SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
1. We have added a link to the staff calendar on this blog. Please click on the Staff Calendar link (in blue) at the top of the blog page. Thanks to John Downs for helping us to figure it out!
2. If you confiscate any items from students (phones, etc), please label them with the student's name and turn in to the office as quickly as possible. They will be locked away for parents to come and pick up.
3. Please stick to your lunch start and end times. We are overlapping several times during lunch because groups are not exiting on time. In addition, be cautious of the students that you choose to stay behind and clean up. They should be reliable students that can be trusted to quickly clean the tables and return back to class. Please remind your lunch students to clean up their lunch area before they leave.
4. Core/EC teachers - Don't forget that your parent contact logs are due by the end of September to Gentry.
5. Please be sure to check your email at least once a day and respond to parents or requests within 24 hours. We want to maintain communication throughout the building and in our community. Also, all staff are expected to check this blog once a week. It will be posted weekly by Thursday afternoon/evening.
6. Please do not send students to the gym during PE classes.
7. I am going to resend the August copy of "Common Cents" to all of you this week. In it, there are MAJOR changes coming regarding teacher pay in August 2012. Please review this information carefully.
8. Now that NCWISE is up and running, please remember that school board policy states that your grades should be updated once a week in the system. The parents are expecting this, so please update your grades regularly.
9. WSSU is recruiting for their Master's in Education program. They will even offer a stipend.
10. October is Bullying Prevention Month. There will be many activities going on that month. We will have several announcements throughout each week related to bullying and there will be some information that we will send home with students. October 13 is WSFCS Unity Day in support of anti-bullying efforts. We are asking all staff and students to wear orange on this day to support the cause. More details are on their way.
11. In the past, there have been "Rsv" workdays on the calendar. Those days are treated as Rs days, just as they always have been. Now that the calendar laws have changed and due to required Common Core testing, the school board is in the process of changing most of the Rsv days on this year's calendar to Rc days. Rc days mean that all staff are required to work and that you cannot take an annual leave day. October 31 and February 20 are already Rc days. January 23, March 30, and June 8 will all be changed from Rsv to Rc workdays on this year's calendar. The only Rsv day that will remain unchanged will be October 28. In addition, January 23 may become a "snowflake day." This means that if we get bad weather prior to this date, it is possible that day could turn into a student day. It is important that you know this, especially if you are making any travel plans throughout the school year.
12. Evaluation Update: The school system is in the process of changing the evaluation policies to match the new state regulations. This is why there has been a delay in handing out information on your evaluation status for this school year. I am sending you an email with instructions on what action to take right now and what's to come in the next few weeks. We will not leave you hanging!
13. SIT Update: The SIT team met on Monday afternoon. All grade levels are to discuss options for Instant Recess with their SIT reps as a grade level group. There are options for this. In addition, there were some decisions made regarding the tutoring plan for this year. Decisions made at meeting: 1) tutoring will take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays, moving grade level meetings to Mondays, 2) the groups will rotate quarterly, 3) a master calendar will be developed for better communication, 4) there will be a Wednesday tutoring group and a Thursday tutoring group (not the same set of kids), 5) student groups will be predetermined based on EOG scores - non-proficient students will be targeted, 6) Math and Science teachers will tutor in Math, and LA and Social Studies teachers will do Reading sessions. It is important to note that the purpose of the tutoring is to assist our students with the greatest needs and who are considered at-risk. Tutoring will reinforce our goal of our students being successful as well as the goals of the School Improvement Plan. For more details on the meeting, please see our new SIT blog (thanks John Downs!) at
http://semssit.blogspot.com/
Events: Events are now posted on the online calendar. Staff are expected to check the online staff calendar regularly for upcoming meetings, etc.
