Heritage Middle Staff Newsletter
March 2017
March 24th Early Release Feedback
Here is a link to all staff responses on the feedback form.
Food for thought: How do your interactions impact students?
The Atlanta Speech School released “Every Opportunity,” a video that shows a day at school from the perspective of one young student. While he begins his day with enthusiasm, his interactions with educators and other adults leave him feeling discouraged. According to a press release from the school, the video “demonstrates how small changes in adult behavior, both inside and outside of the classroom, can enhance a child’s approach and her ability to learn.”
Reference: Bologna, C. (2016). The Huffington Post. "Eye-Opening video that makes adults reconsider the way they talk to children."
iPad Expectations and Resources
Here are a few reminders about iPad check out:
Please return iPads by 3:30pm. The devices should not stay in your classroom overnight. Teachers are to pick up and return the iPads to media center, not students. If you have checked out multiple sets, please take a minute to sort the iPads by number and return them to the appropriate box. Thanks for the help!
Instructions and expectations are found on http://lovettinstruction.weebly.com
Meet a New Patriot
Amanda Thompson
Take a Look at the New Google Sites
Why make the switch? Like many of you, Mr. Barringer's 8th Grade Track 2 team use a team calendar for daily assignments. The calendar was the main focus of the website with a few resources for students and parents. He created a new team site using the newer version of Google Sites, and comments "it's aesthetically pleasing and should serve as a better resource for our students as compared to old Google Sites."
Techrepublic.com featured an article detailing 5 key features of the new Google Sites:
- Webpages display nicely on any device
- You can insert content from Google Drive and other apps
- You can embed some external content
- You can customize and move content sections
- You can publish your site to the organization (WCPSS) or world **Mr. Barringer did comment you would have less headaches if you publish to the world so students do not have login to see the site
Mr. Barringer has offered to meet with anyone who would like to learn how to create a site using the new version. If there is a large response, we will hold something after school in the near future.
Science and Math Teachers: Equations in Google Docs and Forms is Changing
WCPSS Teacher Survey
New Professional Books in the Media Center
Blended Learning in Action
Mathematical Mindsets
Author Jo Boaler provides practical strategies and activities to help teachers show all children, even those who are convinced that they are bad at math, that they can enjoy and succeed in math. She's followed thousands of students through middle and high schools to study how they learn and to find the most effective ways to unleash the math potential in all students.
Professional Development Opportunities
Changes in Instructional Practices Around the Shifts in Math (SRN 175790601)
On March 27th, core departments worked through the math shifts module in Canvas. If you have not done so already, complete the module by the end of April and register in eSchools to receive literacy credit (0.1).
Supporting ELA Teachers Through Data and Planning (SRN 178645902)
Thursday April 6th, 9:00-4:00 @ CRII room 1400B
This session will provide teachers an opportunity to transform data into action. Participants will learn about resources to support planning aligned to the literacy shifts and depth of the standards. Only 4 ELA teachers from each school can attend. Subs are covered.
Participants will learn how crucial it is to differentiate for all students, understand the 3 ways in which we can differentiate for our students, receive and reflect upon differentiated lessons provided for them. (0.3 Literacy CEUs)
NCSU Triangle HIgh Five Math Summit 2017, Thursday August 3rd for secondary math teachers at Talley Student Union, 7:30-4:30 pm
Dr. Robert Berry, president-elect for NCTM, will speak to equity issues in math education. The presentations will focus on culturally responsive instruction. Registration begins in May.
EdTech Team Summits featuring Google Apps for Education, July 19-20, 2017
For registration and more information: nc.gafesummit.com
Special 10% discount (use code NC2017)
Summer Professional Development Opportunities: UNC Program for the Humanities
Contact Christie Hinson Norris, Director of K-12 Outreach, at cnorris@unc.edu for additional information if needed.
1. Carolina Oral History Teaching Fellows in Civil Rights | June 19-21, 2017 and July 26, 2017 |UNC-Chapel Hill
Oral history interviews provide tangible access to the past, with narrators offering first-hand descriptions in their own voices of historical events, ideas, and mindsets. Bringing K-12 students into close contact with these unique auditory sources can give them a very real sense of what it was like in years past, leading to personal connections, the development of critical thinking skills, and an interest in history that is sometimes missing in middle and high school youth. With this in mind, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Southern Oral History Program (SOHP), in collaboration with Carolina K-12, is excited to announce and solicit applications for its Carolina Oral History Teaching Fellows. This unique program will provide fifteen middle and high school teachers from around the state with an intensive exploration of how to utilize oral histories in the K-12 classroom in effective, meaningful, and creative ways. This year’s focus will be on oral histories from the Civil Rights Movement. Teachers will receive a 4.0 CEUs & $550 post-participation.
2. The 2017 William Friday Teachers Seminar - Carolina Voices: Exploring the Diverse History & Heritage of the Tar Heel State | Sunday, July 16 – Tuesday, July 18, 2017 | UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library
North Carolina history represents a tapestry of diverse and distinctive people & events, replete with rich heritage and resilient individuals who fought for a better way of life, showing courage and conviction, often in the face of extreme adversity. UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina K-12, in partnership with Wilson Library’s North Carolina Collection, invite K-12 teachers to join us this summer on the beautiful campus of UNC-Chapel Hill to explore these themes and related state and national history. From learning about the ways enslaved people resisted oppression and sought freedom throughout the state, to exploring the dramatic history of textile mills and labor strikes in rural North Carolina towns, to learning how the state’s unique dialects tell the story of our varied histories, teachers will enjoy a snapshot of some of North Carolina’s most captivating events and people. Designed to equally educate and appreciate our state’s incredible teachers, participants will be treated to dinner at the renowned Carolina Inn, and those meeting mileage requirements will also receive free accommodations at the Carolina Inn.
April Calendar of Events for HMS
April 1: Snow Make-up Day from 1/10/17
April 3: Baseball home vs. West Millbrook, HHS lower field @ 4 pm
April 4: Author Alan Gratz assembly
April 4: PTA Board Meeting @ 7 pm
April 5: Bully Lesson (all students remain in homeroom), Soccer home vs. Zebulon @ 4 pm
April 5 - 8: 8th-Grade band to Orlando
April 6: Baseball home vs. Rolesville, HHS lower field @ 4 pm, Softball home vs. Wake Forest @ 4 pm
April 6: Rising 6th-grade Open House, Tracks 1 and 3 @ 6 pm
April 10: PTA Spirit Night at Subway – Gateway Commons
April 13: Spring Portraits Tracks 1 and 2
April 14: Good Friday, No School
April 17: Leadership Team Meeting @ 3:30 pm
April 18: Track home vs. Zebulon @ 4 pm, Spring Chorus Concert, 6-7:30 pm
April 19: Happy Track out, Track 3!, Soccer at Wake Forest
April 20: Welcome back, Track 4!, PBIS meeting @ 7:10 am
April 20: Baseball home vs. Wake Forest, HHS lower field @ 4 pm, Softball home vs. Wendell @ 4 pm
April 20: Rising 6th-grade Open House, Tracks 2 and 4
April 21-22: Science Olympiad State Competition, NCSU
April 24: Department Meeting @ 3:30 pm
April 25: Track home vs. Wake Forest @ 4 pm
April 26: Soccer at Wendell
April 27: Character Education Breakfast, Softball at Rolesville
WCPSS Employee Discounts
H&R Block is offering WCPSS employees a reduced rate for services as part of their Tax Preparation Discount Program. To get specific information on this program please follow this link.