The Oskaloosa Syllabus
Volume 3 Issue 4, January 2018
Ooh...That's New
Administrative Meeting Schedule
To start the new year, we have revised our administrator meeting schedule to ensure that all administrators can be present at the meetings. We have also set aside dedicated time to our own professional learning as a team. You may notice that all of the administrators in your building will now be gone the first Tuesday morning of the month for about two hours and the third Thursday of the month. The second meeting will be focused on professional learning for the administrative teams and will include instructional rounds in the buildings (more information to come). At our meeting in December, we discussed the first part of the book we are reading, Instructional Rounds in Education, and began revising our current Theory of Action. Please ask your administrator or me if you have any questions regarding our administrator meetings and professional learning.MTSS Planning Team
A representative team of teachers and administrators at the elementary and middle school are convening to be part of the continued planning for a systematic MTSS process in our district. This team had their first meeting on Jan. 17 and has been tasked with the following goals:
- Create common definition and visual framework for MTSS in Oskaloosa schools
- Come to a common understanding of each of the Tiers
- Determine process/protocols for identification
- Identify resources in each Tier to understand gaps/overlaps
- Determine PD needs for administrators and teachers for implementation fidelity
- Determine roll-out timeline and processes
New Ag and Science Courses and Requirements
Due to new standards and to better serve our students, updates to both the agriculture and science courses have been approved by the board. These changes will go into affect for 9th graders in the 2018-2019 school year. Changes to the Ag program include new courses and updates to the scope and sequence of all the courses to ensure students are building on their knowledge throughout the program. Updates to the science program include an additional required course (Earth Science) and revisions to current courses to better meet the needs of students. These teachers have worked very hard on these changes, and we are excited for the opportunities it will bring our students.
Super Awesome Celebrations
You may want to check out Mike Sterner's 8th grade American History classes singing/acting out the Bill of Rights at the beginning of February!
Orchestra Successes by guest writer Bruce McLellan
Three ninth grade orchestra members were selected for the Iowa Junior Honors Orchestra in November: Sage Cochran, Sophia Dykstra, and Gavin Higgins.
Two high school orchestra members were selected for the Iowa All-State Orchestra in November: Mark De Ronde and Ellie Snyder.
Seventeen sixth through ninth grade orchestra members were selected for the Oskaloosa Chamber Orchestra Festival. A total of thirty students were selected from the Oskaloosa, Pella, and Ottumwa area to participate. They will be directed by the cello professor from UNI.
Middle School Honor Band Students by guest writer Rusty Raymond
Congratulations to the following OMS 7/8 grade band students for being selected to the 2018 Southeast Iowa Bandmasters Association Honor Band. The following students performed this past Saturday in Iowa City: Abby Drost, 8th grade trumpet; Carter Waddington, 8th grade percussion; Ella Roach, 8th grade clarinet; Anderson Keogh, 7th grade oboe; Ashlyn McDougall, 8th grade trombone; Tate Knoot, 8th grade bass clarinet; and Marissa Katko, 8th grade clarinet. The students were selected from more than 400 of the best band musicians in southeast Iowa. Additionally, Abby Drost was selected to preform as a part of the Iowa 8th Grade All-State Band at the opening of the Iowa Bandmasters Association Convention in Des Moines.
High School PBL Night by guest writer Jeanne Clark
On Monday, January 15th from 6-8pm, the high school hosted the annual PBL Showcase. The event was an opportunity for the public to come in and see what's been happening at OHS! Students showcased various projects and presented across a variety of content areas.
Some of the year's highlights were cross curricular PBLs, musical performances, art displays, OHS Feud (like Family Feud), Dante's Inferno, and concessions by the Spirit Cafe!
Make your calendars now because the next showcase event will take place on March 26th from 6-8pm! Hope to see you there!
Key Information
- Jan. 15-31 - Universal Screening - FAST (K-5)
- Feb. 1-16 - Universal Screening - MAP (3-10)
- Feb. 16 - No School: Data Day
- Feb. 26 - No School: Work Day and Crisis Drill (more info to come)
You can read the December Board Report and January Board Report for more specific work done November through early January.
You Tell Me...
E-mail me if you see it!