castoncomets.org
(See disclaimer on home page and "Mission Statement" at bottom of each page.)

 Caston 

Home

IDOE

Bylaws, Policies & Administrative Guidelines

School Board Election and Q&A

"Scorecard"

Caston Elementary

Caston 
Jr.-Sr. High

Departments

Extra-Curricular
Staff

Celebrations

School Administration

Curriculum & Standards

School Performance

Goals

Snippets

Budget & Finance

Treasurer's Report

Commentary

Elsewhere

Indiana Code

General
 Assem bly

School
Consolidation

Kernan Shepard

Federal Gov't

Feedback

Archives

Liberty Township Community Center

Local PC help?

Caston Jr.-Sr. High

• Interactive Learning: Caston Using Computers As Teaching Tools (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 1/26/11)

• Caston Reviews School Improvement Goals: High School Implemented Many Changes This Year (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 12/20/10)

• Long-Distance Assistance - Using The Internet, Caston Musicians Work With Composer To Perfect Performance (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 4/18/10)

• Internet Music At Caston (The Rochester Sentinel, 4/16/10)

• Comets Hook Up Via Skype (The Rochester Sentinel, 4/16/10)

• Hines: AD Questioned My Commitment: Caston Girls Coach Resigns After Two Seasons (The Rochester Sentinel, 3/23/08)

• Caston Jr.-Sr. High School Almost Meets AYP - Rated as "Watch" School (Dan Foster, 3/12/08)

• "Snapshot" Of Caston Jr.-Sr. High School (And Other Schools) With Benchmarks (DOE, 9/28/07)

• Jr. - Sr. High Board Approved Dress Code For 2007-08 (7/18/07)
• Update On Jr. - Sr. High Student Handbook (7/17/07)
• Jr. - Sr. High Student Handbook (recommended changes for 2007-2008 school year, 6/13/07)
• High School Redesign (IDOE, 12/10/06)

High School Redesign (IDOE, 12/10/06) - Recently the Indiana Department of Education added to its website a section titled "High School Redesign." Several of the section's pages, as links, are:

• High School Redesign
• Indiana's Dropout Dilemma (Summary and Interventions)
• The Role Of High School Guidance In Raising Student Achievement

top

Jr. - Sr. High Board Approved Dress Code For 2007-08 (7/18/07) - Please note that the following is the Dress Code that was approved by the School Board at its June 19, 2007 meeting.

9.   DRESS CODE
STUDENT DRESS CODE

1.   Jeans, slacks, and sweats are permitted with no rips or holes.  Jeans, slacks, shorts, skirts should be of proper waist size and be worn at the waist.  Cuff length can touch the floor but not being walked on.  Extreme baggy/sagging jeans, slacks and shorts are not acceptable.
2.   Shorts, skirts, and dresses must be beyond the end of the wearer’s fingertips.  Students are advised that although lengths may meet criteria, they may be deemed inappropriate if when sitting, they go beyond mid thigh.
3.   Shirts must be able to be tucked in or else they are too short.
4.   Shirts must have some type of sleeve and, for girls, cover a student’s bra straps.
5.   All students must wear some kind of soled footwear.   For safety reasons, “flip-flop” type footwear will not be permitted.
6.   A student’s clothing, person, and hair must be neat, clean, and appropriate at all times.  Hair must be natural colors, neatly groomed and well kept, may not bring undo attention to ones self, or be a distraction to others.

Students should be dressed in accordance with the community standard. Students who wear unacceptable clothing will change clothes and will turn in the offensive clothing to the supervising teacher.  Clothing items may be picked up at the end of the day.  If a student is sent home to change clothes, the absence will count as an unexcused absence.

The following will not be allowed:
1.   Any head wear.
2.   Clothing with unacceptable writing or pictures (i.e., advertising tobacco, alcohol, obscene language, sexual innuendoes, or drug use, etc.)
3.   No type of cloth, such as handkerchief or other material wrapped around the head, legs, or arms.
4.   Wearing of sunglasses.
5.   Students should have no other piercing visible besides earrings worn in the ears.  
6.   Pajamas or slippers unless for a designated “Spirit Day.”

Teachers have the final discretion about the Dress Code.  First period teachers should check students’ dress yet all teachers/staff are responsible for making sure that students adhere to the Dress Code.

top

Update On Jr. - Sr. High Student Handbook (7/17/07) - Please note that the following article says "recommended changes" and "recommended revisions" and it was published on this site on 6/13/07. The Board Meeting when action was taken on the Handbook did not occur until 6/19/07. Sometimes the Administrator's recommendations are not approved by the Board and that was the case on several issues pertaining to the Handbook (more info). Also, the Board minutes for the 6/19/07 meeting read as follows:

• Handbook:  Following a review of proposed changes, Mr. Sommers moved, seconded by Dr. Ayers to approve the Caston Junior Senior High School Student/Parent Handbook for the 2007-2008 school year with changes noted during tonight’s discussion.  Motion passed 3-2 with Mr. Phillips and Mrs. Zartman voting ‘nay.’

So, what "recommended change" was not approved by the Board? It is my understanding that "flip-flop" type footwear will not be permitted at all (not just in shop classes or laboratory classes) due to safety concerns primarily. There were some other "recommended changes" that also were not approved. However, so as to insure accurate communication I will await publishing these until received from the Superintendent and/or Principal.

top

Jr. - Sr. High Student Handbook (recommended changes for 2007-2008 school year, 6/13/07) - Recommended revisions to the Jr. - Sr. High School Student Handbook for 2007-08 will be on the June 19, 2007 School Board Meeting Agenda.

Superintendent Huffman has provided this information and has no objection to it being published below. 

top

"Snapshot" Of Caston Jr.-Sr. High School (And Other Schools) With Benchmarks (DOE, 9/28/07)

Benchmarks for Caston Jr-Sr High School (This content, with minor exceptions, was taken from the  Indiana Department of Education's website.) The + marks below represent the average quartile placement of the school in relationship to all other schools in Indiana since the 2001-02 school year. In other words the more "pluses" the higher a school's rank among Indiana schools on that item. + = Lower 25% of schools (Lowest Quartile)  ++ = Between 25% and 50% of schools (Second Quartile)  +++ = Between 50% and 75% of schools (Third Quartile)  ++++ = Upper 25% of schools (Highest Quartile)  +++++ = Upper 5% of schools (95th Percentile)     ACT Composite Score      ACT, Percent of 12th Graders Taking      Advanced Placement, Pct Taking      Advanced Placement, Pct of Exams 3 or Above      Attendance Rate      Diplomas, Percent Core 40      Diplomas, Percent Honors      Graduates Pursuing College Education, Percent      Graduation Rate      ISTEP Avg Pct Pass - All Tested Grades E/LA and Math      ISTEP English/LA Grade 10      ISTEP English/LA Grade 7      ISTEP English/LA Grade 8      ISTEP English/LA Grade 9      ISTEP Math Grade 10      ISTEP Math Grade 7      ISTEP Math Grade 8      ISTEP Math Grade 9      ISTEP Pct Pass both English/LA and Math (All Tested Grades)      ISTEP Science Grade 7      PSAT College-Bound Juniors      SAT Composite Score College-Bound Seniors      SAT, Percent of 12th Graders Taking      Stability Index, Pct of Days Enrolled

Caston Jr.-Sr. High School Almost Meets AYP - Rated as "Watch" School (Dan Foster, 3/12/08)

(This article has been provided by Principal Foster.)

The state of Indiana has released the ‘07 school accountability results for schools in Indiana .  Each year, under the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) legislation, it is determined if schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  Despite making 14 of the 15 categories, Caston Jr/Sr High School did not meet AYP.  Originally it was reported that Caston Jr/Sr High School did in fact meet AYP, however, after discovering some incorrect information, Caston Jr/Sr High School was notified of the error by the Indiana Department of Education.  Additionally, schools are rated under the Indiana Accountability System for Academic Progress.  Caston Jr/Sr High School was rated as a “Watch” school with overall performance of 66.8% with improvement shown as 0.6%.  These ‘placings’ are for the 2006-2007 School Year and are based on information from that school year.  We remain optimistic that Caston Jr/Sr High School will continue to show improvement in all areas of AYP and the Accountability System.  The teachers and staff have worked and continue to work hard for the students of Caston Jr/Sr High School students.

(Caston Elementary's AYP and rating may be found here.)

top

Internet Music At Caston (The Rochester Sentinel, 4/16/10)
(This article, by Christina M. Seiler, News Editor, was originally published in The Rochester Sentinel on Friday, April 16, 2010. "Mellilo" has been corrected to "Melillo." Bold type and highlighting have been added by the Webmaster.)

What do snowmen, Skype and the Caston Comet Band have in common?

Music composer Stephen Melillo.

Melillo and the band have been working together, he in Smithfield, Va., and they in Fulton.

They videoconferenced - via the Internet and Skype, band teacher James Byrn's laptop, and two large computer monitors - on Thursday. It was the Comets' second session on the videoconference program with Melillo.

Melillo is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated composer. He has worked with organizations in 28 countries and composed more than 990 works. His music spans from the IBM ThinkPad Demo to violin concertos. He's written scores for 14 feature films, 28 network television shows and self-published his work since 1992.

Thursday, Melillo was in the Caston band room, virtually, helping the students learn his piece, "One Moment to Eternity." It's part of the score of an upcoming movie, "Dwegons," set for September 2010 release.

"The good part of this is we can do this anytime, and it's in real time," he said as they worked on preparatory, or warm-up, music.

He stopped their playing to comment. "Guys, the good news is, you're much improved."

The composer noted first players were dominating the sound and compared that to building a snowman upside down, with the largest section on top.

Their next try, he said, was like a snowman with all three sections the same. "This would yield the totally boring, monotonous, Communist snowman, where everything is equal," Melillo said. He launched into a lesson about building sound and mixing four parts, small to large.

Melillo talked about the percussion's role and said he always adds that last to a new composition. "That's where you have the greatest vehicle for excitement and drama," he said.

The instrumentalists started and he stopped them, moving trumpet soloist Caleb Siders, a senior, to the middle of the room so he could see him better on the computer.

As the students played on, Melillo nodded in agreement, signed the shape of a snowman several times. "That's 300 percent, at least, better than the other time we did this," he said. Melillo and the 50 band members first skyped on St. Patrick's Day. The students started learning the piece in February.

"I was satisfied a long time ago, when you guys showed up and were sitting there all quiet," he encouraged. "Let's just see how far we can keep going."

From Byrn came a sigh of relief after the session. The computer monitors and invited guests gone, he sat in his quiet band room and reflected on the personal hurdles he jumped to bring Melillo and his students together.

He has included a Melillo piece in his concert repertoire at least once a year but never contacted the composer to work with his students.

"I was always kind of nervous to have my bands play for him," Byrn said, noting Caston's relatively small size compared to the much larger schools Melillo has worked with.

"My dream was if other schools do it, why not Caston?" he said. "I was always afraid of what he'd think of my band. I got past that because it's about the kids. If bigger schools can have it, why not Caston? They deserve it just as much."

He was nervous about his own conducting skills too. "But it pushes the kids and pushed me to be better at what we do," Byrn said.

The Caston band plans to commission Melillo for a setting of the hymn "Were You There?".

"We're going to make it go, no matter what," Byrn said.

They need to raise $2,500 and hope to premiere the piece next school year. Byrn invited seniors back to play in practices and the premiere.

Learning the process of commissioning music is his end goal.

"I think the journey of going through it and what the kids learn ... is more important that the piece itself," he said. "I'm more excited about working with Mr. Melillo. You can see he's a very dynamic guy."

The advantage of working with Melillo through videoconferencing, Byrn said, is personal interaction. "The kids can ask him questions and see that this person who writes the music is more than just a name on a piece of sheet music," he said.

The Caston band will play "One Moment to Eternity" during its 7:30 p.m. April 22 concert in the school gymnasium. Everyone is invited. Admission is free.

To raise money for their commissioned piece, and a trip to Nashville, Tenn., they're serving a chicken dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 27 in the school cafeteria. Cost is $8 for adults and $4 for ages 8 and younger.

(At the April 6, 2010 School Board meeting Mr. Byrn and Band students Caleb Siders and Morgan Herrold shared their enthusiasm for the Band's involvement in this unique project. Hear the students' comments here (3:23).) (added 4/24/10)

(A brief Facebook video clip of the session with Mr. Melillo is here. - Webmaster)

top

Comets Hook Up Via Skype (The Rochester Sentinel, 4/16/10)
(This article, by Christina M. Seiler, News Editor, was originally published in The Rochester Sentinel on Friday, April 16, 2010.)

Each Wednesday for one-half hour after school, Caston High School senior Kara Smith takes a private clarinet lesson in the school band room.

Her instructor, John Gardner, is a Huntington North High School music teacher.

They work together by way of Skype - a free, online videoconferencing program.

"She can take her lesson and then go right out and run track," CHS band instructor James Byrn said. "And the teacher doesn't have to go out of his way to teach the lessons."

Smith's lessons are one of several ways Byrn is using the computer and Internet to broaden the instruction his students receive.

Byrn also uses an Internet-based program, Smart Music. It provides exercises, instruction books, entire band and orchestral pieces and solo and ensemble selections.

As students play, it captures and logs their notes. Then it shows them what they missed. A red mark means they hit the wrong note, a green one the correct note.

"A lot of kids just use this to practice in my office, and for tests," Byrn said.

top

Long-Distance Assistance - Using The Internet, Caston Musicians Work With Composer To Perfect Performance (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 4/18/10)

(This article, by Mark M. Fletcher,  was originally published in the Logansport Pharos~Tribune on Sunday, April 18, 2010.)

FULTON — Most people rarely see the hard work that goes into a strong musical performance.

You watch and appreciate the music, but you rarely see the hours and hours of practice it takes to prepare for performing that music in front of an audience.

But if you were in James Byrn’s band class on Thursday morning at Caston High School you would have seen some of that hard work.

Byrn’s students have an advantage most of their parents never had:

They were able to rehearse the work they plan to perform this week with the composer listening.

The composer, Stephen Melillo, did not come to the school in person. Melillo, a noted composer from Smithfield, Va., listened to the students perform his work via the Internet.

The band will play “One Moment to Eternity” at Thursday night’s spring concert at the school.

Melillo worked with the students, even coaching them about what reed size to use in their saxophones.

At one point, the composer repositioned trumpet player Caleb Siders and helped him with his part in the composition.

Byrn, who is in his 12th year at the school, said larger schools had already worked with Melillo and other composers via the Internet, but he said it was a relatively new process for Caston. Byrn said meeting the composer in person, even if only on a screen in front of the class, made the music more meaningful for his students.

“This way he’s more than just some guy’s name on a piece of paper,” Byrn said.

Melillo drew a couple of snowmen on a piece of paper and held it up to the camera for the students to see, using the size of the various snowballs to illustrate a point about the importance of the different parts of the composition.

At one point, Melillo coached the students not only on the technical side of his work, but the philosophy as well.

“The notes are not the music,” Melillo said. “They are the symbols that point to the music.”

Melillo went on to say that a purely technical emphasis on playing the music would result in music with no feeling.

Thursday’s session was the second time the Caston band had practiced the work with Melillo watching.

Byrn has used the composer’s work in the past, but never had him work so closely with the students. The director is glad he started using the Internet links with Melillo and said it has made rehearsals more productive and more interesting for the students.

The teacher said Melillo writes primarily band music, and that his work has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in music and several other awards. Melillo also has black belts in seven martial arts, and served as a hand-to-hand combat instructor at the Green Beret school in 1976.

“Yes, I really am that old,” Melillo said in answering a student’s question about his martial arts experience.

He went on to relate that he had started teaching his son the martial arts, while he was studying the violin as well. Melillo told his son that he should notice that underneath playing a violin and practicing the martial arts “are really the same things.”

• Mark R. Fletcher is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5148 or mark.fletcher@pharostribune.com

Want to go?

What: Spring concert

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Caston Junior-Senior High School gymnasium

Admission: Free

(At the April 6, 2010 School Board meeting Mr. Byrn and Band students Caleb Siders and Morgan Herrold shared their enthusiasm for the Band's involvement in this unique project. Hear the students' comments here (3:23).) (added 4/24/10)

top

Caston Reviews School Improvement Goals: High School Implemented Many Changes This Year (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 12/20/10)
(This article, by Staff Writer Denise Massie,  was originally published in the Logansport Pharos~Tribune on Monday, December 20, 2010.)

FULTON — Caston Junior-Senior High School is seeing the benefits of its decision to take part in the Indiana Student Achievement Institute.

“You set your school improvement goals at the beginning of the year and implement a plan for each goal,” principal Adam Strasser said.

“Then we measure our growth during the school year.”

During Tuesday’s school board meeting, Strasser informed board members of the school improvement goals and how successful they have been.

The goals were broken into several categories.

Full staff strategies, which affect everyone at the school, include improvement of communication with parents, a mentor program for students, extended hours before and after school for those needing help and a privilege period.

Strasser explained the privilege period is earned if the students earn good grades, have good attendance and good behavior throughout the nine weeks. The students earn a time period to set up and play games.

Under community strategies is a marketing campaign.

“It’s a way to raise expectations for everyone and to show everyone how good we are doing,” Strasser said.

The guidance strategies include a career interest inventory. Strasser said the students start the inventory in junior high by plotting their course for high school to match what they want to do after high school.

The character education program has two parts to it.

The first is a schoolwide positive behavior plan. Students are rewarded for positive behaviors. The second part includes math, English or character development success periods on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Students have also had the opportunity to start practicing for SAT and ACT, so they will be more prepared.

Strasser added there are specific strategies for English, math and science, which are based on improvement for the end of course assessment test.

As for the future, Strasser said the hope is to raise everyone’s expectations.

“We want the students to be successful academically and socially,” he said.

School board member Russ Phillips was pleased to hear about the school’s improvement efforts.

“It was very obvious to me that the high school staff, along with Mr. Strasser, has certainly undertaken some great challenges to try and ensure we are doing everything possible for the benefit of our students,” he said.

top

COMPUTER USE: During a recent United States History class at Caston Jr.-Sr. High School, a student uses an Apple laptop computer to complete an assignment. The class of juniors use the computers to do almost all of their work.

ANSWERING QUESTIONS: During a recent U.S. history class, teacher Tara Wolfe assists students, left to right, Chris Brown, Jessica Showley, Emily Douglass and Hali Berry. The class is in a new one-on-one interactive classroom where students have access to their own Apple laptop to use.

Interactive Learning: Caston Using Computers As Teaching Tools (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 1/26/11)
(This article was originally published in The Pharos-Tribune on January 14, 2011. Bold type and highlighting have been added by the Webmaster.)

by Denise Massie
Pharos-Tribune

LOGANSPORT — FULTON — Move over, school books.

One-on-one computer use is becoming the newest way to teach — at least in one classroom at Caston Junior-Senior High School.

Tara Wolfe, who teaches U.S. history, geography and world history, is teaching a new one-on-one interactive class through the use of Apple laptops.

“They love using the computers,” she said.

Principal Adam Strasser said the computers allowed students to become more engaged.

“It is mimicking their life,” he said. “They don’t go home and sit down to listen to someone talk. They go home, get online and chat with friends.”

Each student has a computer assigned to them for use during class, Wolfe said. The students log on with their names and can personalize the computer however they want.

“In a regular lab, they can’t do that,” she said. “They just log in as a guest. ... I think it’s a benefit to the kids.”

Her freshman class has minimal use of the computers, but her junior class does most school work through a computer program known as “Moodle.” Any test or quiz is accessed and completed through Moodle.

“For the juniors, this is more of an independent study class, ...” she said. “We might use the book to introduce a subject to them, but the juniors do a lot of Internet activity.”

After starting with the book, the students use the computers for either a webcast designed by Wolfe or to access one of many free websites related to history.

For those students who aren’t able to complete their work during class, they can either access Moodle on a home computer or complete the work with paper and pen. Students have e-mail accounts through Moodle and can submit homework through e-mail.

They can also send Wolfe any questions they have while not in class.

Students are also required to answer a question in the forum postings and respond to one other student’s post by the end of each week.

According to Wolfe, the students love having the opportunity to complete a test or quiz online and can listen to the test through a set of headphones. The students also receive instant feedback.

“They don’t have to wait for me to grade their test or quiz,” she said.

“They can know right away within a few percentage points what they earned.”

When the students arrive in class, they begin working on “bell work,” which Wolfe said is something to keep the students busy until the bell rings. Some days the bell work is an opinion question, while other days it is a question with a right or wrong answer. All questions relate to the class.

When they log in, a page shows up and informs students what they will be doing in class that day and even for the next several days. It all depends on what Wolfe has posted and how far in advance she has planned.

The program also offers the ability to post any handouts online and any short videos presented in class.

“If they miss the class, they can still watch it,” Wolfe said.

During class, Wolfe can walk around the class to monitor the progress made or to answer any questions. She can also sit at her desk and access all of the computer screens from her laptop.

If students are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, she can simply send them a message and advise them to get back on track.

“If we’re doing something and they aren’t paying attention, I can lock their computer until I choose to unlock it,” she added. “Then, they have to sit there and listen.”

Students also have the opportunity to listen to music through the computers, when they are not testing or listening to group instructions from Wolfe. She believes there are many benefits with allowing the student the privilege.

“There is a lot less distracting of others and all the misbehaviors go out the window,” she said. “They turn on their music and go to work.”

In fact, Wolfe didn’t write up any students last semester for behavioral problems.

The privilege can also be used as leverage. Students lost the opportunity several times because of missing assignments.

“They don’t like that,” she said. “It’s amazing how quickly they turn the work in.”

Strasser believes the new interactive classroom is a positive move.

“It gives every student a chance to be on task at all times,” he said.

“They don’t have to wait for the teacher or for a peer to finish a problem on the board. They are doing it at the same time. ... It’s kind of a unique opportunity.”

Wolfe has seen many positives from the new teaching style.

Students experience hands-on learning and remember things they may not have before.

“Not one junior failed last semester,” she pointed out. “I think the kids are learning more and it’s more enjoyable to them. It’s not the same old boring social studies.”

In the future, the school would like to look into the possibility of expanding the one-on-one computer use.

“I think that’s important,” Strasser said. “You can’t deny that it has been successful. The data is there.”

• Denise Massie is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5151 or denise.massie@pharostribune.com

top