Weekly Update 4-8-10

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
APRIL 8, 2010


1. Congratulations to Rachel Holmes!  Rachel just received the Booke Family Trust Mini-Grant for the 2010-2011 school year.  She will attend training this summer in Emory, VA.  We are proud of you!

2. The Teacher Intent forms are online. Instructions have been sent to you via email and have also been posted in the lounge. Please be sure to complete this form by April 16 at 4:00pm.  You may make any changes to your intent up until the deadline.
 
3. Certified staff:  Please remember to complete your Teacher Working Conditions Survey online.  We have asked that all surveys be completed by Friday afternoon.  See me if you have any difficulties with completing the survey. It is so important that your voices are heard!

4.  Back in September, you all received training on the new teacher evaluation tool.  You were asked to register online for this training in order to receive credit.  Many of you have not completed this step.  The list of all staff members who did/did not register is up on the bulletin board in the lounge.  Please check to see whether or not you have completed this.  If you have not, then you need to register by Monday, April 12, in order to receive credit.  If you do not register, you will not get credit and may have to attend additional training next school year. If you need assistance with registering, please see Deb Neal.

5.  On Monday afternoon, April 12, Jeff Nichols will offer a voluntary technology workshop on Advanced Prezi.  If you wish to attend or need credit, please sign up for this workshop!

6.  Please check the online calendar regularly.  We are adding lots of dates for testing and training, so please continue to check periodically.

7. The Technology Dept. is preparing to switch all of our websites from School Center to School Wires.  They will be scheduling a time to come out to assist with this process.  They will help teachers cut and paste their current websites over to the new system.  I will update you on the date of their visit.

8.  Clarification on postage policy:  There have been quite a few questions regarding our change with postage.  With upcoming budget crunches (which are getting worse by the minute), we, just like WSFCS, are trying to cut/reduce where we can to save money.  To date, we have spent over $7,000 just in postage.  WOW!  Imagine what we could do with that money!  At this rate, we will be over $10,000 by
July 1.  We felt it was necessary to change the policy in how we handle postage as soon as possible. There are several other ways to communicate with parents:  email, phone, ACC folders, AlertNow, and agendas. The administrators have already made the commitment to not send postcards to all students every month, which is saving money.  The expectation is that the staff can make that commitment as well. The procedure for anything to be mailed is simple - you must put in a request for something to be mailed.  The easiest way to do this is to email Susie Hook and I with your request.  Please include the reason for your mailing and how many you wish to mail.  Of course there are instances where it is truly necessary to mail items home.  But we must have this procedure in place to regulate that money more efficiently.   

9.  The health insurance open enrollment period ENDS on Friday, April 9.  You must go online to confirm the insurance that you want for next school year.

10.  We received more budget updates at this week's principals meeting.  No items have been approved yet.  The budget is expected to go through at least three more proposals before voting.  Copies of the updated budget proposal will be on the bulletin board in the lounge if you'd like to take a look. Our budget is on hold until several decisions are made at the state level.  It is important to mention that there is a possibility that WSFCS will have to cut another 5-6 million dollars on top of the current 5 million dollar proposal if the state cannot provide the amount of revenue that needs to be produced.  This would not be encouraging news! More than likely, our budget will not be finalized until the end of summer. But, as promised, I will keep you aware of changes as they take place.

11. Mrs. Davis-King is in need of wood scraps for her classroom. If you have any unfinished plywood or lumber that you would like to donate, please let her know.
 
12.  We are still looking for ideas for grade level mini-pep rallies to get the kids motivated for EOGs.  Please share!

13. VOCATS testing for CTE students and Foreign Language testing will take place May 6-14. This should not affect the school schedule, as they will be testing during their encore classes. If students need to make up one of these tests, they may be pulled from another encore class. More information to come.

14.  My contact numbers: If you have any emergency or need to contact me, you can try my Blackberry first at 345-7985. If you cannot reach me there, my personal cell is 317-4412. My Blackberry gets turned off overnight and sometimes over the weekend if I am out of town, but I am always available on my personal cell.
 

April Birthdays!

     Jane Trace 4/2
     Mike Smith 4/3
     Kristen Thorne 4/14
     Susie Hook 4/17
     Anne DiPiazza 4/20
     Sandra Denson 4/22