Webb Bridge Middle School
Week of August 14th
Dates To Remember
Aug 15- 6:00-7:00pm Parent University- 7th and 8th grade- Device Info
Aug 16- 7:30am SGC Meeting in PLRAug 16- 5:00pm 6th Grade Instrument Fitting Night
Aug 17- 7th and 8th grade Curriculum Night
Aug 21- Solar Eclipse Event- Delayed Release
Aug 22- 6th grade Curriculum Night
Aug 23- Fall Picture Day
Aug 30- 6:00-7:00pm Parent University- 6th grade- Device Info
Aug 31- College Colors Day
Sept 1- Release Day- No school for students
Sept 4- Labor Day Holiday - No school
Sept 7- Last dat 4.5 Weeks
Sept 7- Marigold Meeting
August Meeting Schedule
Solar Eclipse Information
On August 21, 2017, Webb Bridge Middle School will be in the path of a partial solar eclipse. This event is being called “The Great American Solar Eclipse” because it is the first time since 1918 a solar eclipse will be visible on a path across the entire continental United States. Webb Bridge Middle School is planning a viewing opportunity to allow students to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event. Below you will find a letter describing our participation in the event, safety guidelines, and the county permission form:
WBMS Eclipse Communication.docx
ScienceFoundation_eclipse_info.pdf
Science Foundation eclipse info SPANISH.PDF
Solar Eclipse Student Waiver and Release Form.pdf
Solar Eclipse Student Waiver and Release Form SPANISH.PDF
For planning purposes the permission form is due on Wednesday, August 16th. We are asking parents to please print, sign, and send it to school with their student. Students should hand permission forms to their SCIENCE teacher.
Lastly, please encourage your parents to volunteer to help us on August 21st during the Solar Eclipse. They will help chaperone the students as they witness the Eclipse. This event cannot not take place if we don't have a ratio of 1 adult per 8 students, so we really need parent help.
Parents should sign up using this Sign Up Genius Link and should arrive at 1:30 to check in at the front office.
Please remind parents, they must complete Fulton County volunteer training. Information went home in Friday Notes about this.
Device Rollout
If you have a moment, please complete the Plus/Delta form below so that we can refine this process to ensure we provide the best support possible to both students and teachers.
Teacher Websites- Due August 18th
Please click the link below to submit your teacher website link. Please have this done by August 18th. Thanks! Whatever format you choose to use, you should have the following on your website:
- Your picture
- A short bio
- Your course syllabus
- *optional- calendar
Please use the link below to submit your website
Staff Email Signatures
Please be mindful many of our families have multiple students in various grades and schools. To enhance your communication, please add our school name and the grade(s) and subject(s) you teacher to help parents. They don’t know all our names yet!
Proactive Communication
Proactive communication is key! Welcome Letter, Introducing the Unit Emails, Remind, Planbook, etc. goes a long way with parents and helps to keep relationships positive.
Let Rebecca know if you are interested in PlanBook https://www.planbookplus.com/
Get Involved
•Committees – We’d like everyone to participate in at least one committee. Please sign up by August 18th. bit.ly/wbmscommittee
•Clubs and Organizations – We don’t want to assume you want to sponsor the same clubs and organizations you have in the past. The application will be emailed to you. It’s due August 18th.
•A list of all clubs and organizations will be posted on the website after Labor Day.
Please Add These To Your Staff Handbook
Book Study- Aug 29th
See a Bug? Report it!
Anonymous Feedback to Ms. Perkins
Send feedback anonymously to Ms. Perkins by following this link: bit.ly/toperkins
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.
Help Session Schedule
Tuesdays- NO Help Sessions
Wednesdays- Social Studies
Thursdays- Math
Friday- Science
August Birthdays
1 Caroline Kelly
3 Bailey Moran
5 Daria Fernalld
11 Kelly Love
18 Diane Sibrizzi
20 Leslie Nuckolls
22 Tamara Watson
23 Carol Cohen
23 Hamidah Merchant
28 J. B. Bodie
28 Cathy Oravetz
28 Cindy Runzo
28 Juilee Vanhorse
College Colors Day- 8/31
August 31st, we are hosting College Colors Day! Support your favorite college and get ready to kick off football season.
Parent University
In response to feedback, we are hosting Parent Device Nights to help parents assist students with school technology. On this evening, staff members will teach common Surface troubleshooting techniques, common issues students encounter when using their Surface, how to access and work with Edmodo, and how to access and work with OneNote. We ask that interested parents bring their student’s Surface device and log in, so the evening’s learning is hands on. Please note the date for the 6th grade evening has changed:
Tuesday, August 15th – 7th and 8th grade Parent Device Night 6:00 – 7:00
Wednesday, August 30th – 6th grade Parent Device Night 6:00 -7:00
We will be hosting Parent Nights each month on various topics to continue to build strong bridges between school and home.
Have Something To Share?
*If you aren't sure if students have their media permission forms signed, then please take pictures from the back (see example).
Thanks!
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
22 Powerful Closure Activities
By: Todd Finley
What Is Closure?
Closure is the activity that ends a lesson and creates a lasting impression, a phenomenon that Colorado State University professor Rod Lucero calls the recency effect.
Teachers use closure to:
- Check for understanding and inform subsequent instruction
- Emphasize key information
- Tie up loose ends
- Correct misunderstandings
Students find closure helpful for:
- Summarizing, reviewing, and demonstrating their understanding of major points
- Consolidating and internalizing key information
- Linking lesson ideas to a conceptual framework and/or previously-learned knowledge
- Transferring ideas to new situations
Like contracting your bicep at the top of a dumbbell curl, closure squeezes an extra oomph into a lesson.
Click here to finish reading this article and discover 22 Powerful Closure Activities
Why It’s So Hard for Teachers to Take Care of Themselves (and 4 Ways to Start)
By: Jennifer Gonzalez
As a whole, teachers aren’t great about taking care of themselves. You work too many hours, don’t get enough sleep or exercise, eat too many unhealthy foods, and don’t spend enough time doing things that refresh and energize you.
Too many teachers have reached the conclusion that this lifestyle is just part of the job; there simply isn’t enough time to be a good teacher and take care of yourself. Self-care is something you’ll get to over breaks or in the summer, right?
Unfortunately, this is kind of a recipe for disaster. Teaching is consistently recognized as an incredibly high-stress career, which is only compounded by the fact that many of you are not doing things that would help you manage that stress.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Finish reading this article here
Remind students to Install Updates Regularly!
Here is a video to show you how to install your updates: Surface Video
If you prefer written directions you can get those here.
"My Surface Won't Charge""
One of our Device Expectations is for the device to be fully charged everyday students come to school. But what happens when it won't charge? Follow the troubleshooting directions below to walk students through solving this issue.
Shut down the tablet completely. Start Menu - Power - Shut Down. Do not press the power button at the top - it will only put the tablet to sleep. Try a different outlet at home when charging - be sure to use the power brick given to you at deployment. Install updates if possible.
The screen should go completely black. Let it charge for 2 hours minimum. Make sure the charger is completely connected to the Surface.
Try all these steps before bringing to the Media Center.
How to Integrate Tech Without Losing Your Mind
By: Jennifer Gonzalez
"So you’ve decided it’s time to add more technology to your educational repertoire. The process won’t be painless: Technology can be tricky even for the most tech-savvy person, and if you don’t have a good plan, you might give up before you ever really get started. These seven steps will give you a framework for adding more technology to your teaching practice..."
What it Means to Teach Gifted Learners Well
Good curriculum and instruction for gifted learners begins with good curriculum and instruction. It's difficult, if not impossible, to develop the talent of a highly able student with insipid curriculum and instruction. Like all students, gifted learners need learning experiences that are rich. That is, they need learning experiences that are organized by key concepts and principles of a discipline rather than by facts. They need content that is relevant to their lives, activities that cause them to process important ideas at a high level, and products that cause them to grapple with meaningful problems and pose defensible solutions. They need classrooms that are respectful to them, provide both structure and choice, and help them achieve more than they thought they could. These are needs shared by all learners, not just those who are gifted. But good instruction for gifted learners must begin there...
Read the rest of this article published in the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) web site titled "What it Means to Teach Gifted Learners Well" By Carol Ann Tomlinson.