South Middle School
Staff Weekly Newsletter: October 21st - 25th
Week at a Glance
- Annual IEP for CVB (Room 4, 7:45 a.m.)
- Dangerous Intruder Drill (Special Schedule, see Robert's email)
Tuesday, October 22
- Annual IEP for SP (Room 4, 7:45 a.m.)
- Board Meeting (DO, 12:00 p.m.)
- OrRTI Training (Salem, all day)
Wednesday, October 23
- PLCs - Instruction (meet in library then break out, 7:37 a.m.)
- OrRTI Training (Salem, all day)
Thursday, October 24
- Fall Choir Concert (Cafeteria, 9:30 - 10:00 a.m., see Carolyn's email)
- PM Assembly for Spirit Week (see special schedule)
Friday, October 25
- IIP & Red Zone Mtg (Barret's Office, 7:30 a.m.)
- Progress Meeting for SM (Room 4, 7:45 a.m.)
- Fall Dodgeball (SMS, 5:00 - 6:45 p.m.)
Supervision Schedule
Supervision Schedule (8:10 - 8:25 a.m.) - 15 minutes a day as assigned.
Team 4:
6th Grade Hall: War
T @ 7th/8th Grade Hall: DeHarmony
8th Grade Hall: Serrage
Large Gym: Bigelow/Baertschiger
Parking Lot AM: Willaman
Parking Lot PM & Buses PM: Gottula & Pell's subs
Daily Supervision Schedule:
Parking Lot/Exit AM: Aguilera, Huerta, Karbowski & Admin
Parking Lot/Exit PM: Aguilera, Kindrick, Karbowski & Admin
Cafeteria AM: Miller/McCarty & Hopkins
Bus PM (3:09 - 3:25): Hopkins, Admin & Team Teacher
Staff Shout-Out
Erica Butler
With Jael out on Friday and not wanting her students to get left behind in all the amazing work being done this year, Ms. Butler stepped up to the pate and took over Ms. Hanson's classes on Friday. That is the EPITOME of teamwork and having your colleague's back! Thanks to Erica for helping us out and kudos to everyone for surviving the "Sub Fiasco of 2019" on Friday.
Weekly Article
Staff-
It's a question we should all be asking..."Are ALL students really getting it?" This is a quick read that wraps around some of the work our PLCs are looking at this year. Instead of a blanket-statement, "Who can tell me...?" try one of the strategies below. Or better yet, ask a colleague about formative checks they use in their instruction! Happy reading.
Are All Students Really Getting It?
In this Edutopia article, Pérsida and Bill Himmele (Millersville University) say teachers often check for whole-class understanding by asking, Who can tell me…? or Does anyone know…? This approach has three important design flaws:
- (a) only a few students raise their hands and reap the academic and confidence-building benefits of being actively engaged in the discussion, while most classmates sit passively;
- (b) teachers tend to believe the eager beavers’ answers are representative of the learning of all students; and
- (c) “those students who are most likely to need help,” say the authors, “who have deep misunderstandings, or who are in the process of learning English, are the ones who are unintentionally left out of the conversation.”
• Chalkboard splash – The teacher poses a well-framed question that captures the big ideas of what’s being taught (for example, What are some challenges that you could see developing within societies that embrace capitalism?). Students are asked to write their responses in their notebooks or on a separate sheet of paper in 15 words or less. Students then get up and write their responses on the board. This gets every student thinking, gets them all out of their seats, makes a diversity of ideas visible to everyone, gives the teacher a good idea of how well the lesson is sinking in, and often leads to good follow-up.
• Appointment agendas – Each student gets a grid https://edut.to/2B9JYwv and circulates among classmates making mutual “appointments” for each of the hypothetical time-slots (8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., etc.). When the teacher poses a thought-provoking question, students are asked to confer with their partner for a particular time-slot (10:00 a.m., for example – it doesn’t have to correspond to the actual time), and students get up, find their appointment buddy, and discuss the question. This produces purposeful movement around the class, lots of interaction, and sets up an all-class discussion and closure.
• Pause, star, rank – After a chunk of content has been presented (for example, a two-week unit on the American Revolution), students look over their notes, put a star by each concept they believe is important to remember, and then rank-order their top three starred choices. Then students get up, do a chalkboard splash with their top-ranked concept, and discuss it with a designated Appointment Agenda classmate.
“3 Ways to Ask Questions That Engage the Whole Class” by Pérsida and Bill Himmele in Edutopia, September 26, 2019, https://edut.to/2ViBxIr; the authors can be reached at William.Himmele@millersville.edu and Persida.Himmele@millersville.edu.
Grab your "#firstgen College Grad" flyer in the office!
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October Birthdays!
- Sabrina Sheppard - October 15th
- Tanya Ward - October 21st
- Kim Hull - October 24th
- Joel Wilder - October 31st