I hope everyone had a nice week last week, and by the time you are reading this are feeling refreshed, recharged, and ready to continue what you do to have a positive impact on your students. The calendar strikes April already at the end of this week, and there is a lot going on as we start the 4th quarter on Monday.
Resource of the Week
Displaying student work sends a strong message to our students and our community...these displays can highlight the learning process and what rigorous learning looks like. I am working on getting strips to allow us to more easily display student work in our hallways. Our resource this week is a short video that highlights the possibilities of what these displays can do for the culture of a school.
Forward Exam Preparation
In two short weeks, we'll be starting the process of taking the Forward Exam. Our testing schedule and preparation are all about ensuring that we set up the conditions where students try their absolute best on this assessment, and the conditions are in place for them to be able to put in their absolute best effort. Our staff meeting on Wednesday (3/30) morning will be devoted to proctor training and detailing our testing plan.
Please take a moment to review the Testing Schedule. You'll notice that each session has a different time recommendation...some are longer than others. The Daily Bell Schedule will be different for each grade level, and I plan to meet with each grade level team to outline what this looks like at each grade level. Applied Academic times will not change for 5th/6th grades. 7th/8th grade elective schedules will vary depending on if it's an A or B day, and how long the testing session ends up taking...it will take a collaborative conversation to map out how each grade level will structure their schedules.
You can view proposed testing groups HERE. If teams review the groups, and you recommend adjustments to meet our goal of setting up great testing conditions, please email me.
For 8th grade Science and Social Studies Testing sessions, we'll split them into 4 groups, with Frehner, Odden, Kooistra, and Moe proctoring a bigger group (we'll discuss).
As always, we'll ask that teachers lead test prep activities in Homeroom lesson plans...the manner (body language, enthusiasm) in which our teachers lead these lessons will have an impact on the mentality students bring to the testing sessions.
I believe our students have had perhaps their strongest year of instruction since I've been here, and our preparation will help set up the conditions for them to show it. Thank you for your efforts to help our students shine!
Staff Meeting on Wednesday (3/30)
A reminder that we will meet as a Middle School staff on Wednesday morning. Ryan K. and Carib have been looking forward to leading an activity, and will be ready to lead their activity at 7:15. We'll focus on Forward Exam training and preparation.
Middle School Principal Update
Like Dr. Shappell mentioned in an earlier email, we have our next Middle School Principal. Mr. Jacob Hunter rose to the top of a very talented candidate pool, and is very excited to be our next Principal. There will be an opportunity for our staff to meet and get to know him a little bit better very soon, but he is poised to continue the great work that we have going here, has the tools to lead the improvements that we all seek in our educational efforts, all while making strong connections with each one of our students. I am very excited to have Jacob on our team.
Pig Race Wrap-Up
I think I speak for most of us when I say that the creativity of the Pig names and outfits were at an all time high this year. Thanks to all of you for generative a little extra positive buzz over the last week leading up to the actual Pig Races. It's safe to say that kids had some fun during the pig races. Big congrats to Chief Bacon and Mrs. Hendrickson's Homeroom for their victory in the race, and to Mr. Williams' Homeroom for the best name and design.
Also, the Penny War was a big success, and the money raised will help provide some more items for The Puma Closet. Enjoy some pictures from the event below.
School Supply List for 22-23
Teachers, please be thinking of supplies you would like students to have for next school year, as Marie Klink will be sending out the School Supply List for next year to be updated very soon.
Forensics and Math Team Success!
Our students continue to shine! A big shout out to our students that participate in Forensics on their awesome performance in Columbus Thursday night! Congrats to Ms. Stark and Ms. Moe for their exceptional leadership this Forensics season.
Also both Math teams had a dominant performance in their meets this past week, and both qualified for the Mega Math Meet in Madison. Congrats to Mrs. Kennedy and all teachers whose work has made this possible.
Band Concert Success!
The success of our students was on full display at our concert this week! A big congratulations to our Music Department. The entire crowd was so impressed and our Middle Schoolers performed at the levels of many high school bands. Enjoy the pictures from the concert.
Images from the Week
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