Monday Memo
October 8, 2018 @MMSCougarPride
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Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all things happening in the MMS community @MMS CougarPride.
Send Dara pictures to district email if you'd like us to Tweet something. Our followers are increasing every day!
Reminder-PDPs were due Friday, October 5, 2018
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M_WthA4UQDTZNaCZEDjzf9fLOn_W4W3gFhJ7NhIrTJA/edit?usp=sharing
(Info from SOMSD HR office linked above)
PDPs are open for all staff. If you cannot access your PDP, please contact me. Please ignore the time stamp on the invitation. The invitation is just so that you can open it in MLP. Your evaluator will contact you if a PDP conference is needed. Our focus areas as a school are:
1. Using data to drive instruction and intervention for students.
2. Inclusive classrooms that incorporate student voice/ownership/cultural heritage.
3. Expanding the workshop model across content areas.
PDPs are written in SMART goal language.
We look forward to reviewing your goals this year and to a year of growth. We are all learners!
Welcome Taylor Harris
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Happy Monday MMS,
Special shout out to our 6th grade ELA department for their great work on the sensory walk and writing marathon. Our kids are so lucky to have Ms. Silva, Ms. O'Sullivan, Ms. Laing, Ms. Weinberg, Ms. Varney, and Ms. Hansen providing them with such great instruction!
October 10, 2018 TLC Agenda (DRAFT)
Instructional Items
Debrief-10/9 ½ Day Sessions--Anything to report/share/follow up?
Dara TCRWP Turnkey (attachment will be provided)--The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (Sheila Heen, presenter)
CST Meetings
Finalizing Measuring Up windows for ELA and Math
Pre & post assessment
Workbooks- consumables?
Renaissance STAR will come later in the year (will only be offered midyear this year and does not include resources we get from Measuring Up)
Peer Visitation and/or New Teacher Shadow Dates
Finalizing Meeting Types/How shall we proceed with meeting types when considering district goals below? (SCROLL DOWN FOR 2017-18 meeting types)
All SOMSD administrators have been asked to support the following district goals at all buildings:
District Goal #1-Enhance student learning of struggling students, as demonstrated by the establishment of a data-driven committee, schedule of meetings, assistance and follow up plans, along with quarterly report to be shared and discussed with the Superintendent and Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
District Goal #2-Consistently implement the district’s Prek-12 curricula, as demonstrated by the design of a collaborative process that incorporates regular review of observations and lesson plans, and feedback to teachers to identify gaps and trends in the curriculum, instruction and assessments which includes appropriate next actionable steps, along with a quarterly report to be shared and discussed with the Superintendent and Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
MMS 2018-19 Focused Walkthrough Documents --Any questions?
Classroom Culture/Restorative Practices Walkthrough
Logistics/Operations
Calendar Items?
Items for Monday Memo?
Emergency Drills
More Active Shooter Drills (4 total instead of 2--1 per quarter)
In afternoon only due to SOMSD and MPD schedule
District Goals
The district is focused on I&RS and Data-Driven Instruction to support struggling learners. Please see the school-wide goals for MMS and all SOMSD schools. We will devote quite a bit of time, energy, discussion and resources to this work!
District Goal #1-Enhance student learning of struggling students, as demonstrated by the establishment of a data-driven committee, schedule of meetings, assistance and follow up plans, along with quarterly report to be shared and discussed with the Superintendent and Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
District Goal #2-Consistently implement the district’s Prek-12 curricula, as demonstrated by the design of a collaborative process that incorporates regular review of observations and lesson plans, and feedback to teachers to identify gaps and trends in the curriculum, instruction and assessments which includes appropriate next actionable steps, along with a quarterly report to be shared and discussed with the Superintendent and Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
PLCs have been updated and unfortunately we are no longer able to run the Diversity Month Celebration PLC and Advisory/Student Voice due to interest in other great PLCs. I'd like to get staff input on how we address these important topics as a community.
Reminder that October 9, 2018 is a 4 hour day for students for staff development. Around 20 MMS staff will be trained in restorative practices with support from Tanya Lewis consulting at CHS. The remainder of the staff will receiving training on data review to support intervention for struggling students.
Have a great week,
Dara
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-
MSUNER
Reminder to ELA department PD on Thurs. 10/11
Location-Main office conference room.
Teaching Channel--a great resource
If you haven't yet discovered the Teaching Channel it's a great resource! Videos and content to support the work of the school and district are plentiful on this site. Check it out!