ML Staff Bulletin
Every student learning, growing, succeeding.
News and Updates
SLO/PPG Mid Year Meetings
We look forward to meeting with you and celebrating your progress on your SLO/PPG (all teachers). Please reach out to Donna to schedule mid year meetings no later than Wednesday, January 9th. SLOs/PPGs are due January 31st so please make sure to plan to meet by then. *For those on Summary Year, please plan on 30 minute meetings. For those on Supporting Year, please plan on 15 minute meetings (or more if you wish).
For those on Supporting Year, please remember to have 1 of your 2 Peer Observations complete by January 31st. If you are looking to observe someone who is strong in an HLP, a Danielson component, or any other area you are looking to grow in, please reach out so we can help connect you with someone to observe.
iReady Winter Reports
If you have not yet done so already, similar to Star reports, please send home winter iReady results if you are a literacy or math teacher. Thank you!
Stoplight Report from Rounding
Thank you for taking time to let us round with you. See the Stoplight Report here. Please also remember to reach out ANY TIME you have a question, concern, or ideas. We are highly focused on continuous improvement and are eager for your feedback at any time so we can better serve you and your students' needs.
Coverage at ML
If you find yourself needing coverage, please do not reach out to Kong. If you need coverage for a period, you can ask ML colleagues. If an emergency comes up, please reach out to Rachel/Chad and Mary. Thank you!
Homeroom Schedule
Just an FYI that based on feedback, the Homeroom Schedule for PBIS Cool Tools, Student Council, and any other Student Info will now take place on Mondays, not Fridays. So, if you are a homeroom teacher, please plan to set aside homeroom on Mondays to follow the schedule linked here. This schedule is expected to be followed so that all students are on the same page. If something comes up and you miss one, please prioritize it that same week.
Submit for Substitute by 6:30am
Just a reminder to submit for a substitute teacher in AESOP no later than 6:30am. Sub requests are extremely hard to fill in the AM, but they do not get filled when submitted later than 6:30am. If you are on your way to school or find yourself unable to work after 6:30am, please remember to email Mary Amaya, Rachel Rydzewski, Chad Krupar, as well as call Rachel at (608) 628-8546. Many of our sub shortages are due to unfilled sub positions put in the morning of illness.
Learning Lounges
Please remember to keep the learning lounges looking good. Please have the conversation during your next grade level meeting to address how you will keep the lounge orderly and presentable. Please wipe down dry erase boards weekly and keep an orderly Lost and Found that gets donated regularly.
PLC on Staff Calendar
Please make sure to let Donna know (if you have not yet) by the end of the day on Monday, Jan. 7th when your PLC meets and where it meets. Thank you!
Steve Czech, Our WebMaster and Tech Support Specialist
For those of you who don't know, Steve supports staff at both Muskego Lakes and Bay Lane Elementary. He splits his time between both schools, so he is here two-three days a week depending on the needs of the buildings. That being said, he generally is at ML on Tuesday and Thursdays from 7:00am-3:00pm. If you need support, please always submit a Help Desk and if it is urgent, he will do his best to support even on days when he is not here. His office is now off of the library.
Copy Code Info
As a reminder, each staff member will need to know his/her personal copy/print code by Tuesday, Jan 8, as the temporary code (1234) will be going away. Note that you will need your code to be able to print and/or copy everything. Have questions? Please reference this document where many questions have already been answered, or add your own.
Custodial Requests
Please use the Help Desk system for any custodial requests.
ATI Voluntary Screening for your Wellness
ATI is coming to MLMS on January 15th from 7-9am in the Student Services Conference Room. See the flyer for more information if interested and look for a sign up to follow from Julie Kelly.
Consider Voting on Date for Spring PT Conferences
See the link here if you wish to provide input on the date for PT Conferences. Please vote by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 8th.
Find, Scale, & Celebrate Student Strengths, Interests, and Learning Styles
Why Learner Profiles?
Remember that a team designed the learner profiles so that students know we are aware of and care about who they are and how they learn. If a student is not progressing or if you are not connecting with a student, check out his/her profile. There is so much to learn about each student, and the self-awareness the profile brings to our students should empower them within our school.
Please note that instead of a designated Cool Tool, homeroom on January 14th will be focused on students returning to their Learner Profiles. Students will need their iReady data accessible that day in homeroom. If students miss homeroom that day, please follow up with them as their homeroom teacher to make sure they update their profile with:
- Reflections on any changes from when they filled out the profile in the fall
- Fall and Winter iReady data
- Add any adults they have a connection with
- Update who they sit with at lunch
- Students can add any relevant information about themselves as learners. Feel free to add anything to the profile that your grade level wants to know about students.
- Add a habit goals for second semester
- Add an image of themselves
As we make positive phone calls home with students, we ask students to bring up their profiles. We will follow up with homeroom teachers of students whose profiles are incomplete (after Jan 14th).
Commit to Tier 1 Interventions to Close Skills Gaps
iReady Winter Results
Within your teaching team (5th & 6th) or grade level team (7th & 8th) in January, please share out iReady results. Many of you have celebrations to share with your colleagues regarding the growth students are experiencing. Just imagine how much more students can grow this semester!! With your team, consider reviewing and planning around:
- Students not making progress in reading or math to elicit the problem solving of the team
- Students who may need additional challenges to continue growing at an accelerated pace
- Reaching out to encore teachers about students who may be disconnected and/or not engaged so they can support students in an area of strength/passion
- How you can more strategically use iReady Online Learning to build confidence and close gaps
Contribute to Highly Effective PLCs
Defining PLCs at MLMS
If you recall, we have reset a common definition of PLCs at MLMS as "weekly cycles of inquiry resulting in collective action to ensure students close skill gaps."
PLC Barriers
As we continue to check in with PLCs to learn how we can support, some common patterns have come up that may be getting in the way. Some of the barriers are below:
- If someone from your PLC is not present at school the day of PLC (ill, conference, release day, etc), please be proactive to reschedule your PLC time that week.
- Please also remember that every PLC is expected to actively use their agendas to stay on track.
- Donna Rokvic should have your PLC weekly location/time on the Staff Calendar. If she does not, please make sure you send her that information by the end of the day on Monday, January 7th.
- Be a contributor to your PLC. Take note if you are asking for another member to share resources and yet you might not be contributing your own to the PLC. Be mindful that everyone is sharing the air time and contributing resources.
- Don't stay stuck. Seek out resources, consult a coach, check with another PLC, connect with Lake Denoon, do something when you hit a wall.
- Learn from one another, which means making your results public. If you have a class that is making huge gains, talk about it. If you have struggling students who are not growing, talk about it. The goal of the PLC is to share collective expertise which requires vulnerability. Be brave.
PBIS Updates
Entering Office Referrals into IC
To help categorize behaviors when entering into IC, there are definitions in your PBIS binder, as well as linked in the PBIS Resources. Please make sure to review these definitions when selecting a referral category. Please also remember to only include objective, factual information (ie no tone, no opinions, no characterization of student, etc).
Expectations when Students Leave Class
Please remember that the following are school-wide expectations to be followed by every single adult in the building. Please be consistent so that students know the norm.
Use their assignment notebook to leave class for personal reasons every time (ie. locker, drink, bathroom). The only exception is ff you are sending a student somewhere, such as the library to check out a book or go to student services. In this case, a pass may be written in the planner right next to that day instead of in the front where they have only a certain amount of passes for the quarter. *If anyone sees a student in the hallway without an assignment notebook, please send him/her back to retrieve it.
Sign out on a sign out sheet in your room. Students are required to sign the sign out sheet before leaving your room. This is critical for safety reasons. Grab your sign out sheet for any emergency situations (including drills) so we know who is not with you and where they went.
In order to get them in the habit, students will be sent back to class if they do not have their assignment notebook in the hallway. Please begin flooding kids with red tickets for meeting the expectations for leaving class. Remember, any time out of the classroom is not ideal.
Releasing Students On Time
Please remember to make sure to keep track of time and release students at the bell. Refrain from holding a student back at the end of a class period for more than a couple of minutes. When students arrive late to their next class, they miss the important information that has already been shared.
Restoration Plan Brush-Up
As we get closer to the end of the Quarter, students will be coming to you with Restoration Plans. Here are a few things to remember about the process in case they have questions:
- Students should complete their plan(s) with the adult from whom they received the infraction.
- Students should come to you to create a plan & receive your approval it before they get started.
- Students should return back to you after the Restoration Plan form is complete for your signature approving that the plan was complete.
- All plans are due January 24th by 3:10 pm.
Students are only on Honor Level 2 or 3 if they receive the weekly email from me. No email indicates a status of Honor Level 1.
High Leverage Practices at ML
Celebrations from December HLP Walk Throughs:
Thank you again to the participants, both observers and observed, for participating in December HLP classroom visits. You can see that voice and choice are a strength at MLMS and an area we are hoping to grow is interactive note-taking.
One student stated that he chose two activities from his learning pathway that he WAS NOT good at because he had already mastered most of the material and wanted to challenge himself to grow skills that were not his strengths
Kids were highly engaged and could easily explain what they were working on
Voice and choice made a potentially less exciting topic much more engaging
Important Dates
Friday, January 4th - John Geers Birthday
Monday, January 7th: Science Club, Coding Club
Tuesday, January 8th - PL Cohort Release Day, Student Course Registration opens, 6th gr. Dollar & Sense to Kohl's Education Center 8:15-2:15, Ski Club, Yearbook Club,
Wednesday, January 9th - PBIS Tier 2 Training All Day, Battle of the Books Club, Wrestling Meet,
Thursday, January 10th - Staff Meeting at 7:20am, InPro Tour at 1:30pm, 8th Grade MHS Orientation at MHS 6-8:00PM, Fun Club Tour de Muskego at Romey's
Saturday, January 12th - Sarah Milton’s Birthday, Open Gym,
Monday, January 14th: Science Club, Coding Club, Student Council
Tuesday, January 15th - ML Chocolate & Chat 6pm, Ski Club, Yearbook Club, Volleyball Meeting, Michele Wintheiser Birthday, ATI Screenings 7-9am
Wednesday, January 16th - MHS Counselors working with 8th graders at MLMS, MHS Course Information Night at MHS, Boys 7th & 8th Basketball SE Conference Games, Battle of the Books Club, Wrestling Meet,
Thursday, January 17th - Choir Dress Rehearsals, Boys 7th & 8th Basketball SE Conference Games, Choir Concert 7-9:00PM
Friday, January 18th: PBIS Tier One Team Meeting
Saturday, January 19th: Open Gym
Monday, January 21st - Coding Club, Science Club, Volleyball Tryouts, iReady Parent Night 5pm, PTO Mtg 6pm, Mary Amaya & Stacey Malek Birthdays
Tuesday, January 22nd - Generations Club, Ski Club
Wednesday, January 23rd - Battle of the Books, Joel Snavely Birthday
Thursday, January 24th - Artis Bradley Birthday
Friday, January 25th - Fun Club Mtg, Professional Development Day (No students), Fun Club Tour de Muskego at Danny Haskell's
Saturday, January 26th- Open Gym
Monday, January 28th- Science Club, Coding Club, Student Council
Tuesday, January 29th - Generation Club (pm), Ski Club
Wednesday, January 30th - Winter Athletic Pictures (Wrestling, Boys Basketball, Volleyball), Battle of the Books,