Monday Memo
September 24, 2018 @MMSCougarPride
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Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all things happening in the MMS community @MMS CougarPride.
Send Dara pictures to district email if you'd like us to Tweet something. Our followers are increasing every day!
PDPs-School Areas of Focus
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M_WthA4UQDTZNaCZEDjzf9fLOn_W4W3gFhJ7NhIrTJA/edit?usp=sharing
(Info from SOMSD HR office linked above)
PDPs are open for all staff. If you cannot access your PDP, please contact me. Please ignore the time stamp on the invitation. The invitation is just so that you can open it in MLP. Your evaluator will contact you if a PDP conference is needed. Our focus areas as a school are:
1. Using data to drive instruction and intervention for students.
2. Inclusive classrooms that incorporate student voice/ownership/cultural heritage.
3. Expanding the workshop model across content areas.
PDPs are written in SMART goal language.
We look forward to reviewing your goals this year and to a year of growth. We are all learners!
Great job ELA/Social Studies Department!
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Greetings MMS,
Congratulations to Meredith Hansen on her marriage this past weekend! Your MMS family wishes you all the best in this new chapter!
Attached below is the Spring 2018 issue of Rethinking Schools. It's a great resource for social justice and cultural competency in the classroom. Enjoy! MMS is a subscriber!
9/26/18 TLC Topics
Focus Items
Meeting Type-TBD
Checking in as a Team
Revisiting Team Norms-Should we adjust?-ALL. Do you have team norms on your teams? What are some that you think might work for our TLC?
Instructional Items
6th and 7th Grade Rotation Questions/Following Up from C&I Office-
Best Practices for PDPs-Dara, Louis and Dion
School-Wide Focus first 4-6 weeks is on Domain 2-Discussion/ALL
Restorative Practices/Training ⅓ of the MMS Staff-Who is interested?
Class Dojo at MMS-Encouraging School-Wide and/or Team-Wide use for data collection.
The MMS leadership team organization/coaching cycle at MMS for the 2018-19 school year (scroll down)
Meeting Types-Should we modify for this year? *Note: PM meetings are designated for student intervention discussions. 2017-18 meeting types
District Focus Areas for this year aligned to school-wide goals are I&RS and Data-Driven Instruction
Measuring Up-Pre-assessment window and team training from Evyn (requested dates)-Dion
New Supports for Humanities and Math at MMS-Taylor Harris and Dallas Duffey
MMS 2018-19 Focused Walkthrough Documents
Classroom Culture/Restorative Practices Walkthrough
Logistics/Operations
October 2, 2018 7pm in MMS Auditorium--Superintendent Search Community Meeting
Calendar Items?
Items for Monday Memo?
Team Meetings SY 2018-19: Team Meetings SY 2018-19 **Thanks for updating!
Emergency Drills
More Active Shooter Drills (4 total instead of 2--1 per quarter)
In afternoon only due to SOMSD and MPD schedule
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The MMS faculty and staff ask that you support our work with your child in the following ways:
1) Encourage a Growth Mindset-Having a growth mindset fosters resilience. Use the language of yet. I don’t understand this “yet.” Emphasize the importance of hard work as opposed to innate intelligence. “I did well because of my effort. I’ll do better next time.”
2) Encourage 1-2 Good Peer Relationships-Friends should be a source of support. Often our middle schoolers try to maintain large groups of close friends and that is challenging for anyone of any age! Encourage your child to have 1-2 solid and supportive peer friendships and keep it light and simple with the larger groups.
3) Ensure 9-11 Hours of Sleep Please! Sleep is the best way to foster resilience. Research shows that kiddos this age need 9-11 hours to be at their best. When your child is well-rested, everything is better. Technology is the #1 enemy of sleep! As a school community, we recommend that you keep technology out of your child’s bedroom at night to encourage healthy and consistent sleep.
4) Encourage Coping Strategies-Coping is personal. Everyone does it differently. Encourage your child to think about healthy ways to relax and give them permission to do it!
5) Facilitate Time/Connection with a non-familial adult-Good connections with non-familial adults are very important for your child. They hear things differently from non-familial adults. Encourage your child to participate in a club or activity. Children need our perspective. They are always changing and growing. As adults we can attach a growth mindset to their personality development and their peer interactions.
Maplewood Middle School Remind App Code @k92d29
This year, the MMS Principal has added a school-wide "Remind App" as another way to communicate with families. Many of your child's teachers will share Remind class codes for you and your child to stay up to date about class events and assignments. As needed, the MMS Principal will periodically use the Remind App to share important info with our school community. Our Maplewood Middle School school-wide code Remind code is listed above (@k92d29). The link below explains how to begin getting notifications. It's a simple way to stay in touch. Join us!
https://help.remind.com/hc/en-us/articles/203179887-How-do-I-join-a-class-
Superintendent Search Meetings!
*Please note that the meeting on October 2 is a Tuesday--not a Thursday as noted in flyer.
MMS staff at the NMAAHC!
*Follow @NHAAHC on Twitter. Great resources there!
Walkthrough Docs
Classroom walkthroughs provide formative feedback. We welcome your feedback to make these useful for you as we support instructional best practice and service to/intervention for our students.