Weekly Update 3/26/14

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014

1. I wish all of you a safe and relaxing Spring Break. It has been a chaotic third quarter, so please use this time to recharge and prepare for the next quarter.  I appreciate all that you do. 

2. The School Board voted unanimously last night to waive June 16 and June 17 for students. Central Office staff is now working on the adjusted calendar that will reflect these changes. I will forward you any updates that I get from them. 

3. "Why can't we make up days during Spring Break?"  This is a question we have been asked many times.  The simple answer is that the building will not be open.  In years past, the building was open during breaks because we were required to be open, so most of the 12-month staff (Gentry, Hook, and Wilkes) were present at the school.  However, we are no longer required to keep the building open during breaks.  Susie, Cindy, and I have each individually made the decision to take the time off during Spring Break - this is why the building will be closed.  Remember that when you are at home on a snow day, we (the 12-month staff) are required to be here at school working unless we take a vacation day.  We worked those snow days, so we wish to take the time off during Spring Break. 

Please rest assured that there are going to be multiple opportunities during the 4th quarter to earn trade-out time for the end of the school year.  I am currently in the process of having those opportunities approved by the Asst. Superintendent.  

4. DUE DATES: Online letters of intent due on March 28, Teacher Working Conditions Survey due on March 28, 25% Teacher Contract deadline April 22. 

5. All staff received information regarding the online letters of intent.  The link is available for you to complete.  Please refer to my earlier emails regarding this process. In my 3/18/14 email, I also attached a flyer from HR about the process as well. The deadline to complete your intent is March 28. As a reminder, if you plan to put in for a transfer, please let me know ahead of time either in person or via email. You are not required to disclose your reasons, but I do need to be notified in that case. 

6. Update of status of ISS room:  The ISS room is beginning to fill to capacity on a daily basis.  This is causing our assistant principals to have a backlog of discipline referrals because they are waiting on space in ISS.  In order to efficiently process referrals, the ISS room will be closed to period time-outs by teachers effective April 7.  This means that staff cannot send a student to ISS for a class period.  Instead, please work with your peers and colleagues to have time-out spots available between classrooms. That way, you can still time-out any students necessary, just in a different location. 

7. Many events and activities continue to be rescheduled due to the weather. Please take a look at the dates below as well as the master calendar. Where is the master calendar? It is accessible through your email system - click on the Calendar link and select the SEMS-Stephanie Gentry calendar. 

8. In order to help get our students back in their school routines, it is imperative that we all come together and step up our CHAMPs expectations for hallways, lunchroom, as well as in your classrooms. We are experiencing lots of issues recently especially in the hallways, so please review all expectations with your students.  With testing right around the corner, it is so important that students understand the potential impact of their behaviors in the hallways.  The most frequent issues observed are taking place during lunch transition and in between encore class periods.

9. The teacher workdays scheduled at the end of the school year will be a combination of RC and RS days. The difference is that RC days are required workdays and RS days are eligible for annual leave. Typically the district designates RC days earlier than RS in the calendar (meaning that if there are RC days, they will fall earlier in the string of workdays rather than later).  Again, I will forward any updates that I receive. 

10. The end of the quarter is scheduled for Friday, March 28. The report card distribution date has been pushed back from April 9 to April 16.  This means that quarter grades will NOT be due before Spring Break.  All 3rd quarter grades will due to Cindy Wilkes byTuesday, April 8, at 4:00pm.  That will allow enough time for her to finalize and prepare report cards for homebase teachers to prepare to distribute.  Please adhere to this deadline. 

11. The last 10 school days are designated as our official testing window. We are now working with the district to draft our potential testing plans.  During this window, we must accomplish quite a few testing sessions - Reading and Math EOG, EOC Math I, Science and SS Final Exams, 8th Science EOG, Extend 2 test for EC students, CTE tests, and all make-up tests.  There will be many details to share with all of you, but here are a few tidbits...

- There may be multiple tests given in one day, both in the morning and afternoon sessions.
- Some students may end up taking more than one test during the day.
- The chances are very good that we will have altered schedules for most/all test days.
- Options for field trips and events will be significantly limited during this time. 
More information coming soon.

12. The legislature has made the decision to split EOG test scores into five achievement levels as opposed to the current four-level system. This will go into effect for this year's tests. We are not sure what impact this will have on our students (i.e. What is proficient now?), but we will continue to keep you updated on this topic. 

13. There is a scheduled EC Program Meeting on Tuesday, April 8, at 2:15pm. 

14. There have been some adjustments made to the April meeting calendar.  Please note the changes. The April staff meeting has been pushed from April 7 to April 14.  Please use the afternoon of April 7 to complete your 3rd quarter grades. 

15. The deadline for accepting a 25% teacher contract is April 22. Please let me know if you have any questions about the process. There have been many questions following our meeting last week. I will help to find answers to any further questions that you  may have. There has been much confusion over how much the total bonus is worth and how much you get each year by signing a contract.  We have asked for clarification on that.  Theo Helm from WSFCS is in the process of creating an FAQ for employees, so hopefully that will help. 

16. The PTSA Book Fair is set for the week of April 21-25.  We will work out a schedule for LA teachers to take their students to preview the fair and then designate days for open purchases.  The Spring Arts Festival is set for Thursday, April 24, from 6-8pm.  More details coming soon! 


UPCOMING DATES
March 27 - Track meet (Glenn HS, 3pm)
March 28 - Hoops for Heart Competitions
March 28 - Student Snow Make-Up Day (B-day)! End of 3rd Quarter!
March 28 - Online letters of intent DUE!
March 28 - TWC Staff Survey DUE!
March 29 - April 6 - Spring Break!
April 8 - 3rd Quarter Grades DUE by 4pm!
April 8 - EC Program Meeting at 2:00pm
April 8 - Girls Soccer vs. East Forsyth (Ivey Redmon, 3pm)
April 9 - Track Meet @ Atkins HS (3:30pm)
April 10 - Girls Soccer @ Hanes (Sara Lee Fields, 3:45pm)
April 12 - Music Trip to Carowinds!
April 14 - Staff Meeting (2:20pm, MP room)
April 16 - Report Card Distribution
April 16 - Track Meet @ Glenn HS (3pm)
April 17 - Girls Soccer vs. Northwest (Ivey Redmon, 3pm)
April 18 - No school - Good Friday!
April 21 - Snow make-up day for students and staff! (A day)
April 21 - 25 - PTSA Book Fair
April 22 - 25% Teacher Contract deadline to accept!
April 24 - Spring Arts Festival (6-8pm)