Hawk Herald
News and Notes for Teachers- November 20
Dear Staff
We have a short full week before Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all that you do for our students. It is a pleasure to work with such a dedicated hardworking group. We have a lot of meetings this week and a potluck on Tuesday. Hope you have a wonderful restful Thanksgiving with family and friends.
Mary
Quarter data
ELL subgroup-
Math- 17 Ds and Fs out of 107 students
LA-17 Ds and Fs out of 107 students
SPED subgroup
Math-12 Ds and Fs out of 123 students
LA-9 Ds and Fs out of 123 students
PLCs-Wed
Potluck-Tuesday
Department of Justice Visit
“For three days during the last week of November, representatives of the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be visiting our School District. The purpose is to take a look at how and what we have been doing to deal with the various forms of inappropriate discrimination and related behaviors. The DOJ and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), acting through the Department of Education (DOE) have focused their interest on these issues and have taken steps to verify compliance with what is required by law. The goal is to assist schools in achieving compliance and at the same time making them the best place to learn.
The DOJ representatives will be visiting specific schools and interviewing a cross section of those employed by the School District. If you are selected to be interviewed, there is nothing to fear, as no one has been singled out as having violated any of the rules. These interviews are a part of their information gathering process. Before such an interview takes place, you will have the opportunity to meet with a representative of the School District, be provided with information about what to expect during the interview and be accompanied during that interview. The School District is committed to cooperating as fully as possible with this information gathering process.”
Leah McCarthy
Risk Manager
Hillsboro School District
503-844-1765
Meetings and Events
Monday-20
- Dual Language 8:00
- ELD meeting 1:30
- AVID Site Team meeting 3:30
Tuesday-21
- Potluck
- Team Meetings-Cooperhawks and Red-tails Pod 4(Counselors)
Wednesday-22 Assembly schedule https://docs.google.com/a/hsd.k12.or.us/document/d/1pxjNm35msRMlMLYO6Xhsz_j-8sqGHo-2nVjr5DvpcS8/edit?usp=sharing
- PD for LSC 8:00
- PLCs
- Attendance 10:10
- Science Planning 11:30
- Canned Food Drive Assembly 2:30
Thursday-23 Thanksgiving
Friday-24 No School
Data for First Quarter: Ds and Fs
Math
7th gradeTotal - 30( 10 from ELL subgroup and 5 from SPED)
8th grade
Total-23 ( 7 from ELL subgroup and 4 from SPED)
LA
7th grade
Total-27( 11 from ELL subgroup and 7 from SPED)
8th grade
Total- 17 (6 from ELL subgroup and 5 from SPED)
Printing
It costs 3 cents a copy + the cost of paper to print from our copy machine.
It costs 2 cents and no cost for the paper to print from print shop.
We need to use the print shop more and make fewer copies if possible.
Set a goal for your department. I will be communicating your costs in the next few days so you have an idea of how much you have spent.
Extended Contract
Trainings
Arguing Is a Good Thing – As Long As It’s Civil
In this New York Times article, Adam Grant (University of Pennsylvania) says that if children aren’t exposed to disagreement and arguments, it will end up limiting their creativity as adults. “The skill to get hot without getting mad – to have a good argument that doesn’t become personal – is critical to life,” says Grant. “But it’s one that few parents teach to their children. We want to give kids a stable home, so we stop siblings from quarreling and we have our own arguments behind closed doors… Witnessing arguments – and participating in them – helps us grow a thicker skin. We develop the will to fight uphill battles and the skill to win those battles, and the resilience to lose a battle today without losing our resolve tomorrow.”
It turns out that many highly creative people grew up in families in which robust debates took place all the time – friction about values, politics, interests, how to raise children. Wilbur and Orville Wright came from such a family, and as they worked on building their airplane, they squabbled incessantly (one of their longest debates was about the shape of the propeller). “I don’t think they really got mad,” observed their mechanic, “but they sure got awfully hot.” Other examples of adult conflict producing results: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony disagreed about how to win women’s suffrage; Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak butted heads about how to design the first Apple computer; the Beatles fought over instruments, lyrics, and melodies.
“Disagreement is the antidote to groupthink,” says Grant. “We’re at our most imaginative when we’re out of synch.” He contends that it’s a mistake to conduct brainstorming with a no-judgments rule; instead, people should be encouraged to generate as many ideas as possible and argue about them during the process. One study showed that brainstorming groups generate 16 percent more ideas when members are encouraged to criticize one another. The same has been shown to be true in American hospital teams, Chinese technology companies, and microbiology labs.
What are the implications for parents and teachers? “Children need to learn the value of thoughtful disagreement,” says Grant. They should see adults arguing in a mutually respectful, emotionally safe manner. Kids might be taught that to remain silent when they disagree with someone is actually disrespectful of the other person’s ability to have a civil argument – and dismissive of one’s own viewpoint and voice. “It’s a sign of respect to care enough about someone’s opinion that you’re willing to challenge it,” Grant says. He suggests the following ground rules for arguments:
- Frame them as debates, not conflicts.
- Argue as if you’re right, but listen as if you’re wrong.
- Make the most respectful interpretation of the other person’s perspective.
- Acknowledge where you agree with your critics and what you’ve learned from them.
“Good arguments are wobbly,” Grant concludes: “A team or family might rock back and forth but it never tips over. If kids don’t learn to wobble, they never learn to walk; they end up standing still.”
South Meadows Middle School
Email: mendezm@hsd.k12.or.us
Website: http://schools.hsd.k12.or.us/southmeadows
Location: 4690 Southeast Davis Road, Hillsboro, OR, United States
Phone: 503-844-1220
Facebook: facebook.com/SouthMeadowsMiddleSchool