Madison Middle School

By barsotti_p 　https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2023/02/03/february-3rd-2023/

Dear Madison Staff,

We did it! We hit the halfway mark! I hope you spend a little time looking at our google slide shows each week on the TVs. If you have pictures of your students or student work you want shared on the screen, please email them to Mary and she will gladly add them. Here are this week’s updates:

MADISON INFORMATION     

• North Eugene HS Pride Festival: Beth is a part of the Rainbow Squad this year and we are planning this year’s Pride Day for 4J North Region students.  If you want to to learn more about it or want to donate there is a link below. If so, here is the link with a description of how donations will be utilized: https://gofund.me/c91e6335 
            

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

• Repeat: Proposed 23/24 District Calendar: Linked here is the proposed 23/24 school year calendar. It includes some significant changes including school starting in August, a transition day for Kinder, 6th, and 9th graders, and conferences during Thanksgiving week. You can provide your feedback at the bottom of the calendar, including questions you may have. One of mine is what the 2 days off in September are for and can we shift one of them to April to help break up that long stretch between Spring Break and Memorial Day.     
               
• UpBeat Survey: The district has partnered with UpBeat to learn more about teacher and staff retention, engagement, and satisfaction. 85% of our staff completed the initial survey and I met with the UpBeat coach on Friday to review our results. We’ll meet at an upcoming staff meeting to collaboratively review the results and engage in conversation about how we’d like to use the information from the survey to help improve our school and our systems. All staff will have a chance to complete the survey again in the Spring and next Fall as well. I was dubious at first, but I was encouraged by our results and can see where we can intentionally focus energies to help improve things. I also think it will support the equity work that we are doing. Thank you to everyone who participated in both the survey and this morning’s tough conversation about better serving our students of color at Madison.
  

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PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

• Black History Month Resources: While it’s important to honor Black history throughout the year, Black History month in February is a special time to shine a spotlight on this topic. Here are a few resources from WeAreTeachers, with ideas from bulletin boards and posters to activities and books. Amy Page also shared a Sora Link to over 250 eBooks and audio books celebrating black voices. 
  

Looking Ahead:

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina