EAST PAULDING MIDDLE SCHOOL
February 2, 2018
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Please understand that I am not sharing this with you to make you angry, upset, or feel like I am saying that our school or district has this problem. I am sharing this with you so that you are aware...so that you can hear others' feelings, concerns, and thoughts about what they believe occurs in our schools daily. Listening is the first step towards growth.
The message that our students receive and take home daily begins with the interactions they have with us. It doesn't matter if the message comes through praise, redirection, body-language, or general conversation; what we say, what we do, and how we interact with our students and each other paints the picture.
The mission should no longer be "tolerance"; a word that can have a negative undertone. The mission should be to promote, encourage, and most importantly, model a climate of acceptance, diversity, and kindness to everyone we encounter.
My question to you is this...how would you like to see EPMS lead our community in promoting, encouraging, and modeling a climate of acceptance, diversity, and kindness? I also want to encourage you to listen...how are our we interacting with each other - staff to staff - staff to student - student to student? I would appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2/5/18 - Advanced Canvas Training with Jenna Barton - 502 - During Planning
2/6/18 - PE/Connections Title II Day....we hope!
2/8/17 - Grade Level Faculty Meetings - 816 - During Planning
2/9/18 - Special Olympics Bowling
2/9/18 - Leadership Team Meeting - 7:30am - 816
2/12/18 - SBIT - 7:45am - 816
2/13/18 - Valentines Day Dance - 4:00-5:30pm
2/14/18 - PBIS Committee Meeting - 4:00
2/14/18 - TOTY Nominations Due
2/15/18 - Drop-in Support for SIP Initiatives - 816 - During Planning
2/15/18 - Manatee Trip Begins
2/19 - 2/23 - February Break - Digital Learning Week
2/28/18 - Walkthrough #4 Due
3/1/18 - Talent Show - 6:30pm
3/1/18 - PCSD Career/Transfer Fair - 5:00-8:00pm - PB Ritch Middle School
3/2/18 - TOTY Assembly
3/6/18 - Spring Pictures
3/6/18 - Chorus Concert - 6:30pm - EPHS
3/9/18 - Leadership Team Meeting - 7:30am - 816
3/15/18 - PTSA Trivia Night
3/23/18 - Formative #2 Due (designated staff members only)
Canvas PL
Below are two links to documents that you can share to help students upload their assignments. Top one is for iOS devices, and the bottom one is for Android devices.
Yankee Candle Fundraiser
We are setting a school-wide, total sales goal of $20,000! If we reach this goal, we will be able to complete both of those projects before the 2018-2019 school year begins. You will begin to see some promotions begin over the next couple of weeks. We have some cool ideas for student incentives that may rely on some of us "jumping" out of our comfort zones. Mr. Jacobs will also be sharing how we plan to utilize PBIS to motivate our students.
I hope you are excited and ready to help us reach our goals!
TEACHER OF THE YEAR INFORMATION
Additionally, to accomodate the March 2nd TOTY assembly, we will adjust our NBI rotation. See below:
Monday - 1st Academic (Tuesday support schedule for 6th and 7th)
Tuesday - 2nd Academic ((Wednesday support schedule for 6th and 7th)
Wednesday - 3rd Academic ((Thursday support schedule for 6th and 7th - ELA EYP for 8th)
Thursday - 4th Academic ((Friday support schedule for 6th and 7th - Math EYP for 8th)
Friday - Homeroom
If you would like to nominate a peer for TOTY, please email me your nomination. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Staff Attendance for January
February is a short month and break is in our near future. Please keep this in mind when scheduling appointments or taking care of personal business. Our students need you here!
February's current attendance data is posted below as well. As you can see, we already have several absences planned.
REMINDER: If you need to leave for any reason prior to the end of the work day, please speak with Mrs. Raley, Mr. Jacobs, or Mr. Alverson for approval.
January
February
Your "WhY"
I want you to begin to think of a creative way to display your "why" so that it can be portable. Then, if you move classrooms or schools or if you are around for the next "refresh", your "why" can "hang" with you! (See what I did there?)
DATA TEAMS AND CFAs
Have you completed your most recent vocabulary CFA and Data Team meeting? Don't forget to chart your progress on your PLC anchor chart in 816.
Maintaining Focus - Why is this picture important to our SIP?
STRATEGIES AND INITIATIVES
1. Teachers will utilize academic vocabulary and anchor charts to increase student achievement in the classroom.
2. Teachers will provide specific daily learning targets as a tool to direct student focus for each class period and monitor student progress via feedback and assessments.
Remember, these goals do not solely belong to Math and ELA, these are school-wide goals, and you can support them through several ways:
1. Utilizing reading strategies within your classroom (PALS, Paragraph Shrinking, Reciprocal Reading, etc)
2. Focusing on academic vocabulary through Data Teams and the use of CFAs
3. Utilizing Learning Targets and Anchor Charts to help students make connections to what they are doing and what you what them to learn
4. Ensuring students are being allowed to attend their NBI groups CONSISTENTLY
If you need help with supporting our SIP goals, planning for the use of reading strategies, or if you need to make sure your students are reporting to their designated NBI group, please let us know.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
2/10 - Reese Jacobs
2/23 - Beth Irby
2/23 - Felice Dyer
2/26 - Wanda Weaver
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follow us on twitter - @epmsraiders
Contact Information for Tom Alverson
Email: talverson@paulding.k12.ga.us
Website: http://www.paulding.k12.ga.us/Domain/29
Phone: 678-350-8027
Facebook: facebook.com/eastpauldingmiddleschool
Twitter: @epmsraiders