The Monday Message
Office of the Principal; Monday, January 18, 2016
Quote for the Week!
The Week Ahead
January is International Creativity Month
Monday 1/18/16 - No School! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday "Remember Service and Compassion"
Tuesday 1/19/16 - Grounds Maintenance (park vehicles away from curbs), Winter MAP Testing, No Crew; Admin Mtg (9:00am, Cafe), Department Meetings (3:50pm, Designated Classrooms), C-Team Basketball (H) vs. Chapin Middle (5:30pm, Gymnasium)
Wednesday 1/20/16 - International Day of Acceptance, Crew (8:20-8:50), Team Meetings (during planning periods), Principal's Meeting (1-4pm, District Office)
Thursday 1/21/16 - Crew (8:20-8:50) Cultural Competence Learning Walk (Dr. Donna Elam on Campus), PBIS Leader Meeting (1:00-3:00pm, Ballentine Elementary), C-Team Basketball (away) @ Meadow Glen Middle (5:30pm, MGM Gymnasium),
Friday 1/22/16- Crew (8:20-8:50), EL Mid-Year Review (School Designer on Campus)
Email: rsjackso@lexrich5.org
Website: http://www.lexrich5.org/IrmoMS.cfm
Location: Columbia, SC
Phone: 803-476-3600
Facebook: facebook.com/irmomiddleschool
Twitter: @irmomiddle
Winter MAP Testing
Wednesday, Jan 6, 2016, 08:00 AM
Irmo Middle School, Wescott Road, Columbia, SC, United States
Duty Roster
Click here for the Duty Roster
Monday - No Duty Needed; MLK Holiday
Tuesday - R Group on duty (G. Hutto, V. Sava, PM Duty)
Wednesday - M Group on duty (PK Jones, K. Mays-Fowler, PM Duty)
Thursday - O Group on Duty (D. Major-Murphy, PM Duty)
Friday - M. Group on Duty (I. Odom, PM Duty)
Tasks to Complete This Week!
Tasks to Complete This Week!
1. Impose your will this week. Teach like a champion every period, every day!
2. Identify students with academic deficits and develop and implement a plan for improvement.
3. Continue Facilitating MAP Testing and Make-Up Testing
4. Attend After School Department Meetings Tuesday.
5. Complete required surveys (EL Mid-Year Review, Technology, and Crew Progress)
6. Incorporate at least one of the Global Themes into your classroom activities, lessons, etc.
7. Everyone report to duty as scheduled. See roster here.
8. Read the Monday Message in its entirety (including the articles linked and inserted). Also view the video clips, reflect, and adjust your practices where needed.
January Staff Birthdays
Windy Jones, January 2nd
Ashley Evans, January 3rd
Scott Thur, January 6th
Diane Falsetti, January 9th
I’esha Odom, January 13th
Carla DuPre, January 19th
Laurie Dobbe, January 20th
Vernon Sava, January 22nd
Brian Wheeler, January 27th
Danielle Major-Murphy, January 27th
Bryan Winfree, January 28th
Antionette Langley, January 28th
Frances Counts, January 28th
Anna, Macmurphy, January 31st
Please join me in wishing these amazing IMS staff members Buon compleanno (Happy Birthday in Italian)!
1. Brian Wheeler - In a routine fashion, Mr. Wheeler goes above and beyond every day to supervise our students. I received a complimenting email from a staff member letting me know that each and every morning, Mr. Wheeler is always on duty in the cafeteria helping supervise students. He is visible and interacts with students to ensure they are adhering to our expectations. iAM so proud of Mr. Wheeler for his dedication and supervision of our students. Please join me in recognizing Mr. Wheeler for going above and beyond for our students. Let's give him a huge iAM shout out.
2. Joe Cioffi - This past week, Mr. Cioffi facilitated a very important parent meeting for the parents of students going on the NYC trip. He went to great lengths to notify parents, send our reminders, prepare materials, answer questions, arrange a video conference call with representatives from explorica and follow up with parents who still have lingering questions and concerns. iAM so proud of Mr. Cioffi for the planning, coordination, and facilitation of our NYC trip meetings. Please join me in recognizing Mr. Cioffi for his continued pursuit of excellence for IMS. Let's give Mr. Cioffi a huge iAM shout out.
3. Magnet Recruitment Team, Faculty and Staff Members - Last Thursday, our Magnet Recruitment Team continued recruiting prospective students and families for next school year. Our goal is to have 120 sixth graders and add a minimum of 20 additional seventh and eighth grade students next school year. Recruitment Team members are Danielle Major-Murphy, Glenn Hutto, Irma Richardson, Jennifer Cook, Johnny Cooley, Kelly Thacker, Richard Schedler, Rui Zhao, Ryan Crothers, Sheila Inabinet, and Vernon Sava. We also had several sixth grade students recruiting as well. They are Sydney Rhue, Izzy Fields, Abby Curran, Victoria Davis, Lee Kingsmore, Zoe Lyles, and Garrett Lewis. Finally we had hosts of staff members from the Guidance Department, 6th Grade Team, 7th Grade Teams, World Languages Team, Exploratory Team Members, Fine Arts Team, and teachers running Crew's for students and parents. The iAM recruitment team created quite the buzz in explaining our theme, framework, learning experiences, and opportunities for students. iAM so proud of them for representing our school in a distinctive fashion. Please join me in recognizing our Magnet Recruitment Team for pushing for new results. Let's give them a huge iAM shout out.
4. Rodney Paige - This past week, I was at an off-campus event when I was approached by a community member. They wanted a few moments of my time to brag on one of our employees. She went on to say how much she appreciated Mr. Paige's professionalism and the degree in which he makes sure everyone has what they need from our school. She said Mr. Paige is so nice and generous and will help out in any manner needed. Way to go Mr. Paige. iAM so proud of him for representing our school in a distinctive fashion. Please join me in recognizing Mr. Paige for continued pursuit of excellence and the outstanding representation of our school. Let's give Mr. Paige a huge iAM shout out.
5. Cynthia O'Reilly - In preparation for the iAM Information Expedition, Ms. O'Reilly accepted the challenge of creating our own design principle artistic rendering. She formulated a series of lessons, collected student work and compiled the best selections and presented to us for review. In addition, one of her students went above and beyond and created all ten design principles that we used in Thursday's presentation. Way to go Ms. O'Reilly. iAM so proud of her for always doing whatever is asked to make our school shine. Please join me in recognizing Ms. O'Reilly for embracing new thinking and new practices to continue getting new and improved results in Art. Let's give Ms. O'reilly a huge iAM shout out.
Staff Attendance - This was a really good week for staff attendance. I am always asking everyone to do everything possible to be here for our students. This week, I am merely saying thank you for doing just that and so much more. Our students are so fortunate to have so many caring adults who sacrifice so much for them. Thank You
Survey Reminders - This week, we need to facilitate the completion of some mid-year surveys (EL Mid-Year Review, Technology, and Crew Progress). These surveys allow us to collect valuable data in order to make decisions as we move forward. We will not have team meetings or Crew lesson meetings to give everyone enough time to complete these surveys. We will email the surveys to everyone Monday.
Teacher and Support Staff Person of the Year - The time has come once again for us to select the Teacher and Support Staff Persons of the Year for Irmo Middle School. The committee has begun the work of formulating the ballot and establishing the IMS timeline for facilitating this process. In the coming days, you will receive an electronic ballot via email for you to cast your vote. I am asking that when you get the ballot, immediately cast your ballot so our process is not held up. I want all teachers and staff members to participate in the voting process. To prepare accordingly, please take a look at the video below created by the D5 Teacher Forum.
Testing Dates - We have received the standardized testing dates for the spring.
- SC Ready will be administered April 26 (ELA 1), 27 (ELA 2), and 28 (Mathematics). 6th Grade will administer their tests using the online pilot on these dates. Make-up exams for SC Ready will be administered April 29-May 6.
- SCPASS will be administered May 11 (Science) and 12 (Social Studies). 6th Grade will administer their tests using the online pilot on these dates. Make up exams will May 13-19.
- EOC Exams will be on the following dates: Eng 1(H) - May 16, 17, Alg 1 (H) - May 18, 19, Geometry (H) - May 20
- Here is a testing update from the Data Recognition Corporation - https://drive.google.com/a/lex5.k12.sc.us/file/d/0B2vYS5girRPxa0NyOHRvOEVOWnpLbzZMZVp2U3VlNnBMYlJR/view?usp=sharing
- Finally, here are the calculator policies for SC Ready and SC PASS. Click the links for information. Discuss with your peers and begin preparations.
Closing Thoughts
Our closing thoughts this week are centered on the two-part video shared with you that I absolutely want everyone to view and consider showing to your classes. This young man's story is so powerful. He speaks so eloquently and passionately about having a bigger purpose for your life, overcoming obstacles, finishing what you start, and giving everyone the best version of who you are.
As I watched both clips, my eyes filled with water and my heart with emotion. I want so badly for our school to eclipse greatness by every measure. I have learned that no matter how badly I want this, I cannot do it by myself. I need the best version of each of you. I am willing to work harder than anyone to lead with vision, service, compassion, drive, and determination, instructional leadership, and management. I don't believe in quitting. I believe in staring adversity in the eye and working tirelessy to overcome the obstacles in front of me. Here are 10 reasons that we must never give up and keep striving for the greatness that is in store for IMS!
REASON 1: You have already started. There is no need in stopping half way. I am sure stopping half way would not bring back all the time you have invested in ensuring that you achieve your goals and aspirations.
REASON 2: You are almost there. Most times, problems don't come until you are almost there. Remember, one painful thing about life is not achieving something you knew you could achieve, something that was almost within your reach.
REASON 3: You are stronger than your current problems. Even your problems are not there to intimidate you but to challenge you to get better and move higher. Your current problem that looks like your number one enemy is actually your friend in disguise, always trying to ensure that you bring out the very best in yourself.
REASON 4: You believed you could do it in the first place, that was why you started. You believed you could achieve it, which was why you put all your effort together to start it. Why have you decided to betray this strong belief you had in yourself?
REASON 5: You have realized the benefits you will get when you complete this project/plan/mission of yours. Don't you want them?
REASON 6: Every problem of yesterday is the success story of today. I am sure you want to congratulate kids when you see their scores above the line or them transform into model citizens. It may take years, but one day you will get a letter from a student saying Thank You! Ask Mrs. Jensen.
REASON 7: The problem you are facing now is what will give you the experience you need when you get to the next level. People that learned from their problems are able to cope better when they get to the next phase of their life.
REASON 8: The problem and your promotion are directly proportional. The bigger your problem, the bigger your promotion. The more you run from your problem, the more you lower your promotion. So it's up to you to decide now. Be wise.
REASON 9: You were probably tired of your previous position, title or state, which was why you tried something new. Are you willing to go back to your previous position?
REASON 10: You have a Big TEAM that is always ready to support you. We are Crew, not Passengers. Our goal is to make sure everyone at IMS is successful. Sometimes that means accepting feedback and direction that is uncomfortable. Know that it comes from a sweet spot of care, compassion, love, and support. So you have no reason to allow your problems to subdue you.
Let's continue our collective relentless pursuit of greatness. Have an amazing week!
Robert S. Jackson, Ed.S., Principal