Reply to Thoughts on the new Churchill principal?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My child went to Churchill but came home early because it was cancelled. This event was preadvertised. I saw the announcement on the video announcement board at Tuckerman Lane. I never thought of the event as sexist. If that was the principal's decision as to why it was cancelled then why no message to the community?[/quote]

The game wasn’t cancelled by Mrs. Heckert.  A lot of Seniors decided to take yesterday off as a senior skip day.  Per MCPS policy, if a student misses school, they cannot participate in any extra curricular activities that day.  Many senior girls who signed up to play in the Powder Puff game skipped school, so they were not permitted to play.  The seniors therefore couldn’t field a team, and no game was played.

Mrs. Heckert, as opposed to her predecessor, actually believes in consequences for poor decision making.  [b]The seniors know the rules.[/b]  For once the rules were followed by the Principal.  So no, Mrs. Heckert didn’t cancel the game.  Poor decisions by students were the culprit.[/quote]

Athletes are reminded of the attendance rule before every sports season.  Some thoughts that would have been proactive to help the seniors make the right choices on Thursday that perhaps could be implemented in the future:

[b]1) I'm not sure if every senior who signed up to participate is an athlete at the school and knew about the rule before Thursday.[/b]  Also, as you mentioned, this rule has not been equally enforced in the past.  A message at the time of sign-up about the rule would have been appropriate.  An email reminder to the community would have helped parents remind their child of the attendance rule.  Perhaps even now, communicate the rationale the game was cancelled so all students and parents will know this rule is being strictly enforced in the future.

2) The rule has allowance for if a student has a pre-scheduled appointment and provides a note 24 hours in advance.  Obviously, that only applies for an appointment, not a whole day of being absent.  Some of the students may have fallen into this category where they had a legitimate absence from a class but did not know to get the pre-approval.  Again, pre-event communication would have been proactive and supported compliance by students.

3) Perhaps reschedule the game?  It seems unfair that some participants who did the right thing and went to school were denied the opportunity to play.

4) A PP posted that the "Powder Puff" game is sexist.  It has caused me to consider an alternative perspective that deserves consideration.  Should this tradition continue at Churchill?  Is it good for the community?  What about the Mr. Churchill event - very popular with the student body but there has been some controversial jokes in the past.  Should Mr. Churchill continue?[/quote]

It is not just a rule for athletics but for any extracurricular activity.

Just because Dr. Benz ran the school poorly doesn't mean that the new principal has to bend over backwards to accommodate  Seniors that have been in the school for 4 years to do the right thing. The kids that did the right thing should be angry at their fellow students, not the principal.[/quote]

These are teenagers who were used to the school operating under a different standard under the old principal.  A helpful reminder as a positive reinforcement technique is considered a best practice in education.  Positive reinforcements have been shown in academic studies to be much better strategies with teenagers than punishment as negative reinforcement.  It also goes to establish what type of school climate the principal wants to set for the school - positive or negative.  Teachers and staff follow her lead.[/quote]

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