Monday Memo
December 3, 2018 @MMSCougarPride
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Learning Walks!
MAPSO Freedom School PD Opportunity
Please check out the link re-MAPSO Freedom School PD opportunity this Saturday, 12/8. If you are interested in learning about social justice and how to apply this work to your classroom, this workshop might be for you!
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Happy Monday MMS,
As I've shared with you before, my learning focus this year is on writing and research by Peter DeWitt who I had the pleasure hear speak last year at a conference at Columbia Teachers College. His latest piece in Education Week has captured my thinking and affirmed the work we are committed to at MMS. As your time permits, please scroll down and check out the link to this great article. I'd love to hear from you about how to magnify these areas at MMS.
**Name challenge: I'm hard at work this year to learn the names of all 811 students at MMS! More info coming on that. We want every student to feel seen, heard and valued and this is one small step I am taking.
Have a wonderful week!
Quote for the week: "It is always the simple that produces the marvelous." Amelia Barr
Agenda will be updated later todayInstructional Items
Note taker for meeting?
Team Building Question-What’s the last book you read?
6th and 7th Grade Advisory Debrief-What worked? What would you like to change? What would you like as topic of focus for December?
Saturday Academy starts this week-Confirm your student referrals. Letters will be sent home TODAY (12/5)
After School Tutorial Starts today (12/5). What process would you like to use to ensure that all teachers can see who’s attending? Shared Google Doc?
Quarter 2 progress reports come out 12/17. What steps has your team taken to reduce the number of students with Ds and Fs for this marking period-Whip around all team leaders.
Checking in on Student Voice-What does student voice look like on your team? How do students have choice, voice while meeting academic and behavior standards?
Logistics/Operations
Calendar Items?
Don’t forget to submit names for positive Friday phone calls and Cougar All Stars! 3 new kids will be rewarded again this Friday.
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-