BAMS Staff Newsletter
February 16, 2015 - Volume 2, Issue 21
It's a Great Day to Be Great!
Bessie Allen Middle School - SLO & Goals
Building SLO:
By June of 2015, 80% of students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will show growth in their opinion writing sample rubric score from the September 2014 writing benchmark based on the school developed writing rubric (adapted from the Smarter Balanced writing rubric).
Building Goals:
DPI School of Recognition
PBIS School of Merit
Routinely Take Literacy Risks
Be a CEO
Driving Question for 2014-2015:
What have we changed with our instruction to prepare our students for the Badger Exam assessment (and other higher level thinking opportunities)?
Goals for SSR and SSW
- Provide a time for every student in our building to read and write.
- Ensure this time is a positive part of our students' day.
News and Notes
- It was very nice to see some of you at Schmitty's on Friday Night. Good times! Hopefully, we can have another opportunity to get together before the year is out.
- My biggest takeaway from MS principals convention was that we are doing great things and have many answers for questions that most schools don't. I was encouraged about where we are at when talking to other principals about RtI, the Badger Exam, and career education. We still have work to do, but we are ahead of where other buildings are at. Go us!
- STAR Data - Very nice assessment scores for reading and math! Check out the gains and growth on our Data Wall in the team room. It's important that we have checkpoints, like STAR, to ensure we are heading in the right direction. These benchmarks are critical to our balanced assessment system.
- Thank you for completing the scoring of our writing samples for the mid-year. That data will be up on our Data Wall soon. I am very encouraged with the results I have seen so far. The best past for me was seeing how teams discovered common teaching points in the samples that will drive writing instruction moving forward. This is a benchmark assessment, but also a strong formative assessment tool.
- The BAMS PTO will be providing food for staff for parent teacher conferences. I will get the food options closer to that week. The PTO is very thankful for the work and care you show for our students. This is a small way to say THANK YOU!!!
- Summer school course proposal information will be coming out on February 20th. If you would like to teach or support this summer, please complete the forms when they come out.
- If you feel driven to donate money or items for the Team Room, donations can be given to Kim Broten or Jenny Stahl. Do what feels good! Thank you to anyone that donated funds. We were able to restock some items for the Team Room.
Out of the Office
- February 16th - 1:45-2:35pm - Honor's Study Hall
- February 17th - 9-11am - Admin Team Meeting - DMR
Oriole Way - Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe
- Please continue to look for students that are being ready, respectful and safe in our building.
- NEXT Meeting - February 18th, 7am
OASYS and Teacher Effectiveness
- Continuing Educators 2nd Student Surveys - Due by February 16th
- Mid-Year Goal Review - Due by February 16th
- 2 Classroom Visits - Due by End of the 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
February 17 - Fat Tuesday (A BAMS fine dining experience)
February 18 - Staff Meeting 2:50-3:30pm
February 20 - Mid-Quarter Grades Due 7am
February 23 - PT Conferences 3pm-7pm
February 23 - NFDL School Board Meeting, 7pm in DMR
February 25 - PT Conferences 3pm-6:30pm
February 26 - Oriole Leaders Meeting 10:40-11:40am
February 27 - No School
*See Google Doc titled "2014-2015 BAMS Yearly Calendar" for a look at events for the entire year.
Staff Meeting Agenda
Staff Meeting: February 18th - 2:50-3:30pm - DMR
Agenda:
Oriole Way Data Review
Badger Exam
Slide Shows
Smarter Balanced Practice Test
Testing Window - current thinking
News and Notes
Next Meeting: March 13th - 12:50-1:15pm - DMR
Blackboard Connect Messages
Messages sent this week:
- Parent/Teacher Conferences - All Grades - sent February 16th
*New messaging system (ParentLink) coming soon.