Weekly Update 11/6/14

SOUTHEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014

1. Once you finalize grades, please do not go back in and make any quarter grade changes. If you finalize your grades and then need to make an update/change, please fill out the grade change form, place in my mailbox, and then I will review, approve, and give to Cindy Wilkes to make that change. Grade change forms will be available in Cindy's office. 

2. The United Way drive is still going strong and will last through November 10. All staff are highly encouraged to donate.  Please follow the instructions on the United Way link on the WSFCS website. Incentives for donating include:  Chick-Fil-a coupons and a chance to win a Target gift card or a United Way t-shirt. In addition, any staff member who donates at least $25 total will be put in a drawing for a $50 gift card to the grocery store of your choice for Thanksgiving!  Our goal as a school is to raise well over $5,000.
 
3. PLT meeting minutes - Core teachers, your weekly meeting minutes are required to be submitted to me by the end of each week. Encore teachers,  your monthly PLT meeting minutes are to be submitted to me.  The expectation for encore teachers is that you all meet monthly as a large group and then you also meet monthly as a smaller PLT.  Please use the meeting minutes format that has been distributed to all teachers. Let me know if you have any questions. 

4. 6th grade teachers: Please be sure to distribute the Time to Tell information to your students.  It is important that this paperwork go home to parents. If any parents wish to opt their child out of the video viewing in November, they must return the form. Please give all returned forms to the Guidance Office. 

5. There are several upcoming trade out time opportunities for teachers.  More information coming soon.

6. Report cards will be distributed on November 12.  We will switch back to homebase by announcement starting at 1:48. 6th grade, you may decide how to distribute your report cards on that day in order to coordinate your locker breaks for dismissal. We will then announce our dismissal patterns starting with 6th, then 7th, and then 8th as normal.

7. Please post and celebrate your honor roll students within your homebases/teams. We will have a small celebration for first quarter straight A students. More information is coming soon.

8. If any teachers/teams/groups wish to use the multi-purpose room in the mornings or afternoons, please sign up on the MP room sign up sheet posted in the staff workroom above the first copier. 

9. The school fundraiser will last through November 19.  Please encourage your students to participate. There are lots of incentives for them to sell items from the catalog! There has been one addition to the fundraiser incentives. We were chosen for an extra incentive event - the BMX Bike Show. So we will have the Glow Party on December 16 and the BMX Bike Show on December 17. More details coming soon. All event dates are on the master calendar. 

10. If your team/group is planning to go on a field trip, the cafeteria asks for a one week notification of your total number of bagged lunches requested.  They order food on a weekly basis, and they need sufficient time to ensure that bagged lunches are available. Any requests that come in late will not be able to be filled by the cafeteria. Mr. Krammer, Cafeteria Manager, asks for your cooperation with this procedure.

11. According to new guidelines, students are not permitted to get ice from the cafeteria.  Only adults are allowed to go into the cafeteria to get ice from the machine. 

12. We have a new software approval process. If you have any software you would like to request on any school computers, you will need to put your request in writing (email is fine) to Mr. Downs, Mrs. Turner, and I.  We will first determine whether we have sufficient funding and then proceed with the online approval system. 

UPCOMING EVENTS
Please remember that this calendar does NOT include all school events, meetings, etc. The online master calendar (SEMS School Calendar, through your email) contains all of these events.  In the future, this list will be limited to reminders/highlights of significant events on the calendar. Please consult the master calendar for more detailed information.

Nov. 6 - Fundraiser Kickoff Assemblies 
Nov. 10 - SEMS Professional Development Sessions
Nov. 11 - Veteran's Day - No School!
Nov. 12 - Report Card Distribution
Nov. 26 - 30 - Thanksgiving Break!
Dec. 1 - Staff Mtg.
Dec. 3 - Core and Encore Progress Reports