Sunday, October 11, 2020

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.


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.

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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.


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.