LRMS: Week at a Glance
December 14-18, 2015
Sayings from Skinner
And it is just like that, we are at the end of first semester. Seems like only yesterday I was planning out the pre-planning agenda for the year -- and now, we are nearly half-way done! What an amazing journey this semester has been -- you all have "hung tough," you have renormed the "Radloff Way," you have challenged kids more and believed in them more than anyone has ever before. Our kids are better every day because of YOU!!!!! I hope you each will have a great final week to the term -- remember that the smiles and hope you offer our students may be the greatest JOY they see and experience. I encourage you to spread the JOY of holidays to your colleagues as well. While this is the season of busy-ness and bustle, that can often lead to strain and stress --- it is also a time of light, of hope, of merriment, of JOY --- I encourage you to let those traits fill your hearts and minds -- and shine through on your faces, in your words, and in your actions. I am blessed by your efforts, your dedication, and your amazing SPIRITS --- I look forward to much celebrating with you of all our work throughout this week and in the new year, which is around the corner! To help you "feel good" about the week, feel free to wear jeans each day this coming week as you sport your holiday and/or Radloff spirit wear! Have an amazing week!!!!
News You Can Use
Read This -- and Be "In the Know"
Remember that EACH ELT teacher should be entering his/her data prior to the end of the term to show your ELT students' progress toward mastery of the identified ELT skills. Please don't be "the gap" in the data!!
2) Read your EMAILS!
I know there's a ton . . and they come fast and furious -- but it is the primary means of communicating just-in-time info --- "I don't read emails" is NOT an excuse; it's an abdication of responsibility! Please make sure you don't let this 'little thing' get in the way!
3) Elves? Moving Furniture?
Remember -- all furniture is assigned to a particular room --- each classroom has assigned "stuff" --- do NOT move items from one room to another -- and if there is something that has "magically" appeared in your room, it should "magically" be returned to its home location this week!! This is a part of the inventory process. If you have a piece of furniture and you don't know where it truly belongs, ask Chris Corbitt to assist you -- but it MUST be moved to the proper location!
4) Parent Communication/Documentation
As we are now at the final hour, all parents should have been previously notified if their child is not going to pass a class -- and if that reality comes true, please make sure you have documented how the parents were contacted about their child's failure.
5) Semester-End Celebration Plan
If you DIDN'T get this in and approved by your AP, make sure you do so on Monday!!! We MUST know what is happening across the building on Friday (and throughout next week)!
6) Milestones Scores (Spring 2015)
LA and MA teachers (from last year who are still in the building) will receive a PDF of their team's scores in an email from Amanda. This is a LARGE document -- so immediately download it and delete the email. Teachers, you may print the document (or pages of the document) as you need for the purpose of studying the information and planning instruction. Do NOT forward this email or the scores. Do NOT share the scores with students or parents (the district will let us know when the scores are in the portal and are "live"/available for parents and students). You all MAY work as teams or CATs to examine the scores and make instructional decisions. HR teachers, you may have other teachers (i.e., 7th grade teachers coming to 6th grade folks) to get a glimpse of how current students did. In early January, we will have a "y'all come," where teachers can come and Amanda will help you "tease out" from the super-large excel file, your current students and their scores from last spring. Be on the lookout for this in VERY early January -- but these initial scores (from our students last spring) will give us a baseline indicator of what our last year's efforts yielded from our students. If you have ANY questions, please do not hesitate to ask!!!
7) In need of a translation at this point for a meeting? Or a phone call?
For a meeting: Send a Lotusnotes request to the potential translator with a specific time when you need the translator -- that way, they can check their calendars and their availability -- remember, there are only a few of them, and they are getting pulled in a million different directions!
For a phone call: please send an email request, but be willing/ready to sit with them as they make the call --- they are the translator for the call, not the maker of the call (I hope that makes sense) -- there may be questions on the call and the "originator" of the call needs to be there to answer them.
8) Paloozas and the Last Day of the Semester
Remember that the 18th can be a fun-filled day .. BUT we need to make sure it is a fully-monitored and safe day for EVERYONE! Please don't allow kids to wander from place to place -- do NOT write lots of passes that day -- keep the kids where they are supposed to be and make sure there is adult supervision continuously. To cut down on some traffic, Friday will be an "A"-day only for Connections. And please make sure that EVERYONE is paying attention and gets on the bus at the end of the day!!!
Louise Radloff Middle School
Email: sarah_skinner@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Website: radloffmiddle.org
Location: 3939 Shackleford Road, Norcross, GA, United States
Phone: 678-245-3400
Facebook: facebook.com/radloffmiddle
Events of the Week
Monday, December 14
DA Post-tests: LA/SC
8:15 a.m. -- Special Ed./Gifted Department Meetings
8:15 a.m. -- ESOL Teams meet
8:50 a.m. -- Counselor's Meeting
9:30 a.m. -- ELT
Tuesday, December 15
DA Post-tests: LA/SC
Note--NO ILT meeting this day -- we will meet in early January for 2nd semester!!!
9:30 a.m. -- Advisement
NO CATs (unless the CAT Captain calls something)
4:30 p.m. -- Black History Committee Meeting
6:00 p.m. -- 7th grade Band, Chorus, Orchestra Concert
Wednesday, December 16
8:15 a.m. -- School-wide Morning Tutoring
DA Post-tests: MA/SS
9:30 a.m. -- Advisement
1:00 p.m. -- Academy -- CPR Training (Activity Room)
6:00 p.m. -- Academy Awards -- Cafeteria
Thursday, December 17
8:00 a.m. -- New Teacher Network
8:15 a.m. -- PBIS Meeting
DA Post-tests: MA/SS
9:30 a.m. -- ELT
NO CATs (unless the CAT Captain calls one)
5:00 p.m. -- Away Basketball Games vs. Lanier MS (at Lanier HS)
Friday, December 18
8:00 a.m. --Faculty Holiday Breakfast (cafeteria --- come in your "swankiest sweater" or holiday outfit)
9:30 a.m. -- ELT
Paloozas during ALL Connections/Planning Periods
4:15 p.m. -- End of Semester 1 (Go home and have a restful break!!)