Friday Focus #17: 1.4.13

Happy New Year!  Hopefully you had a break that was relaxing and enjoyable.  Although it may have been difficult to come back on January 2nd, at least we had a short week!

The beginning of the new year is a good time to think about and reflect upon your individual and professional goals.  As we have for the past couple of years, I would ask (if you are comfortable with it) to share your own 'resolutions' in the comment section below.  Here is a link to the last two year's worth of CHS resolutions!  Personal & Professional resolutions are both welcome.

Tech Tuesday -- The Tri Star Series
As I mentioned in the last Friday Focus, we will be restarting Tech Tuesday now that the winter break is over.  Our focus for the next several Tech Tuesday's will be a preview of the Tri Star programs available to our students.  While many of us know what Tri Star is about and maybe even what programs are offered, few of us have met the teachers and heard first hand what the programs involve.  This Tech Tuesday series will offer us an inside look at the programs, an opportunity to hear directly from the teachers, and a chance to ask questions about the type of students that are ideal for the program.  Each day will involve a different morning and afternoon session and will take place in room 119.  Attendance will result in CEUs!  So far, we have scheduled these sessions (and we are working on more):

January 8
AM  Denny Riethman -- Horticulture
PM  Lynne Ray -- Business Management

January 15
AM   Jon Clouse -- Engineering

January 22
AM   Jim Dorsten -- Automotive


Parent-Teacher Conferences
Don't forget to turn in your parent-teacher conference cards.  As a reminder, cards are due on January 8th (Tuesday) and conferences are on Wednesday, January 16th from 4:30 - 7:00 PM.


happy birthday
1/9   Chris Sutter

Friday Focus #5: 9.21.12

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." 

John Wooden

What a great week this has been...   you really can feel the excitement in the air -- especially today.  Thanks for helping to make this a special week for our students and our athletic teams.




Building Goals Follow-Up
Please make sure you read the follow-up post from the building goals meetings and complete the survey.  Here is a link to the post and the survey: http://goo.gl/qUkm1
If you are still unable to log into your Celinaschools Google account, please email Sheila Baltzell.



FIP Reminder
Don't forget to complete your FIP module BEFORE Wednesday 9/26.  For help with logging in and finding the module, use the eyes on the right.



Faculty Meeting
We will have a 20 minute faculty meeting on Wednesday 9/26 @ 7 AM in the lecture hall.  This is the 2-hour delay day...  the meeting is separate from the inservice activities.  We will be hearing from Kevin Mast regarding the ALICE training for lock-downs.



Advisory
Please remember to issue passes BEFORE activities that take place during advisory.  Also, please try to help us limit the amount of hall traffic during advisory!



Tech Tuesday
Next week's Tech Tuesday will be 'Remind 101': an easy and free way to remind your students about important classroom activities in a format that suits them!  Come listen to Ashley Lefeld show you how to use the service and what she has used it for in her own classroom.  Room 119 on Tuesday!



Upcoming Assembly
On October 9th, we have the distinct privilege of hearing from motivational speaker Kyle Maynard.  More on the schedule and format, but here is a video to give you a little preview:








Calendar of Events
Remember that Calendar Info can be found on the right hand sidebar of the blog... updated regularly...



Happy Birthday
7/23   Ryan Parrish

Building Goals Follow-up

Thanks again to everyone for participating in Wednesday's Daytime Staff Meetings!  We had great conversations, thought provoking discussions, and even a little fun along the way.  I thoroughly enjoyed what I witnessed on Wednesday in the conference room and I felt proud to be part of such a great group of educators!

As promised, here is some more information on Daniel Pink's work on motivation:

• Amazon page for "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us": http://goo.gl/2m2Q2

• The longer version of the TED Talk from Daniel Pink:

The biggest topics of conversation throughout the day centered around student ownership of learning, preparing students for life (not just college), and obviously, motivation.

Below is a link to a survey about the Daytime Staff Meeting.  Please take a moment today to fill out the survey and give some feedback.


SURVEY: http://goo.gl/41NCJ (YOU WILL HAVE TO BE LOGGED-IN TO YOUR CELINASCHOOLS GOOGLE ACCOUNT!)

Sheila Baltzell and I just discussed the possibility of starting a book study on Daniel Pink's book if anyone is interested.  Sheila is working on securing some copies of the book.  Professional Development credit will be available and I don't perceive a great number of meetings... the idea would be to get a group of interested teachers to read the book and meet a couple of times to discuss the ideas & concepts.  If you are interested, please email Sheila and Jason. 

Building Goals Meeting Info

As promised, here is some more info about Wednesday's 'Building Goals Meetings':

First and foremost, the goal of this initial meeting is to begin the process of building our goals.  We will not necessarily have specific goals by the end of the meeting.  More than anything, I would like to brainstorm and discuss issues, ideas, and progress.

I have created an agenda for the day and would ask that you review the agenda.  This is a very loose agenda and may be altered prior to Wednesday.  Please do not print the agenda!  The only thing you need to bring is an open mind, ideas, thoughts, and maybe something to take notes on (paper and/or e-device!).

There are three things teachers should do BEFORE Wednesday:

1. If you haven't already, look through our most recent building goals and think about your own professional & individual goals for this year. 
2. Sign-up for your designated period...  I can look at the schedule to know who should be in the meeting, but I would like you to fill in the form below to verify your time (4th period will meet A & B, eat C)!
3. Watch the video below before the meeting.  The video is a talk by Daniel Pink on his book 'Drive' about human motivation.  Our discussion doesn't have to center around the video, but we will use this as a 'springboard' on Wednesday!

Survey


Remember...   we will meet in the front conference room at the beginning of the period.  I will have coffee, water, and refreshments!

Friday Focus #4: 9.14.12

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." 

Henry Brooks Adams

Good morning!  Hard to believe, but we are about to complete our 4th week of school (only 2 have been full weeks though) and our 16th day of school.  We have 44 days left in the 1st Trimester.

I had a conversation with a community member the other night about high school students.  They asked me how students were different now compared to 15 or 20 years ago.  That's a thought-provoking question, and one that can bring up several different opinions.
So many times we hear about the negative things...  'students today are lazy', 'they never want to do homework', 'today's high school students are rude', etc.
But I think it is easy to remember some of the bad experiences or characteristics when that's all we hear or focus on, when in reality, we have really great students with some fantastic personalities.  Just yesterday, a group of AAA technicians approached me at the end of the vehicle safety checks and complemented our school on having "Such great kids... they were very appreciative and respectful".

So when I answer the question, "how are students different now compared to 15 or 20 years ago?", I tend to reply with positives.  Students are different now...  they expect more from their education, they expect to be able to use technology, and they have a different set of expectations placed on them by their parents, their teachers, and their future.  Students are different now in terms of expectations.  It is our job to help them meet those expectations!


What positive things do you see from students today (comment below!)?

Keep up the great work you are doing in and out of the classroom!  You really do make a difference!


Building Goals
Two years ago, we developed building goals through a small group of teachers interested in participating in the process.  We spent a couple of afternoons after school working on the goals and refining them.  Those goals have been in place for 2 years now... we have made a great deal of progress on those goals, but it is now time to refocus and rewrite!
This year, with so many changes and things going on at the district and state level, I think it is certainly time to rethink and rewrite those goals.  However, I think ALL teachers should be involved in the process.
When the department chairs met earlier this week, I laid out two options:

1. Hold an hour-long faculty meeting after school     OR
2. Meet in small groups during the school day

Unanimously, the department chairs choose the 'during the day' option.  Essentially, we will meet in small groups during each period... teachers should attend the meeting that takes place during THEIR planning period.  This hour meeting during your planning period will be in lieu of an hour meeting after school.  This will give us small cross-curricular groups of teachers.  

These Building Goals meetings will take place next Wednesday, September 19th in the front conference room.  Coffee, water, and refreshments will be provided.  Please plan to report at the beginning of your planning period.  

Look for more information (and a short homework assignment) on Monday on the staff blog!

In the meantime, review the previous building goals.  

Grade Checks & Entry
Don't forget to check student grades during advisory.  Weekly checks are the best idea.  There are several different approaches and I know many teachers are conferencing with the students on the grades periodically as well. There are 3 documents under the documents tab above relating to grade checks... two versions of a grade check documentation form and one referral sheet for struggling students.  If you notice a student struggling, turn them into the office and we will 'put them on our radar!'  Just another way to help prevent students from falling through the cracks.

Also... don't forget to update your grades often!  We try to use the guideline of the 10th and 25th as benchmarks for grade entry, but you can certainly enter more often than that!


PD opportunity
NWOET's fall technology conference takes place October 4th at BGSU.  We have a few spots left open on the school van.  If you are interested in attending, please speak with your department chair and let me know BY 9/12.  Learn more about the conference by clicking here.



Faculty Meeting
Faculty Meeting: Wednesday, September 26th @ 7 AM in the lecture hall -- ALICE TRAINING with
Kevin Mast.


Tech Tuesday
Click on the tab at the top of the page to find the calendar and to request a topic or offer to present for Tech Tuesday.  Please share your knowledge with your colleagues!

This coming Tuesday, the topic will be Edmodo.  This is a social media network for schools.  Come learn how some of our teachers are using this tool to engage students in AND out of the classroom!



Calendar of Events
Remember that Calendar Info can be found on the right hand sidebar of the blog... updated regularly...



Happy Birthday
9/16   Randy Baker

Friday Focus #2: 8.31.12

The start of this school year has been a very positive one so far.  Thanks to everyone for helping make the beginning of this year positive!  I continue to see good energy and attitude from students and staff alike!

I was just discussing our 'expectations of students' with a couple of different groups over the last few days.  Our conversation centered around the idea that students will live up to the expectations that are set for them.  These expectations might come from home, school, or both.
Our students will live up to those expectations set before them...  Why not expect the best.  Set the bar high... because if we don't, who will?  We must know that 4 years... or 10 years... or 20 years... from now, WE HAVE DONE ALL WE CAN for the students.
And through everything you do... in your classroom, in your planning, in your test creation, in your conversations at lunch, in your reflection of the day's lesson... remember that we must do what is best for the students!
I know you all work hard to ensure we offer the best we can... KEEP IT UP!
I said to the parents at Open House on Wednesday night that we take a lot of pride in our school and we have confidence that we have a great system with great teachers to offer their son or daughter.  I meant every word of it!
Keep up the great work!

Below of some items of information:

Netbooks
Distribution went well... we should have just over 400 students walking our halls with netbooks now.  Hopefully everyone is finding ways to implement the netbooks into the classroom.  Here are some things I have seen this week:

• Students looking up their grades and assignments on Progressbook
• Students doing presentations of a project they completed completely on their netbooks
• Students completing an assignment in class using the online textbook

If you have had students with netbooks in your classroom, please post to the comment section something you have used the netbooks for in your classroom...

Walkthroughs
As some of you have noticed, I have begun doing 'walkthrough' visits in classrooms and will continue this practice as much as my schedule allows.  You will notice I am on my iPhone while in your room.  I am only making notes about my visit in regard to time, name, and location as well as anything I might wish to discuss or remember at some point in time with the teacher.  I hope to give written notes on some occasions that may include reflective questions, but I will not ALWAYS be able to give written feedback!  If you wish to discuss my visit to your room or to see my notes, feel free to let me know!  I enjoy this part of my job and hope to make it a more regular habit.



Tech Tuesday
Remember that Tech Tuesdays will begin on September 4th.  Click on the tab at the top of the page to find the calendar and to request a topic or offer to present for Tech Tuesday.  Please share your knowledge with your colleagues!

Next Week's TT Topic: Getting Started with FIP modules, with K. Uhlenhake & K. Black, ROOM 118

Calendar of Events
Remember that Calendar Info can be found on the right hand sidebar of the blog... updated regularly...



Happy Birthday
9/7    Lisa Sorrell

Summer 2012 Update #1

I hope your summer is off to a great start.  I don't know about you, but the first week of summer almost felt like a 'bonus week' because we were out so early!
Over the past week, I have read through everyone's checkout survey.  Its always good to hear the feedback on the school year... this year, it seems as though most of you had a good school year.  A lot of you told me at checkout that this was "the best year" so far!  Many of you indicated that after 2 years of being on the trimester, we are getting used to it!
We still have many things to work on and improve.  I will be putting together some of the comments, feedback, and goals to help give us some direction on developing our building goals for next school year and  moving forward.  If you have any other comments or thoughts, please comment below!

Below are some updates and recent changes.  Enjoy your June and don't forget to check back on June 25th!

Graduation
Thanks to those of you that attended graduation.  We had great weather and a very nice ceremony.  Make your plans now to attend Graduation 2013 on May 25th @ 10:30 AM!








Girls Track

Lexi Mills, Lizz Carr, & Hannah Fleck
missed the Graduation Ceremony to compete
in the Regional Track Meet.  They are pictured here
in their Graduation gowns with the rest of the
State Meet participants. 

In case you missed it, our Girls Track team performed very well at the State Track meet this past weekend. Overall, Celina Girls finished 4th in the state in Division II!
Hannah Fleck was the State Champion in the 800!!
Here is a list of accomplishments at the state track meet (thanks Dan Otten!):

2012 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: A MEET TO REMEMBER!

• TEAM TIES FOR 4TH!
• HANNAH FLECK WINS 800!
• 4 X 400 RELAY TAKES 2nd!
• LIZZ CARR 3rd IN HJ!
• 4 x 800 RELAY 4th!
• LEXI MILLS 7th IN 300 H, 8th IN 100 H!
• 4 X 200 RELAY 8th!

Read more about the State Track meet by clicking here.



David Royse
David was a former student at CHS during the 07-08 & 08-09 school years.  He recently passed away from a drowning accident at Eastview Pond in Celina.  His brother, Dustin, will be a senior this upcoming school year at CHS and his sister, Katelyn Reis, will be a junior.  Click here for calling hours and funeral information if you are interested.



Supplemental Intent Letters
All supplemental positions were posted near the end of the school year.  If you had a supplemental position that you intend on keeping for next school year, please submit something to me stating your intent (i.e. email, short letter, etc.).  There is one position that I know will need filled: Yearbook advisor.  If you are interested in this, let me know.





End of Year Party
If you missed this, you missed a great time!  Despite Derek Wenning almost burning down my house (see picture below), it was a great time.  Amy and I plan to host this again next spring... we hope you will plan to come!

Next update...
will be posted on June 25th.  Until then...  post a comment with the summer activity you are looking forward to the most and have a great summer!

Friday Focus #21: 2.17.12

E-Tech Wrap
Many of our teachers attended a session at the e-Tech conference this week.  I know many of you came back with great ideas and mind-opening concepts.  Please share your thoughts, take-aways, and any links to resources in the comment section below.

In light of the futuristic thinking keynote speaker from Monday, here is a link to an article from Google titled:
Here Are The 17 Radical Ideas From Google's Top Genius Conference That Could Change The World

The eTech Ohio website will be posting video and conference handouts/materials soon.  Here is the address: http://www.etech.ohio.gov/conference/index.dot.

Self-Reflect: Student Engagement
When we had our visitors from St. Marys last week, one of the main things we brought up as a topic of discussion was the length of the class period and how we hold students' attention for more than an hour.  For those of you that have been around during the schedule change, you know that we spent a lot of time talking about doing at least 3 distinct things during a lesson.  Every 20 minutes (give or take) we need to change our activity in the classroom.  Students need to be engaged in order to learn...

One of the first things I look for when I walk into a classroom is whether or not students are engaged.  Its easy enough to see and any one of us could walk into a classroom and observe whether or not students are engaged in the learning process.  The tell-tale signs are obvious --

• are they sitting up or do they have their head down?
• are they participatory learners?
• are they actively learning?

The list could go on... think about and reflect on your own classroom and your own practice.  Are you dividing up your lessons?  Are your students engaged?  Do your students look forward to coming to class or do they dread it?  

Most of our students are engaged during class time, but I challenge each of you to take some time in the next few days to reflect on your own practice...  Talk with your co-workers about it... talk with an administrator.  We learn and grow best when we reflect on and discuss our own practice!   

THANKS FOR READING!

have a great 3-day weekend...  enjoy your time off!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

2/20    Sheila Baltzell
2/24    Marcia Smith
2/24    Todd Topp

Upcoming Events

2/20   No School -- President's Day
2/25   PAY DAY
          Progressbook Grades Updated
2/29   Pep Assembly 
3/1     1st day of 2nd Trimester Exams... follow exam schedule
3/2     2nd day of 2nd Trimester Exams... follow exam schedule

Friday Focus #20: 2.10.12

Attendance Policy
Just a quick written reminder of our discussion from Wednesday's faculty meeting.  The only change in our attendance policy is that students going over 7 days of non-medically excused absences will lose credit only for the days missed beyond the 7 instead of completely losing credit for the course.  You can find these unexcused absences in Progressbook.  Donna will be updating these on the 5th & 20th of every month.  Remember... students are to receive zeros for work due or tests/quizzes missed on unexcused days.  Thanks for your help and understanding with this policy update.


Other Faculty Meeting Notes: 

• MTV's Made will be making an episode featuring CHS Junior Elizabeth Hogg.  Filming will start sometime next week. 
• Attendance Policy update (see above)
• St. Marys visit...  feedback was great from visiting teachers.  They appreciated the honest feedback from the staff and students.  Thanks for your help!
• Remember to help monitor hallways in-between classes as much as possible.  This really does help cut down on hallway problems!
• Student cell phone use needs to be appropriate and timely.  Students are not to make phone calls during the school day from their cell phones.  If a student is using the phone inappropriately or fails to follow your instructions to put the phone away, refer them to us as you would any other disciplinary problem.  
• Confidentiality: students should not be retrieving a teacher's mail.  If a student worker needs to make copies for a teacher, send them to the office to speak with the office personnel.  We can ensure that the copy machine is clear of any confidential information before the student uses the machine. 

Scheduling for 2012-2013
We are currently planning for next year's courses right now.  Any new ideas for courses should be discussed with your department chair and/or Jason by the end of next week!  Course Description books will be out soon!


Week in 3 Words

Over the course of the last year, the week in 3 words has been a popular addition to the announcements.  Recently, we had an issue with a couple of somewhat inappropriate inside jokes.  This week's version of the week in 3 words has a very positive message -- that is the overriding concept & intent behind the production.  Thanks to those involved this week.
I am looking for more ways to incorporate themes into the week in 3 words... i.e. feature a department a week to highlight your students, your content area, etc.  Let me know if you have an idea or would like to participate with one of your classes.


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

2/14     June Scott

Upcoming Events

2/13-15  eTech Conference, Columbus, various teachers out of building
2/16   2nd Trimester 'early' grad meeting, 7:30 AM, LH
2/20   No School -- President's Day
2/24   Pep Assembly
2/24   PAY DAY & GRADES UPDATED IN PROGRESSBOOK

Friday Focus #16: 1.6.12

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope each of you had an enjoyable and restful Christmas Break.  From my conversations with many of you and in my own opinion, this was a much needed break and mental vacation!  Hopefully we have all come back revived, refreshed, and ready to get back at it!
Last year, I asked everyone to reflect for a moment on their New Year's Resolutions...  although I know many of us don't always partake in this practice of making resolutions at the New Year, it is healthy every now and then to set goals and to think about things we wish to improve.
Of course, it is difficult sometimes to remember our resolutions, so in case you forgot your 2011 resolutions, check here: http://goo.gl/m1LUn -- this was the post from the staff blog from last January... about 15 of us posted our resolutions here.
Add your 2012 New Year's Resolutions in the comments at the bottom of this post.


Tech Tuesday
Maybe one of your Resolutions is to become more tech-savvy or to share your expertise with others...
Stay tuned for a Tech Tuesday announcement for January 10th.  I am still looking for volunteers to fill the month of January with great tech ideas we can use in the classroom.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Remember that Parent-Teacher conferences (Round 2) will be on Wednesday, January 18th from 4:30 - 7:00 PM.  You must have your conference request cards turned in by the end of the day today (Friday 1/6/12)!

Service Learning Day
Service Learning Day 2012 is fast approaching (4-27-12).  We are in the process now of planning Service Projects for that day... as a reminder (and FYI for our new staff members), our entire student body is out in the community on that day serving in some way for 3 hours in the morning.  We are constantly in need of new projects and activities for our students.  If you have any ideas, please talk to Megan or Jason.

MTV's MADE
Don't forget that MTV's MADE will be here on Monday and Tuesday next week to follow Elizabeth Hogg around for the day.  They will be in the school at some point and will be wearing a visitors badge.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

1/9      Chris Sutter

Upcoming Events

1/16     Martin Luther King Day -- NO SCHOOL
1/18     Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:30 - 7 PM

No Credit vs. GOWNA

For years, we have had a very strict and hard fast attendance policy.  Miss over a certain number of days and you receive no credit for the course.  There has always been an exception to the rule that we can make the decision to Grade On Work Not Attendance (GOWNA).  If a student had a case and someone, or the student, presented the case to an administrator, teacher, or counselor, we could make the decision to grant them GOWNA.  In the past, most students that failed on attendance were failing anyway.  More recently, we find that more and more students are passing a class and then failing on attendance.  This only sets the student back academically and often times, puts the student on track for opportunity school or dropout.

With recent changes in standards and education (a push for grades based on knowledge gained and standards mastered as opposed to seat time), failing a student based on attendance seems to be counterintuitive to our goals and mission.

We are working to revise the attendance policy to better reflect a 21st Century education...  but in the meantime, the administration has decided to grant all students a GOWNA.  If a student misses a great deal of school, and is still able to master the content of the course, we will award them credit.

Thanks for your understanding in this matter.

Professional Development

We all want to get better at what we do.  Sometimes that means reflecting on a lesson; other times it means trying something new.  Of course, professional development is one way to help us get better in our practice.  That said, many times this phrase (professional development) is met with groans and ugly memories of a bad inservice or a day spent on something entirely unrelated to your classroom.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!

I would like for your professional development more meaningful for you...

Help me create meaning for our inservice day on November 23rd.  If there is a topic you would like covered on the inservice day, make a comment below.  If you have a passion for something you are already doing in your classroom and would be willing to lead a session, comment below.  A portion of the day on 11/23/11 will be dedicated to breakout sessions.  I have some planned, some ideas, and plenty of room for more.

Join in the discussion... make your time meaningful for you!

Blogging Again

OK... so I know its been awhile since I have used the blogger site regularly for staff communication.  In the future (as in next year), I would like to use blogger or some other form of online collaboration tool to communicate with staff.  Not that email is going away, but I do think its a little outdated!  Maybe blogger is the thing, maybe Moodle, maybe a wiki... I will use whatever is easiest or best.  What I want though, is for our teaching staff to be able to collaborate and communicate in one central location.  That's where email is lacking.

Allow me to explain... if I send an email to the entire staff with an attachment, most get it, some forget or don't have time to open it right away.  If they have deleted the email, the attachment is gone -- maybe forever!  If someone wants to refer to it later... gone!  Sometimes, after the all staff email, I get a question from a staff member.  I respond to them and then someone else asks me the same question in another email and I send the same response!  Its suddenly as if we are having individual faculty meetings... one-on-one.

That's where a Web 2.0 tool is useful -- EVERYTHING is archived.  If someone wants to pose a question, or make a comment, its right there for all to see.

I need input on the idea of using the blog more often for staff communication.  I have come across some principals that seldom use all staff emails in lieu of a staff blog.  Every teacher has the blog page bookmarked and saved and they visit it everyday.  I know some technology issues and bugs need to be worked out, but lets assume it will be easy to get to for now!

We are attempting to step up our 21st Century Skills in the classroom, this is just one step in that direction.  Please comment below!!!

Week in 3 Words

From the Friday Focus:

Next week we are going to start a new feature on the announcements at the end of the week called “Week in Three Words”.  View the sample below – we stole this idea from Good Morning America.  For the 1^st version, I would like to record mostly staff.  Megan and I will be coming around on Wednesday during the day with the camera, scrap paper, and markers.  Be ready to share your ‘Week in Three Words’!

Be creative, be thoughtful, BE READY!  

Happy New Year & Welcome Back!

As usual, this break was another quick one...  they always seem to go way too fast!  I hope you enjoyed the time spent with family and friends and had an opportunity to relax and rejuvenate.

Of course, one of the things many of us do this time of year is set 'Resolutions'... things we wish to do to improve our lives.  So, what are your New Year's Resolutions?  Have you reflected (both personally and professionally) on what you want to improve upon in 2011?  (If you haven't, take some time to do so now... its worth it!)

Feel free to post your resolutions as comments below -- announcing your goals and resolutions to others helps hold you accountable to them!

Happy New Year, Welcome Back, & Good Luck in 2011!!!