Warrior Beat
Student Focused-World Class
Word for the Warrior
Week of the Warrior
MONDAY : January 16
- No School
TUESDAY : January 17
- Girls Basketball Conference Tournament: Sevier vs Liberty Bell at Science Hill 6:00
- Morning tutoring in Mr. Blairs room from 7-7:30. (Wellness room)
- Student Council meeting in Mrs. Wagner’s room 3:00-3:30.
- Boys basketball practice 3-5
WEDNESDAY : January 18
- Morning tutoring in Mr. Blairs room from 7-7:30. (Wellness room)
- The staff of the Sequoyah Scribe student newspaper will meet on Wednesday from 2:45 to 3:30 pm. All staff members are required to attend. The editorial team will meet until 5:15 pm.
- Girls basketball Conference Tournament
- Boys basketball practice 3-5
THURSDAY : January 19
- Morning tutoring in Mr. Blairs room from 7-7:30. (Wellness room)
- Natural helper meeting 2:55- 4:30
- Bridge club meeting at 3
- Girls Basketball Practice 3-5
FRIDAY : January 20
- Girls basketball Area Tournament at Sevier
- Boys basketball practice 3-5
SATURDAY: January 21- Junior Clinic
Feb 4th.
John Sevier BAND-Pancake Breakfast at FATZ 8:00am-10:00am-Please support our JSMS Band! Call 378-2450 for ticket information OR just arrive at FATZ on Saturday morning for a great breakfast, for a great cause served by some of the BEST kids in town!
The JSMS Jam...
Proficiency Rates/Failure Report Meetings
We will be having proficiency meetings the week of January 23rd during your regular collaborative planning times so that admin and InDeS can be present. Feel free to plan with your team during the opposite 45 minutes portion of that planning block. Please have your spreadsheet reflections completed on the Google Drive by Friday, January 20 (Here's What, So What, Now What). We will spend 5 minutes on the Here's What section, 5 minutes on the So What and 35 minutes on the Now What.
Data Conferences
Please send all admin the dates for your department's data conferences for the first nine weeks. These dates would include unit assessments and benchmark data conferences (for LA, this could include writing conferences if an essay was considered the CFA). Please send those dates to Admin ASAP.
Canvas
Below is an updated Canvas Pop-In Schedule schedule. You can also access the schedule here. (Please contact Laurie Norris if you would like to facilitate one of the open sessions. Attending these sessions count toward your PD hours. Facilitating would count for not only the time you spend presenting, but also the time you spend planning the session.
Tuesday, January 10 Annette True - Rubrics and Speedgrader, Sevier
Tuesday, January 17 Ami Frye - Modules/Pages, Jefferson
Jennifer Pangle - Speedgrader, Kennedy
Tuesday, January 24 Ami Frye - Modules/Pages, Jefferson
Tuesday, January 31 Open
Tuesday, February 7 Marsha Buck - Canvas in the Science Classroom, Robinson
Tuesday, February 14 Open
Tuesday, February 21 Open
Tuesday, February 28 Open
Tuesday, March 7 Open
Tuesday, March 14 Open
Tuesday, March 21 Sarah Lamb - Basics and Quizzes for Elementary, Jackson
Please take time to visit the following link:
1. Canvas Pop-Ins. Click here for the PL schedule and information on facilitating a session.
2. KCS TeachLearn. Updated supports and resources.
3. NeTnCanvasCon. Participate in this regional Canvas event--Please let me know if you are interested in attending this event. The district will pay for your admission and you will also receive a $20 gift card for participating.
Employee Recognition
Is there a KCS employee that you would like to see recognized for her/his outstanding work?
This year, there is a new way to highlight the work of these outstanding educators! The KCS Employee Recognition Initiative serves to award those that go above and beyond in their service to the students, staff, and families of KCS.
How can you nominate an employee for this honor?
Simply submit a nomination form to your principal/supervisor by clicking here!
EMPLOYEE CATEGORIES
There are seven categories from which to choose. Winners will be recognized each month.
- World Class Award - This award recognizes an employee who exhibits those attributes, actions and attitude that make KCS world class. The employee demonstrates a high level of professionalism and excellence in all that they do and promotes the system’s vision.
- Learning Leader Award - This award recognizes an employee who demonstrates a commitment to learning and developing their own knowledge and skills. They also lead others through sharing and demonstrating the application of that knowledge.
- Student Focused Award - This award recognizes an employee who demonstrates an ongoing student-first attitude in his or her daily activities. This person puts students first every day, and may be the “unsung hero” of your school/department.
- Parent/Community Engagement Award - This award recognizes an employee who actively and regularly works to reach out to families and/or community members in an effort to engage them in student and school activities.
- Performance Excellence Award - This award recognizes an employee who seeks ways to continually improve the processes around them such that they impact the overall performance of students, the school, department or environment in which they operate.
- Innovative Educator Award - This award recognizes an educator who applies innovative practices to teaching and learning. These practices result in enhanced student engagement and student achievement.
- Educator Leadership Award - This award recognizes an educator who demonstrates exemplary leadership among their peers, mentoring others, and modeling collaboration and leadership in his or her daily activities.
Thank you for considering which outstanding employees to nominate for this special recognition!
DO YOU HAVE AN INNOVATIVE IDEA?
KCS has a new Innovation Tool is up and running. I have been encouraged to use any and all available methods to communicate that our district is seeking your ideas and that this tool is active for use. It can be accessed at
http://apps.k12k.com/innovation/
Your idea does not have to be one that you have tried and found successful. It can be an idea for our system, our school or the classroom that you feel would support students in new ways or would meet a current need. Please let me know if you would like to put an idea through the Innovation Tool or if you do. Thanks!
News from the ASC
TDOE Resources Regarding Foster Care and Homeless Students
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) went into effect on October 1, 2016, and with it came revisions and increased responsibilities for LEAs regarding homeless students and students in foster care. Online resources are available on the TDOE website, ePlan page. Click here to access TDOE Resources to guide school systems serving these students. Please share this information with office staff, especially those involved in the enrollment process.
- Information regarding homeless education may be found under "ESSA Information & Guidance" drop-down menu, listed as Title IX, Part A, Education for Homeless Children & Youth.
- Information regarding foster care may be found under "Title I, Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care."
Seeking Tennessee State Teacher Fellows (STFs)
Hope Street Group, the nonpartisan nonprofit that connects classroom teachers with their peers and decision-makers across Tennessee and nationally, will soon be recruiting its next cohort of Tennessee State Teacher Fellows (STFs). The STF program is designed to develop the competencies of teacher leaders, providing them with tools to engage their colleagues and generate solutions for education challenges. Fellows are teachers or instructional coaches who remain in their schools full-time and contribute 10-15 hours each month to Hope Street Group activities including data collections, professional learning sessions, and partner meetings. They receive a $3,000 stipend for the twelve-month Fellowship, with the opportunity to extend into a second year to deepen their work. Interested teachers can learn more by visiting the Hope Street Group webpage. Click here to register now to participate in a 45 minute informational webinar on January 10 at 8 p.m. The application period will be January 16 - February 10, 2017. If questions about the Fellowship, please contact Keilani Goggins or Celia Gregory.
Classified Staff Training Opportunity
Please announce these training opportunities for non-teaching staff:
TOPICFACILITATORDATETIMELOCATIONTO REGISTER, CONTACT
Google Drive BasicsKevin SurgenerJanuary 10, 20179-10:30 a.m.ASC Computer LabStephanie Potter, x-5193
Google Drive Basics Kevin SurgenerFebruary 21, 20179-10:30 a.m. ASC Computer Lab Stephanie Potter, x-5193
Google FormsLaurie NorrisJanuary 24, 20179-10:30 a.m.ASC Computer LabStephanie Potter, x-5193
Google FormsLaurie NorrisFebruary 7, 20179-10:30 a.m.ASC Computer LabStephanie Potter, x-5193
Nominations Open for 2017 Outstanding Social Studies Teacher Awards
Nominations are now open for the 2017 Tennessee Council for the Social Studies (TSCC) Outstanding Social Studies Teacher Awards in the areas of elementary level (grades K-6), middle level (grades 5-8) and secondary level (grades 7-12). Award winners will be recognized at the TSCC State Conference on March 9-10, 2017 in Gatlinburg, TN. For more information and eligibility guidelines, please click here. Contact Patsy Brooks if questions. DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS IS JANUARY 16, 2017.
Warrior Whoop! (celebrations and recognitions)
- Kristen Duncan served as a demonstration classroom for all the the KCS Instructional Design Specialists on Monday. She taught a model lesson with an audience and also participated in a feedback session with our district consultant. Thank you to Kristen for putting yourself out there and for representing our school so well as well as being willing to stretch yourself with others!
- Hip! Hip Hooray! Our failure rates for students making 2 or more Fs were reduced by almost half from the first nine weeks to the second!
- In our effort to identify high ability/low SES/minority students who have the potential to succeed in honors classes, Sevier teachers moved 22 students to honors classes in the first semester! We know that many of these students have high ability, but may likely need more support to persevere to succeed. Thank you for believing in these students and for going the extra mile for them! Helping them realize their ability and identifying a strength in them that they may not see will make a difference!
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We are pleased to announce Fathima Shaikh is the 2017 JSMS Geography Bee Champion. Second place winner was Abigail Fanning. Third place winner was Damon Dean. Please congratulate these winners as well as the remaining finalists.
Graham Chandler
Aidan Williams
Brennan Ryan
John Ryan
Gabriel Tipton
Balu Pushkas
JL Graham
The John Sevier Spelling Bee will be held in the Koffman Auditorium on Wednesday, January 18th at 1:45. Parents and guests are welcome to attend. The winner of this bee will go to the regional spelling bee in Knoxville, Tennessee in March.
The following students will be participating:
Balu Pushkas
Emily Stewart
Ella Miller
Mason Tribble
Brennan Ryan
Steven Harrell
Conner Hall
Harrison Himmelwright
Lucy Addair
Laura Murphy
Kaela Henley
John Cole
Jesse James Simpkins
Ryan Richardson
Brie Hall
Fathima Shaikh
Johnathan Lai
Congratulations to the Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball Teams for winning the Conference Championship! Also, congratulations to our JV Girls Basketball Team for being named JV Conference Champs!
- Congratulations to Rodney Duncan for being the FIRST JSMS recipient of the WOW (Way of the Warrior) Rock Staff Award....because he, well....ROCKS! Thank you Rodney for all you do and for all you are to our Warrior Family!