WEEKLY STAFF BULLETIN
November 18-22
WEEKLY STAFF BULLETIN
Good morning,
Happy Monday. Last full week before Thanksgiving break! Thank you for everything you do with TLC. Our guest were beyond impressed with out progress especially with it only being November.
This week, on Wednesday, you will meet with your subject areas. Please continue looking at your data and see how you are incorporating reading/ writing in your lessons and using the released test questions. It is crucial that students are writing daily in class. Science teachers will meet in Marie Pollitt's room. We will be meeting with someone from Greenacres in regards to a science field trip.
Have a great week!
Aim High and Dream Big!!
Trish
What's Going This Week
This week is Math
Monday-
Tuesday-
Wednesday- EH- Subject Area - Science Teachers will meet in Marie Pollitt's room. Guest from Green Acres.
Thursday- PTO Meeting
Friday- Ashley Jenning's Birthday.
Upcoming
November 21- PTO Meeting/ BLT Meeting
November 25th or 26th - Youth Truth Survey
November 26- Back the Blue Basketball game
November 27-29 No School
December 16th- Field Trip
December 18th- Winter Band Concert
December 23- January 6- Winter Break
Friendly Reminders
If you have any new students that haven't taken the VIA survey, please find a time this week that they can take it. Here are the survey links:
* Password: FelicityTLC19> *
5th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS5
> * 6th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS6
> * 7th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS7
> * 8th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS8
Submit Weekly Team meeting notes.
Articles/pictures/newsletters for Parent Newsletter
BETTER LEARNING THROUGH STRUCTURED TEACHING DISCUSSION FORM
TLC
Week of 11-18 to 11-22 M,W,F- 2:15-2:30
Go over weekly agenda
Set goals for the week
Talk about weekend
Discuss ways they have used their strengths and what strengths they can work on
Gratitude, Bravery and/or Perseverance journal each day
11-19 (Tuesday)
As a class, go over the definition of Perseverance
Perseverance is continued effort, usually over a long period of time, in spite of any setbacks, discouragement, or defeats. People who demonstrate perseverance persist in reaching a goal, no matter how long it takes or how many failures they encounter.
Explain that you are going to read a piece written by a teenager who exemplifies perseverance.
Read “Sitting on the Bench.”
How does this demonstrate perseverance? (Story will be given to you)
Show the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER4l4bH2vAU
Discussion questions from video
What stuck out for you from this video?
Why is it titled Grit?
How can you tell when someone has grit?
Answer the following questions from the video on the provided handout:
Which image demonstrated perseverance for you? Why?
When do you see people in your life persevere?
When do you persevere?
What keeps people from persevering?
Why is perseverance an important skill?
11-21 (Thursday)
As a class, watch the Rob Mendez video which is about 15 minutes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXEruspkD_Q)
Complete the following questions on the handout provided, then share them.
How have your ideas of perseverance changed as a result of these activities?
Why didn’t your ideas of perseverance change?
Where do you think perseverance is the biggest problem for middle schoolers? Why?
How does not using perseverance affect people?
How can we help ourselves and others persevere?
TLC Quarter 2 Surveys
Q 2 surveys are ready to go!
Students will take: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FFMSSIA19 (just make sure that they choose the correct grade level in the dropdown for question 6)
Teachers will take: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Quarter2FFMS
STRENGTH SPOTTING
Please use this form to nominate fellow staff members who do extraordinary things! We will draw from these nominations to raffle gift cards throughout the year. Teachers who submit a strength spotting will also be in a drawing.
This weeks teachers nominated were:
Daniel Rothwell- for showing Judgement and Perspective. Daniel is always there and ready and willing to help me with any problem I may have ! He has gone out of his way many times to help me find materials and help our team solve a problem! Thank you for all you do , Daniel!
Heather Lane- for showing Kindness. Heather is amazing teacher and friend. She is so kind and know when you need a kind word or a hug. You are an amazing teacher.
Nikki Maupin- for showing perspective. Nikki had been giving me good advice on how to adapt and change my teaching so I can be more effective in helping my students learn the skills needed to get better at reading and writing.
Megan Walker- for showing Kindness and Sense of Meaning. Megan is one of the kindest and most loving people I know! Her heart for her students is amazing! She is intuitive to students' needs and always has a heart to listen and serve. Thank you Megan!
Shane Ogden- for showing kindness. Shane has been more than kind to me and my family by offering to help my daughter with basketball.
Michelle Turner- for showing Sense of Meaning. Michelle always uses her strong beliefs and sense of purpose to help her students move towards the very difficult task of beginning to inference with reading and writing in 5th grade.
STRENGTH SPOTTING FORM
Professional Development
SIX THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL
- Variety. Teaching middle school is never the same day twice. Sometimes, it’s not even the same from the beginning of class until the end depending on what drama has erupted in the interim. Middle school students have very little control over their bodies and their emotions, and they can be completely different children from day to day. In addition to variety in the students, We are able to experiment with any fun lesson idea we come up with on very willing guinea pigs & enjoy having a wide range of novel experiences in class. Although they know the general structure of the class, they never quite know exactly what is coming. It keeps them excited and keeps us energized.
- Laughter. Middle school students have a ready sense of humor. They are not yet so jaded that they are too cool to crack up at something corny. They have no filter and say any old thing that pops into their heads, often with unintentionally hysterical results.
- Honesty. If you aren’t sure about whether the new haircut you tried is flattering, you will find out in 0.2 seconds if you teach middle school. Some kids may come right out and tell you to your face, and others will stage whisper it to a friend, but you will always know how they feel. Most have not yet mastered the poker face, and we can truly read them like a book.They are not good at keeping secrets either, so eventually they spill the beans, even if they implicate themselves in the process. If they love a lesson, we will know immediately, and if they are bored, we hear that too.
- Quirks. We love how middle school students are caught in between wanting to blend in to the crowd and wanting to be their authentic, quirky selves. Middle school time is like dog years in terms of development and the students that enter in sixth grade barely resemble the eighth grade graduates. In between, it is fascinating to watch the endless permutations that everything – from their hairstyles to their handwriting – goes through.
- Curiosity. Middle school students often seem to be going through a second toddlerhood (including some “terrible two”). However, instead of learning how to walk and feed themselves, they are learning how the world works and trying to find their place in it.They are naturally playful and experimental and can still feel joy in a new experience. They are not yet too cool for school. They are existential dreamers still willing to take risks.
- Impact. Middle school students are in the necessary developmental stage of separating from their parents and establishing their own identity, but they still need adult guidance to get there. As a result, middle school teachers function in loco parentis, but without the arguments or slamming of bedroom doors.Many of us have even had the experience of a student accidentally calling us mom or dad. They are still seeking their parents’ approval, but they also want that from their teachers. They have not yet decided that they know more than we do, and they are willing to listen to what we have to say.
STAFF GRATITUDE CHALLENGE
Staff Gratitude Challenge Are you ready for a challenge that not only you win but makes others feel good too? Well it’s here our November Gratitude challenge. Read the challenges below and post on social media about each of the prompts.
For every challenge posted you get one entry into a free lunch drawing with your team. You don’t have to do the prompt on the matching calendar day you can do them in any order you wish. Do all the prompts and earn an extra 10 entries So how do you post to social media?
1. Use your Twitter handle and tag @felicityffms #cardinalgrateful
2. Don’t have a Twitter handle - Ideally create one - OR send me your photo and blurb and we will post
3. You can also use Facebook if you have me on there.