#sparkinfo. Weekly Update
Week #27- March 11th-15th
It is never too late in the year to strengthen relationships!
If you have not read the research of Bill Daggett and John Hattie, I would encourage you to do so. Both would contend that your relationships with students is key to high-yield results in whatever it is you want students to learn. John Hattie's meta-analysis indicates that positive student-teacher relationships can yield growth of up to 1.44 years alone!
As I did some research this weekend, I was reminded once again how important positive relationships are. This is not only a critical component within our school culture between students and teachers, but between the adults in the building. Have critical conversations with each other when necessary. Build each other up on a daily basis. "Spotlight" each other. If you don't know what others are doing in the building, I would encourage you to evaluate the value of this practice.
With students, I have had several relationships grow in the past several weeks and a positive change in the students' behavior was almost immediate. I don't see them for very long on a daily basis, but when I do, I tell them I am glad to see them and simply ask them if there is anything I can do for them. I finish with, it is so great to see them! The results have shown much improved attendance in one, and much better hygiene in the other. These improvements are not academic but they take away from roadblocks to their education. Those moments make it all worth it! Can you reflect on such moments? Many of you can easily say yes!
Keep the positive going out in good news, feedback, and excel cents. Don't underestimate what your students can do even when their home life presents great challenges.
Thank you for all you do everyday to help our students grow, not only academically but as good people!
Thank you Mrs. Allen for the humorous reminder to Spring Forward!
The career cafe' is open!
Our Math Counts Team competed this past Tuesday!
And the winner is....
Instructional Focus
This Friday, we have some exciting topics for our morning PD at Pickens Middle! Catherine Latiff from special services will be coming to discuss how to properly implement modifications and accommodations for our special education students. This was shared as a need when we collected strategic planning feedback, and we are excited to look at it. We will also be discussing next year's master schedule. An adjusted approach to our special education services will be a large topic. We will also discuss better ways to increase literacy across the curriculum, at-risk instruction, recovery time, fourth period model, extra instructional play, and other elements we would like to use to optimize our daily routine. If you are unable to attend due to day-long training elsewhere, we will schedule a time for you to get the information.
As we are discussing this year's SLO's, I appreciate the number of teachers who set lofty goals for student growth. Some may have been hard to achieve, but you aligned your goal with high expectations for student achievement.
This Week's Agenda!
Wednesday, March 13th-
Tornado Drill 9:00 AM
Thursday, March 14th-
Hoops for Heart
St. Patty's Day Dance (3:15- 5:00)
Momentum Bike Club (3:30-5:00 PM)
Friday, March 15th-
Teacher In-service (AM On-Campus for all/PM Various Locations)
All-State Honor Band Clinic @ Furman University
Saturday, March 16th-
All-State Honor Band Clinic @ Furman University
SPARK SPOTLIGHT!!!!
A shout out from your colleague!
As I mentioned, I would encourage you to be aware of what is happening with your colleagues in the building. If you know something incredible, spotlight them!! We are going to continue the format this week. We are keeping the submitter anonymous for now. Thank you for building each other up! We have so much to spotlight everyday, and we are building a winsome culture. Pickens Middle is truly a great place to work and learn!
Michael Searcy- Mr. Searcy is an example of an excellent plant engineer. He and his staff work endlessly to maintain a beautiful clean campus. He is always cheerful and takes pride in his job. He truly loves PMS. He not only maintains the school, he adds extras. Having taught at many locations, I had never had anyone take into consideration that a teacher would have handfuls of materials as they approach their classroom door in the morning. Michael did take this into consideration and sees to it that all teacher doors are opened each and every morning. Thank you Mr. Searcy for your dedication, excellent work ethic, and kindness.
Susan Martin and Anna Lemmons- These ladies did a fabulous job in planning and preparing the sixth graders for their field trip! They helped prepare students by explaining the day’s itinerary and activities beforehand so they knew what to expect. They introduced the students to any new vocabulary they would encounter on their field trip. They even found costumes for all of us teachers to wear! The students were actively learning the day before the big field trip in all of their classes too. They also reminded the students that they will be ambassadors for the school and must be on their best behavior! What a great group of colleagues who try to making learning engaging and fun for the kiddos! So grateful for the sixth grade team!
Melissa Riddle- Today she was working with sixth graders on a cool race car project. The students were measuring and finding the averages of the speeds of the cars. She does so much with robotics and helping are kiddos excel in science and math. She also lead the effort in helping Pickens Middle School become one of the top five Distinguished Project Lead The Way schools in the state! Way to go Mrs. Riddle!
Sheila Dunn- Mrs. Dunn makes sure our students who fall behind do not get left behind. She holds their feet to the fire to get their assignments in and completed, which is not only a help to those kids, but also to their teachers! I appreciate Mrs. Dunn pushing them!
Andrea Sutton- Andrea has been such a joy to partner with this year! She has had her eye on 7th grade standards for several years now so it was easy for me to come back to middle school and jump right in comfortably. I love her ideas and she loves mine so it's easy to complement each other for the benefit of all of our 7th graders!
Laura Anderson- Mrs. Anderson has planned and taken up the money for our Science Club Field Trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. She said something to me that I have never heard a teacher say, "I enjoy planning field trips!" She said this with a big smile on her face. After teaching for 20 plus years, she is positive and loves what she does everyday. When the big day arrives, the students will be brimming with excitement, and there certainly will be a lot to keep track of, but thanks to Mrs. Anderson's skill and positivism it will be a wonderful time of learning and we are all going to have fun!
Justin Bramblett- It's hard to feel grumpy when you work with a colleague like Justin who does everything with a smile on his face! He has got great ideas and I admire his brilliance. He keeps all our plants and animals alive. He can do anything from fixing broken microscopes that are a hundred years old to designing and building catapults for medieval day! He even shares his lesson plans that are so detailed and concise. Lastly, he is a reliable coworker that you can depend on for support, guidance, and inspiration. He is so intelligent and his humor keeps you giggling! He makes an effort to understand the people he works with, even if its someone that gets too excited and doesn't know the first thing about cleaning a fish tank... and I think its gross! Justin is all about the details and sometimes it's the details that make the biggest impact!
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.
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