#sparkinfo. Weekly Update
Week 11, October 28th- November 1st
What a busy but great week!
We were all moved by the powerful testimony of Naomi Lett, and I feel that it had such an impact on our students! Thank you to Cindy for arranging for the visit.
On Thursday, we were visited by the Stetson Consultant, Mrs. Huff, and Mrs. Latiff as we assess our inclusive practices and continuously work to improve. We have grown our inclusive practices, and it can only have a positive effect! A special shout out to Jennifer Hendrix and Sherri Lee who, even as veteran teachers, realized they must try something new for some of their students to see the greatest success. I have had the conversation with at least five teachers in the last week about how excited they will be to see the state results next summer! They won't be able to stay away when they know the results are in!!
We held our inaugural All-pro dad event! Marion delivered a great message and we had families on campus! Building community is a must!
We had a great Feast Out Friday fundraiser. Man! Those potatoes were great!!
Finally, we were able to see the fruits of much labor with 3-6 efforts! We have many students who participate in marching band and were state runners-up! We saw great success from our robotics teams in the first competition including a state berth for two teams! Thank you Mrs. Riddle! We saw Natalie Turner off to Hilton Head to compete in the state golf tournament. We also saw two members of our 8th grade DECA club compete in a mock competition with high schoolers! Thanks Mrs. G. Reeves! Thank you to everyone who provides opportunities for students beyond the classroom!!!
Special Announcements-
Dress Code and Supervision
Please remember to check for dress code first thing in the morning. Teachers on duty in the gym and admin try to catch as much as we can, but it takes a village. Students who get dress coded in the afternoon reflect inconsistent enforcement. Infractions are recorded in guidance and addressed by administration.
Thank you for your help with both of these things.
United Way Campaign
Thank you for the feedback!
Just for Fun! The wonder of DIY neuroscience!?!
Instructional Updates
As we begin the new nine weeks, some students may need some targeted intervention in regards to their grades. Please look at students who did not pass and come up with a plan to help them be more successful. This may involve resources beyond the classroom. It may be we need to schedule them with Mrs. Dunn or have Mr. Getsinger work more closely with them. We will also have some after school tutoring beginning soon.
PLC's surrounding inclusive practices will continue this week. Please align instruction with student need. Remember most observations are looking more closely at what students are doing than what teachers are doing.
Photos from last week!
Our own DECA students competed!
Mrs. Spivey's Homeroom won Gowan's Gold
Good turnout for our first All-Pro Dad Breakfast!
Our Flag Corps in action!
Our State Runners-Up at the Middle School!
Pickens Middle Vex Robotics Represented!
This Week's Agenda-
Mon., Oct. 28th-
6th and 7th Intramural Dodgeball Finals
Tues., Oct. 29th-
Leadership Summit Planning @PHS 1:45 PM
Wed., Oct. 30th-
Football @ Palmetto
Robotics Team Meeting Afterschool
Th., Oct. 31st-
Intramural Volleyball Begins
Halloween (Students may wear costumes for $1. No masks are allowed. We must be able to see faces.)
Inclusive Practices PLC (PM Planning)
Fr., Nov 1st-
SPARKS Finest Ceremony (PM Act.)
Sun., Nov. 3rd-
Daylight Savings Ends (Fall back 1 hr.)
SPARK SPOTLIGHT!!!!
A shout out from your colleague!
Here are the last week's spotlights! Thank you! Have you ever taken the time to recognize those around you? It feels good to recognize others!
Kelley Reid- My phone was dying. I knew Friday would be a long afternoon and I needed a phone charger! Kelley came to my rescue and let me use the charger all day long and told me to just put it in her box when I was done! You made my afternoon so much better, THANK YOU!!!
Marion Lawson- The microphone was dead and we needed it for the dance! I ran into Marion in the hallway and he asked what I needed I said batteries.... he happened to have FOUR in his pocket! He gave them all to me! Now there are two extra batteries with the microphone! I love how we all look out for each other here!
Connie Douglas- She provided the sound system for the Sparks Celebration and the Halloween Bash! Connie, Thank you for being so generous with your high tech sound board and speakers. I know you worked hard to get that equipment for our band students. Thank you again for trusting us and letting us use it!
LeAnn Masters- She gave me a break so I could go get a Tiger’s Blood snow cone during the Sparks Celebration! It’s the little things... thank you LeAnn!
Olivia McCoy- She did a fantastic job with the Halloween Bash! I know it can be overwhelming going through ADEPT and heading up a school organization but you have great support! You are good at it!The turnout was fantastic! The carnival games, haunted hallway, and costume contest was a blast! Our students really had a wonderful time!
Cindy Whittemore- 1) She makes whatever she is apart of better and fun! Thank you for your time, ideas, and energy!
2) Cindy is amazing for so many reasons! She is always positive and smiling! She is always willing to help and she gives great advice! Recently, Cindy gave up 15 minutes of her planning time to help me when I really needed it. Cindy, you are awesome and I love working with you!
Michael Searcy- Michael was more than excited to help make a haunted entrance to the dance come to fruition! He helped me "steal" the blue bulletin board paper so I could have it in my room to cut strips to cover a door entrance! When I came upon the hall behind the stage Thursday morning and asked if I could use that for the entrance, he immediately started getting the paper from my room, climbing up a ladder, and tacking it up! He was just as excited as me about it! He could have complained, rolled his eyes at me, and called me crazy, but he knew I was doing this for the kids and it was just as important to him to make it right for them! Thanks for being a positive contributor to Pickens Middle!
Selena Fogle- Selena asked me if I could be a witness as she called a disgruntled parent one afternoon during planning. She talked it out to me, made her plan, executed the call, and handled the parent beautifully! While the parent went on and on, Selena listened patiently, responded proactively, and made goals with the parent to help the child perform more successfully! So proud of our first-year-teacher on our hall!!!!!! Go, Selena!!!!
Sherri Lee- I could write a book about how awesome Sherri Lee is, but I will keep it short and sweet. Sherri has a heart of gold! She has helped me through anything and everything! She answers my millions of questions and is always giving me great advice. She encourages me on the hard days and celebrates with me on the great ones! She will make you laugh until you cry and always has the best stories. She always shares activities and resources with me, and even brings me biscuits on random occasions! Sherri is a wonderful mentor and a blessing to everyone around her! Love, love, love her!
Chris Griffin- I would like to give a shout out to officer Griffin for his hard work and dedication to PMS. Last Friday he stayed after school to help with our school dance. He never complained but instead he jumped in to help us watch 200+ middle schoolers. His sense of humor and kind spirit add so much life to Pickens Middle School and we are blessed to have him with us!
Bryan Lively- Bryan has definitely experienced ALL the things middle school has to offer. This past Friday Bryan was the administrator who stayed at the Halloween Bash. What Bryan didn't know was not only was it his first middle school dance, but my first dance as well! He was so helpful and took on the challenge of supervising 200+ students. He has been an awesome addition to our school! Thank you for all you do!
Food Services Staff- These ladies are awesome and so sweet! They are always positive and smiling during lunch! I love their matching shirts! In addition to the yummy lunches, they make some amazing chocolate chip cookies!
Sarah Chastain- There are so many great things to say about the wonderful Mrs. Sarah Chastain! I am so thankful for her and the advice and encouragement she gives me on a daily basis. This past week she happened to be walking by my classroom at the exact time that I needed her and she gave up her time to help me. Sarah has taught me so much! Thank you for being you Sarah!
Click on the link below as you see and hear great things happening in the building. Please let us know about them by filling out the form. You may want to bookmark the link as we will be "Spotlighting" teachers and staff all year. Please note, this is a new link for this school year.
From Sparks of Knowledge Grow Flames of Success
Email: jamesking@pickens.k12.sc.us
Website: http://pms.pickens.k12.sc.us/
Location: 140 Torch Lane, Pickens, SC, 29671
Phone: (864) 397-4100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pickensms/?scrlybrkr=85865011
Twitter: @pmssparks