News4You
Information for you, your class, your students, your parents
News4You
Marquee Report
Best Year Ever
Character...
New Items
Our next Coffee Talk is Wednesday, September 30th at 7:45 in the library (this is a change from the original schedule). Our focus will be conferences; please see the guiding questions below and bring your beverage!
Conferences
1. If we continue with student led conferences, what were some of the successes?
2. What are some opportunities for improvement?
3. Spring conferences are traditional parent-teacher conferences. What ideas do you have for a structure?
First Quarter Climate Survey
Our survey will be available October 1st and it will close October 9th. This will be sent out by the District. Please remember that this is the "District" survey using the standard 5 questions listed below; however, this survey is to assess our building's work in the area of the five questions. It is not assessing district as a whole.
When the survey goes "live" on October 1, take a few minutes to complete the survey. As an FYI, here are the five standard questions for the survey:
1. take Pride in working at my school.
2. Our staff holds high expectations for student learning.
3. There are open channels of communication.
4. There are opportunities for shared decision making at our school.
5. Our school has a clear direction on how to improve student learning.
October 5th CCC
On Monday, October 5th, Mr. Armour, Daniel Boone Elementary principal, and the 5th grade teachers will be her to meet with the Daniel Boone 6th graders. Mr. Armour would like to visit with those students and celebrate the amazing 5th grade Daniel Boone MAP scores with his alumni. Daniel Boone scored in the top ten in multiple MAP tested areas in May of 2015. This is a great way to celebrate their achievements.
On Monday, after taking attendance in CCC, please send your Daniel Boone 6th graders to the cafeteria for a MAP celebration with Mr. Armour.
Academic Blackout Dates
During these dates on the Outlook Calendar, we are honoring academic time during the school day. We will not schedule field trips, hold assemblies, or pull students from the classroom setting.
Our first Academic Blackout Dates are fast approaching. they are: October 7-9.
Professional Learning Communities: PD Needs Assessment
The District Professional Development Committee (DPDC) would like all certified staff members to anonymously complete the following survey as they reflect on the work of their building PLC. If you participate in a district PLC, found in the listing below, please use the provided link to provide your reflections on your district PLC. Data will be compiled by the Academic Department and sent back to principals as PLC averages and an overall building average. Administrators will distribute the results to PLCs.
PLC teams will then have an opportunity to discuss the data and determine next steps for the growth of their PLC. The DPDC will use the data to plan professional development and ensure district supports are provided for areas that allow for growth. Please complete your survey by Wednesday, September 30. Data will be available when staff returns from Fall Break.
District P LCs
· K-12 Guidance/ESC
· K-12 ESOL
· Elementary- Art
· Elementary- Music
· Elementary- PE
· Elementary- Reading Recovery
· Elementary- Literacy Coaches
· Elementary- Gifted
· Elementary- Library Media Specialists
· Middle School- Art
· Middle School- Band
· Middle School- Choir
· Middle School- Music Production
· Middle School- Speech & Drama
· Middle School- FACS
· Middle School- IT
· Middle School- TIL
· Middle School- EBD
· Middle School- Spanish
· Middle School- French
· Middle School- Gifted
· Middle School- Library Media Specialists
· High School- AP Art History
· High School- AP Art Studio
· High School- Band
· High School- Choir
· High School- Drama
· High School- Journalism (FHC & FHN)
· High School- AP Statistics & Calculus
· High School- Physics
· High School- PLTW Digital Engineering
· High School- PLTW Principles of Engineering
· High School- PLTW Human Body Systems
· High School- PLTW Computer Science
· High School- Library Media Specialists
District PLC survey link (only for those part of a PLC listed above)
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PLCneedsF15-District
Building PLC survey link (unique to each building)
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PLCneedsF15-FHM
Veterans Day Celebration: Pictures Needed!
We will be celebrating Veterans Day as a school community with our annual assembly the morning of Tuesday, November 10th (the day prior to Veterans Day). To enhance our celebration and make it more personal to our students and community, we would appreciate photographs of any relatives , friends, or loved ones who have served our country. Actual photographs or digital files should include the following: name of the Veteran, relation to student or staff member, branch/rank/years of service (if known), and return information for actual photographs. Email digital files to Mrs. Koenig at merrill.koenig@fhsdschools.org. All images need to be sent in no later than Wednesday, November 4.
Direct Drive Information
Dear FHMS Teachers,
Our Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team is working to enhance the educational experience of each Francis Howell Middle School student. PTO and PIT are working collectively to bring this to fruition. Our fund raising efforts are coordinated by our PTO. which is working diligently to fund raise in order to further the work of Howell Middle. Those fund raising efforts support many of the FHMS clubs such as NJHS, robotics, WEB, and grant requests for your classrooms. The parents prefer direct donation but we are not seeing the funds come into the school. With district budget cuts, we don't want to have to also cut the PTO budget. We are asking for your support and input. Middle school kids are hard and you are with them many hours a day. How can we best reach our parents through our kids? Have you spoken with them on the topic? What gets them excited so that they would relay the message to their parents? Any support you can provide on this topic is greatly appreciated and directly benefits the children. You can reach me at stlajohnson@gmail.com or speak directly with Dr. Lee.
Sincerely,
Amber Johnson - 2015/16 PTO President
Teachers are also welcome to donate.
For Your Information...
2015-2015 School Improvement Plan (SIP)
Here is this year's SIP
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-pJaZYv1SPMk4wdENXY2RjcEE/view?usp=sharing
Hub Printing
Just a reminder, please do not send students to the Hub Printing areas (Room 223 and Room 261) to retrieve copies of materials. This is due to confidentiality issues. Also, please be respectful of others by using Private Printing (for large projects) during your Plan Period or before or after school so that you can be there when the printing is completed.
Bus Evacuations
Just an FYI, yearly bus evacuation drills will take place in the morning on Wednesday, October 7th at drop off. This should not impact the school day at all.
Custodian Appreciation Day - Friday, October 2, 2015
Your CCC is invited to write cards of appreciation for our custodial staff members. If your CCC wants to participate, please let the Main Office know. Then turn in your appreciation cards to the Main Office by Thursday, October 1, 2015.
FHMS Custodians
Elvis Ahmetovic
Bill Jackson
Admir Muhic
Emma Newkirk
Paul Prouhet
Kevin Webb
Important Information
Today's Fire Drill
GREAT JOB! The Fire department and district officials were extremely pleased with the evacuation time of 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Thanks again for a job well done!
Two areas of concern were noted by the Fire Department:
1. Students running out of the building. Please talk to your CCC’s about running out of the building.
2. Doors being propped open. Remember that all doors have to be shut during a fire or drill.
WEB Leader Lessons
WEB Leaders will be teaching lessons in CCC during the week of September 28 - October 2. The link below provides a list of those teachers participating in the WEB lessons. It also notes which WEB leaders who are leading out each lesson.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-pJaZYv1SPTjREMUJ0TXQyNjg/view?usp=sharing
CUES Reminder...
To keep this at the forefront of our work, here are the CUES the Admin team is monitoring on a weekly basis:
Communication of Information /Open Channels
United Administrative Team
Evidence of Academic Focus
Support& Visibility
A visit with Ted...
Staff, if you have not scheduled yoru 15 minute meeting with Dr. Huff, please contact Mrs. Goeke. Look at your calendar and see what dates and times work best for your schedule. We can meet before school, during plan, during lunch, or after school.
Guiding Questions:
1. How has the start of the year been for you (compared to last year)? Or, for your 1st year at FHMS, how has it started for you?
2. Your thoughts on "all students learning at high levels".
3. What can I do to help you this year? What supports do you need from me?
Marquee Report
The Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team is sponsoring several "parent education" or "parent development" events. Tonight the focus is helping parents understand and navigate through Social Media. It will be at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the Learning Commons.
Direct Donation
This is our primary fund raiser that PTO is coordinating for the school year. Please encourage our CCC to participate. This fund raiser will cover the cost of the Teacher Grants. Without the funding, PTO cannot offer grants. Thanks in advance for your support.
Technology
Check here each week for updated, new, and upcoming information...
BrainPOP Login Has Changed
The old district BrainPOP login information has been deactivated. FHMS students and staff should now use the new login to access BrainPOP. See below:
Username: howellmidd
The Technology Department has recently put together a Password Self Service Portal, that can be used while you are in the district. This portal should help reduce the amount of time our Help desk spends resetting passwords, and should also help you and your students get logged in more quickly in scenarios where passwords are forgotten. For instructions on how to register for the portal, click here
Curriculum
Instruction
Great work with implementing these two strategies into your daily classroom work.
Upcoming RtI Professional Development
During the November 18th Faculty Meeting and the December 8th Plan Time Meetings, we will offer professional development for staff. Response to Instruction (RtI) will be the focus of these two PD sessions.
Assessment
Make sure you submit your SMART Goals and NEE goal setting summary forms to your evaluating administrator. NEE forms are due by the end of the quarter.
October 19th Content Focused PD
From 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. all certified staff will participate in District-Wide professional development with your district-wide content areas. Francis Howell Middle will be the host school for this PD event. More information to follow.
Birthdays
October
Birthdays
1 Kirsteen James
1 MaryLou Modde
3 Lindsay Weiss
9 Rebecca Klinginsmith
9 Tim McNamee
12 Roxanne Puzzella
15 Carol Jones
23 Kasey Brzycki
24 Kim Noland
30 Lynne Finnerty
Upcoming Dates
September 29th: Social Media 101 6:30 p.m. in the Learning Commons
September 30th: Faculty Meeting, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (CITW work)
September 30th: Talent Show FHHS Auditorium 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m.
October 5th: BIG 3:30 p.m. Room 171
October 7th: 3:15 p.m. Academic Day with CCC at the start of the day.
October 7th: 6:30 p.m. "Beyond the Bake Sale" Book discussion.
October 7-9: Academic Blackout Dates
October 12-19: Fall Break
October 19: PD Day for staff 8:00-9:30 - Building focus and 10:00 - 12:00 District cohorts