Badger Bulletin
Working the Willkie Way!
Word of the week....Change!
It's often said that change is the only constant in life. Yet humans are predisposed to resist change because of the risk associated with it. Despite this resistance to change, it is more important than ever. In today's society the pace of change is incredibly fast, and it will only continue to accelerate. Organizations and people that don't embrace change are bound to lose ground and stagnate.
This idea has never been more true than in the field of education. I believe we are in the midst of an educational evolution. The children that enter our schools are wired differently and think differently and we must adapt to their way of thinking and learning. The days of "sit and get" education is no longer relevant. I can promise you will begin to see a change in the way our schools are being designed and I have already seen many of you embrace this understanding in your classrooms.
A paradigm shift is underway and we have a moral imperative to change the way in which we view the education of children. My hope is that you are ready and willing to open you mind, heart, and classroom to the evolution of education.
All Region Choir!
The following students represented Willkie well:
Honor Treble Choir- Audrey Grimes, Katie Stephenson, and Kayla Rivera
Select Treble Choir - Rachel Kellum, Madison Black, and Gracie Knowles
Tenor/Bass Choir - Conner Kaiser and Ethan Wiltgen (Special shout out to Wayside student, Mason Munk, son of our very own Katie Munk who also made the Tenor/Bass Choir)
Outstanding job Mr. Wheatley and Ms.Smith! They could not have gotten to this point without you!
Junior Acheivement Awards Breakfast
JA in a Day Update: IT WAS AWESOME!
A big shout out goes to Mrs. Warden for all the hard work and organization on the Ed Willkie end. This event would not have been as successful as it was without you! Awesome job!
Club Connections
UPDATE: CPR/ Compression Clinic Date Change
If you are new to the campus and have are not currently CPR certified, please make plans to attend this clinic. This is for all staff, not just teachers.
Student Behavior: Everyone has a role to play
I can assure you that there is no place I had rather be than in the hallways and in the classrooms every minute of every day. I can promise you that Mrs. Warden and Mr. Driver feel the same way, but it is simply not possible. We do the best we can and I don't mean to be so direct, but let me be very clear...I can't fix these hallway issues. I can't, but we can.
There is only one way this issue will get any better and I don't know how else to address this except to speak candidly...I need everyone, standing in the middle of the hallway, spread out up and down the hallway, between every period addressing this issue, and prompting students to walk on the right side. This is an expectation and it is the only way to address these concerns.
I want to thank those of you who are consistent in monitoring the hallways. Your help in this matter does not go unnoticed, but the lack of hallway supervision to too pervasive for me to address this concern individually. We are all in this together and we all have a role to play in ensuring our hallways are safe.
It is easy to point fingers and place blame as to why and how we got here, but that doesn't change things. The only way to affect change is to take action. Please, everyone, act on these expectations. Be the change you want to see.
If you have questions or concerns I would like to encourage you to bring them to me.
Thank you.
Edivate is here!
Everyone should have gotten an email with your username and password recently. If you deleted it, not knowing what it was, then go find it inn your deleted file because you will need it. You can find a link in the Employee tab on the district website if you want to explore.
I will be setting up a training very soon to introduce you to Edivate. It's going to be AWESOME!
Instructional Rounds Update: Thank You!
Remember, for those that were able to participate and chose to do so, we have lowered the number of face to face parent conferences required from 5 down to 2 so you can use this Friday 11/11 to gain back some of the time spent learning. Thank you again for your dedication to your craft.
We will continue with future instructional rounds based on the schedule below.
How this works.
On the designated day you are invited to meet in the large conference room during your conference period. You will be assigned a group and your instructional leader will give you brief instructions and you will then go visit classrooms.
Each visit will last about 10 minutes each and you will be collecting data as you look through the lens of a specific rubric.
Once you complete your walk throughs you will return to the conference room and collaborate/calibrate your findings.
The purpose is to see what the student are doing and where it falls on the specific rubric.
Schedule
Wednesday, November 2nd:
· Lens: Rigor-Sellers
· AP Cadre Walks
Wednesday, December 7th:
· Lens: Relevance-Willis
Wednesday, February 15th:
· Lens: Student Engagement-Williams
Wednesday, March 8th:
· Lens: Rigor-Stevens/Walker
Wednesday, April 19:
· Lens: Relevance-Pandit
Shout outs!
This weeks Shout Outs!
- I want to thank everyone who takes the time to recognize one another and send me shout outs. Some weeks I get more than others, and some weeks I don't get any...and that's okay. I don't want it to be forced, I just want to give you a venue to express your gratitude and the great things you see in the people you share your life with at work. That being said, I want to you to know that I have never loved what I do for a living more than I do in this season of my life and it is largely due to you...all of you. I have said it before and I continue to say that I can't do this alone; it is simply impossible. There is no way I can know everything that goes on every day, so I put my trust in you. Thank you for being people of integrity. Thank you for taking care of our kids. Thank you for recognizing children as unique individuals. Thank you for being an amazing you!
- I also need to give a very special shout out two two people who really take care of the daily running of the school, and that is Mr. Driver and Mrs. Warden. If it weren't for Mrs. Warden's exceptional organizational skills, many of the opportunities our students have simply wouldn't come to fruition. And not only has Mr. Driver jumped in feet first, he has brought so many ideas opportunities to the table, it is hard to believe he hasn't always been part of our Willkie family. You are a natural. Thank you both for making me look good and more importantly, for making EWMS an awesome place to be.
The week ahead...
- 3:45 Baby Huddleston's BabyShower
Tuesday November 8, 2016
Wednesday November 9, 2016
- 7:45 AVID Site Team Meeting
- History GVC's w/ Mrs Diffie
- Veteran's Day Breakfast and Assembly
- Celebration Day
- Early Release @12:30
- Parent Conferences
- Central Office Meeting @3:00 in the cafeteria
Past Posts
Donors Choose
More details to come as the district solidifies the process.
Housekeeping Items
Everyone has done a great job at getting your 2nd period attendance in on time, but we still need everyone's help in making sure attendance is taken in every period, every day. I suggest setting an alarm on your phone each period to help remind you.
Sending students to the Counselors
When sending students to the counselor, please call the counselor's secretary, Tracie Sprehe, and let her know you are sending a student. Many time the counselors are visiting with students or parents and can't answer their phone so Tracie will be your point of contact.
Consistency: Stay the course!
It is very important that we stay consistent in everything we do, especially regarding our parent communication. Remember, we need to partner with our parents, particularly when we start seeing patterns of behavior emerge. This goes for dress code violations, tardiness, disruptive behavior, etc. We must keep parents informed and give them a chance to help us change behavior.
Emergency Plan
You also have a role in the event of an emergency so here are some important things you need to know:
- If you see a medical emergency it is important you call the front office. Not the nurses office. The reason for this is the fact that the nurse may not always be in the office, but there should always be someone at the front desk who will then contact the team via radio.
- When you call the office make sure you provide the following information:
Location, student's name, and a brief description as to what's going on.
- In the event of a medical emergency, someone will announce a Code Red. When you hear this you need to do a quick sweep of the hall and pull in any kids you see and then keep all students in the classroom until further notice. That means if the bell rings you still keep them in the classroom.
We will be having AED drills in the near future as we practice in case we do have an actual emergency.
Lesson Plans
- Lesson plans should be in Eduphoria no later than the beginning of school every Monday.
- Lesson plans should follow the template that is in your Willkie Way Binder based on the ICLE model.
- The lessons and activities in your classroom should reflect your lesson plans.
- Each content area/grade level should be planning together to create your upcoming lessons.
Please keep in mind that this correlates to the Planning Domain and the Professional Practices and Responsibilities Domain in TTESS.