A week down in Quarter 2...Snow...Student Success...what a week! Many more to come. Thank you to all for what you do to be a rock in the lives of many students.
Resource of the Week
The resource this week is a little longer, but well worth the watch...I got the chance to hear Dr. Adam Saenz speak a few years back...I just came across his Ted Talk that is close to the paradigm shifting presentation I heard him give a few years back. The talk is titled, "The Power of the Teacher". 18 minutes, but well worth the watch and/or listen.
"The Power of a Teacher" - Adam Saenz
Evidence of a Strong Culture
I love it when teachers share with me moments that exhibit the strong culture that we have been working so hard to exist in each of our classrooms. I wanted to share an example that Mrs. Kennedy shared with me that occurred during her 6th grade WIN class.
"It was contest day, and the students were working so intently on the contest. The hum in the room of their concentration could be felt. Afterwards, I went through the solutions with them, and there was literal cheering and fist pumping in the room. They were so excited to get these problems correct. How exciting that these kids were feeling the excitement of mathematics and a job well done!"
Please continue to share these types of moments with me!
Report Cards
Thank you to all of your work in preparing our report cards. The finished product this quarter was much improved over past years, with much better overall, specific comments about student performance. I appreciate your efforts in this area, and I know the students and parents do as well. We'll continue to work on developing consistency and outlining clear expectations for impactful report card comments.
I was able to be in a couple of homerooms during the report card review, and I enjoyed hearing the goals that were reviewed, and goals set for next quarter. I saw a lot of ME's on student report cards, and also students who were very proud of those marks. A big thank you to each of you who give your Homeroom kids your best effort and for building a close-knit culture among your group.
Assembly on Tuesday (11/23)
We'll be hosting our first assembly in a long time in the Middle School Gym on Tuesday (11/23). We'll plan to dismiss students to the gym at 2:40. Students in our Leadership Group have been working hard to organize a fun experience for the kids. For this event, we'll plan to utilize bleachers on both side of the gym. 5th grade will be Northeast, 6th will be Northwest, 7th will be Southwest, and 8th will be Southeast.
A big shout-out to our teachers who have agreed to get a pie in the face (I think we are up to 6 teachers). For this event, we'll pull a name from the bucket and the first person can choose who they'll pie, and continue to pull names until we have a person for each teacher volunteer.
We'll also be doing a musical chair Carelli Cup event. We'll need a representative from each Homeroom to participate in this activity. The last person standing will earn their Homeroom the opportunity to host the Carelli Cup in their Homeroom.
More info to come in the next week or so...
Kids and Screen Time
Studies continue to show alarming correlations between screen time/social media time and depression in our youth. Please make every effort to have kids on their devices for activities that are only critical to your class outcomes. It's important to make Homeroom a time where there is a lot of face to face interactions...as teachers we can set these up...let's reflect on the time we are on our devices for these opportunities that we could be leading connections between our kids, leading to a better culture. We need to be great models for our students in this area.
Many teachers have been successful at setting up systems where students only grab their chrome books when necessary, and insist on screens down at all times they are not needed.
504 Plans
The following are the procedures and contact people for 504 Plans.
-Our school counselors manage annual 504 Plan reviews. Any questions or discussions about possible changes to current plans should be coordinated through Mrs. Morton
-Mrs. Hellmich coordinates initial evaluations and reevaluations to consider initial and continuing eligibility.
Safety Walk-Through Last Week
We had our official safety walk-through last week by our insurance company and we did really well! Thanks to all of you for attention to safety.
As a general reminder, please do not stack anything in front of electrical panels, overload electrical outlets, or hang things from the ceiling. When you need to reach for something up high, please use the step stool that is available in the staff work room or other custodial areas.
American Education Week
In honor of American Education Week (11/15-11/19), we are hosting an Open House from 4:00 - 5:45 for the community. See below for more information:
Student Recognition
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to recognize a student who has been excelling in the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard on Friday. We started making positive phone calls home, and will shout-out the students on Monday. Here are the students this week:
It looks like Katelyn Missall's performance is standing out!!
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