Warrior Beat
#worldchangingwarriors
Word for the Warrior...
Comments like this shouldn't surprise me! It is what we do as teachers! It's what we HOPE we do every day! But, this was a personally convicting comment for me as an educator to hear! It made me wonder what students say about me when they see me from afar. When they see me, do they feel encouraged? Do they know they have an advocate and an ally in me? Do they know that I have their back and that I have their best interest in mind? What do my words and actions reveal on a daily basis? Are they aligned with what students ultimately experience and feel?
Sometimes we are suprised at what students do not know and we are suprised at immature behaviors they demonstrate. Sometimes it is easy to be frustrated when we get a class that is low in an area and it's even more frustrating when we get a class that is behind behaviorally. Sometimes that frustration can turn easily into negativity and blame and this can be tranmitted to our kids if we are not careful. I read a quote once by Mehmet Oz that tells us that the opposite of anger is empathy.
Teaching is the amount of support necessary for learning to occur. If we want students to get better, empathy is a must. Empathy in our role means that it is our job to figure out what the next step is in order for students to improve. It involves considering where students are in relation to where we want them to be and requires us to consider what our students need to move forward. Sometimes, it feels like we have to back up farther and give way more support than we feel that we should have to give. But, let't think about this. If we do NOT think about what students need and provide that support, even if it is more than we feel like we should give, then what happens? The learning or behavior does not and will not improve. We know that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting that something will change.
At Sevier, what I am most proud of is that we are committed to going the extra mile for students of all backgrounds. We are working with middle school students. It's just a tough age to teach and a tough AGE to be a kid regardless of background. I read a quote this week that reminds us that, "It's not 'social emomtional learning' and 'academic learning,' it's just learning....they are interdependent."
Everything we do with our kids involves connection and motivation. How we communicate and support kids is the key driver to learning. It does not matter one bit how much we know about a subject or what our grade point average was in college or how poised we think we are, if we cannot connect with kids, nothing else matters. Learning cannot occur outside of relationship.
Below is a video clip of Brene Brown with Oprah. It's about shame and I share it because she describes how shame is crippling, but how when empathy is introduced, shame cannot survive. So much of how we work with kids results in either creating feelings of shame or creating feelings of empowerment for students. Are our words laced with love and caring or sarcasm and threats. Do our actions convey that we are watching from the sidelines to see if students meet our expectation or do our actions convey that we are in the arena WITH our kids to provide the support kids can count on to reach the expectation?
When kids feel empowered, they will work and run through walls for us....sometimes just because we asked them to do so. Based on each child's unique background, we may have more work to do to make this connection than with others, but without it, growth cannot occur. The GOOD news is the power we have to connect and inspire...and that connection and inspiration is what will empower students and can ultimately change their life for the good!
Week of the Warrior
MONDAY: February 3rd
SEL - Goal Setting
Weekly Planning with InDeS
Homework help is now in Mr. Wyatt’s room after School
Baseball tryouts Feb 3rd & 4th meet in Mr Koth's room after school 3:00-5:00 both days
February 6-5:30--Family Informational Night for DB High School Planning (8th graders and their families)
Yearbook sales are about to come to an end! Any student who wants a yearbook needs to place their order by Friday, February 14. The only way to secure a yearbook is to pre-order one!Visit ybpay.lifetouch.com and use ID Code 13619720.
TUESDAY: February 4th
SEL - Tuesday - Circles
High School Planning (True/Creasy)
Homework help is now in Mr. Wyatt’s room after School
Student Council meetings February 4th 3-3:30
Baseball tryouts Feb 4th meet in Mr Koth's room after school 3:00-5:00 both days
Art Club will be Tuesday from 3:00-4:00.
Natural Helpers Meeting Tuesday 3-4:30pm Any student interested in joining Natural Helpers see Mrs. Kincaid in the Counseling Center
Science Olympiads will be meeting on Tuesday from 2:45-5:00.
February 6th - DB Parent Night for rising 9th grade students, DB Cafeteria, 5;30pm
Yearbook sales are about to come to an end! Any student who wants a yearbook needs to place their order by Friday, February 14. The only way to secure a yearbook is to pre-order one!Visit ybpay.lifetouch.com and use ID Code 13619720.
WEDNESDAY: February 5th
SEL - Second Step
Core classes (8th grade related arts) on Wednesdays
Homework help is now in Mr. Wyatt’s room after School
Boys Indoor Soccer at Sevier Wednesday.. Team 1 (3:10) Team 2 (3:40) and Team 3 (4:00) All teams report to the Small gym on Wednesday by 2:50. dressed and ready.
Softball try-outs will be February 5th & 6th. Tryout information can be picked up in the Counseling Center.
Science Bowl practice on Wednesday from 2:45 - 4:00in Ms. Musselman's room.
There will be a journalism staff meeting on Wednesday, January 8 from 2:45 to 3:30 pm. All staff members are required to attend. The editorial team will meet until 5:15 pm.
February 6-5:30--Family Informational Night for DB High School Planning (8th graders and their families)
Yearbook sales are about to come to an end! Any student who wants a yearbook needs to place their order by Friday, February 14. The only way to secure a yearbook is to pre-order one!Visit ybpay.lifetouch.com and use ID Code 13619720.
THURSDAY: February 6th
SEL - Naviance
Homework help is now in Mr. Wyatt’s room after School
Boys Indoor Soccer at Sevier Thursday.. Team 1 (3:10) Team 2 (3:40) and Team 3 (4:00)
Softball try-outs will be February 6th. Tryout information can be picked up in the Counseling Center.
Science Olympiads will be meeting on Thursday from 2:45-5:00.
February 6-5:30--Family Informational Night for DB High School Planning (8th graders and their families)
Progress Reports going home
- Yearbook sales are about to come to an end! Any student who wants a yearbook needs to place their order by Friday, February 14. The only way to secure a yearbook is to pre-order one!Visit ybpay.lifetouch.com and use ID Code 13619720.
FRIDAY: February 7th
SEL - Mentoring/Feel Good Friday
Yearbook sales are about to come to an end! Any student who wants a yearbook needs to place their order by Friday, February 14. The only way to secure a yearbook is to pre-order one!Visit ybpay.lifetouch.com and use ID Code 13619720.
Save the Date
There will be an interest meeting for Underwater Robotics on Tuesday, Feb. 11 from 3-3:45 in Mr. Golden's room (332).
Yearbook sales are about to come to an end! Any student who wants a yearbook needs to place their order by Friday, February 14. The only way to secure a yearbook is to pre-order one!Visit ybpay.lifetouch.com and use ID Code 13619720.
Saturday February 1, VEX IQ Squared Away Competition at Gibbs Middle School near Knoxville. Please arrive by 7:45 AM.
February 4-27-Weekly High School Planning Meetings in Classrooms with Counselors and students
February 13-5:30-DB Excel Open House
All-City Band for 8th graders February 18th
March 9-11,16- Individual DB Registration Appointments
March 12-Field Trip for 8th Graders-Eastman Career Expo
JSMS JAM
A Great Opportunity!
Parent Teacher Conference-Reminder
Please remember that next Thursday and Friday are our parent conferences. The dates and times are Thursday 2/6, 3-6 pm (last meeting 5:40) and Friday 2/7, 7:30-11:30 (last meeting at 11:20). Please be proactive in scheduling conferences and please turn in copies of your conference schedules to both Erika and LeAnn. This will really help with answering questions.
In recent parent surveys, the biggest areas that come up as areas of need for us all surround communication. MANY of you do this already, but if you are not, please remember to be in regular contact with parents via email regarding assignments and test dates. We can often assume that because some parents are not engaged, that no parents are engaged. We have MANY parents who can HELP us out if they have the information they need to simply encourage students to study for tests or prepare for upcoming assignments. As much as we would like for it to be so, most middle school students do not have school work as their top priority so any encouragement and communication we can provide to students AND parents, the better. Remember, we are the SUPPORT necessary for students to be successful....if we are just waiting for them to be successful and meet our expectations, then everything is an assessment.
One last reminder about grades, please work as a department to ensure that grading practices are the same within your grade level department. It becomes very confusing for parents and teachers when there are vast differences in the grades teachers take, what is graded and the scales that are used. To provide a guaranteed and viable curriculum and to provide equity, this is necessary for our kids.
Softball
Baseball
Baseball tryouts will take place on Monday Feb. 3 after school. More information to follow about tryouts.
MORNING YOGA
We have an awesome opportunity here at Sevier. VIDA yoga and the cOMmunity collective will be coming to our school on Friday mornings from 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. to do yoga in the small gym. It is open to all students and ALL STAFF. We are hoping this will help students as well as staff relax on Friday mornings. I encourage you to come and please encourage your students to do the same
Coffee Cart-Feel Good Friday
Feel Good Friday just keeps getting better! Stephen Baker had the awesome idea to start up a coffee cart for the Warrior Academy kiddos and the FA-3 kiddos to run together on Friday mornings. The cost will be $1.00 per cup, and we have creamers and sweeteners as well!
The funds will just replenish the cart from week to week, but the personal interaction and functional skills the kids are going to learn from this will be invaluable! I am looking forward to watching them grow throughout the year and build relationships with you all through this venture!
I have included the Google Sheet that we will use each week to fill orders. There is a cell for your name, classroom number for 1st period assignments, type of drink, and if you need a disposable cup, or if you'll have your own mug for us to make it in!
Thank you all in advance for your support of this fun idea, and to Baker for getting it all together. I love our big Warrior Tribe!
Thanks again!
Baker and Megan
Duty Scheudule:
Morning and Afternoon Duty:
Hall and Lunch Duty:
Warrior Whoop!
Sequoyah Scribe Honors
Please congratulate Kylie Moore, whose recent article about censorship and prior review has been selected for publication by "Best of School Newspapers Online". In addition, Chloe McConnell's article about the new members of the KCS board of education was also selected for this honor.
A grand total of 10 Scribe articles have been selected by "Best of School Newspapers Online" this school year.
Geography Bee
Warriors of the Week!
Adriana Ward, Elizabeth Slate, Brayden Hammonds, Allie McConnelee
7th
Karmela Whiteside, Nia Williamson, Sarah Arreola, Thomas Peters, Mishell Mims, Ayden Crandall, Mishell Mims, Joaquin Garibaldi
8th
Elizabeth Gilliam, Michael Wissert, Madison Feather