BAMS Staff Newsletter
April 3, 2016 - Volume 3, Issue 27
Be Awesome Today!!
Bessie Allen Middle School - SLO & Goals
Building SLO:
By June of 2016, 80% of students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will show growth in their opinion writing rubric score from the September 2015 opinion writing rubric score.
***Mid-Year Update: 62% of our students are showing growth. Grade levels noted that students have shown improvement in "citing and using evidence" in their writing. "Knowing the audience" was a skill that the data showed our students needed improvement in.***
Building Goals:
- Have Patience and Courage
- Purposefully Use Learning Targets/Lesson Goals for Every Lesson
- Have Solution Based Discussions
- Be an Award Winning School - DPI School of Recognition/PBIS School of Merit
Driving Question for 2015-2016:
What have we changed with our instruction to prepare all our students for higher level thinking opportunities?
News and Notes
- End of the Year - Thank you for all of your efforts this school year!! Like every school year, we have so much to complete and accomplish in the last 2 months. Please pace your self!! I am confident in us. Also, look for opportunity to encourage each other as we make our final push of the school year.
- We have 2 student teachers joining our Bessie Allen Family for 4th quarter. Luke Gajewski is working with Mikki Detert and Amber Freismuth is working with Connie Gross. Both of these students are from UWO. Luke started last week and Amber's first day will be tomorrow.
- Staffing Update - We are interviewing for our open PE/Health position on Wednesday. We have 6 candidates coming in. I'm hopeful that there will be a candidate that is a good fit for our students and staff. I will let you know when I am ready to make a recommendation to the School Board. We have not posted for our open 6th grade position. I will have more information about this opening soon.
- Attendance Reminder - Thank you for helping to keep our students safe by taking accurate attendance. Brenda is working very hard to stay on top of this, too. She is doing a great job making sure we know where are students are. Please keep it up!!! I will let you know individually if there are any concerns with taking attendance for your classes.
- Director of Teaching and Learning - Please know that on the side I have been working on a few tasks for my new role for next school year. Any of this work has been extra time that I am putting in and has not taken away from my role as building principal at Bessie Allen. We have some big goals to achieve in our last 2 months of the school year and my focus is on helping us accomplish these goals.
- Wisconsin Forward Exam Schedule - The School Improvement Team is putting the final touches on our testing schedule for me to approve. We want to get that out to everyone ASAP. We all know scheduling can be process, thank you for your patience and understanding. We will have a schedule that is best for our students.
- 2 Staff Meetings - Pick one - Please attend that staff meeting on April 5th or April 11th at 2:50pm. The same material will be presented at these meetings. This time will be devoted to proctor training for the Wisconsin Forward Exam.
- We will be postponing our STAR Math and Reading windows until May. This will open up April for WFE testing and, more importantly, this will allow for more reliable data because it will be closer to the end of the school year. Our STAR data is used to make decisions about placements and learning for next year. It's important that we are not using old data. Once new STAR dates are determined those dates will be sent out.
Out of the Office
- April 5 - Admin Meeting, 10-11am, DMR
- April 6 - Oriole Way Meeting, 7-8am, Team Room
- April 6 - District EL Meeting, 8-9am, Cafe
- April 7 - Learning and Assessment Meeting, all day, CESA 6
- April 12 - Admin Meeting, 9-11am, DMR
- April 13 - BCT Meeting, 8:30-10am, Team Room
Oriole Way - Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe
Minor Behavior form link - here
Major Behavior form link - here
- Thank you for all of your support during our school celebration. I heard many positive things from our students. It's great to have moments like this with our students.
- Thank you for contacting the office when a student is sent to the office. This helps us to know what our role should be and how we can support the child.
Next Meeting - April 6th, 7am - Team Room
OASYS and Teacher Effectiveness
To Do List
- Complete Documentation Log - Due by May 1st
- Make 2 Professional Visits to Another Classroom - Due by End of Year
Click Here for a link to Teacher Effectiveness Info from CESA 6
Click Here for a Teacher Effectiveness Calendar for EDUCATORS/SPECIALISTS
Dates to Remember
April 5 - Staff Meeting 2:50-3:30pm *pick one
April 11 - Staff Meeting 2:50-3:30pm *pick one
April 15 - 8th Grade Field Trip, College Exploration Day, 8:20-2:30
April 19 - Band Clinic, Concert Band, Theisen MS, 12:30-2:30
April 20 - Staff Meeting 2:50-3:30pm
April 25 - School Board Meeting 7pm
April 27 - Secretaries Day
April 27 - Jazz Band Chili Supper 6pm
April 28 - Jazz Band Performance 8:30am - BAMS Cafeteria
April 29 - District Inservice - no students
*See Google Doc titled "2015-2016 BAMS Yearly Calendar" for a look at events for the entire year.
Highlights from March 21st School Board Meeting
- Winter Athlete Recognition - The all-conference basketball players and wrestlers were acknowledged. We had 9 student-athletes receive this honor for the winter.
- Aaron gave an update on our facility plan for improving our district buildings and grounds.
- Aaron gave an update on the Oriole Nation Booster Club.
Next Meeting: April 25th, 2016 at 7pm