Weekly Update 10/25/12

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012

1. Congratulations to our girls soccer team.  They finished second in the county.  They lost a tough match against Jefferson on Tuesday. But let's be proud of our girls' success!  In addition, congratulations to all of the All-County Band students! Quite a few students were honored.  Todd Howard, 8th grader, was honored as 1st Chair. 

2. At the Monday, October 29 staff meeting, teachers will be introduced to an online engagement survey. This is part of a contract with WSFCS in all middle schools for this school year. Teachers will give students a 10-15 question online survey quarterly throughout the year regarding their engagement level 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. The school system will select 60% of the teaching staff to participate, but others are welcome to participate as well.  We do not yet have confirmation on who those teachers will be.  Starting at 2:15 on Monday in the multi-purpose room, there will be a WebEx presentation running that will give us all an introduction of what the program entails.  So please get to the meeting as quickly as you can.  It should last about 20 minutes and then we will continue with the rest of our meeting.  In addition, after the participating teachers have been identified, we will provide additional sessions to ensure that all know how to use the program.
3. November 2 will be the end of the first quarter. Monday, November 5, is a Reserved-School day for teachers, which means that staff can take an annual day if they wish (as long as your grades are turned in and finalized). Tuesday, November 6, is a Reserved-Central Office day, which means that staff may not take an annual day. There are central office workshops and meetings taking place that day. We will post a staff sheet in the teacher workroom starting October 29 so that you may indicate your plans for November 5. Teachers may take this day IF their grades are completed and verified with Sandy Derrah (see next item). On November 6, you must attend any Central Office workshop that you are assigned to. If you do not have a workshop scheduled OR if you only have a half day workshop, then you are expected to be at SEMS for the remainder of that day. There have been some questions regarding the timing of some of your workshops - let me clarify.....for example, if your workshop is 11:00 - 1:00, then you have two choices.  You can work a few hours before your workshop, then finish the day at the workshop.  Or you may go to your workshop first and then report to work for a few hours afterwards.  Regardless, please be sure to sign in when you are at school on November 5 and 6.
4. First quarter grades are DUE by 12:00pm on Monday, November 5.  Your grades must be completed in NCWISE with your verification sheets turned in to Sandy Derrah in the Guidance Office by this time.  Mr. Downs sent an email to all staff with helpful hints and instructions for completing grades in the system.  In order to take an annual day on Monday, November 5, you must have your grades completed prior to November 5.

5. Report cards will be distributed on Thursday, November 8 at the end of the school day. All students will return to homebases at 1:45 on this day to receive their report cards.  We will forward you details on how dismissal will take place.

6. After submitting your final quarter grades, you may not make any changes.  If you wish to alter a quarter grade after finalizing, then you must fill out a grade change form and place it in my mailbox.  I will review, approve, and give to Cindy Wilkes to manually change.  Grade change forms will be available in the Guidance Office and in Cindy's office.

7. Due to numbers, we can no longer accommodate the straight A student incentive trips.  Instead, we will offer a straight A celebrate after each quarter.  If the numbers are high, we will have a short celebration for each grade level across three separate days.  If not, then we will combine the groups.  This will save money and time, yet we can still celebrate their success with them.

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. The SIOP online moodle is available for all staff to complete the Strategies section. Staff members should complete this moodle section by November 1. If you were absent on the day of the face-to-face training, we will schedule you for a make-up session with Amanda Cannon.

10. If you are interested in being a tutor for our at-risk tutoring program in December - February, please see Deb Neal.  Certified tutors can be paid $25/hour.  Each tutoring session will last 1.5 hours.

11. Thank you for your attending at Monday's EVAAS session.  Hopefully, you were able to walk away with a little more knowledge of how the EVAAS system works and its purpose.  We will let you know when teacher EVAAS reports are available for you to access.  We will be more than happy to assist you in accessing this program. 

12. Several staff members have asked how to contact me after hours.  My school cell number is 345-7985.  I use that phone during the school day as well as during the evening hours until about 9:00pm.  On the weekends, I typically do not keep my school phone on, but I do periodically check my email several times throughout the weekend.  If you have an absolute emergency, you may contact me on my personal cell after hours at 317-4412.  Examples of emergencies include something going on in your family that impacts work (or that of another staff member) or the personal safety of yourself or students.   Examples of non-emergencies include seeking permission for a video the following day, permission for a leave day, or school business that does meet the criteria for an emergency.  Please know that I am always available should you truly have an emergency.


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. 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)
Oct. 31 - Heritage Theater Field Trip - 6th grade Super Novas
Oct. 31 - Kernersville Chamber of Commerce Grant celebration
Nov. 1 - SIOP Online Moodle - Strategies section completed
Nov. 2 - Heritage Theater Field Trip - 6th grade All-Stars
Nov. 2 - End of First Quarter
Nov. 3 - Robot Run Invitational @ Forsyth Tech West Campus
Nov. 5 - Teacher workday (may take an annual leave day)
Nov. 5 - Grades DUE by 12:00pm
Nov. 6 - Teacher workday - Reserved by Central Office
Nov. 8 - Report cards distributed to students
Nov. 8 - Picture make-up day
Nov. 9 - Music Dept. Wipeout Party (during encore blocks)
Nov. 12 - Veterans Day - No School!
Nov. 13 - Staff flu shots available - see Susie if interested
Nov. 15 - 7th grade eye screenings (7:30 - 9:30am)
Nov. 15 - Technology grade level meetings w/J. Downs and E. Herreid
Nov. 16 - 8th grade level meeting (7:45am)
Nov. 17 - Robotics Qualifying Tournament