The Middle Mid-Week Update 2/10/16

With my absence at the end of last week, we missed a weekly blog post, and with my upcoming attendance at the state Principal's Convention this week, I thought a mid-week blog post would be appropriate.  As we review our SLO data and the recently completed Winter STAR results, it is hard not to get excited about the great things happening in our building.  Great things come from great people working hard, and that is what we have at Poynette Middle School.

Staff Meeting Next Week
Our monthly staff meeting will be next Tuesday (2/16).  Our focus will remain in tact...we will be analyzing the assessments around the building and we will further explore growing our culture of literacy.  For this staff meeting, please bring a copy of an assessment you recently gave or will be giving soon.

Lock-down Drill
Last week we conducted a lock-down drill.  A lock-down is much different than a "Hold".  With the lock-down, doors should be locked, lights shut off, and students positioned in a manner in which they cannot be seen or heard from the door window.  We will be practicing this drill again, and I'll let you know when it will happen, but it is important for each class to understand the expectations for this situation if it ever arises.  Please let me know if there were some issues to sort out after the drill.

Another 3B Resource
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/structuring-questioning-in-classroom

Summer School
One of our district areas of focus is to build up and enhance our summer school offerings.  If you have an idea for a course, please contact me or Anna or Mr. Hausser to discuss the potential.  The possibilities are endless, and we could offer courses specific to standards that students are struggling in or even some fun activities.  This is a great opportunity for our teachers and our students.

Field Trips
We have had a slight modification to one of our field trip procedures.  If teachers collect money for a field trip, the money should never remain in a teacher's desk overnight.  The money should be brought to the office as soon as it can be reasonably delivered, and the money will then be brought to the district office at the end of each school day.  This extra security measure is designed to protect all of us from potential issues that could arise from the handling of money.

Students of the Month
Congratulations to this month's recipients.  The next breakfast will be on Thursday, February 25.

Ashia Meister     Tucker Johnson     Hunter Heuer     Tyler Wipperfurth     Grace Haukom
                         Maysa Clemens     Rosa Medina-Monsibais     Noah Stark

Pritzl out of the building through Friday afternoon
I will be attending the AWSA State Principal's Convention starting this afternoon through Friday afternoon.  I plan on being back Friday afternoon.  I am looking forward to this learning opportunity, and look to learn more about the other school's experience with the RTI process at both the Middle and High School level, as well as areas concerning literacy in Middle Schools.  We will also be sharing our model to other principals throughout the state.  I will have limited availability via email.  As always when I am out of the building, Katie, Anna, or Mr. Hausser are available to assist.

Twitter Find of the Week

 

edutopiaVerified account‏@edutopia

Encourage students to value questions above answers: http://edut.to/20HajHA . #inquiry #inquiryed

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Duty This Week and Next
Morning (2/8) - O'Connor
Bus (2/8) - Hendrickson

Morning (2/15) - Rogness
Bus (2/15) - Johnson

Data
STAR RESULTS (% of students at or above benchmark)

Reading
Fall 2015 - 55.9%
Winter 2016 - 60%

Math
Fall 2015 - 74.2%
Winter 2016 - 77.6%