The Middle Update 5/30/21

We are near the end of the 21-22 school year with one big week left with our students.  As we look at planning for the week ahead, it's always really important to understand the following:

-Every minute we have with students is an opportunity to grow their skills and knowledge…most will be without these opportunities for the next 3 months, we need to take advantage of these opportunities during the last week…with a strong finish!

-Consider the following (my thoughts): 

Bored Students = High Probability for students to look for ways to (undesirably for us) entertain themselves

Busy Students = Lower Probability for students to be disengaged at first…

Engaged Students = Very little chance to be engaged in undesirable behavior

Let's work to design and set up opportunities for our students to be highly engaged in great learning experiences during the last week!

Resource of the Week (Thank you Mrs. Morton)

Mrs. Morton attended a training this past Wednesday about how to best support our transgender students.  She shared her learning below.  Also included below, you'll see some staggering statistics and a short video that shares perspectives on this issue.

I attended a Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Students training yesterday and learned some new things.  

-First, if a student requests different names/pronouns and you don't honor that, you would be in violation of FERPA.  Accepting a student's request is also strongly tied with their mental health and feelings of security (see the chart attached).  A good way to think of this is to imagine going through your day being called the wrong pronouns over and over again, even after asking people to use the correct pronouns.  You would feel uncomfortable and disrespected.  

-Second, you cannot limit a transgender student to a certain bathroom, like a single use room.  They need to be allowed to use any bathroom/locker room they choose.  If other people are uncomfortable with that, accommodations can be made for them.  

-Finally, the most important thing to remember is that privacy is critical.  We need to ask students permission to share their transgender status/name changes/pronoun changes with others (parents, other staff, students, etc.).  Never assume that siblings or parents know.  There were many stories of students being harmed or placed in unsafe situations by having their status shared with others unintentionally.  Some situations to consider and plan for in advance to avoid "outing" a student include when you have substitute teachers using a roster generated by Infinite Campus, yearbooks using roster names, and standardized testing situations.  Right now, we are a small school and students know the biological gender of students requesting name changes, but we could get a new student who is presenting one way and hiding their biological gender.  We would need to make sure we are not revealing that to others, even accidentally.  One recommendation is having name tags with preferred pronouns ready for substitute teachers so they aren't using Infinite Campus generated lists.

Last Day of School

The last day of school for 8th graders is Thursday, June 3.  

On the last day of school (6/4) for 5-7th graders, students will be dismissed at 12:15.  Thanks to everyone for communicating your team's last day plans and schedules with me.

For staff, the 2nd part of the last school day is an Inservice Day.  Staff should expect to work normal Friday hours, and some options for your afternoon work are as follows:

-Complete grades/comments for 4th quarter, analyze student data preparing for next year, clean up/organize your classroom space (all personal items should be taken home for the summer), lend a hand to teachers that must have their classrooms cleared for renovation, etc.

There are plenty of things to do, so if you are not sure, just let me know and I can always use a hand.

A staff "check-out" form will be distributed mid-week, and I'll meet with teachers to check out during the afternoon as well.

We'll have a brief staff meeting at 12:40 on Friday afternoon in the cafeteria as well.  I'd like to treat the middle school staff with lunch.  Please sign up for what you would like on this Google Form.

Yearbooks

We will not have student yearbooks to distribute to students at the end of this school year.  This year's books will be distributed at the start of next school year.

Our Potential Influence on Some Issues

As educators who have the opportunity to talk with students each day, we have a certain level of influence that we all need to be cognizant of as we lead our students.  Our students are a captive audience because they are required to attend school, so we must be very careful not try to impose some of our own views or biases onto them.  In many cases, it can be difficult to navigate the conversations around political or medical views, especially when asked by students.  However, there are topics like "getting the vaccine" or "who you should vote for" that school staff must walk the line in the middle, not imposing a "you are right if you believe this" feeling among your students.  

It's always great to encourage the idea that there are multiple position on issues, and finding credible accurate sources to base your views on (without blindly believing things you hear) is the best course of action.  I appreciate the professionalism our staff carries with them surrounding these topics, and am always there to discuss for any situation like this.

The Middle Update 5/21/21

Poynette Middle School - Livin' the PUMA Way Every Day!

Resource of the Week

Critical Race Theory has been a topic of conversation lately in our community.  The resource this week aims to explain what Critical Race Theory is and why there is controversy surrounding it.

"What is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?" - Stephen Sawchuk, edweek.org

PMS Staff Culture

At our staff meeting on Wednesday, I asked everyone to rate (on a scale of 1-10) how we are doing with our actions/interactions being above or below the line.  Below are the results of how staff rated our team:

Minimum - 3     Lower Quartile - 6     Median - 7     Upper Quartile - 8     Maximum - 9

Average - 7.11

As we move forward, we'll continue to check in on each other's perception of our progress as a group.  It's up to each one of us to really reflect and think about when we are reacting with our lower or upper brain.  It's not about saying everything is "good and happy" all the time....it's more about the mindset of our response to those situations that require some work to get aligned in the same direction.  

Mask Update (borrowed from Mr. Hausser's blog)

We communicated to our families this past week that masks will be optional for students at summer school.  The district is still recommending them and we will continue with other mitigation strategies, but this is a change from what we previously reported.  Also, we have seen an uptick in families asking for religious accommodations to the mask requirement.  We do have a process and that entails families filling out an application, participating in an interactive process, and meeting with the building principal to determine accommodations.  I will then communicate the accommodations with staff members who may be impacted by them.  Right now we have students that are doing situational masking and strategically placed seating.  We have 2 students right now who have accommodations.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Last Day of School

I wanted to share a few updates about the last day of school.  8th grade students will not be in the building on Friday, June 4th.  We will have an early release, and be releasing students at 12:15.  Teams will need to be thinking about Breakfast and Lunch times.  If each team could please let me know what time Breakfast and lunch would ideally fit into the schedule, or coordinate with me to ensure we have adequate spacing outside for lunch recess times, I would appreciate it.

Student Leadership Group for Next Year

We are looking for current 6th and 7th graders who are interested in applying to be a part of our Middle School Student Leadership Team next year.  Starting on Monday, we'll have details on the announcements and students can pick up an application in the office.  Applications will be due by next week Tuesday.

Dress-Up Days this Week

Big shout-out to Nora V., Livi M., Cora L, and Chandra H. for organizing the middle school-wide dress up days.  See below for the details:

Monday 5/24 - Monochromatic Day (Wear All The Same Color Clothes) 

Tuesday 5/25 - Crazy Sock Day (Wear Some Crazy Socks) 

Thursday 5/27 - Wacky Clothes Day (Wear Missed Match Clothes) 

Friday 5/28 - School Spirit Day (Show School Spirit By Wearing Puma Gear) 

Staff and students are welcome to participate but this is not required!

Grade or Class Celebrations

As you are planning for the end of the year, please communicate with me about any celebration you may be having with your class.  I'd like to ensure that no outside spaces are double booked for any of these types of events.

The Middle Update 5/16/21

Poynette Middle School - Livin' the PUMA Way Every Day!

Resource of the Week

Throughout the year, we've taken different opportunities to look at stereotypes, biases, and how little things that we do can have a big impact on our students in various ways.  One example historically, has been fewer females in the Math and Science fields.  There has been some long-standing stereotypes about females in these career fields.  The article this week takes a look at a fascinating research study around this topic.

"How Hidden Classroom Dynamics Can Stymie Girls in STEM" - Youki Terada

As I read the research study, I can't help but think of one of the cornerstone phrases about our culture that we share often - "ALL students will learn at high levels because of what WE do".  Specific areas will improve if adults focus on doing what it takes to improve the specific area...improvement will happen regardless of the students of focus.

PMS Staff Meeting - This Wednesday (5/19) 2:30 - meet.google.com/ogr-uziw-crh

We'll meet virtually on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30.  We'll spend our time reviewing some recent data, share RTI updates, analyze our school culture, review suggested Puma Pride revisions, and discuss items that will impact next year's planning.

May Fire Drills

Thanks to those of you who have emailed me to confirm your class has practiced your fire drill.  We are looking for a discussion about fire drill procedures with your class, followed by a quick walk to the site.  Teachers can do the drill when it fits best in the schedule for your group.

Gender Identity, Names and Pronouns

We are committed to making PMS a safe space for EVERY student.  Part of this process if equipping our staff with the tools to feel confident handling situations that you may not have encountered yet.  Please review the helpful tips from Mrs. Morton below:

We have had more and more students requesting to use alternate names and pronouns.  Here are some things to ask or consider as you have these conversations:

• All the training sessions I've been to recommend that we honor these requests as much as we are able to support their identity development.  We are able to change names on everything except Infinite Campus (and systems based on IC).  The only way to change a name there is through an official name change in court.
• Do your parents know that you are making this request?  If not, how do you want me to handle communications with them?  - The number one thing you do not want to do is out someone to their family.  The rates of teens in the LGBTQ+ community getting kicked out of their homes or physically abused are much higher than other populations.  You don't want to create an unsafe situation in their home.
• How do you want to handle other students and their questions?
• Do you want me to notify your other teachers?
• Do you feel comfortable using the girls/boys bathroom?  If students want another option, I offer the individual bathroom in the health room at the office or the individual bathroom by the multi-purpose room.
• I always let students know that I am going to do my best, but I will make mistakes since my brain has spent years calling them something else.  I ask them to correct me when I mess up and to be patient with me as I retrain my brain.  I make it clear that a mistake is not because I won't honor their request, but because I'm old and change is hard.
• If you are not comfortable having these conversations, please send them to see me and I will let you know what was decided.

STAR Results

STAR testing for the spring has come to an end, and it's been interesting to review the results as they have come in.  There still are some students that need to take the STAR test, or I'd like to have ReTake the test.  We may be pulling some students to either test or retake sometime this week.  If you had a student retake the STAR, and their result has changed, please email me so I can update the spreadsheet.  Also, please review the data (previously shared sheet) and if your overall class Percentile average in either Reading or Math rose 5 or more points, please email me what type of treat your class would preferred (donuts in the am or a sweet treat in the pm).  

Puma Pride and the PUMA Way

We had an awesome group get together this past Thursday after school to pick apart our current Puma Pride rubric, and take a look at how we can improve upon it, and also infuse the components of the PUMA Way.  Please take a moment to review the current DRAFT of the rubric and be prepared to discuss and share some feedback at our staff meeting Wednesday afternoon.

 

We'll also be reviewing the roll-out of the PUMA Way as a way to define our culture and have a common language for those learning discussions with our students.  We'll take some time to assess and provide some feedback about the PUMA Way.

Monday Board Meeting and Mitigation Strategies Update (from Mr. Hausser's blog)

In lieu of many events that have taken place in the last week, masks have become a hot topic. There is a board meeting Monday night and I believe that our mitigation strategies may be a topic. At this time, the current plan has been for us to only keep the district mask mandate through summer school and hope that we open next year in the fall without one. At the same time, our board has followed the science and our policy will follow recommendations from groups like the CDC and DHS. The CDC has been coming out with new recommendations and those are all part of the items the board looks at. We anticipate that there will be community members that are coming to the board meeting to address the board on this very topic. At this time, we will continue to adhere to the board approved mitigation strategies.

Policy Reminder

My goal is to share a policy or two each week as a review for everyone.  Please let me know if you have any questions about the policies.

Conflict of Interest and Ethical Standards

It is imperative that our professional organization not create the perception of favoritism or special privilege. Employees are not permitted to gain monetarily by their position within the district. Employees are prohibited by Wis. Stat. §118.12 from receiving anything of value for their own benefit that results from selling, soliciting, or promoting the sale of any goods or services to any public school pupil while on school property or at school-sponsored events.  Policy 3230, 4230

Whenever possible, staff will not have instructional responsibility for their own children, guardians, or blood relatives.

Employees are expected to avoid situations in which their personal interests, activities and associations may conflict with the interest of the District.

Outside Employment

Employment with the School District of Poynette must be considered pre-eminent. Outside employment must not interfere with the employee’s performance or work schedule. Employees may not perform any duties for an outside employer during regularly scheduled working hours or during additional hours required for professional responsibilities.

Personal Data Changes

All changes in personal information, including changes of name, address, telephone numbers, education, marital status, dependent status, etc. should be updated with the Business Office in a timely manner.

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 5/9/21

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers on our staff!  I hope you got spoiled by the people in your life on Sunday.

All Kid Can Learn at High Levels

All Kids Will Learn at High Levels Because of What WE Do

Resource of the Week

The majority of our staff have been exploring the impact that effective Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) can have on the experience for both students and staff.  The article this week outlines the characteristics of effective PLC's and shares links for resources that will help ensures the groups are effective.

"How to Create an Effective Professional Learning Communities" - Andrew Miller 

STAR Testing This Week

We will be hosting our Spring STAR testing this coming week for all of our students.  Our in-person students will be taking the STAR Reading Test on Tuesday (5/11) and the STAR Math Test on Thursday (5/13).  The students will be taking the STAR test in their respective ELA and Math classes.  Our virtual students will be coming in on Wednesday (5/12).  This is an important data point for us as we look at the overall data from this past year, but we'll also use this data as we look to start targeting areas of student need right away in the fall.

Forward Testing Group Recap

An awesome group of teachers met on Wednesday afternoon to review the execution of the Forward Exam this year, and use our experience to plan for next Spring.  We focused on how we can set up our testing sessions so that kids don't feel rushed or pressured, and looked at what a potential schedule could look like when all sessions are back next year.

Puma Pride & the Puma Way

It's time to take a closer look at our Puma Pride standards and rubrics.  If you would like to join the conversation around the Puma Pride standards and rubrics, and plan for potential improvements, please let me know you are interested and join me at 2:50 Thursday (5/13) in the Professional Development Room (downstairs next to the Art room).

Additions (sort of) to Our Team for 21-22

As we look ahead to next year, I want to take this opportunity to welcome the staff members who will find themselves in new roles.  Patti Hutchinson will be taking over for Mrs. McNicol in the front office, and her start date will be on Monday, May 24th.  Niki Alford will be filling in for Patti over the last 2 weeks of school.  Also, Lexie Stark will be joining our 8th grade team next year, teaching a section each of ELA and Math and being a key person in our intervention plan.

Leaders of Learning Book Study Update

We had our latest book study session on Thursday afternoon.  All participants have finished reading the book, and are in the beginning stages of planning for how our learning will impact our practice starting next fall.  We had important initial conversations about how/when we will collaborate, the RTI process, and what student data we will review.  I wanted to share a few quotes from our participants in the session about what the book was all about (see below):

-Focused efforts, clear goals and expectations focusing on the learning that is taking place will make all the difference for our kids

-This book is about how to collaboratively and systematically improve your school through a PLC process and high expectations for all students.

-Servant first leaders are willing to constantly grow in order to better educate those around them.

-All students can learn at high levels

-empowerment of a PLC for students and staff

-"To be the best leader you can be, don't hoard power; give it away."

-Stolen from Dr. Shappell: "All of us, all in, for all of them". We need to be a collaborative team with a common goal and processes to be successful.

-The PLC process is a never ending collaborative effort that has to be led by administration and focused on all students achieving. It needs to have time built in and a clear structure.

-"Change is inevitable; Growth is optional"

-It takes passionate leaders who are willing to grow and be uncomfortable to make changes that are impactful for our students everyday.

-We are ALL leaders within the school. Constant improvement.

-You must first touch the heart before you can affect the mind!

-We are all leaders and we all have the potential to make a difference in our students lives.

Policy Reminder

It's been a goal of mine to share routine reminders about the school district's policies to serve as a reminder for all of us.  I have been falling short of the goal, but plan to put in a policy or two each week.  Please let me know if you have any questions about the policies.

Injuries to Students 

All student injuries should be reported to the building principal/direct supervisor immediately. Attention should be given to all injuries, however minor. An accident report must be filled out for all injuries and submitted to the building principal within twenty –four (24) hours or the next scheduled District workday. The building administrator will submit the completed form to the business office as soon as possible. Forms are located in the front office.

Personal Communications 

Personal communications should be kept to a minimum and cannot interfere with employment expectations.  Personal  cell phone use, text messaging or other personal communication by district staff must be kept to scheduled breaks, duty free lunch and outside of the school day. 

Emergency exceptions can be made with an employee’s direct supervisor.

Professional Appearance 

Employees are expected to dress in a professional manner appropriate to their working conditions and type of work  performed. Certain departments, such as Food Service and Buildings and Grounds require special attire for work.  Employees should consult their supervisor regarding dress code requirements specific to departments. For most  instructional and secretarial staff, business casual is most appropriate. Casual dress is appropriate for certain field trips,  shop experiences, lab experiments or times when clothing could become soiled. Piercings and/or tattoos cannot be  distracting or contain inappropriate material. Administration may require removal of piercings or covering of tattoos.  

Beach or “gel” style footwear (flip flops, shower shoes, Croc® style) are prohibited. 

All employees are District representatives at co-curricular activities and conferences and should appear as such.

Fire Drill in May

All cohorts should participate in a fire drill sometime in the month of May.

This will be flexible. Please take your cohort group out to your designated location and discuss the situation.

Please email me when you have completed the drill with your group.