EAST PAULDING MIDDLE SCHOOL
December 13, 2017
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Work together.
Plan efficiently.
Communicate effectively.
UPCOMING EVENTS
12/11/17 - Grade Posting Window Opened
12/13/17 - 6th Grade MI
12/14/17 - 9th Grade Honors Lit Mid-Term (8:50am in Cafeteria)
12/14-15/17 - 7th Grade MI
12/18/17 - SBIT - 816 - 7:45am
12/18-19/17 - 8th Grade MI
12/19/17 - Teacher Pie Day - Sponsored by PTSA
12/19/17 - Scoliosis Screening (Alternative Schedule)
12/19/17 - Chorus Concert - EPHS - 7:00pm
12/20/17 - Reindeer Games
12/21 - 1/2/17 - CHRISTMAS BREAK
1/3/18 - Teacher Workday - Faculty Breakfast Sponsored by 7th Grade (Rowe and Mello)
1/3/18 - Posting Window Closes
1/4/18 - Students Return
1/9/18 - Report Cards Issued
1/12/18 - Leadership Team Meeting - 7:30am - 816
1/15/18 - MLK Holiday
1/17/18 - PTSA Soup Day
1/19/18 - 1st Semester Academic Celebration
You earned it! Jeans for the remainder of 2017!
Thank you all for a great first semester!
Hanover Research PCSD Staff Survey
The window to complete the survey opened on December 4th, and it will close on December 20th. Please take some time to complete the survey.
Wrapping things up
1. You DO NOT HAVE TO end the semester with a summative assessment. While it is in our nature to want this and it makes sense, if your students aren't ready, it's not necessary. Do what is best for them. Remediate and review when we come back, if necessary, and move forward from there.
2. Work with your grade level content area so that you are all on the same page in how you want to move forward with assessments.
3. If you are scheduling assessments, work with your grade level to prevent students from taking 3 or 4 assessments in one day. I certainly believe 2 is attainable, but more than that can be overwhelming.
4. If you have 2 or more summative assessments recorded for the 2nd 9 weeks, then you are probably in a good spot. However, if you are sitting with only 1 summative assessment and your students aren't ready to assess prior to leaving for Christmas, please see Mrs. Raley or me to discuss some options.
And one final note about grades...if you are someone who gives your students a lot of grades (either formative or summative) to help "pad their grade", eventually, you will run into the scenario in which their average becomes stagnant in that category and a "good" grade will no longer help them. Be intentional with your assignments you are using for formal grading purposes and remember that you want to assess their knowledge, not their ability to complete.
Grade Posting Window
The posting window for the 2nd 9-weeks and 1st Semester opened on 12/11/17 and will remain open until 1/3/18. Below are a few reminders.
1. You must post to the following: 2nd 9-Weeks, 1st Semester, Work Habits, Conduct. If you teach a high school level course (Spanish, Honors Lit or Honors Algebra), you will use high school rules for posting. Please see Mrs. Raley or me if you have questions.
2. Parent Communication is a priority. Please communicate with parents if a student's semester average is in danger of landing below 75; if a student is going to receive a N or U in Work Habits and/or Conduct; or if there is an dramatic decline in a student's grade (10 points or more). Remember to document your communication.
3. Please make sure you have done at least one posting of each listed in #1 by Monday, 12/18/17. You are free to post as many times as you need to during the window, but it will help Mrs. Raley greatly to make sure this is done at least once. Work Habits and Conduct should be posted ASAP. There is no need to wait until the last minute to post these. Students have already established those patterns.
4. Mrs. Raley will begin running Auto-Grade today. Please take a look at your classes, and let us know if averages are not calculating correctly.
5. Parent portal will shut down on 12/19. All grades, work habits, and conduct should be finalized and posted by 12/20/17 before you leave.
As always, if you have questions, let us know. Please do not wait until the last minute.
paulding county school district accreditation process
Mid Year Conferences
High School Class Recommendations - 8th Grade
2017-2018 School Improvement Plan
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.
WHERE ARE WE NOW
I want to continue to praise you for your efforts thus far. A specific focus has been noted by many of us within our building, but it has also been observed by visitors as well. For now, continue to practice your daily focus of embedding academic vocabulary into your conversations and activities, creating or referencing at least 1 anchor chart each day, and writing and referencing a student friendly learning target throughout your lesson each day.
MONITORING
We will continue to monitor our SIP through formal and informal observations. It is important that you are working on improving your practice of implementing learning targets, anchor charts, and vocabulary. I wan to challenge you to hold yourself and your team mates accountable to stretching their limits. Our ultimate goal is to develop a building full of teachers who encourage and help each other become the best teacher they can.
MOVING FORWARD
As we begin to move forward towards the 2nd semester, we will start planning PL that will help us take the next step. I can see a definite focus on attaching our learning targets to all parts of our lessons coming our way. Go ahead and begin to have conversations about how that could look during planning.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
12/16/17 - Jeff Masterson
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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