The Middle Update 10/14/16

The first round of Parent-Teacher Conferences are in the books.  Those opportunities to meet with the parents to discuss the road map for their child's success is really important for establishing a partnership for us to rely on throughout the year.  Thanks to all of you for your energy and hard work during the past two extra long weeks.

October Staff Meeting Plan
I am really excited about the upcoming opportunities for staff collaboration.  See details below.  On the 26th, we will outline our plan for using the SLO process as more of a focus for us throughout the year to focus our energy and efforts on boosting student achievement where we need it the most.

October 19th - This meeting will be for teachers on a Summary Year.  We will go through a thorough review of the expectations and process.  Time will be devoted to getting a head start and completing some of the necessary requirements of the Summary Year.

October 26th - This meeting will be for all staff members.  Our focus will be on finalizing SLO's and PPG's and how we will be using the data from this focus throughout the year to give a super boost to student achievement in the important area that you chose.  We will also review any manager items that are timely. 

SLO/PPG Timeline
All teachers should have a solid draft that is approved by a principal by the end of business on November 4th.  Feel free to schedule a meeting with me to review your SLO, or be ready to discuss during our bi-weekly meeting time.

What it's all about...
According to John Hattie (2012)...

Visible teaching and learning occurs when learning is the explicit and transparent goal, when it is appropriately challenging, and when the teacher and the student both (in various ways) seek to ascertain whether and to what degree the challenging goal is attained. Visible teaching and learning occurs when there is deliberate practice aimed at attaining mastery of the goal, when there is feedback given and sought, and when there are active, passionate, and engaging people (teacher, students, peers) participating in the act of learning (pp. 17-18).

Our improvement focus will remain embedded in efforts to improve the teaching and learning that happens in each classroom.  Our focus will be to refine our practices on: using solid learning goals, activities that support attainment or goals, assessments in place to measure the learning of these goals, and classroom planning in place to address students that do not meet the goals.

Student of the Month BreakfastWe will be having our first Student of the Month Breakfast on Thursday (10/20).  Thank you to Mrs. Anderson, Ms. Pittner, Mrs. Rogness, and Mr. Williams for presenting this month.  Congratulations to this month's recognition recipients.
Kate Lendobeja                Mika Bush               Grace Hutchinson                Hunter Kutz
Cash Stewart                    Raschel Taylor          Cabo Cittadino                   Abby Walsh

Carelli Cup Update
After 2 events last Friday, the race for the Carelli Cup became even more interesting.  At this time the 7th graders are holding on to a slim lead, while the 8th and 6th graders are charging hard for 2nd place.  The standings are below.  The next event will be at our End of 1st Quarter Assembly on Thursday, 11/3 (we'll start at about 2:15 or so).

Standings:
7th Grade - 20
8th Grade - 14
6th Grade - 14

Fire Drill in October
We will be having another fire drill coming up sometime before the end of October.  As always, please be sure that each of your sections understand the procedures for either fire, tornado, hold, or lockdown situations.  Please let me know if any questions arose after the last fire drill.

Halloween Dance 10/28
The PAD Parent's Club will be sponsoring their annual Halloween Dance for our students.  The Elementary Dance will be from 6:00 to 7:30, and the Middle School Dance will run from 7:30 to 9:00.  The group asked if any teachers would be willing to attend and help chaperone, while joining in on the fun.  If you are interested, there will be free pizza and drink waiting for you.  Visit this SITE to sign up.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  24h24 hours ago

8 issues that can arise in whole-class discussions (& how to remedy them): http://edut.to/2digjDP .

0 replies47 retweets32 likes

Duty Next Week
Bus - Pittner

Data
Building Goal Update

Unexcused Tardies (through 6 weeks of Quarter 1)
16-17 - 69 students - 190 total
15-16 - 97 students - 300 total
14-15 - 76 students - 153 total

Attendance Rates (through 6 weeks of Quarter 1)
16-17 - 96.39%
15-16 - 96.36%
14-15 - 95.87%

The Middle Update 10/7/16

October is here!  Check out this week's information!  Have a great Friday!

October Staff Meeting Plan
We will be having two opportunities for staff collaboration this month.  The times and details will be as follows:

October 19th - This meeting will be for teachers on a Summary Year.  We will go through a thorough review of the expectations and process.  Time will be devoted to getting a head start and completing some of the necessary requirements of the Summary Year.

October 26th - This meeting will be for all staff members.  Our focus will be on finalizing SLO's and PPG's and how we will be using the data from this focus throughout the year to give a super boost to student achievement in the important area that you chose.  We will also review any manager items that are timely.

Literacy Committee Meeting
The next Literacy Committee Meeting will be on Monday (10/10) at 2:50 in Mrs. Rogness' room.  Anyone is welcome.

A Word from our Instructional Coaches

Empower Your Students Through Scaffolding Learning

Adapted from Just in Time Support by Suzy Pepper Rollins from Educational Leadership

October 2016 | Volume 74 | Number 2

Powerful Lesson Planning Pages 52-56

How do students possibly keep up with it all? Many don't. And while their brains desperately search for dim recollections of formulas, figurative language, or which axis is y, more information is incoming—information they must sort, organize, and put somewhere. Gaps in basic skills and in important background information that just didn't stick in long-term memory can make learning new concepts seem impossible.

Scaffolding can help students be more successful—and we don't need to wait until students falter midway through a lesson. Instead, teachers can plan in advance to provide the support students may need to fill in the gaps. You can plan scaffolding before the lesson begins by reflecting on what hurdles may exist for some students.  It might be helpful to complete this sentence: My students could be successful on this upcoming unit if they only knew ___.

During the planning process, first create a unit concept map and list the standards and learning targets that students must reach to master the big goal. Next, step back and create a list of prerequisite skills required for student success. Or as we call it in our district, complete the Backwards Planning process for your lessons or even your courses. By anticipating some of our students' needs and creating bridges to new learning, we've proactively begun the work. Planning for scaffolding requires looking backward to recognize gaps from the past that could interfere with mastering the new learning target, and then looking forward to foresee hurdles in upcoming tasks.

Life would be easier for students if they arrived in class every day with exactly what they needed to grasp the day's lesson. But in real life, students will always differ in background knowledge, basic skills, and the ability to memorize items at a prescribed time.  Help them stay in the game by providing the ladder of support to get them where you’ve planned and hoped they could achieve.

Bookmarks, cheat sheets, graphic organizers, mnemonic devices and text marking are few of the strategies outlined in Ms. Rollins’ article. Check out her link to the  full article below for more detailed  information.

For more information, visit ASCD: Just In Time Support

Carelli Cup
The mid-1st quarter events will be happening on Friday.  There will be a hula hoop competition (thanks Mrs. Hendrickson for the expert organization) at 12:25 on the playground, and a Puma Pride dress competition.  If anyone has any input or interest in running future events, please don't be shy in communicating with a Puma Pride Committee member.

Twitter Find of the Week

Brad Brogley ‏@bbrog  13h13 hours ago

Educational Leadership:Powerful Lesson Planning:Eight Questions for Better Lessons: https://goo.gl/NSlGZI 

Duty Next Week
Bus - Odden

The Middle Update 9/30/16

A month of school is underway, and our routine is starting to set in.  The next couple of weeks provides our annual opportunity to continue to build the critical partnerships with parents as we work together to guide our students towards putting forth their best effort each day.  We have a special school community, and I am really happy to be a part of it.  See more news below.

Monthly Announcement Video

I will be trying to put together an announcement video each month.  You can view this month's announcement video below.  My goal is to put one together at the end of each month highlighting what we've done, but also previewing opportunities that are coming up.  If you have something to include, or want to participate, please just let me know (I am always on the look-out for participants)  I appreciate your help in this endeavor, so we don't leave anything out.  Check it out!

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Next week Thursday will be our first round of Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Check out the schedule HERE.  See last week's blog for specific information about conference logistics.  As we talk with parents, keep in mind our growth mindset principles while talking about how their child can take the next step in growing their knowledge and skills.

Infinite Campus Grades

Student progress grades are posted in Infinite Campus.  As we progress through the quarter, please keep the standard grades updated if recent evidence suggests a student's skills or knowledge has moved along the rubric.

Literacy Committee

Our next Literacy Committee meeting will be on Wednesday (10/5) at 2:50 in Mrs. Rogness' room.  We will work to finalize our plans for the first round of book talks.

SLO/PPG

If you have a draft of your SLO and PPG complete, please send me an invite to review it.  We will shoot for mid-October to have these ready to go.  If you are working on a department SLO, we can meet as a group.  

STAR Data

The picture below gives a picture of the # of our students at or above benchmark in Math and Reading from last year to this year.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  17h17 hours ago

Why you should respond to student misbehavior by being curious (not furious): http://edut.to/2deqj28 .

155 retweets156 likes

 

 

 

Duty Next Week

Bus - Lendobeja

The Middle Update 9/25/16

As we enter the last week in September, we get closer to a couple of important opportunities to report the progress of our students up to this point.  This is a very critical part in the growth process for our students.  Details about posting mid-term progress grades and the upcoming parent-teacher conferences are provided below.  It's going to be another great week!


Mid-Term Grade Posting
Grades can be posted at any time.  Teachers should post student progress grades in the standards in which they have had multiple opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.  When we post grades, we should use the most recent evidence to determine how a student would perform if we asked them to perform in the assessed standard.  Once grades are posted in the standard, they should be regularly updated until the end of the term (updates should occur if recent evidence indicates their performance or knowledge has changed).  Please have grades posted by the end of the day on Wednesday (9/28).  I will send an informational note to parents at the end of the week, letting them know that they can check the parent portal for posted grades.  If you have any questions about this process, please let me know. 

Parent/Teacher Conferences
PT Conferences are quickly approaching.  As a reminder the dates are: Thursday, 10/6 from 4:30-8:00 and again on Thursday, 10/13 from 4:00-7:30.  For this round of parent-teacher conferences, each student will have a scheduled conference.  Parents will be directed to arrive about 10 minutes early for their scheduled conference time to pick up a folder at the front entrance.  The folder will include STAR Testing information, a grade report (like the report card), and a Puma Pride reflection from each student.  If teachers would like to include a more specific grade report, they are welcome to print them off for the folders also.  Applied academic teachers are welcome to sit in on any scheduled conference, or give an invitation to a scheduled teacher inviting them to the classroom.  Conferences are a great opportunity to grow the partnership with our parents as we all work towards a common goal for each student.


"Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" Interventions Update
Each grade level has begun the process of setting up our intervention for students struggling in this area.  For some students, we will be sending letters home to set up an opportunity for them to stay after school to help them get more organized and find more success in this area.


Twitter Post of the Week
@edutopia                           

15 studies that every teacher should know about

Feel free to follow me on twitter @jerrypritzl.  Check out my favorites or retweets for great articles for some professional learning.


Duty This Week
Bus - Hendrickson

The Middle Update 9/16/16

Our first full week in the books!  I am excited to work in Poynette, with our staff and our students...it's a special place.  Check out below for the latest!

Poynette Middle School Culture
I really like the feel that I get when I am in our building around our kids and teachers.  I believe that we have a culture of adults who truly care about our students, and students that are trying hard to be their best.  Keeping the growth mindset principles in our words and actions can help us take the next step in guiding our students towards achievement they didn't even think was possible.  Keep up the good work!

Staff Meeting this Wednesday 9/21/16
We have lots to do in a short time.  Agenda includes the following:

• Review of Goals for the Middle School (after reviewing staff input)
• Short presentation from Student Services Dept.
• Literacy Committee Report
• Puma Pride Committee Report
• SLO/PPG Construction

Literacy Committee

The Literacy Committee met for the first time on Thursday afternoon.  We have established some initial goals and have set out a plan for boosting our culture of literacy.  I am excited about the book I have selected to read and give a book talk in the very near future.  More details from this committee's work will soon follow, as will the date for our next meeting.  Anyone is welcome to join.

Puma Pride Committee

We will meet on Monday at 2:50 in Mrs. Hendrickson's room.  Anyone is welcome to join.

School Board Meeting on Monday (9/19)

Check out the BOARD REPORT from the Middle School.  Let me know if you have something from your class or students that should be included in a future report.  The meeting starts at 7:00 am in the High School IMC if anyone is interested in attending.

A Word from our Instructional Coaches

New Additions to the Professional Library

We have some great new resources available in the professional library in our IMC.  This year we have added several new titles for you to take a look at, and as the year goes on we will be adding and sharing them with you through the blog. Take a look at these new resources for starting out your school year right!

	Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities that Refresh and Refocus.  This is a great resource that one can quickly look through and pull ideas from to help start off the morning, or to give your class a brain break during the day.  Come check it out and give some a try!
	The First Six Weeks of School helps you plan out, prepare, and implement a positive culture and climate for learning.  Within the book is resources for positive teacher language, setting routines and expectations, and sample lesson plans as well as examples for you to use in your classroom right away.
	Interactive Modeling  shows you how those classrooms that seem to  run effortlessly are created.  This book teaches the seven steps of interactive modeling, gives specific ideas of when you would want to use these strategies, as well as detailed lesson plans for teachers to follow.
	The Morning Meeting Book shares how starting class with a morning meeting can help create a safe and caring classroom environment.  This book takes you step by step in implementation as well as resources to get started with your own.

Twitter Find of the Week

edutopia ‏@edutopia  3h3 hours ago

Asking students these 8 questions can drastically impact your year: http://edut.to/2cMWA0z . #stuvoice

Duty Next Week

Bus - Hazard

The Middle Update 9/9/16

6 days into the school year, and our routines are starting to set in.  I have heard many teachers talking to students using "growth mindset" language and having high expectations for our students.  Having our students understand that the importance of using mistakes as opportunities, and the power of "yet" will really help continue to grow the culture we are all striving to attain, and will help foster the conditions right for our students to maximize their achievement.  Keep it up!

Growth Mindset Principles
The principals met and tabulated the staff responses for establishing our district norms for how we will instill a growth mindset in our buildings, and after sorting the responses, developed the following growth mindset principles. (These principles should guide our discussion and actions about students and our practice.)

1. There is no ceiling for what our students can or cannot do or learn.

2. Encourage students to use strategies that move them beyond their comfort zone.

3. Provide feedback focused on the student’s implementation of strategies to improve.
4. Affirm that learning new things can be difficult and takes time, as well as repeated practice.

5. Use mistakes as a necessary process and an opportunity to learn.

IE Time
Our regular IE routine will start on Monday, 9/12.  For the first Tuesday in Enrichment groups, teachers should consider using this ARTICLE.  The more articles and discussions we have with students about honesty and character, the better.  We will be discussing even more ways to expose our students to learn about the importance of a solid character. 

Literacy Group
Anyone interested in working on continuing to build a literacy/reading culture in our building, you are welcome to attend our first meeting, which will be on Thursday, September 15 at 2:50 in my office.  Please email me if you are interested in participating in this group.

Staff Meeting Coming Up
We will have a staff meeting on Wednesday, September 21 at 2:50 in Mrs. Hendrickson's room.  We will be working on SLO/PPG process.

Puma Pride Committee
We'll have our first Puma Pride Committee meeting on Monday, September 19 at 2:50 in Mrs. Hendrickson's room.  We will be reviewing and refining the Puma Pride expectations that were reviewed in Homeroom, and a plan to maintain those expectations throughout the year.  Also, we will be planning for the implementation of our systemic interventions using our Puma Pride scores.  Any and all are welcome to attend.

STAR Testing
Students will be taking the fall STAR tests on the following dates in their respective Math and ELA classes.
Math - Tuesday, September 13
Reading - Wednesday, September 14

Handbook Acknowledgement Forms
Each teacher needs to be sure that we finish the Handbook Review and guidelines, and has the students take the "Handbook Signature Sheet" home, and return a signed copy.  Please emphasize to your class that we need this sheet returned.  When you have all of the signature forms, please bring them to the office.  I will supply a treat to the class once all of the forms are turned in.  These forms will be kept on file in the office.

Special Kindness Homeroom Dates
We will also be running a special "Kindness Homeroom" about once per month.  The first special "Kindness Homeroom" will be on Tuesday, 9/20.  The lesson plan will be shared by Mrs. Morton.

Blogs

This is a reminder to please update the grade level blogs regarding expectations for the week ahead.  If you have any questions about this, please let me know.  Everyone should have access to post in the blog.  This has been a source of a great deal of positive feedback from parents.  Thank you for your efforts to enhance the communication from school to home.

Duty Next Week

Bus - Gavin

The Middle Update 9/3/2016

Two days with kids are in the books, and from my perspective, we have gotten our Middle Schoolers off to a great start!  I want to thank all of you for your hard work last week.  It seems like the first day of Inservice was a month ago already.  I feel really good about our start, and I really look forward to taking on the challenge of getting as many of our students achieving to levels they didn't think were possible in every subject.  I feel really good about our Puma Team.

Growth Mindset Words and Actions
I have been impressed with the language and expectations that have been laid out for our students in our classrooms.  Having a growth mindset, while teaching and modeling what this looks like for our students is so important.  Continue to have those high expectations for all of our students, especially for our students that have low expectations of themselves.  I believe they will rise to our expectations when given the support needed to get there.

What it is all about
Check out this video.  Coach Payton's message is about football season, but I think it goes hand in hand with us getting back in the classroom.  It's the beginning of another great opportunity to impact the lives of students in a positive way, and be their champion.  His message is during the first 2 minutes of the video.  I am ready to get after this challenge with you!

1st Staff Meeting
We will have our first staff meeting on Wednesday, September 21st.  Our focus will be getting our SLO and PPG's set for the year.

STAR Testing
Students will be taking the fall STAR tests on the following dates in their respective Math and ELA classes.
Math - Tuesday, September 13
Reading - Wednesday, September 14

Emergency Sign Postings
Each classroom should have their emergency signs (tornado, fire, other) posted near the entrance/exit.  These procedures should be reviewed with your students right regularly.

IE Time
This coming week, we will meet in Homeroom groups during IE time.  We will begin our IE routine on Monday, 9/12.  For the first Tuesday in Enrichment groups, teachers should consider using this ARTICLE.  The more articles and discussions we have with students about honesty and character, the better.  We will be discussing even more ways to expose our students to learn about the importance of a solid character. 

Handbook Acknowledgement Forms
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.  When you have all of the acknowledgement forms, please bring them to the office.  I will supply a treat to each Homeroom once all of the forms are turned in.

Special Kindness Homeroom Dates
We will also be running a special "Kindness Homeroom" about once per month.  The first special "Kindness Homeroom" will be on Tuesday, 9/20.  The lesson plan will be shared by Mrs. Morton.

Blogs

This is a reminder to please update the grade level blogs regarding expectations for the week ahead.  If you have any questions about this, please let me know.  Everyone should have access to post in the blog.  This has been a source of a great deal of positive feedback from parents.  Thank you for your efforts to enhance the communication from school to home.

Twitter Post of the Week
From Edutopia:

3 methods to motivate the unmotivated: http://edut.to/2bWis7z .

5. 

Duty Next Week
Bus - Frehner

The Middle Summer Update

Greetings!  I hope your summer is going great, with many opportunities for time to do things that make you happy and recharge your battery.  I wanted to send out a brief summer update to keep you up to date on things happening at school.  I look forward to the start of another great year!

Floating In-service
This is a reminder about the floating in-service day.  Please review the MEMO about this from Mr. Shappell.  Please send me a calendar invite on the days that you plan your floating in-service day.

New Staff
Our Middle School staff is nearly complete.  I want to welcome Jordan Filerman (ELA), Maria Pittner (Science), Krista Pulver (Special Ed.) and Morgan Dahlke (Phy. Ed.) to our team.  We are still working to hire a Spanish teacher.

Annual Picnic
The date for the annual district picnic will be slightly different this year.  Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, August 24th at 6:00pm.  The picnic will be at the Arlington Fireman's Park again, and all current staff members and retirees, along with their families are welcome to attend.  This is really a great way to kick off another school year.  I hope to see all of you there.

Registration
We officially kick off the 16-17 school year on Tuesday (7/12) with K-12 registration from 2:30 to 6:30.  We'll also welcome parents in on Tuesday (7/19).

Next Year's Classes
A draft of next year's class schedules should be ready to view in Infinite Campus (I have not checked the teacher view yet).  There are a couple things I know I need to adjust yet, but if you are curious, go ahead and check them out.  If you have an questions, or see something that doesn't look right, please let me know.

That is all I can think of for now.  Enjoy each and every minute of every day!

The Middle Update 6/5/16

I type this after just taking in another graduation ceremony at Poynette High School.  As I reflect on this year's ceremony, and watching another great group of kids reach this milestone in their life, I feel inspired and proud to be a Poynette Puma.  The one consistent theme in the graduation speeches was the great people that have positively impacted the lives of our kids.  Even though some of our facilities are not new or impressive, the people, programs, and innovation are what make this place special. I am motivated to continue to push and strive to make our school a shining star among schools, and continue to reload our high school year after year with students who are ready to reach their potential and leave our district with the skills and knowledge to change the world.  I am happy to be on this mission with all of you.

Last Week Notes
-Our 8th graders will be on their class trip on Wednesday, 6/8.  They will also have their traditional 8th Grade dance on Wednesday evening from 6:30 - 8:30.  All staff members are invited to attend and wish our 8th graders well as they prepare to leave our building for the High School.

-On Thursday, 6/9, students will be dismissed at 12:30.  We will have an assembly in the 1-8 Gym starting at 11:30.  We will welcome the 5th graders, and start the process of getting them ready to be high achieving Middle School students.  Students will be dismissed for lunch at 12:00.  At 12:30, the whistle will blow outside, and our students will be dismissed for the summer.

-On Thursday, there will be no 8th graders in the building.  6th and 7th graders will follow the Early Release Schedule.  Teams have already worked to modify the schedule slightly to accommodate the Assembly at 11:30.  There will not be a 6th grade rotation class at the end of their schedule.

Strong Last Week
As we progress through the last week of school, please continue to push students to achieve, and get the most out of their time with us.  Students will rise to the level of expectations and enthusiasm from all of us.  Let's make it a great, memorable week full of learning right up until dismissal at 12:30 on Thursday.

Staff Check-Out
See Check-Out Sheet by clicking on the link.  Please let me know if you have questions about the check-out process.  Grades are due by end of day on Friday, June 10th.  We will print report cards on Monday, June 13th, and mail home on the 14th.

Congrats
Congrats to all of our retirees...but especially our lone MS rep., Ms. Onell.  Congrats Ms. Onell!!

Duty Next Week
Morning - Williams
Bus - Lendobeja

Data
We'll take this week off of data...there will be plenty of 15-16 data to review over the summer and initial months of next school year.

The Middle Update 5/26/16

I hope everyone had a relaxing 3 day holiday weekend.  Hopefully everyone had time to recharge their battery and think about the our Veteran's and their service to our country.  We have 2 solid weeks coming up.  Students will rise or fall to our expectations and energy level.  Let's get ready to bring it, right up till the final dismissal time!

End of Year Evaluations
6 teachers are complete!  To add your name to the list of teachers having their evaluations complete, please let me know times you have available, and we'll set up our meeting right away.

Right Up to the Bell Instruction
As I have visited classrooms lately, I am continually impressed by how diligently we continue to work towards our reporting standards and learning goals.  Please keep in mind that students will have a solid 3 months of vacation from school very soon, and each minute we have them for educational purposes is very important.  Also, the more engaged and on task the students are the fewer behavior issues will arise.  Unstructured time leads to behavioral issues.  If you have questions about schedule concerns, let me know.  We have done a great job up to this point, so let's finish strong. The students feed off of your energy and effort.  Thanks for all of your hard work!

Congratulations Mrs. White!

We are proud to announce that Sarah White has been recognized by the Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Education (WCASS) as Region 5 Outstanding Special Education Teacher in Wisconsin.  The luncheon/celebration was Friday in Stevens Point (Plover) where she received her well-deserved award.  Way to go Mrs. White! 

Senior Walk (from Mr. Hausser's blog)
The seniors are going to be led through our school by Percy at about 9:15ish this Thursday morning.  The seniors will walk some of the hallways and the leadership team has the route.  I'll check in with each core team to prepare the areas each grade should assemble.  It should not last real long, but should be a cool, new tradition for our students and staff.

2D - Managing Student Behavior Tip

Students Engaged:  88 Quick Energizers & Movement Activities

Danielson’s Domain 2d: Managing Student Behavior

As the year quickly comes to a close, and the weather is finally nice out, it helps to have some new ways to engage and get student’s energy back on track for learning.  New to our library of professional resources is a book from Responsive Classroom called Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities that Refresh and Refocus.  This is a great resource that one can quickly look through and pull ideas from to help start off the morning, or to give your class a brain break during the day.  Come check it out and give some a try!

End of Year Celebration at the Barn
Tuesday night will be the K-12 Staff celebration at the Barn.  It would be great to get as many staff members as possible together for a late afternoon celebration.  Check out the sign-up sheet for meal preparations.

Retiree Recognition

We will be recognizing our retirees on Wednesday after school in the HS IMC.  Come and out and congratulate them on a job well done.

Duty Next Week
Morning - Schoen
Bus - Kallungi

Data
The average of responses to the question...please rate Poynette Middle School (1-10)

14-15 - 7.8
15-16 - 7.8

The Middle Update 5/22/16

Staff Meeting on Wednesday
We will have our final staff meeting of this school year this Wednesday (5/25).  We will reviw some of our end of the year data and check in on our progress.

Staff Participation at Graduation Ceremony
All teachers, no matter how long you've been with us, are invited to participate in the graduation ceremony.  The ceremony is Sunday, June 5th.  You can still sign up...Dr. Hoernke has informed me that we will have enough cap and gowns for all teachers to attend.  You can sign up at this link...just add a row to the table and type your name.

Fire Drill Wednesday
We will have a fire drill this Wednesday at 9:30 am.

Spring Concert Review
Last Tuesday night, talent was on display at our Spring Concert.  Congrats to Mr. Hazard and Mrs. Graeve for leading such a tremendous display of musical talent.  The whole performance was outstanding.

Middle School Play
The cast and crew of this year's Middle School Play will be performing for the students in our school on Wednesday afternoon.  Students will be dismissed to the gym at 1:50 pm to view the play.  The public performance will be on Thursday evening starting at 7:00 pm.  We are looking forward to another fine display of talent from our students and staff.

Final Week Planning
I wanted to share information about some of the end of year scheduling.  The 8th graders' last school day will be on Wednesday, June 8th, which is also their end of year field trip.  The last day of school will be a half day on Thursday, June 9th.  Dismissal time will be 12:30.  On the last day of school, we will be running our early release schedule.  There will be time for 5th graders to meet briefly with 6th grade teachers (more details to come).

End of Year Evaluations/SLO's/PPG's
My goal will be to have all evaluations and SLO/PPG meetings complete by the end of next week.  I have had some meetings with teachers already.  If you are ready to meet, please send me an invite.  If I don't hear from you, I will send a calendar invite to you.

Importance of Routine
As we wind down the final 3 weeks of school, maintaining our routine and schedule, with a focus on student learning right up until the end will help all of us maintain our high expectations of positive behavior and effort for all students.  Each classroom minute is an opportunity to build the skills and knowledge of our students right up until the final dismissal.

Personal Items in Classroom
See a note from Mr. Egger.  As we near the end of the year, please look over your classroom and discard of anything in your classroom that does not need to be there. 

Just a reminder to you to remind Teachers that all personal items will need to be taken home so we can clean this summer.

All furniture - Lamps, chairs, anything brought in from home, etc. Also remind them to take all Plants home any other items that we will not take care of.

With abatement's going on in 4 classrooms at the Elem. section , this is the perfect time to clean house, empty shelves of all things and get rid of things no longer being used. 

End of Year Celebration at the Barn
Mark your calendars, we will be hosting a district wide end of year celebration at the Barn at Harvest Moon Pond on the late afternoon/evening of Tuesday, May 31st.  More specific details will follow.

Twitter Post of the Week

Jay Willis ‏@JayWillis1  May 17

Great conversation today with @burgessdave about how to make your teaching more engaging. "If your class were voluntary, would anyone come?"

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Duty Next Week
Morning - Rogness
Bus - Johnson