Weekly Update 3/7/13

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013

1. The Main Office/Guidance Office project will take place March 8-11. This will affect your lunches on those Mondays and Fridays listed at the least. So on March 8 and 11, please plan to eat lunch in your classrooms. We will make sure that you have trash bags in your classrooms. All classes will still come to the cafeteria at you scheduled time, but after all students have received their lunch, please walk them as a group back to your classroom.

Once the furniture starts being moved, we are asking that staff not go back and forth through the main office area. This means that once they begin, we must move out of their way to accommodate the movers. Please do not plan to utilize the fridge and the microwaves on Friday, since you may not have access to them later in the day on Friday. The copiers will be distributed to the following locations for staff use on Friday and possibly Monday:  One in the Media Center, two copiers in Room #502, one in the cafeteria. Staff can access any copier they choose, as the copy codes have been removed for the duration of the school year.

2. Please help us out with the PTSA Port-A-Pit fundraiser! A lucky staff member can win a free day off for selling dinner tickets! Please email from Wednesday with details and how you can help. SEMS can benefit from the funds raised during this event! We really hope to see you there.

3. Don't forget Daylight Savings Time this weekend! Be sure to spring ahead one hour on Saturday night to adjust to this change. Get some rest...that hour can make a huge difference!

4. The vertical planning meetings scheduled for Monday, March 11, have been postponed. Please utilize this time for planning, grading, etc.

5. As a reminder, the encore and 6th grade staff members who worked the Rising 6th Open House last month have fulfilled their requirement of working one night event for the second semester.  So for the rest of the certified staff, there will be several events throughout the spring that you may sign up for, including: March Madness (March 8), 8th grade social (March 22), 6th and 7th grade socials, and spring music concerts. For those certified staff who still need to sign up for an event, the sign-up sheet is now posted in the staff workroom.  Please sign up for an event as soon as possible. 

6. Homebase teachers: Please remember that all bright green student survey sheets are due to Gentry by March 28. Thanks to those teachers who have already completed this process!

7. Please know that March will be a very tough month for our guidance counselors.  We are now in the process of working with our registration cards for next school year. This is a crucial time period because we are preparing for our allotment conference at the end of March, when I go to meet and earn our staff for next school year. Typically, this registration process prior to allotment is about 8-10 weeks long.  However, with this new time crunch for the state, the registration process is only 4 weeks.  So please understand that the guidance counselors will do everything they can to meet the needs of our students, but they will be on "lockdown" at times in order to prepare our student course tallies for allotment.  

8. The Athletics Department will sponsor March Madness on Friday, March 8, from 2-4pm. The students will take on the staff in a fun basketball game.  In addition, the 8th grade social is scheduled for Friday, March 22. 

9. Teacher intent forms are due by March 20. Please see your email for the link and instructions on how to fill this form out.

10. The grade level meetings originally scheduled for Thursday, March 14, have been postponed due to a principals' meeting being scheduled on the same day.  We will let you know how/when they will be rescheduled.
11. We will conduct a mini-workshop on behavior intervention and effectively dealing with parents on Monday, March 18, at 2:20pm. This is a required meeting for staff. It will be over by 3:15pm.  

12. We will do a schoolwide mock testing session at the end of March during the quarter test window. If we do not have any more snow days, then we plan to do these sessions on March 21 and 22. A mock testing session means that we will shut down the school and have a modified daily schedule, just as we do on EOG testing days. 

13. March 28 will remain an Rs day and there will be limited offerings for trainings should any staff wish to do so. You may want to check with your subject area Program Manager for the status of any trainings offered (quite a few have been cancelled).  This will be a day that staff can take an annual leave day.

14. The Spring Book Fair will take place April 15-19. We will set it up similar to the schedule used last year - Language Arts teachers will be scheduled for a 15-20 minute visit with each of their classes and then we will provide Book Fair passes to all LA teachers for students to come to make purchases during the second half of the week. More details will be provided.

15. Our third annual Spring Arts Festival will take place on the evening of Thursday, April 18. This is an opportunity to bring the community together for the Spring Book Fair Family Night, arts and crafts show, and art and music performances by our students and even staff members. We are looking for staff members, students, and parents to show off your creativity and talent! If you are interested in participating, please let us know. More details will be given out to all students and staff members later in March.
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
March 8-11 - Main Office/Guidance Office carpet installation
March 8 - March Madness (sponsored by the Athletics Dept.)
March 11 - Vertical Planning Mtgs. (2:20pm)
March 14 - Fundraiser Limo Lunch (for qualifying students)
March 15 - Spring Pictures
March 15 - Port-A-Pit PTSA Fundraiser (2:30-7:00pm)
March 18 - Mini-Workshop for Staff: Behavior Intervention/Dealing with Parents (2:20pm)
March 21-22 - Mock EOG-style Quarter Testing
March 22 - 8th Grade Social (2-4pm)
March 27 - End of 3rd Quarter (as of now)
March 28 - Rs Teacher Workday
April 8 - Staff Meeting (2:20pm)
April 10 - MS/HS Teacher Transfer Fair (4-5:30pm, North Forsyth HS)
April 12 - Fundraiser BMX Bike Show (12:30pm)
April 15 - SIT Meeting (2:20pm)
April 15 - 19 - Spring Book Fair
April 18 - Spring Arts Festival (6-8pm)