Miner Minutes
September 23, 2018 #itsgreattobegold
The Week Ahead
Monday: Safety committee meeting 7:45am
Tuesday: MTSS meeting for 7th and Encore 7:45am media center; fall pictures taken throughout the day; BONFIRE 6-8pm
Wednesday: Hallway Huddle
Thursday: MTSS meeting for 6th and 8th 7:45am media center
Friday: Regular school day "B" day (rather than capped workday)
START WITH HELLO WEEK!
Tuesday: Throw Kindness like Confetti Day! In homeroom, give each student one sticky note (also in your boxes) to write a positive and kind message to place on students OWN locker - write something that makes you smile! Then have students pledge to do a "random act of kindness" that day either at school or at home. In homeroom at end of day, take time to discuss. Continue to work on door banners.
Wednesday: Walker's classes will post a banner to be signed. Continue to work on door banners.
Thursday: Mix it up in the cafeteria day - PLEASE prep kids for this in homeroom! As kids walk into the cafeteria, students will receive RANDOM numbers with their lunch table assignment just for this day. Kids will sit at randomly assigned tables to hopefully meet someone new and demonstrate kindness towards others. Continue to work on door banners.
Friday: Positive message shirt day (Staff will receive their OWN shirt to wear on this day with your jeans - watch out for it in your mailbox this week!); door banner competition day with winning homerooms receiving a treat.
Reminders for Student Safety
Your PDPs and 1st Round of Observations
IB Updates
- Unit planners - Please use your unit planners consistently in your lesson planning. This will help you keep your key and related concepts, and SOI at the forefront of your minds.
- Design teachers - Throughout the year, please take pictures of your Design projects and send them to Shanna for the Digital Design Expo
- Would you like to travel internationally this summer for free? The World Affairs Council of Charlotte offers $2,500 grants for international teacher experiences. Here is more information about the award. Last year they awarded 10 grants to teachers in our area to fund travel! See Shanna for the application and help. The application deadline is October 31.
- International Day of Peace - Thank you for your work with your students promoting peace along with hundreds of thousands of other people across the world!
- Thank you for teaching those Learner Profile Traits in your classes! It's awesome to see students applying what they are learning!
BRAINPOP
This week is the final week of our FREE Trial of Brainpop. If you have not already checked out this resource, please do so over the next week so that we can determine if this will be a valuable investment for Concord Middle School!
Please use the following login information to explore BrainPOP & use it in your classroom! We will solicit your feedback soon to determine if this is a worthy investment for our school! If we were to purchase for our school, you would have more availability to set up your own classes and link to Google Classroom, etc.
Login: aeduncan17
Password: concord313
Staff Recognition
Safe Schools Modules Reminder - As soon as possible...
Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse: Impact on Students (Required for everyone)
Law Briefing (Required for everyone)
CCS Child Abuse – Reporting Best Practices (Deadline for this one is September 28, required for Instructional Staff, optional for other staff)
GOLD Committee Reminders
RELATIONSHIPS are one of the most important factors when trying to improve student behavior and encourage learning. As Rita Pearson said in her famous TedTalk:“Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” CMS has two things built into our day to encourage these relationships:
- Fist to Five Check In/Check Outwhich should be taking place each morning and afternoon during Homeroom. Please use this as an opportunity to check on our students & build up any students who are below a 3.
- QTNA (Questions That Need Answers)which should be done each morning during Homeroom! Remember this not written, but instead it is a conversation starter. The link for the slide show of questions is: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZOvPnueXeKFZ8al_KWyUTsORTBIabhiE__nQhPDKo8M/edit?usp=sharing. Use this time to make connections with your students on topics outside of your subject area!
If you get an opportunity… check out this great article about “Welcoming Student’s With a Smile” and the impact it can have on your students!
Student Recognition
- Each day we need to try to find the GOLD in each and every student. Remember that one kind word can change someone’s entire day!
- OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU:Praise your kids this week and find the gold!!!! A sheet of Caught Being IB... cards was placed in mailboxes at the beginning of school. Each of us needs to give out at least one card per month, however I challenge you this week to give out ALL 9 cards!!! One for each IB Learner Profile Trait. When you give out the card, please take a picture of the child with his/her card and add to the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o7m7L0nAU0qJ6MVcNNSXGF932-eIlKZR?usp=sharing (Please make sure you include the following information: student's first and last name and your name eg. MyStudent- Shoe). We will draw a few students names at the end of the week for a special prize!
MTSS Important Information
This week, you will be receiving an email to complete the “MTSS Beliefs Survey”. This is an anonymous survey to begin examining Concord Middle’s educator beliefs about MTSS & allow us feedback to insure that PD & coaching is targeted for our staff’s unique needs. Research shows that educator beliefs about the system they work within and the students they work with can have profound effects on student achievement.
In order to gain a better understanding of the NC MTSS Framework, watch the video linked here that explains Tier 1, 2, 3 Supports. Since I know that your time is limited, here are times for highlights for each Tier.
- Tiered Support Overview & CORE begins at 10 minutes 30 seconds (this should be where the video starts)
- Tier 2 Supplemental Support: 14:33-17:38
- Tier 3 Intensive Support: 17:46-21:32
September - Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
For the past four years we have joined forces with Concord High School to raise money for families in Cabarrus county who are dealing with childhood cancer. There will be more information throughout the month on how you can help, but here’s what we’ve got planned so far:
- Jeans week…for the donation of $10 you get to wear jeans every day the week of September 24-28. Please send the money to me (Chrisy Horgan 831) and I will send you a pass.
- During home football games a donation bucket will be passed around at halftime.
- I think there will be a t-shirt sale. That is still being worked on at the high school level
On October 19 we will honor the families at the Concord High football game. If at all possible, please come to that game.
Staff Handbook Tip of the Week - Classroom Speakers
ALL guest speakers should be cleared through the Principal (even if you are using Skype). Prior approval is needed and can be achieved through an email to the Principal. Chaperones for field trips are subject to a background check. Please see the district webpage for guidelines.
Extended Calendar
October 2: SLT 7:45am; progress reports go home in every class
October 4: Happy birthday, Ms. Mascari!
October 5: Mentor/Mentee meeting 7:45am; high schools presenting to 8th grade in LGIA 9:15-10:15; Happy birthday to Ms. Smith!
October 12: Happy birthday to Ms. Hatley!
October 15 - 19: Fall Spirit Week
October 15 - 22: Benchmarks
October 16: Faculty meeting 7:30am
October 18: Gold committee meeting 7:45am; Happy birthday to Ms. Hurlocker!
October 19: SIT meeting 7:45am; fall pep rally last block
October 22 - 26: Fall book fair
October 23: Happy birthday to Ms. Farmer-Edds!
October 25: 7th grade to Renaissance Festival; Happy birthday to Mr. York and Ms. Ramos!
October 26: End of quarter; Halloween Dance 4-6pm by STUDCO
October 29: Uncapped workday for professional development
October 30: Absentee pictures; grades due by 4pm