Spartan Gazette
May 2019
Aaron Tarnutzer, Principal
Building Administrative Assistant: Gina Pili pilig@mcfsd.org
Attendance Line: 608-838-8980
Email: tarnuta@mcfsd.org
Website: http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/middle/
Location: 6330 Exchange Street, McFarland, WI, United States
Phone: 608-838-8980
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Mound-Middle-School-McFarland-WI-204736889672509/
Twitter: @ATarnutzer
"What Kids Want!" - A Message From Mr. Jondle
Throughout the years, for some reason, students, particularly middle level adolescents, have been labeled as “challenging, lazy, unmotivated, and loud” by much of society. What I have found is that working with middle school students involves the implementation of the simple “Golden Rule” of treating these fine youth how we, as adults, would want to be treated. For May’s newsletter [as has been my tradition in previous years], I wanted to share twelve simple ideas to live by when working with your child as well as share with all of you what we are doing this month at Indian Mound Middle School that connects with Angela Maiers, an Educational Consultant who has written two books, The Passion Driven Classroom and Classroom Habitudes.
1. Greet me each day: “Wish me good morning, and send me off with a “See ya tomorrow.” This month, as with every month at Indian Mound Middle School [IMMS], our staff will continue to be in the hallways, at lunch/recess, and in other locations to greet our students. Mr. Tarnutzer and I continue to remind staff the importance of making those priceless connections with students each and every day. In addition, I have made the conscious effort to be out and about in the IMMS parking lot as well as on the bike path at the end of the day [as often as my schedule allows for!] to send off the students to their next activity, and to also greet each of you!
2. Smile: “When you look at me, let me see happiness in your eyes.” This month, we have a number of opportunities for staff to interact with students in and out of the classroom.
This month we will signing up for the End of the Year Trip, planning will continue for Eighth Grade Recognition Night, and a number of concerts, performance assessment activities, and recognitions of positive interactions displayed by students all happening this lively month of May. Specific dates include:
May 16-Eighth Grade [including High School Orchestra] Strings Concert at 7:30pm in High School Cafeteria
May 21-Sixth Grade PE Track Meet: 8:15am-12:45pm
May 21-Choir Concert at 7:00pm in the IMMS Gymnasium
May 22-Seventh Grade PE Track Meet: 8:15am-12:45pm
May 23-Eighth Grade PE Track Meet: 8:15am-12:45pm
May 23-Sixth Grade Market Day at 2:40pm.
May 24: Seventh Grade Students to Aztalan
May 27: Memorial Day Parade at 12:00pm [seventh and eighth grade bands only]
May 30-Sixth Grade Band Concert-7:00pm in the IMMS Gymnasium
May 31-Sixth Grade Regatta Race- MHS Pool, TBD
3. Give me your attention: “Sit and talk with me privately; even if only for a second.” As part of our continued “Positive Behavior Intervention and Support” implementation, we have continued to implement a second tier of interventions for students. We have implemented, tracked, and continue to assess the effectiveness of a “Check-In, Check-Out” system as well as our formal mentoring program for students who may exhibit a need for extra support and care. This intervention will continue to grow in its effectiveness as we continue to work through this process and analyze the data associated with this intervention. We also continue to use restorative practices when working with students when they may make a mistake.
4. Imagine with me. “Help me dream of things I might be able to do; not just the things I need to do now.”
5. Give me challenging content and assignments. “Show me how to handle it. Teach me what to do.” We continue to strive towards creating learning environments that challenge students and provide relevant learning to occur. Specifically, the McFarland Learning Community, will continue our professional growth as we continually are working on the alignment of our curriculums both vertically [grade level to grade level] and horizontally [from teacher to teacher in the same grade level], assessing the quality and effectiveness of our classroom assessments [tests, quizzes, projects, etc.] and reflecting on how these may be improved with a common structure across grade levels. Staff will also be reviewing their professional goals for the year as well as the growth students have made throughout the year. Finally, not only do we teach content, we also teach behavior at IMMS. I have had the opportunity to work with students everyday helping them reflect on, and learn from, their decisions that may have been made. During these discussions, I work with students to understand how their choices affected others, and also how they can “repair the harm” with those who were affected.
6. Ask about me. “Inquire about my weekend, the game I played, the places I go. It shows you care about my life.” I am pleased to say that, as mentioned earlier, we at IMMS, continue to engage in conversations with students in the hallway, check in with students in the morning and afternoon, interact with them at lunch and recess, and are visible in the hallways before, during, and after school. This will continue as we move throughout May and June!
7. Let me have time. “Time to let things sink in. Time to think. Time to reflect, process, and play.” Students will have time to “play” as we have the PE track meets occurring at the end of the month on the following days:
May 21-Sixth Grade
May 22-Seventh Grade
May 23-Eighth Grade
8. Demand of me. “Hold me accountable to high standards. Don’t let me get away with what you know I am capable of doing better.” We as an IMMS Staff, continue to assess the current “Conduct and Effort Rubric” that we use to assess Thinstudent behavior and effort each quarter. We continue to discuss as a staff, ways to improve this rubric, increase its clarity, as well as ways to provide more timely feedback to students and families regarding student conduct and effort.
9. Notice Me. “Leave special messages in my desk or locker. Just a quick note that says you notice something right.” As always, we continue to take pride in recognizing students who consistently exhibit positive behavior through our “scratch-offs” given out to students as well as “Positive Behavior Referrals” which are also sent out by IMMS Staff to students who have exhibited positive behavior through their achievement, respect, responsibility, or empathy. During the Second Semester, IMMS Staff have written 182 Positive Behavior Referrals!
10. Let me ask the questions. “Even if they are off topic. It will show that I am thinking about new perspectives, curious, and willing to learn more. Let me have the chance to show what I am wondering about, not just what I know.” This month, there are a number of interesting projects and performance assessments occurring in your child’s classroom. In addition, we continue to work on curriculum that encourages student questioning [inquiry], critical thinking, as well as effective questioning provided by staff to engage students.
11. Engage me. “I came to you in love with learning, keep me excited, keep me wanting more.”
12. Trust me. “Believe that I can do it. Allow me the chance. I promise to show you I can.”
The last two statements I felt were ones that we have done all year long and will continue to do. I know that we remain committed to improving, but I am confident that at IMMS, we offer to our students [and your children] the support, opportunities, and reinforcement that they need and desire. The month of May will be an exciting month and a month that will be one to remember. I am confident that while we strive for continuous growth, our heart lies in the right spot and that we continue to succeed in offering to students “what they want”!
Thank you so much for sharing your child with us this year!
Warmly,
Brett Jondle
Students of the Month - April
McFarland Youth Center Student of the Month - Blake Plunkett
Students of the Month - May
McFarland Youth Center Student of the Month - Collin Beecher
IMMS Food Club
The club split into 2 teams and each team entered a creative recipe that required a food that was either orange or red.
I am happy to say that the Hooded Elves team will have their recipe listed in the 2019 recipe book. The recipe they submitted is Fresh Vegetable Chicken Stir Fry.
Grade Level Track Meets - Sign Up to Volunteer
To make this a great success, we need volunteers in the area of high jump, long jump, shot put, discus and timers. The link to volunteer can be found by clicking here.
6th Grade Money Market Day Pictures
McFarland Youth Center - May
Hello Parents and Guardians.
McFarland Youth Center has reopened and the youth are enjoying all of the new equipment and games that we have ready for them. MYC will continue to be open from 3 to 6pm for after school activities and recreation; throughout the remainder of the school year. On the first day of summer break, our hours will shift to 1 to 5:00 pm for activities and recreation.
For the remainder of the school year Girls Group will continue to run on Mondays from 6 to 7:30, unless other wise specified on the calendar and Boys Group will continue to run on Thursdays from 6 to 7:30, unless otherwise specified on the calendar. These after programming groups are capped at 8 youth and consist of a shared meal and hands on learning activities/ skill building challenges. (Starting on the first Monday of summer break Girls Group will run on Mondays from 5:00 to 6:30pm and Boys Group on Thursdays from 5:00 to 6:30pm)
Continuing into May MYC will host SLIME WEDNESDAYS! Every Wednesday the youth will experiment with different ingredients to create different versions of fun and exciting sensory slime.
Key Dates and Closings:
Tuesday, May 21st: Fifth Grade Day (5th grade only)
Friday, May 24th : MYC CLOSED
Monday, May 27th: MYC CLOSED
Thank you and as always, please don't hesitate to email or call with any questions or concerns.
If your youth is new to MYC please fill out the needed pledge form found on our website https://www.mcfarlandyouthcenter.org/
Megan Beckler
Managing Director
McFarland Youth Center
5114 Farwell St
PO Box 362
McFarland, WI 53558
Office: (608) 838-3839
Cell: (608) 395-8617
mcfarlandyouthcenter@gmail.com
www.mcfarlandyouthcenter.org
https://www.facebook.com/mcfarlandyouthcenter/