The Middle Update 10/9/15

Our professional development morning has gotten off to a great start.  It is really exciting to hear and see the results that come out of professionals working together!  Check below for some news and notes.

Safety Drills
We will be conducting a fire drill on Tuesday, October 13, 2015.  We will practice an Administrative Hold later this month.  Please review these procedures with your students.

Parent-Teacher Conferences Round 1 Update
It appears that our work to be more effective and efficient in our parent-teacher conferences paid off after round 1.  Most people reported almost perfect attendance at the conferences.  Click HERE to view the perceptions of MS teachers about the first night of conferences.

Updated Website
If you have visited our website recently, you'll notice that it has been updated.  The website is such an important tool for people looking to learn more about our district.  In my opinion, the changes project a fresh, progressive look.  Thanks to Ms. Niemeyer, who worked hard during the last 6 months on the transition.  Check it out!

Puma Pride Committee Meeting
There will be a Puma Pride Committee Meeting on Wednesday, 10/21 from 2:50 to 3:30 in Mrs. Hendrickson's room.  We will check in on our progress after implementing several new ideas that stemmed from last year's work.  We will also begin the process of tackling the issue of "communication" not only from core teachers to applied teachers, but also within grade levels.  Anyone is welcome to attend and be a part of the group.

Staff Share
Once again, I am looking for staff members that are willing to present a "best practice" from their classroom at a staff meeting.  Let me know if you when you are ready to present.

Wipes in Classroom
Recently we ordered Klorox wipes for each classroom.  These can be used to disinfect any areas where germs and bacteria can commonly be distributed.  You will be seeing them in your classroom soon.

Twitter Find of the Week

ASCD ‏@ASCD  3h3 hours ago

Find great resources for innovations in assessment during #CE15. http://ow.ly/T0dh3 

4 retweets4 favorites

 

 

 

For all the Math Teachers

WI DPI Mathematics ‏@WisDPIMath  6m6 minutes ago

More on writing in mathematics. Using questions and prompts to facilitate the writing process. #MyWIStandard http://bit.ly/1VJaYnF 

Duty Next Week
Morning - Johnson
Bus - Frehner

Data
Behavior Referral Data (through 6 weeks)
13-14 - 40 Events, 39 Students
14-15 - 61 Events, 21 Students
15-16 - 21 Events, 18 Students

The Middle Update 10/2/15

We are already 5 weeks into the school year, and October is here...wow, it goes fast.  I am continually impressed by the work that each of our staff members put in to make this school the best.  The work that students are doing in the classrooms is consistently engaging and rigorous.

Congrats to our September Students of the Month

Posting Mid-Term Grades
Please review a copy of the mid-quarter grade email I sent earlier (copy is below)...

Teachers should report on standards that students have worked on thus far in the quarter.  The report should give parents a snap shot of student progress within each standard.  You can write in comments within a standard as well.  Please keep in mind the following points when assigning grades.

-Only report on standards that students have had opportunities to demonstrate Advanced level work.  (on my note to parents alerting them that student progress grade have been posted, it will say that mid-quarter and quarter scores are all out of Advanced)

-Use the evidence from the student work to assign a score.  You should weigh recent evidence more heavily within a standard.  A rule of thumb (If you asked a student to perform in this standard right now, what level would they produce) - this level should be reported at mid-quarter and end of quarter.  

Parent-Teacher Conferences
We will be hosting our Parent-Teacher conferences starting next week Thursday.  Today in Homeroom, students will be filling out a reflection about their progress on the Puma Pride rubric.  In today's note to parents about mid-quarter grades, I will remind parents that students need to come and will take the lead talking about their progress.

Grading for Learning Parent Meeting
Dr. Hoernke and I hosted another parent meeting on Tuesday night; presenting about the assessment process.  We had about 8 sets of parents attending.  The meeting went really well.  The parent concerns generally seem to focus on different areas of communication.  We discussed our efforts of what we are doing to enhance communication.  I also shared our PT Conference plan, and they seemed to really like the idea.  At the end of the meeting, parents were appreciative of the efforts made by all of you to help guide their children to maximum preparation by the time they leave us.

Professional Development Day next Friday 10/9
We are excited about the professional development opportunity that will be held next Friday.  We will be tackling SLO and get the opportunity to work in departments to refine our practices.

Twitter Find of the Week

Brad Currie ‏@bradmcurrie  3h3 hours ago

Love seeing our teachers sub plans simply say: go to #GoogleClassroom and follow the instructions.

Joe Kuzo ‏@KuzoJoe  10h10 hours agoChicago, IL

Will kindergarteners today need to know how to drive in their lifetime or will driving be obsolete as technology drives for us? #SchoolCIO

Duty Next Week
Morning - Hendrickson
Bus - Deans

Data
Attendance Rates
6th - 96.91%
7th - 94.95%
8th - 96.04%

MS - 95.97%

The Middle Update 9/25/15

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Thanks for another good staff meeting Wednesday.  This will be our first go around with student-led conferences, and if all goes well, this will start a tradition of all students being a part of conferences in Poynette.  This time with our parents is really important for our communication goal.  Thank you for your efforts to make this an efficient and effective time.

During Homeroom next Friday, we will also have students complete a self-assessment reflection for each of the 5 Puma Pride expectations, which will be a part of the PT conference material.

Student of the Month Breakfast
We will be hosting our first Student of the Month breakfast next Thursday, 10/1.  Thank you to Mr. Frehner, Ms. Barnett, Mrs. Rogness, and Ms. Harms for your participation this month.  Congratulations to the following students on their honor:

Chad Tiffany, Tayler Korfmacher, Nik Feller, Peyton Gest, Rachel Yelk, Logan Wagner, Abigail Klink, Aika Bush

Next Carelli Cup Competition
The next Carelli Cup Competition will be a Puma Pride dress up day in honor of Homecoming Friday.  Please count the number of students wearing a combination of orange and black or Puma gear on Friday during Homeroom.

What it's all about...
Robert Marzano is pretty famous in the land of educational research.  This DOCUMENT is a compilation of years of research into a pretty short, readable document outlining what an effective school looks like.

Grading for Learning Meeting
Dr. Hoernke and I will host another Grading for Learning informational meeting next Tuesday evening at 6:00 pm in the High School IMC.  If you are interested in helping out or attending, anyone is more than welcome.

Twitter Post of the Week

1. Dan Rockwell ‏@Leadershipfreak  1h1 hour ago

   10 Ways to Say the Right Thing EVERY TIME: http://bit.ly/1wMEilY 

   
   

   

   
   

   12 retweets21 favorites

   
   

   
   

   
   

Duty Next Week
Morning - Harms
Bus - Barnett

Data
Attendance Rates up to this point
6th - 97.1%
7th - 95.6%
8th - 95.8%
MS - 96.2%

The Middle Update 9/18/15

First Student of the Month Breakfast!!
The first student of the month breakfast will be on Thursday, October 1.  Please send the names to Robin and myself by the end of the day Tuesday.  If you have them sooner, go ahead and let us know.  You can access the Student of the Month history document HERE.

Upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences
At our next staff meeting, we will begin the conversation about how we structure our parent-teacher conferences.  Our first round of conferences will be on Thursday, 10/8 and Thursday, 10/15.  This is such an important time, and it warrants the discussion time.  To prepare for that discussion, check out this short article about another school's experience with Student-Led Conferences.  We will be discussing our action plan at next week's staff meeting.

Staff Meeting Next Week!
In Ms. Barnett's class this week, I learned a little about foreshadowing, and I tried to use a little foreshadowing in the previous note.  Anyway, this is a reminder that we have a Middle School Staff Meeting next Wednesday 9/23 at 2:50 in Room #3.

Instructional Round Thursday Coming Up
Next Thursday, 9/24 will be our first day of instructional rounds.  At the opening in-service we discussed the initial goals of these rounds.  The primary first goal is to get into each others rooms and notice all of the positive things that are happening in our building.  The visit should be about 10 minutes.  If any teachers have questions, please invite me to your Tuesday team meeting, and I'll stop in.

Fire/Tornado Procedures
It is never a bad time to review the fire/tornado drill procedures with your students.  If you haven't yet, this is a must, and it is good practice just to review the procedures about once a month or so.  We will be having a Fire Drill next Wednesday 9/23 at 1:30 to further cement those routines.

GFL Parent Meeting Update
Dr. Hoernke and I were all set to lead a Grading and Assessment parent meeting on Tuesday night, but we did not have any attendees.  We plan to host another session on Tuesday, 9/29 at 6:00 pm in the High School IMC.

Infinite Campus Evidence
As I peruse the grade book for individual students, it looks like we are pretty consistent with how we are reporting evidence into Infinite Campus.  Keep in mind that Infinite Campus is our primary communication tool for student progress.  If you have questions about what should or should not go into the grade book, please contact me or an Instructional Coach, and we can help out.

Another reminder to make sure we are putting the level of the assessment in the "Comments" box.  The format should be:  Level: AD or PR or DE.  This needs to be consistent building wide.

Twitter Post of the Week

John Gunnell ‏@gunnellAP  Sep 13Wisconsin, USA

A2: RTI is always a work in progress, but the heart of effective implementation resides in strengthening the core. #wischat

Duty for Next Week
Morning - Greer
Bus - O'Connor

Data

Fall 2015 STAR Results
Math (% At or above Benchmark)
6th - 67%
7th - 78%
8th - 78%
MS - 74.2%

Reading (% At or above Benchmark)
6th - 59%
7th - 57%
8th - 51%
MS - 55.9%

The Middle Update 9/11/15

Week 2 is in the books!  Check out below for the latest news and notes!  Have a great weekend!

Infinite Campus Evidence
We are at the end of week 2.  At this time, we should take a moment to review the evidence that we have entered in Infinite Campus.  Each student should have at least 1 piece of evidence reported out in Infinite Campus at this point.  Keep in mind that Infinite Campus is our primary communication tool for student progress.  If you have questions about what should or should not go into the grade book, please contact me or an Instructional Coach, and we can help out.

Another reminder to make sure we are putting the level of the assessment in the "Comments" box.  This needs to be consistent building wide.

Early STAR Results
Early STAR results are in, and it looks like are students have performed quite well on this assessment.  This data will give us more information that we will use for planning and monitoring purposes.

SLO's
As we get to know our students, we will begin looking at data, and setting our SLO's for the year.  Our Staff Meeting this month will focus on this task, but we all should be starting the goal setting process.

Each Classroom Minute
One of our Guiding Principles for us to get our students to achieve our goals is that each minute of class time is crucial for our student's achievement.  Continue looking for ways within those class minutes to deliver specific feedback to students on their work.

IE Time
Next week will be our first full 5 day week.  We will make one slight modification to our IE plan to better facilitate our goal oriented focus.  I spoke to those directly involved already, but for our Enrichment Groups, we will run the "Non-Fiction Article" and "Math" activity with our A Day groups.  The purpose is to be consistent with a steady group of kids with the activity.  This means that Silent Reading Day could be a Monday or Tuesday, and Advisory Day could be a Wednesday or Thursday depending on when the A Day falls. Groups and schedules remain constant.  As always, Friday will be a Homeroom Day for all grades.  Homeroom groups will not change during the year.

On Monday, all Enrichment groups should be reading the non-fiction article with your groups, and doing the corresponding activities outlined in the lesson plans.  On Tuesday, it will be a silent sustained reading day.  Wednesday will be a "Math" day, and Thursday will be an Advisory Day.  Please see me with any questions right away.

Updated Lesson Plan

Grade Level Blogs
Thank you for providing brief glimpses into what our students will be doing in your classes.  I have received many positive comments and questions about how to access these blogs.  This is another solid communication tool.

Step Ladders
Currently, we have 3 step ladders in our building.  They will be located in the following locations: Mr. Lendobeja's Room, Multi-Purpose Room, and the IMC.

Twitter Post of the Week

John Gunnell ‏@gunnellAP  Sep 9Wisconsin, USA

I believe that the comments on our report card hold far more value than the numbers, if done right. Provide actionable feedback. #sblchat

Duty for Next Week
Morning - Frehner
Bus - Rogness

Data
STAR Results (Fall 2015)
Reading
% of Students at or above benchmark
55.3%

Behavior Referrals (through the first two weeks of school)
14-15 - 10 Events, 9 Students
15-16 - 2 Events, 1 Student

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