Betsy's Bits
April 23, 2017
In Case You Missed It:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were our first days of Boot Camp. Walking through the hallways during Boot Camp and informal conversations afterwards with teachers, bus drivers, students, front office, and admin indicated that students were focused, teachers were prepared, time went fast, and we had no major issues with routes. Thank you to all for your help and commitment.
Please remember the following:
- No more students may be added to the bus routes. If you have a student/parent requesting to stay, transportation must be provided.
- Do not add anyone to the roster without notifying the appropriate teachers (ex: staying on math day, notify the math teacher of the student) so a homeroom for BC can be assigned.
- Any student that misbehaves should be reported to an administrator ASAP for removal from the program.
- Students must have permission from parents not to participate in the form of a note or email to the teacher. (If they are signed up, we must require them to stay unless we have it written or you speak directly to the parent)
- Students must have permission from parents to not ride the bus. A note, phone call, or email to the teacher is required.
I usually do not write about sports in Bits, but I witnessed an amazing baseball game on Wednesday night vs our hometown rival, West Lee. We played a lot of innings (10 or 11...I do not even remember exactly), and both teams gave it all they had. I was most proud of our head coach, Nick Baker, and assistant coach, Tommy Harrington, for how they reacted during controversial calls, and how well our boys presented themselves during the game and after a TOUGH loss by one run. I couldn't have been a prouder (or tired) principal. We are all examples for our children, in and out of class. Our kids learn how to handle problems and tough times through watching the adults in their lives. If we loose our cool, then they believe this is the appropriate way to react. If we keep a cool head and smile on our face, then they do, too It was obvious to me that our baseball boys trusted their coaches and were gracious, well-mannered young men through the bitter defeat.
I wanted to remind everyone of the information Nejla sent out before our break concerning procedures for reporting students at risk from Dr. Waller:
- We must report any mention of self-harm, suicide, or abuse immediately. Dr. Waller stated, "Once we receive a concern...we become liable even if it is 3:00 on a Friday afternoon."
- These concerns should never under any circumstance be shared via email or voicemail. You simply cannot guarantee that the person you are leaving the message for or sending the email received it. This leaves you liable. But more important, it leaves vulnerable students without support and in danger of harm.
- If you find yourself typing the words: suicide, abuse, self-harm, cut, kill, hurt, etc. backspace, delete and pick up the phone.
- Call in this order...until you get a person on the line
- Counselors (ext. 1520 or 1513),
- Admin (1502, 1573 or 1521)
- Social Worker (1516)
- School nurse (1531)
- Front desk (1551)
- We understand that you may have other students in the room and may not be able to fully explain the situation. Simply state that there is an emergency and you need someone to come to your room immediately. Also, it may be the end of the day and you need to get students to the buses, car rider line, etc. Buses will be held, students can wait...everything stops until you reach one of the contacts above.
- Written assignments, projects, responses, etc. that mention personal experience with suicide, self-harm, or abuse should also be reported immediately.
- We must contact parents whenever there is a question or concern related to a student's risk of suicide. In addition to this being the right thing to do, there have been several court cases in which school districts were held liable for not thoroughly assessing risk and contacting parents. So, please DO NOT wait until the end of the day or a convenient time to report. Regardless of the day or time (i.e., Friday at 3:00), together we will have to make calls and/or visit the home until direct contact with the parent is made.
There have been multiple times this year that we, counselors and/or admin, have worked tirelessly after hours, over a weekend, or break to ensure a student is safe, because we received information that they possibly were not. Student safety is ALWAYS our first priority...even before instruction and learning. Students cannot learn unless they feel safe, supported, and loved.
I will not be approving any vacation/personal days after May 19. Please make ALL appointments after school hours or this summer. The testing window begins the next week, and we will have some type of testing going on from May 25 - June 8. EVERYONE is needed every day. Our testing schedule is on SanLee's Google Calendar. If you can't see it or don't have access for some reason, let me know, and I will reshare.
Don't forget that AVID will be visiting on Thursday, May 4. Take a critical look at your hallway and classroom displays of student work. UPDATE and spruce up. Please make sure anything posted is showcasing WICOR (Writing, Inquiry (high levels of thinking), Collaboration, Organization, Reading to learn). If a student didn't have to think (just Google or color) then not appropriate hallway display. Let me know if you have a question.
Briana Simmons and Suzanne Swierczek shared a document with all the games and descriptions for field day. Please make sure to read, share with your homerooms, and have students sign up for events ASAP (by Wednesday at the VERY latest). If you have any questions, please see these ladies. Field day t-shirts are supposed to be here by Thursday morning. Don't forget to receipt money as it comes in and get it to Gaye each day.
Congratulations to our Rena Szakaly, EC Teacher and Team Leader, who will be an EC Compliance Specialist/Lead Teacher next year for our district. Rena has had a significantly positive impact on our EC program here at SLMS and will now touch more students and teachers throughout Lee County.
A huge shout out and thank you goes to our Yearbook Staff, Ashley Parker, Ashley Inman, Kim Stuart, and Palmer Bridges for putting together a wonderful and affordable yearbook. It will be submitted for print on Monday. If you are interested in having a copy, they are $26 and available here: https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014570149504293 Students and families are still able to order online and through the front office.
Congratulations to SLMS Bus Driver of the Year, Robin Braxton!
Coming Up
Mark Your Calendars:
Tuesday: Alternate schedule beginning at 10:20, Benchmarks (review email about schedule and details!), AIG Team meeting, Math Boot Camp, Baseball and soccer @home vs N. Moore
Wednesday: Alternate schedule beginning at 10:20, Benchmarks (review email about schedule and details!), Science Boot Camp, Baseball and soccer @home vs W. Pine
Thursday: No Electives/No Letter Day, Benchmark make ups (morning), 6th grade Field Day 11:45-2:15 pm, Reading Boot Camp, Chick-fil-a Spirit Night 5-8 pm
Friday: No Electives/No Letter Day, 7th grade Field Day 8:15-10:45am, 8th grade Field Day 11:45-2:15 pm