Monday Memo
October 1, 2018 @MMSCougarPride
Follow us on Twitter!
Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all things happening in the MMS community @MMS CougarPride.
Send Dara pictures to district email if you'd like us to Tweet something. Our followers are increasing every day!
Reminder-PDPs are due Friday, October 5, 2018
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M_WthA4UQDTZNaCZEDjzf9fLOn_W4W3gFhJ7NhIrTJA/edit?usp=sharing
(Info from SOMSD HR office linked above)
PDPs are open for all staff. If you cannot access your PDP, please contact me. Please ignore the time stamp on the invitation. The invitation is just so that you can open it in MLP. Your evaluator will contact you if a PDP conference is needed. Our focus areas as a school are:
1. Using data to drive instruction and intervention for students.
2. Inclusive classrooms that incorporate student voice/ownership/cultural heritage.
3. Expanding the workshop model across content areas.
PDPs are written in SMART goal language.
We look forward to reviewing your goals this year and to a year of growth. We are all learners!
October is Hispanic Heritage Month (through 10/15)
Link above with information. Thanks to our Spanish department for encouraging students to attend Hola Fest at the Woodland this past Saturday. I saw quite a few MMS students and Ms. Cavagnaro, Ms. Carlson, and Mr. Rosefort there. I'm sure there were others!
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Happy Monday MMS,
October 1-5, 2018 is the Week of Respect. Thank you Mr. Stoudemire and our new Social Work interns for organizing this week's events. Activities for the week are attached below.
PLCs have been updated and unfortunately we are no longer able to run the Diversity Month Celebration PLC and Advisory/Student Voice due to interest in other great PLCs. I'd like to get staff input on how we address these important topics as a community. I'll aim to devote some time to this at our next faculty meeting--but that's another 2 weeks away!
Reminder that October 9, 2018 is a 4 hour day for students for staff development. Around 20 MMS staff will be trained in restorative practices with support from Tanya Lewis consulting and the remainder of the staff will receiving training on other topics. More information is forthcoming on that from the district.
Have a great week,
Dara
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The MMS faculty and staff ask that you support our work with your child in the following ways:
1) Encourage a Growth Mindset-Having a growth mindset fosters resilience. Use the language of yet. I don’t understand this “yet.” Emphasize the importance of hard work as opposed to innate intelligence. “I did well because of my effort. I’ll do better next time.”
2) Encourage 1-2 Good Peer Relationships-Friends should be a source of support. Often our middle schoolers try to maintain large groups of close friends and that is challenging for anyone of any age! Encourage your child to have 1-2 solid and supportive peer friendships and keep it light and simple with the larger groups.
3) Ensure 9-11 Hours of Sleep Please! Sleep is the best way to foster resilience. Research shows that kiddos this age need 9-11 hours to be at their best. When your child is well-rested, everything is better. Technology is the #1 enemy of sleep! As a school community, we recommend that you keep technology out of your child’s bedroom at night to encourage healthy and consistent sleep.
4) Encourage Coping Strategies-Coping is personal. Everyone does it differently. Encourage your child to think about healthy ways to relax and give them permission to do it!
5) Facilitate Time/Connection with a non-familial adult-Good connections with non-familial adults are very important for your child. They hear things differently from non-familial adults. Encourage your child to participate in a club or activity. Children need our perspective. They are always changing and growing. As adults we can attach a growth mindset to their personality development and their peer interactions.
Maplewood Middle School Remind App Code @k92d29
This year, the MMS Principal has added a school-wide "Remind App" as another way to communicate with families. Many of your child's teachers will share Remind class codes for you and your child to stay up to date about class events and assignments. As needed, the MMS Principal will periodically use the Remind App to share important info with our school community. Our Maplewood Middle School school-wide code Remind code is listed above (@k92d29). The link below explains how to begin getting notifications. It's a simple way to stay in touch. Join us!
https://help.remind.com/hc/en-us/articles/203179887-How-do-I-join-a-class-