The Monday Message
Office of the Principal; Monday, April 11, 2016
Quote for the Week!
Duty Roster
Click here for the Duty Roster
Monday - I Group on duty (PK Jones, K. Mays-Fowler, PM Duty)
Tuesday - R Group on duty (PK Jones, K. Mays-Fowler, PM Duty)
Wednesday - M Group on duty (G. Hutto, PM Duty)
Thursday - O Group on Duty (R. Jackson and V. Sava, PM Duty)
Friday - O Group on Duty (I. Odom, PM Duty)
The Week Ahead
National Assistant Principal's Week ****
Monday 4/11/16 - World Parkinson's Disease Day, Admin Mtg (9:30am, Cafe'), G20~SLT Mtg (3:50pm, McCloy's classroom)
Tuesday 4/12/16 - International Day of Human Space Flight, Crew (8:20-8:50), Team Meetings (during planning periods), Dance Field Study (IHS, All Day), District Leadership (4:00pm, Designated Locations), Board Meeting (7:00pm, DO Board Room)
Wednesday 4/13/16 - Late Start PD (7:50am, Media Center), Coffee and Collaboration PD and Learning Walk (9:30-11:30, all classes), Chorus Field Study, D5 Magnet Mtg (1-3pm, IMS, Media Center)
Thursday 4/14/16 - Crew (8:20-8:50), Team iGrow Field Study, C-Team Track Meet (5:00pm, IHS), Junior Scholars Ceremony (7:00pm, IHS Auditorium), Band Concert (7pm, IMS Gym)
Friday 4/15/16 - World Microvolunteering Day, Band Concert Assembly (8:30am, IMS Gym), Special Olympics Field Study
Email: rsjackso@lexrich5.org
Website: http://www.lexrich5.org/IrmoMS.cfm
Location: Columbia, SC
Phone: 803-476-3600
Facebook: facebook.com/irmomiddleschool
Twitter: @irmomiddle
Spring Pictures
Spring Pictures will be taken on Wednesday, April 20th!
Flyers with information for students will be distributed closer to that date through Crew.
Students will have their pictures taken during their science classes. Thank you science teachers! (schedule will be emailed to you soon)
Wednesday, Apr 20, 2016, 08:30 AM
Irmo Middle School
SC Ready Exams (ELA and Math)
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2016, 08:30 AM
Irmo Middle School
SCPASS (Science and Social Studies)
Wednesday, May 11, 2016, 08:30 AM
Irmo Middle School, Wescott Road, Columbia, SC, United States
Tasks to Complete This Week!
Tasks to Complete This Week!
1. Teach like a champion all week long.
2. Continue working with your underperforming students so we can meet our goals.
3. Attend Tuesday's District Leadership Mtgs (if applicable). If not, make sure you use this time to do one/some of the following:
- Contact all parents of students who are failing and update your gradebooks.
- Read your Test Administrator Manual and prepare for SCREADY and SCPASS
- Display artifacts and LT's for our Learning Walk!
4. Incorporate at least one of the Global Themes into your classroom activities, lessons, etc.
5. Everyone report to duty as scheduled. See roster here.
April Staff Birthdays
January Cisco – April 1st
Richard Geiger, April 7th
Jennifer Cook, April 8th
Deborah Ware, April 9th
April Herring, April 10th
Willette Wise, April 11th
Nancy Robbs, April 16th
Sandra Dupre, April 16th
Calvin Eargle, April 21st
Natasha Smiley, April 27th
Susan Day, April 28th
Please join me in wishing these amazing IMS staff members お誕生日おめでとうございます
(Happy Birthday in Japanese)!
1. Robert McCloy- I learned this weekend that Mr. McCloy's Fund for Teachers proposal has been accepted. He is our first FFT Teacher! This is an absolutely amazing honor. As a result of his ingenuity and persistence, he will spend the summer attending the Walden Seminar at The Thoreau Institute. His experiences will enable him to deeply engage in his professional learning this summer and design learning experiences for our students that will forever change their lives. Here is his summary: Robert McCloy, of Irmo Middle School, Irmo, SC, will Attend the Approaching Walden Seminar at the Thoreau Institute in Lincoln, MA, delving into Thoreau's literature, life and environment with expertise leadership and colleagues of kindred spirit, to acquire greater knowledge of self and the enduring theme of all great literature, starting with the seminal works of Henry David. iAM so proud of Mr. McCloy for becoming our first EL Education FFT educator. Always, he demonstrates the type of new thinking and practices to get high quality outcomes and always possesses a growth mindset. Please join me in giving Mr. McCloy a huge iAM shout out.
2. Clare Bellucci - I learned last week that Ms. Bellucci organized a Chick-fil-A breakfast for the Crews in each grade level that raised the most money for Make a Wish. Cozolli's Connolis, Dream Team (Blau) and Team Fusion (Jensen). Also, Ms. Bellucci stepped in and helped facilitate an SLC for two students when their mom had a medical emergency. iAM so proud of the work being done by Ms. Ms. Bellucci. Routinely she goes above and beyond to get the job done. Please join me in recognizing Ms. Bellucci for her amazing work. Let's give her a huge iAM shout out.
3. Joe Cioffi, Paketrice Jones, Barry Lee, April Herring, and Janet Hudson - On Friday afternoon, Ms. Melony Sanford (Social Studies Coordinator) and I visited these classrooms to observe teaching and learning. I want to take a moment and give a shout out to all these teachers for allowing a review of their professional practices that are aligned with these classroom observation calibrations. As a school system, we periodically calibrate observations to ensure that we are giving growth oriented feedback to teachers. We were able to observe many high yield practices that we are confident are deepening student learning. Please join me in giving Joe Cioffi, Paketrice Jones, Barry Lee, April Herring, and Janet Hudson a huge iAM shout out!.
4. Elise Miller, Sara Crawford, and Nancy Robbs - In one of our SPED classes, we are currently extremely short handed due to medical leave. In the interim, we had to adjust some staff to address specific classroom and student needs, and all three of these wonderful educators put the needs of students first and foremost. For the next few weeks, Ms. Miller is now working in Ms. Falsetti's classroom, and Ms. Crawford has been so amazing in her flexibility to adjust to this change, which requires her classroom and students to experiencing some adjusting and changing. Moreover, Mrs. Robbs has wonderfully taken a lead role in the class, and has been so great assuming the responsibilities that her students need in order to be successful. I am so appreciative and thankful to each of them. This is yet another example of teachers and and staff members embracing new thinking and adopting new practices to get new and improved results. iAM so grateful for Mrs. Miller, Ms. Crawford, and Mrs. Robbs. Please join me in extended these wonderful professionals a huge iAM shout out.
Additional Crew Lesson - We will be having Crew at the end of the day on Monday, April 25th. We want to get the students excited about SCREADY that week. We know that all teachers and staff personnel have been preparing them, but we want to have this time to remind students about critical things like eating breakfast, getting plenty of rest, wearing comfortable clothing, etc. They will also be reminded of some Test Taking Techniques. This will be a time to encourage students and give them a final "you can do it" pep talk before testing begins.
Employee Contracts - Employee contracts for 2016-17 will be coming this week (April 15th). All employees (excepts LOA's) will receive an email letting them know their contract is ready along with instructions on how to access, sign and submit their contract. All contracts will be sent out electronically again this year. Employees have 10 working days to sign their electronic contract or deny it if they are not planning to return next year. Contracts must be signed on or before April 25th. Contracts not signed within the specified time, will be considered a resignation. If you know that you are not returning next year, please see me ASAP so we can walk you through the process.
ESOL Professional Reading - Routinely, we are required to engage in PD to better serve our ESOL students. As such, everyone is required to read this article and respond to this google form. Thank you for helping us fulfill our state and federal requirements of sustained PD for our ESOL program.
New Staff Announcement - Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Crystal Silas-Brown to Irmo Middle School. She will be our new Guidance Assistant. Join me in welcoming her to our school family.
Read to Succeed Plan for SD5LRC - District 5 has finalized our plan for alignment with the new Read to Succeed legislation. We will be covering this information in Team Meetings over the next two weeks to ensure that everyone has this information. In preparation for this discussion, we are asking that all teachers and staff members review this video clip and PPT. Bring all questions to your team meeting. Mr. Hutto and Mr. Sava will be leading our implementation.
Wednesday Late-Start Professional Development - This is a reminder that Wednesday April 13th is a Late-Start for students to teachers and staff personnel can engage in professional development. Adjust your morning routines for Wednesday as needed. We need all teachers in the Media Center by 7:50am so we can begin promptly at 8:00am. Also, all support personnel who are supervising students are asked to be in place by the designated time. Mr. Sava will be sending out a reminder Tuesday afternoon.
From Mr. Thur
Annual IEPs begin tomorrow, Monday, April 11. As such, please find some reminders to address various areas.
Meeting calendars
We have staggered the meetings and general education teacher representatives, so please check your calendar daily for meeting times, locations, and updates (if changes need to occur). We have several meetings scheduled each day, many back to back, so let us all commit to starting on time so that we may end on time. Of course, there will be times that unforeseen circumstances may not allow for this, but making this a general practice will address a large majority of meetings in a timely fashion. Unless you let Mrs. McNeil know otherwise (e.g. you are not going to be at school that day, fieldtrip, etc.), it is assumed you will be attending.
Coverage for Annual IEP meetings
Meetings, by and large, have all been scheduled around your planning periods. However, there will be a few select instances where this is just not possible. In those instances, please email Mrs. Waters for requesting coverage. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Participation
Your feedback and input is so valuable and informative. In our meetings, you provide a perspective that is unique and special. Please realize this, and please plan to share your input as the new IEP is developed. You are an integral part of the team, and so your feedback helps create that IEP. We all look forward to your participation to help develop each student’s IEP.
Please let the casemanager or myself know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support through this process. I appreciate you!
Closing Thoughts
Our closing thought this week focuses on the concept going the distance. You see, during this time of year, we all engage in the serendipitous process of counting down the school year, For some, this is a therapeutic practice letting themselves know, they can do it. For others, this is a signal that the end is near and it is time to begin lightening the load and packing away things.
In my weekend reading, I ran across the neat blog entry by Seth Godin. On his blog, he eloquently captured the simplistic essence of going the distance. "The distance from can to will keeps getting larger. You can connect, lead, see, speak, create, encourage, challenge and contribute. Will you? The confusion kicks in when we become overwhelmed by all the things we can do, but can’t find the time or the courage to actually commit and follow through. In the face of all that choice, we often confuse can’t and won’t. One lets us off the hook, the other is a vivid reminder of our power to say yes if we choose."
One of my favorite movie series when I was growing up was Rocky. The story lines in this series were about this left handed (uncoordinated) boxer with an incredible desire to overcome the odds and beat his competitors. You see, we all want to be in comfortable situations and succeed. The reality for many of us is that this is not common nor likely. Most of us have to grind and work through seemingly impossible situations in order to succeed. Unfortunately, so many stop short of their greatness. Will you?
Do you have the intestinal fortitude to push through to the end? Are you going the distance for our students? Are you helping your colleagues and peers by pulling your fair share? Are you honoring our learning community commitments?
Let's have an amazing week of teaching and learning. We are Crew, not Passengers!
Robert S. Jackson, Ed.S., Principal