Week of 10/13 - 10/17

This week is a bit cRaZy!!! It is the perfect storm: PSAT, Pep Rally/Homecoming, and Early Release. So the schedule takes a hit as well as our time together. Wednesday will follow the normal bell schedule, just as we did on Thursday a week ago for the PLAN. All sophomores and a few juniors will be taking the PSAT on Wednesday. Sophomores will test in these designated locations, alphabetically by last name. Juniors will take the test in the Multipurpose Room. Needless to say, I am not a big fan of taking instructional time for standardized testing, I prefer learning to testing, but I am just the messenger.

Friday will consisted of 44 minute periods, followed by the Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally before we dismiss at 11:48. There will only be quick lunches offered to "Grab and Go" before students catch the bus.

Period 1: 7:25 - 8:09
Period 2: 8:15 - 8:59
Period 3: 9:05 - 9:49
Period 4: 9:55 - 10:39
Parade & Pep Rally: 10:39 - 11:48.

And don't forget spirit week! Dress the part:
Monday: American Day
Tuesday: Hawaiian Day
Wednesday: Adventure Day
Thursday: International Day
Friday: GREEN OUT

SMART Lunch seems to be working. That is to say, school-wide, most students are taking advantage of the opportunities to get extra help and make-up missing work during their longer lunch time. Teachers like the opportunity to spend time with students during the lunches helping students in a less formal setting than the regular class time. As long as student continue to use the time wisely and behave appropriately, SMART Lunch will remain a permanent fixture for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, being the furthest trailer from the building, I have the "pleasure" of intercepting an ample number of students who attempt to leave campus via the bus parking lot. I only hope that their behavior will not impede the progress of SMART Lunch so that it can remain.

If you are already keeping tabs on individual class twitter feeds, either by following directly or visiting the pages, please consider also following @caggiasocstud for more general social studies and class related content, not specific to any individual class.

Mr. C's SMART Lunch Availability This Week
Lunch	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
A	CLOSED	Open	CLOSED	Open	CLOSED
B	CLOSED	Open TUTORIAL	Open	Open	CLOSED

"If you take care of your character, your reputation will take care of itself."

- Joe Moore

Week of 09/29 - 10/03

Another week in the books but we have plenty of work left to do! The semester is moving along nicely, I hope everyone feels the same. This week Sophomores will be taking the PLAN. The test will run from 7:25 - 11:25. All teachers are supposed to post where students are supposed to go on Thursday, or you can see the list here. At this moment I do not have the bell schedule for that day but once I have it I will post it. (By the way, I am just as surprised by this as you!)

SMART Lunch seems to be working. That is to say, school-wide, most students are taking advantage of the opportunities to get extra help and make-up missing work during their longer lunch time. Teachers like the opportunity to spend time with students during the lunches helping students in a less formal setting than the regular class time. As long as student continue to use the time wisely and behave appropriately, SMART Lunch will remain a permanent fixture for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, being the furthest trailer from the building, I have the "pleasure" of intercepting an ample number of students who attempt to leave campus via the bus parking lot. I only hope that their behavior will not impede the progress of SMART Lunch so that it can remain.

Once again, I would like to remind all families this year is an accreditation year for Leesville. Every school must undergo this process every five years. This means that LRHS will be "audited" by an outside source, AdvancED, to ensure that we meet the high standards for accreditation. This is an important process, without it credits earned by students at LRHS will not be accepted by major universities and colleges. An important part of this process is input from all of the stakeholders, including parents. Please, if you have not yet done so, complete the AdvancEd survey to help Leesville remain recognized.

If you are already keeping tabs on individual class twitter feeds, either by following directly or visiting the pages, please consider also following @caggiasocstud for more general social studies and class related content, not specific to any individual class.

Mr. C's SMART Lunch Availability This Week
Lunch	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
A	CLOSED	Open	CLOSED	Open	Open TUTORIAL
B	CLOSED	Open TUTORIAL	Open	Open	CLOSED

"Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to the person from yesterday."

- Author Unknown

Week of 09/22 - 09/26

This is the week for interims to be distributed. But, as is usually the case, Power Schools was down on the weekend leading in. As a result, Dr. Muttillo has given all teachers the option to distribute interims Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Also be prepared for a day off for students on Thursday to observe Rosh Hashanah - "head of the year" or the Jewish New Year.

Last week Leesville raised money for JDRF research. While the exact totals have yet to be announced, I feel pretty confident that we have exceeded our totals from last year! And even if we haven't, much thanks goes out to everyone who contributed, no matter what amount.

Something new being offered by Wake County beginning this year is CDM or Credit Earned by Demonstrating Mastery. The VERY short of it, a student can earn credit for a course, Pass/Fail, by completing a series of tasks, including a portfolio, and a test, that shows they are proficient in the course. This will allow the student to receive credit for the course counting toward their graduation requirements but not impacting GPA. This will allow the student to take other classes in their schedule that will impact their GPA. It is so new, I am not entirely sure of how it works, but WCPSS has released this "Parent's Guide to Credit by Demonstrated Mastery" page. If you feel you student may wish to take advantage of this opportunity, please give this a read.

SMART Lunch seems to be working. That is to say, school-wide, most students are taking advantage of the opportunities to get extra help and make-up missing work during their longer lunch time. Teachers like the opportunity to spend time with students during the lunches helping students in a less formal setting than the regular class time. As long as student continue to use the time wisely and behave appropriately, SMART Lunch will remain a permanent fixture for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, being the furthest trailer from the building, I have the "pleasure" of intercepting an ample number of students who attempt to leave campus via the bus parking lot. I only hope that their behavior will not impede the progress of SMART Lunch so that it can remain.

Once again, I would like to remind all families this year is an accreditation year for Leesville. Every school must undergo this process every five years. This means that LRHS will be "audited" by an outside source, AdvancED, to ensure that we meet the high standards for accreditation. This is an important process, without it credits earned by students at LRHS will not be accepted by major universities and colleges. An important part of this process is input from all of the stakeholders, including parents. Please, if you have not yet done so, complete the AdvancEd survey to help Leesville remain recognized.

If you are already keeping tabs on individual class twitter feeds, either by following directly or visiting the pages, please consider also following @caggiasocstud for more general social studies and class related content, not specific to any individual class.

Otherwise, this should be a normal week. We will have a fire drill Friday at the beginning of 2nd period.

Mr. C's SMART Lunch Availability This Week
Lunch	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
A	CLOSED	Open	CLOSED	Open	Open TUTORIAL
B	CLOSED	Open TUTORIAL	Open	Open	CLOSED

"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice that which we are for what we could become."

- Charles DuBois

Week of 09/15 - 09/19

Things are really rolling along! Thank you to all the students and their families that have contributed to the classroom supplies, your generosity is truly appreciated and will be put to good use. And while I am on the subject of generosity, this week Leesville will be collecting money to donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF). While collecting money in the classrooms from donation by students and their families is popular, you can also choose to donate online. I will be sure to post that link once I can confirm the site. All donations will also be credited to LRHS JDRF Team.

This year is an accreditation year for Leesville. Every school must undergo this process every five years. This means that LRHS will be "audited" by an outside source, AdvancED, to ensure that we meet the high standards for accreditation. This is an important process, without it credits earned by students at LRHS will not be accepted by major universities and colleges. An important part of this process is input from all of the stakeholders, including parents. Please, if you have not yet done so, complete the AdvancEd survey to help Leesville remain recognized.

Otherwise, this should be a normal week. We will have a fire drill Friday at the beginning of 2nd period.

Mr. C's SMART Lunch Availability This Week
Lunch	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
A	CLOSED	Open	CLOSED	Open	Open TUTORIAL
B	CLOSED	Open TUTORIAL	CLOSED	Open	CLOSED

"A problem is a chance for you to do your best."

- Duke Ellington

Week of 04/14 - 04/18

This week is a short week. Due to the weather this semester, a rarity! There will not be school on Friday. Please remember, Monday, April 21 was formerly a teacher workday but is now a regular school day. Please be sure the students will be in attendance.

Not too many things that will directly impact our classes this week. Tuesday the school will finally be able to administer the ACT after at least two postponements due to weather.

I hope you are following your class' twitter for homework and announcements, but encourage you to follow me @caggiasocstud for various updates on general social studies and history things, as well as school and county updates.

Mr. C's Availability This Week
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pride Period After School	Pride Period After School	Pride Period	Pride Period After School

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you."

- Lao Tsu

Week of 03/17 - 03/21

As we move ahead this week in our curriculum, we are going back to the ACT with the modified schedule originally set for two weeks ago. Tuesday and Wednesday are modified, BUT so is Friday as we look forward to Pridefest!

	Tuesday (ACT)	Wednesday (Schedule Balance)	Friday (Pridefest Assembly)
Period 1	7:25 - 11:40	7:25 - 8:25	7:25 - 8:40
Period 2	Not Meeting	8:31 - 10:40	8:46 - 10:01
Period 3	11:45 - 1:48	10:46 - 12:49	10:07 - 12:07
A Lunch	11:45 - 12:20	10:46 - 11:21	10:07 - 10:42
B Lunch	12:27 - 1:02	11:28 - 12:03	10:47 - 11:22
C Lunch	1:13 - 1:48	12:14 - 12:49	11:32 - 12:07
Period 4	1:54 - 2:18	12:55 - 2:18	12:13 - 2:18

4th Period on Friday is extended to include the Pridefest Assembly: a program filled with Leesville performance talent (vocal, dance, and instrumental) as well as the announcement of the this year's Pridefest King and Queen! Some classes will see it live in the main gym while most will watch it in their 4th period classrooms. Senior classes will have priority, then Juniors, and so on, so it seems likely that we will be watching it in the classroom.

So, besides all that, not much going on except the possibility of some more weather Monday night. I don't know about you, but I am over the winter at this point. And should we experience a delay on Tuesday, then the ACT will not be administered that day and the bell schedule will be whatever the delay bell schedule should be.

Pridefest 5.0
I hope you have been monitoring the events for Pridefest 5.0! This year we are replacing Winterfest with the all new Pridefest, which promises to be packed full of events and entertainment, beginning on Monday with Spirit Week, an assembly 4th period on Friday, and culminating with loads of events and performances through the afternoon and evening. Mark your calendar as "BUSY" on Friday, March 21, and come out to experience, watch, or even participate in the events! I will definitely be there, I hope you will be too! If you aren't sure what I am talking about, check out the Pridefest 5.0 Website! 

Spirit Week!
As part of Pridefest, this week is Spirit Week! Earn points for your class in the class competition by wearing attire to match each day's theme:
Monday: Green Out
Tuesday: Famous Performer
Wednesday: Sports Related
Thursday: Goals and Dreams
Friday: Class Colors (Freshmen: Light Blue, Sophomores: Black, Juniors: Red, Seniors: Lime Green)

I hope you are following your class' twitter for homework and announcements, but encourage you to follow me @caggiasocstud for various updates on general social studies and history things, as well as school and county updates.

Mr. C's Availability This Week
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pride Period	After School		Pride Period	After School

"Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching."

- Thomas Jefferson

Week of 3/10 - 3/14

I hope everyone has set their clocks ahead! 

Last week didn't go according to plan, but this week should be more "regular" (whatever that is this semester). The only thing to look forward to that is not on the original schedule is a fire drill Wednesday during 4th period, at 1:05. The ACT has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 18. We will follow the modified schedules that were planned for last Tuesday and Wednesday. The schedule has been posted on the Leesville Road High School website.

Pridefest 5.0
I hope you have been monitoring the events for Pridefest 5.0! This year we are replacing Winterfest with the all new Pridefest, which promises to be packed full of events and entertainment, beginning on Monday with Spirit Week, an assembly 4th period on Friday, and culminating with loads of events and performances through the afternoon and evening. Mark your calendar as "BUSY" on Friday, March 21, and come out to experience, watch, or even participate in the events! I will definitely be there, I hope you will be too! If you aren't sure what I am talking about, check out the Pridefest 5.0 Website! In addition, we are looking for more teams to compete in the Tug of War competition. Every participant will earn points for their class in the overall class competition.

I hope you are following your class' twitter for homework and announcements, but encourage you to follow me @caggiasocstud for various updates on general social studies and history things, as well as school and county updates.

Mr. C's Availability This Week
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pride Period	Pride Period After School	Pride Period	Pride Period	Pride Period After School

"You've got to stand for something or you're gonna fall for anything."

- John Cougar Mellancamp

Week of 3/3 - 3/7

What an interesting week we have coming up (and I am not even talking about the potential for more weather on Monday - I mean seriously, 70 degrees Sunday, to freezing precipitation on Monday?). Tuesday is the ACT. All Juniors will be taking this test, as a result, the bell schedule will be modified on Tuesday and Wednesday. The modified schedules have been posted on the Leesville Road High School website.

Pridefest 5.0
I hope you have been monitoring the events for Pridefest 5.0! This year we are replacing Winterfest with the all new Pridefest, which promises to be packed full of events and entertainment, beginning on Monday with Spirit Week, an assembly 4th period on Friday, and culminating with loads of events and performances through the afternoon and evening. Mark your calendar as "BUSY" on Friday, March 21, and come out to experience, watch, or even participate in the events! I will definitely be there, I hope you will be too! If you aren't sure what I am talking about, check out the Pridefest 5.0 Website! In addition, we are looking for more teams to compete in the Tug of War competition. Every participant will earn points for their class in the overall class competition.

I hope you are following your class' twitter for homework and announcements, but encourage you to follow me @caggiasocstud for various updates on general social studies and history things, as well as school and county updates.

Mr. C's Availability This Week
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pride Period	Pride Period After School	Pride Period	Pride Period After School	Pride Period After School

"The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher."

- Elbert Hubbard

Week of 02/03 - 02/07

Let's try this again, shall we? Now that the snow days are behind us, we have make-up days ahead of us. At some point, you always have to pay the piper. Wake County has already posted the make-up schedule. It is not all good news - 4 former teacher workdays are now regular school days, including the Friday before Spring Break. Please adjust your schedule accordingly.

Not the WCPSS was predictable last week, I'd like to guess that we will have five days of school this coming week; after our 6-day weekend, everyone should be rested and ready to go. Report cards will be distributed this week, I am guessing on Monday. Parents, if you are interested in receiving periodic email updates about things we have done in class including pictures of their work and efforts, please complete the form above on the page.

I hope you are following your class' twitter for homework and announcements, but encourage you to follow me @caggiasocstud for various updates on general social studies and history things, as well as school and county updates.

Mr. C's Availability This Week
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pride Period	Pride Period After School	Pride Period	Pride Period After School	Pride Period After School

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it."

- Pearl S. Buck

Week of 01/27 - 01/31

Thank you to everyone who has already donated supplies to the class. They will be very useful in helping to make the class fun and efficient.

And away we go! We are off and running. It was nice to get back in the groove with a short week but this week is a full five! Rest and breathing will be the key. Barring any weather (that may or may not be coming this week) there is nothing out of the ordinary going on at school this week. Report cards will be distributed on Tuesday. Parents, if you are interested in receiving periodic email updates about things we have done in class including pictures of their work and efforts, please complete the form above on the page.

I hope you are following your class' twitter for homework and announcements, but encourage you to follow me @caggiasocstud for various updates on general social studies and history things, as well as school and county updates.

Mr. C's Availability This Week
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pride Period After School	Pride Period	Pride Period	Pride Period	Pride Period After School

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it."

- Pearl S. Buck

Week of 01/06 - 01/10

This is it, the end of the semester. Our last week of class together. I am sure you are overtly glad to be getting another semester behind you, but somewhere inside you are just a little bit sad to see this semester go. I know I am, even if you are not. I know that things will be amping up in all your classes as you make the final push to final exams, but remember, nothing is set in stone: your final grade for any course this semester is not a done deal, there is still time to make a difference. Your final exam in most of your classes is worth 20% of your total grade for the course (25% in EOC courses) which means there is still a lot to be written in your grade; a lot can change for your final grade in the next two weeks, why not make that change for the better? Also, be sure to check out the Exam Schedule and notes from the Leesville website.

Many students have applied to do test correction this quarter but few have actually signed up for them! I mean, sure, it is less work for me, but that isn't what I am going for here. I am going for giving you the opportunity to pull your grade up higher to make it easier for you to achieve your goal for the course! Be sure to sign up on the form on the American History I page or the notebook in class. We will also have 1st Semester Awards Day on Tuesday. We will be voting for "Students' Choice" on Monday (and if necessary, conducting a run-off on Tuesday). The students in each class with the highest average (so far) will also be recognized.

Mr. C's Availability This Week
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pride Period	Pride Period After School	Pride Period	Pride Period After School	Pride Period

"Take a deep breath, count to ten, and tackle each task one step at a time."

- Linda Shalaway