Weekly Update 4/26/12

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012

1.  Anna Moore's grandmother passed away earlier this week.  Karen Thorpe's grandfather passed away this week, John Watson's father has been in the hospital, Nancy Holmes is still recovering from knee surgery, and Edgar Ortiz continues to recover. Please keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers.

2.Congratulations to Lisa Turner. Her chapter proposal for Collaborative Instructional Design in Library and Teacher Partnerships has been accepted!  We are proud of you! Also, congratulations to the GYRLS club.  They were honored at Saturday's March for Babies as the organization that raised the 3rd highest amount of money.  Congrats to you!


3. Please remember to sign up for a spring concert if you have not already.  An earlier email was sent out regarding who should sign up.


4. We are in the process of creating a day-to-day calendar for May/June during testing, retesting, etc.  Everyone will receive a draft of this calendar at Friday's EOG trainings.  We will finalize that calendar quickly so that teams and teachers can plan accordingly. 

5. We are in the process of finalizing details for the 8th grade ceremony and celebration.  This information will be share very soon with teachers.  

6. The fundraiser Slam Dunk Show will take place on Monday at 12:30 in the gym.  Susie sent out invitations to students on Wednesday of this week.  We will send out a master list this week so that you know who will attend.  If there are any errors, please let Susie know.  

7. Staff members still have the opportunity to apply to work the summer school program.  They are still in need of more teachers for the program!  Please remember that the program is through the Bell company and not WSFCS.  Classified staff are also able to apply.  Certified staff are paid at $30/hour.  More details and instructions are in the email that was sent two weeks ago to all staff members.

8. Please remember that EOG's count 20% of the students' final grade.  Please remind your students of this also.  We will get all teachers instructed to ensure these grades are put in accurately.


9. For those certified staff who did not complete all 18 hours of required Common Core/Essential Standards training this year:  You must attend the Summer Institute that WSFCS is offered to get the remainder of your hours.  They are planning for this training to take place during the week of July 16.  Remember that this is a requirement for your contract - if you do not gain the 18 hours of credit, your contract will be denied for next school year.  


10. Homebase teachers:  If you receive voucher slips in your mailboxes from the cafeteria, please be sure to give those slips to those students listed.  Those slips should not be returned to the cafeteria.  Once the student gets the slip, they are to turn it in when they go to lunch on that day. 

11. The A-day, B-day schedule has been altered during high school exams later in May/June.  Changes:  The week of May 29 - June 1 are ALL A-days, and the week of June 4 - 7 are ALL B-days.  Please inform your students of this change closer to that time.

12. As you plan your activities toward the end of the school year, please keep in mind that it is very helpful to use debt as an incentive for participation in those activities.  We already hold the 8th graders accountable for their debt through an administration letter that will be sent home this week.  We encourage other teachers to do the same to ensure that students and parents get their debt paid off.  Debt can include cafeteria debt, overdue/lost books, damaged/lost textbooks, locks, etc. In addition, it is always helpful to incorporate behavior incentives as well.

13. The PTSA will provide the staff with breakfast on the morning of May 11 for Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you to the PTSA for their support this school year!

14. For your calendar:  June 7 is the last day of school.  On June 8, we will hold our annual "Staff Stuffing Party" and we plan to have PTSA provide lunch for staff members on this day.  June 8 will be a required workday.  June 11,12, and 13 are also teacher workdays - if you have annual leave and wish to take any of those three days off, you may do so.  

15.  Please remember to check the online calendar regularly.  There are lots of activities coming up! To access, there is a Calendar tab on the lower left side of your email inbox.  Click on Calendar, then on the left menu click on the SEMS Staff School Calendar to access.  You can view this calendar daily, weekly, or monthly.

Happy Birthday!
Anne DiPiazza     April 20Sandra Denson    April 22
Lesley Guffey        May 1 
Irma Jones            May 6  
Erin Smith             May 18
Denise Stepheson   May 18
Heath Benner        May 20    
Kim Gregg           May 21  
Bridgette Watson   May 23
Nick Pizzino          May 26
Kendra Mabry     May 28
Dustin Draughn     May 30