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/

The Middle Update 10/2/20

We are now officially more than halfway through the 1st quarter of the school year!  As we continue to navigate the realities of educating our children, some things are quite different, and some remain the same.  What remains constant is the effort and student-centered nature of our team.  It is hard to express how much I appreciate the time, effort, and passion you have put into doing what you do each day.  Our parents and our community are appreciative and lucky to have each of you serving their children. 

Resource of the Week

Being five weeks into the school year, and facing a little uncertainty about our path forward, one thing I'm confident we are going to need to do is be prepared to teach remotely for a longer period of time.  There has been a lot of work and study into what makes for effective online teaching and learning.  The article this week is a post that provides some insights into what makes effective online learning happen.

"Tips for Teachers Teaching Remotely: The Ultimate List" by The Albert Team

October Staff Meeting

Our Staff Meeting for October will feature both asynchronous and synchronous learning activities.  I'll be sharing an interactive presentation with you sometime on Monday.  The goal of the meeting will be to understand effective distance learning strategies and to continue to strengthen staff relationships.  You will receive an invitation through Google Calendar to join a small group virtually, to briefly get to know more people in our building better, and to share your plans on Thursday (10/8) afternoon at 3:00.

Livestream in 8th Grade ELA

In 8th Grade ELA, Mr. Odden live-streamed an activity from his classroom.  The other classes tuned in, as well as the students from home.  

Mr. Odden said, "We did a book preview, so I thought it the live stream future would be more engaging than a video for this particular lesson.  I had some students in my group present about the books, and I was very happy with how it went."

Mrs. Andringa, who was facilitating this lesson in a different classroom also thought it was effective, stating, "To have them hear from Eric about the books was way more effective than how I would have presented them.  It went really well."

As we learn and the consistency and reliability of our technology continues to improve (knock on wood), more options are available for how we can deliver instruction, and start to build in more student to student collaboration in our practices.  If you have facilitated some new strategies that have been effective, I'd love to hear about them and share with others.

Sharing Appreciation

I wanted to share a note from a parent, giving the 7th grade team a "shout-out"

Hello,
I just wanted to say thank all of you for having the Google Meets on Wednesdays.

Mason wasn’t too sure about it, but after being able to see all of you, homework went much, MUCH better!

Also, thanks for your understanding while he was out for the extra 2 weeks.

You all are doing a great job and we know this is not easy.

Stay strong and you have our support!

Have a great weekend!

Early Release on Thursday (10/15)

All students will be released at 1:15 on Thursday, 10/15.  We'll plan on keeping our elective schedule and times the same (5th grade won't have specials on this day), however, each team can take a look at their schedule and modify the core classes however you feel would work best for your grade level.  If you need some help thinking through the changes, just let me know, and I can put something together.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Our annual Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14 (4:00 - 7:30) and Thursday, Oct. 15 (2:00 - 7:30).  There will also be an Early Dismissal (1:15) on Thursday, 10/15.

We will hold our PT Conferences virtually, similar to how we did for Open House.  The conferences can be done through Google Meet (preferred) or by telephone (if parents prefer it this way).  In general, each Homeroom teacher will schedule a conference with each student in their group, including our virtual students.  Teachers that do not have a Homeroom group should join the conferences of students that you feel could benefit from some feedback in your class.

We will have an Early Dismissal on Thursday at 1:15, so all teachers should remain and conduct their conferences from school.  A meal will be provided by the Parent's Club this evening.  On Wednesday, teachers can conduct the conferences from school or at your home.  If you plan to conduct the conferences from home, please ensure that you have a confidential location (no one is listening or appearing in videos), appropriate dress, there is a reliable connection, and all requests from parents to meet on Wednesday from 4:00-7:30 are accepted.

Monday LiveStream Link

After receiving quite a bit of feedback about the pilot of a potential new Monday Morning tradition, it seems pretty clear this is something the kids want to continue.  We'll keep it rolling on Monday morning, so I'll ask you to join in the live-stream at the link below.  You can tell the kids to keep the requests and ideas coming in.

stream.meet.google.com/stream/d991963a-31b2-4057-b059-035e2961a916