Weekly Update 10/11/12

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012

1. This past Monday night, Sherri Worrell was honored at a WSFCS function as our current Teacher of the Year.  Please join me in congratulating her once again!

2. A big thanks to our Safety & Discipline Committee, FCCLA club (Hatch and Je. Watson), and all of our staff for a successful Unity Day on Wednesday! It was wonderful to see everyone sporting their orange for the day! Thank you to all who helped in making it happen. I think we were really able to get the students' attention.

3. Please pay your Hospitality Committee dues if you have done so already.

4. If you are AED device trained (the device used for cardiac arrest situations), please let me know. I must supply a complete list of staff who are trained (I know that several of you trained last school year).  We now have an AED unit on campus.  It is housed in the main office right outside Susie's door. 

5. We will have a School Improvement Team meeting on Monday at 2:15 in Mr. Elkins room. In addition, the Safety & Discipline Committee will meet at 2:15 in Room #810 (Mrs. Wallace-Smith's room).

6. The PTSA Fundraiser kicks off on Friday.  Please refer to the forwarded information from earlier this week.  All students should receive their fundraiser packets at the end of the school day on Friday. Be sure to take advantage of the fundraiser - Jaguar cards are only $10 and are valid for one year.  Get great discounts at some area restaurants and businesses!

7. Several teachers have been asking about any Halloween plans that our staff has. There are staff members who wish to get together with other staff and their children for a safe and fun Halloween. If you have any ideas or would like to participate in something like that, please let me know.

8. Halloween falls on a regular school day in October. Please remind your students that this is a normal school day and all students must follow the dress code regulations. There are no costumes nor dressing up allowed. Students who violate the code or wear something disruptive to the learning environment should still be addressed as normal. The Dress Code Check will still be available at 7:35 in room #712.

9. We have received confirmation that we will receive four mobile laptop carts for our 8th grade Science department.  There will be some training for those teachers in November.  Other teachers will also have access to the laptop carts as well. This is great news!

10. The United Way campaign is underway. We encourage all staff to participate. The United Way does some great things for our community. Our school goal for this year is $5,363. Mrs. Murray and Mrs. Jones have sent out information soon regarding how to donate.

11. The Student Council Blow Pop sale will take place on Friday, October 19, during 6th period.  They will visit all hallways during that period.  All proceeds will be donated to United Way.

12. During the first week of November, the WSFCS Technology Department will be shutting down the "guest" wireless servers in all schools.  This will affect you and your students.  If you have a non-school device (i.e. Smartphone, iPad, Macbook, etc), then you will not have access to the wireless server in our building. 

13. Thanks to all staff who have signed up for the fall socials. The sign ups are complete. I will confirm the social date with each staff member who has signed up. Those who did not sign up will be expected to work one of the winter concerts in December: Band winter concert @ SEMS (Tuesday, Dec. 11, 5:30 - 7:30pm), Chorus winter concert @ Glenn HS (Thursday, Dec. 13, 5:30 - 7:30pm), Orchestra winter concert @ SEMS (Tuesday, Dec. 18, 5:30 - 7:30pm).

14. Any students wishing to stay for the socials must turn in their permission slips and $5.00 to Mr. Pizzino when they have P.E. class. If they need a form, they must see the P.E. Department during their P.E. period. Mr. Pizzino will supply teachers with a master list of all students who have signed up to stay for the socials. A detailed email will be sent out with directions so that you are aware of the procedures.

15. The school system is in the process of determining what our testing schedule will be at the end of this school year.  We do know that we will still have our regular EOG's (Reading, Math, 8th Science), EOC's (advanced 8th grade Math), and now Common Exams (CE's) in Social Studies 6-8 and Science 6 & 7.  Questions that still need to be answered are:  What are the testing windows? What order will we go in? Will all listed tests be included in the student's grades? Who will score the constructed responses on some of the tests?  We will continue to keep you up to date in this discussion.

16. If you are interested in working the ticket door for volleyball season and/or basketball season, please see me as soon as possible. In addition, we are looking for interested folks to work during basketball season - one to keep the scoreclock and one to keep the scorebook.

17. Sometime this month, all teachers will receive information about how to access your individual teacher EVAAS reports. We will make sure that you know how to access these. In the past, I have given them to you from Central Office. In addition, you will have and EVAAS growth number posted in Standard 6 of last year's summary rating form in McRel. This is the "practice" year, where the numbers get entered and a standard rating is assigned, but there is no official status for each teacher (meaning that you are not truly subjected to the EVAAS number yet). As a reminder, if you have three years of EVAAS data, then your number will be a combination of your growth number and the school number. Everyone else will be assigned the school growth number. It is also important to note that the EVAAS color scheme has changed - it used to be green, yellow, and red. The new colors are blue (exceeded growth), green (met growth), and red (did not meet growth). If you are new to the school system, please be assured that we will help you to understand what EVAAS is and how it can be used. Dr. Marty Ward from WSFCS will be with us on October 22 to discuss EVAAS and show staff how to access helpful reports for you to use.

18. Thank you for all of your work taking place in your weekly curriculum meetings. As we, and others, have visited, it is evident that you are doing what you need to do for our students. Keep pushing on! Please know that it is likely that visitors will come and go regularly in your classrooms and in your curriculum meetings. My evaluator, Mrs. Brooks, may visit throughout the year. In addition, a team of SSC coaches may visit your meetings: Caroline Beam, SSC in LA, Sarah Huddleston in SS, Lisa Jensen in Math, and Judith White in Science. They are here to support your efforts in mastering and implementing your new curriculum.

19. Thanks to Mr. Downs, we now have an SEMS Student Activities blog, which includes all afterschool activity schedules.  If you sponsor any afterschool activity, please email John any and all meeting and event dates.  Some of you have already sent him your dates for the year.  If you change a date or event, please forward that to him as well.  The blog will be updated every two weeks.  Parents and students can visit the blog at any time by clicking on the Student Activities blog on the SEMS website.

20. All 8th graders are required to take the EXPLORE test, which is a modified version of the ACT that students will take in 11th grade. On October 15, 8th grade students will take the EXPLORE Inventory Survey, so their 8th grade encore classes will be shortened on this day by about 10 minutes each. Other than that, we will follow a normal school schedule on this day. Then on October 18, 8th graders will take the EXPLORE test. Due to the requirements of the test, the number of EC/504 pull-out sessions required, and the need to have encore staff assist with the testing structure, we must go on an altered school schedule on this day. We will forward you a copy of the altered schedule well before this date so that you may plan appropriately. More information on the test and the training involved will come from Deb Neal this week.

21. Later in the fall, teachers will be introduced to an online engagement survey. This is a contract with WSFCS in all middle schools for this school year. Teachers will give students a 10-15 question online survey periodically throughout the year regardless their engagement in your class. It can be given after a particular lesson or unit. The purpose is for the teacher to gain extremely valuable information about how students learn, what they enjoyed, and their level of engagement. Teachers can use this information to adjust their instruction. We will receive a short training session from the company sometime this fall.

22. SIOP Snapshot:  Lesson Planning:  Lesson planning is key to ensuring quality activities for our students.  What template do you use for your lesson planning? We currently do not require teachers to turn in lesson plans nor do we require a specific plan template.  Some of the most important components in your lesson planning should include your objective(s), formative assessment, and strategies used to implement the new curriculum.  Take a look at your planning process - do you include these essentials in your daily planning? As we continue to work on our SIOP training module, we will have more conversations about the importance of quality lesson planning. Please remember that the expectation from administration is that your lesson plans are available/visible to us as we complete our walkthroughs. 


Please be sure to check the online calendar regularly (accessed through your email system) for events and meetings. It is updated weekly and sometimes daily.

UPCOMING DATES
Oct. 11 - SIOP Training #2 - during grade level planning
Oct. 12 - PTSA Fundraiser Kickoff - all staff have copy of schedule
Oct. 13 - GYRLS Community Yard Sale @ SEMS (7:00am - 12:00pm)
Oct. 14 - Anti-Bully Rally/Walk (8:30am at Lawrence Joel)
Oct. 15 - 8th grade EXPLORE Inventory Survey
Oct. 15 - SIT meeting, Safety & Discipline Committee mtg. (2:15)
Oct. 16 - Fundraiser Turn-In Day
Oct. 16 - UNCG OSTE Mtg. (2:15pm)
Oct. 17 - 7th Grade Social (2-4pm)
Oct. 18 - 8th grade EXPLORE test (Altered school schedule)
Oct. 18 - Raven Knob Field Trip - 7th grade Outbacks
Oct. 19 - Fundraiser Turn-In Day
Oct. 19 - Town Hall Field Trip - 6th grade Apollos
Oct. 19 - FCCLA Field Trip - FACS teachers + several students
Oct. 19 - Student Council Blow Pop Sale (1-2pm)
Oct. 22 - EVAAS Workshop (2:15pm) - for all certified staff in the MP room
Oct. 23 - Fundraiser Turn-In Day
Oct. 23 - Raven Knob Field Trip - 7th grade Tsunamis
Oct. 24 - 6th Grade Social (2-4pm)
Oct. 24 - Raven Knob Field Trip - 7th grade Dragons
Oct. 25 - Raven Knob Field Trip - 7th grade Pharoahs
Oct. 26 - Fundraiser Turn-In Day
Oct. 26 - 8th grade level meeting (7:45am)
Oct. 29 - Heritage Theater Field Trip - 6th grade Team Discovery
Oct. 29 - Staff Meeting (2:15pm)