Madison Middle School

By gaston_e 　https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2020/01/26/january-26-2020/

I’m pretty sure that 4 day week was actually 238 days. One thing I noticed in some of the tougher moments this week was how much you have each other’s backs. Whether it’s taking a second to check and make sure a colleague is okay or sitting down together to share in the aftermath of a tough interaction, you take care of each other. It’s a beautiful thing, Madison family.

• Progress Report Day – Friday is a no-school day for kids. Staff will have 3.75 hours of PD and the remainder of the time is for progress reports. For PD time, our agenda includes the implicit bias training we postponed from January 6 and a review of behavior data. We are finalizing the schedule and agenda and will send it out to you as soon as possible. As of right now, it looks like PD time will happen in the morning.
      
• Repeat: Winter Testing Window – Technically the winter testing window is open. It runs from Jan 1 through Feb 10. As a pilot school, we will test in February. If you are a math or ELA teacher, please plan 2 days toward the end of the month for the FastBridge assessment. For ELA, there are a series of assessments that will automatically load after the initial assessment. Students should take those as well. The system will tell them when they’re done. I’ll send out some more info about this soon. Additionally, we will create a plan to catch kids who were absent so we don’t miss assessing them.
       
• Care Team Resources – Here are a couple new resources shared at last week’s Student Care Team Meeting:
       
  
  • • Adolescent and Family Services (AFS) – AFS delivers treatment for teens with alcohol and drug problems. Counseling services are provided in an outpatient setting at one of their two Eugene locations: Oregon Social Learning Center Developments, Inc. (ODI) and Centro Latino Americano (Centro) and can be provided in English or Spanish. AFS also provides family therapy. They are technically a research study, so there are incentives for family participation. Website and flyer
           
    • SNAP Training and Employment Program (STEP) – Not if you are on TANF, but if you are receiving SNAP benefits and need help with employment and training, STEP can help with financial assistance, careers advancement, building job search skills, and resources for home and family. See the linked flyer (English and Spanish) for more info.
                  
• Opportunities for Incidental Learning for Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing – Many thanks to our wonderful interpreting staff for the refresher on the role of interpreters in the classroom. One thing that was shared was the need for interpreters to provide students with vocabulary, context, or other information during the lesson. This article highlights the importance of incidental learning for DHH students. While it details a funny interaction between a first grader and his interpreter, it also demonstrates the important work interpreters do outside of just interpreting our lessons to provide access to information students may never have had the opportunity to learn. Thank you to our interpreting staff for all you do!
       
• Support English Language Learners’ Strengths – Emergent bilingual or multilingual students who are in the process of learning English need educators whose methods and mindsets draw out these learners’ strengths. Many of the educator voices in this issue of ASCD Express were once English learners themselves, providing a mix of experience and expertise on the shifts necessary for multilingual students to thrive. Follow the link above for articles on Being an Advocate for English Language Learners, Removing Barriers to Learning in Math for All Students, and An Asset-Based Approach to Support ELL Success. On a related note, here’s an Edutopia article on Five Tips for Getting the ESL Student Talking, an article from Colorin Colorado on What are BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)? which includes a nice video and also What is the Difference Between Social and Academic English?       
       
• Schedule of Upcoming Events:

January 27 (M) 
     7:30-11:30, Erin covering at Spring Creek
     8:15, Peter to tour with new student
     9:00, Peter meeting with parent
     2:15, Erin to AVID Secondary Meeting (downtown)
     3:45, Peter and Erin to MS Admin Meeting (downtown)

January 28 (T) 
     7:45, TLC Meeting (conference room)
     7:30-11:30, Erin covering at Howard
     1:45, Erin to Formal Observation

January 29 (W) 
     10:00, Peter, Anne, Connie to meeting with parent
     12:45, Erin to Formal Observation

January 30 (H)
    9:45, Erin and Anne to truancy meeting 

January 31 (F) 
     No School – Grading Day (schedule TBA)
     K-8 EA Extravaganza (no word yet – might be cancelled?)
     1:00, Peter to PLC Training (downtown)

February 3 (M)
     3:30, Peter to Santa Clara Stakeholders’ Meeting

February 4 (T)
     7:45, TLC meeting (conference room)

February 5 (W)
     8:00, Staff Meeting (library)
     Anne teaching Naviance in 7th grade social studies
     1:45, Erin to formal observation
     2:45, Erin to formal observation pre-conference

February 6 (H)
     7:30, Justice League (Anne’s office)
     11:45, Erin to formal observation
     1:00, Erin and Anne to parent meeting
     2:45, Erin to formal observation post-conference

February 7 (F)
     Anne teaching Naviance in 8th grade social studies
     2:45, Building-based PD – PLCs
     3:30, Grade Level Team meetings

Have a great week, y’all!
Erin

Funny story – I once had a 2nd grader tell me I was her 3rd favorite teacher. I was appropriately flattered until I did the math and realized I was her third teacher ever. Ah, well. Can’t win them all.