Monday Memo
January 27, 2020 @MMSCougarPride
Follow us on Twitter!
Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all things happening in the MMS community @MMS CougarPride.
Send Dara pictures to district email if you'd like us to Tweet something. Our followers are increasing every day!
Black History Month Assemblies and Resources
Our theme at MMS for Black History Month is Telling our Stories.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18nrNt74aav3k0uDUjLb1GaKETqG3SwXhLk9hw1iuqsQ/edit?usp=sharingLinked above please find info on Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.
Feb. 3-10:10am 6th Grade Assembly
Feb. 3-11:03 8th Grade Assembly
Feb. 6-9:17 7th Grade Assembly
Student Behavior Support link and attendance reminder
Remember to please use the document linked above for significant behavior support issues with students.
This is part of our data tracking for our district and also helps us to keep better/ more accurate records of incidents. Please be mindful of tier 1 teacher interventions as per the SOMSD Code of Conduct.
Reminder-Please keep accurate period attendance. This is important data for us.
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Happy Monday MMS,
Thank you for your great work with students at the 20th annual MLK Peace March. Special thank you to student council advisers Mr. Kaplan, Ms. O'Sullivan and Mr. Palmgren for their organization of the event.
January 31, 2020 is the end of the marking period. Please be sure to review data and supports/interventions for students who are in danger of failing and/or failed/received a D for the previous marking period. Our goal is to show progress and improvement for students over time.
If there are students who you feel may benefit for I&RS, please reach out to a team leader or to the school-wide I&RS team (Dara/Suzanne Fein-6th grade, Taylor Harris-7th Grade, Dallas Duffey-8th Grade. Taylor and Suzanne are there to consult on literacy and academic intervention school-wide and Dallas for Math school-wide as well).
**Reminder of Interventions that do not require the I&RS Process
-Drafting a behavior plan
-Saturday Academy
-Recommend a Social Worker Intern
-Differentiated Assessment→ students don’t need a 504/IEP for extended time, differentiated questions, etc
Quote for the week -"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." --Maya Angelou
A few notes
1/29/20 TLC Agenda Focus Items-TBD
Focus Items
Team Building Question (from 12/10/19 RP session materials)- How do you show appreciation or gratitude? *modeling proactive circles*
January 2020 School-Wide Circles at MMS: Finalizing topics and logistics.
Grade 6- Rotation period 1
Grade 7 - Rotation period 1
Grade 8 - 5th period (after lunch)
2/13 Table Tennis all grades with raffle leading up to it.
Best Practice Share-What have you done to effectively build community in your teams with colleagues? With students?
Climate and Culture Assemblies starting in March. When would you like to conduct them?
I&RS Round 2 Document: I&RS Round 2.January 2020
Other topics/concerns?
If you have students who you believe may need to be referred to I&RS, please contact your team leader and copy the grade level administrator. (Gronau-6, Chiles-7, Brown-8)
-Please remember to send updated lesson plans every Monday or every other Monday.
*Inclusion plans are due on Wednesdays.
*Please note differentiation and intervention in your plans.
School-Wide Proactive Circles
Feb 4-Academic Professional Development
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m-KOgcroY4jTPpWkl-8cdSFqi5Gk0qUIVPgmgduj_mY/edit?usp=sharing
Feb 4 is a 4 hour day with Academic PD. Sessions begin at 1:30pm
Lesson Plans
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The MMS faculty and staff ask that you support our work with your child in the following ways:
1) Encourage a Growth Mindset-Having a growth mindset fosters resilience. Use the language of yet. I don’t understand this “yet.” Emphasize the importance of hard work as opposed to innate intelligence. “I did well because of my effort. I’ll do better next time.”
2) Encourage 1-2 Good Peer Relationships-Friends should be a source of support. Often our middle schoolers try to maintain large groups of close friends and that is challenging for anyone of any age! Encourage your child to have 1-2 solid and supportive peer friendships and keep it light and simple with the larger groups.
3) Ensure 9-11 Hours of Sleep Please! Sleep is the best way to foster resilience. Research shows that kiddos this age need 9-11 hours to be at their best. When your child is well-rested, everything is better. Technology is the #1 enemy of sleep! As a school community, we recommend that you keep technology out of your child’s bedroom at night to encourage healthy and consistent sleep.
4) Encourage Coping Strategies-Coping is personal. Everyone does it differently. Encourage your child to think about healthy ways to relax and give them permission to do it!
5) Facilitate Time/Connection with a non-familial adult-Good connections with non-familial adults are very important for your child. They hear things differently from non-familial adults. Encourage your child to participate in a club or activity. Children need our perspective. They are always changing and growing. As adults we can attach a growth mindset to their personality development and their peer interactions.