Monday Memo
October 22, 2018 @MMSCougarPride
Follow us on Twitter!
Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all things happening in the MMS community @MMS CougarPride.
Send Dara pictures to district email if you'd like us to Tweet something. Our followers are increasing every day!
Apply for an Achieve Grants due October 28, 2018
https://achievefoundation.org/achieve-teacher-grant-application/
Linked above is the Achieve educator grant for 2018. There will be an optional workshop in the MMS library to get tips on how to get your grant funded! Please apply! It's a great way to maintain excitement and energy about instruction and service to students.
Advisory Starts 10/26/18--All Grades
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Happy Monday MMS,
Just a reminder that you may use October 23, 2018 as a day to complete SGOs or to meet in your PLC. Please be sure to use the sign-in for PLCs. Copies will be on the main office counter on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. SGOs are due Thursday, October 25, 2018.
Thank you for your participation in last week's events for School Violence Awareness and Prevention week in NJ. I enjoyed learning some more names for "Hello Day." We thank our HSA for purchasing the name tags. If you have ideas about promoting positive connections at our school please share them with me. We don't have to have a "theme week" for this to happen!
November is National Native American Heritage Month, which celebrates the history and contributions of Native Americans. Resources will be shared in the coming weeks.
Quote for the week: I keep learning, listening, growing and experimenting. --John Legend
Best,
Dara
October 24, 2018 TLC
Focus Items-Intervention Update Meeting
Students with issues of concern related to-Attendance, Behavior and/or Academics
Links and resources to share with the team/best practice sharing
Instructional Items
Notetaker for meeting?
Team Building Activity--Whip around: Something I’d love to learn more about is... (doesn’t have to related to education).
Progress Report Analysis: Please be prepared to discuss trends on your team. How will you assist teachers on your team with addressing students in danger of failure or low performance?
--Family communication?
--Achieve Tutor?
--On the radar: After school tutorial and/or Saturday Academy
--Assistance from counselors and/or interns with executive functioning/organizational skills?
--Positive Reinforcement/Rewards?
Guiding Questions
-- Do we differentiate our assessments?
--Do our kids get multiple opportunities to demonstrate success/improvement?
--How are our Economically Disadvantaged students and Special Education students performing on our team?
Review and discussion of updated team tracker(s)
Logistics/Operations
Logistics to discuss regarding upcoming grade level celebrations?
7th Grade Black Panther Event?
Halloween Reminder
Supporting our LGBTQ students
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The MMS faculty and staff ask that you support our work with your child in the following ways:
1) Encourage a Growth Mindset-Having a growth mindset fosters resilience. Use the language of yet. I don’t understand this “yet.” Emphasize the importance of hard work as opposed to innate intelligence. “I did well because of my effort. I’ll do better next time.”
2) Encourage 1-2 Good Peer Relationships-Friends should be a source of support. Often our middle schoolers try to maintain large groups of close friends and that is challenging for anyone of any age! Encourage your child to have 1-2 solid and supportive peer friendships and keep it light and simple with the larger groups.
3) Ensure 9-11 Hours of Sleep Please! Sleep is the best way to foster resilience. Research shows that kiddos this age need 9-11 hours to be at their best. When your child is well-rested, everything is better. Technology is the #1 enemy of sleep! As a school community, we recommend that you keep technology out of your child’s bedroom at night to encourage healthy and consistent sleep.
4) Encourage Coping Strategies-Coping is personal. Everyone does it differently. Encourage your child to think about healthy ways to relax and give them permission to do it!
5) Facilitate Time/Connection with a non-familial adult-Good connections with non-familial adults are very important for your child. They hear things differently from non-familial adults. Encourage your child to participate in a club or activity. Children need our perspective. They are always changing and growing. As adults we can attach a growth mindset to their personality development and their peer interactions.
Maplewood Middle School Remind App Code @k92d29
This year, the MMS Principal has added a school-wide "Remind App" as another way to communicate with families. Many of your child's teachers will share Remind class codes for you and your child to stay up to date about class events and assignments. As needed, the MMS Principal will periodically use the Remind App to share important info with our school community. Our Maplewood Middle School school-wide code Remind code is listed above (@k92d29). The link below explains how to begin getting notifications. It's a simple way to stay in touch. Join us!
https://help.remind.com/hc/en-us/articles/203179887-How-do-I-join-a-class-