Madison Middle School

By gaston_e 　https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2019/10/20/october-21-2019/

There are so many thank yous for last week. You all rocked the River Walk. I heard so many kids say they had fun and I know I had a good time hanging out with Anne, Mike, and the kids bringing up the rear of our walk.

• River Walk Debrief – If you have feedback on what worked and/or suggestions for next year, please feel free to email Peter or me. We would love to hear from you. I would also love to hear kids’ feedback. I’m especially curious about how we can improve our fundraising efforts.
  • We have so far raised $8,066.79. 
  • Raffle winners will be announced during morning announcements all week.
  • The kids earned a DJ at lunch – we will determine a date and announce it soon.
       
• Early Warning Data Reminders – Just a reminder to get your letters to Anne by Thursday so she can mail them. 
    
• Peter and Erin This Week – Erin will be out Tuesday morning covering for Allan at Howard. Peter will be out Thursday morning at a middle school principal’s meeting.
     
• 8th Grade Career Expo – Permission slips will go home Monday with 8th graders. If you have an 8th grade Focus class, please keep track of who has and hasn’t returned their permission slips and remind them daily to get those turned in. Here’s the agenda for Thursday:
  • After lunch (11:45), students go to Focus class to take roll and head to buses.
  • Wilcox and Stead’s Focus classes head to the gym. Jessica will take roll with Erin’s help.
  • 12:30 – Arrive at Bob Keefer Center
  • 1:45 – Leave Bob Keefer Center
  • 2:15 – Arrive back at school, students go to 5th period class
  • Teachers going: Jessica Johnson, Jan Youngman, Geoff Davis, Heather Kliever, Matt Goodban
  • Coverage: Amy Brooks is going to cover Heather’s third period
       
• OSEA Visit Fri. Oct 25 – Reps from OSEA will be in the staff room on Friday from 9am-1pm. They will have benefit information, prizes to give away, and are there to answer any questions or chat.
     
• Fire Drill Tuesday – We will have our 2nd fire drill of the year on Tuesday at 10:30am. Please be sure you have an up-to-date class list, clearly labeled with your name, to turn in to Peter on the field. Please remind students of the expectations:
  • Exit the building silently.
  • Walk to the field quietly with your class.
  • Stay in line with your class.   
  • Follow all adult directions immediately.
       
• Friday Early Release PD – This week is designated for Behavior Framework. The provided topic is welcoming students at the door. Since we have already covered that, we will just do a check in about that strategy. Then we will spend most of our time finalizing our “Office Managed vs Classroom Managed” chart and discuss the next piece of ISLA – a school-wide break system.
     
• Activity Night – This Friday is our first Activity Night from 6:30-8:30. Kids are welcome to wear their costumes.    
     
• Spirit Week Next Week – We will have our first spirit week during the week of Halloween. Here are the daily themes :
     
  
  • Mixed Up Monday – Mismatch, crazy socks, how far will you take it?
  • Twinning Tuesday – Get with your friends and come dressed alike OR twin with your favorite staff member
  • Way Back Wednesday – How far back will you go? Will it be medieval times, the 50s, or what you wore yesterday?
  • Thursday (Halloween) – Costumes
    • school appropriate outfits
    • no masks
  • Frumpy Friday – Come down from the sugar high by wearing your PJs or your comfiest clothes
       
• iPad Updates – I am working this week to get all caught up on iPad infractions. My goal is to only take iPads from kids who are misusing their devices. I would be very appreciative if teachers could make some time during Focus to reteach some of the expectations. It would also be helpful if you would note who is getting infractions and take a few moments to check in with them and remind them that we track these and they earn referrals, lunch detention, and risk losing their iPads if they continue.
     
  I have pulled about 8 iPads from 8th grade and placed an “office” sticker over the iPad number in the cart. Additionally I put a placeholder in that iPad’s slot to identify where that iPad is. My goal is to do 6th and 7th grade on Monday. Please remember that if a student’s iPad lives in the office, they generally cannot yet make good decisions when using their iPad. If possible, provide an alternative to using their iPad. If it is essential to the lesson or work, please ensure you are using Apple classroom while students are on their iPads. There is no need to continue documenting infractions for these students UNLESS the behavior is especially egregious such as looking at pornography or damaging the iPad. 
     
  Here are the biggest infractions so far:
     
  
  • Not putting iPads away at the end of the day (missing or left on cart)
  • Not picking iPad up in the morning
  • Leaving iPad in classes
  • Being on their iPad when they’re not supposed to be
  • Using YouTube, camera, games when they’re supposed to be working 
    • Please remind them that YouTube and internet searches are FORBIDDEN unless they have permission from their teacher and they are doing work from an assignment. Teachers should have Apple Classroom running and be monitoring students’ screens.
         
• CHAMPS – One of the conversations that came out of Justice League this week was the myriad of skills kids need to have and be able to do before they can even access academic content in our classrooms. I’ve shared this before I believe, but I’m so passionate about it, I thought I’d share it again. Classrooms are such nuanced places where behaviors that are okay during group work aren’t allowed during whole group instruction or tests. It’s especially challenging in middle school because one teacher’s expectations for an activity might be completely different than another teacher’s expectations. CHAMPs lets teachers define their expectations for the different types of activities and explicitly teach them to kids. Here’s a video of Randy Sprick talking about CHAMPs. If you’d like more info, I would love to chat with you!

• Schedule of Upcoming Events:

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)
     11:45-2:15, 8th Grade Career Expo     

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

October 28 (M)
     Spirit Week:
     2:15, Erin to AVID Coordinator’s Meeting (downtown)

October 29 (T)
     Spirit Week: Twin Day
     Regular Day

October 30 (W)
     Spirit Week: 
     Regular Day

October 31 (H)
     Spirt Week: Costumes
     7:30, Justice League (Anne’s office)

November 1 (F)
     Spirit Week: Pajama/Comfy Clothes Day
     2:45, Early Release PD – PLCs
     3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

November 3 (Su) 
     Daylight Savings Ends (fall back one last time for Oregon)