WEEKLY STAFF BULLETIN
March 2-6
WEEKLY STAFF BULLETIN
Good morning,
Thank you to the teachers that helped chaperone the MORP dance on Friday. I appreciate you giving up your time to be there. I enjoyed seeing all the students dressed up and enjoying themselves.
This week for PD , there is a 19 minute video on Rethinking Challenging Students. Please watch the video and make a comment on the google document by Friday. I am looking forward to reading your responses.
The character trait for March is Fairness. There are some great lessons planned for the month.
Have a great week!
Aim High and Dream Big!!
Trish
What's Going This Week
This week is Science
Monday- Bridgit's Birthday
Tuesday-- Heather Taulbee's Birthday
Wednesday- Vicki's Birthday; EH - Subject Areas
Thursday-Sports Awards
Friday-
Upcoming
March 13- End of 3rd Quarter
March 16-20- Pro-Core C
March 18- Spring Pictures
March 20- School Play/ Down on the Farm
March 23-27- Spring Break
April 8- Track Meet @Georgetown
April 10th- Good Friday No School
April 14- Track Meet @ Williamsburg
April 22- Track Meet @ CNE
May 1- Angela's Curbside Cuisine
May 22- Last day of school
Friendly Reminders
Submit Weekly Team meeting notes.
Articles/pictures/newsletters for Parent Newsletter
Professional Development
Please write a response to the video on the google doc
BETTER LEARNING THROUGH STRUCTURED TEACHING DISCUSSION FORM
TLC
Week of 3-2 to 3-6 M, W, F- 2:15-2:30
Go over weekly agenda
Set goals for the week
Discuss ways they have used their strengths and what strengths they can work on
Gratitude, Bravery, Perseverance, Self-Control, Honesty, Kindness, and/or Fairness
Journal each day
3-03- Tuesday
Teacher: Ask the students if they remember in elementary school when their teachers gave rewards (such as candy, stickers, or privileges) for good work or behavior. Discuss whether they thought it was fair to give some students and not others a reward [something given in return for a desired behavior] for good work.
How did they feel about not getting a privilege [a right granted as a benefit] when someone else got one?
Discuss whether it is fair to reward good behavior or good work in middle school with candy, privileges, or grades.
Ask the students if fair treatment changes for different ages and in different settings.
Discuss how fairness could mean different things to different people.
Ask the students to think about what fairness means to them. Allow them a minute of thinking time. Then tell them you have some possible definitions of the concept.
Display different definitions of fairness on the walls around the room.
See Handout One: Fairness Definitions. Tell them to read over all the definitions and then stand by the definition that makes most sense to them. (Note: If a student ends up alone in a group, ask him or her to choose a second favorite definition. He or she may bring the first choice definition along when moving to a different group. The two definitions may be combined.)
When they have chosen their favorite definitions, tell them to discuss in their groups why they chose the definition and why they like it better than the others. They may like others, but they should focus on the positive aspects of the chosen definition.
After five minutes of discussion, the groups choose a representative who reads aloud the definition and tells the rest of the class why they like their definition.
Debrief by asking the students to tell what they heard about fairness, reflecting on ideas from all of the definitions that resonated with them, or made the most sense to them.
Ask the following discussion questions:
Did you find yourself agreeing with some people and disagreeing with others about fairness?
Why do you think different people have different ideas about fairness?
Is it possible to solve a conflict [a competitive action between two people of different viewpoints] in which everyone thinks the resolution [conflict is answered or solved] is fair?
When we talked about the definitions, did you recall times when you thought something wasn't fair?
How do you feel when something seems unfair to you? How can you act on those feelings?
3-05 Thursday
Teacher: Tell the students that you are going to read them a series of statements, and you want them to respond with how they feel about each one in just a couple words: for example, 3 Word Notecard style or 6 Word Essay style (which will be in most cases--not fair!). Reading all of these statements and getting quick responses should only take about three or four minutes:
Tomorrow there is an essay due that is worth one-fourth of your grade. Boys must write ten pages, but girls only need to write one page.
Students wearing running shoes today get out of class five minutes early.
If you have blond hair, you may sit down today. There are no desks for the rest of the class
You are allowed to use the computer only if your last name begins with S.
Many girls in Pakistan cannot go to school because they must help their mothers, but boys may attend the local school.
Often the U.S. schools with the poorest students have the fewest learning resources.
Many children in our own state go to sleep hungry, and some do not have a bed to sleep in.
In the US in 1776, only white men with property had the right to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment granted men of color the right to vote, but many were still kept from voting. In 1920, the 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.
There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today, many of them are children who are in forced labor, and we may be using some of the products they make.
Ask the students what all of these statements have in common (they describe unfair practices). Ask them if all the issues [a matter in dispute] would be viewed as clearly unfair in anyone's perspective. Then ask the students why -- if the scenarios are clearly unfair --do some of them exist in our world today. Help the students recognize that the unfair practices must benefit someone.
Brainstorm with the learners a list of things they believe are not fair today. This "Not Fair" list may include ideas from personal issues to world issues. This may raise some emotions as students will likely have opposite ideas on some issues; remind them that a brainstorm does not include judgment [an opinion]. Continue to take down all their topics, but don't engage in discussion. They will recognize that not everyone has the same ideas of what is fair. Allow five minutes.
Ask the learners to write (in a journal) the top three to five issues from the "Not Fair" brainstorm that they feel most strongly about. They do not have to share this list.
Tell the learners you want them to choose one of these issues to analyze from the opposite perspective [point of view]. For example, if they feel it isn't fair that they have a 9:00 bedtime, they compare and contrast the perspectives of their parents and themselves. Or if they think women are treated unfairly in Afghanistan, they can list the reasons that isn't fair and the existing barriers that prevent equal rights. In their journals, they make a chart that shows both sides of their selected issue(s). Encourage them to reflect on one personal issue and one global [involving the entire world] issue (if possible in the given time).
After students write and reflect for about five minutes, bring the group back together as a whole.If there is time, ask the students what they noticed about their thinking when they tried to see the other side. Lead the students to recognize that even on an issue that seems so clearly unfair, there is an opposite point of view that prevents the easy resolution of the issue. Discuss the difference between feeling something is unfair and knowing something is unfair. Ask the students whether there is anything they can do when they think something is unfair. Discuss action they can take when they KNOW something is unfair.
If you have any new students that haven't taken the VIA survey, please find a time this week that they can take it. Here are the survey links:
* Password: FelicityTLC19> *
5th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS5
> * 6th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS6
> * 7th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS7
> * 8th grade URL: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/classes/Register?classCode=FFMS8
STRENGTH SPOTTING
Please use this form to nominate fellow staff members who do extraordinary things! We will draw from these nominations to raffle gift cards throughout the year. Teachers who submit a strength spotting will also be in a drawing.
This weeks teachers nominated were:
Holly Goodpaster for showing Humor, Kindness, and Perspective . Holly continuously tries to help others make every moment of each day enjoyable for the people around here including at lunch.
Nikki Maupin- for showing Teamwork. Nikki created the googe form for ETR.
Holli Roehm- for showing Leadership- Holli covered morning duty when staff members are absent.
Michelle Turner- for showing Gratitude- Michelle showed appreciation of " team " by providing a FMS picture to everyone.
Holly Goodpaster- for showing Hope and Social Intelligence- Hollygave the note and highlighter to all staff members during a time of need.