The Middle Update 10/30/20

Thanks to all of you for your efforts this week in pulling off, by all accounts, a successful virtual week of learning.  It was enjoyable to get in many virtual classrooms this week and see solid, genuine teacher/student interaction and student/student interaction even though it was through a screen.  In some ways it seems like a very long 9 weeks of school, and in others it has seemed to fly by.  I think a fresh start and a fresh quarter will be a good thing for everyone.

COVID

As of this writing, we are planning to be back in school on Monday.  We will continue to monitor student symptoms, close contacts, test results and all of those factors go into the decision-making of whether our doors are open for in-person learning.  Information can come in at anytime that could change things quickly, and I'll do my best to communicate in a timely manner those decisions that impact your planning.  We have not seen any evidence of virus spread within any of our buildings in the district.  

The one thing that doesn't change and remains at the top of our priority list is keeping everyone safe.  Our mitigation efforts continue to be the top priority while we are all in the building.  If you see or hear of any student with symptoms or a student that has been around an ill family member, please notify the office right away so we can investigate the circumstances and make appropriate decisions. 

Resource of the Week

Thanks to Mrs. Velazquez for sharing the resource this week.  The post provides tips for how to conduct an effective "one-on-one" session with a student.  Our students need effective feedback to help them grow their knowledge and skills, and there are strategies that can really help students get the most out of that precious time with teachers, even in a virtual meeting space.  A great post with impactful information for every discipline.

"Never has Conferring been so Important:  Conferences that Rally Kids to Work with Zeal and Direction"

Virtual Learning Experience

I was able to get out and join a number of virtual classrooms this week, and I absolutely enjoyed hearing the dialogue between teacher and student and student to student.  I have been trying to read and attend online webinars to learn about the best practices in virtual teaching and learning.  From these experiences and talking with both teachers and students this week, it is very apparent that having interactions, even if it's through a screen, is critical for student learning.  

The "Break-Out" rooms feature is so important to make this interaction happen in a much more engaging, meaningful way.  We know that student discourse is critical for engagement and developing an understanding for students.  Break-out rooms allow for this to happen with small groups of students.  While visiting virtual classrooms, and checking in on break-out rooms, students are eager to talk with one another...at times in the large group, students don't say anything and there can be an awkward silence or one/two students dominate the conversation.  Utilizing this feature is a critical piece to make the most out of the online learning experience.  Below are some quotes and applications that our teachers have shared.

"In 8th grade band today, I used breakout rooms to utilize their assessments. They had a playing opportunity today and I know it can be hard to play in front of peers so I broke each of them off into their own rooms and popped into them to hear their assessments. At the end, I brought them all into the main room and did a poll (1-5) on how they felt they performed. Overall, great success and will use this in the future in virtual situations." 

"I've used the breakout groups in both of my math meets as well and they are going great."

A "Must Watch"

Lucy Calkins is the main author behind the Units of Study curriculum that we use in our ELA classes.  She delivered a message last weekend that I thought was so important for all of us in our field to hear.  What we are going through is challenging to say the least...in so many ways.  I highly recommend taking the time to listen to what she has to say in her closing remarks from one of her PD sessions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=hVOUj1j6YUk&app=desktop

End of Quarter 1

1st Quarter grades are due by Thursday morning...we'll run report cards then.  If you need more time or have a couple of adjustments by that time, please let me know.  2nd Quarter offers a fresh start for our students and monitoring and keeping an eye on our kids that we know struggled in the 1st quarter...if we can help them avoid falling in a deep hole from the start, it could make all the difference in the world.

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 10/25/2020

Even though it feels as if Winter has invaded us earlier than normal this year, I hope you are or were able to enjoy a nice weekend.  We'll certainly have a different week ahead of us than what we have grown accustomed to so far this year.  I appreciate all of the time and thought you put into how an extended virtual learning experience could play out for you and your students, and I'm sure we will learn many things over the course of the week ahead. 

Moving to Virtual Learning in the Middle School

In the week ahead, the decision was made to move only the Middle School to a virtual learning model.  At the end of the week, we found ourselves in a similar situation to what the High School faced a few weeks ago in terms of positive cases that we learned of for a couple of our students.  None of the students of concern were in school during a time when they were contagious, and we continue to see no evidence of spread in school, despite the increase in cases in the county and or state.  That speaks well to the efforts of everyone to adhere to our safety expectations.

The purpose for the pause in our "in-person" model is to give at least a week to analyze the trends in the spread of the virus with our student population.  Please share any details of illness that you hear from your students this week.  We'll continue our diligence in tracking symptoms, monitoring test results, and using that information in our planning this week as if it was any other week.

 

Resource of the Week

We are sure to learn a lot this week as we teach our students in a different format.  The article this week provides some tips to increase engagement for your students in the online environment.

"8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom"  - Emelina Minero

Teaching Online Sessions

I wanted to re-share a couple of takeaways from our October Staff Meeting in terms of effective teaching strategies.

-Be purposeful with each minute you have with students online

-Greet each student by name at the beginning of your time together

-Set "Agreements" or "Norms" for what your expectations are in your online learning environment (i.e. everyone on mute while teacher is talking, chat feature is for..., how to volunteer, etc.)

-Finding effective, manageable ways to solicit student understanding, and engage students in discussion

We'll plan to start keeping track of attendance in the same way we have been...marking students absent based on their attendance to the first Homeroom meeting of the day.  We can adjust to taking attendance for core classes if it seems that would make more sense...we'll be discussing more as the week goes on.

End of Quarter 1

The end of the quarter is on Friday (10/30).  Grades will be due by the end of the day on the following Wednesday (11/4), as we'll begin printing and mailing report cards home on Thursday morning.  We'll use comments this year to provide feedback to students and their families about their performance in your class...not to highlight what was learned in the past quarter.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Advisory Tool in Infinite Campus

Thanks to Mrs. Mrnak for sharing information about how to use the Advisory Tool in Infinite Campus.  It has helped her to communicate with students about their progress in a more efficient manner. 

https://www.loom.com/share/1727cb22dd5a4134a92a6d6c335e3ea3

Google Resources (Thanks Mrs. Rogness!)

Julie shared a doc on Friday with a number of resources she has been using or has learned about recently.  I wanted to share as well.  Thanks Julie.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-tlmmbKqjI4TjGs7KJGI-iXs6o_-vL5FgRFXXmaHF6U/edit?ts=5f91d56c

Improving Writing Instruction

Thanks to Mrs. Morrissey for providing our resource this week.  Helping students to improve their writing is critical, and the more efficient we can be at it, the better.  The resource this week shares common mistakes made in teaching writing, and what can be a better focus.

"5 Common Mistakes Teachers Make in Writing Instruction & How to Fix Them"

Colleen Cruiz from the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project, recently shared the most common mistakes in writing instruction and their fixes. These mistakes come from a place of good, but  hinder our students from reaching their true writing potential. Here are the top 5 mistakes from her research, and how to remedy them: 

1. Making and sticking to backyard rules: Ever had special or added rules to playing tag with friends when you were younger? Writing examples of backyard rules can be anything from banning specific words (said is dead) or requiring a minimum number of sentences for it to count as a paragraph. While we are trying to get student volume to increase in reality we are decreasing opportunity. Sometimes said is the right word to use, sometimes you see a Pulitzer prize-winning author’s piece has a one-sentence paragraph, and sometimes you should use I in a piece of writing.

The Fix: Teach students about the audience and purpose for their writing rather than setting arbitrary rules.

2. Dragging out units: Often if we aren’t comfortable with a unit, or we feel it isn’t going well, our instinct is to slow it down. That often makes you feel like the unit is dragging on forever, and you and your students hate it by the end.

The Fix: When we struggle with something, the more we go through it the better we will get at it. Go through the unit quickly, and then cycle through it again at another time. The more times you (and your students) go through the unit, the better it will feel, and more understanding will come.

3. Giving feedback students can’t use:  When a students’ work is riddled with comments or feedback is way outside of their zone of proximal development, a student can quickly feel overwhelmed. The result is the student not doing much revising. 

The Fix: Only give feedback that encourages growth. Evaluative feedback doesn’t encourage significant growth. Instead, think about giving feedback like a video game. Video games give you little pieces of feedback more frequently and where you are to help you keep moving forward.

4. Creating Unnecessary Obstacles: These mistakes can be the rule that students can’t move onto typing up their draft until you have looked at it, to color-coding all revisions, or requiring several drafts before they can turn in a final copy. This makes the students too reliant on you. Often you might see students asking the teacher what to do next or some students not finishing their work at all. 

The Fix: If you see that students aren’t finishing their work or constantly needing you to move them to the next step, then take a look to see what unnecessary obstacles might be in their way and remove those barriers.

5. Teaching the writing, not the writer: As teachers, we can become attached to specific writing projects. Doing so, we end up spending more time teaching about that specific writing project rather than the skills of writing.

The Fix: Instead of focusing on the specific project, and the pieces the students need to do for that project, think of the transferable skills. What can you teach them today that they can use ANYTIME they are writing?

The Middle Update 10/16/2020

The outreach that takes place on Parent-Teacher Conference night in our school is really something special.  Thank you so much to all of you for putting forth the necessary effort to pull off these important conferences in impressive fashion.  The research is clear that having trusting, open communication with the parents/guardians of our students leads to improved student achievement.  Each one of these conferences builds that trust and support from the families...a direct correlation to student success in the classroom.  Maintaining those connections and building upon the foundation set during these interactions will be important moving forward as well.

Resource of the Week

Instructional videos have become a key staple of how we instruct our students.  Teacher collaboration in this area has been fun to witness and see as the year has gone on.  We have so many talented people in this area.  The article this week provides current research on what makes videos effective and also provides additional tools that have the potential to work well.

"How to Create Engaging Instructional Videos" - Jenny Gieras 

End of Quarter 1

The end of the 1st Quarter is Friday, October 30th.  We have 2 weeks left until our first grading period has ended.  We have a Professional Development Day scheduled for Monday, November 2nd.  We'll plan to have 1st quarter grades and comments due on the morning of Thursday, November 5th, with report cards being mailed out shortly thereafter.  We will be sending home STAR test summaries at that time as well. 

For report card comments, there is no need to provide a description of the topics covered in the 1st quarter, however, try to give students and parents feedback that can summarize their progress and efforts during the 1st grading period....or even an update since Parent-Teacher Conferences.

COVID-19 Update

It's no secret that there has been an increase in COVID activity in our state and county over the past few weeks.  The Board adopted gating criteria at their last meeting that included adjusting our instructional model (in-person, hybrid, virtual) using data points from activity both around the county and in our school.  The criteria provided flexibility based on a number of factors, with an important one being activity in our school.  As of this writing, of the positive cases that have been in our building, each was traced to someone outside of the school, and there hasn't been evidence of transmission taking place in our schools.  Our whole system and plan is in place to limit the chances of someone spreading the virus to others inside the school building, as well as identifying and making sure no one with symptoms is in our building.  

We have seen students with symptoms and have either sent them home or advised them to stay home.  Our criteria for someone who is displaying symptoms is they need to stay home for 10 days and be symptom free, or have a negative COVID test and be symptom-free.  A close contact to a positive case also must be quarantined for 14 days since last exposure.  Monitoring symptoms, close contacts, and absence trends continue to be at the top of the priority list each day in the front office.

Like we all have discussed at different times, our system is set up to be mobile, and have very little change in instructional planning and delivery if a change took place.  On our virtual Wednesdays, each grade has experimented and worked through potential schedules that would allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences for our students (which research supports as effective practice).  As we continue moving forward, we'll need to continue to refine this plan to maximize the effectiveness of both teacher and student time during a virtual learning day.  We've also had one cohort participating in remote learning for the past week and a half...we adjusted their schedule to all them to do their schoolwork as if they were in school, and early results appear to be very positive.  We'll have lessons to learn and share from this experience that can help each grade level and their virtual learning plan.

These conversations will continue, with the goal of all of us being prepared in the event the state orders all schools to go virtual, or the district decides to make that change based on our local experience.

The Brain Science Behind Happiness and Success

I have had the opportunity, through my work with the state association for WI administrators, to learn from Dr. Raj Nijhawan and his work on what's called the LEO project.  His work has been notable because of the impact it has had on the improvement of program participants' mental health indicators.  Over the past few months, I've gotten the chance to listen to him in person and watch the videos of his program.  His work and findings are fascinating, however, there is a lot to digest.  

If you are interested in this conversation, let me know, and we can talk informally, or if there is more interest I can put something together...but in a nut shell if we can understand, how our brain is wired and operates, we can utilize exercises that can reprogram how our brain manages difficult things for us, (stress, anxiety, etc.) "Neuroplasticity" is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization...with the right training and practice we can change how our brains are wired.  There are many facets to his work, and it's complex, however, I believe there are implications that could be helpful in helping each one of us and our students.

THANK YOU

I simply cannot thank you enough for what you do day in and day out...I have received so much positive feedback about the environment you all have created for the students in our school during this time of uncertainty for so many.  I know it's not easy, but your efforts are so appreciated by me and the members of our community...thank you, thank you, thank you.

The Middle Update 10/11/2020

I don't know about you, but I thought the weather this weekend was amazing...my family got a chance to get out and enjoy the beauty of the countryside, and I hope yours did too.  We are 2/3 of the way into the 1st quarter and have a shorter, but a little more intense week ahead.  

In any organization, it's the people that make the difference, and each person reading this plays a critical role in making PMS a special place.  Thank you for doing what you do with a purpose...having an environment where people put their "why" into their "what" on a daily basis makes all the difference. 

Resource of the Week 

The resource this week is an expansion on the message from our staff meeting this week.  The article provides practical application of the ideas I shared from The Distance Learning Playbook.  A common theme is that it's not the technology used or medium that makes the difference...it's what we do with our time and how we structure the learning that makes the difference.  It is critical for us to continue to examine the research behind distance learning, and adjust what we do to maximize our effectiveness.  

"7 High-Impact, Evidence-Based Tips for Online Teaching" - Youki Terada

Fostering Collaboration Among our Students

As we continue to become more comfortable and familiar with our mode of instruction this year, many of you have sought ways to facilitate more collaboration for our students.  Our technology has become more reliable and with the introduction of the "break out rooms" in Google Meet, we should continue to look for ways to get students to talk with each other about their learning.  This is something that doesn't have to wait until "we go virtual", this is something that can be done when it's appropriate now.  Take a look below at some examples of how teachers have been creative with using our technology to enhance the learning for all.

Students in Mrs. Larson's class (top and bottom picture) discuss their books with a small group at school and another student joining in the conversation from home.  This has become a daily routine in this classroom.

Mrs. Crawford has instructed Art classes virtually, and it has gone quite well

PDF to Google Doc

There are many reasons why converting text from a PDF to a Google Doc can be helpful...being able to utilize "Google Read & Write" is just one of them.  Mr. Odden kindly created and shared a video that shows one strategy for how to do this.  Thanks Mr. Odden.

Parent-Teacher Conferences and Schedule for this Week

Thank you to all who have reached out and scheduled PT Conferences with our families.  If you haven't heard from a family about scheduling a time, we should just assign them a time, and communicate that time with the family (Robin and Debbie can help communicate those times as well).  We'll look to connect with each family via Google Meet, or by telephone if that is preferred by the family.  It's a time to share how things are going and plan for how improvements can be made if necessary.  Please keep me in the loop on specific recommendations or thoughts on how we can better support a student.

Also, on Thursday, we will be dismissing students at 12:00.  Our lunch schedule will be different on this day because many groups are scheduled to eat after 12:00.  I'll be sharing that plan early this week, and we'll plan to have 7th and 8th grade students still go to electives, and 5th and 6th grade students will not on Thursday.  

Also, don't forget to sign up for the Taco Truck dinner on Thursday!

Health and Safety

This week we experienced a situation where we had a positive case in our school for the first time.  This is something the Elementary and High School have already had to work through.  As we continue our educational journey this school year, we need to continue our efforts to make sure our safety protocols are being followed by everyone.  Maintaining that 6 feet as much as possible, limiting time spent with a student inside the 6 feet bubble, proper mask-wearing, and hand-washing/cleaning are just as critical now as they were at the beginning of the school year.  

We continue to monitor the student absences due to illness and dig deep on potential connections.  So far, we've had a few students who have experienced COVID-19 symptoms, but test results indicated it was another bug of some kind.  As of this writing, there has been no evidence of spread within our buildings...our safety measures are a critical part of ensuring this continues to be true. 

A couple items borrowed from Mr. Hausser's Blog...(thanks Jay and Anna!)

A Little Reading (the message is from Jay)

My wife (Jay's wife to clarify) shared this article with me and I thought about our school immediately.  In fact, after reading it, there were a lot of common themes and feelings that I have endured during this.  I hope you find this to be reassuring and helpful in some way.  We will get through this together.

Hitting the 6- Month Wall

Another Resource with Ideas for Virtual Learning (Thanks Anna)

Feel free to share this infographic that I made based off a recent ASCD article, Maintaining Relationships, Reducing Anxiety by Jessica Minahan in the Trauma-Sensitive Schools Issue for October 2020 in your upcoming blog post: 

https://create.piktochart.com/output/49418409-making-connections-remotely

Wisconsin Health Connect (Contributed by Mr. Fischer, Safety Director/Coronavirus Czar)

This is a free screening tool from DHS that includes an opportunity to connect with a trained medical professional to clear up any questions related to COVID - 19.

https://www.wihealthconnect.com/

The Middle Update 10/2/20

We are now officially more than halfway through the 1st quarter of the school year!  As we continue to navigate the realities of educating our children, some things are quite different, and some remain the same.  What remains constant is the effort and student-centered nature of our team.  It is hard to express how much I appreciate the time, effort, and passion you have put into doing what you do each day.  Our parents and our community are appreciative and lucky to have each of you serving their children. 

Resource of the Week

Being five weeks into the school year, and facing a little uncertainty about our path forward, one thing I'm confident we are going to need to do is be prepared to teach remotely for a longer period of time.  There has been a lot of work and study into what makes for effective online teaching and learning.  The article this week is a post that provides some insights into what makes effective online learning happen.

"Tips for Teachers Teaching Remotely: The Ultimate List" by The Albert Team

October Staff Meeting

Our Staff Meeting for October will feature both asynchronous and synchronous learning activities.  I'll be sharing an interactive presentation with you sometime on Monday.  The goal of the meeting will be to understand effective distance learning strategies and to continue to strengthen staff relationships.  You will receive an invitation through Google Calendar to join a small group virtually, to briefly get to know more people in our building better, and to share your plans on Thursday (10/8) afternoon at 3:00.

Livestream in 8th Grade ELA

In 8th Grade ELA, Mr. Odden live-streamed an activity from his classroom.  The other classes tuned in, as well as the students from home.  

Mr. Odden said, "We did a book preview, so I thought it the live stream future would be more engaging than a video for this particular lesson.  I had some students in my group present about the books, and I was very happy with how it went."

Mrs. Andringa, who was facilitating this lesson in a different classroom also thought it was effective, stating, "To have them hear from Eric about the books was way more effective than how I would have presented them.  It went really well."

As we learn and the consistency and reliability of our technology continues to improve (knock on wood), more options are available for how we can deliver instruction, and start to build in more student to student collaboration in our practices.  If you have facilitated some new strategies that have been effective, I'd love to hear about them and share with others.

Sharing Appreciation

I wanted to share a note from a parent, giving the 7th grade team a "shout-out"

Hello,
I just wanted to say thank all of you for having the Google Meets on Wednesdays.

Mason wasn’t too sure about it, but after being able to see all of you, homework went much, MUCH better!

Also, thanks for your understanding while he was out for the extra 2 weeks.

You all are doing a great job and we know this is not easy.

Stay strong and you have our support!

Have a great weekend!

Early Release on Thursday (10/15)

All students will be released at 1:15 on Thursday, 10/15.  We'll plan on keeping our elective schedule and times the same (5th grade won't have specials on this day), however, each team can take a look at their schedule and modify the core classes however you feel would work best for your grade level.  If you need some help thinking through the changes, just let me know, and I can put something together.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Our annual Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14 (4:00 - 7:30) and Thursday, Oct. 15 (2:00 - 7:30).  There will also be an Early Dismissal (1:15) on Thursday, 10/15.

We will hold our PT Conferences virtually, similar to how we did for Open House.  The conferences can be done through Google Meet (preferred) or by telephone (if parents prefer it this way).  In general, each Homeroom teacher will schedule a conference with each student in their group, including our virtual students.  Teachers that do not have a Homeroom group should join the conferences of students that you feel could benefit from some feedback in your class.

We will have an Early Dismissal on Thursday at 1:15, so all teachers should remain and conduct their conferences from school.  A meal will be provided by the Parent's Club this evening.  On Wednesday, teachers can conduct the conferences from school or at your home.  If you plan to conduct the conferences from home, please ensure that you have a confidential location (no one is listening or appearing in videos), appropriate dress, there is a reliable connection, and all requests from parents to meet on Wednesday from 4:00-7:30 are accepted.

Monday LiveStream Link

After receiving quite a bit of feedback about the pilot of a potential new Monday Morning tradition, it seems pretty clear this is something the kids want to continue.  We'll keep it rolling on Monday morning, so I'll ask you to join in the live-stream at the link below.  You can tell the kids to keep the requests and ideas coming in.

stream.meet.google.com/stream/d991963a-31b2-4057-b059-035e2961a916

The Middle Update 9/26/20

We have 4 weeks with our students under our belts and have gotten the chance to establish relationships with students and parents, as well as build routine and structure into our 2020 learning environment.  I have been in awe of how hard everyone has worked to make the learning experiences engaging and successful for our students.  We have had to look at things through a different lens and be creative in many instances.  I can't tell you just how much I appreciate the extra efforts that have gone into establishing what we have started.  

In times of busyness and stress, it really helps to have your "why" established deep into your core.  Your "why" makes those efforts worth it, and in having the opportunity to see and discuss your "why", it's no surprise that the well-being of our kids is at the core of why we do what we do...it takes a special person to dedicate their career to being a positive force/impact in the lives of others...helping to move the trajectory for some kids in a more positive direction.  It truly impacts the future of our communities.  Thank you doesn't seem like enough sometimes.

Resource of the Week

As we grow more comfortable with the format of our instructional delivery model this year, we now look to creating even more impactful learning experiences for our students.  The article this week shares some research about the impact of having students use questioning to develop a deeper understanding.  The article also gives some examples of how to incorporate this practice into virtual instruction.

"Using Student-Generated Questions to Promote Deeper Thinking" - Youki Terada

Close Contacts and Positive Cases

The spread of the corona-virus in both our state and county continues to be something that is at the forefront of the news.  In the Middle School, we have had students who have been a close contact to a positive case, but as of this writing no positive cases.  In those situations, a close contact to a positive case is ordered by the county to quarantine for 14 days starting with the day of last contact.  A "close contact" of a "close contact" is not required to quarantine.  There are situations where a person can be a "presumptive positive" before actually testing positive...this is when a person has been a close contact and has symptoms...this "presumptive positive" is treated as a positive case.  If we learn that someone at school has been a "close contact" to a positive case, we will communicate that information as soon as possible to the affected individuals.

The communication about these situations can be tricky.  There are HIPAA guidelines that we must follow to protect people's health privacy.  We are still working to ensure that we follow the HIPAA guidelines, and at times that can be frustrating for some.  One thing is for sure, if you have been a close contact to a positive case, you will be contacted as soon as that information is known.

As part of our standard procedures in the office, we keep a spreadsheet of absences that are due to illness...we monitor symptoms, close contacts, and keep tabs on if there are any trends happening within certain groups.  Calls are made home and we are working to be as thorough as possible in ensuring we know if there is corona-virus activity that is close to home.

Virtual Schedules

Our 8th Grade team piloted a Virtual Learning Schedule (8th) that allowed each CORE teacher to meet with each cohort group last Wednesday.  We are working to establish a plan that involves more structure for students and allows for more consistent student/teacher interaction in a virtual learning situation.  The experience from Wednesday went well for the 8th grade team.  The 7th Grade team will also pilot a VL Schedule (7th) this Wednesday.  We'll continue to reflect on the experience, working to provide the best learning experience for our students.  More conversation and planning will continue to happen as we learn more...the 5th and 6th grade groups, along with our Applied Class teachers continue to think about, discuss and prepare as well.  I appreciate each of your efforts to help us be ready for any learning situation that we could encounter in the coming months.

  

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences are right around the corner.  The conferences are scheduled for October 14th (4:00-7:30) and October 15th (2:00-7:30).  At this time, I'm not prepared to share exactly what those will look like (I'll know more after a meeting on Monday), but we can plan for having each teacher plan to meet with the parents of the students in their cohort, with special meetings set up for teachers that teach elective classes.  More information to follow....and it's important to note that Friday, October 16th is a No School Day.

Fire Drills

We are required to perform a monthly fire drill, even in the face of a pandemic.  We can modify how we do a fire drill, however, and that is what we'll do.  We'll conduct our Fire Drills on Tuesday, September 29th starting at 10:00.  I'll be sharing more details soon, however, the drills will involve certain groups heading out of their fire exit doors and to their locations at certain times.  We'll utilize the same exits (for the most part) that students enter and exit from now for their specific classrooms.  Here is a quick summary of locations to head to for each exit.

Door #4 - Should cross Cleveland St. and stay away from other groups.

Door #5 - Should actually exit Door #6 (North side of building) and head to fence away from other groups.

Door #12 - Should head out to an area in the field away from other groups

Door #13 - Should head out to an area in the field away from other groups

Main Entrance - 6th Grade groups should head out and left up to the field away from other groups.  8th grade should head left and proceed to the grassy areas near the sidewalk on the way to the HS away from other groups.

Livestream on Monday Morning

After the announcements, please join a Live Stream for a special Monday event.  

stream.meet.google.com/stream/d991963a-31b2-4057-b059-035e2961a916

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 9/20/2020

After three weeks of of our new learning environment there has proven to be many successes and challenges.  Some of the technology pieces, which we anticipated working smoothly in our planning, have been frustrating at times.  I am really impressed with our staff and the fact that despite the challenges and frustrations this "atypical" school year has provided, our dedication and focus on the well-being of our students has risen to the top and has helped us push through these challenges.  I, along with our students and families, so appreciate each of you and those extra efforts.

The global pandemic has been a traumatic experience in many ways for all of us, and we have seen much evidence of the effects of this trauma on our students as the start of the school year has unfolded.  Please keep a special eye out for signs that a student may be struggling with this or other trauma.  The efforts each of you make during the school day to connect and build positive, trusting relationships with your students make a huge difference...not only for the kids, but you can feel it in the overall culture of our school.  Our student services team is also equipped and ready to help any students in need.  

Resources of the Week

Our resource this week is targeted at our middle level learners...as we get to know them early in the year, it is oftentimes surprising to learn about the skills we need to teach them that we assume they would already know how to do...knowing how to send an simple email is one skill that came up this year for our 6th graders.  The article this week shares some of these key skills we need to focus on, especially while we have them in front of us.

"How to Help Middle School Students Develop Crucial Skills This Year" - Sarah Gonser

More information about effective online instruction continues to become available.  Good tips for all of us to know and understand in our environment in the article below.

"5 Research-Backed Tips to Improve Your Online Teaching Presence" - Youki Terada

COVID and Close Contact

Just like in a typical school year, a sense of comfort and routine has started to set in for all of us.  It's so important that we don't let our attention and focus on the guidelines designed to keep us all safe become lax.  If there is a confirmed case of COVID in our school, the contact tracers will ask questions about who has had "close contact" with the individual.  "Close contact" is defined as being within 6 feet of the individual for longer than 15 minutes (masked or unmasked...behind a barrier or not behind a barrier).  Also included is if anyone touched the individual or was in contact with respiratory droplets.  

In our typical work, it is very difficult to keep distance when working with our students...however, this is not a typical year or situation, so we, as adults, need to do everything we can to protect ourselves, understanding that keeping that distance may not be comfortable or as effective in working with students, but it will make a huge difference in terms of minimizing the chance of spread.  When there have been positive cases with people I know personally, it always seems like a surprise, so we have to think about anyone we come around as potential carriers of the virus.  

We also need to continue to hold our students to the same standards and be insistent on doing our best with the close contact guidelines.  Thank you all so much for your efforts in this area, as I believe we have been doing well...just want to make sure we continue those important efforts.

Posting Grades

We are three weeks into the first quarter and that is the time we typically have enough evidence to post overall progress grades for each standard.  Many teachers have done this already.  If you have not, please take a look at the evidence you have collected for your class in each standard and post an overall standard grade.  I will send a Infinite Campus Message out to parents on Wednesday indicating that grades are posted and can be viewed in IC.  

In a discussion with the 6th grade team, they thought it would be best for each cohort teacher to assign an overall "Follows Classroom Expectations" score for their group, rather than the subject teacher.  We added the option to assign a score for "Follows Classroom Expectations" in the Homeroom section.  The other Puma Pride standards that subject teachers should assign are one or both of the following: "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" and "Puts Forth Effort to Produce High Quality Work".  Applied teachers that actually meet with their students can also provide "Follows Classroom Expectations" feedback using the Puma Pride grades.

Virtual Wednesdays

As we are getting to know our students and their levels, many of you have really tried to use this time to meet with our virtual students.  This is a great use of time, and our morning times should really be spent working to set up either individual or group meetings with virtual students or students from other sections that we don't get the chance to see or work with.  We have utilized "office hours" and some students take advantage of these times, but setting up times to meet with students, while copying their parents on an email invitation, would help enhance the likelihood that students will attend those critical sessions.  Homeroom teachers can assist by reminders their students about meeting times with other teachers.

Some teachers have also began to explore the possibility of meeting virtually with students from other cohorts during class time.  Getting to know all of the students that aren't in our cohort group has proven to be challenging, so being creative and utilizing each other to provide the all important feedback to students is what we'll need to continue to work on.

Donuts

What a great turnout for our class color day.  It appeared that a huge percentage participated in this unifying effort.  It turns out that I'll need to bring donuts in for each cohort based on the fact that nearly every student participated.  My plan is to spread out this effort over the course of this week.  The plan will be to bring in enough donuts for each grade level on each day...Monday - 5th, Tuesday, 6th, etc.  If I have extras I'll try to cover as many Homerooms as possible.  Kwik Trip is going to enjoy this challenge :)

The Middle Update 9/13/2020

We have 2 weeks under our belt!  I am looking forward to having a rain free week (hopefully...).  We have started to get into a routine and a rhythm both throughout the school and in each classroom.  As all of us get more comfortable in our routine (kids included), it's a lot easier to let our guards down in terms of relaxing our safety expectations.  With all that is going on around us, each day, each minute is critical for us to ensure we are adhering to the guidelines that are designed to minimize the risk of spreading the virus.  We've sent a couple of students home already first thing in the morning after a teacher asked questions after noticing a student not well.  Face coverings, maintaining 6 feet of distance, not letting students mix with other cohorts, and staying out of school when symptoms are present remain critical to our efforts to educate our students while they are in the physical school building.  I appreciate your help and diligence in ensuring that we do a great job of this school-wide.  Hopefully, we can maintain what we started in terms of keeping the virus out of our school.

Close Contact

As we continue to learn more about how the virus spreads and quarantine/isolation guidelines, it's critical that we all have a firm understanding of the definition of "close contact".  In the event of a positive case, close contact will determine who needs to be quarantined.  Literally, anyone could be carrying the virus and we have to try really hard to keep that in mind as we go about our daily operations.  

Close Contact is defined by the CDC as:

"someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic clients, 2 days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated."

Additionally..."includes persons with direct physical contact with a probable or confirmed case, direct care for a patient with probable or confirmed COVID-19 disease without using proper personal protective equipment"

Resource of the Week

A couple of resources within the Google Suite to share this week.  The first resource is a description of a chrome extension that is helpful in Google Meet.  More information below (Thanks Mrs. Morrissey for the contribution this week).  The second is a feature found in Google Calendar that utilizes the "appointments slot" (Thanks to Mrs. Rogness for sharing this contribution!)

Chrome Extension: Dualless

Split your screen to see both your students and what you’re presenting.

This Chrome extension allows you to split your screen so you can see your students as well as what you are presenting in your Google Meet. Once you have added the Dualless extension join your Google Meet, click on the Dualless icon, and choose how large you want each split-screen window to be. 

Now that you have selected your size windows, you can click “Present Now” in your Meet and select “A Window” and only choose the window you would like to share with students.  When you are done presenting you can close out of the presentation or end the meeting.  

Want to use it now?  Click Dualless Chrome Extension Link to go right to the extension and add it.  

Want to watch a video tutorial of how to use Dualless? Just click the video tutorial link to see how it works.

Appointments Slots within Google Calendar

"You basically open a slot or slots of time and can designate how long they are, then you can share the entire appointments page with families and let them sign up for a slot of their choice.  Then it automatically generates and sends a google meet reminder/invite with meeting codes (and they can use the call in feature instead if they want).

*This can help us meet with students and ensure they meet with us without anyone else popping in.  We would also know in advance who wants to meet with us and when."

Here's a place to learn more about how to use this feature in Google Calendar.

Grade Level Weekly Planners

I wanted to share an update about our weekly planners.  Each team is sending home a copy each week through Campus Messenger, but each week is also visible on our website.  I have received numerous emails from parents who expressed appreciation for this tool...I included a couple of quotes from some of those emails below:

"I just wanted to say that I really appreciate the Weekly Planner documents you shared! It's great for us parents that have kids transitioning from elementary to middle school. I want XXXXX to be independent and accountable on her own, but it's great to have this as a backup, especially on Wednesdays!"

"I am finding it a bit tricky to know as a parent what needs to be done and how involved I should be with middle schoolers.  The video was helpful to see on the website where I can go each week to get an idea of what they are doing and what assignments are due."

"Thank you so much for posting the Grade Level Weekly Planners.  I appreciate those so much.  I was looking for a way to stay on top of assignments with the boys, but didn't want to bother the teachers since they are incredibly busy.  These are great!!"

Extended Time Periods of Virtual Learning

If we are ordered to close our school for a period of time, we will need to have a plan/schedule ready to go for students.  I have gotten the chance to talk through this scenario with at least one member of each grade level team (except 5th) during some BW Meetings.  Once teams have discussed and are on the same page, we really should be sharing with students and even practicing on Virtual Wednesdays.  I am hopeful we can continue in-person for the rest of the school year...however, preparation is critical for the continuity of learning and our operations...we need to be ready to implement in a day's notice.

Collaboration

As we have gotten comfortable with the format of our day to day operations, we need to now look for ways to be creative about how we can get more collaboration opportunities for our students while adhering to safety guidelines.  If you have found some success in this area with your students, or are ready to try some innovative approaches, please reach out to me, so we can continue work to spread these important practices in all classrooms throughout the building.

Building Tight-Knit Communities in our Homebase Groups

It appears that our groups have gotten off to a great start in terms of building community.  Just watching the groups interact during their lunch break and while visiting classes, it's evident most kids feel comfortable in their groups.  We must continue our efforts in this area.  I am re-sharing the bank of activities we have collected as a resource with many ideas for how to be special in this area.

Homeroom Greetings, Shares, and Community Building Activities

Homeroom Picture/Class Color Day on Friday

During Homeroom early this week, each Homeroom should vote on a representative color for your group.  On Friday, we'll ask each Homeroom to wear a shirt that has their color as the primary color.  The Homeroom with the highest percentage of participation or every Homeroom that has 100% participation will be rewarded with donuts next Monday morning.  Please add your Homeroom's color to this DOCUMENT.  We'll be coming around on Friday to take socially distanced photos of each Homeroom group to be displayed on a bulletin board in the school.

Family Bulletin Board in Office

The black bulletin board that is outside of my office is designed to share about our lives outside of school.  Our lives outside of school are very important, and I thought having a space dedicated to share your family photos would be a way for everyone to get to know each other better.  Feel free to post a photo of your family, you with special people or pets, or of you doing something you enjoy.  I envision that more may go up around the holiday season, but feel free to add if you'd like.  

Images from the Week

The Middle Update 9/7/2020

The first week is in the books.  I have enjoyed the interaction with students, watching talented educators do their thing, and just overall being back in school.  I have such an appreciation for each of you and your willingness to do go with the flow, talk through struggles, work towards solutions, and be all about putting kids first.  I can't thank you enough, and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to lead such a great team.  We learned a lot this week, will learn more next week, and continue to work on improving the learning experience for our students.   

Resource of the Week

In our resource of the week, I'll try to provide some tips and tricks that will help us continually improve our virtual teaching and learning skills.  This week's article is about providing our students audio feedback.  Typically in our responses, we write feedback to students...our article this week provides a glimpse into a study where teachers focused on providing audio feedback.  Thanks to Mrs. Walther for sharing.

"How (and Why) to Leave Audio Feedback on Student Work This Year, Whether During In-Person or Distance Learning" - Dave Stuart Jr.

Student Data and RTI

We have just started the process of getting to know our students...both personality-wise and academic skill wise.  Students took the STAR assessment this week in Reading and will take it soon in Math.  We'll be working as a larger grade level team (not just in departments) on analyzing this student data and planning for how we can close the gaps we will see for some of our students and enrich the learning for others.  Our structure will be different based on our different schedule, and our plans will certainly be creative.  We sent out some initial dates to start this process, but certainly adjust if those dates/times don't work for your team...just let me know.

School Activities and Special Days??

As we all get adjusted to a different way of doing things at school, I'd like to get some smart people together to map out a plan for some fun things that kids really enjoy that add to the culture of our school.  While the guidelines that we are following won't allow for a large group assembly watching pigs race in the gym...I think there may be some creative ways that we can still achieve a similar goal.  If you are interested in this type of discussion, please join me on Thursday (9/10) at 2:50 in the cafeteria. 

BW Meetings with Me

I'll soon be sending out invitations for Bi-Weekly Meetings with teachers.  The purpose is to have a consistent time for you to check in with me, and for us to utilize a time to talk about continuous improvement and what that looks like for you.  The intention is for the time to be between 10-15 minutes.  You should not look for me during this time, as I will come to your classroom or we can meet virtually.  If something comes up, I will work hard to notify you and reschedule.

Recap Video to Parents

I sent the following video out to parents at the end of the day Friday...wanted to give a quick recap of the week, but also to share how they can use our website to access important organizational materials for students.  If you have an idea of something to add to the site that would enhance communication for the school or your class, just let me know.

Images from the Week

It's Almost Game Time!!

I want to thank you for your efforts in preparing for this school year.  In a time that has most everyone experiencing a wide range of emotions, we, as a team, are about as prepared as we can be to execute our return to learn plan.  I am experiencing a little "pre-game jitters", but I am scared to think of what I would feel if we didn't have such an amazing team.  I appreciate each one of you so much, and am so thankful for the "all hands on deck" mentality we had preparing this building to educate our kids.  I feel very fortunate to be your Principal...thank you.

The post this week has some important information for further preparation as tomorrow morning is less than 24 hours away as of this writing.  There will no doubt be things that come up that challenge us...but having a solid understanding of our guiding principles for a safe re-opening of schools will help guide each of us in the moment as we have to make decisions....for those situations that are "in-betweeners or gray", please err on the side of safety and it's ok to say, "I will check for sure, but for now we'll ___________".  

Resource of the Week

Many of us were discussing how to best utilize groups of students for collaboration and rotate through them to give them enough feedback during our Wednesday morning session.  The article this week provides some thoughts and strategies for doing this effectively in a socially distanced world.

"Station Rotation in an Era of Social Distancing" - Catlin Tucker

1st Day Logistics

Students will be arriving in the morning on campus.  Buses will line up and won't let students off until we ask them to do so. (I'll be out by the buses)  Teachers should be in their classrooms.  Everyone else should be at their assigned morning location.  Students that walk to school or were dropped off will be let inside at 7:19 am by the door supervisors.  Once all of those students enter the building through their assigned door, we'll release the first bus, when those students enter the building, we'll release the next, etc.

Students should report to their classrooms when they enter the building.  

     -Students may have brought something they needed to return from last spring (textbook/chromebook/hot spot, etc.).  Those materials will need to be returned to the office, but please don't send them down with these materials right away in the morning.  Please email Robin if you have a student or two that brought back materials that need to be returned, and she will help coordinate that return sometime throughout the day.

     -Some students may not be set up with an account yet.  These students still need to turn in an AUP form.  If a new student has an AUP or any other form that needs to come to the office, you may send them down right away in the morning.

     -The only other student that should be sent down to the office is a student that is not on anyone's list...if a students shows up that we are not expecting, we'll need to work that out in the office.

Announcements will begin at or close to 7:30

     -As students come in, go ahead and get them situated and in their locations, as you begin to learn more about them.  I'll get on the announcements for the Pledge and then I'll direct people to go ahead and join the live stream link - stream.meet.google.com/stream/82a2f99d-687e-440d-ab2e-1b90c167b57d - Once the live stream is complete, go ahead and continue with your plans.

Breakfast/Lunch Count Procedures (This is slightly different than what we discussed during our meeting)

     -Each teacher will have a laminated sheet of paper with a bar code for each student in their mailbox.  You should ask students who would like a school breakfast or a milk.  If a student wants a breakfast (white milk comes with), please circle their name.  If a student would like a milk only (white is only option), please write an M by their name.  Mrs. Jackson will come around and collect those sheets so the kitchen can prepare.  After you do this, you can go ahead and ask how many students plan to eat school lunch.  You can enter that information on the attendance page in Infinite Campus.  Breakfasts will be brought to the Homerooms each morning prior to the scheduled time for your grade.

Specials Drop Off and Pick-Up

     -Each Homeroom teacher should walk their group from their class to their first elective.  After the first elective is over, the elective teacher will walk with their group down the hall to their next area.  Either Mr. Schultz or Mrs. Graeve will be out in the downstairs hallway in between, and either Mrs. Serstad or Mr. Kartos - or Mrs. Cross or Mr. Digman will be out in the hallway near the lower ramp area.  The Homeroom teacher should then pick up their class from the at the end of the last Elective time.  We may have to iron out the "in-between" times so that we can sanitize high touch surfaces in between groups...

Recess Locations and Door Use

     -The Logistics document has been updated with Door #'s  to use for outside break time and social time over lunch break.  The map with locations and exit door #'s is below.

Homeroom Modification for Virtual Students

Last Thursday, we made a modification to our Homeroom grouping plan.  For our Homeroom lessons and meetings, our virtual students will meet via Google Meet together instead of joining a Homeroom group lesson that is taking place as an in-person group.  Mr. Schultz will lead the 8th grade virtual students, Mrs. Graeve the 7th grade, Mrs. Morton the 6th, and Mrs. Snyder the 5th.  The students will remain in the original assigned Homeroom groups for classes.  Homeroom teachers are "go-to" persons for our virtual students.

Student Restroom Use

Students should use the assigned restroom for their Homeroom class.  Restroom breaks are built into the schedule, however, a student may be released to use the restroom in the event a student really has to go.

IMC Tour and Book Check-Out

Each Homeroom group will have the opportunity to tour the new IMC and check out a book starting on Thursday, Sept. 3.  A group will not have their PE class on one of these days and instead will report to the IMC based on the rotation found in this document in the "IMC Rotations" tab.  Ebony will be leading the tours and check-out.  Students will remain in the IMC for the whole class period.  Rotations are also below:

8th Grade	Thursday (9/3)	Friday (9/4)	Tuesday (9/8)
7:45 - 8:28	Andringa	Odden	Moe
8:28 - 9:10	Mrnak	Frehner
7th Grade	Thursday (9/3)	Friday (9/4)	Tuesday (9/8)
9:10 - 9:55	Hecht	Williams	Walther
9:55 - 10:40	Johnson	Hendrickson
6th Grade	Thursday (9/3)	Friday (9/4)
11:50 - 12:30	Crawford	Kallungi
12:30 - 1:10	Weckerly	Rogness
5th Grade	Thursday (9/3)	Friday (9/4)	Tuesday (9/8)
1:15 - 1:52	Stangler	Wheeler	Wagner
1:52 - 2:30	Milewski	Larson

Couple of Manager Items that we Didn't Cover in our Meeting

Air Filtration Circulation Units - Please turn these off before you leave at the end of the day and on in the morning.  The units are efficient at the "Normal" setting.

Staff Lounge - Teachers may use the refrigerators and visit to purchase a soda during the school day, however, this area is not open for staff congregation during lunch times or after school to help prevent any staff to staff spread.

Hot Spots - Hot spots can be available for any student that does not have internet connection at home.  If a student has a question, they should contact the office.

Staff Meetings - We will meet virtually as a staff on Wednesday (9/2) afternoon starting at 2:30.  I'll send directions and an invitation soon.

Employee Handbook - Typically I do an Employee Handbook reminder slide in at least one of our Back to School presentations.  Please take a review of the Employee Handbook and see me with any questions.  I have the same interpretations of our policies as always.