Friday Memo
March 31, 2023
Important Dates
April 3-7: National Assistant Principals Week
April 3 - 8 Unity to Camp Wyman
April 4 - Special Olympics, Moss Field; 8 Integrity to Camp Wyman
April 7 - 8 Bravery to Camp Wyman
April 10 - Late Start Day
April 13 - Band concert, 6pm
April 14.- 7 Integrity to SLU
April 17 - 7 Unity to Main Event; Department Meetings after school
April 17-18: EOC Testing
April 20 - Orchestra Concert
April 21 - Hixson Walk-a-Thon; Model UN Field Trip
April 24 - Late Start Day
April 26 - Choir Concert, 6:30 pm; Administrative Professionals Day
April 28 - Art 3 Show, Old Orchard
May 1 - School Principal's Day
May 4 - Jazz Concert, 6:30 pm
May 2-5: MAP Testing
May 8 - 12: Teacher Appreciation Week; Late Start Day
May 9-10: NWEA Testing
May 11-Fine Arts Festival
May 12 - 8th grade to 6 Flags
May 22 - 8th grade Promotion Ceremony, 6pm @ Roberts gym
May 24 - Band Pops Concert
May 26 - Last day of school; Kona Ice visit; dismissal at 12:30 pm
The deadline to order spring spirit wear has been extended to April 7, 2023! Buy your spirit wear today!
Instructional Focus: Self-Assessment
High Sub Need Days Next Week
April 4 and April 7 are two upcoming high sub needs days. April 4 is a PD day, so we currently have 16 absences and one is unfilled. On April 7, we have 19 absences, and all are currently filled. If any other absences are submitted on either of these days, then they will likely be unfilled. Therefore, I reached out to HR before we left for spring break to put them on standby in case we need support. Just so you're aware, there are 40 absences district wide for April 7, and 19 of them are Hixson absences.
iDEA Reps Needed for the 23-23 SY
iDEA members will be elected by April 30th. If possible, they will attend a transition iDEA meeting in May. New members will begin their official term of service in June after the end of the school year.
Qualifications include at least one full year of service (if they have prior education experience) or two full years of service (if they are new to education) with the district.
iDEA membership will include: one representative from each elementary school, two from Hixson, two from High School, one Special School District representative, one support staff representative, and at least one curriculum coordinator. In addition, an administrator from each level and assistant superintendent will serve with no voting privileges.
iDEA members serve for three years.
iDEA members receive a maximum of two salary credits or $360 for a 3 year term for after-school committee work.
iDEA members serve on building level PDCs.
Faculty Meeting on Monday, April 3, 2023 - MAP Training
National Assistant Principals Week: April 3-7, 2023
You can also send digital thank you cards through the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Click the image below to do so.
To Mike, Aimee, and Jeff, thank you for all that you do for Hixson! You are greatly appreciated!
WGSD Presents: The Heart of the PLC Mini-Conference, August 14, 2023
We are excited to announce an exciting opportunity for professional learning in August when we return for the 2023-2024 school year. The WGSD principals and the Learning Department are planning an in-district Professional Learning Communities (PLC) mini-conference for all WGSD staff on August 14, 2023. We are working very hard to organize a meaningful learning experience that will help us align our PLC practices and language district-wide, elevate our instructional core, and be responsive to student needs. Therefore, we are thrilled to offer an opportunity for you to present at this conference!
We will have a full day set aside for professional development on August 14, 2023. Since we collectively participate in CLTs across all levels, we have decided to come together and plan a district-wide mini-conference. Multiple sessions will be offered throughout the day for you to attend. You will deepen your understanding of how PLC works, helps us become even better practitioners, and helps us provide an equitable education for ALL students.
If you are interested in presenting at this mini-conference, please review the list of possible topics below to get an idea of what we are looking to offer during the conference.
If you are interested and willing to share your knowledge with others, please complete the Presenter Information Form below. Please complete the form by the end of the day on Friday, April 21st.
The Heart of the CLT Mini-Conference Presenter Form
Thank you for your consideration!
WGSD Principals and Learning Department
Special Olympics - April 4, 2023
From Building Admin--If you are planning to take your class to Moss Field at Special Olympics at any point during the day on Tuesday, please email Nikita Hicks and Kelly Ramay so that we know where all classes are at all times. Students must sit with their teacher. They are not permitted to roam around campus.
Walk-a-Thon: April 21, 2023 (INFO SHARE)
We will hold our first Walk-a-Thon at Hixson on Friday, April 21. Please see the blurb below that will go out to parents today. Please contact Andrew Bennett with any questions!
We are excited to announce the Inaugural Hixson Walkathon Fundraiser! Families register at the below link and can easily share a link on social media or through email/text to family and friends to get flat pledges for their student's walkathon through an easy-to-use website. The walkathon will be a fun event which will take place on Friday, April 21st during your PE classes. The PE teachers and volunteers run the event, and you can help us raise money for your student's walkathon in the following ways:
1. Please register your student(s) at this website:
https://getmovinfundhub.com/register?school_uuid=6402290a7d6b5
2. Personalize your student's fundraising page with a photo or video.
3. Share your student's personalized link (found on their FundHub profile) on social media or with your family and friends to raise money for Hixson's PTO. Donations are a flat donation to the student's participation, not a donation per lap like some walkathons.
The students are going to love the incentives we have created. They will be announced in announcements and in future social media posts and emails.
4. Sign up here to volunteer on the day of the event, April 21, 2023! We welcome parents to join us to monitor the walkathon which will happen all around the Hixson building/Moss field and we need snack table supervisors to help hand out snacks and rubber bands which is how the students will count their laps. You can register your student here to get started:
https://getmovinfundhub.com/register?school_uuid=6402290a7d6b5
Click the flyer to view a larger version of it.
Author Visit: Soman Chainani - April 25!
Soman Chainani, author of The School for Good and Evil Series is coming to Hixson for an all day author event on Tuesday, April 25. Each grade level will attend a one hour presentation from Soman Chainani.
If students own or would like to purchase a copy of his book(s) they will be able to enter a signing line to get it autographed! We are partnering with the Novel Neighbor for purchasing books; click here to purchase books online. We also have physical order forms in the library (as do all ELA teachers). All money and orders are due to the library by Friday, April 21st.
Click here to watch a book trailer for the first The School for Good and Evil book.
Click here to watch the trailer for the recently released Netflix adaptation.
Please contact Jordan Haddock at haddock.jordan@wgmail.org if you have any questions.
Are you interested in getting your Gifted Certification?
If yes, you may join a cohort group starting in the fall with courses being offered through Maryville University. Classes will take place at a Parkway school and the cost is $329.00 per credit hour. This is a draft of the courses that will be offered.
Please email me if you are interested in obtaining your gifted certification, and I will answer any questions you have and provide additional information.
Panorama Survey Window
The Spring Panorama survey windows are listed below. Please read the survey administration instructions below. I also linked the district Culture and Climate website below for your review.
Spring Survey Dates
Students and Families - March 27 - April 7, 2023
Teachers and Staff - March 27 - April 21, 2023
Before you begin:
Decide which day you are going to administer the survey to your students during the survey window (March 27 - April 7). There are three short surveys and it will take approximately 15 minutes for students to complete. These are the exact same surveys that were administered in Fall 2022.
Check the OPT-OUT (it will be finalized on March 17th) list to see if any of your students have been opted out of the survey by their parents/caregiver. These students have been removed from the platform and will not be able to access the survey. If a student's family did opt them out of the survey, please make sure they have a chromebook during this time, so they do not feel excluded while other students are using a computer.
Write/post the survey website on the board/screen https://surveys.panoramaed.com/webstergroves
Tell students their access code is their WGSD full email address.
If a student is absent when you administer the survey, please work with your building leadership to schedule a time for the student to complete the surveys.
Read the following introduction to your students (do not veer from this script):
At Hixson, it is our goal to create a positive school community where all students feel safe, respected, and valued at school. In order to do this, we are asking for your feedback on your experience at Hixson. Please take a moment to respond to three short surveys through our Panorama survey platform. These are the same surveys you completed in the fall. Your responses to the equity and school climate surveys are anonymous. Your responses to the Social, Emotional, Learning survey are not anonymous because we want to be able to provide each student what they need to be successful and feel valued. If you need help with the surveys, then a counselor, teacher, and/or administrator can work with you - just let us know. All survey questions are optional and you may skip any question. We value your experiences and hope that you will answer all of the questions, but if there is a question that you do not want to answer, then you may skip that question. Your feedback is very important to us because we want to provide the safest, most inclusive environment for all students to thrive and feel welcomed. If you choose not to take the surveys, then please work on homework or read quietly until we are finished.
Instruct students to do the following:
1. Open Google Chrome on your Chromebook.
2. Go to https://surveys.panoramaed.com/webstergroves
3. Enter your access code. Your access code is your WGSD full email address
4. You will see three surveys. Begin with the first survey, answer the survey questions, and take the next two surveys. Please make sure to take all three surveys.
5. Review your answers, then hit submit.
6. If you have questions, please ask me and I will help you.
BRIDGing Our Stories – Launching March 27th
BRIDGing our Stories (Building. Relationships. Inclusion. Diversity. Growth) is a community advocacy storytelling project that aims to empower WGSD 6-12th grade students and staff to advocate for their needs, embrace and appreciate our diversity, and help everyone feel valued and welcomed. Students and staff members can express themselves through art such as poetry, photography, music, dance, painting, etc. These creative expressions will be placed in a Community Gallery for the public to view, learn, and appreciate. In addition, the art will be used in a professional development session for staff to learn about the power of storytelling, relationship building, and building community. Supplies will be provided to students to complete their project. Students will be asked a year later to share how being a part of the project impacted their classroom experiences. This program is grant-funded by the WG Foundation and Lindenwood University.
We hope that you will participate and share this exciting opportunity with your students.
Participation forms will be available the week of March 27th in the Main Offices of Hixson and WGHS and a link will be sent via email. For additional information or questions, please contact Dr. Williamson at williamson.shane@wgmail.org.
Thanks,
Shane & Amy
PTO Getting to Know You Series
create a post for you? Do not feel like you need to answer every question....just a few so that we can write a little biography about you. And send a picture because everyone loves putting a face to the names we hear about over the dinner table. Thank you so much!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-hPdR98I-mZHgtAN44dbc7Bi2v40FWzomG9o-TSpuAlO_4Q/viewform
Budget Timeline
Reminder about Field Trip Procedures
Chromebook Collection
We will begin the collection of the Chromebooks on May 11th and will finish up collections by May 19th. Below is the schedule for collection. This year's collection will take place during ELA classes. More detailed information will be rolled out closer to the time of collection. We wanted to share this information with you now so you can make plans for the second semester.
If you have a need for Chromebooks in your class after collection has begun please submit a technology request well before the month of May so Jason Heisel can plan accordingly. The request should have a minimum and max need.
Example: Need at least 3 Chromebooks and would love to have 15 Chromebooks available for the following dates: May 12-May 15th to allow learners to finish up submitting late work
Please keep in mind that a team of people worked to create this schedule based on feedback from last year and this year as well as working around major events that are on the calendar and testing schedules.
If you have any questions please let Jason P. Heisel, our building technology specialist, know via email.
Preparing Your Classroom for Summer Break & Summer School Classroom Use
- Please clear your teacher desk of everything, including drawers and surfaces.
- Remove all personal belongings from the classroom.
- Mark all things that are trash with a noticeable, legible sign.
- If your classroom has a tile floor, then the bookshelves have to be emptied. We will have boxes available. Please be mindful of how heavy you make the boxes. The saran wrap idea at the end of last year didn't work as well as I thought it would.
- We will be using the 6th grade wing for summer school.
Please don't hesitate to reach out should you have any questions.
Hixson Middle School
Email: mayes.shenita@wgmail.org
Website: https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/Hixson
Location: 630 South Elm Avenue, St. Louis, MO, USA
Phone: 314-963-6450