Madison Middle School

Happy Friday Monarchs!,

Thank you all for your thoughtful work with kids, this week.

Here are this week’s updates:

MADISON INFORMATION         

• Fire Drill on Wednesday! – We’ll completing our required monthly fire drill on Wednesday at 2:00, during 5th period.

• FOCUS Slides and Circle Topic for next week (Should we move Focus and/or Lunch period?).
  • Remember, it’s a short week, so we’ll be doing circle on Wednesday. Please make sure that your focus class has the opportunity to discuss the circle topic each week. We have several teachers who resurface the circle topic throughout the day with their classes, and it makes kids feel unsure and nervous if they haven’t had the same preliminary discussion as their peers. 

• Leadership Plan: Thank you to those of you who voted on the leadership plan. The vote from licensed staff passed with 100% of those who participated
• Reminder: Please work with your 6th period class to put chairs up at the end of the day. We are still running short on custodial staff, and Larry would really appreciate that as a helpful time-saver.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION       

• Repeat: A Note About Thanksgiving: As Thanksgiving approaches, keep in mind that student conceptions about this holiday often come from classroom activities around the First Thanksgiving as this article from NPR highlights. These conceptions of Native Americans can be both inaccurate and potentially damaging if students are presented with misinformation or “white-washed” versions of history. Additionally, we have students who identify as Native American or Alaskan Native in our school. We owe it to all our students and families to be mindful, accurate, and inclusive when teaching about Thanksgiving. When planning activities, be aware that what most of us learning in school about the “Pilgrims” and “Squanto” and the First Thanksgiving is both history and myth. Thanksgiving activities should not reinforce historical myths and/or stereotypes. If you’re planning on teaching around the topic of Thanksgiving, please either shift the focus to age-appropriate and historically accurate information or to a more personal focus on what students can be thankful for. Some resources on what to avoid and what to teach can be found at the National Museum of the American Indian, Teaching Tolerance and Education World. This Google Doc links to a ton of read aloud stories, primary resources, sites, and other information about Native and Indigenous Peoples. Here is a good article with a Native American Perspective on Thanksgiving as well as one on The True Story of the First Thanksgiving. Also the 4J Natives Program is available for classroom presentations year-round and can offer an accurate picture of Native American culture. See the next item for more details on that. Note: When I share resources like this, please do not hesitate to let me know if they are outdated or do not meet our standards for equity and inclusion. I recognize that despite my best intentions, I may at times share things that need to be updated. Additionally, if you have resources to share, please let me know.

Next Week at a Glance:

Four more weeks until Winter Break!

Peter and Gina

Hi Madison Staff,

What are your victories last week? I know we are experiencing an indescribable amount of challenges and this fall I have tended to be a glass half-empty kind of person. It’s hard for me to recognize the victories because my brain hyper-focuses on the things I did wrong, the balls I dropped, or the problems I don’t yet have solutions for. I have to intentionally remind myself of the victories, even the smallest ones because those matter. I spent some time this weekend reminding myself of the incredible victories we’ve experienced this year as well. What are your victories?

Here are this week’s updates:

MADISON INFORMATION         

• Focus: Slide

• What do we talk about at conferences? Talk about the student’s strengths and what’s going well in class. Parents really like to hear things that let them know you see their student and recognize their specific strengths. I like to ask parents how they think school is going. It’s always interesting to hear their perspectives.  Some students may need to learn to ask for help when they need it or not give up so quickly. Others need to work on stretching themselves instead of doing the bare minimum. Be honest with parents. What things could their student work on to help them be successful in class? If there are behaviors getting in the way of learning, talk about them. Consider asking parents for the strategies they use when their student struggles at home. Finally, end with a chance for parents to share what their goals are for their student and answer any questions they have. This is a really great opportunity to create a positive partnership and open lines of communication.

• EA Extravaganza Nov. 10: Linked here are the PD sessions that will be offered via Zoom from 8-12 on Wednesday, Nov 10 for all EAs. Please consider teaming up with your colleagues and zooming together to get the most out of the sessions. Sessions include how to lead small groups, ERI curriculum, using accessibility features, SIPPS Q&A, Science of Reading 101, and relationship building. Just a reminder that Wednesday and Friday are in-person work days for all classified staff. If you intend to use accumulated trade time, you must email me and let me know. Other activities for these days include completing projects for teachers, completing your TalentEd self-assessment, and finishing any SafeSchools modules

DISTRICT INFORMATION                            

• Repeat: Conferences Update: 
  • Teleworking Allowed: Principals have been given the flexibility to allow teachers to work from home for conferences, so please make whatever plans work best for you. Just send me an email if you’re planning to work from home for all or part of conferences.
  • Staff Not at Conferences: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday are regular work days for all staff who are not part of conferences and should work your regular hours at school. However, if you have accumulated trade time or are planning to accumulate trade time to not work any of these dates, please email me your plan ahead of time.
       
• Repeat: COVID Protocol Updates & Reminders: 
  • What symptoms mean staff or students should stay home? Please stay home if you are experiencing any primary COVID symptoms due to an unknown illness which are:
    • Fever of 100.4F or higher
    • Chills
    • Cough (non-persistent, dry coughs are okay, but congested coughs are not)
    • Shortness of breath
    • Difficulty breathing
    • New loss of taste or smell
    • Diarrhea
    • Vomiting
  • Vaccine Booster Clinics: Boosters will now be available for those who are 6 months post their 2nd dose and meet other requirements such as persistent, institutional exposure to Covid or those at high risk of severe Covid-19.  To learn more and book an appointment if you’re interested, please visit this link. 
        

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION       

• Short Breaks for Finding Calm: This article from Edutopia shares some strategies for taking quick breaks to improve mindfulness, self-regulation, and well-being. 
          
• A Note About Thanksgiving: As Thanksgiving approaches, keep in mind that student conceptions about this holiday often come from classroom activities around the First Thanksgiving as this article from NPR highlights. These conceptions of Native Americans can be both inaccurate and potentially damaging if students are presented with misinformation or “white-washed” versions of history. Additionally, we have students who identify as Native American or Alaskan Native in our school. We owe it to all our students and families to be mindful, accurate, and inclusive when teaching about Thanksgiving. When planning activities, be aware that what most of us learning in school about the “Pilgrims” and “Squanto” and the First Thanksgiving is both history and myth. Thanksgiving activities should not reinforce historical myths and/or stereotypes. If you’re planning on teaching around the topic of Thanksgiving, please either shift the focus to age-appropriate and historically accurate information or to a more personal focus on what students can be thankful for. Some resources on what to avoid and what to teach can be found at the National Museum of the American Indian, Teaching Tolerance and Education World. This Google Doc links to a ton of read aloud stories, primary resources, sites, and other information about Native and Indigenous Peoples. Here is a good article with a Native American Perspective on Thanksgiving as well as one on The True Story of the First Thanksgiving. Also the 4J Natives Program is available for classroom presentations year-round and can offer an accurate picture of Native American culture. See the next item for more details on that. Note: When I share resources like this, please do not hesitate to let me know if they are outdated or do not meet our standards for equity and inclusion. I recognize that despite my best intentions, I may at times share things that need to be updated. Additionally, if you have resources to share, please let me know.

Next Week at a Glance:

This week is a 2-day week with students.

Gina and Peter

Hi Madison Staff,

Here are this week’s updates:

MADISON INFORMATION            

• Focus Slides for the Week: First week of “real” Focus. Thank you Climate Team!!!

• Conference Sign Ups: We will have parents sign up for 10 minute conferences soon.  Remember they will be Tuesday from 4:30 to 8 and then Wednesday morning 8 to noon.

• Safety Committee members needed: We need two staff members to take part in our newly forming Madison safety committee. This would be a once monthly meeting. If you are willing to volunteer, please let Gina know, asap. Thanks!

DISTRICT INFORMATION                         

• TalentEd for This Year: All non-probationary licensed staff have had their Talent Ed processes marked complete for this year. Barring any performance concerns, those staff members will not need to complete anything in Talent Ed this year. For probationary staff, you’ll still need to complete the goal setting and self-assessment documents. Rob Hess has provided a template for SEL goals and technology goals if you’d like to use those. 

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION       

• Repeat: Digital Citizenship Week: This week is Digital Citizenship Week. The goal is to help students reflect on how their digital lives impact social and emotional well-being. Check out some of the resources from Common Sense Media, ideas from Applied Education Systems, and BrainPop’s Digital Citizenship Unit.

Next Week at a Glance:

Cheers to our first of two five day week with students! 

Peter and Gina

Hi Monarchs,

Here’s the news for this week:

MADISON INFORMATION         

• Staffing Update: We are working on hiring a 6 hour Covid Utility Utility Support person to assist with contact tracing and support students on quarantine, which will free the office team up a bit to support other systems in the building. Thank you all for your support while we’ve been juggling everything, these last several weeks.      

• EasyCBM: Remember that Focus teachers will be administering MATH easycbm next week. Please see Peter’s email for directions and let Gina know if you need help. We anticipate that most classes will finish by Wednesday, and we’ll be able to do circle time on Thursday. Circle topic forthcoming, early next week.

• Covid Support and Next Steps Document – Teachers, here is a sample of a new document that we’ve created that I will be emailing/canvasing home  (and cc’ing the teaching team) when a student is placed on quarantine. It lists pertinent details about the nature of the quarantine and includes directions and resources for families in order to help their student be successful during their time at home. We are hoping to begin using it after progress reports, once we’ve hired our covid support person.

DISTRICT INFORMATION 

• October 18 – Has been changed from an instructional day to a day in which teachers will be allowed to prepare and collaborate on plans for the second half of this first term.  No meetings with teachers will be planned on that day.   PLEASE NOTE:  Normally, all grades should be submitted no later than 8:00 am on the Monday morning following a Friday grading day.  In this case, all mid-term grades should be completed and submitted no later than 4:00 pm on Monday, October 18.   

• Professional Development – We are pausing ALL district and building admin facilitated Professional Development until January 2022.  This also means that the PD days scheduled for October 15 and November 12 are now dedicated to teacher planning/collaboration. Similarly, early release Fridays through the end of the calendar year are dedicated to teacher planning and collaboration.  One Friday each month (with the exception of 10/8 which has already been dedicated to teacher planning/collaboration) will likely be dedicated to a staff meeting.  
  
  

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

• The Truth About Reading: This documentary, coming in 2022, gives insight into the growing impact of balanced literacy on both students and adults. It also discusses the research referred to as the Science of Reading that tells us what works for a vast majority of students when teaching them how to read. 

Next Week at a Glance:

Have a good week!

Gina and Peter

At least once a day…

Madison Family,

Some of you have shared that the “honeymoon” is ending and you’re starting to experience some behaviors that weren’t evident early on. We want to support you! Please reach out so we (Peter, Gina, Anne, Audrey) can offer support to both you and students who may need it. Whether it’s taking kids for a break or stepping in for a few moments so you can use the bathroom or just take a deep breath, send us a text/email/phone call and we’ll be there. As you start to build a more regular structure into your period and begin to use curriculum or do more academic focused tasks, we can expect to see more behaviors emerge as students may seek to avoid work, lack stamina after 18 months of distance learning, or may have skill gaps that make the work challenging. A concept that serves many teachers well is go slow to go fast. Move slowly now, do smaller portions of a task, teach your expectations thoroughly, allow them time to practice and get feedback so that you can move more quickly later. 

Madison Information         

• Focus Activitites: 
  • Monday Sep.27: Respect Agreement – day three, or wherever you are in the process
  • Tuesday, Sep. 28:  PRIDE Tour Part 2
  • Wednesday, Sep. 29: wrap up anything from Respect Agreement or PRIDE Tour that isn’t done
    • Other Ideas: Minute 2 Win It
      • Link to lots of ideas
  • Thursday, Sep. 30: Light and breezy circle topic, practice circle communication skills. Examples include:

    • Something I collect is…

    • If I could choose a superpower it would be…

    • A food I could eat every day is…

    • If you could be an animal for a day, what would you be?

    • If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

    • What’s the best day of the week? The worst? Why?

    • Would you rather travel back in time or travel to the future?

    • If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it? 

    • Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon?

    • If you had a robot to help you with school, but it could only do one task, what would you have it do?

    • If humans started colonizing Mars, would you volunteer to move there? Why or why not?

    • Is cereal soup/is a hotdog a sandwich?

    • If you could wake up tomorrow and magically have a new skill – speaking a different language, playing basketball like Ruthie Hebard, creating the world’s funniest TikToks – what would it be?

• EasyCBM: We are going to be doing Math EasyCBM in Focus class the week of October 4.  More information to come.

  • If you’re new to Madison or have never log into EasyCBM, please check your EasyCBM account to ensure you can log in and access materials and scores. If not, let me know so I can request access for you. 

• Quarantining Information: As a reminder, if students are quarantined as close contacts to a Covid positive person, staff or students who were identified as a close contact are NOT quarantined if they are vaccinated. Vaccinated close contacts remain working in the building. There are times you won’t know who those staff members are and at other times you may figure it out based on the students in quarantine. These staff members are safe to be around and are not expected to alter their daily work. Please be kind – we’re all getting through this together.

  Here’s what we’ve learned last week (Disclaimer: This info is subject to change…)

  • Individual Students Quarantined: When kids are quarantined individually either through exposure at school or at home, they cannot return for 14 days.
    • Work for Individual Quarantined Students: Students are working on the class work posted in Canvas and can reach out to teachers for a zoom conversation if needed or desired.

• Contact Tracing: Contact tracing is made easier by seating charts and routines. However, sometimes we spend time with kids who aren’t in our usual seats. If this happens, we need to you to document it the best you can incase we have to ask you in the next day or two.

  

• Student COVID Testing: This week we have 25ish students participating in the optional at-home Covid testing. 
  • Students New to the Program: As parents sign students up (which they can do on an ongoing basis), these students receive a green folder with all the info about how to do the tests. They keep these folders at home. If they haven’t submitted a consent form, the office staff adds one to the folder and students return it with their tests.
  • Test Distribution on Thursdays
  • Test Drop Off on Fridays:    

• Staff Check In: Let us know who deserves recognition this week! 

DISTRICT INFORMATION                    

• Repeat: Safe Schools: All staff will have Safe Schools (now called Vector) modules to complete by December 31. Your username is your employee ID number. There are about 2 hours worth of trainings to complete. Staff can use time this week to complete the modules, but you have until December.  
       

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

• Repeat: SELCO’s Educator Grants, Due 9/30: SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grant Program is now accepting applications for projects up to $1,000 that inspire curiosity, make learning accessible, and spark something new. Applications are open August 16-September 30. Visit the link above for details and to apply.
       
• Repeat: EEF Grants Due Oct 1: Because last year was so different, EEA has moved the grant process to the fall. Visit the website here, under the Grants tab, to complete the application. If you’d like to submit a grant request, please send Peter your grant title and idea so TLC can rank order grant submissions. 

Next Week at a Glance:

Two five day weeks down! Thanks for hanging in there with us.