Weekly Update 11/14/13

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013

1. Please continue to encourage your students to participate in the school fundraiser. All monies are due by next Wednesday, November 20. Students can turn in money anytime. Susie has more collection envelopes if any students need them. Homebase teachers, please remember that all you have to do is make sure their collection envelope is filled out with the correct info, drop it in the blue HB folder, and turned in to Susie the same day. Please do not hold on to any money for any reason. Thanks to Susie for her hard work - counting and logging in all individual student orders is quite a task! Remind your students that they can earn entry into the Glow Party, the photo booth, the Hummer Limo Lunch, and even the Money Machine! 

2. Homebase teachers: Powerschool is not yet set up for automatically determined Honor Roll lists. Because of this, we are switching up the way that we honor/recognize our students for this first quarter.  We are asking homebase teachers for some assistance in this process for this quarter:  Once you receive your report cards, please go through them and make a list of any students who received straight A's and those who made A/B Honor Roll (all A's and B's).  If you could, please recognize these students in your classroom. You can even post their recognition somewhere in your room. That would really help out. 

3. Tutoring letters went home with specific students this week in Wednesday folders. If any students return signed letters back to you, please forward those to Leah Gardner quickly so that she can assign them to a tutoring group. 

4. We will have vertical planning meetings on Monday, October 18.  If you are signed up for the CPR class, please plan to attend that training. Vertical meeting locations and topics:

Science - B.Martin (Room 803) - Science Fair, training requirements, etc.
SS - L.Gardner (Lab 612) - Resources, literacy, etc.
Math - S.Gentry (Room 808) - Test scores, subgroups, resources, plan of action.
LA - L.Turner (MC) - Research, resources, etc.

EC Staff - please attend either Math or LA
Jackson - please attend LA
Encore staff - please choose a core area to attend. We recommend LA, Math, or SS.

5. All checks and monies should be turned in to the main office on a daily basis. This is for your protection. In addition, it is important that no students handle any monies that come in.  Susie makes daily deposits to the bank, so that is not an issue.  We must make sure that our checks are getting cleared in a timely manner and that teachers are not storing any monies in their classrooms or at home.

6. Please remember that all volunteers/chaperones that go on field trips must be cleared in the online volunteer system prior to the trip. This is a district requirement for the safety of all students and staff. Please double check with your parents when they volunteer and direct them to Mrs. Raya in the main office if they need to register. Teams/groups must confirm all chaperones with Mrs. Raya before the trip. 

7. If your team/group is taking a field trip, please remember that you must communicate your student lists to several groups of people. The encore teachers as well as the main office are required to have a complete list of the whereabouts of your students. The easiest way to accomplish this is to make a list of the students who are going on the trip and then make a second list of those not going and where they will be located on campus.  

8. Attention Science and Social Studies teachers: If you have students who need testing accommodations, please put in your request with Robin Douglas at least 2-3 days in advance. She will confirm a staff member and location for those modifications. EC staff: If any Science or SS teachers make a request, please direct them to Robin. This will help to ensure that there are enough staff and locations to accommodate all requests. 

9. The expectation/requirement from the district for your subject area professional development sessions that are scheduled periodically after school is that each grade level subject area has one representative at each meeting. For example, for each 7th grade Math afterschool session this year, a minimum of one 7th grade Math teacher is expected to attend. Your grade level subject area may arrange this any way that you wish. 

10. We have received a notice from the WSFCS Operations Dept. stating that we can no longer paint ceiling tiles for any reason. It violates several fire codes and affects the fire rating of the tiles. Please see me if you have any questions about this. 

11. Please only enter the school building in the mornings if it is 6:30am and the lights in the hallway are on.  There are groups of teachers on campus who have a key that unlocks one of the exterior doors. Even if you use this key and enter before 6:30am and the lights are not on, then you will set off an alarm. This alarm not only sounds off in the main office, but it also sends an alarm to the alarm company, the Kernersville Police Department, and WSFCS.  It is a lengthy process to clear an alarm. 

12. Please remember to update your grades in Powerschool weekly. This is the district requirement/policy. In addition, please be sure to make personal contact with any parents/guardians of students who have an F or if their letter grade drops by two or more. 

13. CPR training will take place on Monday, November 18, in the multi-purpose room right after school. The following staff members have signed up to attend:  Stalter, Halverstadt, Reynolds, R.Holmes, Jo.Watson, Hatch, Gustin, and Davis-King. 

14. WSFCS will sponsor a teacher appreciation event onNovember 20. The district is going to communicate with our parents and community members to invite them onto our campuses to thank an educator and to see what great teaching is all about. What does that mean for us? That means we will be inviting our families in and they will be on our campus to observe in their students' classrooms. If any community members show up to observe, we would like to designate two or three classrooms/areas for them to visit and observe a lesson. If you would like to be one of those spotlighted classrooms, please let me know.  All visitors on this day will also be encouraged to leave a thank you note for a staff member. The purpose of this event is to encourage parents to get involved and to publicly thank our educators for working so hard. We will plan a few other things during this day to say thank you - more details coming soon!

15. We will have grade level meetings on Thursday, November 21.  

16. We are looking to schedule a parent education night for Powerschool. If you are interested in being part of this training, please let me know.  

17. The Music winter concerts are coming up:  Monday, Dec. 16 (Orchestra); Tuesday, Dec. 17 (Chorus); Thursday, Dec. 19 (Band).  All concerts will be held at Atkins HS.  Any certified staff who did not work a grade level social in the fall, then you are required to work one of the concerts. We will post signups for these events in the next few weeks. 

UPCOMING DATES
Nov. 14 - Volleyball @ East Forsyth (3pm)
Nov. 15 - 6th Grade All-Stars Field Trip
Nov. 16 - Robotics Competition @ Flat Rock MS
Nov. 18 - CPR Training (for those who signed up)
Nov. 18 - Vertical planning meetings (2:20pm, locations TBD)
Nov. 19 - Volleyball vs. Mineral Springs (4:00pm)
Nov. 19 - 6th Grade Time to Tell Parent Preview (6:00pm, SEMS)
Nov. 20 - School Fundraiser Deadline
Nov. 21 - 7th grade Eye Screenings
Nov. 21 - Grade Level Meetings (during planning blocks)
Nov. 21 - Volleyball @ Hanes (3:30pm)
Nov. 23 - Robotics Competition @ Walkertown MS
Nov. 25 - SIT Meeting (2:20pm)
Nov. 25 - 6th grade Team Discovery Field Trip
Nov. 25 - 6th grade Time to Tell showings
Nov. 26 - 8th grade Field Trip to Greensboro Coliseum
Nov. 26 - 6th grade Time to Tell showings
Nov. 27 - Dec. 1 - Thanksgiving Break!
Dec. 2 - Staff Meeting (2:20pm, MP Room)