WMS Weekly Bulletin
April 29-May 5, 2019
The first is one that hit my heart strings when a teacher saw a student who was struggling to focus and asked him to write three things that were distracting him. Here's what he wrote:
The second post is one about school culture written by Jeff Zoul, author of What Connected Educators Do Differently. He wrote an article titled "School Culture Essentials: Help. Thanks. Wow." The initial task of his post asked educators to reflect on what they want others to say about their school culture by filling in the blank: "I would like our school to be noted for its culture of ______________."
He goes on to say that, in his opinion, the first essential culture characteristic is helping others but also to state that you need help. Whether a first-year teacher or a seasoned veteran, we all experience moments where we feel lost, overwhelmed, unsure, or doubtful of our presence, our ability, or our impact. By creating a culture where we are secure in asking each other for assistance and building that dialogue, we will be able to cultivate a helpful culture.
The second essential culture characteristic is "thanks" where the educators in the building genuinely appreciate all the good that is occuring whether it be from student-to-student, colleague-to-student, or administrator-to-teacher. Working in a building where gratitude is expressed outright is essential to a positive culture.
The third essential culture characteristic is "wow", meaning wonderful things take place every day in our building that leave us a little awestruck. Maybe it's the kid who hasn't worked hard all year who turns in a paper on time, or students going out of their way to make the bus drivers feel important, or resources are raised for a good cause.
The teacher from the original post brought home the last two points after her student cried out for help with this response:
I encourage you to find your "help", "thanks", or "wow" moment this week as we roll into wrapping up our first year with as strong a culture as we started with!
Go Warhawks! And, remember, you belong here.
-Mishler
Week in Review
CityWide PTO Challenge Starts this Week!!!
AVID College Week - April 29-May 3
For the week of April 29th through May 3rd we need you to wear jeans and rep your college(s).
Through advocates, students can be involved in a door decorating contest with a pizza party for the winner. Be sure to SIGN UP and decorate this week for WMS to be as College Week as possible!!!
Students will also use point cards to compete for an individual competition. Attached you will find slides outlining the weeks festivities, please share these during advocate Monday April 29th when you distribute point cards. Cards will be in your boxes Friday, to be passed out Monday.
Students get one card, so please encourage them to keep up with it. We need you to assist in awarding points by signing when a student participates in the days dress up category and if they assist with your door decorating or complete the color sheet. Color sheets will also be in your boxes Monday, April 29th.
From Nurse Flater
Contest Mastery for Final Exams
Scholars will be using Schoology to access their Final Exams for oral test administration. There are two options: create your final exam in Schoology or upload your exam to Schoology.
If your Final will be created in Schoology, you will need to enable the Text-to-Speech feature in settings within the assessment. This must be done by the person creating the test.
If your Final is not created in Schoology, follow the steps below to upload your Final.
Upload Exams as a Word file. Google Docs need to be saved as a WORD file, then uploaded. Exams in PDF format are not compatible with the screen reader, please do not upload Exams in PDF format.
Rename file with the test date, teacher last name, subject and grade followed by the test name.
(Example: 5.23 Vitek Math 7 Final.docx)
1. Click Resources on the black bar
2. Click Tests for Content Mastery found under My Resources
3. Click Add Resources
4. Click Add file and attach the test
A green Content Mastery pass indicating scholar testing accommodation(s) and the test version they will be completing must be completed for each scholar. Ensure the names of each version sent electronically match the versions indicated on the pass.
To ensure that we are prepared to address your scholars’ needs and accommodations during finals, please complete this FORM. For testing concerns, please contact Jill Butler.
Summer Understanding by Design (UbD) Training Options
There are two dates available: June 5-6 and July 22-23.
Email Mishler your preference ASAP.
Staffulty Birthdays
Design Team Progress
Check out the chart below to see what all projects are going on around campus! When you see something you love, grab some scholars, take a selfie, and blast on social media with #WMSWarhawks!
Duty Stations & Personnel
Upcoming Events
5/6-5/10 - Teacher Appreciation Week
5/6 - WMS Awards Night, 6:00 PM @ Cafeteria
5/7 - Band Concert, 6:00 PM @ WMS Gym A
5/8 - Leadership Team Meeting, 4:30 PM @ War Room
5/8 - School Nurse's Day
5/9 - STAAR Algebra I EOC
5/9 - CSISD Employee Awards Ceremony, 6:00 PM @ Grace Bible Church South
5/13 - STAAR Math 7, Math 8 Retest
5/14 - STAAR Reading 7, Reading 8 Retest
5/15 - STAAR Science 8
5/15 - PM Staffulty Meeting, 4:15 PM @ LGI
5/16 - AM Staffulty Meeting, 7:30 AM @ LGI
5/16 - STAAR History 8
5/17 - Orchestra, StuCo, NJHS Field Trip @ SplashTown
5/22-24 - Final Exams
5/24 - Early Release/Last Day of School
5/25 - Staff Development