WBMS Staff Newsletter
Week of Nov 13th-17th
Dates To Remember
Nov 13- Teacher Marketplace in the PLR
Nov 13- Grades Loaded by 4:00
Nov 14- LAST Growth Academy Meeting of the semester
Nov 14- Webster Awards
Nov 14- Blood Drive
Nov 15-17- South Ga Trip
Nov 20-24- Thanksgiving Break
Nov 29- Dec 1- Jr. Beta Trip
Nov 30- NWLC Walkthrough
Nov 30- TKES uploads due
November Meeting Schedule
Fall Final Exam Schedule
Dec 18th - Reading, World Language, and Social Studies
Dec 19th - Math and ELA
Dec 20th - Science and Health
Dec 21st - Staff Breakfast, Fine Arts Assembly
Parties and Potluck
http://bit.ly/wbmsholidayparty17
Date: 12/01/2017 (Fri.) Time: 4:30pm - 7:30pm
Location: Parson's Run Clubhouse- 11250 Wilshire Chase Dr, Alpharetta, GA 30097
Don't forget, it's Potluck and BYOB! *Please note- PLEASE CHOOSE 1 POTLUCK to participate in- either the Holiday Party or Staff Breakfast.
Option 1- Staff Holiday Party- bit.ly/potluckparty17
Option 2- Staff Breakfast- bit.ly/potluckbreakfast17
Teacher of the Year and Professional of the Year Nominations
It is that time of year where we begin the nomination process for our Teacher of the Year and our Professional of the Year. We are going digital for our nominations this year. The links for each nomination can be found below.
All nominations are due by December 1, 2017.
Teacher of the Year finalists will be announced at the Ugly Sweater Holiday Breakfast on December 21, 2017.
Teacher of the Year interviews and observations will take place on January 22, 2018.
· TOTY- http://bit.ly/toty1718
· POTY- http://bit.ly/poty1718
Jovial Jaguar Giving Tree
We love traditions! And a tradition at WBMS is to have a staff Giving Tree to share the holiday cheer with our students in need. This year, we are adjusting to the needs of our families and only gathering gift cards. It’s less stress on you and our families are grateful to be able to choose their own things.
We will still have a tree in the mailroom for you to get a reminder ornament. As always, you can choose a gift card to a grocery store, Super Cuts or other haircut places, Target, Walmart or Kohl’s, or even something fun for the family like Main Event or the movies.
So that we can properly secure the gift cards each night, please give the gift cards directly to Tina Mathewson or another counselor. All gift cards need to be in by Monday, December 11th.
Action Items
- Jag Time - http://bit.ly/JAGTIME
Irma Hours- Log here: bit.ly/irma12hours
Growth Academies for next year- teacher selection- bit.ly/springga18
PLC Survey- (CTL's ony) https://goo.gl/forms/aiJb1KGLe92hQtSK2
Leadership Minutes- Nov 7
Managing our Resources: Reduce, Reuse and Getting Creative
With this in mind, we highly encourage you to help manage our current resources. Please do not print or make copies unless absolutely necessary. Please use technology when available.
Need ideas for digital assessment options? Click Here
Ordering
The only things that are permitted to be order are related to student health and safety - absolutely critical items (toilet paper, soap, etc). And even these items must be approved through the Area Superintendent prior to ordering. This is in effect through the end of this year.
So what does this mean for you:
- No $50 allowance orders can be submitted until further notice.
- No paper or scantrons (very low inventory currently) will be ordered – more info from Admin on how we are going to deal with this forthcoming. Meeting today discuss finals, etc.
- Please do not solicit donations of paper from students at this point. Again, more guidance from Admin is forthcoming.
- No orders of pretty much anything. L
- Please, please, please, pause and think before you copy or print. I hate to have to say that but that is where we are at.
All Student Activity Funds items (field trips, fine arts costs, food for awards, Pathways, clubs, etc) are can proceed as normal.
This is a difficult time and I appreciate your understanding an support. Thanks so much.
Blood Drive
Annual Teacher Market Place for 2017
NWLC Walkthrough
We will have visitors from the NWLC community doing walkthroughs on Nov 30.
Webb Way Wowzers
WOWZERS!
Thank you Stefania for always coming up with very creative ways to engage students with the material – Carolina
Gracias Lorena for sharing your fantastic ideas and being a great PLC partner - Carolina
Shout out to Betsy Hedger for learning a new tool!- Katie Pardee
Webb Way Employees of the Week
Congratulations to Julie Swartz, Marie Fiorentino, and Melissa Haas!
Thank you for support the Webb Way and our students in the areas of Respect*Responsibility*Citizenship!
You have won the Webb Way Employee Parking spots thru Wednesday. The spots are marked with beautiful white signs with blue writing (where the Aps parked).
Enjoy and please continue to recognize our students exhibiting the Webb Way!!
November Birthdays
5 Melanie McCutcheon
6 Lynette Okenica
12 Veronica Okwoche
15 Rocio Rodriguez
17 Meredith Desrosiers
17 Stephanie Turner
19 Anne Ramsey
20 Lisa Beckett
20 Jocelyne Fragnito
22 Leslie Buxbaum
22 Jill Muvdi
30 Caitlin Schmidt
30 Tracy Sicchitano
See a Bug? Report it!
Anonymous Feedback to Ms. Perkins
Send feedback anonymously to Ms. Perkins by following this link: bit.ly/toperkins
Reminders
- Transfer all files to OneDrive
- Remind students to reboot surface while AT school.
Tip #3: Re-Familiarize Yourself with Piaget & Bloom
There are many developmental theorists and it is likely that you encountered many of them during your teacher preparation course work. When it comes to teaching gifted children, take a few moments to review the work of Jean Piaget and Benjamin Bloom. Jean Piaget offers a helpful description of developmental stages as they relate to learning. Gifted students are often in his "formal operations" stage when their peers are still in his "pre-operational" or "concrete operations" stages. When a child is developmentally advanced he/she has different learning abilities and needs. This is where Bloom's Taxonomy can be a particularly useful. Students in the "formal operations" developmental stage need learning experiences at the upper end of Bloom's Taxonomy. Essentially all assignments should offer the student the opportunity to utilize higher level thinking skills like analysis, synthesis and evaluation, as defined by Bloom. Search the Internet to learn more about these two important theorists
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the break!
Work Life Balance
2017-2018 School Year
First Semester
August 1 – 4 ........................................... Preplanning for teachers
August 7......................................................... First Day of School
September 4........................................Labor Day (schools closed)
October 6 ......................................Teacher Workday (students off)
October 9 ......................................Columbus Day (schools closed)
November 20 – 24.............. Thanksgiving Holidays (schools closed)
December 21 ....................................... Last Day of First Semester
December 22 – 29 ...........................Winter Break (schools closed)
Second Semester
January 1 – 3...................................Winter Break (schools closed)
January 4.......................................Teacher Workday (students off)
January 5....................Professional Development Day (students off)
January 8.........................................First Day of Second Semester
January 15..............Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (schools closed)
February 16*................... Student/Teacher Holiday (schools closed)
February 19 ......................President’s Day Holiday (schools closed)
March 9*.......................................Teacher Workday (students off)
March 12....................Professional Development Day (students off)
April 2 – 6 .......................................Spring Break (schools closed)
May 24........................................................... Last Day of School
May 25.................................................................. Post Planning
May 28...............................Memorial Day Holiday (schools closed)
* Designated as inclement weather make-up days (if needed).
Our School Release Days
These are the dates approved through the RFF process as part of School Governance. WBMS students will NOT attend school on the following dates:
September 1, 2017
October 5, 2017
January 16, 2018
March 8, 2018
Community Balance Days 2017-2018
September 20
October 25
February 21
March 21
The idea is that students will go home right after school to create balance in their lives. Staff members and students alike will take a night off. Club sponsors and coaches and directors may hold meetings and practices and games as needed. We feel students release stress through these extracurricular activities.
Please plan to enjoy yourself and work your assessments around these dates this school year.