The Middle Update 5/27/18

Article of the Week
As we look to finish the 2017-2018 school year strong and look ahead to next year, the article this week highlights the importance of establishing a strong sense of community and culture in each classroom.  The elementary school "morning meeting" idea is discussed in terms of how to make it applicable in the upper grades.

"Morning Meetings in Middle and High School" by Laura Thomas

Last Staff Meeting
Thanks to all for your contributions to our staff meeting this past Wednesday.  The efforts that were made to improve the engaging, learning experience for our students this year has been really impressive.  You may review the SLIDE SHOW that all teachers contributed their most memorable student-centered experience from the school year.

Last Days of School

The last day of school is June 1st, and we are slated for a 2:45pm normal dismissal.  Our 8th graders will be on their Celebration Field Trip on Thursday, May 31st, and their annual Dance will take place Thursday (5/31) from 6:30 - 8:30 in the 1-8 Cafeteria.  

As we map out our plans for the rest of the year, it is important that we all are focused on making the most out of the remaining minutes.  As students leave get ready to leave for school on each of these remaining days, a comment they should make to a parent should be along the lines of, "we are working hard right up until the last day".  Our students will have 3 whole months of unstructured time this summer.  Well planned structure will help us all finish the year on a positive note.

EE Meetings

If you still need to meet for our EE meeting, please review the SLO/PPG documents.  Prior to our meeting, the data should be compiled, analyzed, and self scored.  Please make sure all tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet are visited and complete.  These all need to be completed prior to check-out on the afternoon of June 1st.  The same signature sheet will be used as in the past and the summary year packet will be the same as well.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Assembly Wednesday

We will be having our final Middle School Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.  Please dismiss students at 2:20 to the 1-8 Gym.  If you have any creative thoughts on organizing something memorable for the kids as a staff, please let me know.

End of Year Staff Celebration

We will be having our End of Year Staff Celebration on Wednesday, May 30 from 4:00 - 6:00 in the High School Cafeteria.  Please note the location change from past years.  We like to recognize our 1st year survival awards and also say Good Bye to some friends as well.  It will be a potluck style dinner.  Please sign up on this document.

4th Quarter Report Cards
We will not be mailing report cards home until the week of June 4th.  Teachers have time to complete grades after the last day of school.  Please plan to have grades complete and specific comments entered by the morning of June 6th.  Also, teams should be meeting sometime during the last week to compile Puma Pride grades for students.  Please let me know if you need more time after June 6th. 

Staff Check-Out
All teachers will need to check-out with me prior to leaving for the summer.  We'll get started right away after the kids leave on Friday afternoon.  I will be traveling to your classroom to complete the check-out process.  You can sign-up on this DOCUMENT.  Here is the CHECK-OUT FORM.

Duty Next Week
Morning - Johnson
Bus - Williams

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 5/18/18

Article of the Week
As we prepare the final two weeks of our school year, this article is a great read.  The summer slide is real, and as current STAR data indicates, our students still have plenty of room for skills/knowledge to grow.  So, as our kids prepare to spend the summer with daycare providers, working or at home on their own or with friends, we need to make sure that each minute spent with a professional educator is spent engaged in designed activities aimed at continuing to improve those important skills.  The short article this week is centered on how to finish strong.

"How to Finish the School Year Strong" by Mitch Center

Next Staff Meeting
We have our Middle School Staff Meeting on Wednesday, May 23rd at 2:50 in Mrs. Rogness' Room.  Thanks to those teachers that have already sent me their "most memorable student experience" of the school year image or phrase.  If you haven't yet, please send that my way...let me know if you have any questions on this.

EE Meetings

If we have not done so yet, please schedule your SLO/PPG meeting with me.  Prior to our meeting, the data should be compiled, analyzed, and self scored.  Please make sure all tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet are visited and complete.  These all need to be completed prior to check-out on June 1st.  The same signature sheet will be used as in the past and the summary year packet will be the same as well.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Middle School Play Details

Our students are ready for their performance in our annual Middle School Play.  There will be a showing for the student body on Tuesday, May 22nd.  Students should be dismissed from class at 1:55, and the performance will start at 2:00 in the 1-8 Gym.  The performance for the community will take place later that same evening at 6:00 pm.

4th Quarter Report Cards
We will not be mailing report cards home until the week of June 4th.  Teachers have time to complete grades after the last day of school.  Please plan to have grades complete and specific comments entered by the morning of June 6th.  Also, teams should be meeting sometime during the last week to compile Puma Pride grades for students.

Music Performance Recap
Kudos to our Music Department for directing another fine performance this past Thursday evening.  The talent of our staff and students was on full display for our community.  

Superhero Run/Wellness Day Recap

Thanks to all for helping make our first ever Superhero Run and Wellness Day Events a success.  I thought that overall it was a memorable day for students and staff, and our goals of promoting wellness and building community were accomplished.  Like most things done for the first time, there were some hiccups, mostly centered around communication, that we'll take note of those and look to improve for the next time.

If students bring in money they raised for the run, those envelopes can be returned to the office.

Senior Walk on May 23 (contribution credit to Mr. Hausser)

Our School District began a tradition a few years ago with the Senior Walk.  We are going to do this again this year.  The Seniors are going to head over at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23rd and will walk through the 1-8 building.  Our students are encouraged to come out of their rooms and cheer them on.  They will weave their way through the building in certain areas.  The parade route will be similar to last year.

Last Days of School

The last day of school is June 1st, and we are slated for a 2:45pm normal dismissal.  Our 8th graders will be on their Celebration Field Trip on Thursday, May 31st, and their annual Dance will take place Thursday (5/31) from 6:30 - 8:30 in the 1-8 Cafeteria.  As we map out our plans for the rest of the year, it is important that we all are focused on making the most out of the remaining minutes.  As students leave get ready to leave for school on each of these remaining days, a comment they should make to a parent should be along the lines of, "we are working hard right up until the last day".  Our students will have 3 whole months of unstructured time this summer.  Well planned structure will help us all finish the year on a positive note.  

Staff check-out will begin after students have left school grounds on that day.  More details on this forthcoming.

Walk in Graduation 

(Here is some information from Marie to help with graduation)

Yes, for those planning on walking at graduation this year just reply "yes" to Mark's invite.  We have a record of the gowns/caps/hoods that people wore in the past.  If there are any new staff members who wish to participate this year, they can contact Vicky Leiterman in the IMC this year to try on a sample size of a gown.  

An email will go out when the gowns are ready for pick up.

Modified Schedule Days Coming Up

In looking ahead, we will be having a couple days in the month of May with a modified schedule.  Those days are:

May 22 - Middle School Play - dismiss at 1:55, start at 2:00
May 23 - Senior Walk - 9:15 am - students should go to a hallway location to cheer on the seniors

May 24 - 6th Grade Track Meet - runs during the afternoon

May 30 - Assembly - dismiss students at 2:25 (Carelli Cup Finals, Book Competition Update)

End of Year Staff Celebration

We will be having our End of Year Staff Celebration on Wednesday, May 30 from 4:00 - 6:00 in the High School Cafeteria.  Please note the location change from past years.  We like to recognize our 1st year survival awards and also say Good Bye to some friends as well.  It will be a potluck style dinner.  Please sign up on this document.

Duty Next Week
Morning - Johnson
Bus - Weckerly

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 5/4/18

Article of the Week
Robert Marzano has been a great follow on twitter over the past month.  He has included excerpts from his latest research on effective school practices...it's in a book titled, "The New Art and Science of Teaching".  Below you'll see an excerpt about the most effective classroom management approach:

"Teacher behaviors that help students perceive the teacher as someone who will not be angry with them if they misbehave, but who will enforce rules and procedures in an objective and unemotional manner." #NASOT

School Safety
Our safety drill during the month of May will be a fire drill.  As always, be sure to review our fire drill procedures regularly with your students.

EE Meetings

The end of the year is really coming quickly now.  If you have not done so yet, please schedule your SLO/PPG meeting with me.  These all need to be completed prior to check-out on June 1st.  If you have not scheduled your meeting by Friday, May 11 then I will schedule one with you.  The same signature sheet will be used as in the past and the summary year packet will be the same as well.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Community Facility Advisory Committee Update
The Community Facility Advisory Committee met for the last time and reviewed the recommendation that they will be making to the School Board at the May meeting (5/21).  The committee gave feedback to a sub-committee, who will meet a couple final times to fine tune the recommendation.  As always, anyone is welcome to view the details of the committee's work our our website.  If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Art Fair Recap
The Art Fair on Monday was a success!  Thanks for all for the efforts to put the details into place to make this such a great event to showcase the talents of our students!  Special thanks to Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Schmudlach.

Hello and Thank You
Today is Mr. Adler's last day with us. He did a great job filling in for Mr. Odden while he was on his paternity leave.  Mr. Odden will return on Monday.  Also, a welcome to Mrs. Hebel.  She will be filling in for Mr. O'Connor for his paternity leave for the rest of the school year.  Thanks to Mr. Adler and Mrs. Hebel for stepping in and helping our team!

Music Concert in May

Mark your calendars for the Spring Music Concert.  The hard work of our music department and students will be on full display on Thursday, May 17th at 7:00 in the 1-8 Gym.  Hope to see you there!

Middle School Play Details

Our students have been hard at work preparing the annual Middle School Play.  There will be a showing for the student body on Tuesday, May 22nd at 1:45 in the 1-8 Gym.  The performance for the community will take place later that same evening at 6:00 pm.

Superhero Run/Wellness Day 5/18/2018

Details about our Superhero Fundraiser should have went home with students today in Homeroom.  Students can get pledges for how many laps they'll complete, or just receive donation support for their efforts.  We'll need teaching staff down at the track when the run is taking place for each grade level.  Teachers are encouraged to dress like a Superhero on this day and promote the run/wellness day in the days leading up to the event.  We are hoping for a nice day, and a memorable experience for the kids.

Modified Schedule Days Coming Up

In looking ahead, we will be having a couple days in the month of May with a modified schedule.  Those days are:

May 18 - Wellness Day/Superhero Run

May 22 - Middle School Play - starts at 1:45

May 24 - 6th Grade Track Meet - runs during the afternoon

May 30 - Assembly (Carelli Cup Finals, Book Competition Update)

Printing Reminder

As a reminder, when printing, please print 1 copy and utilize the copy room to make copies.  This helps us save on printing toner...it is much cheaper to make copies than print multiple copies.  Thanks for your attention to this detail!

"Progress Poynette" Group Touring Facilities

During the morning of Thursday, May 10, Mr. Shappell will be leading the "Progress Poynette" group through a tour of our facilities.  This group is comprised of community leaders, whose mission to provide input into future improvements to the Poynette community.  The school is one of the cornerstones of the Poynette community.  If you see them walking around, feel free to stop and welcome them to our school.

Last Days of School

The last day of school is June 1st, and we are slated for a 2:45pm normal dismissal.  Our 8th graders will be on their Celebration Field Trip on Thursday, May 31st, and their annual Dance will take place Thursday (5/31) from 6:30 - 8:30 in the 1-8 Cafeteria.  As we map out our plans for the rest of the year, it is important to keep in mind our guiding principles of utilizing each minute that we have with students.  We will be working hard with our students right up until the dismissal time on Friday, June 1.  Staff check-out will begin after students have left school grounds on that day.  More details on this forthcoming

High School Graduation 5/27/18

This year's graduating class will once again like to invite all current or former staff members to participate in the graduation ceremony.  A google invitation was sent out to all teachers with some details.  Staff will have the opportunity to mingle and talk with the graduates prior to the ceremony.  Hope to see as many teachers there as possible, as this has become a tradition that the students and community really appreciate.

Senior Walk

Our annual Senior Walk will take place on May 23rd at 9:15 am.

Duty Next Week
Morning - Johnson
Bus - Rogness

Images from the Week