#sparkinfo. Weekly Update
Week #3 September 3rd-6th
Establishing a Growth Mindset!
The students who could not participate were involved in some excellent learning activities in the classroom. I was particularly impressed by the growth mindset time in seventh grade. Mrs. Riddle pointed out that many of the non-participants in reverse field day had a "fixed mindset" about what they were capable of doing on the pre-assessment. This was a revelation for some teachers and students alike. The good news is that the mindset of many of our students can be changed for the positive. Be thinking about how we can tackle fixed mindset as a system.
Thank you to everyone who made this day of growth and achievement celebration so successful!
Instructional Update
This past week at lunch, I had a conversation with Mrs. McCoy and Mrs. Mellett about the working lunch session they were conducting. Typically, students in working lunch are completing assignments they didn't do. Olivia and Penny had pulled students with deficient skills and were re-teaching! Awesome!! This coming week, those students who are regular education and missing basic math skills in sixth grade will be spending time with Mrs. Dunn in her recovery class during a related class. We will not reschedule them, but simply give them some time to recover the current skills needed.
This is a basic example of RTI (Tiered Intervention) in action. How are we differentiating our instruction so that students can experience success in the content? Please keep thinking about differentiated practices in your lesson building and assessment. This will be our major focus as we begin true PLC's this year. Early success of students will be a major factor in adjusting mindset.
Leadership Teams
Tomorrow, after school, we will hold our first leadership team meetings of the year. Please remember that these meetings are a requirement for all faculty. If you have coaching obligations, we will schedule a time for you to make up the missed sessions. Please try to attend if possible.
Observations
The fall observation window for formal NIET observation of all contract levels opens September 9th. We will begin scheduling those pre-conferences this week. In the meantime, you should have already experienced many 1-10 minute observations from the leadership team!
Just For Fun!!
Photos from last week!
Sarah Chastain with a student at Reverse Field Day!
The Excel Cent cart is open!
Thanks to Coach Morris and Mr. Lively for their leadership!
Class Photos will be going up soon!
College Colors Day!
We are grateful for district leadership and our new teachers
This Week's Agenda!
Mon.,Sept.2nd-
Holiday!!
Tues., Sept. 3rd-
Afterschool Leadership Meetings
(Media Center)
A & B Team Volleyball @ Gettys
Wed., Sept. 4th-
Football Jamboree-Liberty High School
ALICE training - am planning
Th., Sept.5th-
A & B Team Volleyball @ Riverside
Wendy's Spirit Night! (Please see Mrs. Patnode if you are able to help.)
Fr., Sept. 6th-
Science Club Meeting
SPARK SPOTLIGHT!!!!
A shout out from your colleague!
Here are last week's spotlights! Have you done one before?
Katie Gowan and the whole 6th grade team covered for me immensely on the first day of school whenever I was too sick to be there. I was devastated to miss the first day, but Katie (my sub) and everyone stepped up to make sure that my students felt welcome, knew what was going on, and received everything they needed for the first day. I was SO THANKFUL in that moment to work at Pickens Middle where everyone looks out for each other like a real family. Thank you all!!
Olivia McCoy- She helped sale dance tickets during her lunch which she didn’t have too. She is a team player and simply a joy to be around!
Marion Lawson- shares his grapes, pears, and hummus with carrots. He makes sure his colleagues stay hydrated. As teachers we sometimes forget to drink enough or eat in the busyness of our day! It’s nice to have friend to remind you to take care of yourself!
Connie Douglas let science club use her speakers and sound board for the first Friday dance! Because of her generosity it was a success!
Topher Bishop moved some heavy speakers and plugged in all the cords and wires for the sound system for the dance! He didn’t have too, but he stayed until the sound was perfect for the students to jam out to!
Laura Anderson is a leader and does her best to make science club a success. Because of her time, dedication, and ideas our students flourish!
Melissa Hernandez is engaging her students and encouraging them to embrace a clean slate at the beginning of this school year. She is also, constantly reminding students of the expectations for hallway and classroom behavior and molding them to be better behaved in the building. I love her Energy!
Jennifer Reeves- She drove all the science teachers to Sassafras for one of our PD days and not a single teacher got sick going around those curves! This was right after she introduced us to the turkey parm sandwhich with advocacy (which is now my favorite) from coyote coffee. The lady is a team player and takes care of all of us!! If something needs done she just does it, always willing to help out!!
Gretchen Reeves- We are happy to have her back on Campus and appreciate what she does to help ensure good behavior is occurring in the assemblies, the hallway, and in her classroom. She uses proximity and a teacher stare to get attention. No words are needed to make some of those subtle energy changes!
Mr. King is a visionary. He is transforming our school into an environment of growth and encouragement which is exactly what our students need! It is truly a joy to work with such a positive person who lives out everything he challenges others to be.
Andrea Sutton is naturally an excellent leader! She has a gift for coordinating events and planning. Tasks that would stress out most people and involve chaotic mishaps, are seamless and stress free. Nothing rattles her. She led the 7th grade students and teachers like a Pro!
Jennifer Reeves and Justin Bramblett- Jennifer and Justin did not give the Bee Well Coffe guy a Star Bucks gift card! Instead they pulled out cash from their wallets to give him for helping with our science camp!
Click on the link below as you see and hear great things happening in the building. Please let us know about them by filling out the form. You may want to bookmark the link as we will be "Spotlighting" teachers and staff all year. Please note, this is a new link for this school year.
From Sparks of Knowledge Grow Flames of Success
Email: jamesking@pickens.k12.sc.us
Website: http://pms.pickens.k12.sc.us/
Location: 140 Torch Lane, Pickens, SC, 29671
Phone: (864) 397-4100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pickensms/?scrlybrkr=85865011
Twitter: @pmssparks