MS Weekly
Week of 12/18-12/21
Good Day, Beautiful People,
Inspiration was found in the words of the Duke Women’s Basketball Coach, Kara Lawson. In this link, she challenges us to live into what we’ve been striving to do as a team. With you all as teammates, we have made great strides and there is more to accomplish.
See you on the road!
-Mr. Taitt
Monday PD Schedule
Ops Corner
📝iReady Testing: Monday 12/18
Please review modified schedule here, including testing group and proctor information
Please review email sent from Tori Riley on Friday 12/8 with testing details
Proctors: Pick up testing bin from room 235 Bennett (7th Science Lab) prior to your exam
Homeroom teachers: distribute student schedules during homeroom Monday morning.
Students need to take laptops from their homeroom to their testing location
MS Winter Festival: Thursday 12/21
Please review the MS Winter Festival plans here & refer to the email sent from VaLonda Harris on 12/14 with more information
Note there is a modified schedule on Thursday 12/21
Fridge Dump: In preparation for Winter Break, please make sure your personal belongings are put away and/or perishables are tossed or taken home. We empty the fridges/freezers before every break. Label anything you want to keep with first and last name. We will throw out all items at 3:30 PM on 12/21/23!
Winter Break (no school): Friday, 12/22/23 to Tuesday, 1/2/24. Students and staff return to the building on Wednesday, 1/3/24.
- Facilities: Please note that we will be doing building maintenance during this break, including painting and deep cleaning.
Instructional Corner
Instructional Move of the Week
Narrate the Positive
Warm welcome: make eye contact, smile, and greet students
Narrate what students do well, not what they do wrong
“Table two is ready: their books are open and all are reading.”
“I like how Javon has anticipated a counter-argument to strengthen his thesis.”
Praise intellect, not just behavior--reinforce students getting smarter:
Affirm the effort, not just the outcome: “Your diligence on revising your thesis really paid off here.”
Narrating the positive is a great way to celebrate students meeting the expectations, and to signal to students not meeting the expectations what you would like them to do. After giving directions and releasing your class to work, narrate the positive before calling out negative behaviors to build a positive environment in your class.
Two important tips:
Positively narrating individual students or pairs is more powerful than the class as a whole or one side of the room
Positively narrate the most important thing you need students to be doing and be specific (“I see Carlos and Aniyah already have their books open to page 31 and have begun to annotate on their sheet”)
🌟Highlight / Bright spot from the team:
The whole team has been working on and improving our transitions over the last few weeks. Two superstars that keep scoring really high on the transition scorecards are Franzchesca Dormeus and Jessica Sweeney. Both always hold down their spot in the 7th grade hallway by:
Making sure their classes are settled before transitioning
Being at their threshold actively narrating what they are looking for from students
Having something in their hands to track merits, demerits, etc. and keep notes during the transition
We weren’t able to get a full video with the different absences on Friday but will send one along in the bright spots Zoom chat early next week! Keep up the great work, Jess and Fran!
Additional Coaching focus of the week
Frequently narrating and repeating expectations with a positive framework helps students understand and follow expectations in all spaces (class, transitions, breakfast & lunch, homerooms). The more we work together to consistently and frequently narrate what we want, the more students will meet those expectations.
Classroom Example: Video Link
Example: During a transition, say to students:
“Thank you for walking calmly to your next class”
“Pitt, you’re doing a great job of staying at level 1 in the hallway”
“Jamaya, thank you for staying in the line”
Culture Corner
Reset data:
Here is the link to the Reset data for the Middle School that includes all individual students who have yet to earn a referral for inappropriate language, horseplay/inappropriate contact, safety violation.
Announcements
Staffing updates:
🎉Welcome Jurod James to the team! He will be joining us as a MS substitute starting Monday 12/18.
Events:
📢Shout out to Tania Nora, Brandon Arthur, & MS House of Reps for planning the Masquerade Ball!
🎵 Shout out to Marquisse Henry for the music!
And a big thank you to our families that donated food & chaperoned!
Calendar, Links & Resources
📰 Family Newsletter Week of 12/11/23
Upcoming Dates:
Monday, 12/18: IReady Testing
Thursday, 12/21: Winter Festival
Friday 12/22- Tuesday 1/2/24: Winter Break
Wednesday, 1/3/24: Students & Team return from Winter Break
Monday 1/8/24 - Friday 1/12/24 - MS ACCESS Testing
Wednesday 1/24 - Friday 1/26: SFEs
Links & Resources:
SY24 MS Homerooms (includes locker info & student log-ins)
SY24 Professional Development Calendar
✨ Bright Spots Submission Form ✨