The Middle Update 12/18/20

We were back in the school this past week, and it was sure nice to see the students live and have interactions with them that weren't only through a screen.  From my perspective, I am so appreciative and impressed by our staff's ability to be flexible and provide great learning experiences for our students no matter what the circumstances are.  What we have accomplished in the second part of 2020 has been nothing short of remarkable.  I feel very fortunate to work with each of you. 

Resource of the Week

The article this week provides strategies that we can use to get our students to think in ways that will help them throughout their lives.  As we are able to get to know our students on a deeper level and spend more time with them each day in our current format, we have more opportunities to have these types of conversations with them.

"3 Ways to Get Teens Thinking Metacognitively" - Sarah Gonser

Larger Assessments

Our larger-scale assessments, like STAR and the Forward Exam, are important tools to measure both individual student progress, as well as the progress of our instructional efforts as a whole.  I was really disappointed that we were not able to take the Forward Exam last spring.  I look forward to these opportunities for our students to show off the skills and knowledge they have attained in our building, and also for the opportunity for the public to see the results of the strong efforts made by our staff to put our kids in position to be successful.  

Many of our students took the STAR Reading and Math Test this past week.  I have not had the chance to comb through the data in great detail, but at first glance, the growth showed from this assessment was pretty impressive.  This type of data speaks to the passion that we have to provide high quality learning experiences for our students even in such a challenging environment.  The Forward Exam is on schedule to be administered this year, and I look forward to this opportunity for our students and our school.

Flexible Mindset

Over the course of the experience of this school year, I have come to notice and appreciate the attitude and mentality of the adults that work in our school.  I have noticed a "go with the flow" mindset, and have appreciated this very much as we have faced things that have come up that are unexpected, and in many cases inconvenient.  I appreciate working in an environment where we have high expectations, but also understand the importance of making the most of the different circumstances that we encounter.

Puma Pride

Sometime on Monday or Tuesday, please have your Homeroom students log into IC and take a look at their current 2nd quarter scores.  We'll (Mrs. Andringa) be distributing tickets to Homeroom teachers, and for every ME a student currently has, please give them a ticket and have them put their name on it.  We'll collect those tickets and have a drawing on Tuesday afternoon.  Any student drawn can come down to select an item ranging from a candy bar, pack of gum, or a $5 BP gift card.  If a student does not have an ME, potentially set up a plan to earn a ticket by meeting Puma Pride expectations for the day on Monday and Tuesday, or something like that.

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 12/11/2020

 We are back to the building on Monday.  We may have to re-establish the routines and procedures that we had in place prior to our virtual learning experience. This will be an important week and a half before the Holiday break!

Resource of the Week

Our resource this week takes a look at the lessons learned by schools during the past 9 months.  The importance of strong relationship building, innovative instructional strategies are things we have seen and know much about.  I thought the part about forming community partnerships is an area that we can explore further in our school.

"What Educators are Learning During the Pandemic" - Becki Cohn-Vargas

Return to In-Person Learning

We'll be back together in our building on Monday.  You all did a great job with our students while we were learning virtually!  There certainly are natural strengths to the all-virtual model and there are other strengths to being in-person...with the main strength being more engagement by more kids on the schoolwork while kids are in the building.  We'll continue doing the best that we can, learning along the way...and as we have almost made it to the year 2021 and the 2nd semester, the planning for next year begins...lots of things to takeaway from what we are doing now, and how it will impact how we can be even more amazing in the fall of 2021.

There was one mistake in the announcements from Friday morning...It will be an A day for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades - It will be a D day for 5th grade.

Message to Families on Friday

The following message was sent out to families on Friday...

Hello,

We are planning to return to our in-person learning model on Monday, December 14th.  We will return to the same procedures we had in place prior to our pivot to Virtual Learning in November.  As we look ahead to Monday, please take note of the following:

-A big part of our Mitigation Plan is for people who may be at higher risk of transmitting the virus to stay out of school.  Please do not send your child to school if any of the following are true:

     *He/she has symptoms of COVID-19

     *In the past fourteen (14) days, they have had a known close contact with someone who is confirmed as having COVID-19; or

     *There is anyone in the household currently waiting for a COVID-19 test result. 

-We will be spending time outside, so please make sure students are dressed to stay warm in cold weather.

-Our virtual learners will now go back to the meeting times with teachers that were in place prior to the pivot to all in-person learning.

     5th (coordinate w/your classroom teacher)      6th      7th      8th

We appreciate the flexibility you have shown during this school year and the support given to your student in making the most out of this learning experience.  Please contact us with any questions that you may have about the upcoming adjustment in our learning model.  

Continuous Improvement and Innovation

As we get comfortable and understand our learning model, we have more of an opportunity to address the areas that hamper our ability to educate all kids like we know how to do...for example, not being able to see and work with each kid one on one.  As we have learned this year, we have made many improvements along the way, and I've had a chance to talk with many of you who have ideas for how to fix those areas that have been frustrating up to this point.  Let's continue to share those things with each other, and continue our work to make the difference in the life of each one of our students.  Every day is another opportunity to impact the trajectory and life of a kid.

Thanks for all you do!!

The Middle Update 12/4/2020

 Resource of the Week

Our resource this week comes from within.  Each week, I get the chance to connect, observe, and talk with all of the teachers in the building, sharing the things they've learned and what strategies they have utilized to make the most out of the educating our kids virtually.  Being a part of those conversations, I have learned a lot, and there is a lot to learn from each other.  This week's resource comes from the strong staff that we have in this building.  Feel free to reach out to your colleagues to learn more.  Thanks to all who shared the following successful strategies to share with others.

"I have been using the waterfall technique for discussions. This allows for a universal response where all students answer the question at the same time. To do this students are asked a question and type their answer in the chat. They are asked not to submit their response until I say and then you see a 'waterfall' of responses come in at once. I have students read through the answers and give shout-outs to other students. Then I read through a few and share what I like and a couple ways they could make their answers stronger. I have done this after students discuss in breakout rooms to help make sure everyone has ideas. You can also have students raise their hand to gauge how much more time is needed as they respond." - Amber

"I have found that giving students time to work on their assignment with me and with one another on the google meet to work very well. This way they can get immediate feedback and help. This also helps with late/missing work as students finish their assignments during our class time most days." - Stephanie

"Not something I did in particular, but...Earlier this week, I did a very informal poll with my homeroom and also asked students I saw in Google Meets for support about what worked best for them with Google Classroom and finding their assignments and what to do. The overwhelming majority said having everything on a Google DOC was what they preferred because it was one page that had everything on it in one place. Parents I talked to said they preferred that also because then they only received one email with what was posted vs. being inundated every time someone posted something. (For example: Math)" - Bonnie

"What’s worked for my class is meeting everyday and completing the Math, ELA and Science lessons together as a class. I have many low readers so even completing the readings together has been helpful. Additionally, my class loves working in groups so the breakout rooms has worked so well with my students." - Shelby

"I think the 3 biggest things that have worked well are utilizing breakout rooms. I have used breakout rooms to help with projects, group students based on how they are doing with the lesson, etc. The second thing that has worked well is starting mornings off with something fun; a song (It's Gonna Be A Lovely Day) or sharing about their day/weekend (plans and what happened). Lastly, I have recently been asking them how things are going by raising their hand (which we both love) or as a question/poll in google classroom/meet. This way I have immediate feedback on how they think things are going. Since I can't see their paper or body language really well on a screen this has helped me tailor instruction better. I can move on and come back to certain things with students or put them in breakout rooms, to help them understand the material." - Abby

"I've made sure to build in time for personal connections/relationships as much as possible.  Also, adjusting the pace or the scale of the work that is pushed out." - Julie

"Something that has worked REALLY well for me is talking to my colleagues. Having a quick conversation on the phone to check in on their day, celebrating joys of students together, and troubleshooting struggles has helped me during virtual learning. I never knew how much you can miss adult interactions." - Heather

"I have been doing 1-2 days a week of "LIVE" PE with my 6th and 5th graders.  We do a workout together, some challenging and some fun ones!  It has been a huge learning experience for me and has been fun!" - Jenny C.

"When kids struggle to turn in assignments in the google classroom, marking them missing in the infinite classroom has inspired a fair amount of students to turn work in."  - Ty

"I love using the features of Google Meet!  The class likes doing polls and using the question feature.  I also love the breakout rooms.  It is so nice to pop in and out of rooms to work with specific groups without the distractions that we have in the classroom.  I also love to be able to send kids into rooms and then work with the students that need more help.  (The hand raising feature is great too)." - Katy M

Another Week of Virtual Learning...

After a couple weeks of virtual learning, we learned yesterday that we will be engaging in at least another week of virtual learning.  I want to thank all of you for your efforts, doing a great job of teaching, and providing effective learning experiences for our students.  We have come a very long way in a short time period.  As we head into next week, please continue to report any students that report they are ill, or have been a close contact to a positive COVID case, or have tested positive themselves.  This information is a critical piece to what goes into the in-person learning decision-making process. 

Self Care

I'm sharing a graphic that shares activities that are good for one's mental health.  Take a look and continue to look to incorporate some of these activities into your daily routine.

The Middle Update 11/25/2020

This Thanksgiving season, I want to express my gratitude for all of you.  I hope you are able to truly take some time and enjoy your family and a few days off.  My family will be experiencing our first Thanksgiving in a place other than Price County...we'll be staying home and not with our extended families...it's certainly sad if you dwell on it, but we've found some new opportunities to be excited about.  However, you choose to do your Thanksgiving, please understand the guidelines and do your part to get us closer to the end of this period with all of us and our families safe and healthy.

Resource of the Week

Google Classroom has become a critical part of our instructional practices this school year.  Despite the common platform, there is a variety of ways in which a teacher could use to set up the Classroom.  In my position, I've been able to see all of the different ways our teachers have set it up.  There are a few layouts that stand out in terms of "ease of use" for students to navigate.  Now is just as good of a time as any to take a look at some effective ways to set up your Google Classroom to make it as "user-friendly" as possible.  Our post this week highlights what makes a solid "user-friendly" Classroom, and gives a few examples of how a couple teachers utilize this platform.  In our current reality, we've had the opportunity for our colleagues to experience how each Classroom is set up...it's a good time to ask each other for feedback...focusing on the "user-friendly" aspect of how your Google Classroom is set up.  Seeking feedback and actively looking to improve is a sign of strength and wisdom.

Credit to Mrs. Morrissey for the following post:

Revisit Your Google Classroom Practices

Now is a great time to review and consider possible changes to your Google Classroom as we transition to virtual learning for a longer period of time. Looking at your classroom from a student or caregiver’s perspective allows you to see areas where you might be able to make it more user-friendly. Here are some examples and tips to consider as you review your own Google Classroom: 

Tip #1: Create or re-share a video showing how to navigate in your Google Classroom

Creating a brief video or re-sharing it (if you already made one) is a great way to remind parents, caregivers, and students how to access their work in Google Classroom. While your students may know, they now might have other adults helping them while they are virtual.   

In your video, consider sharing these key pieces of information: 

• How to find and access classwork

• How topics are setup/organized 

• How to see missing work 

• How to see upcoming work

Tip #2: Reconsider how you are using topics: Clear and Organized Helps Students Stay That Way Too

The more you work in Google Classroom, you begin to think about how you can better organize your assignments and work. Using consistent topics is key to helping students stay organized! Here are some thoughts and examples from colleagues as to how they have their work organized.  

Julie shares her organization setup: “I set mine up with a category for each week with an assignment posting each day. Since kids get multiple assignments from each subject, I make sure to put ELA in the title of each assignment, along with the date. I do have other categories for things that we use throughout the quarter, such as the metalog progress tracking and links categories. I have also tried using the feature where it lets you send assignments to certain students to send differentiated work to students.” 

Another way is to organize by units. Here, Stephanie shares how her Google Classroom is designed: “I organize my work in Google Classroom by Chapter for math. I also have the students work on IXL skills monthly so there is a topic where they access their monthly IXL skill assignment. I have a topic for math games that students can play if they finish work as well as a topic for math resources and links such as access to the class flipgrid, schedules, etc.” 

 

Tip #3: Be consistent: Routines Help Students Stay Organized

 

Reflect on how you are sharing information in Google Classroom with your students. Are you consistently sharing assignments/ work at the same time and same day of the week? For example, every Monday share the weekly slideshow and have students turn it in on Friday. Having consistency with assigning work and their deadlines help families or caregivers, as well as students, stay on top of what they need to accomplish.  

 

Here is an example of how Stephanie keeps assignments consistent for her students: “For my Google Classroom Assignments: “I organize them by day and date and have all of the directions outlined on a google document with links to the different work. “

  

 

 

Stephanie continues, “I have been including the textbook pages in my assignments and have students do their work in their math notebooks and then paste a picture of their work in the outlined box on the google doc. I feel that this organization works well for students and it is easy for me to see who is turning in and completing their daily work.” 

 

Tip #4: Consider the Workload: Remember That Students Have More than One Class

It is easy to forget that we are not the only teacher/course a student has. As you review your Google Classroom, think about the number of assignments students are getting and consider these questions: 

• Which of these assignments can be done during virtual class work time? 

• Which of these assignments are “homework”? 

• Could some of these assignments be done instead through discussions in breakout rooms or small group sessions? 

• Could some of these assignments be modified/changed to limit student workload? Less problems? A paragraph rather than a full paper? An exit slip reflection? 

• Could the number of assignments be decreased by creating a weekly document? 

Reflecting on these questions and making modifications based on these can help students find more success. 

It’s important to remember that your Google Classroom is primarily for your students and their caregivers. Thinking about it from their perspective helps to ensure that your students can complete their work and find success in your class.  

Want to get more ideas about Google Classroom setup? Here is a brief video tutorial: How To Organize Your Google Classroom: Easy Tutorial.  

Please let Anna or Katie know if you would like support with your Google Classroom. We are always happy to help! 

Safety Drill for December

In December, our Safety Drill will focus on our Lock-down procedures.  We would use a lock-down in the event a dangerous person enters our building.  Instead of physically having students huddle together with lights off and out-of-sight, we will execute a cognitive drill.  An outline of discussion points and how to lead this cognitive drill will be shared soon, along with the specific date after we return from our virtual learning experience.

Transitioning from Remote to In-Person Learning

At this time, we are scheduled for one more week of remote learning.  We plan to be back in-person on Monday, December 7th.  While we are in a remote-learning period, please keep in mind the following:

     -Students and their families should be reporting any illness or "close contact" to the office, just as if school is in session.  If, during meetings with students, you hear or notice any illness or hear of a positive test or quarantine order, please let Robin or myself know right away.

     -We continue efforts to provide extra support to some of our students that are in need.  At the end of this past week, we built in more opportunities for more students to receive extra support from adults at school.  We'll continue to look for ways we can support all of our kids.

     -While in the building, it's important to continue to adhere to the mitigation plan.  It's easy to become comfortable with each other, but that comfort and letting your guard down is precisely how the virus has spread in many situations, including the school setting.  Masks at all times, if you choose to eat with a colleague, please do so while sitting across the room from each other, and avoid riding in a vehicle together...if you must, both should be wearing a mask. 

Have a Great Thanksgiving Holiday!  I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with all of you!

The Middle Update 11/20/2020

I want to start this post by saying thank you again for the flexibility and positivity during this past week.  Making an adjustment in lesson plans in the middle of the week and transitioning to teaching all of the students online is not an easy task.  Through these uncertain times, your ability to adapt and persevere when things are uncertain and challenging has been a model for students.  Our kids have had the opportunity to see up front how adults react to stressful situations, and I'm happy they are learning from true professionals.  Thank you for your efforts and pulling off solid learning experiences for our students!

Resource of the Week

The article this week provides some insight from a fellow teacher about effective assessment strategies in a remote learning situation.  

"4 Assessment Strategies for Distance and Hybrid Learning" - Kyleen Gray

Virtual Learner Expectations

In our staff meeting time a few weeks ago, we discussed the importance of setting up Virtual Learner Expectations with your groups of students.  Mrs. Wagner shared the expectations that her class came up with.  Simple, straight-forward, student driven are indicators of expectations that work well.

Keeping School Open During a Pandemic...

We have worked hard as a school district to understand what the leading health experts have recommended to open schools safely for students and staff, and have put in place those safety measures.  Part of those recommendations require the close monitoring of student/staff health and symptoms, and keeping people that have symptoms out of school.  Like we have seen this past week, we have acted cautiously when there has appeared to be an increase in the number of students/staff with multiple symptoms or in the event of a positive COVID case.  We are one of the first groups contacted if a student or staff member tests positive for COVID, and in those instances contact tracing and quarantine precautions are implemented quickly.  

Over the course of the first 12 weeks of school, the virus and its impact on schools has been studied extensively.  We continue to review not only our local situation, but also what is happening in our neighboring school districts, as well as school districts across the country.  Below are a couple of links to recent releases, research, or articles on the topic from non-biased sources.  A couple of opinion articles published this week in the New York Post and Washington Times are also interesting reads on the topic.

State of Michigan Order (11/15/20)

Brown University Study (11/16/20) 

NPR's analysis on Schools in Europe (11/13/20)

NPR on New York City's Latest Decision on Schools (11/18/20)

School Safety

Even during this unusual school year, we are still responsible for executing our safety drills.  One of the next safety drills that we will conduct will be our lock-down drill.  This year, we will not ask teachers to close the door, turn off the lights, and have students shelter in place.  In its place, we'll ask teachers to conduct a cognitive drill with your students.  We'll provide the talking points again, but the purpose would be to discuss what to do in a situation in which a dangerous person may enter the school.  More details including a guide to this discussion & day/time will be provided soon.

The Middle Update 11/13/2020

As we near the middle of November, I wanted to share a few of statistics taken from our Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted last year.  Did you know that...

In the middle school, students that identified as food insecure were less likely to feel like they belonged (45% insecure versus 73% secure), more likely to report bullying (53% insecure versus 28% secure), less likely to say they have a teacher to talk to (50% insecure versus 83% secure) and more likely to report mental health concerns (82% insecure versus 42% secure).  

What questions or wonders do you have after reading this data?

We plan to give out a school climate survey soon to gather data to see how changes that have been in place this year may compare to previous year's data...more planning and information to come on this topic, and how we'll use that information to inform future school planning.

Resource of the Week

The article this week has so many good nuggets about effective remote teaching strategies.  From highlighting the effective parts of the workshop model (mini-lesson, independent work/conferring, reflective closure) to being equitable in our practices to fostering independence in our learners, this article provides it all.  As we continue our efforts, we'll continue to analyze our practices and breakdown the specific strategies that we need to use to be most effective with our students.

"Using the Workshop Model to Foster Independence" - Paul Emerich France

Preparing for an Extended Remote Learning Situation

We have worked throughout the first 11 weeks of school to have a plan put in place where we can transition seamlessly from an in-person model to a remote learning experience.  After much collaboration and effort from all of you, I believe we are prepared.  In our staff meeting on Monday, we briefly discussed staff expectations for an extended learning situation.  This DOCUMENT details the staff expectations.  At this time, please be thinking about what your situation will look like, in terms of time spent in the building.  If this determination is made, I will send out a Google Form to collect information about each staff member's specific plan.

Our goals are as follows:

• Provide high quality instruction to all students in a remote/virtual format

• Provide some flexibility to teachers, students, and families in order to respond to the pandemic.

Appreciation

As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm interested in learning your ideas of ways that students can continue to express gratitude towards others.  I don't think we can do enough of these types of activities with our kids...if students can start to develop an appreciation of the little things that the people around them do, the better able they will be at demonstrating empathy.  Routinely expressing gratitude has also been proven to improve mental health and self-image. 

An idea that Ms. Hecht shared that we will execute is having our students send a Holiday Card to troops overseas.  You'll notice a stack of holiday cards in your mailbox.  There is one in there for every student in your Homeroom.  We will be sending the cards out through a group that sends cards to our service members that don't get a lot of mail...a simple act like this can be huge for them.  Please have your student fill out a card and express gratitude for someone who is actively working in service to our country.  The student should address the card..."Dear Soldier,"  We'll also have a manilla envelope for you to place the cards from your homeroom inside.  When all of the cards are complete, you can bring them down to the office, and we'll get them mailed to the appropriate place.  

What are some other ways we can show students the power of sharing appreciation with others?

Art/Spanish/Technology Classes

For the following electives (Art, Spanish, Technology) in 5th, 6th and 7th grades, we will run those classes by trimester.  At the trimester, which ends November 24th, the following electives will switch: 5th - Art, 6th - Coding, 7th - Spanish.  The 2nd trimester will end on March 5th.  Then, it'll be 5th - Coding, 6th - Spanish, and 7th - Art.

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 11/8/2020

 A shorter blog post this week as we'll be meeting as a staff on Monday morning.

We'll plan to meet virtually on Monday morning at 8:00.  Please use your calendar link or the following link to join:  meet.google.com/xvp-yvaj-cry

I'm looking forward to our time together on Monday.  

Resource of the Week

Another resource that shares some more strategies that could help enhance the remote learning experience for both students and teachers.  

"Tools and Tricks for Engaging Learners Remotely"

1st Quarter Report Cards

We printed report cards on Thursday and have been in the process of mailing them home ever since.  If they haven't arrived in the mail boxes of our students yet, they'll be there early this week.  We'll plan to review report cards in Homeroom again this week, and set some goals for next quarter.

Fire Drills

We'll be conducting another round of fire drills on Thursday of this week.  We'll be using the same "Flight" system that we did in September.  We'll be starting the fire drills at 8:45 am this time.  So, please mark your calendars for this Thursday (11/12) starting at 8:45.

Images of the Week

The Middle Update 10/30/20

Thanks to all of you for your efforts this week in pulling off, by all accounts, a successful virtual week of learning.  It was enjoyable to get in many virtual classrooms this week and see solid, genuine teacher/student interaction and student/student interaction even though it was through a screen.  In some ways it seems like a very long 9 weeks of school, and in others it has seemed to fly by.  I think a fresh start and a fresh quarter will be a good thing for everyone.

COVID

As of this writing, we are planning to be back in school on Monday.  We will continue to monitor student symptoms, close contacts, test results and all of those factors go into the decision-making of whether our doors are open for in-person learning.  Information can come in at anytime that could change things quickly, and I'll do my best to communicate in a timely manner those decisions that impact your planning.  We have not seen any evidence of virus spread within any of our buildings in the district.  

The one thing that doesn't change and remains at the top of our priority list is keeping everyone safe.  Our mitigation efforts continue to be the top priority while we are all in the building.  If you see or hear of any student with symptoms or a student that has been around an ill family member, please notify the office right away so we can investigate the circumstances and make appropriate decisions. 

Resource of the Week

Thanks to Mrs. Velazquez for sharing the resource this week.  The post provides tips for how to conduct an effective "one-on-one" session with a student.  Our students need effective feedback to help them grow their knowledge and skills, and there are strategies that can really help students get the most out of that precious time with teachers, even in a virtual meeting space.  A great post with impactful information for every discipline.

"Never has Conferring been so Important:  Conferences that Rally Kids to Work with Zeal and Direction"

Virtual Learning Experience

I was able to get out and join a number of virtual classrooms this week, and I absolutely enjoyed hearing the dialogue between teacher and student and student to student.  I have been trying to read and attend online webinars to learn about the best practices in virtual teaching and learning.  From these experiences and talking with both teachers and students this week, it is very apparent that having interactions, even if it's through a screen, is critical for student learning.  

The "Break-Out" rooms feature is so important to make this interaction happen in a much more engaging, meaningful way.  We know that student discourse is critical for engagement and developing an understanding for students.  Break-out rooms allow for this to happen with small groups of students.  While visiting virtual classrooms, and checking in on break-out rooms, students are eager to talk with one another...at times in the large group, students don't say anything and there can be an awkward silence or one/two students dominate the conversation.  Utilizing this feature is a critical piece to make the most out of the online learning experience.  Below are some quotes and applications that our teachers have shared.

"In 8th grade band today, I used breakout rooms to utilize their assessments. They had a playing opportunity today and I know it can be hard to play in front of peers so I broke each of them off into their own rooms and popped into them to hear their assessments. At the end, I brought them all into the main room and did a poll (1-5) on how they felt they performed. Overall, great success and will use this in the future in virtual situations." 

"I've used the breakout groups in both of my math meets as well and they are going great."

A "Must Watch"

Lucy Calkins is the main author behind the Units of Study curriculum that we use in our ELA classes.  She delivered a message last weekend that I thought was so important for all of us in our field to hear.  What we are going through is challenging to say the least...in so many ways.  I highly recommend taking the time to listen to what she has to say in her closing remarks from one of her PD sessions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=hVOUj1j6YUk&app=desktop

End of Quarter 1

1st Quarter grades are due by Thursday morning...we'll run report cards then.  If you need more time or have a couple of adjustments by that time, please let me know.  2nd Quarter offers a fresh start for our students and monitoring and keeping an eye on our kids that we know struggled in the 1st quarter...if we can help them avoid falling in a deep hole from the start, it could make all the difference in the world.

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 10/25/2020

Even though it feels as if Winter has invaded us earlier than normal this year, I hope you are or were able to enjoy a nice weekend.  We'll certainly have a different week ahead of us than what we have grown accustomed to so far this year.  I appreciate all of the time and thought you put into how an extended virtual learning experience could play out for you and your students, and I'm sure we will learn many things over the course of the week ahead. 

Moving to Virtual Learning in the Middle School

In the week ahead, the decision was made to move only the Middle School to a virtual learning model.  At the end of the week, we found ourselves in a similar situation to what the High School faced a few weeks ago in terms of positive cases that we learned of for a couple of our students.  None of the students of concern were in school during a time when they were contagious, and we continue to see no evidence of spread in school, despite the increase in cases in the county and or state.  That speaks well to the efforts of everyone to adhere to our safety expectations.

The purpose for the pause in our "in-person" model is to give at least a week to analyze the trends in the spread of the virus with our student population.  Please share any details of illness that you hear from your students this week.  We'll continue our diligence in tracking symptoms, monitoring test results, and using that information in our planning this week as if it was any other week.

 

Resource of the Week

We are sure to learn a lot this week as we teach our students in a different format.  The article this week provides some tips to increase engagement for your students in the online environment.

"8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom"  - Emelina Minero

Teaching Online Sessions

I wanted to re-share a couple of takeaways from our October Staff Meeting in terms of effective teaching strategies.

-Be purposeful with each minute you have with students online

-Greet each student by name at the beginning of your time together

-Set "Agreements" or "Norms" for what your expectations are in your online learning environment (i.e. everyone on mute while teacher is talking, chat feature is for..., how to volunteer, etc.)

-Finding effective, manageable ways to solicit student understanding, and engage students in discussion

We'll plan to start keeping track of attendance in the same way we have been...marking students absent based on their attendance to the first Homeroom meeting of the day.  We can adjust to taking attendance for core classes if it seems that would make more sense...we'll be discussing more as the week goes on.

End of Quarter 1

The end of the quarter is on Friday (10/30).  Grades will be due by the end of the day on the following Wednesday (11/4), as we'll begin printing and mailing report cards home on Thursday morning.  We'll use comments this year to provide feedback to students and their families about their performance in your class...not to highlight what was learned in the past quarter.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Advisory Tool in Infinite Campus

Thanks to Mrs. Mrnak for sharing information about how to use the Advisory Tool in Infinite Campus.  It has helped her to communicate with students about their progress in a more efficient manner. 

https://www.loom.com/share/1727cb22dd5a4134a92a6d6c335e3ea3

Google Resources (Thanks Mrs. Rogness!)

Julie shared a doc on Friday with a number of resources she has been using or has learned about recently.  I wanted to share as well.  Thanks Julie.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-tlmmbKqjI4TjGs7KJGI-iXs6o_-vL5FgRFXXmaHF6U/edit?ts=5f91d56c

Improving Writing Instruction

Thanks to Mrs. Morrissey for providing our resource this week.  Helping students to improve their writing is critical, and the more efficient we can be at it, the better.  The resource this week shares common mistakes made in teaching writing, and what can be a better focus.

"5 Common Mistakes Teachers Make in Writing Instruction & How to Fix Them"

Colleen Cruiz from the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project, recently shared the most common mistakes in writing instruction and their fixes. These mistakes come from a place of good, but  hinder our students from reaching their true writing potential. Here are the top 5 mistakes from her research, and how to remedy them: 

1. Making and sticking to backyard rules: Ever had special or added rules to playing tag with friends when you were younger? Writing examples of backyard rules can be anything from banning specific words (said is dead) or requiring a minimum number of sentences for it to count as a paragraph. While we are trying to get student volume to increase in reality we are decreasing opportunity. Sometimes said is the right word to use, sometimes you see a Pulitzer prize-winning author’s piece has a one-sentence paragraph, and sometimes you should use I in a piece of writing.

The Fix: Teach students about the audience and purpose for their writing rather than setting arbitrary rules.

2. Dragging out units: Often if we aren’t comfortable with a unit, or we feel it isn’t going well, our instinct is to slow it down. That often makes you feel like the unit is dragging on forever, and you and your students hate it by the end.

The Fix: When we struggle with something, the more we go through it the better we will get at it. Go through the unit quickly, and then cycle through it again at another time. The more times you (and your students) go through the unit, the better it will feel, and more understanding will come.

3. Giving feedback students can’t use:  When a students’ work is riddled with comments or feedback is way outside of their zone of proximal development, a student can quickly feel overwhelmed. The result is the student not doing much revising. 

The Fix: Only give feedback that encourages growth. Evaluative feedback doesn’t encourage significant growth. Instead, think about giving feedback like a video game. Video games give you little pieces of feedback more frequently and where you are to help you keep moving forward.

4. Creating Unnecessary Obstacles: These mistakes can be the rule that students can’t move onto typing up their draft until you have looked at it, to color-coding all revisions, or requiring several drafts before they can turn in a final copy. This makes the students too reliant on you. Often you might see students asking the teacher what to do next or some students not finishing their work at all. 

The Fix: If you see that students aren’t finishing their work or constantly needing you to move them to the next step, then take a look to see what unnecessary obstacles might be in their way and remove those barriers.

5. Teaching the writing, not the writer: As teachers, we can become attached to specific writing projects. Doing so, we end up spending more time teaching about that specific writing project rather than the skills of writing.

The Fix: Instead of focusing on the specific project, and the pieces the students need to do for that project, think of the transferable skills. What can you teach them today that they can use ANYTIME they are writing?

The Middle Update 10/16/2020

The outreach that takes place on Parent-Teacher Conference night in our school is really something special.  Thank you so much to all of you for putting forth the necessary effort to pull off these important conferences in impressive fashion.  The research is clear that having trusting, open communication with the parents/guardians of our students leads to improved student achievement.  Each one of these conferences builds that trust and support from the families...a direct correlation to student success in the classroom.  Maintaining those connections and building upon the foundation set during these interactions will be important moving forward as well.

Resource of the Week

Instructional videos have become a key staple of how we instruct our students.  Teacher collaboration in this area has been fun to witness and see as the year has gone on.  We have so many talented people in this area.  The article this week provides current research on what makes videos effective and also provides additional tools that have the potential to work well.

"How to Create Engaging Instructional Videos" - Jenny Gieras 

End of Quarter 1

The end of the 1st Quarter is Friday, October 30th.  We have 2 weeks left until our first grading period has ended.  We have a Professional Development Day scheduled for Monday, November 2nd.  We'll plan to have 1st quarter grades and comments due on the morning of Thursday, November 5th, with report cards being mailed out shortly thereafter.  We will be sending home STAR test summaries at that time as well. 

For report card comments, there is no need to provide a description of the topics covered in the 1st quarter, however, try to give students and parents feedback that can summarize their progress and efforts during the 1st grading period....or even an update since Parent-Teacher Conferences.

COVID-19 Update

It's no secret that there has been an increase in COVID activity in our state and county over the past few weeks.  The Board adopted gating criteria at their last meeting that included adjusting our instructional model (in-person, hybrid, virtual) using data points from activity both around the county and in our school.  The criteria provided flexibility based on a number of factors, with an important one being activity in our school.  As of this writing, of the positive cases that have been in our building, each was traced to someone outside of the school, and there hasn't been evidence of transmission taking place in our schools.  Our whole system and plan is in place to limit the chances of someone spreading the virus to others inside the school building, as well as identifying and making sure no one with symptoms is in our building.  

We have seen students with symptoms and have either sent them home or advised them to stay home.  Our criteria for someone who is displaying symptoms is they need to stay home for 10 days and be symptom free, or have a negative COVID test and be symptom-free.  A close contact to a positive case also must be quarantined for 14 days since last exposure.  Monitoring symptoms, close contacts, and absence trends continue to be at the top of the priority list each day in the front office.

Like we all have discussed at different times, our system is set up to be mobile, and have very little change in instructional planning and delivery if a change took place.  On our virtual Wednesdays, each grade has experimented and worked through potential schedules that would allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences for our students (which research supports as effective practice).  As we continue moving forward, we'll need to continue to refine this plan to maximize the effectiveness of both teacher and student time during a virtual learning day.  We've also had one cohort participating in remote learning for the past week and a half...we adjusted their schedule to all them to do their schoolwork as if they were in school, and early results appear to be very positive.  We'll have lessons to learn and share from this experience that can help each grade level and their virtual learning plan.

These conversations will continue, with the goal of all of us being prepared in the event the state orders all schools to go virtual, or the district decides to make that change based on our local experience.

The Brain Science Behind Happiness and Success

I have had the opportunity, through my work with the state association for WI administrators, to learn from Dr. Raj Nijhawan and his work on what's called the LEO project.  His work has been notable because of the impact it has had on the improvement of program participants' mental health indicators.  Over the past few months, I've gotten the chance to listen to him in person and watch the videos of his program.  His work and findings are fascinating, however, there is a lot to digest.  

If you are interested in this conversation, let me know, and we can talk informally, or if there is more interest I can put something together...but in a nut shell if we can understand, how our brain is wired and operates, we can utilize exercises that can reprogram how our brain manages difficult things for us, (stress, anxiety, etc.) "Neuroplasticity" is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization...with the right training and practice we can change how our brains are wired.  There are many facets to his work, and it's complex, however, I believe there are implications that could be helpful in helping each one of us and our students.

THANK YOU

I simply cannot thank you enough for what you do day in and day out...I have received so much positive feedback about the environment you all have created for the students in our school during this time of uncertainty for so many.  I know it's not easy, but your efforts are so appreciated by me and the members of our community...thank you, thank you, thank you.

The Middle Update 10/11/2020

I don't know about you, but I thought the weather this weekend was amazing...my family got a chance to get out and enjoy the beauty of the countryside, and I hope yours did too.  We are 2/3 of the way into the 1st quarter and have a shorter, but a little more intense week ahead.  

In any organization, it's the people that make the difference, and each person reading this plays a critical role in making PMS a special place.  Thank you for doing what you do with a purpose...having an environment where people put their "why" into their "what" on a daily basis makes all the difference. 

Resource of the Week 

The resource this week is an expansion on the message from our staff meeting this week.  The article provides practical application of the ideas I shared from The Distance Learning Playbook.  A common theme is that it's not the technology used or medium that makes the difference...it's what we do with our time and how we structure the learning that makes the difference.  It is critical for us to continue to examine the research behind distance learning, and adjust what we do to maximize our effectiveness.  

"7 High-Impact, Evidence-Based Tips for Online Teaching" - Youki Terada

Fostering Collaboration Among our Students

As we continue to become more comfortable and familiar with our mode of instruction this year, many of you have sought ways to facilitate more collaboration for our students.  Our technology has become more reliable and with the introduction of the "break out rooms" in Google Meet, we should continue to look for ways to get students to talk with each other about their learning.  This is something that doesn't have to wait until "we go virtual", this is something that can be done when it's appropriate now.  Take a look below at some examples of how teachers have been creative with using our technology to enhance the learning for all.

Students in Mrs. Larson's class (top and bottom picture) discuss their books with a small group at school and another student joining in the conversation from home.  This has become a daily routine in this classroom.

Mrs. Crawford has instructed Art classes virtually, and it has gone quite well

PDF to Google Doc

There are many reasons why converting text from a PDF to a Google Doc can be helpful...being able to utilize "Google Read & Write" is just one of them.  Mr. Odden kindly created and shared a video that shows one strategy for how to do this.  Thanks Mr. Odden.

Parent-Teacher Conferences and Schedule for this Week

Thank you to all who have reached out and scheduled PT Conferences with our families.  If you haven't heard from a family about scheduling a time, we should just assign them a time, and communicate that time with the family (Robin and Debbie can help communicate those times as well).  We'll look to connect with each family via Google Meet, or by telephone if that is preferred by the family.  It's a time to share how things are going and plan for how improvements can be made if necessary.  Please keep me in the loop on specific recommendations or thoughts on how we can better support a student.

Also, on Thursday, we will be dismissing students at 12:00.  Our lunch schedule will be different on this day because many groups are scheduled to eat after 12:00.  I'll be sharing that plan early this week, and we'll plan to have 7th and 8th grade students still go to electives, and 5th and 6th grade students will not on Thursday.  

Also, don't forget to sign up for the Taco Truck dinner on Thursday!

Health and Safety

This week we experienced a situation where we had a positive case in our school for the first time.  This is something the Elementary and High School have already had to work through.  As we continue our educational journey this school year, we need to continue our efforts to make sure our safety protocols are being followed by everyone.  Maintaining that 6 feet as much as possible, limiting time spent with a student inside the 6 feet bubble, proper mask-wearing, and hand-washing/cleaning are just as critical now as they were at the beginning of the school year.  

We continue to monitor the student absences due to illness and dig deep on potential connections.  So far, we've had a few students who have experienced COVID-19 symptoms, but test results indicated it was another bug of some kind.  As of this writing, there has been no evidence of spread within our buildings...our safety measures are a critical part of ensuring this continues to be true. 

A couple items borrowed from Mr. Hausser's Blog...(thanks Jay and Anna!)

A Little Reading (the message is from Jay)

My wife (Jay's wife to clarify) shared this article with me and I thought about our school immediately.  In fact, after reading it, there were a lot of common themes and feelings that I have endured during this.  I hope you find this to be reassuring and helpful in some way.  We will get through this together.

Hitting the 6- Month Wall

Another Resource with Ideas for Virtual Learning (Thanks Anna)

Feel free to share this infographic that I made based off a recent ASCD article, Maintaining Relationships, Reducing Anxiety by Jessica Minahan in the Trauma-Sensitive Schools Issue for October 2020 in your upcoming blog post: 

https://create.piktochart.com/output/49418409-making-connections-remotely

Wisconsin Health Connect (Contributed by Mr. Fischer, Safety Director/Coronavirus Czar)

This is a free screening tool from DHS that includes an opportunity to connect with a trained medical professional to clear up any questions related to COVID - 19.

https://www.wihealthconnect.com/