PKMS Update 5.18.2020
A Close Look At How We Did & Will Do Our Work
HELLO, PKMS FAMILY
Together We Are Stronger!
Time is moving along very rapidly - Next week our progress reports will be available - Families, please log into Parent Portal to check how your child is progressing - As you know, the 2019-2020 school year will be coming to a close very quickly - We will be communicating with families regarding Student Belongings Retrieval, Summer Academy, and our Grade 8 Virtual Moving-Up Ceremony - Please click onto the video below:
https://www.peekskillcsd.org/Domain/11
As we move forward, students please be sure to check your email daily and to click onto the Peekskill Middle School's website for our new Digital Learning Portal - Remember students, you must be logged into your Google account to access it - https://sites.google.com/peekskillschools.org/pkms-digital-learning-portal/home
May's SEL theme is Attitudes and Values now more than ever we need this - We cannot give up - we must keep going - To support this work, our weekly quote is:
"Attitude changes EVERYTHING!"
Let's continue to take safety precautions in these challenging times.
Our appreciation continues for your engaging learning environments, dedication, planning, collaboration, assessment of students, focus, and hard work.
Remember, to SMILE (Show My Infectious Lovable Energy) as it is the first thing students, families, and colleagues see.
Let's Keep These Thoughts in Mind:
- Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
- Gladden the heart of a child.
- Always operate from a honest place.
- Give a soft answer.
Happy Birthday Shout-Out To...
Happy Birthday to the following students:
- Ayona L.V.
- Patrick T.
- Elias C.
- Luis G.
- Anahi M.
- Leslie S.
- John T.
- Jeremiah A.
- Jason D.
- Cristian S.
- Stephanie L.
- Mariella A.N.
- Guinevere B.
- Miranda B.
- Honalee M.
- Louis Z.E.
Notes of Gratitude
Thank you, Ms. Naima Smith Moore for training Grade 8 Staff on the High School Recommendations - Thank you to Nancy Wilkowski for the behind-the-scenes work
Thank you, Nancy Wilkowski for assisting us with our grading and percentages
Thank you to dept leaders for this week's articulation
Thank you to Dr. Sobrin for this week's math and science conversations
Thank you Ana, Maria, Patty, and Rebecca for creating a great Congruatluions Card for students accepted in the advanced Spanish classes - very sweet and creative
Thank you to our ELA and ENL departments for creating and translating our summer reading packets - Thank you, Ms.Simon for your supervision
Thank you to Hillcrest's admin and clinical teams for our articulation conversation - this was very informative and beneficial for student and family support - Thank you to Ms. Simon, Ms. Gonzalez, and Mr. Coster for another year of this important work
Thank to the staff for continuing to support students, creating engaging lessons, and collaborating with one another
Thank you to our clinical team for their consistent family outreach, staff support, and collaboration
Thank you to our secretaries who are doing their work behind the scenes
Thank you to Dr. Campolongo and Ms. Simon for continuing to support staff and families
Thank you Carmine, Tim, Mike, Mark, Kristen, Keith, and Manny for sanitizing our buildings
Thank you Andrew Weismann and his team for providing food to our families
Thank you to David Santiago and his team for securing our buildings during this season of challenge
Learning Digitally
stem
Students writing and interpreting ratios using appropriate notation and language - calculating the area of quadrilaterals with decimal numbers as their side lengths using Punnett Squares - examining parallel lines cut by a transversal - continuation of exploring genetics and hereditary - exploring energy transformation - discussing Earth's interior- understanding and explaining why careers in STEAM are important and on the rise in the years to come - using the engineering design process to plan a device that keeps an egg safe when dropped - defining coding and computer programming - familiarizing themselves with the Code Monkey platform
encore
Students learning about vaping and its impacts, Coronavirus in detail and its impact, and lasting impacts of alcohol use - identifying the type of workout selected through the Darebee workout - combining three-dimensional everyday objects with two-dimensional drawings into a work of art of their own - editing using live drummer - practicing proper diction, and tone production through online warm-ups - identifying notes, clefs, and time signatures - selecting one emotion from a list provided, picking five songs that demonstrate that emotion, explaining the choice - identifying notes and placing notes on a staff, watching a video of a band performing a concert piece, and writing a critique using music terminology of the concert piece performed
Humanities
Students reviewing key terms and concepts from ancient Mesopotamia and Greece - discussing what can we do as a society to ensure that atrocities like her Holocaust never happen again - exploring Reform Movements of the 1800s
Collaborative & Department Work
- May 19th - Grade 6 & Grade 7 will meet with their content colleague for Articulation like we did last year = For example, Grade 6 Math & Grade 7 Math.... - Create your own invitations
- May 26th - Grade 7 & Grade 8 will meet with their content colleagues for Articulation like we did last year - Create your own invitation
- June 3rd - Additional Articulation where needed
Team / Grade-Level Work
- May 20th - Grade articulation conversation - Grades 6 & 7 - 9:30AM - invitation to follow
May 27th - Grade articulation conversation - Grades 7 & 8 - 9:30AM - invitation to follow
June 4th -Check and Connect as Teams - Please consult your calendar for an Invitation through Google Hangouts Meet - Grade 6 10AM - Grade 7 11AM - Grade 8 12PM
STUDENT ASSISTANCE SERVICES
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! While 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness during their lifetime, everyone faces challenges in life that can impact their mental health. The good news is there are practical tools that everyone can use to improve their mental health and increase resiliency - and there are ways that everyone can be supportive of friends, family, and co-workers who are struggling with life’s challenges or their mental health. This May is Mental Health Month and Student Assistance Services is highlighting what individuals can do daily to prioritize their mental health, build resiliency in the face of trauma and obstacles, support those who are struggling, and work towards a path of recovery!
Katherine Geider, LMSW : Kgeider@peekskillschools.org
Casandra Lewis, LMSW : C.lewis@sascorp.org
Important Dates
- June 3rd - Rising Grade 6 Math & Science Honors Entrance Exam
- Rising Grade 6 Virtual Jumpstart Town Hall - first week in June - Exact date to follow
- Student Belongings Retrieval - some time in mid June - More specifics to follow
- Grade 8's Virtual Moving-Up Ceremony - TBD
- June 10th - ALL Graded Assignments end
- June 10th - 17th - Student Make-up Work Submissions & Teacher Grades Completion
- June 19th - End of Quarter & Grades Posted to Portal
Some Reminders
- Take attendance for each of your instructional periods
- Ensure 504 and IEP Plans are being supported
- Ensure grade content colleague planning - reflecting Rubicon Atlas
- Ensure Gradebook and Teacher Webpage/Google Classroom reflect current information and assignments
- Communicate with families and maintain that communication in PLP
- Data Driven Instruction Model
- Always Ask: Have They Learned? How Do You Know?
- Training One Another
- Discussing Student Performance Information
- Designing Tiered Instruction
- Reflecting on Daily Practice
- Reviewing Assessments from All Content Areas (Formative, Summative, Interim)
- Discussing Progress Monitoring Efforts
- Pacing through Rubicon Atlas
- Lesson Plans Should Be Designed with the following in Mind
- Questions Posed - What is the level
- Tiered Instruction
- Guided Instruction
- Driven By Data
- Clear and Articulated Assessment Throughout (assessments must contain spiraling back questions)
- Groupings (Fluid)