Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you to all the mother's that send us their best each day to Corsicana High School.  We are thankful that you invest so much into the lives of your children.  Corsicana High School could not be the great school that it is without your unwavering support.  A mother's heart is truly special.

I often reflect on my own mother who invested, and still invests so much into my life.  She is the perfect example of a mother.  My mother taught school for 35 years all in the Hearne Independent School District (the only job she ever had). During those 35 years she served Hearne ISD in the following capacities: coach, PE teacher, health teacher, high school English and reading teacher, and librarian.  Beyond her teaching duties one thing did not change: She was always a Hearne Eagle.  You would always see my mother participating in every Hearne High School pep rally, and at every event that centered around HHS.  She did it because she couldn't help it.  She loved every bit of it.  She was Hearne High School!  You should have seen her this past weekend at the state track meet yelling for the young lady from Hearne who participated in several events.  I learned through her how to have amazing love and support for my school.  

My mother, Estella O'Neil. 

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This week we will celebrate Teacher Appreciation at Corsicana High School.  I can't wait!  We have awesome teachers that must be celebrated!  

We will continue with STAAR testing this week.  

Week 2:

Monday, May 13th-World Geography, US History

Tuesday, May 14th-World History

Wednesday, May 15th-Make up day

Thursday, May 16th-Make up day

I know our students will continue to destroy the STAAR test!

Shout out to Dzifa Mallet and Noah Gilfillan who participated in the state track and field meet this past weekend.  They both represented Corsicana High School in a great way.  Noah came away with a silver medal!  

Have a great week!

STAAR EOC's

We begin STAAR End of Course exams this week at Corsicana High School and across the state of Texas. We will have four testing days this week and two next week.  If you do not know, students get four hours to complete a STAAR exam.  The former TAKS test allowed students to take all day on the test.  Students please remember to get a good night's sleep the night before you take a test.

The STAAR schedule:

Week 1:

The dates are as follows:
Tuesday, May 7th-Algebra I & Algebra II

Wednesday, May 8th-Biology and Physics

Thursday, May 9th-Geometry

Friday, May 10th-Chemistry

Week 2:

Monday, May 13th-World Geography, US History

Tuesday, May 14th-World History

Wednesday, May 15th-Make up day

Thursday, May 16th-Make up day

Advanced Placement (AP) testing will begin this week as well.  There will be various AP exams given for the next two weeks.

Please take time to read my previous blog entitled "Changes to the Schedule", it has information about a proposed new schedule and offers an opportunity for feedback.

The Corsicana High School distinguished teachers were named last Friday.  These teachers are another reason that CHS is such a great place!  

They are:

Cathy Privitt-Mathematics (Department chair)
Lindsay Franks-English

John Griggs-Social Studies/Coach

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Extracurricular Updates

A big shout out to the Calico Dance Team on an amazing Spring show.  All of the young ladies did a great job.  There is so much talent at CHS!  It was also great to see the auditorium packed full of parents, staff, and community members.  Go Calicos!

The baseball team wrapped up their season with a tough loss against Waxahachie.  It has been great following the team!  I am proud of you!

The tennis program had their annual banquet last week. I enjoyed seeing our tennis athletes being recognized for all of their hard work.  Tennis is one of our most successful programs at CHS.  They represent us so well!

State track qualifiers:

Dzifa Mallet (high jump) will jump at 11:00 am on Friday, May, 10.
Noah Gilfillan (pole vault) will vault at 4:00 pm on Friday, May, 10.  

I will include a link of the full UIL State Track and Field Meet schedule:
State Track Meet

National Teacher Appreciation Week is this week across the United States.  We will have our official festivities next week at CHS because of state testing.  I do want all of the faculty and staff of Corsicana High School to know that I appreciate you.  Teachers are the heartbeat of the school, and you pour your hearts into your job for our students.  Thank you!

Random picture of "Mr. A" at whataburger at the CISD Education Foundation "Voteat" event!

Some of the members of the baseball team about to begin game 2! 

Have a great week! 

Changes to the Schedule

We are looking at changes to the bell schedule at Corsicana High School for the 2013-2014 school year.  The proposed changes are:

*Classes that meet 45-55 minutes in length each day.

*A longer school day that would begin around 7:40 am and end at 3:15 pm.  Our students currently attend school from 8:00 am-3:10 pm.  Corsicana High School currently has the shortest school day in CISD.

*An embedded advisory period that will assist with tutorials/interventions/UIL Academics, SAT/ACT Prep, focused study hall, school organizations, etc.

**Our current schedule has two classes that meet each day (1st & 8th period-51 minutes).
     ***All other classes currently meet 90 minutes every other day

**The proposed schedule would have two classes that meet for 90 minutes every other day.  

If you have questions or any feedback, please comment on this blog, email me at honeil@cisd.org, or tweet me @ONeilCHSPrincip.

Thanks for your continued support of Corsicana High School.

Herbert O'Neil, Jr.
Principal

Tiger Pride!

I wanted to take a moment to speak to you about the CISD Bond and how it will impact Corsicana High School.

If you have ever been to Corsicana High School, you will know that we are fortunate to have a great building for the students of Corsicana to receive their education.  Some sections are older, and some are rather new and it is kept up well by our maintenance and custodial staff.  One issue that we do have is overcrowding in the main academic corridor.  If the bond passes it will provide an additional passing area for our students to walk to make it to their classes.  This will greatly cut down on congestion in the hallway and allow for faster transitions to class.  I know that all of our students will appreciate it.  The bond will also provide much needed improvements to our auditorium.  The stage will be upgraded along with all new high tech, state of the art lighting and sound.  The bond calls for many other improvements district wide, please go to CISD Bond Info to find out more information.

Academic Updates

We will have one week off before we begin two weeks of STAAR testing at Corsicana High School.  STAAR testing is for freshman and sophomores only.  

Week 1:

The dates are as follows:
Tuesday, May 7th-Algebra I

Wednesday, May 8th-Biology and Physics

Thursday, May 9th-Geometry

Friday, May 10th-Chemistry

Week 2:

Monday, May 13th-World Geography, US History

Tuesday, May 14th-World History

Wednesday, May 15th-Make up day

Thursday, May 16th-Make up day

Remember to attend tutorials if you are scheduled to have them.  Please continue to work hard in class.  Always ask questions.  

Shout out to the students attending the SAT prep classes.  Attendance has been great!  This will pay off huge dividends in the future.

Seniors, we will have a graduation meeting soon.  I know this is an exciting time for each of you! 

Extracurricular Updates

Huge shout out to Noah Gilfillan and Dzifa Mallet on making it to state in Track and Field!  Noah qualified in the pole vault and Dzifa in the high jump.  Both of these gentleman have tied the CHS record at one point in their event this season.  The state meet will be in Austin beginning Friday, May 10, 2013. 

The softball team finished their season this weekend with a loss to Mansfield Legacy in the playoffs.  I am very proud of the great season from our softball team.  We are looking to go even further next year!  It was pretty cool seeing Sydney Kirk hit two homeruns in the game Saturday!  She sent it way out the park! 

Our 6th ranked baseball team will begin their playoff series Wednesday against Waxahachie.  

Info:
Wednesday, @ Ennis-7:00 pm

Friday, @ Waxahachie-7:00 pm

Saturday, @ Ennis-1:00 pm (if needed).

Please come out and support the baseball team.  They need us to pack the stands!

If you attended the Derrick Days parade you were able to see the Tiger Band on display.  They were amazing!  I dont know who won the big competition, but they should have!  They sounded and looked great!  Go Band!

Band

The CISD and CHS choirs also did a great job at Derrick Days providing music all day long for our community.  It was great to see them performing as well!  Go Choir!

The CHS Calico dance team will present their annual spring show this Saturday at 6:30 pm.  Please come out and support this great group!  We love our Calicos! 

Standardized Dress

Students and parents please remember the CISD mode of standardized dress as we transition to warmer temperatures.  The assistant principals will be working hard to ensure that all of our great students remember all the components of the guidelines.  Information related to the CISD mode of standardized dress can be found at this link: Standardized Dress

It is my hope that everyone has a great week this week!  If you need something just let me know!

Go Tigers!  Home of Champions!

Herbert
@ONeilCHSPrincip

Thinking Back...Moving Forward

I can remember very clearly when I was in school.  Actually, I remember grades 3-12 very clearly.  I can remember walking to my grandmother's house from Blackshear Elementary.  She would greet us at the door and make us a sandwich every day.  We would then proceed to climb one of her large trees and have fun until our parents picked us up when they got off work.  As a kiddo I was always in trouble at school.  I look back and I struggle to understand why I got in trouble.  I was sort of smart, nice, and very respectable, yet I was always being sent to the office.  The complaints I heard from my teachers were: he laughs too much, he will not stop talking, he's too descriptive in his writing, he completes his work too quickly, and he always wants to get on the computer.  It's funny now that I look back on this because it's still true of me.  The problem then was that my teachers could have worked to keep me out of the office less, so that I could have been in the classroom learning.  I love most of my former teachers and talk to them often.  I always thank them for putting up with me.  I know it must have been tough dealing with such an active kiddo.  As educators our focus must be on student learning.  Students cannot learn if they are not in class.  We have to find ways to positively channel some of the different learning styles that we see in the classroom.  There will always be students like me that just want to learn and have a good time while doing it!!!

Another picture of a young Herbert. I'm thinking 3rd grade.  

Thank you to for the overwhelming support by the entire faculty, staff, students, and parents of Corsicana High School for the West ISD "jean day" fundraiser.  As a campus we raised over $2,500 dollars and our district raised an incredible $10,000 dollars!  That is amazing!  Corsicana ISD is working on a more long term commitment to helping our friends in West as they work to rebuild their community.

Raising money for our friends in West, TX.

Academic Updates
Juniors will be taking the TAKS test this week.  The tests will be Tuesday (Math), Wednesday (Science), and Thursday (Social Studies).  Please remember to go to bed early.  Twitter can wait until the end of the week!  Please remember to bring a lunch each day you are testing.  If you choose to not bring a lunch you may order a sack lunch from the cafeteria.  Take care of the TAKS!

AP Testing as well as End of Course Exams for freshman and sophomores will be coming up before we know it.  Please remember to buckle down in your courses so you will be prepared.  Our teachers will be working hard to get you to the finish line.

Extracurricular Updates
I had the opportunity to attend my first big time tennis match.  It was great watching our tennis players play so well at the regional competition.

Softball defeated Lindale in a great game on Tuesday, and pulled up just short in a nail biter to Whitehouse.
**Softball playoff information: Thursday, April 25 (Game 1) against Mansfield Legacy at 7:00 pm in Corsicana.  Friday, April 26 (Game 2) against Mansfield Legacy at 7:00 at Mansfield.  Saturday (If needed), April 27  vs Mansfield Legacy at 12:00 pm in Italy, TX.

Baseball defeated Lindale in a close one, and moved into a tie for first with their win over Whitehouse Friday night.

Attendance at our softball and baseball games has been great!  Let's keep supporting these awesome programs.

Track and field competed in the area meet and a had a strong showing.  Several athletes will be moving on to the regional meet in Arlington at the end of the week.

CHS Tennis players at Regionals in Arlington

If you need something just let me know!

Go Tigers!

Home of Champions!

Social Media and More

I just made it home from the CHS/CMS Cheer banquet and it was awesome!  It is always great to see our students being honored for their hard work at Corsicana High School.  Our cheer leaders always represent Corsicana High School in a great way and it makes me proud.  A big shout out to all of the parents that worked hard to make it a success.  The commons was full of people!

I was the guest speaker and I had the opportunity to speak to the girls about the importance of responsibility while using social media.  I think this message was not only good for our students, but for our staff and community members as well.  My message was simple...Have fun, and express yourself!  The thing we must remember is that we must exercise caution while using facebook, twitter, instagram, vine, or snapchat.  It is my belief that you should never allow social media to cause someone to think negatively about you.  

I want to give a big shout out to the Corsicana High School band program.  They received straight 1's which is a superior rating at their UIL competition.  Our band has not received straight 1's in recent history.  If you have band students in your classes, or if our community readers know any students who are in band let them know how proud you are of them. 

In other exciting news Corsicana High School will be totally wired for wireless connectivity next year.  We will begin to look at our cell phone/device policies for next year.  Currently students can only use smart devices in class if the teacher allows its use for instructional purposes.  With the full connectivity we will move toward using smart devices in common areas of our school.  This of course would have to receive full approval from our district leadership and our board of trustees.  We are fortunate to have a superintendent that believes in the power of technology.    

Sports update:

Softball defeated John Tyler Tuesday night, and lost a tough game to Nacogdoches on Friday night.

The Tiger softball team is on track to make the playoffs.  Go Softball!

Baseball defeated John Tyler Tuesday night, Nacogdoches Friday night, and Joshua Saturday.  

The Tiger baseball team is currently ranked 9th in state and are in the hunt to win the district championship! Go Baseball!

Both softball and baseball face Lindale and Whitehouse this week.  The game Friday night against Whitehouse will be at home so come out and show your support!  The students love seeing you there!

Tiger tennis won the boys team championship!  The girls team won second place.  Another reason we are the Home of Champions! 

Track and field had a great showing at the district meet in Whitehouse.  We have several athletes going to the  area meet this Friday in Lancaster.  A special shout out to Noah Gilfillan for winning gold at district and breaking the CHS pole vault record at Texas relays a few weeks ago.

Academic update:

Juniors will take the TAKS exit test next week (Apr. 23-25).  These students will have all day to test and will eat lunch in their testing rooms.  Remember to bring a lunch or elect to get a sack lunch from the cafeteria.

The SAT prep classes are going full swing.  Mr. A and his staff are doing an amazing job!  Shout out to the students who are enrolled.  I know you will blow the roof off the SAT. 

It's hard to believe that it's almost time for finals!  Please look for the CHS final exam schedule around school or on the campus website.

Cheerleaders at the cheer banquet!

Robin and Justin at the district track meet

I'm posting this picture because I like it! (Speaking at the cheer banquet)

Have a great week this week! 

So Much More!

Last week our freshman and sophomores took the first round of STAAR EOCs for this school year (not including re-tests).  I am confident that they worked hard and did their very best!

There is a big debate happening across the state about the over use of standardized testing.  Some say that we need testing, some say we do not.  I do believe that we must have ways to measure where students are in their learning and how to respond when they do not get it.

The truth is that we have gone too far!  So many people have an opinion about education simply because they have been to school.  I want to be clear...Just because you've been to school does not make you an expert on school.  I have been in education for 10 years and lived with career educators through out my childhood.  I am still no expert.  I am, however, a principal of a school with about 1,600 students and I know that students will learn and they will learn at a high level without giving them high stakes tests in every core content class they are enrolled in.

If you do not work in a school you have no clue what goes into putting on a test in a mid/large high school.  It is an event!  You have to block off half of your school, and then send all the other students to other areas.  This is often a logistical nightmare.  While the test is being administered half of your teachers give tests or watch halls and the others attempt to continue to have class.  The students that are taking the tests lose instructional time as well as the students who lose their teacher because of test administration.

House Bill 5 passed the Texas House of Representatives overwhelmingly with only 2 reps voting against it.  House Bill 5 calls for 5 tests: Algebra 1, English II (reading and writing), Biology, and US History.  I am hear to say that 5 is enough!  I have said it before, and I will say it again: Taking more tests does not make our students smarter or more prepared for college.  Great teaching is what makes our students stronger!
Corsicana High School will work hard to prepare our students for every state test they have to take.  I do want all of our stakeholders to know that there is so much more to school than testing!

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Prom was yesterday (April 6) and it was great!  If you missed it you missed a treat!  Our students looked amazing!  Thanks to all the teachers/counselors/administrators that came out to help with prom.  It meant a lot to see you there.  The students appreciated it even more.  Shout out to Mrs. Fletes for doing an awesome job!  I have never seen anything so beautiful.

I do want to shout out all of the students working hard representing the "C" every day as they go out and compete.  Our band will be going to competition Wednesday and we wish them well.  Go Band!  Track and field will have their district meet this Wednesday and Thursday.  We hope to have lots of students moving on to regionals.  Tennis will be in district play this Monday and Tuesday in Jacksonville.  Go Tennis!  

Students continue to get involved!

Please do not forget our Open House for incoming 9th graders this Wednesday from 6:00-7:30 pm.  Lots of information will be shared!  

Have a great week!