BAMS Staff Newsletter
January 11, 2014 - Volume 2, Issue 16
It's a Great Day to Be Great!
Bessie Allen Middle School - SLO & Goals
Building SLO:
By June of 2015, 80% of students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will show growth in their opinion writing sample rubric score from the September 2014 writing benchmark based on the school developed writing rubric (adapted from the Smarter Balanced writing rubric).
Building Goals:
DPI School of Recognition
PBIS School of Merit
Routinely Take Literacy Risks
Be a CEO
Driving Question for 2014-2015:
What have we changed with our instruction to prepare our students for the Badger Exam assessment (and other higher level thinking opportunities)?
Goals for SSR and SSW
- Provide a time for every student in our building to read and write.
- Ensure this time is a positive part of our students' day.
News and Notes
- Safety Drill - Thank again for being willing to practice our new ALICE procedures at Early Release. I really like the the thinking that is taking place. ALICE gives you many more options for keeping yourself and our students safe. Hopefully we will never have to put these practices into action in a real situation. We will discuss this drill more at our next staff meeting.
- The process for scheduling for the 2015-2016 school has begun. I just want you to be aware that I am starting to talk with staff and evaluating the effectiveness of our current schedule to prepare for next year.
- I'm very excited to see how our mid-year benchmarks go for STAR and our Building SLO. We have put in a ton of work and it's going to be great to see the results and use the data to drive our instruction for the remainder of the year. Once the data is collected and scored the Data Wall in the Crib will be updated.
- Thank you for taking time to watch the STAR training videos that our Champions (Julie and Connie) put together. Please view by January 16th.
- ACCESS Testing - Thank you for working with Damaris to allow our students receiving ELL supports to complete their ACCESS testing. Only the one-on-one tests remain. These tests take a little more time because they are done individually. Thanks for being understanding to this!
- At the last Admin Team meeting, we discussed changing building start times in our district. Nothing has been decided at this point, just something that was discussed. One option discussed was to move all building start times ahead 30 minutes. This would mean that BAMS would start at 8am. The other option discussed was flip flopping ELC/FLC start times with BAMS/HM start times. In this option, our day could start at 8:30am or 9am. I would like to get some feedback about this during team time meetings this week. Come see me if you have any thoughts you would like to share.
- We had a couple near late-start days last week due to cold weather. In the event that we miss a block day or have a late start on a block day, Samantha and I will work to balance the schedule the best we can. There are many different factors that could come into play if we move a block day. We'll take everything into account and make the best decision possible for our students.
- The Food 4 Thought Cafe had a very successful Grand Opening last week. Kudos to Jill Lewinski and all of the time and effort she has put in to create a very unique opportunity for our students, staff, and community members!!! Currently, the Cafe is not open for students yet. Jill, Samantha, and I are meeting tomorrow after school to go over details for student access to the Cafe.
Out of the Office
- January 12th - 1:45-2:35pm - Honor's Study Hall
- January 13th - 9-11am - Admin Team Meeting - DMR
- January 15th - 8:30-9:30am - BAMS BCT - Team Room
- January 16th - 11:30-2:30 - RtI Team Meeting/Intervention Selection - DMR
- January 19th - 1:45-2:35pm - Honor's Study Hall
- January 20th - 9-11am - Admin Team Meeting - DMR
Oriole Way - Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe
- Please reflect on your positive to negative interactions with students. Research suggests 4:1 positive to negative moments, for at-risk students it is 16:1!!! Handing out BAMS Bucks is one way to create a positive interaction with students.
- NEXT Meeting - January 21st, 7am
OASYS and Teacher Effectiveness
*This is the first year we have a Professional Practice Goal or PPG. As you reflect on your goal, keep in mind that you'll have to provide evidence of your accomplishments. Examples of this could be dates/meeting notes from collaborations with colleagues, certificates from trainings, or copies of article read. As an evaluator, this is my first year with this component, too. We will be having more discussions about this as an admin team moving forward.
- Continuing Educators 2nd Student Surveys - Due by February 15th
- 2 Classroom Visits - Due by End of the Year
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
- January 13 - STAR Reading Testing Window II, grades 6-8
- January 14 & 15 - STAR Math Testing Window II, grade 7
- January 16 - BAMS Medal of Excellence Names to Jennifer
- January 16 - STAR Math Testing Window II, grades 6 & 8
- January 16 - 7th Grade Ski Trip
- January 19-23 - STAR Make-up Testing
- January 20 - BAMS Spelling Bee, 1:30pm, HMPAC
- January 21 - Staff Meeting 2:50-3:30pm
- January 23 - BAMS Spelling Bee Make-up Day
- January 23 - End of Second Quarter
- January 23 - 8th Grade Ski Trip
- January 23 - School Dance 6-8pm
- January 26 - 2nd Quarter Grades Due 4pm
- January 26 - Inservice Day (½ record keeping, ½ inservice)
- January 26 - NFDL School Board Meeting, 7pm in DMR
- January 27 - 7th, 8th grade Band/Choir Field Trip 8:30am-2:30pm
- January 28 - Writing Sample Benchmark #2 for Building SLO
- January 29 - Oriole Leaders Meeting 10:40-11:40am
- January 30 - 6th Grade Skating Field Trip, 9am-2pm
*See Google Doc titled "2014-2015 BAMS Yearly Calendar" for a look at events for the entire year.
Staff Meeting Agenda
Staff Meeting: January 21st - 2:50-3:30pm - DMR
Agenda:
Debrief - Safety Drill
Scheduling Process/Update
Block Day Instruction - Biggest Success/Biggest Challenge/What Next?
Badger Exam Practice Exams with Students
Others
Next Meeting: February 13th - 12:50-1:15pm - DMR
Blackboard Connect Messages
Messages sent this week:
NONE
*New messaging system (ParentLink) coming soon.