FMHS Info Swarm
August 25, 2016
Read to Succeed
Now as we turn the page on August's literacy focus on assessment, we will begin to examine foundation knowledge in September. You will find the schedule for September below, which outlines how we will earn another 6 hours this month.
Week 1 Professional Reading (9/4-9/10)
Week 2 PSG (Wednesday 9/14)
Week 3 Google Response (9/18-9/24)
Week 3 Department Meeting Reflection (Wednesday 9/21)
Week 4 Classroom Connection Journaling (9/25-10/1)
Week 4 CIT (Wednesday 9/28)
Discussing the implications
Modeling the Jigsaw Strategy
Exploring Google Classroom
Midterms
Believe it or not, the first midterm date (Friday, September 2nd) will be upon us before you know it. We will continue to notify students and their parents of midterm academic averages by distributing hard copy grade summary sheets each block. Mr. Christopher will send a “School Messenger” communication to all parents notifying them to expect midterm reports from all teachers on Friday, so be aware that parents should be on the lookout for these grade reports. Even though most parents have access to their student’s grades through Parent Portal, we will still continue with printing midterm progress reports for the foreseeable future.
Extra Help Hours
For those who are new to FMHS this year, these extra help times are similar to office hours provided by college professors. They are times, in addition to FLEX, that teachers are available for additional academic support and to provide makeup work and assessments.
Please note that all teachers are required to provide at least one session before school and one session after school each week. While FLEX will meet the needs of most students, we want to be responsive to the transportation constraints and availability of students who require additional opportunities.
Quote of the Month
Parent Contact and Conferences
If a student is failing your class by the midterm, please personally notify the parents by phone or email and keep a record of this contact. While parents have access to Parent Portal, many still rely on midterms and report cards and we all know those have a strange way of disappearing, especially among our most academically at risk students.
It may become necessary to schedule a parent teacher conference to address academic or behavioral concerns. All conferences should be scheduled through the guidance office. Please let Ms. Harris or Ms. Harvey know if you would like an administrator to be present during your conference. Please be aware that parents are not to "stop by" your classroom for conferences. Please politely inform parents of this policy should you be cornered in an impromptu conferences.
Food for Thought
Long Range Plans and Videos
In keeping with our Google docs connectedness, I am asking all teachers to submit your LRPs by creating or uploading your plans as a google doc and sharing it with me (scroggsg@fmsdmail.org). Please remember that these plans are due by the end of next month—Friday, September 30th.
Here are a few guidelines regarding LRPs and videos:
- You should submit LRPs for each prep you teach this semester.
- It is not necessary to submit multiple LRPs for different levels of the same course. (For example, only one LRP would be required for a teacher that teaches English III Regular, CP, and Honors)
- Any video you plan to show should be listed in the long range plan. This may be included as a bulleted list at the end of your LRP document. It is not necessary to share an additional document just for the video list.
- If you decide to show a video that is not on your list it must be approved by the administration before being shown to students.
- All videos should have an accompanying assessment to demonstrate student learning. R-rated movies are not permitted.
Calendar of Events
August
- August 24 PSG--Planning Periods
- August 29 Open House--6:30-8:00 pm
- August 31 Department Meetings--3:55 pm
September
- September 2 Midterms Distributed--1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Blocks
- September 6 R2S Leadership Team--3:55 pm
- September 7 FMHS Family Meeting--3:55 pm
- September 8 Club Sign Ups--FLEX
- September 13 Underclassmen Pictures--All Day
- September 14 Underclassmen Pictures--All Day
- September 14 PSG--Planning Periods
- September 15 Due Date for Safe Schools Training Videos--11:59 pm
- September 16 Students of the Month Recognition--10:20 am
- September 20 SOAR STEM Program--All Day
- September 20 Leadership Team Meeting--3:55 pm
- September 21 Department Meetings--3:55 pm
- September 26 End of the 1st 6 Weeks--N/A
- September 26 School Improvement Council--4:30 pm
- September 28 Senior Meeting--2:10 pm
- September 28 CIT--3:55 pm
- September 30 Long Range Plans Due--3:40 pm
Gales Scroggs
Fort Mill High School
Email: scroggsg@fortmillschools.org
Website: http://fmhs.fortmillschools.org/
Location: 215 N Highway 21 BYP
Phone: 803-548-1900
Twitter: @MrScroggs