places, they learn new words.  As children hear adults talk, they learn new words and ideas.  When children read books, hear stories and engage in conversation, they are learning new words.
In the fast paced technological society in which we live and as poverty is growing throughout the country, children often do not have a vast range of experiences.  Conversations are more limited as technology takes the place of face to face interactions.  Children watch movies while traveling which may limit the number of "what's that" questions as they see unfamilar sights out the car window.  The list could go on, and this is not to say that technology is a "bad" thing.  It has changed the dynamics of learning which, like everything, has a ripple effect.
As the curriculum today becomes more rigorous, students are introduced to many complex concepts.  Students must have a vocabulary that gives them the words needed to understand the concept.  We have noticed that often when a test question on a national or standardized test is missed, it is because of a student's lack of vocabulary.  The student may have known the skills needed to solve the problem or answer the question, but the student did not understand the question because of unfamiliar words.
So...what can we do?
As teachers we need to make vocabulary acquistion about more than a list of words each week.  New vocabulary terms must be first taught and then used in context many times throughout the week.  Students need to see the vocabulary words used in books or other literature, and they need to hear the words used appropriately in dialogue.
As parents we need to constantly be exposing our children to new words and to new experiences.  We need to encourage them to look around and find things that are unfamiliar.  Use the Internet to show your child videos of historical events or important places or even "things" that they may have never seen.  In a third grade story our students read about the Wright Brothers first flight, this sentence is used:  "The Flyer was launched into the sky."  "Launched" is one of the vocabulary words.  Many students have never seen anything launch.  Think about how much more powerful this sentence is if the student has seen an airplane leave the ground.  You might be surprised at how many students have never actually seen an airplane take off and/or land.  Experiences that you and I might take for granted or might not associate with learning are important to vocabulary development.
Let's all work to increase our own vocabulary and to help children increase theirs.


One forgets words as one forgets names. One's vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.

Evelyn Waugh

Time for School!

Excited children, new faces, school buses on the streets, sleepy-eyed teenagers -- yes, it is the first day of school, and Opelika City Schools are ready!  While many systems struggle with hiring teachers, we are proud to have highly qualified teachers in every classroom.  While some systems struggle with funding, we are proud to be expanding our programs.  To put it in the words of one of our new teachers -- "Opelika has it going on!"

What do you do all summer?  This question is frequently asked to administrators, and teachers are often told that they "have all summer off."  In the 10 weeks of summer, many of our teachers and administrators have:

• taught summer school, credit recovery and other summer classes
• attended up to 10 days of professional development in Advanced Placement, Project Lead the Way, Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative, Math Investigations strategies, curriculum standards, and many other topics
• attended conferences on Career Tech programs, safety in schools, Council for Leaders in Alabama Conference, Alabama MEGA Conference and special education
• ordered, received and distributed textbooks
• developed budgets for the new school year
• moved classrooms and prepared for opening day -- before their contract began :)
• attended school based grade level or department meetings for curriculum discussions and development
• tried to find a week for vacation

and most importantly

• interviewed, hired and provided orientation to new employees

Even with all that goes on in the summer, our teachers, administrators and support staff return the first day with enthusiasm.  They return with a mission to "educate every child every day."  They return with a passion -- a passion to make a difference.  

Welcome back to a system that "has it going on."

Family and Consumer Sciences

Part 4 of 4

Family and Consumer Sciences, which you might remember as Home Economics, is alive and well at Opelika High School.  In fact, Martha Cates is in the process of revamping the courses that are offered in order to help Opelika City Schools meet the new accountability standards.  Throughout the years, this program has provided Opelika High School students with the opportunity to learn about safe food handling, sewing, childcare, and a variety of other essential life skills.  Mrs. Cates has recently begun to grow the Early Childhood Education of this program as well.  It is her vision to offer students not just a classroom discussion about how children learn, but to provide her students with hands-on experiences in an elementary classroom setting.  Students are taking their book learning into actual classrooms in our community to truly grasp the role that teachers play in the lives of young children.  Through partnerships with Morris Avenue Intermediate and Jeter Primary Schools, Mrs. Cates’ students are partnered with an experienced classroom teacher and allowed to go into their classroom multiple times a week to work with children of various ages in an educational setting. 

While Mrs. Cates is preparing students for possible careers in childcare or education, she is also preparing them for jobs and careers in the food industry.  The next time you walk into any restaurant or food establishment you need to look for the “ServSafe” certification.  This will tell you that someone in that building has been trained and certified to properly handle and store the food you are planning on eating.  Mrs. Cates has been certified to give this test to her students while they are in her Food and Nutrition class.  This means that students can receive their “ServSafe” certification while still in high school, which provides our community with a well-trained and qualified workforce.  When a student who has this certification applies for a job in a fast-food restaurant or other food service industry, they have a better chance of getting a job and then being promoted to higher paying jobs because they come to the table with an established set of skills. 

So, the next time you walk into a restaurant and see their “ServSafe” certificate, remember that at Opelika High School, Mrs. Cates preparing her students help you eat safe food.

Health Sciences at Opelika High School

Part 3 of 4: Health Sciences

At the beginning of this school year, 2014-2015, Opelika High School was able to offer two Health Science courses that we had not been able to offer in previous years: Sports Medicine and Introduction to Pharmacy.  While it might seem easy to add different courses to the master schedule that our students are interested in or that relate well to our community, it is not.  Many decisions had to be made well before the start of the school year to prepare our school, students, and faculty for this change.  The first phase of this came when Opelika City Schools Superintendent, Dr. Mark Neighbors, appropriated another teaching unit to Opelika High School so that an additional Health Sciences teacher could be brought on board to help teach some of the new courses as well as the foundations course that prepares students for the more rigorous courses.  We then applied for and were awarded a grant from the Alabama State Department of Education to help pay for the new equipment needed for this expansion.  Thankfully, we had a Career and Technical Education Department Head, Tiffany Yelder, and an amazing Health Sciences teacher, Leigh Kemp, that made this process very manageable.  Finally, after many interviews Opelika High School Principal Dr. Farrell Seymore was able to find the right person for this new position, and he hired Natalie Downs.  All this happened prior to any student stepping foot into one of the new courses we were offering.  However, we knew we were on the right path after spring registration took place and we had over 120 students interested in the new courses as well as the Health Sciences program in general.

Since the beginning of this school year, it has been a pleasure to walk into the rooms of our two Health Science teachers and see them engaging students in conversations and activities that were designed to allow them to think about the many different aspects of careers in the healthcare industry.  Both Ms. Kemp and Ms. Downs have also had many wonderful guest speakers from Veterinarians to Pharmacy Technicians come to their classes and talk to students about the different aspects of their jobs. 

I have also had the opportunity to speak with Leigh and Natalie about the things they are having students participate in throughout the community and the ways in which they are seeking to continue growing the Health Sciences Program at Opelika High School.  The number of community events our students have become involved in is a great testament to their teachers’ determination to expose them to more than just the classroom.  Opelika students volunteer at EAMC, the Community Emergency Response Team, Blood drives, Auburn University football games, along with awareness and philanthropic campaigns throughout the community.  All this while still teaching and preparing students to compete in local, state, and national competitions through HOSA. 

If you live in Opelika, I am pretty sure you have noticed that the healthcare industry is a valuable part of our community.  At Opelika High School, we strive to provide students with the opportunity to leave high school with the knowledge and skills to become a valued member of our community.

Taping and ankle in Sports Medicine

Change bed sheets with a person in bed.

Looking up medications for Introduction to Pharmacy class.

Practicing injections.

Celebrating Career and Technical Education during CTE Month.

Part 2 of 4 - Fantasy Football Marketing

One of the many challenges of teaching is to find ways of teaching the course standards in a way that interests students and covers the appropriate content.   In fact, teachers are evaluated on their ability to do this.  Standard 1.2 and 1.3 of the OCS Teacher Evaluation Program state, “Activates learners’ prior knowledge, experience, and interests and uses this information.” and “Connects curriculum to other content areas and real-life settings to promote retention and relevance.”  It takes a lot of time and effort to create plans that not only meet the course standards, but get students excited about learning.

Mandi Edwards, OHS Marketing teacher, found a way to do just that through Fantasy Football.  During the Fall semester Mrs. Edwards’ students were assigned a project that would require them to apply many different aspects of marketing in a way that most of her students would enjoy and learn from.  Students were allowed to create a mock Fantasy Football team and track their player’s points throughout the semester.  However, this was only the hook to get them to engage in the marketing content that Mrs. Edwards’ was required to teach.  As these students learned about the different aspects of marketing, they took what they learned and applied it to their Fantasy Football team.  The assignment required students to choose a location for their team and do research on that location.  Looking at demographics, competition in the area, and possible corporate sponsors they had to justify their team’s location.  Then students had to select a team name and tie it to the history of their chosen location.  Once this was done, students designed logos, uniforms, and other merchandise.  They also looked at associated costs, pricing, and profit for their teams.  The last piece of the project was for students to create a variety of promotional and business materials that would help them market their team in their city and throughout the country.

It is experiences like these that will help our students make the connections between what is being taught and what is happening in life outside of school.  The great news is that they do not just happen in Mrs. Edwards’ Marketing classes, they happen every day in multiple classrooms throughout the Opelika City Schools. 

Career and Technical Education Month is February.  In honor of this, we will post a blog about something Opelika High School is doing in one of the six Career Tech Programs offered.

Part 1 of 4: Opelika Middle School Career Tech Expo

Part 2 of 4: Fantasy Football Marketing

Part 3 of 4: Health Sciences

Part 4 of 4: Early Childhood Education

It seems a little crazy to be thinking about the 2015-2016 school year in January, but students will be registering for classes in the upcoming weeks.  That means that every 8^th grade student and parent of an 8^th grade student is about to go through the transition from middle schooler to high schooler.  This move can sometimes be a little confusing, intimidating, and nerve wracking for both students and parents.  This is why Opelika City Schools offers a variety of opportunities for parents and students to make that transition a little bit easier.  For instance, on February 10 the OMS PAC Meeting will be focused on registration for 8^th grade parents.  Staff from Opelika High School will be present to help fill out the documents needed to ensure upcoming 9^th graders have the classes they need and want.  Parents will also have the option to sign up for an individual meeting with their child’s Guidance Counselor  to help ensure each schedule is correct.  For those that can’t make the February 10 meeting there will be similar meetings held on February 18 at the Opelika Learning Center on Jeter Avenue and February 19 at Carver Primary School on Carver Avenue.  Prior to the start of the 2015-2016 school year, all upcoming Freshman and parents can attend the “Freshman Orientation” held at Opelika High School.  This experience will provide parents and students a chance to get to know some of their teachers, see where their classes will be located, and gather information about life at the high school. 

One of the first things that happens to prepare 8^th grade students for classes at Opelika High School happened on January 26 and 27.  We call it the OMS Career and Technical Education Expo.  We use this event to help all 8^th graders experience some of the elective courses they can take as Freshmen.  Teachers from Opelika High School select student leaders from their class to come to Opelika Middle School and make a short hands-on presentation to small groups of 8^th graders as well as answer any of their questions.  It is a great opportunity for OMS students to see the many options available to them as they begin their high school experience.  It is also a great opportunity for Opelika High School students to practice the leadership skills they have been learning about in all of their Career Tech classes.  OMS students leave with a better understanding of what courses they are interested in as well as what those courses involve.  It always amazes me that there are some students who do not know that they will be expected to put their hands in dirt if they take a Horticulture class.  Our main goal with this event is to help students get interested and excited about coming to Opelika High School in hopes that they will take the classes that interest them the most.

The video below is a 4 minute summary of what all 8^th grade students experienced at the OMS CTE Expo. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr2aLLCsLM0

What is This Math??

We have many questions about how math is being taught and why it "changed".  Information is increasing at a very rapid speed.  We must prepare students for jobs that have not yet been created!  What a daunting task -- to provide students with the information they need even as information is increasing exponentially and to also teach students how to use the information in ways that do not even exist.

When I was in school, personal computers were not available or even talked about.  Cell phones?  Nonexistent.  School prepared us for either college or a blue collar job in a local factory.  People entered the work force either after high school or college and stayed in the job for 30 years and then retired.  People had a career -- one career.  The information we were taught was to prepare us to get into college or to give us enough basic information to learn a factory skill.  Factory jobs allowed you to begin work - often at the bottom -- and work your way up if you had basic skills and a good work ethic.  College allowed you to begin work in a field that you "learned" in your last two years of college.  Those days no longer exist.

While the above is a simplified scenario, it nevertheless conveys the "big picture."  Today, people entering the work force will most likely have multiple jobs and multiple careers.  Working in the same job type and especially with the same company is a rarity.  Jobs are much more specialized, and more and more companies are providing the specific training needed for their company.  So what do students need to have?  An in depth understanding in different content areas that will allow them to use the information -- use the information in ways that we do not know yet.

All of that leads up to why we teach math differently.  Many students have gone through math classes and learned formulas, short cuts and catchy phrases in order to perform well on a math test.  However, knowing the formula and applying the formula are totally different.  Here are two basic examples:  Elementary students often learned how to "borrow" by "going next door", "marking the number out and putting a one up top", or any number of other tricks.  When it came to understanding place value and why the tricks worked, students did not understand.  So the student is then not able to use that information in any other context except stacking two numbers on top of each other and subtracting.  A second example is the Pythagorean Theorem, a² + b² = c² .  If a student only knows the formula but has no idea how to use it, the theorem becomes just a formula.

To compete for jobs that do not yet exist and to be able to use information that is rapidly expanding, we must teach students mathematics concepts.  Students must understand the how and why in order to be able to use the information to solve problems.  And, not to just solve problems that say "solve using the Pythagorean Theorem, but problems that require knowing that the Pythagorean Theorem is what is needed to solve the problem.  (Example: A newly-planted tree needs to be staked with three wires.  Each wire is attached to the trunk 3 ft. above the ground, and then anchored to the ground 4 ft. from the base of the tree.  How much wire is needed for 6 trees?)

Preparing students for the future means teaching math differently.  It means teaching students the why and the how of how math works.  And, that looks different.