The Middle Update 5/3/19

Resource of the Week
In our continuous efforts to become the best educators we can be, a source that can help us greatly, may not be an obvious one.  As blogger Jennifer Gonzalez writes, "If you’ve never asked students for serious, honest feedback, you’re missing something. If you ask the right questions and give students the time and encouragement to supply quality answers, student feedback can benefit you in so many ways. Some teachers in our building regularly ask students to give them some feedback about their experiences in the classroom, and it has helped to provide perspective on the experience.  The post this week shines a light on this practice.  If you already give students a survey at the end of the year, I'd love to hear about it.

"5 Reasons You Should Seek Your OWN Student Feedback" - Jennifer Gonzalez

"3 Ways of Getting Student Feedback to Improve Your Teaching" - Vicki Davis

Hallways/Hats/Hoods/etc. etc.
As we review our current practices, policies, and procedures, I think it would be beneficial for a group of us to get together and review our handbook policies and practices.  If you are interested in joining this discussion, please join us on Wednesday (5/8) at 2:55 in my office.

Heading into the Home Stretch
As we head down the stretch, it's important for us all to have the same mindset about how our final weeks of school will go.  Anytime we have a disruption to our routine (Forward Exam week/field trip), we sometimes see an uptick in challenging behavior.  Making the most of our class time every minute, every day, is an essential value that we all must uphold for our culture.  Having strong, engaging lessons right up to the last day of school is going to be an essential part of finishing the school year strong and strengthening a culture of high expectations for ALL, and the high achievement that naturally follows.

Student of the Month Breakfast This Week
Congrats to our students that stood out among their peers!  It was a great morning with our highest turnout of the year.  Thanks to our teachers for presenting this month!

Staff Meeting Recap
I enjoyed our time together on Wednesday afternoon.  Thanks to our Equity Team for sharing their knowledge with all of us, and for your leadership in guiding our school to include more equitable practices for our students.

Ground-Breaking for PES
The ground-breaking ceremony for the new elementary school was Friday.  This signified the start of the work that will begin to unfold over the course of the next year.  You'll start to see ground moving around the site as construction begins.  It truly is a historic time for our school district.

Superhero Run Fundraiser
We will be running our 2nd annual Superhero Run this spring.  The run will be on Friday, May 17th and will follow a similar schedule as last year.  Our students are organizing part of our Wellness Day activities on this day as well.  More details will be forthcoming.

End of Year All Staff Celebration
This year we will be starting a new tradition.  At around 1:00 on the last day of school (Thursday, 6/6) in the High School cafeteria for all staff, we will serve pizza, and other options, for everyone, and have a brief recognition ceremony.  Check-out procedures will start right after we wrap up our celebration.


Upcoming Events
Monday - May 6 - 3:00 - 4:00 - Insurance Informational Meeting
Wednesday - May 15 - 10:45 - 12:10 - Choir Rehearsals for Spring Concert
Wednesday - May 15 - Retirement Open House - 3:30 - 4:30 (HS IMC)
Wednesday - May 15 - School Board Meeting
Thursday - May 16 - Spring Concert
Thursday - May 16 - 7th Graders Field Trip to Mackenzie Center
Friday - May 17 - Superhero Run/Wellness Day
Wednesday - May 22 - 6th Grade Track Meet in the Afternoon
Thursday - May 23 - Home Track Meet
Wednesday - May 29 - PMS Staff Meeting
Sunday - June 2 - PHS Graduation
Wednesday - June 5 - 8th Grade Field Trip/Dance
Thursday - June 6 - Early Release at 12:30 - Staff Reception at 1:00 in HS Commons

Forward Exam Item Review Opportunity for Staff
See below for an opportunity to be engaged in the planning for items on the Forward Exam.

Good day:

DPI’s Office of Student Assessment is looking for a diverse group of educators from all over Wisconsin (including EL and special education teachers) to participate in the Summer “New Item Review” for the Forward Exam.  This is a great opportunity to be a part of assessment development, provide valuable feedback, have detailed input about the items on the Forward Exam, and take knowledge back to the district about the process.

Attached you will find a flyer with more information about the meetings including dates, logistics, and application information.  Please make this flyer available to all Educators 3-8 and 10 in your district. Their input is invaluable during this stage of item development.   

Jennifer Teasdale
Education Program Specialist
Office of Student Assessment

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 4/27/19

Resource of the Week
E + R = O  (Event + Response = Outcome)
Everyone experiences multiple events in in our life every day.  Many of the events that we experience we cannot control.  What we can control, however, is how we respond.  How we respond will determine the outcome.  A disciplined response will lead to a favorable outcome.  This concept is important in our work as educators, as we work to improve our practice, and in our work with students.  The short resource this week explains this simple, but "game-changing" concept in our life.

"E+R=O: Why Your Response is Deeply Personal and Never Private" - Brian Kight

Heading into the Home Stretch
As we head down the stretch, it's important for us all to have the same mindset about how our final weeks of school will go.  Anytime we have a disruption to our routine (Forward Exam week/field trip), we sometimes see an uptick in challenging behavior.  Making the most of our class time every minute,  every day, is an essential value that we all must uphold for our culture.  Having strong, engaging lessons right up to the last day of school is going to be an essential part of finishing the school year strong and strengthening a culture of high expectations for ALL, and the high achievement that naturally follows.

Forward Testing Update
Thank you all for your flexibility in helping make sure all of our students got tested.  We have only 3 students left to test.  We will have those students finish up on Monday morning.

For anyone that was involved in the execution of the Forward Exam, please take a brief minute to provide some FEEDBACK about our process.

Student of the Month Breakfast This Week
Our next Student of the Month Breakfast is on this coming Thursday (5/2) starting at 7:00 in the IMC.  This is another great opportunity to welcome families into our building and recognize great effort and achievement from our students.  Congratulations to this month's recipients:

Miles Matz     Izzy Steffenhagen     Matthew Lannoye Cayvery LaSarge
Noah Broderick Shayna Cox Dayne Bednarik Gracie Bredeson

Staff Meeting on Wednesday (5/1)
We will be meeting as a staff this Wednesday starting at 2:55 in Mrs. Rogness' room.  We will learn from our colleagues more about equity in schools, and review the group's action plan for how we will work to improve in this area.  We will also continue our focus on our school's culture.

Upcoming Events
Monday - April 29 - Home Track Meet
Wednesday - May 1 - PMS Staff Meeting
Thursday - May 2 - PMS Student of the Month Recognition Breakfast
Wednesday - May 15 - Choir Rehearsals for Spring Concert
Wednesday - May 15 - Retirement Open House - 3:30 - 4:30 (HS IMC)
Wednesday - May 15 - School Board Meeting
Thursday - May 16 - Spring Concert
Thursday - May 16 - 7th Graders Field Trip to Mackenzie Center
Friday - May 17 - Superhero Run/Wellness Day
Thursday - May 23 - Home Track Meet
Wednesday - May 29 - PMS Staff Meeting
Sunday - June 2 - PHS Graduation
Wednesday - June 5 - 8th Grade Field Trip/Dance
Thursday - June 6 - Early Release at 12:30 - Staff Reception at 1:00 in HS Commons

Images from the Week

The Middle Update - 4/21/19

Resource of the Week
This week's resource provides a solid reminder of ways to finish the school year strong.  As we head down the final stretch, getting the most out of each class period, each day is so vital...especially when you think about the lost instructional days that our students missed out on due to the volatile winter weather.  Keeping students focused and on track are critical pieces to having a smooth, well-managed end of the school year.  Our leadership students are working on some opportunities to further strengthen our community in the next stretch of the school year as well.

"Home Stretch: Finish the End of the School Year Strong" - Jennifer Gunn

Forward Exam Update
Thanks to all for the successful administration of the Forward Exam.  I believe we had a strong culture of effort, and students and staff worked hard to make sure we have the best snapshot of student abilities that we could have.  We had our best attendance days of the year last week!!

We still have our 8th graders testing on Monday and Tuesday...finishing up Social Studies and Science.  We will also be administering make-up tests for any student that missed a day or two last week.

Middle School Play
Congratulations to Mrs. Petersen and the cast of our Middle School Play this year on their successful performance they put on last week for the public and for our student body.  An impressive amount of talent was on display. It was a great show!

Superhero Run Fundraiser
We will be running our 2nd annual Superhero Run this spring.  The run will be on Friday, May 17th and will follow a similar schedule as last year.  Our students are organizing part of our Wellness Day activities on this day as well.  More details will be forthcoming.

End of Year All Staff Celebration
This year we will be starting a new tradition.  At around 1:00 on the last day of school (Thursday, 6/6) in the High School cafeteria for all staff, we will serve pizza, and other options, for everyone, and have a brief recognition ceremony.  Check-out procedures will start right after we wrap up our celebration.

Student of the Month Breakfast Updates
We will have one more recognition breakfast on Thursday, May 2nd.  Thanks to everyone for submitting your nominations.  If anyone else has a student that is shining and they would like to be recognized, please let me know...we could make some arrangements.  Congratulations to this month's nominees.

Parent's Club Generosity
The PAD Parent's Club annually will reimburse teachers for up to $100 for expenses they have purchased for the benefit of their classroom.  There is a form available for this, and receipts must be attached and submitted to the club for any of these purchases.  The end of the school year is the deadline for requests to be reimbursed.  If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Williams (jennw1110@yahoo.com)

Vaping Informational Session Coming Up
We will be hosting an informational session about Vaping...a newer trend that is causing vaping use to be on the rise with teenagers across the country.  The session will be located in the Poynette High School IMC on Wednesday, 4/24 at 6:00pm.  This session is open to any staff member, student, parent, or community member.

Next Staff Meeting
Mark your calendars for our next Middle School Staff Meeting on Wednesday, May 1 at 2:55 in Mrs. Rogness' classroom.  We will be continuing our analysis of data, turning our focus to how we can improve in areas of need.  Also, we will be learning more about educational equity, and areas that could use improvement in our school.

Forward Exam Item Review Opportunity for Staff
See below for an opportunity to be engaged in the planning for items on the Forward Exam.

Good day:

DPI’s Office of Student Assessment is looking for a diverse group of educators from all over Wisconsin (including EL and special education teachers) to participate in the Summer “New Item Review” for the Forward Exam.  This is a great opportunity to be a part of assessment development, provide valuable feedback, have detailed input about the items on the Forward Exam, and take knowledge back to the district about the process.

Attached you will find a flyer with more information about the meetings including dates, logistics, and application information.  Please make this flyer available to all Educators 3-8 and 10 in your district. Their input is invaluable during this stage of item development.   

Jennifer Teasdale
Education Program Specialist
Office of Student Assessment

The Middle Update 4/12/19

Resource of the Week
The Building Equity book study team has wrapped up their reading of the book and face to face meetings.  As a result of the learning, the group has narrowed their focus on a couple of areas to work towards making our school a more equitable place for all.  We will be hearing about our plans at our upcoming staff meeting, and in individual BW meetings coming up.  The resource this week provides a a clear, solid overview of what it's all about.

Equity in Education: What it is and why it matters - by thinkingmaps.com

Forward Exam Preparation
It's Forward Exam Week!  A big week for our school.  Our first day of testing will be on Tuesday (4/16) and continue school-wide through Thursday (4/18).  Students will report right to their testing locations on Tuesday through Thursday.  Each test proctor will get everyone checked in, computers ready to go, and then go through a review for the specific test session that will be administered.  I will email out the details of things for each teacher to review with the students prior to releasing them to Nutrition Break at 7:50.  After about a 7-10 minute break, students will report back to their testing room and begin the test.  Please see the attached information for more details.  Also, check out the video that students and staff starred in to get help establish confidence.

Modified Bell Schedule
Schedule of Tests and Times
Testing Groups
Hype Video

Middle School Play Coming Up
Many of our students have been hard at work getting ready for our annual play performance.  The students will be performing for the public on Tuesday, April 16th at 6:00 pm.  The performance will be on display for all of our students at roughly 2:10 (subject to change) on Thursday, April 18th.

Middle School Track Meets
The Middle School Track and Field season already underway.  We are hosting meets on Monday, 4/29 and Thursday, 5/23.  If you are able, it would be great to have as many of our staff members sign up to work this meet to be there for our kids.  Last year, we had a great turnout and great weather, and I'm assuming the weather will be great again.  Check out the Extra Duty Opportunity document to sign up if interested.  It looks like we need about 3 or 4 people yet to fill up our worker team.

Also, there are many other spring events that could use some help and support with workers.  Please consider signing up to help out.

Student of the Month Breakfast Updates
We will have one more recognition breakfast on Thursday, May 2nd.  Thanks to everyone for submitting your nominations.  If anyone else has a student that is shining and they would like to be recognized, please let me know...we could make some arrangements.

Parent's Club Generosity
The PAD Parent's Club annually will reimburse teachers for up to $100 for expenses they have purchased for the benefit of their classroom.  There is a form available for this, and receipts must be attached and submitted to the club for any of these purchases.  The end of the school year is the deadline for requests to be reimbursed.  If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Williams (jennw1110@yahoo.com)

Vaping Informational Session Coming Up
We will be hosting an informational session about Vaping...a newer trend that is causing vaping use to be on the rise with teenagers across the country.  The session will be located in the Poynette High School IMC on Wednesday, 4/24 at 6:00pm.  This session is open to any staff member, student, parent, or community member.

Next Staff Meeting
Mark your calendars for our next Middle School Staff Meeting on Wednesday, May 1 at 2:55 in Mrs. Rogness' classroom.  We will be continuing our analysis of data, turning our focus to how we can improve in areas of need.  Also, we will be learning more about educational equity, and areas that could use improvement in our school.

The Middle Update 4/5/19

Resource of the Week
Coming up very soon, Mr. Fischer, Ms. Hellmich, and I will be leading a book study on the book titled Lost at School by Ross Greene.  Our resource this week gives an overview of what this book is all about, but just reading provides some perspective on what works and what doesn't for some of our students that can be challenging to us in different ways.  Check it out, and look for the book study information that is soon to be shared.

"Lost at School" preview

End of Quarter 3 Information
We are already at the end of the 3rd quarter!  As a reminder, 3rd quarter grades are due by Wednesday (4/10) morning.  We will plan to review report cards with students during Homeroom again next Friday.  We will also have ice cream treats available in the cafeteria at the end of the day on Friday, students can redeem a report card that shows all 5 "Meets Expectations" in their overall Puma Pride scores for a frozen treat of their choice.

Forward Exam Preparation
Thanks to all of you who participated in our Forward Exam Proctor Training this past Wednesday.  Our first day of testing will be on Tuesday (4/16) and continue school-wide through Thursday (4/18).  Please see the attached information for more details.  Also, check out the video that students and staff starred in to get help establish confidence.

Modified Bell Schedule
Schedule of Tests and Times
Testing Groups
Hype Video

"Mix-It-Up Day Recap"
Congrats to our MS Leadership students who organized a successful "Mix-It-Up" event over our lunch period on Friday.  Thanks to the teachers who helped them, and came over to interact with the kids and witness a very entertaining trivia competition between Mr. Williams and Mr. Johnson.  Special thanks to Ms. Pittner and Ms. Schmelzer for helping guide the students to pulling off a successful event.

Forensics Team Update (from Mrs. Rogness)
The middle school forensics team had a successful season that just wrapped up at the end of March.  The students worked hard for several months to prepare their pieces and presented them for judging at 2 meets; one held at McFarland Middle School, and the other at Lodi Middle School.  

(Not pictured: Emily W. and Izzy S.)

Middle School Play Coming Up
Many of our students have been hard at work getting ready for our annual play performance.  The students will be performing for the public on Tuesday, April 16th at 6:00 pm.  The performance will be on display for all of our students at roughly 2:00 (subject to change) on Thursday, April 18th.

Middle School Track Meets
Middle School Track and Field starts up on Monday, 4/8 with practice.  We are hosting meets on Monday, 4/29 and Thursday, 5/23.  If you are able, it would be great to have as many of our staff members sign up to work this meet to be there for our kids.  Last year, we had a great turnout and great weather, and I'm assuming the weather will be great again.  Check out the Extra Duty Opportunity document to sign up if interested.  It looks like we need about 3 or 4 people yet to fill up our worker team.

Student of the Month Breakfast Updates
Due to a number of scheduling conflicts, we have adjusted our remaining SOM breakfast schedule.  We will have one more recognition breakfast on Thursday, May 2nd.  Mr. Hazard has already submitted his selections.  Teams should submit their nominations to Robin by the end of next week.  If anyone else has a student that is shining and they would like to be recognized, please let me know...we could make some arrangements.


Parent's Club Generosity
The PAD Parent's Club annually will reimburse teachers for up to $100 for expenses they have purchased for the benefit of their classroom.  There is a form available for this, and receipts must be attached and submitted to the club for any of these purchases.  The end of the school year is the deadline for requests to be reimbursed.  If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Williams (jennw1110@yahoo.com)

Vaping Informational Session Coming Up
We will be hosting an informational session about Vaping...a newer trend that is causing vaping use to be on the rise with teenagers across the country.  The session will be located in the Poynette High School IMC on Wednesday, 4/24 at 6:00pm.  This session is open to any staff member, student, parent, or community member.

Next Staff Meeting
Mark your calendars for our next Middle School Staff Meeting on Wednesday, May 1 at 2:55 in Mrs. Rogness' classroom.

The Middle Update 3/22/19

I hope everyone has a nice, relaxing, enjoyable spring break.  When we come back on April 1st, we'll only have 10 weeks left to leave a lasting impression on our kids.  We'll be moving fast and furious when we get back, as there is 1 week left in the 3rd quarter, Forward Testing on the horizon, and working feverishly to not let the days missed due to weather have an impact on the learning of our kids!

Math Dominance Continues
This week our 7th/8th Grade Math teams participated in their Regional Competition.  Like we are growing accustomed to as of late, they took home 1st Place!  They have earned the rite to participate in the State Mega Math Meet in May!  Please congratulate them when you see them.


Staff Meeting Recap
At our MS Staff Meeting this past Wednesday, we were able to hear about Educational Equity from our teachers participating in the Equity Book Study, and we were able to analyze a snapshot of our student performance data.  I believe the conversations were great, and the baseline knowledge of areas we are doing well in, and areas we need to grow upon, will serve us well in our future work, focusing on constantly trying to get better in all that we do.  Thank you for each of your contributions.

Forward Testing Training
We will be meeting on Wednesday (4/3) at 2:55 for our Forward Exam Training.  DPI has a more formal presentation for our training, so we'll all get to experience that together on Wednesday afternoon.  We will meet in Mrs. Rogness' classroom.

Budget Process
Thank you to all of you for getting your budget requests to me.  I'll be reviewing the requisitions over break, and following up after break if there are questions or things that needed to be adjusted.

Virtual Author Visit
Mr. Johnson's class got a special visit from one of the class' favorite authors, Bethany Wiggins.  She is the author of the noted Dystopian novels, "Stung" and "Cured".  The class was really excited to hear from her, and learn about some of the backstory to how she wrote the books most have already read.  She also shared about her journey to becoming an author.  It was an exciting learning experience!



Images from the Week

The Middle Update 3/15/19

Resource of the Week
Closing the achievement gap is a critical focus area for schools.  Our school is no different...on our last school report card, we scored our lowest score in recent years in the "Closing Gaps" category.  The Equity Book Study Group is learning more in depth about what equitable practices are and look like in schools.  This week's article shares more information about how we, and others, can do to continue to close this gap.  In our school, data points to lower performance among our students with low socioeconomic status, students with disabilities, and also gender (male) and their counterparts.  We will continue to work towards identifying the barriers that can cause these gaps and removing them.  Check out this week's article to learn more!

"Closing the Achievement Gap - All Students Can Learn" - Larry Leverett

""All children can learn." We also know that certain things must be in place for this to happen, including, but not limited to, varying instructional approaches to match the learning styles of students, differentiating instruction, providing access to high-quality preschool programs, consistently exposing students to high-quality instruction, generating support from families and communities, and consistently scaling up implementation of best-practice instructional strategies and approaches in all classrooms and in all content areas."

Equity Book Study Update
We have over 20 teachers in our district participating in a book study about the book, "Building Equity".  We met on Tuesday evening for our first in-person session.  Good discussion was had, and we'll have an update from our work at Wednesday's Staff Meeting.

Staff Meeting Next Week
We will meet as a Middle School Staff this coming Wednesday (3/20).  We'll get started at 2:55 in Mrs. Rogness' room.

Couple of Achievements to Brag About
5th/6th Grade Math Teams - 1st and 3rd Place at this week's meet

Leadership Group Students Working to Set Up a Senior Citizen Party at Pioneer Place

Hoops 4 Heart Tuesday Night
Our annual battle on the hardwood will take place on Tuesday night.  Tip-off is set for 5:00pm.  I'm sure another epic battle that students will talk about for a long time is certain to take place.  Thanks to all that have agreed to participate and will attend.

Pictures for Yearbook
If you have some pictures that you have taken, please share them to the MS Pictures Folder.  Our Parent's Club is working on organizing another great yearbook, and the more pictures they have to use, the better the yearbook will be.  Thanks in advance for your contributions.

Budget Reminder
This is a reminder to please have department budget requests to me by next Friday.  I will be reviewing over Spring Break and following up afterwards with teachers if necessary.

Safety Drill Next Week
We will be conducting a Safety Drill this coming week.  More details to follow.

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 3/8/19

Resource of the Week
We have a high number of our staff members engaged in our "Educational Equity" book study.  As the book study group learns more in depth about what educational equity looks like in schools, and reflects on our practices along the way, I thought I'd share a brief article about highlighting what equity in schools is all about.

"What Equity Really Means in Schools" by Jennifer Gunn

Forward Exam on the Horizon
We are a little more than a month away from the annual Forward Exam.  We will be doing some test prep in an upcoming Homeroom and built in to some classes.  Our testing format will be different this year than last year.  All students will be testing at the same time, and we'll utilize all of our teachers as proctors to ensure small, focused, testing groups.  You can see a draft of our Testing Schedule HERE.  Testing groups will be based off of Homeroom groups, but will be modified slightly to accommodate the need for some small testing groups.  Please note our Proctor Training date of Wednesday, April 3rd.

Budget Process
Budget packets and information was shared earlier this week.  Please have your requisitions and summary sheets submitted to me by March 20th.  Please let me know if you have any questions about the budget process.

Some Staffing News
As we prepare for next year, there are a couple of staff shifts to announce.  Starting next year, Mrs. Weckerly will be taking over the 6th/8th Grade Math position currently taught by Mrs. Andringa.  Mrs. Andringa will slide back into her Special Education teaching role, and we will be welcoming Mrs. Rebecca Smith to our Middle School team in Mrs. Weckerly's current 6th Science/7th Math position.  Mrs. Smith currently teaches 5th graders and is excited about the opportunity to focus on teaching Math and Science.  If you see Mrs. Smith, welcome her to our team!

Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences Wrap-Up
Thank you for your efforts on our Spring Parent-Teacher Conference Night.  It seemed like a busy night, with many focused conferences aimed at working with parents to help guide their child to more success.  I hosted a couple of sessions focused on helping parents understand how to fully track their child's progress in school.  I was also able to share assessments with them so they can better interpret their child's performance in each class.  While we only had 3 students represented, I felt it was a great place to build future communications like that in the future.  Also, special thanks to Mr. Hazard and Mrs. Graeve for their work in setting up some student performances in the cafeteria.  The performances brought in more people into our building and highlighted our students in a positive way!

Ms. Pittner Sharing her Work with Other Educators
Maria Pittner presented at the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers State Conference this past Thursday.  She presented on the use of phenomenon-based instruction in the Science classroom.  She represented herself and our school tremendously.  Great job Maria!

 

Upcoming MS Staff Meeting
Please mark your calendars for our next Staff Meeting, which will be on Wednesday, March 20th at 2:55 in Mrs. Rogness' Classroom.

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 3/3/19

A great week lies ahead!  How many students can you make a big, positive difference for this week?

Resource of the Week

A quick video that gives a neat strategy for students to give that all-important peer feedback to each other.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Spring PT Conferences are approaching rapidly.  This spring will be different than in the past because instead of two nights of conferences, we'll have only one.  Please look ahead and reach out to parents with an invitation to participate in a conference for any student that is in need (NE's or BE's or for any other student that you may have some concerns that you want to connect with parents).  Also for this night, we are inviting all parents in to either check in with teachers or hear a presentation from me about how to really understand student progress at PMS.

Also, we'd like to start a student talent tradition for Spring Conferences.  Please be thinking about ways to display student talent on this night.  If we could have students come in, present or display projects, or show parents cool things they have created or written, that would be a start.  We'll continue to discuss ways in which we can make the most of this evening.

Our Own Staff as Resources- How Cool

Thank you to those of you who have been willing to be recorded this year.  Our own videos are great resources for all of us as we work to refine our teaching practices.  Katie and Anna are starting to add to our collection of staff instructional videos on our district YouTube Channel.  Let them know if you have something you would like recorded or to share.

Middle School Staff Members Needed...
This Spring we will be hosting two middle school track meets.  I'm not sure of the dates yet as of this writing, but will be sharing soon.  Last year, we had a great turnout of our staff to support our students and connect with some of our parents.

Upcoming Calendar Items
-PMS Staff Meeting - 2:55 pm on Wednesday (3/20)
-Next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday (3/21)
-April 3rd - 2:50 pm - Forward Exam Teacher Prep Training - location (Mrs. Rogness' Room)
-Forward Testing will begin Week of April 15th - All Teachers with a Homeroom will proctor

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 2/24/19

Resource of the Week
A short video this week goes into the science behind why great relationships are so critical for students to maximize the learning.  An important video at an important time of the year.

Staff Meeting Recap
During our staff meeting we spent some time learning about some new ways to engage students.  Pictured below, you'll see students in Mrs. Weckerly's class using Quizizz...something that Molly and Mackenzie shared at our staff meeting.

Also, thanks to Mr. Odden for allowing me to record his closure activity from Monday.  As we reflected in the meeting, those 2-3 minutes are so critical to strengthen the student's understanding of lesson goal for the day.

Art Excellence! (contribution from Mrs. Crawford)
Please congratulate the following middle school students. Because of their excellence in the visual arts, their artwork has been chosen to represent Poynette Middle School at the 2019 South West Region WAEA Youth Art Month Exhibition.

Valerie Heth     Jocelynn Nehls     Ryli Theis     Ilse Benzing     Ashlyn Lien

Hold Drill
We will be holding a drill this week.  The drill will be for the 1-8 building.  The purpose would be to practice keeping the students in the room, but continuing with academic activities.  The drill will be fairly short and more information will be shared through email prior to the drill.  We will need to coordinate with the elementary school.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Spring PT Conferences are approaching rapidly.  This spring will be different than in the past because instead of two nights of conferences, we'll have only one.  Please look ahead and reach out to parents with an invitation to participate in a conference for any student that is in need (NE's or BE's or for any other student that you may have some concerns that you want to connect with parents).  Also for this night, we are inviting all parents in to either check in with teachers or hear a presentation from me about how to really understand student progress at PMS.

Also, we'd like to start a student talent tradition for Spring Conferences.  Please be thinking about ways to display student talent on this night.  If we could have students come in, present or display projects, or show parents cool things they have created or written, that would be a start.  We'll continue to discuss ways in which we can make the most of this evening.

Minutes Added to Calendar (starting Monday)
We will be adding 5 minutes to our school day starting on Monday, 2/25/19.  Please review (slight edits from last week) the updated PMS Master Schedule and become familiar with it.  It is very important for the function of the building to dismiss students at the time listed on the Master Schedule.

To make up days, we will, instead of PD Days on March 22nd and April 22nd, have normal school days.  Also, the last student day will be on June 6th (release at 12:30).  In other news, the End of Quarter 3 will be on Friday, April 5th.

Upcoming Calendar Items
-3rd Quarter Progress Grades should be updated by end of day Monday (2/25)
-Homeroom next week is on Thursday (2/28)
-Winter Assembly next week is on Friday (3/1) at 2:15 in 1-8 Gym
-Next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday (3/21)
-April 3rd - 2:50 pm - Forward Exam Teacher Prep Training - location (Mrs. Rogness' Room)
-Forward Testing will begin Week of April 15th - All Teachers with a Homeroom will proctor

Images from the Week

 

The Middle Update 2/17/19

What a month we've just experienced.  In conversations with many, I believe we all are striving for some consistency in our schedule and establishing routine and flow.  Let's hope the weather cooperates here for the rest of the winter season and we can get back that routine and structure that is so helpful for us and the kids we serve.  If the groundhog legend is true, good news lies ahead...an early spring.

Resource of the Week
Our resource this week highlights the opportunity that each of us has each day at school.  We have the potential to have a major impact in the lives of our students.  The empathy, care, compassion, curiosity, and effort we give of ourselves for our students is there each day.  This is not only a great opportunity for us, but also a responsibility that we have in our roles.  The article this week speaks to the unique opportunity that we have working in our profession.

"Understanding a Teacher's Long-Term Impact" by Youki Terada

"People overwhelmingly said that great teachers make their students feel safe and loved, believe in their students, model patience, and help their students reach their full potential—all qualities that remain largely unmeasured."

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Spring PT Conferences are approaching rapidly.  This spring will be different than in the past because instead of two nights of conferences, we'll have only one.  Please look ahead and reach out to parents with an invitation to participate in a conference for any student that is in need (NE's or BE's or for any other student that you may have some concerns that you want to connect with parents).  Also for this night, we are inviting all parents in to either check in with teachers or hear a presentation from me about how to really understand student progress at PMS.

Also, we'd like to start a student talent tradition for Spring Conferences.  Please be thinking about ways to display student talent on this night.  If we could have students come in, present or display projects, or show parents cool things they have created or written, that would be a start.  We'll continue to discuss ways in which we can make the most of this evening.

Minutes Added to Calendar (starting 2/25/19)
We will be adding 5 minutes to our school day starting on Monday, 2/25/19.  Please review the updated PMS Master Schedule and become familiar with it.  It is very important for the function of the building to dismiss students at the time listed on the Master Schedule.

To make up days, we will, instead of PD Days on March 22nd and April 22nd, have normal school days.  Also, the last student day will be on June 6th (release at 12:30).  In other news, the End of Quarter 3 will be on Friday, April 5th.

Staff Meeting This Week
We will have a Staff Meeting this Wednesday (2/20) at 2:50 in Mrs. Rogness' room.  We will hear from some teachers about recent learning experiences, analyze some data, and hear some thoughts from our students.  Also, there will be cookies.

Equity Book Study Update (from Mr. Hausser's blog)

We have 25 staff members and 5 administrators who are participating in the Book study which is awesome.  Those of you who have signed up will be invited to our Google Classroom this week and the books should be here by Monday we are hoping.  We may need to adjust the timeline for assignments depending on when the books arrive.

Winter Assembly (3/1)

Some of our students in our Leadership Group have been hard at work planning an event that will help grow our culture of connections and positivity.  If anyone has an idea or two that staff members could come together and give our students something to cheer about, let me know...it's hard to top the "Baby Shark do do do do do do" performance, but I think it's possible.

Next week, we will run our Homeroom groups on Thursday, and dismiss straight to 3rd block from lunch on Friday to accommodate the testing schedule.

February Safety Drill

We will be having a safety drill coming up this week or next.  Please review all of the potential situations and procedures that could be called.  It could be any of the holds, lock-down, fire drill or an evacuation.  I'll keep you posted as the plans become clearer.

Images of the Week

The Middle Update 2/10/19

I hope your weekend was outstanding.  I am looking forward to my return to school after a couple of days learning a lot at the State Principal's Convention.  Dr. Hoernke and I also got the chance to present to about 90 other principals about the great things we are up to in our school this past Friday morning.  I hope we can get a full week of school in this week!!

Resource of the Week
I got the chance to hear Dr. Ross Greene speak on Thursday morning.  He is the author of the book "Lost at School".  His message was right in line with the work that we have been doing on things like "Trauma Informed Care" and "Collective Teacher Efficacy".  His book and message brought some clarity as to what we can do in schools with the information gleaned from the topics that we studied.  The article this week provides a glimpse into the message I heard last week.

"What if Everything You Knew About Disciplining Kids Was Wrong" - Katherine Reynolds Lewis

Puma Pride Standards Reminder
This is a reminder to assess your students in the "Follows Classroom Expectations" standard at least once a week.  This is the minimum requirements and I encourage everyone to look for ways to leverage our Puma Pride standards to provide students and parents more feedback on their performance in class.  When used effectively, our Puma Pride standards are built in ways in which we can communicate our expectations for each student.

Calendar Update
We have been working on a tentative plan to make up the minutes lost from snow days.  The following plan is not finalized, but may be close...We will be adding some time to the MS/HS day, and we will be now going to school on June 5th for the full day.  We will have an early release day on June 6th.  Please be careful about planning any plane rides the last week of school.  Unfortunately, we may not be done with adding days.  Also, March 22 was originally a PD day, but this is now going to be a student day.  If we need additional days, then the April PD will become a school day and then we will add to the end of the year.  It has been a tough year already and we are not through February and March.  When the plan is finalized it will be communicated in detail with staff.

Book Study Professional Development Opportunity
The administrators are going to be facilitating a book study over the next couple of months.  The book will be focused on building equity in our schools.  Here is the write- up about the book study.  This professional development will entail reading the book, participating in 2-night sessions and posting on Google Classroom.  Please let me know if you are interested so we can order the books.  Participants will be provided with the book once they have committed to the opportunity.  This will be worth 90 points.

Budget Time
It's that time of year again...Details will be going out soon for you to submit your budget requests for the next school year.  Please be thinking and making lists of what you will need for your classes next year.

Staff Meeting Next Week
We will be having a Middle School Staff Meeting next Wednesday (2/20) at 2:50 in Mrs. Rogness' class.

Forward Testing Schedule
We are finalizing our Forward Exam Schedule.  At this time, it looks like we will start our testing the week of April 15th.  We also have preliminary plans to have all grades test at the same time, and utilize a form of our Late Start Schedule for the remainder of each all school testing day.  If you have thoughts on our testing plan, please communicate those with me when you can.  Details will be shared soon, and we will also be having a Forward Testing Preparation Meeting coming up as well.  We plan to utilize small groups organized around our Homeroom groups for testing this year.

Images of the Week