The District Dispatch
February 2021
Welcome Back and Let's Go!
I hope everyone had a very restful “Winter Break” and that you were able to use your “down time” to enjoy some winter recreation, reconnect with loved ones, catch up on your reading or even get some much-needed “nap-time”. You have all earned it after the year we've had!
We now begin a very important and nearly uninterrupted stretch of teaching and learning which will last until our April break arrives. As I have shared in the past, I strongly feel that this “March Madness” period provides a great opportunity for continued and ongoing academic growth! It is important that our entire Middleborough educational team commit fully to making this eight week stretch an extraordinary time to connect (and re-connect) with our students and create opportunities for great gains in academic achievement. I am confident that we can accomplish great things!
Please know that our administrative leadership team has begun the process of planning for some potential upcoming transitions in our instructional/learning models. As is the want of the Middleborough community as well as the entire country, it is our fervent hope to return as many students, faculty and staff into our physical school environments as soon as possible while maintaining safe and appropriate environments for everyone.
In closing, I want to wish you all the best and also share that as much as I enjoy a pretty winter snowfall, I am hoping that we can avoid any significant weather incidents during the coming weeks so that we can all “Finish Strong” (as the folks at MHS would say) as early as possible in June.
Best Regards,
BrianSeniority Lists
Please click here for directions on Accessing District Staff Only information on the website.
Updated School Calendar
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for all of your assistance and cooperation with the Tiered Focused Monitoring process over the past year. Our process and compliance with special education and civil rights will be fully examined with a final report to follow this spring. On February 23rd and 24th, the Office of Public School Monitoring (through DESE) will be on site reviewing our student files and conducting interviews with selected administration.
While engaging in a process like this can seem difficult to understand given all that we are facing currently, I am confident that Middleborough will once again prove itself to be the kind of organization that prioritizes our families and students above all else. From our compliance with civil rights law to the truly remarkable efforts this district took during the COVID closure, Middleborough has many strengths as a school district that genuinely meets the needs of every student within every classroom every day.
Thank you to everyone who has assisted in this tremendous project. I look forward to sharing the results with you all later this spring.
Best,
Carolyn
Update to Grid View Extension
Has your Google Meet Grid View been broken? You are not alone there has been a cry for help from teachers all over the country. Google is working on updates to Google Meet and that is causing this third party application to not work.
We have found a solution to this and have applied it to all on the teacher account for you to use. The new extension is called "Grid View for Google Meet". You will see the new grid option at the top of your Google Meet when you launch Meet. This should solve the ongoing problem with the Grid View for now.
Please know that this is a fluid situation and the app is always changing and could break again at any time. As Google continues to evolve it may cause compatibility issues with third party extensions and apps, such as this recent one with Grid View.
Flipgrid Workshop Today at 4PM
Recent Tech Tip Tuesdays
The Modern Classroom and Remote Teaching and Learning Module Series PDPs
If you do not see your PDPs and you had completed these trainings, then please email Melanie Gates directly with your certificate of completion. Thanks!
Vision of a Graduate
We welcome the participation of all members of our Middleborough Public Schools' family in our stakeholder surveys. Please check out our Vision of a Graduate website for information about this important work and to access our stakeholder surveys.
FREE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SERIES
Registration begins Monday, February 22 and will close on a rolling basis for each session. Please click HERE to learn about each session and HERE to find the registration links.
Share-a-thon on Assessment Strategies
Upcoming LearnLaunch Building Blocks Workshops
Powerful Learning Experiences to Engage Learners will help school and district leaders engage learners with deeper learning experiences. This workshop pairs with the Cultivating a Culture of Caring workshop, but it is not a prerequisite. These will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23 and 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 25. Register here and explore the Engage Learners Building Block tool.
Sustaining a Strong Educator Workforce (new!) will focus on three elements: defining the challenges, creating a productive work environment, and implementing effective staffing structures. This workshop, the first in a series, will focus on the first two elements. The workshop will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 24; 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2; and 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 4. Register here and explore the Prepare, Support, and Collaborate with Educators Building Block tool.
About Us
"...to foster a culture of excellence within every student, in every classroom, every day."
Email: MPSadmin@middleboro.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.middleboro.k12.ma.us/
Location: 30 Forest Street, Middleborough, MA 02346
Phone: (508)946-2000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MiddleboroughPublicSchools/
Twitter: @MiddleboroughPS