Madison Middle School

By gaston_e 　https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2019/10/13/october-14-2019/

I hope you all had a restful long weekend. There’s not a lot of news to share this week. Our focus is mostly gearing up for the River Walk. 

• River Walk – It’s River Walk week! Linked here are the logistics for the day and here are slides to share with your class about expectations and the schedule. Please share expectations with kids on Thursday during Focus, with a review on Friday. 
  • 9:30-11:45 – River Walk
    • Walk with Focus class
    • Madison to Spring Creek, around building or parking lot
    • Spring Creek to Awbrey Park, around building or parking lot
    • Awbrey Park to Madison via River Road
    • Classes will arrive back likely between 11:30 and 12:00 (that’s the goal!)
    • Total route is 4.2 miles and Google says about 75 minutes at a normal pace
    • Phones allowed for photos and music. No social media.
    11:45-1:00 – BBQ and extended activity time
    • BBQ will be out on the front lawn if the sun is shining. It will be indoors if not.
    • Walk your class through the BBQ as you return.
    • After kids eat, they can choose to play on the field or basketball courts
    • Phones off and away
    1:00-2:35 – Focus classes and raffle tickets
    • Kids return to Focus classes and prepare raffle tickets with first and last name
    • Student envelopes with their raffle tickets inside will be in Focus teachers’ mailboxes by the end of the BBQ
    • We will provide a list of raffle items and their corresponding bucket # (ex: Vans gift card is bucket #12). Kids can write the bucket numbers on their tickets if they want to be super efficient and prepared 🙂
    • We will call grade levels down to the gym to use their raffle tickets.
    • Teachers provide an activity for kids to do
    • Phones are NOT allowed once we are back in the building
    • Please do not allow Google, YouTube, etc on iPads during this time
    • If kids will have a choice of room to go to, please have them stay in that room – no switching after they pick a room
    • If you’re doing a movie, show only G or PG movies unless the whole class has a PG-13 approval signed in Synergy
    We will announce raffle winners throughout the next week during announcements. On Friday, October 25 we will announce how much money was raised and what school and class rewards were earned. 
      
• Walkie Talkies? – Please let Peter know if you have a set of Walkie Talkies that we could use on the walk. Thanks!
     
• Staff Meeting Times – TLC discussed and determined staff meeting times. Staff meetings will start at 8am. We will make every effort to be finished by 8:30 am, but please know some meetings will go until 8:45. The importance and timeliness of the information and time for staff discussion and input will determine how long meetings will last. 
     
• Fast Bridge – Last week’s report training was canceled and we are supposed to get a “How to” from the company. I am hopeful it will come soon. Also, if you haven’t yet, visit this link to submit your feedback.   
     
• Friday Early Release PD – This week we will be looking at Early Warning Data now that progress reports are finished. 
     
• Fiesta Cultural Celebrates Latinx Arts & Culture – Lane Art Council’s 5th Annual Fiesta Cultural is Lane County’s largest celebration of Latinx arts and culture, featuring over forty multicultural events happening September through December. See the linked flyers (English and Spanish), the images below, and the above link for event dates and details.
    
                                   
     
• Check Calendars for Board Meeting Conflicts  – Downtown asked schools to make sure no evening events are scheduled the same night as any School Board Meeting Dates. We will work to ensure school events don’t conflict, but please be sure to keep this in mind when planning any special evening events.
     
• Trauma Stewardship TEDx Talk – In this talk, Laura Vandernoot Lipsky offers a window in the cumulative toll that can occur when we are exposed to the suffering, hardship, crisis or trauma of humans, other living beings, or the planet itself. Held within the larger context of systematic oppression and liberation theory, she dives into what gets hard and how to work toward reconciling it both individually and collectively. 
• Schedule of Upcoming Events:

October 14 (M)
     Digital Citizenship Week
     Regular Day

October 15 (T)
     Regular Day
     Erin and Peter on call for Awbrey Park
     3:00-5:30, 4J Flue Shot Clinics (Ed Center)

October 16 (W)
     8:00, Staff Meeting (Library)
     1:15, Interviews for new position (conference room)

October 17 (H)
     River Walk Money Due (turn in to office)

October 18 (F)
     River Walk Day!
     2:45, Early Release PD – Early Warning Data
     3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

October 21 (M) 
     3:45, Erin to MS Asst Principal’s meeting (downtown)  

October 22 (T) 
     7:45, TLC Meeting (conference room)
     7:45-11:30, Erin covering at Howard
     10:30, Fire Drill

October 23 (W) 
     3:45, Climate Team Meeting – ISLA
     6:00, BSU Family Pizza Night

October 24 (H) 
     8:15, Peter to MS Principal’s Meeting (downtown)
     12:00-3:30, 8th Grade Career Expo     

October 25 (F) 
     2:45, Behavior Framework PD
     3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
     6:30, Fall Activity Night