A New Week!

We will have a short week this week at Corsicana High School.  Hopefully our students, faculty, staff, and the community of Corsicana will have the opportunity to spend that day off with friends and family. 

When we come back to school on Monday, April 1st we will have our English I  writing exam for freshman students, and students who need to re-test.  We will have English tests the entire week.  When we test at Corsicana High School it takes a lot of work from everyone.  The first priority is that the students who test are comfortable and are in the optimal position to have a good testing experience.  The second thing we must do is ensure that all classes are re-directed so that everyone has a place to go.  This takes a lot of work, but it always goes smoothly.  A few reminders to our students who will be testing:

*You will eat lunch in the classroom.  You may bring a lunch or order one from the cafeteria.  

*You have four hours to test.  Please spend that time working on the test.

*Room assignments will be posted by Tuesday in the main hallway near the library and upstairs.
*Students will report directly to their testing environments at 8:00 am.  

*The only tests given next week are English I and II reading and writing. Only a couple of students will take the English III test.

One of the activities that I enjoyed visiting the most last week was the UIL academic competition.  It was great seeing our students there representing Corsicana High School.  They were smiling and fired up about their events.  The faculty members were equally as excited about being there.  Our students did great, and I am encouraged about where our UIL academic program is going.  Special shout out to Mrs. Richter for her leadership with the program.  Our One Act Play will compete this Thursday in Lindale as well.  

A big shout out to the girl's soccer team who made the playoffs!  The game on Friday night was crazy fun!  I will give you more info from the athletics department on playoff dates and times.  Coach White gave me an update on the Tennis team and their match on Friday night.  The Tennis team won the district title in the fall and look for a repeat this spring.

Another big shout out to the entire student body of Corsicana High School!  The Rachel's Challenge Assembly was great!  Your response to JO (the presenter) was amazing.  Our students are the main reason that Corsicana High School is a special place.  

Make this week another week to be great!  It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, or one of our great parents/community members.  Take the time out to say something kind to someone.  A kind word can go a long way.  We must all work together to continue our tradition of excellence!

Go Tigers!

Home of Champions!

 CHS students hanging out in the Commons

The principal as a sophomore in high school.

ROTC practicing

New AVID Teacher!

We are excited to introduce our new Corsicana High School AVID Elective teacher, Ms. Lauren Feldhaus.  She is a graduate of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX where she received her Bachelor of Science in exercise science.  She started Monday and is taking time to get to know all of her students.  Please take some time to stop by and say hello to Ms. Feldhaus and welcome her to Corsicana High School.

Lauren Feldhaus

CHS is also thrilled to have Shade Boulware move into the position of Turning Points Administrative Intern.  He most recently served as an AVID Elective teacher.  We all know Coach Boulware and we are glad to have him serve CHS in an administrative capacity.

Shade Boulware with Mr. O'Neil

Let's Go!

Wow!  Spring break is always a fast week!  Too fast sometimes!  Hopefully everyone got plenty of rest because it is now full speed ahead.

This week will kick off right off the bat with the Navarro County Youth Expo and the UIL Academic competition in Lindale.  The UIL competition will be Thursday and Friday.  Many of our students will be participating in these two events.  We also have many sports and fine arts activities that are great outings for the entire family.

At Corsicana High School we will continue to ensure that our students are learning at a high level.  State standardized testing will be up soon with the TAKS for juniors and the STAAR for freshman and sophomores.  I have spoken to you before about the fact that there may be some changes to the STAAR testing program.  At this time there is talk at the state level that the change may happen sooner than later.  Currently freshmen and sophomores are required to take End of Course exams in each core content area they are enrolled in at that time.  This equals to 15 End of Course exams before they graduate.  There is a bill that is pushing for an immediate reduction in testing before the students test this spring.  I will keep you updated on any information as it become available.  Whatever the decision is we will be working hard in the classrooms of Corsicana High School to make sure our students are prepared for their standardized tests and for the real world.

This week (Wednesday) we will also have a school-wide assembly that will be put on by the Rachel's Challege program.  The students will go through part II of the Rachel's Challenge program called "Rachel's Legacy."  Rachel's Challenge is an anti-bullying program that focuses on deliberately reaching out to others in word and action to start a chain reaction of compassion.  Rachel's Legacy encourages listeners to focus on 5 Challenges: Leave a Legacy of Kindness, Show Compassion, Practice Pre-Acceptance, Learn From Your Mistakes, and to Forgive Yourself and Others.  This should be awesome!

Let's make this week a great week!

Go Tigers!

Home of Champions!

The students behind the morning announcements Isaiah and Scarlet.

Since the expo has started I thought I'd include a picture of our angus bull from our small cattle ranch in Hearne. #Countryguy

Parental Involvement

I hear people talk about parental involvement all the time.  This has been an area as it relates to school that I haven't done a lot of research on.  I have always believed that parents send us their best children and they almost always trust us to do the right things as it relates to their children.

I had the opportunity to go to the Calico dance competition this weekend in San Antonio.  I also went to one game of the boys baseball tournament in Leander.  What I found was pretty cool.  At the baseball game we had about triple the amount of parents at the baseball game over Leander (we actually played Leander High School in that particular game).  I actually felt like I was in Corsicana while sitting at the game.  When I arrived at the dance competition in San Antonio, the same thing happened.  Their was a large gym filled with Corsicana parents and loved ones.  Everywhere I went there was another Corsicana parent.  It was an awesome experience!  

It is my opinion that all parents want to be involved, and they will be involved when they have the opportunity.  We are blessed with great parents at Corsicana High School that trust us with the most important people in their lives.  It is our job to constantly communicate with our parents so they are always in touch with the great things that are happening at Corsicana High School. 

We love our parents!  

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The Calicos did great in their performances.  Many of the young ladies did solos and ensembles that were great.  I was sooooo proud of them.  Shout out to Mrs. Tidwell and Mrs. Wilburn for doing such a great job with the young ladies.  Another big shout out to Mrs. Abel for her great leadership with the Fine Arts department and traveling with the Calicos.  It is not easy taking such a big group on a two night three day trip.  

Great job by both the baseball and softball teams.  They both did great in their tournaments.

Great job by our tennis team in Belton!  A grandmother of one of the tennis players told me about the great play by many of our students. 

Go Tigers! 

Home of Champions!