Weekly Update 8/26/10

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2010

1.  Thanks for a great first few days of school!  I appreciate every one of you coming together and making it work!

2.  Congrats to Frankie Santoro.  He is, once again, an uncle.  Go Uncle Frankie!

3. We now have a "staff art" hallway for our talented teachers to display their artwork. The hallway is outside the administrator offices in the main office. Susie has started the hallway with her photography. If you would like to display a piece of artwork, please see Susie.

4.  Core teachers, please remember to fill out the necessary forms in the guidance office should you need to move any students around within your team.  Also, you must contact a parent if you are moving a student between a regular and advanced level class.

5.  Please make sure that your safety clipboards are hanging by your door and that your maps have been posted.  We will have a fire drill by the end of August, so please review your routes with your students.

6.  Any students walking to Caleb's Creek Elementary are to report to the main office every day after school.  They will be escorted down by Mrs. Horwath each day.

7.  The school store will start on Monday.  This year there are two carts for students to visit:  One in the hallway outside the Media Center and another floating down the main hallway towards the office and multi-purpose room.  If a student needs to make a purchase, they must have their planner signed to go to the store.

8.  If any of you are certified in CPR, please let me know.  We need to identify those who are in case of an emergency.

9.  We will offer $10 physicals to athletes this coming Monday, August 30, from 2:00 - 4:00.  Students must sign up with Mr. Pizzino in the gym and must bring their money on Monday in order to complete.  Physicals are valid for one calendar year.

10.  For safety reasons, the encore hallway doors leading outside will be locked at 4:00pm each day.  If you are still on campus and need to enter the building, you will need to enter through the front of the building.

11.  Please be on time for your lunch in the cafeteria and multi-purpose room.  Your class should be lined up in the cafeteria at your scheduled time.  Please leave on time as well to ensure that everyone else can stay on schedule.  Your class must sit in their designated spot noted on the schedule.

12.  Please be sure to supervise your students at all times.  You must never walk away and leave a class unattended.  In addition, please be prompt for your supervision duties before, during, and after school.  This is a safety and liability issue if we are not properly supervising students.

13.  Please continue to follow the same procedure for attendance.  Cindy Wilkes has emailed you some updates and reminders - please follow these instructions.  If you have questions, please see her.

14.  Please spend some time reading over the staff handbook.  There are some procedural changes this year, especially related to field trips and money.  All staff are responsible for the information in the handbook.  I would hate for something to go wrong for you simply because procedures were not followed.  That has already happened this school year.

15.  I still need the names of quite a few team leaders.  In addition, I need to know who the 6th and 8th grade chairpersons are. 

Upcoming dates (I will provide this for you until the calendar is up and running):

Mon, 8/30 2:15pm Staff Meeting All Staff Media Center
                 2:15 - 4:00pm Sports Physicals for Athletes
                 6:30pm PTSA Board Meeting PTSA Board Main Office

Wed, 9/1 Planning Grade Level Meetings - Discipline Training w/ AP's All teachers during your planning period TBD

Tues, 9/7 7:45 - 11:30am Gentry at Joint Principals Mtg.

Thurs, 9/9 Planning Grade Level Meetings - Set up your gradebooks All teachers during your planning period Computer Lab

Fri, 9/10 2:15 - 4:00 8th Grade PTSA Social

Mon, 9/13 2:15pm Committee Meetings: SIT, Hospitality, Safety/Discipline, Fundraiser Committee members, various locations

Wed, 9/15 Core Progress Reports go out

Thurs, 9/16 7:45 - 12:30pm Gentry at MS Principals Mtg.

Fri, 9/17 2:15 - 4:00 7th Grade PTSA Social Teachers


A-Ha Moments...
Homework - What's the purpose?  What is best way to grade homework?  How much should it really be worth?  Let's face it, not all of our students will get homework completed and turned in.  That's an obstacle that we will always face.  The key to homework is to have students practice skills they have already been taught, reinforcing the previous lessons.  Teachers should not spend all of their time grading homework, especially if it only counts 10-15% of the students' grade.  So how do you balance that?  Use homework as a tool to reinforce prior skills, visit homework assignments regularly in your classroom to show the importance of it and improve accountability, and think about how you grade homework.  Just a thought...

August BirthdaysSharman Lakey 8/1
Portia Lakey 8/2
Chris Hancock 8/3
Stephanie Gentry 8/7
Ron Black 8/20
Laura Horn 8/20
Jeanne Hobson 8/23
Kay Hoag 8/25
Jordan Tucker 8/28
Jennifer Wells 8/29