The Middle Update 9/4/15

Homeroom

After receiving some feedback from teachers about our progress with Homeroom lesson plans this week, it appears different teachers are in different places and have different needs to finish the Handbook Review.  Each teacher needs to be sure that we finish the Handbook Review, and gets the students to take the "Acknowledgement Sheet" home, and return a signed copy.  Please emphasize to your Homeroom that we need this sheet returned.  I will present any Homeroom that has all of their forms turned in with a "treat".  Please let me know when your Homeroom has all forms turned in.  When you have all of the forms, please turn them in to Mrs. McNicol at the office.

Also, please have your Homeroom students sign a Puma Paw, indicating their commitment to follow the school rules.  Puma Paws can be returned to the office, and will be displayed on the bulletin board in the entrance hallway.

IE Time Next Week

More information will be coming from Mrs. Morrissey about the specific daily lesson plans for IE, but on Tuesday, we will be meeting in Homeroom groups.  IE Groups will start on Wednesday.  We will use Tuesdays IE to explain to students the purpose of IE.  Mrs. Morrissey will be sending a script to outline this discussion.  Also on Tuesday, we will share the IE Groups.  It is very important to review the goals of IE.  We plan to give the lessons a clear focus based on student data (see below) to give the students a goal to work toward.

Enrichment groups during IE

Part of the script that Mrs. Morrissey will be sharing is about the purpose of our IE activities.  Each day will have a specific goal, and we all must be invested in guiding our students towards growth.  In analyzing last year's STAR data, we were able to identify a weakness for our students in both Reading and Math.  We will target our Enrichment work on Tuesdays and Thursdays to improve in those standards.  I think it is really important to share with the students the purpose of our activities, and that we will be looking at the results of the January STAR assessments to determine their success in these areas.  It is my hope that by providing direction and a goal for students during our Tuesday and Thursday Enrichment activities, we will see students working with purpose.  Look for more detailed information about this from Mrs. Morrissey.

Blogs

The posts I have seen so far have been great.  These can be short posts with assignments and due dates.  I have heard students reference checking the blog out in their conversations.  This has been much appreciated by our parents as well.

PMS Master Schedule

This year's master schedule has seen a little adjustment since last year.  Please take a moment to review the SCHEDULE, and note the end times for each grade.  As a reminder, please use your phone or computer time to ensure that we are all on the same page.  It does throw things off a bit when students are dismissed early.  We've been really good, just a couple hiccups from time to time during the first week. Thank you! 

Puma Pride Training Camp

It was a successful Puma Pride Training Camp.  Thank you for your leadership in guiding our students to the proper stations, and getting all of us the chance to revisit our expectations in each area.

Student Thoughts...

I had the chance to check in with two of our new students who came to us from a district to the north. When I asked both of them what the biggest difference has been so far, between their old district and ours, they both said, "the teachers are better here."  I think that is pretty cool.

Parent Privacy

When sending emails to multiple recipients, please enter the email addresses in the BCC line.  Using the BCC function allows parent email addresses to remain confidential.  Thank you!

Twitter Post of the Week

1. ASCD ‏@ASCD  4h4 hours ago

   Beginning with the end in mind helps keep the focus on students' understanding: http://ow.ly/RLBBp  #teaching

   

   12 retweets13 favorites

 

Duty for the Week
Morning - Deans
Bus - Rogness

Data

Attendance Rate after 1 week of school: 96.74%

The Middle Update 8/31/15

We are back!  I wanted to thank everyone for your focused participation in a week of professional development.  During Thursday night's Open House, it was apparent how hard everyone worked to get our classrooms ready to go.  It's definitely an exciting time to get the kids back into our building.  The sooner that we can start to build our routines and structure, the better.  Below are some news and notes for the coming week.

Building in Great Shape
I would like to recognize the hard work that our custodians put in this summer to get our building in great shape.  It looks outstanding.  The deep cleaning, painting, and construction really have put our building in perhaps the best shape it's been in quite some time.  Great job crew!

Morning/Bus Duty
I forgot to mention this in our management meeting, but I shared the Morning and Bus Duty schedules last week.

For morning duty, I thought we can get by with one assigned staff member each day.  I plan to be out there every day, and if I know I cannot make it, I will get coverage for myself.  It is critical that the assigned staff member is out there promptly at 7:15.  Anytime students are here, they need supervision, and our supervision starts at 7:15.  I appreciate each of your efforts on your assigned week.

Morning Duty Schedule

For bus duty, it is also critical to get outside on the sidewalk along Cleveland St. in a timely manner after students are dismissed until the buses leave.  We must have an adult supervisor each day.  Thank you for noting your scheduled week, and following through on this very important duty.

Bus Duty Schedule

IE Plan for Week 1
For IE time during the first week, we will be meeting in our Homeroom groups.  Here are the Homeroom groups.  Please post those lists, and communicate to students where they should go during IE time during the first week.  We will start next week meeting in our IE groups.  During the first team meeting, teams should also assign students into classrooms for IE time.  We will start the year with students in Intervention that are noted on the IE Schedule.  Mrs. Graeve will be coming around sometime the first week during IE to get students signed up for the IE Choir group that meets every other day in 6th and 7th grade.

Much of the first week will be spent going through portions of the handbook.  Mrs. Morton has outlined what those sections should be in her Homeroom Lesson Plans that she will share.

All students will need to sign the form on the last page of the handbook, and have their parents sign the form as well, and turn it into their Homeroom teacher.  The first Homeroom that has all of the forms signed and returned to their Homeroom teacher will get a treat courtesy of Mr. Pritzl.

Handbooks are located in the following rooms: 6th - Rogness, 7th - Hendrickson, and 8th - Frehner.

Puma Pride Training Camp
We will be hosting our Puma Pride Training Camp on Wednesday, starting at 9:05.  We will also be having nutrition break prior to meeting with our elementary groups.  Students will be grouped according to their Homeroom, with the exception of one 8th grade group.  Please see the Puma Pride Training Camp Schedule, for more details.  We will be meeting with our assigned Elementary classroom group first, and then we will follow the rotation schedule until the end of the Camp.  Please see me with any questions.

Sub Caller
Gary Laib is our sub caller, and please call before 9pm at night, or after 5:30am in the morning.  His number is: 608 635 4879.  He really appreciates everyone following these timelines.

Student Academic Progress Document
Thank you for your input on getting the Understanding Student Progress document.  This should be helpful for parents and students to better track their academic progress.  Please keep this handy and share with parents if questions arise.  It is available on the Middle School website as well.  Also, I will be sending out an Infinite Campus message today, and this document will be a part of that message.  I'll send a copy to you as well.

Review of Guiding Principles from the Week
Each of the meetings/collaboration time that we had last week is so critical to our mission.  It is critical for the success of our organization and our students that we all share the same understanding and principles of doing what we do.  Please see this Document to review the meeting notes from the past week.  If there are any questions, especially with the "evidence in campus" discussion, please contact me right away.

Puma Pride Day
The whole 1-8 Building will be participating in a Puma Pride dress day on Wednesday, September 2.  I will share with students that this will be a competition that counts towards the "Chase for the Carelli Cup" standings.

Twitter Post of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  1h1 hour ago

10 "non-negotiable" teaching methods: http://edut.to/1PKBCLl .

2 retweets12 favorites

Duty for the Week
1st Day - All Teachers
Morning - Barnett
Bus - Williams

Data
55
# of adults that are committed to guiding Poynette Middle School students to maximum achievement

PMS News & Notes 6/7/15

We are almost to the end of another school year.  As we close out the school year, our focus on structure and high expectations will remain constant.  Below are a few notes about the end of the school year.  It is almost time to enjoy a great summer...just a couple more days of focused instruction and activities.

Thank You!
I wanted to write a sincere thank you to each person that reads this blog.  I have really enjoyed every day back at the Middle School in my new position this year.  In the past couple of years, I have talked with administrators from other schools in classes, workshops, and conferences. I always come away from these conversations thankful that I work in Poynette.  Our staff is committed and dedicated to their careers and our students.  It is truly a joy to work with you, and I appreciate the difficulty of the jobs that you do each day.  Thank you for making this place great!

SLO/PPG/Evaluation Wrap-Up
I have these wrap-up meetings complete or at least scheduled to be completed at this time.  There will be a cover sheet that each staff member will sign to acknowledge the review.  We are on target for full completion by end of business Tuesday!

8th Graders
Monday will be the 8th Graders last full day in our building.  On Tuesday, they will be departing for Mt. Olympus for their Class Trip at 8:30 am, and they will be celebrating the culmination of their K-8 careers on Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 at their 8th Grade Dance in the 1-8 Cafeteria.

Last Day of School
On the last day of school, students will be dismissed at 12:35 pm.  Both the 6th and 7th graders will eat lunch at the HS starting at 12:05 pm.  We will be having an assembly starting at 8:45 am in the 1-8 Gym. The Bump-Up Day activities will start at about 9:15 am.  The bump-up day sessions are a good time to collect information about your incoming students, learn about their interests and learning styles, introduce them to you and your teaching style, and begin the relationship building process.  Each station will be just over 15 minutes.  Please see me with any questions.

End of Year Check-Out

Before you leave on the last day, there will be the standard end of year check-out for staff.  This will not take long, but will include a key and fob check-in.  You may keep your key and fob over the summer, but we'll note that on the check-out sheet.  If you plan to bring your chrome book home at anytime for work purposes, there is a policy agreement you must sign.  If you plan to keep your chrome book at school, it should be stored in a locked filing cabinet or desk drawer.

Summer Professional Development

Each teacher has the opportunity for a summer professional development session in August.  These sessions will be principal-led, and be organized by department.  Core subjects will meet as 6-8 teams, and applied teams will meet 6-12.  Before you leave, on Wednesday, these days should be scheduled.  Participants in these sessions will be paid the curriculum rate.

Twitter Post of the Week

Some of our teachers have utilized Google Classroom, and have found it to be a good classroom tool...in this post, there are some tips for using Google Forms for formative assessment.

Scott Rocco ‏@ScottRRocco  5m5 minutes ago

Gr8 RT @iplante: Top story: Google Classroom: Using Google Forms | Teacher Tech http://bit.ly/1RVIwPb , see more http://bit.ly/1RVIwPc 

Duty This Week
Morning - Jorgensen, Kallungi
Bus - Rogness

Data
Poynette Middle School Staff Member's Average Response to the following:

Please rate the quality of Poynette Middle School. (on a scale from 1-10)
7.8

PMS News & Notes 5/29/15

From my perspective, the feeling in the school has been a "business as usual" type of feel.  Routines are established and students, for the most part, have been meeting and exceeding behavioral expectations.  Hats off to you for maintaining high expectations, and designing engaging lessons that are getting our students to get the most out of their time here.  We must continue this focus for the remaining week and a half!  Thank you for your efforts!  See below for important information about the weeks to come.

Final Staff Meeting of the 14-15 School Year

The final staff meeting of the year will be on Monday at 2:50 in Room 201.  Please bring your chrome book.

SLO/PPG End of Year Wrap-Up

Teachers that are in their Summary Year have probably had enough talking with me over the course of the past week to last them a lifetime.  The Summary Year End of Year Review is more extensive than any review in which I have been involved. It has been a good opportunity to sit and talk in depth about teaching and learning with the teachers that I have met with already.  It would be great to meet with each teacher in this way every year, but probably not practical from a time perspective.  I would, however, like to check in with EVERY teacher about their SLO and make sure that the Teachscape portions are fully completed, including the Self-Score portion.  Please set up a time with me when you are ready to meet about the SLO and PPG.  I will be happy to address any questions about the process at any time as well.

Last Day of School

We will be running a schedule that is similar to what we have done in the past on the last day.  8th graders will not be in the building.  I will talk more about this at the staff meeting, and a schedule will be coming.

Next Wednesday afternoon

Please mark your calendars for the End of the Year celebration that will take place at the Barn at Harvest Moon Pond next Wednesday.  Please see this Document for food sign-up and more information.  Hope to see you there!

Junk

If there are things that you have not used for a couple of years in your classrooms, it is time to throw it out.  Please be on the lookout for these items, and before we leave for the summer, organize these items and work with the custodians to get them thrown out.

End of Year Check-Out

Before you leave on the last day, there will be the standard end of year check-out for staff.  Part of that process is sharing a policy about using school equipment at home.  If I forget to ask about this, don't hesitate to bring it up at the check-out time.

Middle School Play

Ms. Eckhardt and Ms. Harms have been hard at work grooming our Middle School thespians.  Our students will be performing the play, Loonies and Snatchers, for the school audience at 1:45 on Tuesday, June 2 and then again for the community at 6:00 pm.

Twitter Post of the Week

Rik Rowe ‏@WHSRowe  59m59 minutes ago

From a Student just now: "Mr. Rowe, my grade does not YET reflect what I know and I'd like to show you I'm better than my grade is now."

Duty Next Week

Morning - Hazard, Hendrickson

Bus - O'Connor

Data

Behavioral Referrals Through this point in the 4th Quarter

14-15 - 79 Events, 41 Students

13-14 - 145 Events, 66 Students

12-13 - 132 Events, 86 Students

11-12 - 242 Events, 82 Students

PMS News & Notes 5/22/15

Another beautiful day outside today, and another solid week at Poynette Middle School is about to hit the books.  It was an eventful week, and the remaining weeks will surely be similar...Below is a few notes from the week that was, and the week ahead.

Spring Concert

Congratulations to our Music Department on another solid performance at the Spring Concert this past Tuesday night.  The talents of both our band and choir students were on full display to a packed gymnasium.  Hats off to Mr. Hazard and Mrs. Graeve for your leadership and all of the work that goes into a truly, culture-building event.

Middle School Play

Ms. Eckhardt and Ms. Harms have been hard at work grooming our Middle School thespians.  Our students will be performing the play, Loonies and Snatchers, for the school audience at 1:45 on Tuesday, June 2 and then again for the community at 6:00 pm.

Grading for Learning Parent Meeting

Dr. Hoernke, Katie Morrissey, Anna Niemeyer, and I hosted another Grading for Learning Parent Meeting on Wednesday evening.  This was the best turnout that we have had for a meeting in a long time, and there was a lot of good discussion. We were able to receive some feedback from the parents that were in attendance, and I believe that we shared some information that will help parents understand our grading system and the goals that we have set for the students in our district better. We plan to host another session in June.  These sessions help us get feedback from the parent perspective, and for us to share the "whys" of what we are doing in the classroom for assessment and reporting.

End of Year Information

As we plan for the end of the school year, the SLO and PPG sections in Teachscape for this school year must be complete.  For teachers on Summary Year, we will be meeting for a more thorough evaluation involving Teacher Practices and the Artifact Portfolio within the Teacher Practices section. I will need to meet with each staff member that I am supervising to review the SLO and to complete the check-out process.

IMC Printer Use

This is in reference to Mrs. Bailey's previous email about our Printer Ink shortage for the IMC Printer.  For the remainder of the year, if you could print to a different printer, that would be really helpful.  Thank you!

End of the Year Gathering

On Wednesday (6/3) evening, we will be hosting an end of the year gathering at the Barn at Harvest Moon Pond.  The Retirement Tea will be after school in the HS IMC, and we will be gathering at the Barn afterwards for a dinner (potluck), and end of year wrap-up ceremony.  Mrs. Hebel shared a sign-up sheet.  Mark your calendars.

Twitter Post of the Week

Dave Burgess ‏@burgessdave  May 18

A4: Realize rapport and relationships are often built "around the edges" of your class! #tlap #EveryMinuteCounts

Duty Next Week

Morning - Greer, Harms

Bus - Lendobeja

Data

Attendance Rate (through this point in the school year)

14-15 - 95.32%

13-14 - 95.15%

12-13 - 95.46%

Improving Instructional Practices

You Really Have to Know What Kids Know and Don’t Know

Check out this Edutopia video on assessment, project based learning and creating meaningful learning experiences for your students. It really solidifies all that we are trying to provide for our students in our district.

"You really have to know what kids know and don't know."
Posted by Edutopia on Thursday, March 19, 2015

Improving Instructional Practices

Gradual Release of Responsibility

Danielson’s Domains:  1e Designing Coherent Instruction,   3c Engaging students in Learning, & 3d Using Assessment in Instruction

The gradual release of responsibility model is a way to create a culture of learning within your classroom by showing, guiding, and then letting students apply what they have learned. Below you can click on a link to a great resource on this model that you can print out and  refer to as you scaffold learning for your own students.    

Gradual Release of Responsibility Resource

PMS News & Notes 5/16/15

As we move closer to the end of the school year our focus and priorities remain constant...achieving our goals of increasing the achievement of all of our students.  Each minute of class time and Intervention/Enrichment time must be utilized right up to the end.  I challenge you to focus on the finding/utilizing the most efficient/effective ways for students to receive high quality feedback on their work.  This feedback can come from their teacher/para-professional or even from their classmates.  Sending the message about the value of each minute of classroom time is critical to growing the achievement/literacy culture that we envision.  I appreciate all of your efforts...each person in our building plays a vital role to the success of our students and our culture.  Below is some news and notes for the upcoming week.

Staff Meeting Recap
Really great things come from our staff putting their heads together working towards a common goal. I'll have the guidelines compiled early this week, and I plan to bring them forth to the Puma Pride Committee on Thursday to shore up the language.  Thank you to Ms. Barnett, Ms. Deans, and Mrs. Greer for presenting at the staff meeting. Continuing to push and spread the innovation in our classrooms is key to our culture and achievement.  We will have our last staff meeting of the year on Monday, June 1st.  If you would like to share a practice/activity/lesson that you would like to share, let me know, and we'll work to get on the agenda.  I'll report out after the Puma Pride Committee meeting on Thursday.

SLO/PPG Wrap-Up
Starting from now till the end of the school year, you can wrap up your SLO/PPG in Teachscape. You need to have collected and analyzed your last data point to make a determination of your self score.  You need to use this RUBRIC for the self-score.  Anna, Katie, your peers, or myself are available to consult with as you look at your SLO results.  If you are in a Summary Year, you will be meeting with me to formally go through this process.  I still, however, would like to check in with everyone about this year's process.  If you are ready, and have all of the fields in Teachscape filled in, feel free to invite me to review the progress.  For your PPG, you need to respond to the questions in Teachscape under PPG, and this process serves as a good artifact for your teacher practices.

Summer PD
In the next couple of weeks we'll be meeting for our last department meetings.  With that being said, all teachers will have an opportunity for a PD Day in August.  We'll plan on meeting in departments, and working on Curriculum/Assessment plan work.  As the last three weeks go by, we should be working to set those dates.  Staff will be paid curriculum pay for these sessions.  If you have questions or would like to talk further, please let me know.

Seclusion/Restraint
It is important for each of us to understand the Seclusion/Restraint policy in our district. You can search for Policy 5630.01 - USE OF RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION WITH STUDENTS in our online policy guide which can be found HERE.  The bottom line...we should not put our hands on students unless there is a safety concern, and if an incident happens, I must know right away, and proper parent contact/paperwork must be initiated.

Personnel Update
I'd like to welcome our newest staff member, Stephanie Schoen, to the team.  She is excited to join us as our new 6th Grade Science/7th Grade Math teacher.  We will be welcoming three strong candidates for our final vacant MS Teaching position on Wednesday for interviews.

End of the Year Gathering

On Wednesday (6/3) evening, we will be hosting an end of the year gathering at the Barn at Harvest Moon Pond.  The Retirement Tea will be after school in the HS IMC, and we will be gathering at the Barn afterwards for a dinner (potluck), and end of year wrap-up ceremony.  Mark your calendars.

Twitter Post of the Week

Dr. Justin Tarte ‏@justintarte  59m59 minutes ago

Life's greatest lessons are usually learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes... #life

Duty Next Week

Morning - Frehner, Graeve

Bus - O'Connor

Data

Behavior Referrals (Through 5 weeks of 4th Quarter)

11-12 - 197 Events, 72 Students

12-13 - 101 Events, 71 Students

13-14 - 122 Events, 59 Students

14-15 - 61 Events, 35 Students

PMS News & Notes 5/8/15

Teacher Appreciation Week is a week designated to take time for everyone to show appreciation for the work that our teachers every day.  To me, the job of a teacher is at the top of the list for jobs that impact our society. I can't tell you how fortunate and appreciative of the staff that work in Poynette. Being an effective teacher is very difficult, and getting students to reach their potential is an art form. Thank you for your work...this is the time of year, where it is so important to take a step back, and recognize how far your students have come since they first entered your classroom. You should feel a sense of pride in that growth, because you had a huge part in it.  Again...Thank You!  Now for some news and notes from the week that was and the week to come...

Staff Meeting Change

A reminder that our staff meeting was postponed from last week due to the insurance meetings, and will be this coming Wednesday (5/13) at 2:50 in Mrs. Anderson's room. Also, we will need to move the last staff meeting of the year from Wednesday (6/3) to Monday (6/1) due to the Retirement Tea celebration.  Invitations will be sent through Google calendar.

Mid-Term Grades

This is a reminder to be sure that mid-term grades are posted for 4th quarter.  I will be sending an Infinite Campus message out today at about 3:00 to let parents know that mid-term grades have been posted.

Student of the Month Breakfast

Our final Student of the Month Breakfast will be next Thursday (5/14) morning.

SLO/PPG Wrap-Up

It is time to start thinking about wrapping up our SLO's and PPG's reflections.  From now on is a good time to go into Teachscape and reflect on your goals by filling out the appropriate boxes. For those of you that used STAR, we will be doing the final round of testing in the Math and ELA classes on May 20th and May 21st. For anyone else, you should have your final assessment planned, and ready to gather your data and analyze the results. Once you have your SLO work completed in Teachscape, please let me know, and we'll schedule a meeting to review the progress.  If you complete your SLO, please don't wait until the end of the year to schedule a meeting with me, let's do this as soon as possible. 

Educator Effectiveness

For those teachers that are on Summary years, we will be meeting to review your artifacts and evidence for each component soon. For those teachers on a Non-Summary year, you do not need to have a formal end of year meeting with me for your PPG or Teacher Practices....just your SLO. If you have any questions about Teachscape or Educator Effectiveness, please let me know.

End of the Year Gathering

On Wednesday (6/3) evening, we will be hosting an end of the year gathering at the Barn at Harvest Moon Pond.  The Retirement Tea will be after school in the HS IMC, and we will be gathering at the Barn afterwards for a dinner (potluck), and end of year wrap-up ceremony.  Mark your calendars.

Twitter Post of the Week

As we end of the year, and look at our SLO's, PPG's, and progress towards our Vision 2020 Goals, I thought this post was appropriate.

Jon Gordon ‏@JonGordon11  1h1 hour ago

It's good to have goals but I don't think you should focus on them. Instead focus on your purpose which fuels you to reach your goals.

Duty Next Week

Morning - Deans, Fraser

Bus - Rogness

Data

Percentage of Students Meeting or on Track for Algebra 1 Readiness
	Fall	Winter	Spring
6th Grade	42.6	60.6
7th Grade	50	69.1
8th Grade	50.6	61.8

Improving Instructional Practices

Blog Post for the Week of May 3rd

Motivation Station

Domain 3: Instruction; Component 3c: Engaging Students in Learning

Domain 2: The Classroom Environment; Component 2a: Creating a Classroom of Respect & Rapport

Adapted from: Strategies for Helping Students Motivate Themselves Larry Ferlazzo

There are four qualities that have been identified as critical to helping students motivate themselves: autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance. Check out a few strategies to make this happen in your classroom.

Autonomy

Provide students with freedom of choice is one strategy for promoting learner autonomy.

Competence

Feedback, done well, is ranked by education researcher John Hattie as number 10 out of 150 influences on student achievement. But how do you handle providing critical feedback to students when it's necessary? Since extensive research shows that a ratio of positive-to-negative feedback of between 3-1 and 5-1 is necessary for healthy learning to occur, teachers might consider a strategy called plussing that is used by Pixar animation studios with great success. The New York Times interviewed author Peter Sims about the concept:

The point, he said, is to "build and improve on ideas without using judgmental language." . . . An animator working on Toy Story 3 shares her rough sketches and ideas with the director. "Instead of criticizing the sketch or saying 'no,' the director will build on the starting point by saying something like, 'I like Woody's eyes, and what if his eyes rolled left?" Using words like "and" or "what if" rather than "but" is a way to offer suggestions and allow creative juices to flow without fear, Mr. Sims said.

"And" and "what if" could easily become often-used words in an educator's vocabulary!

Relatedness

A high-quality relationship with a teacher whom they respect is a key element of helping students develop intrinsic motivation. What are some actions that teachers can take to strengthen these relationships?

4 Steps adapted from the article and Marzano’s Ideas:

1. Take a genuine interest in your students
2. Act friendly with your students; smile, joke, be supportive
3. Be flexible and keep a focus on your learning goals
4. Don’t give up on students; encourage them to seek continuous improvement

Relevance

Have students conduct work and projects so that they see what they are learning as relevant to their lives. Encourage students to generate their own connections and discover for themselves the relevance of course material to their lives. This method gives students the opportunity to make connections to topics and areas of greatest interest to their lives.

Want to read the full article? Check it out here.

PMS News & Notes 5/1/15

May is here!  We continue our focus with an eye on achieving our goals.  A few important notes below...

Badger Testing
Our testing sessions in the Middle School are complete!  It will be nice to get back into our routine for the remaining weeks of the school year.  At this time, we have only 5 students that need to make-up a portion of the test.  Thank you to all of you for your flexibility, and willingness to do what it takes to get this done efficiently and effectively.  Results should be available sooner than ever before, but I'm not exactly sure when we will get the results.

Mid-Term Grades
This is a reminder that mid-term grades are due by the end of next week. I will be sending a message through Infinite Campus that mid-term grades are posted next Friday afternoon.  Dr. Hoernke and I will also be hosting another Grading for Learning parent meeting on the evening of Wednesday, 5/20 at 6:30.  If anyone is interested in being a part of the discussion, giving a teacher perspective, you are more than welcome.  Let me know if you have interest in helping out; continuing our efforts to make our communication more effective.

Next Staff Meeting
This is a reminder that our next staff meeting will be on Wednesday, 5/6/15 starting at 2:50 in Room 201.

Spring is Here...
As the weather gets nicer, I appreciate the continued commitment and focus on our goals. Very soon, we will be gathering our student data, analyzing growth toward both our SLO and our Vision 2020 goals. Our focus must remain constant using our "capital" (classroom minutes), getting the most out of each minute right up till the end of the year.

Student of the Month Breakfast
The next Student of the Month Breakfast will be on Thursday, May 14. This will be the final breakfast of the year.

Twitter Find of the Week

Dan Rockwell ‏@Leadershipfreak  1h1 hour ago

From: "22 Ways to Dramatically Increase Your Influence" http://bit.ly/1420Cqo 

Duty Next Week
Morning - Anderson, Barnett
Bus - Vian

Data
Attendance Rate: 
14-15 - 95.43%
13-14 - 95.18%
12-13 - 95.42%