The Middle Update - Holiday Break Edition

As we come to the end of the 2016 portion of our school year, it's important to reflect on the start of our school year before we look ahead to the 2017 portion, and plan for how we will continue the upward trend in the knowledge and skill building of our students.  The blog post today will include some reflections and data from the start of our school year, looking ahead to the rest of the school year.

Reflection on our School Culture
Overall, it feels as though we have seen gains in establishing a culture for students that is learning and achievement focused.  Don't get me wrong, there are still improvements to be made in this area.  Growing a culture where every student wants to achieve, and works hard to achieve is a difficult task, and can only be accomplished by a consistent (daily, yearly) commitment by each member of our staff to instill this mindset in every word, action, and interaction with each student (especially those that challenge us the most).  We also need to take an innovative approach to targeting the areas that need it most.
Based on qualitative evidence, many pieces of anecdotal observational evidence seem better than in years past (clear hallways when they should be, students consistently engaged in classroom activities, classroom activities aligned to learning goals, regular student practice on rigorous tasks, very few lunch time incidents, etc.).  Also, some of the culture data that we track are also pointing to signs of improvement (see below).

Behavior Referrals -
14-15 - 158 Events, 55 Students
15-16 - 100 Events, 47 Students
16-17 - 52 Events, 28 Students

Tardy Data -
15-16 - 822 total instances
16-17 - 450 total instances

1st Quarter Puma Pride Data (% with ALL ME's)
15-16 - 73%
16-17 - 73.5%

Attendance Rates
14-15 - 95.28%
15-16 - 95.90%
16-17 - 95.51%

Like Marzano's (2003) research says "Schools can have a tremendous impact on student achievement if they follow the direction provided by the research." What we do every day, with every student matters, and the quality of our school and the school experiences that we facilitate for our students impacts the opportunities for their future. If we continue to work hard, seeking ways to improve upon the already strong practices that we have in place, our students will continue to benefit, not only in a positive school experience, but more importantly, by having more options for the direction they want to pursue when their time with us is complete. When I think about working in a school where at least 90% of our students are achieving both academically and behaviorally, meeting Puma Pride expectations, I get excited and inspired for this opportunity. I am thankful and appreciative to be on this journey with each of you.


End of Quarter 2
It is hard to believe, but we are less than 3 weeks away from the end of Quarter #2. The last day of the quarter is on Thursday, 1/19. Grades will be due by the end of business on Wednesday, 1/25.

Grades in Infinite Campus
I wanted to include a reminder that posted grades in Infinite Campus should reflect a student's current skills and knowledge within each standard. Please make sure to schedule in a time to review/update grades each week.

Staff Meeting - Thursday, January 12
I originally scheduled a staff meeting for Tuesday, 1/17, but due to a conflict need to reschedule this date. On Thursday, 1/12 at 2:50, we will meet in Mrs. Anderson's room (#3) focusing on utilizing the communication opportunity that our quarter report cards provide.

Grade Level Blogs
Our grade level blogs are a great way to communicate with parents about things happening in our classrooms. It also helps our parents to more effectively partner with us to help their children stay more organized. Many parents have commented on how much these little weekly blurbs are appreciated, as they receive an email when a post is published. See me if you need access to post about your classes.

Winter STAR Testing Dates are Set
Students will be taking the STAR test in their respective ELA and Math classes on the following dates:
Reading - Tuesday, 1/10
Math - Wednesday, 1/18

Next SOM Breakfast
The next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday, February 2nd.

Twitter Find of the Week
Technology brings a wealth of information that is accessible in a manner of seconds. Educating our students about how to evaluate the credibility of the variety of sources out there is crucial. Here is one professor's take on how to effectively do this with our students.

edutopia ‏@edutopia  4h4 hours ago

A 6-step strategy for evaluating websites as information sources: http://edut.to/2hsXnae . #digcit

Duty Next Week
Morning - Vian, Johnson
Bus - Odden

The Middle Update 12/16/16

With the winter weather coming our way today and tomorrow, please be safe out there!  I hope everyone gets the chance to enjoy a great weekend coming up, and are able to recharge for another solid week of teaching and learning right up until the end of the day next Thursday.  Check out below for the latest information.

Holiday Concert Monday!
Our Middle School musicians will be on display on Monday (12/19) evening.  The concert starts at 7:00pm in the 1-8 gym.  Hope to see you there!

School Board Meeting Monday Night
The next School Board Meeting is on Monday (12/19) evening starting at 6:00pm.  You can view the Middle School Board Report HERE.

Late Start Schedule
In the event that we would have a late start, we will follow this SCHEDULE.  Scroll down to Page 2 to view the Late Start Schedule.

Carelli Cup
Next Thursday afternoon, we will host the latest Carelli Cup Event.  We will plan on ending the day in the 1-8 Gym for the last event.  All students should be dismissed to the gym at 1:03pm, and the Free Throw event will start right away.  After the event, (1:15), students will be dismissed from the gym.

School Safety Post of the Week
I wanted to add a safety section to the blog so we can regularly review safety procedures that we have in place.  We can never predict when we'll need to use them, and it's important that everyone understands the different types of safety situations and the responses that we may utilize.  This post will feature the types of holds that we have in place.  More details about these procedures can be found in the orange safety pamphlet that should be under the phone in each classroom.

Hold - A regular hold is in place when no one should be in the hallways.  Class should resume normally, but no one should be released for any reason until an announcement has been given that ends the hold.

Administrative Hold - An administrative hold is in place when no one should enter or exit the building.  Everything inside the building functions normally, and adjustments will have to made to routines that normally require students to go to the high school for class or lunch.

Lock-Down - This is a situation where there could potentially be a dangerous person inside the building.  Staff should quickly survey the hallway, clearing students and bathrooms, shut off classroom lights, ensure doors are locked, and guide students to a spot that is not visible from the hallway.  Everyone in the room should remain quiet, and no one should exit the room until the lockdown is released.  Teachers should take attendance, and no one should call the office.

Shelter - This is typically for a weather situation (tornado) outside, and is where each grade should report to their designated areas.
8th-hallway between Odden and Lendobeja's room
7th-Band Room
6th-Elementary Music Room

Middle School Staff Time
All are welcome to enjoy some refreshments and an opportunity to get together prior to the holidays here at school on Wednesday (12/21) at 3:15 in Mrs. Anderson's Room (#3).

Twitter Post of the Week

Jerry Pritzl ‏@jerrypritzl  8m8 minutes ago

Two Poynette Middle Schoolers designing a part to print on the 3D printer to make their vehicle run more efficiently

0 replies0 retweets0 likes

 

 

 

 

Duty Next Week

Morning - Schoen, Johnson

Bus - Lendobeja

The Middle Update 12/9/16

It's mid-December already, and the winter weather appears ready to be a solid presence in our lives for the next few months.  As we move closer to winter break, I am continually impressed by the way our teachers value the precious instructional minutes that we have with our students.  As we get closer to an extended break in a week and a half, this structure and focus are critical to ending 2016 on a positive, learning-focused note with momentum building towards even higher achievement for all in 2017.

The Rogness Babies are Here!
Julie and Kyle successfully welcomed Blake (6lbs, 14oz, 19.5in) and Will (6lbs, 5oz, 20in) into the world yesterday and reports from Julie indicate that everything is going great.

November/December Update
Check out the update video HERE.  If you would like to be included in the next update, just let me know, and I'd be happy to involve as many people as we can.

Staff Meeting Wrap-Up
I left our staff meeting feeling really good about the collaboration that took place.  Thanks to the teachers who shared their experiences, and if anyone that didn't get to share, has built in successful strategies to facilitate higher level discussions, please let me know, and we'll continue to spread those great practices to others.

Literacy Committee Meeting Summary
The Literacy Committee met on Thursday afternoon, and discussed two agenda items.  The first was to finalize plans for putting up a bulletin board for each grade level highlighting the great books that our students are reading.  The second was to debrief about the first round of book talks, and discuss plans for a future event.  The committee felt that overall the books talks were successful in achieving our goal of promoting reading, and getting kids excited about reading certain titles, as we have waiting lists for many of the books that were shared!  There were a couple of kinks to work out, and we plan to run another round later in the school year.  If you have a book that you feel would be a hit, and are interested in sharing, please let me know.

Students of the Month
The next Student of the Month Breakfast will be next Thursday (12/15) at 7:00 am in the IMC.  Congratulations to this month's recipients:

Trinity Frey     Kaitlyn Priske     Garret Johnson     Morgan Wierzba     Braiden Krysiak
                  Maddie Morton          Peyton Horne          Emily Mankowski  

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopiaVerified account ‏@edutopia  8h8 hours ago

Fun ways to get your students talking to each other beyond the standard class discussion: http://edut.to/2h3Iag6 . #edchat

Duty Next Week
Morning - Pittner, Johnson
Bus - Hendrickson

Data
Tardy Data (through 2nd Friday in December)

15-16 - 747 total, 125 students with at least 1
16-17 - 395 total, 108 students with at least 1

The Middle Update 12/2/16

Another great week in a a great school is in the books!  Check out below for the latest news and information.

Puma Pride Committee Meeting Recap
The latest Puma Pride Committee meeting took place this past Thursday (12/1) after school.  You can check out the meeting agenda and notes HERE.

Staff Meeting Next Week
We will be having a staff meeting next Tuesday (12/6) in Mrs. Anderson's Room (rm. 3).  The meeting will focus on sharing the innovative ways that we have been using questioning and discussion techniques in our classrooms to increase the level of engagement and higher level thinking.

Middle School Holiday Concert
Our annual holiday concert that will feature our talented musicians will be on Monday, December 19 at 7:00 pm in the 1-8 Gym.  Mark your calendars and get ready to take in a great show!

Literacy Committee Meeting
The next Literacy Committee Meeting is Thursday, December 8th at 2:45 pm in Ms. Keller's room.  We will breakdown the last round of book talks, and plan for future activities.  Anyone is welcome to join and contribute!

Next Student of the Month Breakfast
The next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday, December 15.  Please send me your nominees by early next week.  Mr. Gavin is up for the Applied Academic teachers.

Early Release on Thursday 12/22
Looking ahead, we will follow the Early Release schedule for Thursday, 12/22.  Students will be dismissed at 1:15 on this day.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  14h14 hours ago

Strategies for helping students with "scattered minds" prioritize their work: http://edut.to/2fKX3UE .

Duty Next Week
Morning - Odden, Johnson
Bus - Hazard

Data
Attendance Rates (through first Friday in December)
16-17 - 95.95%
15-16 - 95.90%
14-15 - 95.27%

Behavior Referral Data (through first Friday in December)
16-17 - 47 Events, 26 Students
15-16 - 81 Events, 44 Students
14-15 - 145 Events, 52 Students

The Middle Update 11/18/16

With a short week next week, the month of November is almost in the rear view mirror.  This time of year always seems to be here and gone before you know it.  The focus on our students and facilitating their achievement to levels they thought weren't possible remains at the forefront, with each day a new opportunity for growth.  Our students are fortunate to attend a school with a dedicated, student-centered staff.

2nd Quarter Grades
The posting window for our grades is open any time.  Teachers can post student progress grades in any standard anytime throughout the quarter.  Please have posted grades (mid-term) in Infinite Campus updated by the end of November.  Those grades should then be updated as they change throughout the quarter.

Staff Meeting on Tuesday, 12/6
We will meet as a staff on Tuesday (12/6) in Mrs. Anderson's room (3).  We will check in on the practice of facilitating solid student discussion in our classes.  Teachers will share effective strategies that are being utilized in our classrooms.  If you have had solid success in this area, and would like to share with the group, please let me know, and you'll have the opportunity to spread the good practice.

Puma Pride Committee
The next Puma Pride Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, 11/29.  We will review and continue to work on refining our school-wide Puma Pride interventions.

School Board Meeting
The November School Board Meeting is Monday at 7 pm.  Click HERE to view the board report from the Middle School.

IE Book Talks
We completed our first round of book talks on Thursday.  From my perspective, it appeared to go very well, with a number of students excited to read some of the titles that were presented.  I will be looking for feedback from all stakeholders to examine our next steps for helping to embed the love of reading into our school culture.  Thank you to all of you for your efforts in communication, preparation to pull off a solid event.

Early Release on Wednesday (11/23) is 1:15
See the schedule for this day.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  2h2 hours ago

Breaking a vicious cycle that undermines student success: http://edut.to/2glgmnk .

0 replies20 retweets24 likes

Duty Next Week
Morning - Hendrickson, Johnson
Bus - Frehner

Data
Puma Pride Data (Percent of students will all ME's)

The Middle Update 11/12/16

Happy Veteran's Day!  A day to reflect, remember, and honor those who have sacrificed so much of their own life for us.  What a great example to share with our students, that lends itself to a natural conversation about empathy and care for others.

Book Talks Next Week
It's almost here...we'll be running our first round of books talks during each of the IE periods on Thursday.  Students have signed up, and we have assigned room locations for each of the book talks.  See the updated flyer for the room assignments.  6th grade IE will have different room assignments than the 7th/8th grade session.  See room assignments at the following links:      6th     7th/8th

During the 35 minute IE time, we'll be running two sessions.  Students will attend one for the 1st 15 minutes, then switch to attend another session.  Students have already signed up for a book that they would like to hear about.  I will share with the grade level teams how we will dismiss students and decide the communication that will take place to get students to the right rooms.

Report Cards
Report cards have been printed off, and we will be sending them out either late on Friday or early Monday.

Veteran's Day Assembly
Thanks all of you for your help getting our students prepared for the Veteran's Day Assembly on Friday morning.  Some of the veterans were really surprised afterwards that we had Middle School students in attendance, saying, "there were middle school students here?  Aren't they usually loud?"  Kudos to all of you and our students for a solid display of what being a Puma is all about.

Puma Pride Interventions
As we collect all of the data from the end of the first quarter, we are about the embark on the implementation of systematic interventions to help students whose Puma Pride scores indicate that they need some assistance in different areas.  The grade level teams continue to work on the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard.  Mrs. Morton has already begun to provide an intervention for any student that needs help with "Treats other with Kindness" standard, and next week, I will work with our students struggling with "Following classroom expectations".

Targeted Assessment/SLO Work
We are one week from the last PD Day, where we all mapped out our targeted assessment plan in relation to achieving our SLO.  As we move towards our next PD Day on Monday, 11/28/16, teachers should be in the targeted assessment cycle, and either ready to implement or analyze the data.  We will use part of the next PD day spent on collaboration around the data.

Staff Meeting in December
We will have a staff meeting on Tuesday, December 6th from 2:50 to 3:30 in Mrs. Anderson's room.  Our focus will be on creating a culture of rich student discussion in our classrooms.  We have too many teachers utilizing great practices to not spread the wealth.  If you utilize or have utilized effective strategies to build rich, level 4 discussion in your class, please let me know, and I'll set you up to share during our time together on 12/6.

Early Release Schedule
On Wednesday, 11/23, all students will be dismissed at 1:15.  Please review the Early Release Schedule before, and let me know if you see any conflicts in the assignments for that day so we can resolve them ahead of time.

Wednesday Visitors
This past Wednesday, we welcomed about 30 teachers/administrators from 4 districts across the state (Elkhorn, Antigo, McFarland, Fall River) to share a little bit of how we do things in terms of assessment and instruction.  Other educators across the state are interested in hearing how you all do what you do in the classroom.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  15h15 hours ago

This chemistry teacher knows a little something about intrinsic motivation: http://edut.to/2ePYyPA .

Duty Next Week
Morning- Hazard, Johnson
Bus- Filerman

The Middle Update 11/4/16

I thought Friday was a great day of work!  Thanks to all for your efficient and thorough work session in departments.  I am excited about the focus our SLO/Targeted Assessment process will bring to our goals of increased student achievement across the board.  See a couple of notes below...

Cool things that have happened at PMS so far this year...
"A student accelerated to 6th grade math during 1st quarter.  He is a students with some social/emotional needs, so it is exciting to see him succeeding."

"I don't have the data in front of me, but it seems that there are less kids that are needing direct intervention for math than in year's past."

"I had 3 students make awesome connections to a reading on hurricanes today"

"We survived writing a formal narrative paper in 6th grade using the MLA requirements/format for the first time!  We didn't use it until later last year"

"No students refused to participate in Mix It Up Day"

New Staff Welcome

Welcome to Amy Luebke and Jamie Keller, who will be joining our Middle School Teaching Staff for the next couple of months. Amy will be in for Mr. Williams, and Jamie for Mrs. Rogness.

Veteran’s Day Assembly

We will participate in the annual Veteran's Day Assembly on 11/11/16 at 9:00 am in the Kerr Gym ath the High School. We will adjust Nutrition Break time to accommodate.

Quarter 1 Grades Posting
Grades should be posted by end of day Wednesday (11/9). Report cards will be mailed home near the end of the week.

MS Book Talks 11/17
We will be running our first round of book talks on Thursday, 11/17 during IE. Posters advertising the book talks are posted. More information on the details of the book talks will follow soon.

Classroom Visits
Mr. Shappell will be accompanying me on some of my classroom visit rounds this coming week.

Student of the Month Breakfast 11/17/16
Our next SOM Breakfast is coming up. Please confer, and send your recommendations to the office as soon as you can. 7th grade team has their recommendations submitted already.

Grading for Learning Visit
On Wednesday, 11/9, we will have 4 schools (Antigo, Fall River, McFarland, Elkhorn) visiting our campus to learn more about how we do what we do. The session will take place in the HS IMC.

October Update
Check out this month's update video HERE. If you are dying to be featured in one of these videos, please let me know, and I'll be happy to accommodate!

Early Release on 11/23
There will be an Early Release on Wednesday, 11/23.  Students will be dismissed on this day at 1:15.  Please review the Early Release Schedule ahead of time, and let me know if you notice any conflicts in your schedule.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  10h10 hours ago

Prepare students for writing by learning how to use graphic organizers correctly: http://edut.to/2f6nmkn . #writechat

0 replies61 retweets81 likes

 

 

 

Duty Next Week

Morning - Gavin, Johnson

Bus - Luebke

The Middle Update 10/30/16

November is here this week, and with it brings us to the end of the 1st quarter.  The next week or two gives us a couple of collaboration and communication opportunities to continue our work to boost student achievement.  Like we reviewed in our staff meeting, our data indicates that so many culture and achievement indicators are heading in the right direction...we have a lot to be proud of, and more ground to cover.  I really appreciate working with a group of educators who put students first, and constantly strive for the refinement of the good things that we already have built.

PD Day, Friday 11/4

Mr. Shappell shared the PD Day schedule last Friday afternoon.  I am really looking forward to the work that we'll put in during this collaboration opportunity, and the benefits that our students will reap stemming from our efforts.

SLO/PPG's

The SLO/PPG will be a central focus of our time on Friday, so you should come prepared with a working draft of your SLO and PPG, and an idea of what data you plan to focus on throughout the year.  If you are still not completely sure about the focus or data, please schedule a time with me prior to Friday.

Telling Our Story

At the staff meeting we reviewed a lot of culture/achievement data.  What stands out to me is our achievement relative to many of our neighbors.  Explore the data HERE.  More of our students are achieving at high levels because our teachers design rigorous learning activities that students participate in and get feedback on daily!  The Poynette School District is starting to known as a district of innovation and high achievement.  Many people in our community and the area don't know about the success of our instructional programs and its effect on the achievement of our students.  It's up to us to tell our story, and in today's world, there are many avenues to share this story with our community.  I welcome ideas and thoughts about how we can add to the avenues that we already utilize to tell the story of the many great things about the students in our schools.

Fire Drill
We will be conducting a fire drill this week, most likely on Monday...as always, make sure the students are familiar with the emergency procedures from your classroom.

Assembly on Thursday (11/3)

We will be meeting as a Middle School group on Thursday afternoon for our annual End of Quarter 1 Assembly.  Please dismiss students at 2:15.  Also, don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone, and see Mr. Johnson and Mr. Filerman to get prepped for our special "Staff" performance (this is a great way to build or enhance your "street cred" in the eyes of the students).

Next Literacy Committee Meeting

We will be meeting on Thursday (11/3) at 2:50 to finalize planning for the upcoming book talks in November.  Anyone is welcome to join us!

Welcoming a couple of new staff members
Very soon we will be welcoming a couple of new staff members who will be serving as long-term subs for a couple of our teachers.  Ms. Amy Luebke will be taking over for Mr. Williams starting next Monday (11/7) and Ms. Jamie Keller will be taking over at some time soon for Mrs. Rogness.  They will both be in our buildings getting ready at different times, so if you see them, welcome them to our team.

PAD Parent Club Dance Update

Our students had a great time at their dance Friday night.  It was really nice to see them decked out in costumes and letting loose, having a fun time together as a community of students.  It was a great, positive atmosphere.  Thanks to the Parent's Club members for putting in so much time and effort for our kids!

Twitter Find of the Week

 

edutopiaVerified account‏@edutopia

What the heck is restorative justice? http://edut.to/2fnRET0 . #leadupchat

0 replies0 retweets0 likes

M Shappell ‏@mattshappell  Oct 28

Results of a great "mix it up" day in the middle school: students talked to someone they didn't know well and shared something new.

0 replies0 retweets0 likes

Duty This Week

Morning - Frehner, Johnson

Bus - Vian