Weekly Update 3/15/12

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

1. Please remember to post your favorite book sheet on your door or outside of your classroom.  This will help to show the students our commitment to literacy.

2. You were sent an email last week regarding the change with the March 30 workshop.  This is now an RS day (reserved for school).  You may take an annual leave day if you have the time saved and if you have turned in and verified your third quarter grades. There is a staff spreadsheet posted in the staff workroom - please indicate what your plans are for this day. 

3. Please remember that quarter testing will take place the week of March 26.  We plan to structure two of these days as mock EOG-style sessions with altered schedules.  Deb Neal will get the schedule out to everyone this week.

4. There will be no tutoring sessions during the week of quarter testing.  Repeat: There will be NO tutoring sessions during the last week of the quarter!  The tutoring for 4th quarter will start back up during the week of April 16. We plan to have a shortened, modified tutoring plan for the 4th quarter.

5. Please encourage your students to turn in their It's My Call forms.  The It's My Call program is sponsored by the school system.  By signing up, students are declaring that they are drug free and subject themselves to random drug testing while attending Southeast Middle School.  Students who have already signed up and those who do sign up before March 28 will receive an It's My Call bracelet, some candy, and their name will be in a drawing for a $50 gift card.  Students are not required to sign up, nor do they receive a penalty for not signing up.  Right now the school is at 60% signed up, and our goal is to push this to 90%!

6. The School Board voted to change the requirements of the EOG weight for middle school students' final grade.  Last year, the EOG and the Algebra EOC counted 25% of each student's final grade.  This year, the Algebra EOC will still count 25% as required by the state, BUT the EOG will now count only 20% of the final grade. 

7. Third quarter grades will be due by Friday, March 30, at 1:00pm.  All grades must be finalized in the computer and the verification sheets turned into to Sandy Derrah by this time.  If you plan to take an annual day on March 30, you are required to have your grades turned in and finalized before March 30. 

8. Please continue to stay in contact with parents of struggling students.  If a student's grade drops to an F or two letter grades or more, teachers are required to contact a parent.  Please do so well before the end of the quarter.  If you wait too late (i.e. the last day of the quarter) to notify the parent, this is commonly viewed as  a "gotcha" moment and the student does not have an opportunity to recover if the parent is unaware.  Please continue to encourage your parents to sign up for the Parent Assist.  This has resolved many potential issues for us!

9. The fourth quarter is just around the corner!  Many of you are gearing up for EOG review and prep for May.  We will try to minimize disruptions prior to EOG week, which is the week of May 14.  As of right now, the only field trips or events on the schedule in April are 7th grade Raven Knob trips, 8th grade trips to Career Center, the fundraiser slam dunk show, and the NJHS induction ceremony.  Outside that, there are not to be any field trips scheduled between April 23 - May 17.  We must protect as much time as possible for our students to prepare.

10. We just received information about the annual required student surveys for all students.  The surveys will be conducted online.  In addition, 8th graders will be required to fill out an additional federal survey.  We are planning on having the surveys conducted through your classroom computer, making it as easy as possible.  We do not plan on  loading up computer labs for this survey.  We will have about three weeks to complete the process.  That is all we know at this time.  I will forward the details as soon as we get them to make this as short and sweet as possible.

11. Vertical planning meetings will take place on Monday at 2:15pm.  Locations have not yet been determined.  Topics of discussion include the Common Core State Standard plan and the updated Standard 6 on the teacher evaluation system. 

12. Due to a scheduling/traveling conflict, the fundraiser slam dunk show that was originally scheduled for Monday, March 19, has been rescheduled for Monday, April 30.  Close to that time, we will notify all students of their eligibility to attend and will forward you the master list of students.  There are approximately 190 students who qualified for the show! 

13. Please continue to check the new online staff calendar.  It is updated daily and should be very, very easy to access with the new email system. 

Happy Birthday!
Karen Thorpe          March 4
Forrest Munden       March 9
Brian Graham           March 14
Dedria Davis-King   March 14
Deborah Daniels      March 21
Melissa Jackson       March 27
Sherri Worrell          March 28
Venee Robinson       March 31