The Middle Update 9/30/16

A month of school is underway, and our routine is starting to set in.  The next couple of weeks provides our annual opportunity to continue to build the critical partnerships with parents as we work together to guide our students towards putting forth their best effort each day.  We have a special school community, and I am really happy to be a part of it.  See more news below.

Monthly Announcement Video

I will be trying to put together an announcement video each month.  You can view this month's announcement video below.  My goal is to put one together at the end of each month highlighting what we've done, but also previewing opportunities that are coming up.  If you have something to include, or want to participate, please just let me know (I am always on the look-out for participants)  I appreciate your help in this endeavor, so we don't leave anything out.  Check it out!

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Next week Thursday will be our first round of Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Check out the schedule HERE.  See last week's blog for specific information about conference logistics.  As we talk with parents, keep in mind our growth mindset principles while talking about how their child can take the next step in growing their knowledge and skills.

Infinite Campus Grades

Student progress grades are posted in Infinite Campus.  As we progress through the quarter, please keep the standard grades updated if recent evidence suggests a student's skills or knowledge has moved along the rubric.

Literacy Committee

Our next Literacy Committee meeting will be on Wednesday (10/5) at 2:50 in Mrs. Rogness' room.  We will work to finalize our plans for the first round of book talks.

SLO/PPG

If you have a draft of your SLO and PPG complete, please send me an invite to review it.  We will shoot for mid-October to have these ready to go.  If you are working on a department SLO, we can meet as a group.  

STAR Data

The picture below gives a picture of the # of our students at or above benchmark in Math and Reading from last year to this year.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  17h17 hours ago

Why you should respond to student misbehavior by being curious (not furious): http://edut.to/2deqj28 .

155 retweets156 likes

 

 

 

Duty Next Week

Bus - Lendobeja

The Middle Update 9/25/16

As we enter the last week in September, we get closer to a couple of important opportunities to report the progress of our students up to this point.  This is a very critical part in the growth process for our students.  Details about posting mid-term progress grades and the upcoming parent-teacher conferences are provided below.  It's going to be another great week!


Mid-Term Grade Posting
Grades can be posted at any time.  Teachers should post student progress grades in the standards in which they have had multiple opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.  When we post grades, we should use the most recent evidence to determine how a student would perform if we asked them to perform in the assessed standard.  Once grades are posted in the standard, they should be regularly updated until the end of the term (updates should occur if recent evidence indicates their performance or knowledge has changed).  Please have grades posted by the end of the day on Wednesday (9/28).  I will send an informational note to parents at the end of the week, letting them know that they can check the parent portal for posted grades.  If you have any questions about this process, please let me know. 

Parent/Teacher Conferences
PT Conferences are quickly approaching.  As a reminder the dates are: Thursday, 10/6 from 4:30-8:00 and again on Thursday, 10/13 from 4:00-7:30.  For this round of parent-teacher conferences, each student will have a scheduled conference.  Parents will be directed to arrive about 10 minutes early for their scheduled conference time to pick up a folder at the front entrance.  The folder will include STAR Testing information, a grade report (like the report card), and a Puma Pride reflection from each student.  If teachers would like to include a more specific grade report, they are welcome to print them off for the folders also.  Applied academic teachers are welcome to sit in on any scheduled conference, or give an invitation to a scheduled teacher inviting them to the classroom.  Conferences are a great opportunity to grow the partnership with our parents as we all work towards a common goal for each student.


"Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" Interventions Update
Each grade level has begun the process of setting up our intervention for students struggling in this area.  For some students, we will be sending letters home to set up an opportunity for them to stay after school to help them get more organized and find more success in this area.


Twitter Post of the Week
@edutopia                           

15 studies that every teacher should know about

Feel free to follow me on twitter @jerrypritzl.  Check out my favorites or retweets for great articles for some professional learning.


Duty This Week
Bus - Hendrickson

The Middle Update 9/16/16

Our first full week in the books!  I am excited to work in Poynette, with our staff and our students...it's a special place.  Check out below for the latest!

Poynette Middle School Culture
I really like the feel that I get when I am in our building around our kids and teachers.  I believe that we have a culture of adults who truly care about our students, and students that are trying hard to be their best.  Keeping the growth mindset principles in our words and actions can help us take the next step in guiding our students towards achievement they didn't even think was possible.  Keep up the good work!

Staff Meeting this Wednesday 9/21/16
We have lots to do in a short time.  Agenda includes the following:

• Review of Goals for the Middle School (after reviewing staff input)
• Short presentation from Student Services Dept.
• Literacy Committee Report
• Puma Pride Committee Report
• SLO/PPG Construction

Literacy Committee

The Literacy Committee met for the first time on Thursday afternoon.  We have established some initial goals and have set out a plan for boosting our culture of literacy.  I am excited about the book I have selected to read and give a book talk in the very near future.  More details from this committee's work will soon follow, as will the date for our next meeting.  Anyone is welcome to join.

Puma Pride Committee

We will meet on Monday at 2:50 in Mrs. Hendrickson's room.  Anyone is welcome to join.

School Board Meeting on Monday (9/19)

Check out the BOARD REPORT from the Middle School.  Let me know if you have something from your class or students that should be included in a future report.  The meeting starts at 7:00 am in the High School IMC if anyone is interested in attending.

A Word from our Instructional Coaches

New Additions to the Professional Library

We have some great new resources available in the professional library in our IMC.  This year we have added several new titles for you to take a look at, and as the year goes on we will be adding and sharing them with you through the blog. Take a look at these new resources for starting out your school year right!

	Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities that Refresh and Refocus.  This is a great resource that one can quickly look through and pull ideas from to help start off the morning, or to give your class a brain break during the day.  Come check it out and give some a try!
	The First Six Weeks of School helps you plan out, prepare, and implement a positive culture and climate for learning.  Within the book is resources for positive teacher language, setting routines and expectations, and sample lesson plans as well as examples for you to use in your classroom right away.
	Interactive Modeling  shows you how those classrooms that seem to  run effortlessly are created.  This book teaches the seven steps of interactive modeling, gives specific ideas of when you would want to use these strategies, as well as detailed lesson plans for teachers to follow.
	The Morning Meeting Book shares how starting class with a morning meeting can help create a safe and caring classroom environment.  This book takes you step by step in implementation as well as resources to get started with your own.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  3h3 hours ago

Asking students these 8 questions can drastically impact your year: http://edut.to/2cMWA0z . #stuvoice

Duty Next Week

Bus - Hazard

The Middle Update 9/9/16

6 days into the school year, and our routines are starting to set in.  I have heard many teachers talking to students using "growth mindset" language and having high expectations for our students.  Having our students understand that the importance of using mistakes as opportunities, and the power of "yet" will really help continue to grow the culture we are all striving to attain, and will help foster the conditions right for our students to maximize their achievement.  Keep it up!

Growth Mindset Principles
The principals met and tabulated the staff responses for establishing our district norms for how we will instill a growth mindset in our buildings, and after sorting the responses, developed the following growth mindset principles. (These principles should guide our discussion and actions about students and our practice.)

1. There is no ceiling for what our students can or cannot do or learn.

2. Encourage students to use strategies that move them beyond their comfort zone.

3. Provide feedback focused on the student’s implementation of strategies to improve.
4. Affirm that learning new things can be difficult and takes time, as well as repeated practice.

5. Use mistakes as a necessary process and an opportunity to learn.

IE Time
Our regular IE routine will start on Monday, 9/12.  For the first Tuesday in Enrichment groups, teachers should consider using this ARTICLE.  The more articles and discussions we have with students about honesty and character, the better.  We will be discussing even more ways to expose our students to learn about the importance of a solid character. 

Literacy Group
Anyone interested in working on continuing to build a literacy/reading culture in our building, you are welcome to attend our first meeting, which will be on Thursday, September 15 at 2:50 in my office.  Please email me if you are interested in participating in this group.

Staff Meeting Coming Up
We will have a staff meeting on Wednesday, September 21 at 2:50 in Mrs. Hendrickson's room.  We will be working on SLO/PPG process.

Puma Pride Committee
We'll have our first Puma Pride Committee meeting on Monday, September 19 at 2:50 in Mrs. Hendrickson's room.  We will be reviewing and refining the Puma Pride expectations that were reviewed in Homeroom, and a plan to maintain those expectations throughout the year.  Also, we will be planning for the implementation of our systemic interventions using our Puma Pride scores.  Any and all are welcome to attend.

STAR Testing
Students will be taking the fall STAR tests on the following dates in their respective Math and ELA classes.
Math - Tuesday, September 13
Reading - Wednesday, September 14

Handbook Acknowledgement Forms
Each teacher needs to be sure that we finish the Handbook Review and guidelines, and has the students take the "Handbook Signature Sheet" home, and return a signed copy.  Please emphasize to your class that we need this sheet returned.  When you have all of the signature forms, please bring them to the office.  I will supply a treat to the class once all of the forms are turned in.  These forms will be kept on file in the office.

Special Kindness Homeroom Dates
We will also be running a special "Kindness Homeroom" about once per month.  The first special "Kindness Homeroom" will be on Tuesday, 9/20.  The lesson plan will be shared by Mrs. Morton.

Blogs

This is a reminder to please update the grade level blogs regarding expectations for the week ahead.  If you have any questions about this, please let me know.  Everyone should have access to post in the blog.  This has been a source of a great deal of positive feedback from parents.  Thank you for your efforts to enhance the communication from school to home.

Duty Next Week

Bus - Gavin

The Middle Update 9/3/2016

Two days with kids are in the books, and from my perspective, we have gotten our Middle Schoolers off to a great start!  I want to thank all of you for your hard work last week.  It seems like the first day of Inservice was a month ago already.  I feel really good about our start, and I really look forward to taking on the challenge of getting as many of our students achieving to levels they didn't think were possible in every subject.  I feel really good about our Puma Team.

Growth Mindset Words and Actions
I have been impressed with the language and expectations that have been laid out for our students in our classrooms.  Having a growth mindset, while teaching and modeling what this looks like for our students is so important.  Continue to have those high expectations for all of our students, especially for our students that have low expectations of themselves.  I believe they will rise to our expectations when given the support needed to get there.

What it is all about
Check out this video.  Coach Payton's message is about football season, but I think it goes hand in hand with us getting back in the classroom.  It's the beginning of another great opportunity to impact the lives of students in a positive way, and be their champion.  His message is during the first 2 minutes of the video.  I am ready to get after this challenge with you!

1st Staff Meeting
We will have our first staff meeting on Wednesday, September 21st.  Our focus will be getting our SLO and PPG's set for the year.

STAR Testing
Students will be taking the fall STAR tests on the following dates in their respective Math and ELA classes.
Math - Tuesday, September 13
Reading - Wednesday, September 14

Emergency Sign Postings
Each classroom should have their emergency signs (tornado, fire, other) posted near the entrance/exit.  These procedures should be reviewed with your students right regularly.

IE Time
This coming week, we will meet in Homeroom groups during IE time.  We will begin our IE routine on Monday, 9/12.  For the first Tuesday in Enrichment groups, teachers should consider using this ARTICLE.  The more articles and discussions we have with students about honesty and character, the better.  We will be discussing even more ways to expose our students to learn about the importance of a solid character. 

Handbook Acknowledgement Forms
Each teacher needs to be sure that we finish the Handbook Review, and gets the students to take the "Acknowledgement Sheet" home, and return a signed copy.  Please emphasize to your Homeroom that we need this sheet returned.  When you have all of the acknowledgement forms, please bring them to the office.  I will supply a treat to each Homeroom once all of the forms are turned in.

Special Kindness Homeroom Dates
We will also be running a special "Kindness Homeroom" about once per month.  The first special "Kindness Homeroom" will be on Tuesday, 9/20.  The lesson plan will be shared by Mrs. Morton.

Blogs

This is a reminder to please update the grade level blogs regarding expectations for the week ahead.  If you have any questions about this, please let me know.  Everyone should have access to post in the blog.  This has been a source of a great deal of positive feedback from parents.  Thank you for your efforts to enhance the communication from school to home.

Twitter Post of the Week
From Edutopia:

3 methods to motivate the unmotivated: http://edut.to/2bWis7z .

5. 

Duty Next Week
Bus - Frehner