The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/324426
The Bluffer Serving Red Bluff High School since 1901 Volume CXV Issue 15 May 30, 2014 Grey Grotke A&E Editor Rebecca Blanchard News Editor Finals will be next week. First and second period will be on Tuesday, third and forth will be Wednesday and Thursday will be fifth and sixth. The release date will be 12:35 PM. Seniors June second and third, the seniors will be performing "Senior make a difference day." During these days, they will perform acts of community service. Weekend Forecast High 85° Low 53° Varsity Softball -Page 8 High 84° Low 56° High 88° Low 60° Friday: Saturday: Sunday: Graduation 'Neighbors'-Page 8 -Adrien Stejer 'Godzilla'-Page 8 Graduation for the seniors will be at 8:30 PM, the tickets must be requested by June 5. School Resumes June 5 is the last day of school for any and all students. School will resume August 13. Have a great summer! Administration leader appointed New Attendance policy arrives at RBHS For the majority of this year, our school has gone entirely without any attendance policy. The absence of any policy lead to a surplus of empty chairs in classrooms, which was a problem for many teachers, as they were incapable of teaching chairs. To fix this problem, a committee composed of teachers and counselors has formed a new attendance policy, and they're quite proud of what they've done. Mrs. Durfee said blatantly, "The new policy is amazing" The policy is designed to keep kids in school, be more consistent than the previous policy, and be more in line with the Ed code. The new policy is much more of a preemptive measure than before. After two unexcused absences teachers will have to contact the parents of students. After three unexcused absences a student is sent to the counselor to speak with them about why they have been missing school, and after six unexcused absences, a student will thereafter be sent to the counselor every time they are marked for an unexcused absence. These measures are made so that counselors will be able to find out why particular students have continuously recurring unexcused absences. If a counselor needs to, they may even call the student's home to investigate further, often, teachers and counselors agree, students' problems lunchtime detention. Many students may have heard the news that the new policy will fail you for missing too many days of school. Though this is true, the "F" a student will receive in their class is merely a temporary grade block that can be removed the moment a student excuses one of their previously unexcused absences. The hope is that with this and continuous checkups with counselors students that might normally fall through the cracks will stay in school and succeed. After a series of trials, the new superintendent, Todd Brose, has been hired The Red Bluff High School has finally chosen a new superintendent to replace Escobar in light of her recent termination. Mr. Todd Brose has been chosen for the position. He has a plethora of experience in Tehama County. He has served as an educator in the county for the last 17 years and began his educational career as a teacher in Flournoy Elementary, and proceeded to become the superintendent, principal as well as a teacher eight years later. He continued to gain experience through being a superintendent and principal at Richfield Elementary School and five years later, he accepted his most recent position as the principal of Berrendos and superintendent of antelope Elementary School district. He has been in this position for four years now. In response to the recent events at RBHS, Brose said, "I have witnessed Red Bluff Joint Union High School District go through many changes. I wanted to bring stability to RBJUHSD, along with a commitment to all students, teachers, staff, parents, and community to focus on the needs of all students." In terms of goals Brose plans to accomplish, he hopes to collaborate effectively with stakeholders in order to "provide an array of choices for students when they graduate, whether it be a four-year university, junior college, or a specific career. We can do this professionally and corroboratively as a learning community." In order to accomplish the aforementioned goals, he plans to first establish relationships by listening to concerns as well as consistently and fairly addressing problems. He also finds it necessary to establish clear communication between the administration, staff and students. Students can expect to notice Brose as an involved leader on campus. "I believe it is important, not only for staff, but for students to see and speak to the leader in the district…I will be on site, and in classrooms, as will our administrative staff. I hope to bring energy to the district that supports learning for all." When asked if he would like to dispel any rumors, he apologizes to Giants fans by explaining that he is a diehard St. Louis Cardinal fan. He is not hesitant about any specific aspects of his new position at RBHS, though he did point out the importance of being realistic in terms of how long it will take to reach the aforementioned goals. He would like students of RBHS to have a high school experience that they can be proud of and hopes to bring an energy to the district which is able to support learning for all. Finals Week at school will make more sense once what is going on at home is revealed. The goal of this policy is to seek out the issues that are restraining students and to hopefully ease or eliminate them so that students' education won't be impaired. In the past, students would lose credit for too many unexcused absences. When students were in danger of losing credits at the end of a semester, they would fill out the appeal forms and their credit would normally be renewed, but some were less diligent with removing the appeal forms, and thus Red Bluff High School had literally hundreds of credits being lost by its students, and this system didn't necessarily prevent students from being absent in any way other than it was a slight nuisance for them to fill out the forms. The new policy won't affect credits at all, but it can, however, affect your grade. Not only will the policy regarding abscences be revised, but disiplianry action regarding tardies will be different than before. If a student is tardy they will have to get a pass from either the office, the counselors, or a teacher before they may enter a class, and three unexcused tardies in one period will lead to a An excused absence may include: illness, medical/ dental appointments, the attendance of an immediate family members funeral or jury duty/court. A personal absence includes: participation in religious instruction, confidential medical services, college visitations, serious family illness or an emergency situation which will vary in a case by case basis. If an absence is not excused within 72 hours, it will remain unexcused. After the 2nd unexcused absence in a class, the teacher will contact the parent. After the 3rd unexcused absence in a class, the student will be referred to counselor and administration. After the 6th+ absence in a class, the student will fail the class. The parent will receive written notification. High school students assisted in interviewing the candidates for the new superintendent. To the right is Mr. Brose's plaque who is the new superintendent at our high school.