BAMS Staff Newsletter
September 28, 2014 - Volume 2, Issue 4
It's a Great Day to Be Great!
Bessie Allen Middle School - SLO
COMING SOON!
Opinion Writing
News and Notes
- Thank you to Adam, Ginnie and our Oriole Leaders for playing a fun Homecoming Week at BAMS. It will be fun to see all of the school spirit.
- Thank you Bridgett and Teams for reviewing Medical Care plans and taking part in some medical training. Keep those plans available for you and subs to be aware of. Contact Bridgett if you have any questions.
- If you feel driven to donate money or items for the Team Room, donations can be given to Kim Broten or Jenny Stahl. Do what feels good! Thank you to anyone that donated funds. We were able to restock some items for the Team Room.
- We will be surveying our students again regarding our technology initiatives. We use a program in our district called Clarity which is our data warehouse for technology usage. This surveying process will be similar to last year's plan. You will be receiving an email from an EMT member in October that will outline how to administer this to your students. It will again be a brief survey.
- Fidelity Checks - If your team hasn't begun to do random fidelity checks of iPads, please find time to do so this week. This can be as simple as doing one per day of a random student in your room. Doing these checks are vital to keeping students safe.
- When planning and thinking about field trips, know that each grade level will have access to $1000 of PTO funds to offset costs. Please let me know if any family concerns with payment for trips come up. I want us to do whatever we can to allow our students to have these experiences.
- Tech-Free Friday - We will start Tech-Free Fridays in the lunchroom in October. The purpose will be to encourage students to have positive conversations with each other on Fridays during lunch. I'll communicate this to students as we get closer to a start date.
- Training Videos for STAR - Please continue to make progress towards completing the 4-days worth of training videos for STAR. Please see Julie, Connie, or myself if you have any questions. The window cannot be opened for us unless STAR feels that we have done enough training.
Out of the Office
The following times I will not be in the building or will be out of the office:
- September 30th - 9am-11am - Admin Team Meeting, DMR
Oriole Way - Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe
- HOW MANY BAMS BUCKS HAVE YOU HANDED OUT THIS YEAR?
- BAMS Bucks Blitz this week - Be looking and listening for great manners. Make it Rain!
- In the near future, Brandon Switz will be sending out the Self-Assessment Survey (SAS). This survey is taken by all staff to reflect on our PBIS model. After taking the survey, we'll have information about what is working well and what are areas for improvement. These results will help to drive action steps for our PBIS Team.
- Oriole Way Team had a very productive meeting last week. They have a great plan in place for celebrations and activities to support our PBIS framework. This plan and important dates will be shared with you soon.
- NEXT Meeting - October 1st, 7am
OASYS and Teacher Effectiveness
- Surveys Students - Due by October 15th
- SLO Selection and Approval - Due by October 31st
- 2 Classroom Visits - Due by End of the Year *I strongly encourage you to get to other buildings and see the great things happening and challenges they face. Our job is not easy at any level!
Click Here for a link to Teacher Effectiveness Info from CESA 6
Click Here for a Teacher Effectiveness Calendar for EDUCATORS/SPECIALISTS
Dates to Remember
- September 29 - Staff Flu shot, 2:30-4:30pm, DMR
- October 3 - Pep Assembly, 1:45pm
- October 3 - Complete STAR training videos
- October 6 - Mid-Quarter Grades Due, 7am
- October 6-October 17 - STAR Testing Window
*See Google Doc titled "2014-2015 BAMS Yearly Calendar" for a look at events for the entire year.
Staff Meeting Agenda
Staff Meeting: October 10 - 12:50-1:15pm - DMR
Agenda:
Next Meeting: October 22 - 2:50-3:30pm - DMR
Blackboard Connect Messages
We use a system called Blackboard Connect to send mass messages to families. Please let me know if you need anything communicated.
Messages sent this week:
- Homecoming Week Announcement - Sept 28
*New messaging system (ParentLink) tentatively coming in December