Twin Peaks Middle School
Home of the Rams
A Message from the Principal...
Dear friends,
Welcome to the last week of the first quarter. As I write this message from my office on a Friday evening, I want to pause to acknowledge the hard work and effort each of you invests into making Twin Peaks such a special place for our students. I know it is not easy and this year in particular finds many of us being stretched and challenged in ways we have not previously experienced...myself included. For some of us it's the challenge of implementing the SAI pilot, for others it's disrespectful students who don't appear to want to learn, for others it's stuff going on in our personal lives. For some of us, it's all three.
Here's what I know...there is no magic wand that is going to change everything overnight. There is no silver bullet. At the end of the day, all we have is each other and we need to continue to find ways to support one another...colleague to colleague...working alongside one another day in and day out. We need to remember to laugh. We need to remember to breathe. And finally, we need to remember to take time to celebrate our successes. I assure you there are many. We are one of the strongest and most talented staffs in all of Poway Unified. That is not just my opinion. I hear it all the time from people at the district office and from our parent community. By and large, we really are well-respected and loved.
I may not have all the answers, but I want you to know that I am one proud principal and I am committed to supporting each and every one of you as you work to shape this crop of students. I love Team Twin Peaks and I will forever hold onto my Ram pride.
Before I let you go, I want to share with you a video that the PUSD middle school principals, together with our District Office and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), have created to kick off our No Place for Hate work for the 2019-2020 school year. Together we share the same message: hate is not welcome at our schools. The video will be shared with families via social media and weekly newsletters, and with students via TPMStv.
Have a great week!
Kelly
EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT
October
Maria Paredes: October 2nd
Coach Spy: October 8th
Kodi Keller: October 9th
Charlene Ellington: October 15th
Megan Fenwick: October 25th
Emily Parker: October 25th
Amie Butman: October 25th
Rachel Singer-Gallouzi: October 31st
Upcoming Events & Activities - October 21st - November 1st
Monday, October 21st
- Red Ribbon Week-Crazy Sock Day
Tuesday, October 22nd
- Backwards Day
- Joint Team Meeting, 7:30-8:15am, PCR
Wednesday, October 23rd
- Sports Day
- Suicide Prevention Presentations, PE classes, MPR
- Optional 7th grade team meeting with Kelly, 8:00 a.m., Room 307,
Thursday, October 24th
- Hawaiian Day
- Professional Time, 8-9am, Ram Way
- Band Concert, 8:45-9:15am, Quad
- Suicide Prevention Presentations, TBA, MPR
Friday, October 25th
- Wear red today!
- End of 1st quarter
Monday, October 28th
- Non-Student Day
Tuesday, October 29th
- Step It Up Kids Day of Awesomeness
Wednesday, October 30th
- Science O Meeting, 12-1:30pm, MPR
Thursday, October 31st
- Professional Time, 8-9am, D
- TPMS Band Performance, 12-1:30pm, Quad
- WEB Lunchtime Activity
Friday, November 1st
- PJammin For Cancer Day
SAI Coffee Talk
We hope you'll consider joining us for our first ever TPMS SAI Coffee Talk on October 31st during the morning collaboration time in the library. We'll bring the TREATS and we hope you'll bring a success to share and any challenges you are experiencing, so we can troubleshoot and identify the steps we need to improve. Click here for your invite!
If you're not an "official" SAI staff member, you are welcome, too! We know each and every staff member on this campus is working to improve the experience of ALL students and each of us have students in our spaces who need more support, scaffolds, and care.
Looking forward to seeing and learning with you soon.
Megan & Nancy
TEAM RAM KUDOS & NEWS
I and O Team Minutes
Please click here for the O Team minutes from 10/15/19.
SAI Monthly Professional Learning Opportunity
This October 30th, we have the opportunity to send a team to learn more about Universal Design Learning.
Who should attend:
Teachers who are new or just beginning to explore Universal Design for Learning. Co-teaching partners who attended the fall session can also expand their lesson co-planning work during this session. IAs who work in general education classrooms, as 1:1s, and are supporting teachers with scaffolding materials.
Learning Outcomes:
Understand the three principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Identify strategies for incorporating UDL into instructional design
Understand how co-teaching models could be used to support implementation of UDL in the classroom
Utilize the UDL principles to re-design a lesson and assessment to increase students’ access, engagement, and achievement
If you are interested in this all day training, please let Shaylene know. We have 5 openings left.
Focus Teaching Stratefy: The Protege Effect
2019-20 Progress Notice & Report Card Timeline
Click Here for the 2019-20 timeline
Game Room for Students
Daily Tweets to Build Community
It's GREAT to be a RAM!
Twin Peaks Middle School
Email: chamilton@powayusd.com
Website: http://tpms.powayusd.com/index.html
Phone: 858.748.5131
Twitter: @TwinPeaksRams
SAI Accomplishments
- Able to provide testing accommodations during the same period; scores seem higher
- Socially students are meeting more students, especially those who are 1:1
- Student confidence is growing
- IAs are able to help more students across more classes and can notice students who need help
- General education students trust IAs to help them, which allows all students at the table to have support
- Increased collaboration, including building successful seating charts
- Greater communication
- Improved student behavior in some collab classes
- Increased adult presence reassures students with an "I can do this" attitude
- Rephrasing to support student learning
- Advocating to provide reminders regarding accommodations
- 1:1s share their knowledge of students and strategies
- Students' opinions of IAs has improved when teachers recognize, value, and introduce IAs to class