Weekly Update 11/7/13

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

1. Thanks to Cindy Wilkes and John Downs for their efforts in getting report cards prepared. It has been quite a monumental task for them as well as all of you. So thanks to everyone. Cindy and John are working now to get our report cards to print. Teachers will have those before next Wednesday.

2. Please enjoy your three-day weekend! Remember that school is closed on Monday! You deserve it!

3. Report Card distribution will be Wednesday, November 13. All students will switch back to homebase when announced on Wednesday afternoon. We will start with 7th grade and then announce 8th grade movement. Then students are to stay in their classrooms until dismissed. We will start all movement at about 1:45.  6th grade, you can determine the movement you wish to do within your teams. 6th grade will still dismiss first. 

Encore teachers: Please follow the same supervision schedule for dismissal as you have previously done (i.e. on the Rachel's Challenge Day).  

4. 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 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. 

5. Tutoring letters will go home with specific students in Wednesday folders. Homebase teachers will receive  letters to hand out to specific students (the letters will be labeled with student names). Please make sure these students receive them on Wednesday. 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. I will forward specific tutoring information to you as the program kicks off in December. 

6. 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.

7. 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. 

8. 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.   

9. Teachers are reminded to turn in their quarter test materials as directed by Leah Gardner. 

10. 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. 

11. The expectation 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. 

12. 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. 

13. 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. 

14. CPR training will take place on Monday, November 18, in the multi-purpose room right after school. So far, I have the following staff members signed up to attend:  Stalter, Halverstadt, Reynolds, R.Holmes, Jo.Watson, and Hatch. There are still two spots remaining if you wish to attend and get certified. There is no cost associated with this class. 

15. Vertical planning meetings are scheduled for Monday, November 18, at 2:20pm.  Topics and locations are still to be determined. For those of you signed up for CPR training, please still plan to attend that training as scheduled. 

16. WSFCS will sponsor a teacher appreciation event on November 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!

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

18. 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.  

UPCOMING DATES
Nov. 7 - Volleyball game vs. Jefferson (3pm, SEMS)
Nov. 11 - No School - Veteran's Day! 
Nov. 12 - Tri-M Music Induction Ceremony (8am, SEMS)
Nov. 12 - Volleyball @ Flat Rock MS (3pm)
Nov. 12 - National Academic League Tryouts
Nov. 13 - Report cards distributed
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