“We have the collective belief, language, and actions that we will positively affect every student in our school. We make the difference for the kids!”
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday break! Hopefully you were able to recharge your battery and take advantage of a little time off. Now we are onto the meat of the 2nd quarter. I am thankful for so many things...when I start listing the things I'm thankful for, it is a seemingly endless list. At the top of my list are my family (see below) and the opportunity to work alongside such great people each day. Thank you to each one of you who put students first day in and day out.
Resource of the Week
The article this week is a great resource that, for me, reinforced a lot of what we do as part of our habits, but also shared new perspective on how to meet the needs of our students and the perspective that we as a staff, should have to likely have more success.
We are getting close to the Winter Screening Window for the STAR Reading and Math assessments. We adjusted our WIN groups to meet the needs of our students with a targeted focus. This 1/2 hour each day is critical for the acceleration of growth for these students and closing the gaps. It's critical that, as staff members, we think about what steps can we take to make the most of this time and focus for our kids.
We plan to use part of our PD Day on January 17th, to review the data from the winter screener and refine our targeted plan to meet the needs of our students. I'm sure there is going to be a lot to celebrate during this process.
Next Staff Meeting
Mark your calendars for our next Middle School Staff Meeting. We'll be gathering on Wednesday, 12/15 at 7:15 in the cafeteria.
Assembly Recap
Thank you to all staff that participated in our assembly last Tuesday. The goal of a time like this is for students to walk away with a positive memory and a smile on their face...further deepening their positive connection to school.
Staff Shout-Outs
Shout it out!
Julie Rogness- She has been so supportive, and flexible with me. I have appreciated the opportunity to work with her and she has helped me a great deal.
Deb Jackson - She is doing so much to help me prepare for my class behind the scenes. I appreciate her work ethic and how helpful she is.
Opal Hoffman - She's been instrumental in supporting many students in getting them what they need to be more successful in my class.
Jill Graeve - She is incredible, she's awesome...working with Middle and High Schoolers and is impressive in how she does her job.
Olivia Dahlke - She is extremely helpful in supporting students and the immense amount of patience that she has is impressive, and works well for the students she supports.
Lexie Stark - She has been great to work with, a great resource to collaborate with, and I appreciate her very much.
Michelle Kratz - She is pretty great. She works so hard and is such a great support for not only the students she works with, but all of the students she interacts with.
Ryan Schultz - The joy he brings to the building is contagious. I am so thankful to work with him.
Kevin Frehner - Being creative at how to best meet the needs of 8th grade students while I was out.
PHS Staff Podcasts
This post is borrowed from Dr. Hoernke's blog...he put together a few podcasts that have our HS teachers sharing instructional strategies. Go ahead and take a few minutes
to listen to instructional strategies and ideas from our PHS staff.
A short, but important week this week! I'm looking forward to 2 great days of learning and culture building.
Resource of the Week
The latest Ed Leadership magazine focuses on what Hattie found to be the most impactful teaching attribute, "collective teacher efficacy". The article this week looks at one CRITICAL element of self-efficacy...a great read from a great resource.
We'll be having our End of Quarter 1 Celebration Assembly on Tuesday afternoon. Please dismiss students to the gym at 2:40. 7th and 8th grades will not have WIN time on this day. We'll still plan to have electives on Tuesday for 5th and 6th grades, but we'll be shortening them up a bit (details to be shared on Monday am).
We'll need one representative from each Homeroom to participate in a Musical Chairs competition...winning homeroom will get to house the Carelli Cup until our next competition. If you have the Carelli Cup, could you please bring it to the office sometime tomorrow?
The PUMA Way in Action
5th grader Teegan Nelson demonstrates "understanding" by helping out his fellow classmate!
Sharing Excellence
Another post to share cool, engaging learning taking place in our classrooms. Thanks Mrs. Rogness.
6th graders working on enlarging the "mystery mascot" piece by piece.
Poynette Math Team Strikes Again!
Poynette Middle School competed at the #Math Matters Competition in WI Dells on Tuesday Nov. 16th. Each grade, fifth through eighth, brought a team of five students, and competed against eleven or twelve other districts. Congratulations to the 8th grade team for taking first place, and two 8th graders also placed individually. Congratulations to Jameson M. for taking 1st and Emma L. for taking 3rd. Poynette also had two 5th graders place individually. Congratulations to Jackson O. for taking 1st and Max G. for taking 3rd.
A week down in Quarter 2...Snow...Student Success...what a week! Many more to come. Thank you to all for what you do to be a rock in the lives of many students.
Resource of the Week
The resource this week is a little longer, but well worth the watch...I got the chance to hear Dr. Adam Saenz speak a few years back...I just came across his Ted Talk that is close to the paradigm shifting presentation I heard him give a few years back. The talk is titled, "The Power of the Teacher". 18 minutes, but well worth the watch and/or listen.
I love it when teachers share with me moments that exhibit the strong culture that we have been working so hard to exist in each of our classrooms. I wanted to share an example that Mrs. Kennedy shared with me that occurred during her 6th grade WIN class.
"It was contest day, and the students were working so intently on the contest. The hum in the room of their concentration could be felt. Afterwards, I went through the solutions with them, and there was literal cheering and fist pumping in the room. They were so excited to get these problems correct. How exciting that these kids were feeling the excitement of mathematics and a job well done!"
Please continue to share these types of moments with me!
Report Cards
Thank you to all of your work in preparing our report cards. The finished product this quarter was much improved over past years, with much better overall, specific comments about student performance. I appreciate your efforts in this area, and I know the students and parents do as well. We'll continue to work on developing consistency and outlining clear expectations for impactful report card comments.
I was able to be in a couple of homerooms during the report card review, and I enjoyed hearing the goals that were reviewed, and goals set for next quarter. I saw a lot of ME's on student report cards, and also students who were very proud of those marks. A big thank you to each of you who give your Homeroom kids your best effort and for building a close-knit culture among your group.
Assembly on Tuesday (11/23)
We'll be hosting our first assembly in a long time in the Middle School Gym on Tuesday (11/23). We'll plan to dismiss students to the gym at 2:40. Students in our Leadership Group have been working hard to organize a fun experience for the kids. For this event, we'll plan to utilize bleachers on both side of the gym. 5th grade will be Northeast, 6th will be Northwest, 7th will be Southwest, and 8th will be Southeast.
A big shout-out to our teachers who have agreed to get a pie in the face (I think we are up to 6 teachers). For this event, we'll pull a name from the bucket and the first person can choose who they'll pie, and continue to pull names until we have a person for each teacher volunteer.
We'll also be doing a musical chair Carelli Cup event. We'll need a representative from each Homeroom to participate in this activity. The last person standing will earn their Homeroom the opportunity to host the Carelli Cup in their Homeroom.
More info to come in the next week or so...
Kids and Screen Time
Studies continue to show alarming correlations between screen time/social media time and depression in our youth. Please make every effort to have kids on their devices for activities that are only critical to your class outcomes. It's important to make Homeroom a time where there is a lot of face to face interactions...as teachers we can set these up...let's reflect on the time we are on our devices for these opportunities that we could be leading connections between our kids, leading to a better culture. We need to be great models for our students in this area.
Many teachers have been successful at setting up systems where students only grab their chrome books when necessary, and insist on screens down at all times they are not needed.
504 Plans
The following are the procedures and contact people for 504 Plans.
-Our school counselors manage annual 504 Plan reviews. Any questions or discussions about possible changes to current plans should be coordinated through Mrs. Morton
-Mrs. Hellmich coordinates initial evaluations and reevaluations to consider initial and continuing eligibility.
Safety Walk-Through Last Week
We had our official safety walk-through last week by our insurance company and we did really well! Thanks to all of you for attention to safety.
As a general reminder, please do not stack anything in front of electrical panels, overload electrical outlets, or hang things from the ceiling. When you need to reach for something up high, please use the step stool that is available in the staff work room or other custodial areas.
American Education Week
In honor of American Education Week (11/15-11/19), we are hosting an Open House from 4:00 - 5:45 for the community. See below for more information:
Staff Shout-Outs
Sara Wagner - She's been an awesome mentor and role model for me!
Ann Broderick - She jumps right in, and is very helpful with all the students in the classroom when there is a need.
Heather Snyder - She has been extremely and helpful. I don't know what I would do without her. She is an amazing person to work with.
Sara Wagner - She is so helpful and supportive. She is very knowledgeable and willing to share all of her knowledge with other teachers.
Eric Odden - He has been a great collaborator and good to work with.
Student Recognition
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to recognize a student who has been excelling in the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard on Friday. We started making positive phone calls home, and will shout-out the students on Monday. Here are the students this week:
It looks like Katelyn Missall's performance is standing out!!
Thanks to all of our teachers for a solid day of collaboration and learning. A little shorter post this week because most of us just met this morning! Have a great weekend!
End of Quarter 1 Timeline
Grades will be due by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/10), report cards printed on Thursday (11/11) morning, and mailed home afterwards. Students will review and reflect on their report card on Friday (11/12) in Homeroom. They'll then use the Puma Pride results on report cards to put tickets into possible events at our Fall Assembly which will take place on Tuesday (11/23) near the end of the day.
Puma Pride Grades on Report Cards
A reminder about the guidelines for Puma Pride grades on report cards. Please reference to this document to review the expectations that were shared earlier in the quarter, and let me know if you have any questions.
Student Recognition
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to recognize a student who has been excelling in the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard on Friday. We started making positive phone calls home, and will shout-out the students on Monday. Here are the students this week:
Dylan Stevenson
Peyton Voegeli
Oliver (Olie) Bongle
Ryann Martinson-Bahr
Tess Hushagen
Riley Pray
Connor Byers
Dylan (John) Stevenson
Kinzie Lintl
Tennlei Schwantes
Chandra Hebel
Elias Naylor
Pip Lapacek
Tinsley Nelson
Capri Lapacek
Staff Shout-Outs
I love sharing these descriptions of the impressive things our staff members do that truly make a big difference. I am even starting to get "shout-out's" emailed to me! Keep them coming.
Stephanie Weckerly - Her and I are working so well together. We are constantly critically analyzing our teaching practices, and we push each other to keep trying to get better at what we do.
Opal Hoffman - She has worked so hard with not only the students on her caseload, but any student who needs help in my class.
Niki Alford - Her perseverance working with the students in my class. She does a great job of guiding the students to learning and producing quality work.
Mackenzie Hendrickson - She has been a huge help to me anytime I have any questions. She has stepped up and led organizational efforts for our team, and is on top of that all the time. I'm very impressed with her skills.
Opal Hoffman - She has been very helpful when we are team teaching. She has connected really well with the kids and gets the best out of them on a daily basis.
Heather Snyder - She is extremely supportive of all students, not just students on her caseload. I couldn’t do what I do without her
Jen Hecht - She makes connections with some of the toughest kids. She's no nonsense in the classroom, yet gets kids to be brave and take risks. She has high expectations for the kids and they step up to her challenges. Jennifer also naturally ties past and current events to whatever units we're doing and further gets students to see the relevance to themselves. When I work with her, I learn new things, too!
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
Resource of the Week
"Feedback has the potential to double the rate of learning"... If you are interested in maximizing the rate of learning in your classroom, this week's article about feedback will give you more tools in your tool belt that will help you increase the rate of learning in your class.
The end of Quarter 1 is quickly approaching, and is set for Thursday, November 4th.
Grades will be due by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/10), report cards printed on Thursday (11/11) morning, and mailed home afterwards. Students will review and reflect on their report card on Friday (11/12) in Homeroom. They'll then use the Puma Pride results on report cards to put tickets into possible events at our Fall Assembly which will take place on Tuesday (11/23) near the end of the day.
Staff Meeting Wrap-Up
Thanks everyone for your efforts during our staff meeting this past week...we'll continue to adjust to our new time, and the message of using Empowering Language with our students is an important one for us. Also, an opportunity to connect with a colleague or two that we don't typically get to connect with. We look forward to our meeting in November as Mrs. Crawford and Mr. Johnson may have a little extra to look forward to in our next morning together.
PD Day on Friday (11/5)
No school for students on Friday, and we look forward to an opportunity to come together to learn and plan. Anna sent out a general schedule, and I'll be filling in the details of our time on Friday here early in the week. We'll meet as a staff on Friday morning at 8:00, and then have various collaboration opportunities between our meeting in the morning and the afternoon training. On Friday afternoon, from 2:00-3:30, we'll get the opportunity to participate in Suicide Prevention Training...this is a timely topic, as we have had some students struggling with this topic in the first part of the year.
Student Recognition
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to recognize a student who has been excelling in the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard on Friday. We started making positive phone calls home, and will shout-out the students on Monday. Here are the students this week:
Avalyn Albrecht
Emma Lindquist
Annelise Greenwood
Stehla Mabrey
Lily Schmitz
Kori Wakefield
Katelyn Missall
Tripp Theis
Trevor Day
Spencer Serwe
Albert Reyes
Etta Larson
Cora Larson or Alya Johnson
Cami Brinkman--always completes goals and reflections and is thoughtful in her responses!
Adam Busch
Paceler Moll
Adrian Thonesavanh
Ana Williams-Rodriguez
Feel free to congratulate these students on their continued excellence! Be on the lookout for the next opportunity to recognize the great work of our students.
Staff Shout-Outs
During my bi-weekly meeting rounds and other times, I've asked staff to tell me about a colleague that deserves a "shout-out" or has been really helpful to them. I've included the responses from this week below. Thanks to all of your for making up our great team! If you know feel compelled to share about someone that deserves a "shout-out", you don't have to wait for a Bi-Weekly meeting, you can share any time.
Ebony Zembrycki - She is always willing to step up and help. She does a great job of maintaining the books in the book room and trying new things.
Bonnie Walther - She is really working to meet the needs of students!
The assistants in my room - Liv Dahlke and Niki Alford - They are so patient, positive, and hard-working. They make a huge difference for the kids in my class.
Kerrie Bahr - She treats everyone with respect, is kind patient, and efficient down in the lunch room!
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
One more week in October! How did that happen? I love our staff and I love our school. Let's keep putting our very best forward for our kids everyday!!
Resource of the Week
Middle School is awesome! That is why I don't understand why many people I tell that I work with Middle School kids say things like, "bless your heart" or "oh...tough age". In our resource this week I wanted to share an article I came across that we all can relate to...enjoy!
A reminder that we'll meet as a Middle School teaching staff team this Wednesday at 7:15 am. We'll continue our focus on culture.
Guiding Coalition Meeting Wrap-Up
Big thank you goes out to the members of our Guiding Coalition team that met this past Thursday. We had a very productive first session and we'll work towards the goal of ensuring our PLC groups are on the right track towards the vision of having a successful Professional Learning Community.
Student Recognition
We have been searching for meaningful ways to recognize our students who are consistently demonstrating excellence. In a past blog post, I wrote about potential "Student of the Month" efforts that we could do to recognize students. Mrs. Moe and I have had ongoing conversations around ways to recognize students in an efficient, but effective manner. I think we have come up with a plan...
On Fridays, we'll send out a Google Form to teachers asking them to submit the name of a student who has been outstanding for them in a specific standard. Over the course of the following week, we'll recognize these students in the following ways: picture taken with certificate, positive call home from a Principal, and a recognition note placed in their locker.
We'll send an email each Friday with the form embedded in the email, and ask that teachers write their own name and the name of the student they'd like to recognize. We will start this next Friday (10/29)
End of Quarter 1 Planning
The end of Quarter 1 is quickly approaching, and is set for Thursday, November 4th. We'll have a PD Day on Friday, November 5th, where we'll meet as a Middle School team in the morning (8:00), meet in PLC groups, have classroom time, and end with QPR (suicide prevention) training from 2:00-3:30.
Grades will be due by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/10), report cards printed on Thursday (11/11) morning, and mailed home afterwards. Students will review and reflect on their report card on Friday (11/12) in Homeroom. They'll then use the Puma Pride results on report cards to put tickets into possible events at our Fall Assembly which will take place on Tuesday (11/23) near the end of the day.
Mr. Schultz & Mrs. Graeve perform at lunch time
If you see the photo above, you can tell that the performance at lunch time on Friday by Mr. Schultz and Mrs. Graeve was awesome, and the kids loved it. I bring this up in this post, because we are beginning our assembly planning for 11/23. A few years back, we had a staff performance that brought the house down (baby shark, do do da do do do...) These types of things are so memorable for our students that if we can put something together again, that would be great...looking for some creativity and leadership from our staff to lead some fun for both the participants and the audience...
Staff Shout-Outs
During my bi-weekly meeting rounds and other times, I've asked staff to tell me about a colleague that deserves a "shout-out" or has been really helpful to them. I've included the responses from this week below. Thanks to all of your for making up our great team! If you know feel compelled to share about someone that deserves a "shout-out", you don't have to wait for a Bi-Weekly meeting, you can share any time.
Debbie Jackson - she's been an awesome collaborative partner in the front office
Bonnie Walther - She has been a great neighbor, has been very collaborative about what students on her caseload need from me. She is just fun to be neighbors with.
Katy Milewski - She is my ELA backbone, has taken charge of our PLC and has been a great leader for our PLC team.
Patti Hutchinson - She's done awesome at taking over in the office. She is extremely helpful and it's just nice to have her in that role.
Sara Wagner - As a substitute, she prepared the most extensive, helpful plans for me to follow. She is top notch.
Congratulations to Mr. Frehner and Mrs. Cross on leading the Puma Boy's Cross Country Team to another State Cross Country Meet after their 2nd place finish at Sectionals!
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
At the end of last week, I got the opportunity to attend the AWSA Elementary Principal's Convention. As the AWSA President, I got the opportunity to speak a little bit, present a couple of awards, and introduce some impressive speakers. I also got the opportunity to meet former State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor and current State Superintendent Jill Underly. I feel like along with these cool opportunities, I learned a lot and am excited to get back to school. A constant message and theme that I took away...In order for our kids to learn at the highest of levels, they need to feel connected, supported, and part of a welcoming school community...I believe we have built this type of environment in our classroom spaces...as the year goes on and stress and frustration can creep into our mindsets...we need to continue to center ourselves in this all important belief.
Resource of the Week
Some of you may have watched the series "Ted Lasso" on Apple TV, some may not have yet. In my opinion,Ted is a wise man and a great leader. One of the bits of insight that he shared really in a recent episode made a lot of sense to me. He argued that the world would be a lot better place if people were Curious vs. Judgmental. If you think about this, it goes along well with the U in our PUMA Way conversations...."as Pumas, we seek to understand different perspectives before making judgments". Watch the clip below, and as we work with students in different situations, this insight could really help us help our students be more curious.
Fall Conference Wrap-Up
Thank you for the work you put in to organize a strong round of Fall Conferences and build on those important relationships with parents that we started at the beginning of the school year. Tracking Conference attendance is really helpful, and data the board always asks about when it comes time for calendar planning. Teachers, could you please open the Conference Schedule, and highlight the students that did not have a person attend for them? Thank you!
Grades, Report Card Timeline, and Comments
We have 3 weeks left in the 1st quarter. (and to daylight savings time!) As we get closer to the end of the quarter, I wanted to review the timeline and expectations for the reporting of grades so that we are all on the same page and can deliver a consistent, effective approach to our report cards.
The end of Quarter 1 is on Thursday, November 4th. Grades will be due by the next Thursday (11/11) morning. We will start printing off report cards on 11/11, and mail them home as soon as we can.
On Friday, 11/12, students will review their Report Cards in Homeroom, and we will use this reflection as an opportunity to organize an activity that we'll host for our students on the afternoon of Tuesday (11/23). The students in our Leadership Group are working on organizing this activity. Students will receive a "ticket" for every ME on their report card in a Puma Pride standard, and then can distribute these tickets in a bucket in which they'll have an opportunity to be chosen for a variety of activities/prizes, etc.
For Report Card Comments, please utilize the following guidelines:
-Teachers do not need to provide an overview of what was learned in the 1st quarter.
-Core class teachers must provide a little written feedback about the performance of each student using the student's name (for example, Jonny's participation in class discussion was impressive). For teachers that see almost every student in the building, please provide comments in this form to as many students as you can. (both students in need or to students thriving)
Please let me know if you have any questions.
As We Work...a Reminder of the Agreeements We Have All Decided Are Important to Follow As We Go About Our Daily Interactions
Intruder/ Lockdown Drill on Monday (credit to Mr. Hausser for the organization of this info)
Each month we need to do a drill and this month/ on Monday we will practice a Lockdown situation. It is not the best way to start a week, but it is coordinated with the Poynette Police and this is a day that works for them. All of the buildings will be participating in one on Monday, and we will be sending home a message to our parents letting them know we practiced this drill. The drill is planned for Monday, October 18th at 8:30 a.m. Please talk with the students ahead of time and this month we can just focus on holding in place. We will practice again this year, and then we can talk more with the students about flexible options depending on the scenarios. Please read through the information below from our safety plan pertaining to this specific drill.
Lockdown
Purpose: Used when there is a threat of violence or serious incident that could jeopardize the safety of students/staff (I.E. Intruder, shooting, hostage incident, gang fights, civil disturbance, etc.)
Principal and/or Designee:
•The Principal or designee will make the following announcement using the building
Public Address system:
“YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE. WE ARE IN A LOCKDOWN. TEACHERS, LOCK YOUR DOORS AND KEEP STUDENTS IN YOUR ROOM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. STUDENTS OR STAFF SHOULD GO INTO TO THE NEAREST CLASSROOM OR OFFICE. IGNORE ALL ALARMS AND BELLS UNLESS ADVISED OTHERWISE.”
Please repeat the message three (3) times.
Please be aware of staff and students that are outside the building and will not hear the message. (recess, lunch, field trips) They must be advised of the Lockdown by other means.
•Designate someone to Call 9-1-1, identify the name and address of the school, describe the emergency, state the school is locking down, provide intruder description and weapon(s) if known, and identify the location of the school command post. Direct staff to stay on the phone to provide updates and additional information.
•Notify staff and classes outside to immediately move to (ENTER DISTRICT INFORMATION HERE - off-campus assembly area(s)), account for the students and be prepared to evacuate off-campus to a relocation site.
•Consider lockdown of adjacent building, if necessary.
•Direct staff to switch bells to manual mode and deactivate the fire alarm.
•Notify the transportation director or contractual bus service to stop all inbound buses and
redirect them to designated relocation site(s).
•Notify the district office and request activation of MEDIA functional protocol and available
parent notification systems, when appropriate.
Teachers:
•Clear the hallway and bathrooms by your room, moving everyone into the classroom.
•Lock your doors, turn off your lights, open your blinds to outside windows and close the
blinds to any hallway windows or doors
•Move students and staff away from the doors and windows.
•Have all persons sit down against an interior wall.
•If a life threatening situation exists (i.e. active shooter is in the room), exit immediately to
a place of safety.
•Ignore all bells and alarms unless otherwise instructed.
•Unless you have vital information regarding the threat, do not call the office.
•Take attendance and be prepared to notify the Incident Commander of missing students
or additional students, staff or guests sheltered in your classroom. The Principal and/or
Designee or Incident Commander may initiate a phone call for this information.
•Allow no one outside of the classroom until a uniformed officer or school administrator
releases you directly.
Office Staff:
•Stay by the phones to wait for additional procedures from the Principal and/or Designee
or Incident Commander.
•Communicate with classrooms via telephone, computer or other methods if necessary.
•Assist the Principal and/or Designee or Incident Commander in establishing the school
command post.
Custodians:
•Close and lock all delivery doors.
•Direct any contractors, delivery drivers, or vendor repairmen located inside the building
into a safe area and lock the door.
•Prevent vehicles and pedestrians from entering school grounds, if possible, until police
arrive.
Annual Meeting also on this Monday (again thanks to Mr. Hausser for authoring this information)
The District Annual Meeting is all set for Monday, October 18th up at the Elementary School. The regular Board meeting starts at 6 p.m. and the Annual meeting begins at 7 p.m. All of you are invited to attend, but only district residents can vote on any motions that are brought forth. The meeting usually lasts about an hour and there are administrative reports, voting on the board compensation, budget approval, transportation policies, among other things. I strongly encourage you to come and have your voice and vote be heard. Below is a link to a PDF that explains the annual meeting proceedings as well.
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday break! Hopefully you were able to recharge your battery and take advantage of a little time off. Now we are onto the meat of the 2nd quarter. I am thankful for so many things...when I start listing the things I'm thankful for, it is a seemingly endless list. At the top of my list are my family (see below) and the opportunity to work alongside such great people each day. Thank you to each one of you who put students first day in and day out.
Resource of the Week
The article this week is a great resource that, for me, reinforced a lot of what we do as part of our habits, but also shared new perspective on how to meet the needs of our students and the perspective that we as a staff, should have to likely have more success.
We are getting close to the Winter Screening Window for the STAR Reading and Math assessments. We adjusted our WIN groups to meet the needs of our students with a targeted focus. This 1/2 hour each day is critical for the acceleration of growth for these students and closing the gaps. It's critical that, as staff members, we think about what steps can we take to make the most of this time and focus for our kids.
We plan to use part of our PD Day on January 17th, to review the data from the winter screener and refine our targeted plan to meet the needs of our students. I'm sure there is going to be a lot to celebrate during this process.
Next Staff Meeting
Mark your calendars for our next Middle School Staff Meeting. We'll be gathering on Wednesday, 12/15 at 7:15 in the cafeteria.
Assembly Recap
Thank you to all staff that participated in our assembly last Tuesday. The goal of a time like this is for students to walk away with a positive memory and a smile on their face...further deepening their positive connection to school.
Staff Shout-Outs
Shout it out!
Julie Rogness- She has been so supportive, and flexible with me. I have appreciated the opportunity to work with her and she has helped me a great deal.
Deb Jackson - She is doing so much to help me prepare for my class behind the scenes. I appreciate her work ethic and how helpful she is.
Opal Hoffman - She's been instrumental in supporting many students in getting them what they need to be more successful in my class.
Jill Graeve - She is incredible, she's awesome...working with Middle and High Schoolers and is impressive in how she does her job.
Olivia Dahlke - She is extremely helpful in supporting students and the immense amount of patience that she has is impressive, and works well for the students she supports.
Lexie Stark - She has been great to work with, a great resource to collaborate with, and I appreciate her very much.
Michelle Kratz - She is pretty great. She works so hard and is such a great support for not only the students she works with, but all of the students she interacts with.
Ryan Schultz - The joy he brings to the building is contagious. I am so thankful to work with him.
Kevin Frehner - Being creative at how to best meet the needs of 8th grade students while I was out.
PHS Staff Podcasts
This post is borrowed from Dr. Hoernke's blog...he put together a few podcasts that have our HS teachers sharing instructional strategies. Go ahead and take a few minutes
to listen to instructional strategies and ideas from our PHS staff.
A short, but important week this week! I'm looking forward to 2 great days of learning and culture building.
Resource of the Week
The latest Ed Leadership magazine focuses on what Hattie found to be the most impactful teaching attribute, "collective teacher efficacy". The article this week looks at one CRITICAL element of self-efficacy...a great read from a great resource.
We'll be having our End of Quarter 1 Celebration Assembly on Tuesday afternoon. Please dismiss students to the gym at 2:40. 7th and 8th grades will not have WIN time on this day. We'll still plan to have electives on Tuesday for 5th and 6th grades, but we'll be shortening them up a bit (details to be shared on Monday am).
We'll need one representative from each Homeroom to participate in a Musical Chairs competition...winning homeroom will get to house the Carelli Cup until our next competition. If you have the Carelli Cup, could you please bring it to the office sometime tomorrow?
The PUMA Way in Action
5th grader Teegan Nelson demonstrates "understanding" by helping out his fellow classmate!
Sharing Excellence
Another post to share cool, engaging learning taking place in our classrooms. Thanks Mrs. Rogness.
6th graders working on enlarging the "mystery mascot" piece by piece.
Poynette Math Team Strikes Again!
Poynette Middle School competed at the #Math Matters Competition in WI Dells on Tuesday Nov. 16th. Each grade, fifth through eighth, brought a team of five students, and competed against eleven or twelve other districts. Congratulations to the 8th grade team for taking first place, and two 8th graders also placed individually. Congratulations to Jameson M. for taking 1st and Emma L. for taking 3rd. Poynette also had two 5th graders place individually. Congratulations to Jackson O. for taking 1st and Max G. for taking 3rd.
A week down in Quarter 2...Snow...Student Success...what a week! Many more to come. Thank you to all for what you do to be a rock in the lives of many students.
Resource of the Week
The resource this week is a little longer, but well worth the watch...I got the chance to hear Dr. Adam Saenz speak a few years back...I just came across his Ted Talk that is close to the paradigm shifting presentation I heard him give a few years back. The talk is titled, "The Power of the Teacher". 18 minutes, but well worth the watch and/or listen.
I love it when teachers share with me moments that exhibit the strong culture that we have been working so hard to exist in each of our classrooms. I wanted to share an example that Mrs. Kennedy shared with me that occurred during her 6th grade WIN class.
"It was contest day, and the students were working so intently on the contest. The hum in the room of their concentration could be felt. Afterwards, I went through the solutions with them, and there was literal cheering and fist pumping in the room. They were so excited to get these problems correct. How exciting that these kids were feeling the excitement of mathematics and a job well done!"
Please continue to share these types of moments with me!
Report Cards
Thank you to all of your work in preparing our report cards. The finished product this quarter was much improved over past years, with much better overall, specific comments about student performance. I appreciate your efforts in this area, and I know the students and parents do as well. We'll continue to work on developing consistency and outlining clear expectations for impactful report card comments.
I was able to be in a couple of homerooms during the report card review, and I enjoyed hearing the goals that were reviewed, and goals set for next quarter. I saw a lot of ME's on student report cards, and also students who were very proud of those marks. A big thank you to each of you who give your Homeroom kids your best effort and for building a close-knit culture among your group.
Assembly on Tuesday (11/23)
We'll be hosting our first assembly in a long time in the Middle School Gym on Tuesday (11/23). We'll plan to dismiss students to the gym at 2:40. Students in our Leadership Group have been working hard to organize a fun experience for the kids. For this event, we'll plan to utilize bleachers on both side of the gym. 5th grade will be Northeast, 6th will be Northwest, 7th will be Southwest, and 8th will be Southeast.
A big shout-out to our teachers who have agreed to get a pie in the face (I think we are up to 6 teachers). For this event, we'll pull a name from the bucket and the first person can choose who they'll pie, and continue to pull names until we have a person for each teacher volunteer.
We'll also be doing a musical chair Carelli Cup event. We'll need a representative from each Homeroom to participate in this activity. The last person standing will earn their Homeroom the opportunity to host the Carelli Cup in their Homeroom.
More info to come in the next week or so...
Kids and Screen Time
Studies continue to show alarming correlations between screen time/social media time and depression in our youth. Please make every effort to have kids on their devices for activities that are only critical to your class outcomes. It's important to make Homeroom a time where there is a lot of face to face interactions...as teachers we can set these up...let's reflect on the time we are on our devices for these opportunities that we could be leading connections between our kids, leading to a better culture. We need to be great models for our students in this area.
Many teachers have been successful at setting up systems where students only grab their chrome books when necessary, and insist on screens down at all times they are not needed.
504 Plans
The following are the procedures and contact people for 504 Plans.
-Our school counselors manage annual 504 Plan reviews. Any questions or discussions about possible changes to current plans should be coordinated through Mrs. Morton
-Mrs. Hellmich coordinates initial evaluations and reevaluations to consider initial and continuing eligibility.
Safety Walk-Through Last Week
We had our official safety walk-through last week by our insurance company and we did really well! Thanks to all of you for attention to safety.
As a general reminder, please do not stack anything in front of electrical panels, overload electrical outlets, or hang things from the ceiling. When you need to reach for something up high, please use the step stool that is available in the staff work room or other custodial areas.
American Education Week
In honor of American Education Week (11/15-11/19), we are hosting an Open House from 4:00 - 5:45 for the community. See below for more information:
Staff Shout-Outs
Sara Wagner - She's been an awesome mentor and role model for me!
Ann Broderick - She jumps right in, and is very helpful with all the students in the classroom when there is a need.
Heather Snyder - She has been extremely and helpful. I don't know what I would do without her. She is an amazing person to work with.
Sara Wagner - She is so helpful and supportive. She is very knowledgeable and willing to share all of her knowledge with other teachers.
Eric Odden - He has been a great collaborator and good to work with.
Student Recognition
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to recognize a student who has been excelling in the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard on Friday. We started making positive phone calls home, and will shout-out the students on Monday. Here are the students this week:
It looks like Katelyn Missall's performance is standing out!!
Thanks to all of our teachers for a solid day of collaboration and learning. A little shorter post this week because most of us just met this morning! Have a great weekend!
End of Quarter 1 Timeline
Grades will be due by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/10), report cards printed on Thursday (11/11) morning, and mailed home afterwards. Students will review and reflect on their report card on Friday (11/12) in Homeroom. They'll then use the Puma Pride results on report cards to put tickets into possible events at our Fall Assembly which will take place on Tuesday (11/23) near the end of the day.
Puma Pride Grades on Report Cards
A reminder about the guidelines for Puma Pride grades on report cards. Please reference to this document to review the expectations that were shared earlier in the quarter, and let me know if you have any questions.
Student Recognition
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to recognize a student who has been excelling in the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard on Friday. We started making positive phone calls home, and will shout-out the students on Monday. Here are the students this week:
Dylan Stevenson
Peyton Voegeli
Oliver (Olie) Bongle
Ryann Martinson-Bahr
Tess Hushagen
Riley Pray
Connor Byers
Dylan (John) Stevenson
Kinzie Lintl
Tennlei Schwantes
Chandra Hebel
Elias Naylor
Pip Lapacek
Tinsley Nelson
Capri Lapacek
Staff Shout-Outs
I love sharing these descriptions of the impressive things our staff members do that truly make a big difference. I am even starting to get "shout-out's" emailed to me! Keep them coming.
Stephanie Weckerly - Her and I are working so well together. We are constantly critically analyzing our teaching practices, and we push each other to keep trying to get better at what we do.
Opal Hoffman - She has worked so hard with not only the students on her caseload, but any student who needs help in my class.
Niki Alford - Her perseverance working with the students in my class. She does a great job of guiding the students to learning and producing quality work.
Mackenzie Hendrickson - She has been a huge help to me anytime I have any questions. She has stepped up and led organizational efforts for our team, and is on top of that all the time. I'm very impressed with her skills.
Opal Hoffman - She has been very helpful when we are team teaching. She has connected really well with the kids and gets the best out of them on a daily basis.
Heather Snyder - She is extremely supportive of all students, not just students on her caseload. I couldn’t do what I do without her
Jen Hecht - She makes connections with some of the toughest kids. She's no nonsense in the classroom, yet gets kids to be brave and take risks. She has high expectations for the kids and they step up to her challenges. Jennifer also naturally ties past and current events to whatever units we're doing and further gets students to see the relevance to themselves. When I work with her, I learn new things, too!
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
Resource of the Week
"Feedback has the potential to double the rate of learning"... If you are interested in maximizing the rate of learning in your classroom, this week's article about feedback will give you more tools in your tool belt that will help you increase the rate of learning in your class.
The end of Quarter 1 is quickly approaching, and is set for Thursday, November 4th.
Grades will be due by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/10), report cards printed on Thursday (11/11) morning, and mailed home afterwards. Students will review and reflect on their report card on Friday (11/12) in Homeroom. They'll then use the Puma Pride results on report cards to put tickets into possible events at our Fall Assembly which will take place on Tuesday (11/23) near the end of the day.
Staff Meeting Wrap-Up
Thanks everyone for your efforts during our staff meeting this past week...we'll continue to adjust to our new time, and the message of using Empowering Language with our students is an important one for us. Also, an opportunity to connect with a colleague or two that we don't typically get to connect with. We look forward to our meeting in November as Mrs. Crawford and Mr. Johnson may have a little extra to look forward to in our next morning together.
PD Day on Friday (11/5)
No school for students on Friday, and we look forward to an opportunity to come together to learn and plan. Anna sent out a general schedule, and I'll be filling in the details of our time on Friday here early in the week. We'll meet as a staff on Friday morning at 8:00, and then have various collaboration opportunities between our meeting in the morning and the afternoon training. On Friday afternoon, from 2:00-3:30, we'll get the opportunity to participate in Suicide Prevention Training...this is a timely topic, as we have had some students struggling with this topic in the first part of the year.
Student Recognition
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to recognize a student who has been excelling in the "Completes and Returns Work in a Timely Manner" standard on Friday. We started making positive phone calls home, and will shout-out the students on Monday. Here are the students this week:
Avalyn Albrecht
Emma Lindquist
Annelise Greenwood
Stehla Mabrey
Lily Schmitz
Kori Wakefield
Katelyn Missall
Tripp Theis
Trevor Day
Spencer Serwe
Albert Reyes
Etta Larson
Cora Larson or Alya Johnson
Cami Brinkman--always completes goals and reflections and is thoughtful in her responses!
Adam Busch
Paceler Moll
Adrian Thonesavanh
Ana Williams-Rodriguez
Feel free to congratulate these students on their continued excellence! Be on the lookout for the next opportunity to recognize the great work of our students.
Staff Shout-Outs
During my bi-weekly meeting rounds and other times, I've asked staff to tell me about a colleague that deserves a "shout-out" or has been really helpful to them. I've included the responses from this week below. Thanks to all of your for making up our great team! If you know feel compelled to share about someone that deserves a "shout-out", you don't have to wait for a Bi-Weekly meeting, you can share any time.
Ebony Zembrycki - She is always willing to step up and help. She does a great job of maintaining the books in the book room and trying new things.
Bonnie Walther - She is really working to meet the needs of students!
The assistants in my room - Liv Dahlke and Niki Alford - They are so patient, positive, and hard-working. They make a huge difference for the kids in my class.
Kerrie Bahr - She treats everyone with respect, is kind patient, and efficient down in the lunch room!
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
One more week in October! How did that happen? I love our staff and I love our school. Let's keep putting our very best forward for our kids everyday!!
Resource of the Week
Middle School is awesome! That is why I don't understand why many people I tell that I work with Middle School kids say things like, "bless your heart" or "oh...tough age". In our resource this week I wanted to share an article I came across that we all can relate to...enjoy!
A reminder that we'll meet as a Middle School teaching staff team this Wednesday at 7:15 am. We'll continue our focus on culture.
Guiding Coalition Meeting Wrap-Up
Big thank you goes out to the members of our Guiding Coalition team that met this past Thursday. We had a very productive first session and we'll work towards the goal of ensuring our PLC groups are on the right track towards the vision of having a successful Professional Learning Community.
Student Recognition
We have been searching for meaningful ways to recognize our students who are consistently demonstrating excellence. In a past blog post, I wrote about potential "Student of the Month" efforts that we could do to recognize students. Mrs. Moe and I have had ongoing conversations around ways to recognize students in an efficient, but effective manner. I think we have come up with a plan...
On Fridays, we'll send out a Google Form to teachers asking them to submit the name of a student who has been outstanding for them in a specific standard. Over the course of the following week, we'll recognize these students in the following ways: picture taken with certificate, positive call home from a Principal, and a recognition note placed in their locker.
We'll send an email each Friday with the form embedded in the email, and ask that teachers write their own name and the name of the student they'd like to recognize. We will start this next Friday (10/29)
End of Quarter 1 Planning
The end of Quarter 1 is quickly approaching, and is set for Thursday, November 4th. We'll have a PD Day on Friday, November 5th, where we'll meet as a Middle School team in the morning (8:00), meet in PLC groups, have classroom time, and end with QPR (suicide prevention) training from 2:00-3:30.
Grades will be due by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/10), report cards printed on Thursday (11/11) morning, and mailed home afterwards. Students will review and reflect on their report card on Friday (11/12) in Homeroom. They'll then use the Puma Pride results on report cards to put tickets into possible events at our Fall Assembly which will take place on Tuesday (11/23) near the end of the day.
Mr. Schultz & Mrs. Graeve perform at lunch time
If you see the photo above, you can tell that the performance at lunch time on Friday by Mr. Schultz and Mrs. Graeve was awesome, and the kids loved it. I bring this up in this post, because we are beginning our assembly planning for 11/23. A few years back, we had a staff performance that brought the house down (baby shark, do do da do do do...) These types of things are so memorable for our students that if we can put something together again, that would be great...looking for some creativity and leadership from our staff to lead some fun for both the participants and the audience...
Staff Shout-Outs
During my bi-weekly meeting rounds and other times, I've asked staff to tell me about a colleague that deserves a "shout-out" or has been really helpful to them. I've included the responses from this week below. Thanks to all of your for making up our great team! If you know feel compelled to share about someone that deserves a "shout-out", you don't have to wait for a Bi-Weekly meeting, you can share any time.
Debbie Jackson - she's been an awesome collaborative partner in the front office
Bonnie Walther - She has been a great neighbor, has been very collaborative about what students on her caseload need from me. She is just fun to be neighbors with.
Katy Milewski - She is my ELA backbone, has taken charge of our PLC and has been a great leader for our PLC team.
Patti Hutchinson - She's done awesome at taking over in the office. She is extremely helpful and it's just nice to have her in that role.
Sara Wagner - As a substitute, she prepared the most extensive, helpful plans for me to follow. She is top notch.
Congratulations to Mr. Frehner and Mrs. Cross on leading the Puma Boy's Cross Country Team to another State Cross Country Meet after their 2nd place finish at Sectionals!
What WE Do Makes the Difference for the Kids in School
At the end of last week, I got the opportunity to attend the AWSA Elementary Principal's Convention. As the AWSA President, I got the opportunity to speak a little bit, present a couple of awards, and introduce some impressive speakers. I also got the opportunity to meet former State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor and current State Superintendent Jill Underly. I feel like along with these cool opportunities, I learned a lot and am excited to get back to school. A constant message and theme that I took away...In order for our kids to learn at the highest of levels, they need to feel connected, supported, and part of a welcoming school community...I believe we have built this type of environment in our classroom spaces...as the year goes on and stress and frustration can creep into our mindsets...we need to continue to center ourselves in this all important belief.
Resource of the Week
Some of you may have watched the series "Ted Lasso" on Apple TV, some may not have yet. In my opinion,Ted is a wise man and a great leader. One of the bits of insight that he shared really in a recent episode made a lot of sense to me. He argued that the world would be a lot better place if people were Curious vs. Judgmental. If you think about this, it goes along well with the U in our PUMA Way conversations...."as Pumas, we seek to understand different perspectives before making judgments". Watch the clip below, and as we work with students in different situations, this insight could really help us help our students be more curious.
Fall Conference Wrap-Up
Thank you for the work you put in to organize a strong round of Fall Conferences and build on those important relationships with parents that we started at the beginning of the school year. Tracking Conference attendance is really helpful, and data the board always asks about when it comes time for calendar planning. Teachers, could you please open the Conference Schedule, and highlight the students that did not have a person attend for them? Thank you!
Grades, Report Card Timeline, and Comments
We have 3 weeks left in the 1st quarter. (and to daylight savings time!) As we get closer to the end of the quarter, I wanted to review the timeline and expectations for the reporting of grades so that we are all on the same page and can deliver a consistent, effective approach to our report cards.
The end of Quarter 1 is on Thursday, November 4th. Grades will be due by the next Thursday (11/11) morning. We will start printing off report cards on 11/11, and mail them home as soon as we can.
On Friday, 11/12, students will review their Report Cards in Homeroom, and we will use this reflection as an opportunity to organize an activity that we'll host for our students on the afternoon of Tuesday (11/23). The students in our Leadership Group are working on organizing this activity. Students will receive a "ticket" for every ME on their report card in a Puma Pride standard, and then can distribute these tickets in a bucket in which they'll have an opportunity to be chosen for a variety of activities/prizes, etc.
For Report Card Comments, please utilize the following guidelines:
-Teachers do not need to provide an overview of what was learned in the 1st quarter.
-Core class teachers must provide a little written feedback about the performance of each student using the student's name (for example, Jonny's participation in class discussion was impressive). For teachers that see almost every student in the building, please provide comments in this form to as many students as you can. (both students in need or to students thriving)
Please let me know if you have any questions.
As We Work...a Reminder of the Agreeements We Have All Decided Are Important to Follow As We Go About Our Daily Interactions
Intruder/ Lockdown Drill on Monday (credit to Mr. Hausser for the organization of this info)
Each month we need to do a drill and this month/ on Monday we will practice a Lockdown situation. It is not the best way to start a week, but it is coordinated with the Poynette Police and this is a day that works for them. All of the buildings will be participating in one on Monday, and we will be sending home a message to our parents letting them know we practiced this drill. The drill is planned for Monday, October 18th at 8:30 a.m. Please talk with the students ahead of time and this month we can just focus on holding in place. We will practice again this year, and then we can talk more with the students about flexible options depending on the scenarios. Please read through the information below from our safety plan pertaining to this specific drill.
Lockdown
Purpose: Used when there is a threat of violence or serious incident that could jeopardize the safety of students/staff (I.E. Intruder, shooting, hostage incident, gang fights, civil disturbance, etc.)
Principal and/or Designee:
•The Principal or designee will make the following announcement using the building
Public Address system:
“YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE. WE ARE IN A LOCKDOWN. TEACHERS, LOCK YOUR DOORS AND KEEP STUDENTS IN YOUR ROOM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. STUDENTS OR STAFF SHOULD GO INTO TO THE NEAREST CLASSROOM OR OFFICE. IGNORE ALL ALARMS AND BELLS UNLESS ADVISED OTHERWISE.”
Please repeat the message three (3) times.
Please be aware of staff and students that are outside the building and will not hear the message. (recess, lunch, field trips) They must be advised of the Lockdown by other means.
•Designate someone to Call 9-1-1, identify the name and address of the school, describe the emergency, state the school is locking down, provide intruder description and weapon(s) if known, and identify the location of the school command post. Direct staff to stay on the phone to provide updates and additional information.
•Notify staff and classes outside to immediately move to (ENTER DISTRICT INFORMATION HERE - off-campus assembly area(s)), account for the students and be prepared to evacuate off-campus to a relocation site.
•Consider lockdown of adjacent building, if necessary.
•Direct staff to switch bells to manual mode and deactivate the fire alarm.
•Notify the transportation director or contractual bus service to stop all inbound buses and
redirect them to designated relocation site(s).
•Notify the district office and request activation of MEDIA functional protocol and available
parent notification systems, when appropriate.
Teachers:
•Clear the hallway and bathrooms by your room, moving everyone into the classroom.
•Lock your doors, turn off your lights, open your blinds to outside windows and close the
blinds to any hallway windows or doors
•Move students and staff away from the doors and windows.
•Have all persons sit down against an interior wall.
•If a life threatening situation exists (i.e. active shooter is in the room), exit immediately to
a place of safety.
•Ignore all bells and alarms unless otherwise instructed.
•Unless you have vital information regarding the threat, do not call the office.
•Take attendance and be prepared to notify the Incident Commander of missing students
or additional students, staff or guests sheltered in your classroom. The Principal and/or
Designee or Incident Commander may initiate a phone call for this information.
•Allow no one outside of the classroom until a uniformed officer or school administrator
releases you directly.
Office Staff:
•Stay by the phones to wait for additional procedures from the Principal and/or Designee
or Incident Commander.
•Communicate with classrooms via telephone, computer or other methods if necessary.
•Assist the Principal and/or Designee or Incident Commander in establishing the school
command post.
Custodians:
•Close and lock all delivery doors.
•Direct any contractors, delivery drivers, or vendor repairmen located inside the building
into a safe area and lock the door.
•Prevent vehicles and pedestrians from entering school grounds, if possible, until police
arrive.
Annual Meeting also on this Monday (again thanks to Mr. Hausser for authoring this information)
The District Annual Meeting is all set for Monday, October 18th up at the Elementary School. The regular Board meeting starts at 6 p.m. and the Annual meeting begins at 7 p.m. All of you are invited to attend, but only district residents can vote on any motions that are brought forth. The meeting usually lasts about an hour and there are administrative reports, voting on the board compensation, budget approval, transportation policies, among other things. I strongly encourage you to come and have your voice and vote be heard. Below is a link to a PDF that explains the annual meeting proceedings as well.
