The Falcon Files
Your Weekly Falcon Updates for Staff
December 9, 2019
Words of Inspiration
-Plutarch
A Special Applause To....
Professional Learning on the Go
I recently have had conversations with people in our building about differentiating, conferencing, and even some about setting goals for all students. These ideas are sometimes hard to envision when working with mixed ability groups and in classrooms with 25+ students per class. As we work towards meeting the needs of each student, I will try to find articles that address differentiation, formative assessment, conferencing and goal setting.
In this article, the author, Matt Christenson, describes how he uses conferences to formatively assess students. Christenson states, "Conferencing means a quick conversation to see which areas need to be readdressed to ensure everyone’s success." I hope this helps build your toolbox as you develop or refine the process of conferencing with students this year. Enjoy!
https://theartofeducation.edu/2016/08/29/bring-benefits-1-1-conferencing/
For the week of December 9th....
Monday, December 9th
- 12 Days of Jeans - Silver and Gold Day - wear something silver and/or gold
- Don't forget #fuelthepositive Awards! Today is Jill Binau and Jim Wagner.
- Jen Molitor and Lorinda are introducing the Writing Club during Study Halls
Tuesday, December 10th
- 12 Days of Jeans - Poinsettia Red Day - wear something red day
- Don't forget #fuelthepositive Awards! Today is Jimmy Brady and Kate Edington.
Wednesday, December 11th
- 12 Days of Jeans - Christmas at the Beach Day - wear your Hawaiian Shirt Day
- Don't forget #fuelthepositive Awards! Today is Katie Collett and Liz Marsh.
- 7th Grade TBT
- Library is CLOSED all day. Students must go home on the bus.
- BLT after school - 2:45 to 3:45 (working on Daily Schedule)
Thursday, December 12th
- 12 Days of Jeans - Wear your Sparkles Day - wear something with sparkles or sequins
- Don't forget #fuelthepositive Awards! Today is Matt Hudson and Michael Stewart.
- 8th Grade TBT
- 6th Grade TBT
- Library is CLOSED all day. Students must go home on the bus.
Friday, December 13th
- Early Release - Students done at 12:34
- 12 Days of Jeans - Ugly Sweater Day
- Don't forget #fuelthepositive Awards! Today is Nicolin Haines and Patty Ratliff.
- Meet with #fuelthepositive Award winners during Falcon Time.
- Library is CLOSED all day. Students must go home on the bus.
We Need Your Feedback...
Thank you for your participation!
Please Announce to Students
Library will be closed on these dates due to staff training:
Wednesday, Dec. 11, Closed all day
Thursday, Dec. 12, Closed all day
Friday, Dec. 13, Closed all day
Please remind them they should ride the bus home.
#fuelthepositive Award Opportunities
*Take a moment to introduce what you will be looking for and what will happen. We start again on Monday.
December 16 - 20 - Holiday Spirit Week for Students:
Monday - Christmas PJs
Tuesday - Christmas Sock Day
Wednesday - Ugly Sweater Day
Thursday - Holiday Hat Day
Friday - Falcon Pride Day
Falcon of the Month
*This student will be chosen randomly from the pool of #fuelthepositive award winners. Next Falcon will be chosen on the 20th.
Library Events for our Students and Families
*The Clinton-Massie Public Library will be trying out a new Dungeons and Dragons program on Wednesdays (except this week) in December from 2:45-3:45. This is for teens and tweens and their parents if the parents want to join in.
All Grades
* Snap-On Cases MUST be on computers at all times. If they do not have them on, warning first, then an after school detention, then up the discipline matrix. Why? The cases protect our warranty which is void if they are not on. This is a new policy for us all. Please help me spread the word. If you have questions, please ask Rachel or myself.
What is happening in the classrooms?
Holiday Band Concert
Mr. Wagner Shares His Passion
MakerSpace Students Share Their Space
Living Skills
Elks Hoop Shoot Contest
Project Based Learning - 8th Grade
#fuelthepositive Award Winners for Last Week
A Christmas Carol Museum Gallery Walk
Teachers, there will be an opportunity to bring your classes through the museum after the geography bee on the 20th. Thank you for your support and help with this project.
Info For The Staff
12 Days of Jeans for Christmas - See the announcement below.
Writing Club - Jen Molitor and Lorinda will be kicking off the writing club on Monday during study halls. As mentioned in the TBTs, this is just an opportunity for students to write, collaborate, peer review, and explore their inner writer. This is extra-curricular that is student-paced and to be done once their school work is complete. We are really excited to see what happens with this and see where it goes!
National Junior Honor Society - We will be starting NJHS near the end of January. More info to come. Jana Davis will be the advisor.
#fuelthepositive Awards - We begin again on Monday with new nominations. Please use the spreadsheet to let us know who is up for the award each week. You can find the spreadsheet HERE. If you can get the names in here by Thursday evening, it would be helpful. I try to print the certificates if possible Thursday night.
This week the following will be nominating: Jill Binau, Jim Wagner, Jimmy Brady, Kate Edington, Katie Collett, Liz Marsh, Matt Hudson, Michael Stewart, Nicolin Haines, and Patty Ratliff.
Library will be closed on these Dates:
Wednesday, Dec. 11, Closed all day
Thursday, Dec. 12, Closed all day
Friday, Dec. 13, Closed all day
Students must go home on the bus on these days.
Schedules and Calendars - Please remember to provide feedback to your team leads and on the padlet for schedules and calendars. Make sure you take a look at David Moss' email too. What do you think?
Clinton-Massie Letterhead - If you are sending anything out to parents, please use the Clinton-Massie Letterhead located in our templates.
#fuelthepositive Website - Don't forget! Our day to post things is Tuesdays! 1st Tuesday is Admin, 2nd Tuesday is 6th Grade (Kate is with them), 3rd Tuesday is 7th Grade (Nicolin is with them), and 4th Tuesday is 8th Grade (Tammy and Robyn are with them). You all can decide if one person is responsible for the media that day....maybe do it once a month? Tell our story! It helps our culture! Please send to Lorinda and David.
A Couple of Dates you should know about:
- December 11th - BLT from 2:45 to 3:45
- December 13th - Early Release - Christmas Party - Mexican Buffett
- December 16th - Holiday Music Assembly - Middle School - 8:00 am
- December 17th - Holiday Chorus Concert - 7:00 pm
- December 19th - 8th Grade PBL Gallery Walk (no 8th-grade specials except exams)
- December 19th - 8th Grade PBL Community Show - TBA
- December 20th - Geography Bee Finals Assembly at 8:00 am
- December 20th - 8th Grade PBL Show for our building in the morning
- December 20th - Holiday Dance/Games after lunch
- December 21st - January 5th - NO SCHOOL
- January 6th - Flex Day
- January 7th - #fuelthepositive Assembly - 7:30 am - more info to come
- January 13th - 15th - MAP Testing
- April 15th, 16th - AIR English
- April 22nd, 23rd - AIR Math
- April 29th - AIR 8th Grade Science
- May 4-6 - MAP
Helpdesk - A reminder to please send your technology requests to helpdesk@cmfalcons.org. There is no need to send an email to helpdesk, Michael, and David. In fact, it makes it more confusing on their end as to who needs to provide support. They are making a concerted effort this year to be more timely and responsive to helpdesk tickets. The start of the year is always tough but as they fill out their Tech Team and the Oaks Interns, they need their process to be clear. Thank you for your attention to this.
Digital Citizenship Discussions
Professional Learning Opportunities
Rapid Fire Google
Blended and Personalized Learning Tips
Storytelling through Animation Creation - February 26th - For ELA and History Teachers
Come talk to me about this if you are curious.
Storytelling through Animation Creation -
Storytelling through Animation Creation is intended for Middle and High School Language Arts teachers and Social Studies teachers who are interested in providing students alternatives for demonstrating understanding.
Use code to tell fun and interactive stories.
Program a conversation between two characters to explore the role of dialogue in storytelling.
Provide details about a character and use code to describe the character's actions, thoughts, and words.
Take an existing story and explore it from a first person and third person point of view.
Create a presentation using animation
You will also learn how to access Google's CS First lesson resources and how to access Scratch's lesson resources.
Important Session Information:
In this workshop, you will learn how you can leverage Google's CS First along with a free online program called Scratch to help your students tell stories by creating animations using code. You do NOT need to know how to write code! Scratch is an easy to use "drag-and-drop" program that is very intuitive and allows students to quickly create animations and stories. Furthermore, Google's CS First curriculum has lesson resources, videos, and how-to guides for you and your students to use that are aligned to the ISTE (International Society for Technology Education) standards and to the CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Association) standards.
Bring your own laptop. Lunch will be on your own.
2019-20 Student Handbook
Our Gold Standards
Our Gold Standards
Email: lorinda.ottaway@cmfalcons.org
Website: cmfalcons.org
Location: 2556 Lebanon Rd, Clarksville, OH 45113
Phone: (937) 289-2932
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clinton-Massie-Middle-School-169983643627883/
Twitter: @CMFalconsMiddle