Evergreen Middle School
October 21, 2022
Message from Principal Collins
Hello parents, Caregivers, and Guardians,
In November we will host our Student Lead Conferences (SLCs). What are SLCs? They are a preplanned meeting in which students demonstrate responsibility for their academic performance by providing a review of their work for parents and teachers. A student-led conference is a meeting with a student and his or her family and teachers during which the student shares his or her portfolio of work and discusses progress with family members. The student facilitates the meeting from start to finish. The entire process of a student-led conference can also promote student engagement.
During this time, the student will display other deeper learning competencies such as effective communication skills and an academic mindset. In doing so, a student’s confidence can be enhanced when preparing for this meeting. Students will be provided with a specific meeting structure and options of how to share their work and progress. They will be instructed on what they should and should not do during the meeting.
Student-led conferences are most successful as a powerful learning and communication tool. It's hard to feel at ease in front of an audience. That's why SLCs help boost the confidence of students and uplift their communication and presentation skills by challenging them. There are various benefits to establishing student-led conferences. First, this type of school-parent communication style helps the students’ support system clearly understand how best to support the student at home and at school. Parents can fully understand, with validation from the teachers, that the student’s status is attributed to student effort or deficits.
Next, placing the onus of responsibility on the student to explain his or her progress helps to develop the responsibility and accountability necessary for the student to improve or sustain academic success. The student must reflect on what is needed to acquire academic success or discuss what he or she needs or must do in order to improve. In addition, if the student can process how he or she is achieving, the student is more likely to develop goals and use an ongoing monitoring system to track improvement.
An essential benefit of student-led conferences is the practical skill of goal development that the student must take part in to start the process. When goals are created by the student, he or she will likely take a personal interest in achieving and monitoring these goals. If goals are set by parents or teachers, learning will not be self-directed or student-centered.
When both teachers and parents understand what the student needs to succeed, student success can be assured. You will be receiving SLC appointment letters soon from your scholar’s teachers. I am looking forward to seeing all of you during our SLC.
In Partnership
Mrs. Collins
Evergreen Spirit Gear!
Color Wars- Grade gear
Prove your grade has the most spirit!!
All shirts are $8 each
8th-Green
7th-Yellow
6th-Gray
Evergreen hoodies & t-shirts available year-round!
Evergreen Hats & Beanies
You asked for them, you got them!
The official Evergreen Grizzly hats and beanies are in! With the coming of fall and winter, don't miss out on keeping your head warm with a collector item Evergreen hat or beanie to go with your other Grizzly gear!
See the main office to pick yours up as they will sell out fast. Hats are $20 and the Beanies are $15.
Spirit Accessories
We have:
Buttons: large ($2) & small ($1)
Stickers: large round ($1) & smaller square (.50)
Pom Poms: $1 each
Beads (green & gold): (2 for $1)
SPIRIT WEEK!
Monday: Adam Sandler Day
Tuesday: Grizzly Gear & Color Wars- Pep Assembly
Wednesday- Dress Like a Teacher Day
Thursday- 2000's Day
Friday- Overdress Day
Please make sure you still adhere to our dress code: https://www.fwps.org/domain/4261
SCHOLAR LED CONFERENCES
Tuesday, Nov 8th from 3-5pm
Wednesday, Nov 9th from 10am-7pm with Lunch 12-1
Thursday, Nov 10th from 7:30am-10:30am
Advisory teachers will be sending out letters to the families to schedule.
SPIRIT GEAR WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE DURING CONFERENCES
https://www.fwps.org/cms/lib/WA01919399/Centricity/Domain/4/SLC%20at%20a%20glance.pdf
Is direct instruction a good teaching method?
One of the most important questions in education – and also the most controversial – is whether teaching something directly (i.e., direct instruction) helps or hinders learning compared to having students discover the material for themselves (i.e., discovery learning). Most of us can remember a teacher from our schooling whose boring lectures put us to sleep or made us hate going to class. Maybe teachers should be using more “modern” teaching methods and leave “old fashioned” direct instruction for the dinosaurs?
The problem with throwing shade towards direct instruction is that research has shown that it is extremely effective. In studies where students are either provided, or not provided, direct instructional guidance from a teacher, book, or computer, students learn more when guidance is provided than when it is withheld. In fact, the largest, most expensive experiment in education history (see image below) found that direct instruction materials outperformed all other forms of materials – by a lot and by every measure. On the other hand, so-called “discovery learning” has been found to consistently lead to unimpressive, and even negative, achievement gains. When it comes to improving learning outcomes for our students, it would be a mistake to disregard these results.
At this point, you might be asking yourself, “But what about the boring lectures I experienced when I was in school. You’re saying that’s good teaching?” The truth is, research shows that direct instruction is most effective when it includes opportunities for students to talk, make sense of the material, and practice the material to mastery. The endless, rambling lectures that too often monopolize class time should be replaced with brief teacher presentations, which are then followed by students discussing, writing, and problem solving with the presented material. When we appreciate that our direct instruction will only be impactful when students are asked to do something with it, we ensure that the material we want students to know doesn’t just go “in one ear and out the other”.
Zach Groshell, Ph.D.
Instructional Coach
Evergreen Middle School
Life After High School Event
It’s important to provide scholars a chance to explore college and career options before high school graduation. To support Goal 5 of our strategic plan, Persistence to Graduation: High School Graduation Through Successful Transitions, we are proud to invite middle and high school scholars and their families to the annual in-person college and career fair.
Mark your calendar to attend Life After High School, Wednesday, October 26, from 6-8 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson High School. Scholars can visit booths representing various two- and four-year colleges and universities, military academies, apprenticeship programs, trade schools, and more.
Workshops will also be offered during the event, including:
- Scholarships for Selective East Coast Colleges
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Virtual Panel
- Financial Aid Basics
- Financial Aid Basics in Spanish
- Apprenticeship Panel
- MaiaLearning and the High School and Beyond Plan
- NCAA and Playing Sports in College
- College Applications and Essays
In addition, an open lab will be available to support scholars and families in completing FAFSA and WASFA financial aid applications.
Learn more at www.fwps.org/LAHS
IMPORTANT DATES
10/24-10/28- Spirit Week
10/24- Spirit: Adam Sandler Day
10/24- Fastpitch- BYE
10/25- Spirit: Grizzly Gear & Color Wars-pep assembly
10/25- Football- Kilor @ Evergreen
1025- Cross Country District Championship Meet- TBD
10/26- Spirit: Dress Like a Teacher Day
10/26- Early Release Day @ 1pm
10/27- Spirit: 2000's Day
10/27- Fastpitch- Evergreen vs Illahee @ Todd Beamer HS
10/27- Cross Country Banquet
10/28- Spirit: Overdress Day
11/01- Fastpitch- Evergreen @ Kilo
11/02- Fundraiser Items Pickup @ 1pm-4pm (cookie dough requires refrigeration)
11/02- Fastpitch- Sacajawea @ Evergreen
11/02- Football- Varsity- Evergreen @ Sequoyah
Evergreen Middle School
Email: mnelsen@fwps.org
Website: https://www.fwps.org/evergreen
Location: 26812 40th Avenue South, Building A, Kent, WA, USA
Phone: 253-945-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvergreenFWPS/