EAST PAULDING MIDDLE SCHOOL
October 30, 2017
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING EVENTS
11/2/17 - PL - Learning Commons Teacher Orientation - in the Media Center
11/3/17 - RTI Meetings - During Planning
11/3/17 - PBIS Walkthrough
11/6/17 - RTI Meetings -6th Grade Only if needed
11/7/17 - District PL Day - No Students - Report to Scheduled Locations
11/7/17 - Paraprofessional PLC - 816
11/8/17 - Title II PL - PE & Connections - 816
11/9/17 - Ghost Walk PL - 816 During Planning
11/9/17 - Veterans Day Chorus Concert @ EPHS - 7:00pm
11/10/17 - Progress Reports
11/10/17 - Leadership Team Meeting - 7:30am - 816
11/13/17 - Faculty Meeting 4pm - Cafeteria
11/15/17 - Time with Principal - 816 - All Day
11/16/17 - Dodgeball Tournament - 4-8pm
11/17/17 - Formative Observations Due
11/20-11/24/17 - Thanksgiving Break
11/29/17 - EPMS Focus Walk
UPCOMING FOCUS WALK
However, I will ask of you two things:
1. Please refrain from scheduling any summative assessments that day. Our visitors want to see you teach.
2. Please maintain your pace with instruction. Do not plan something so out of the box that it doesn't make sense for the natural flow of where your class currently stands. For example, a school's entire content level decided to plan a lesson around the use of PALS just to show they were using a reading strategy promoted by our district leadership. It didn't always fit for each class, and while talking with students, the observers learned that the class discontinued what they were doing the day before just to do this specific activity.
The whole point of the focus walk is to observe instruction. Additionally, I will be asking our observers to keep an eye out for our SIP focus. So, if you want to wow them, wow them with our focus!
Teaching is a TEAM Profession
It is really easy to not care if the students in your colleagues' classes are doing well or not...you have your own set of students to worry about, right? We ask you to plan collaboratively and attend PL where we focus on growing as a team, improving instruction, and making decisions that is best for all students. It is really easy for you to look at EPMS and only see YOUR students.
For me, it is really easy to look at all of the middle schools in our district and only see EPMS. When I look at our building, I don't see individual classes, I see grade levels, I see content areas, I see our whole school.
However, I challenge myself to have conversations and work with other principals from all levels to find ways for me to grow and improve as a leader. I do that because I know that if I can help make EPMS great, I can help our district reach greatness.
I challenge you to want to grow into a teacher who wants success for ALL of our students, even those you don't teach. Every year, schools and teachers come across obstacles that require us to lean on each other and help out your teammate. Those are the situations that can either grow our team or tear us apart.
I say all of that to say this...
TEACHING IS A TEAM PROFESSION!
Teaching requires mental toughness...
Teaching requires attention to detail...
Teaching requires selflessness...
What are you doing to help our team be successful? How are you helping your teammates be successful?
*You will need to login to Google using your PCSD username and password to view the video using a PCSD Internet.
CCRPI
***Disclaimer: CCRPI is not the "end all, be all" when gauging school success. However, it is a driving factor in public and political opinion about a schools level of success. While we may not be completely sold on this school rating system, we would be remiss to completely disregard it.
A little history of EPMS CCRPI scores....
2012 - 69.3 (no climate scores reported)
2013 - 80.6 (no climate scores reported)
2014 - 76.1 with a 3 Star Climate Rating
2015 - 79 with a 4 Star Climate Rating
2016 - 77.1 with a 4 Star Climate Rating
2017 - Coming Soon
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
We continue to collect data during formal and informal observations for all strategies within our SIP. As we have moved through the first semester, we have seen an increase in teacher behaviors which is exciting. As we move into the end of the first semester and prepare for the second semester, we expect to see this trend continue as you continue to work to improve your instructional practices.
Within your Daily Snapshot, you should be identifying what you determine as your daily learning target. At this time, some of you may be writing this as an EQ, and there is nothing wrong with that. The most important things to remember with your learning targets is that students are aware of them, they align with the standards you are teaching, and the instruction or activity you have planned supports the learning target.
MONITORING
TKES Observations have began. Within our feedback, you may see comments referencing how we see your supporting our SIP initiatives.
- Updated Daily Snapshots
- Notebook for Archived Snapshots
- Evidence of Collaboration Among Grade Level Contents (this doesn't mean same)
- Early Stages of Development and Use of Anchor Charts
- Attempts at Learning Targets
UPCOMING PL
All academic content areas have completed their Title II PL days, and PE/Connections have their's coming up soon. The majority of our "how to" and "what to do" PL is complete, and now we will begin the peer focus walk process where we hope through observations and conversations, we can continue to grow those skills. Practice and feedback is one of the many factors that can lead to instructional growth, and we are needing everyone's best to help us grow the instructional practices throughout our school.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
11/9 - Tracey McDaniel
11/17 - Mariann Moncus
11/19 - Tressa Mathes
11/19 - Breanne Wood
11/23 - Armida Montiel
11/25 - Julie Coleman
Like us on Facebook - East Paulding Middle School
follow us on twitter - @epmsraiders
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