Happy Thanksgiving from GCMS!

Cougar Staff:

As we wrap up another great week at GCMS and enter into the Thanksgiving Break, I want to pause to thank each of you for what you do at GCMS each day.  Every staff member’s contribution and work is important, and I don’t say thank you often enough.  I was reviewing the TELL Survey results earlier this week, and one of the statistics that jumped out at me was that 94.6 percent of those who took the survey said yes, that “GCMS is a good place to work and learn.”  That sounds like a pretty good result on that question, but I would like to see this number at 100 percent next time.  I want people here who want to be here and know that we have a great school for our students and for our staff to work and to learn.  I appreciate our staff coming to work each day, having positive attitudes and high expectations for students and fellow staff, and for everything that you do.  I hope that you have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.  Take some time to truly count your blessings.  We all have much to be thankful for.  I thank the Lord every day for blessing me with a wonderful wife and two great children, for great friends and coworkers, for good health, a comfortable home, food on the table, clothes on my back, a great job where I have the opportunity to make a positive difference for kids, and on and on.  I am blessed far beyond what I could ever deserve, and I am thankful.

Personnel:

Please continue to remember those GCMS staff members who have health concerns.  Stacy Pierce is recovering well from surgery and was supposed to get some more test results back today (Thursday).  Laura Goff has returned to work, and we are glad to have her back after having surgery last Friday.  Elaine Holley has been having some medical testing and has a gall bladder surgery scheduled in December.  Cassie Jarboe’s daughter, Alyson, has also had some testing completed, and they are narrowing down what has been causing her health issues.  Many of you know Gayle Ferguson, who used to work as a custodian at GCMS.  Please remember Gayle in your thoughts and prayers.  He is going through chemotherapy dealing with a recurrent cancer.

Back to the Future Day:

Thank you to everyone who helped out with our 6^th grade Back to the Future Day yesterday!  We had a good turnout of 6^th grade parents, and everyone seemed to have a very positive experience.  I appreciate Faye and Kenzie setting up and working the hospitality room.  I also want to thank all of our 6^th grade teachers for opening up your classrooms to our parent visitors yesterday.  By parents getting a glimpse into the daily school life of their children, they can hopefully better understand and become more engaged with their child’s education.

You Are (UR) Statements:

In response to the overwhelming success of the GCMS “I Am Project”, we are asking staff members to post UR (You Are) statements to our students.  Please take a few minutes to write down some of the positives and potential that you see in our students.  This can be to your advisory, to your team, to a particular class, or to our GCMS students in general.  These statements can be given to Becky Miller or Becki Pearl, or you can post it directly up on the wall in the “tunnel” leading from the front lobby toward the library (across from the I Am statements).  Becky Miller put together a very nice video of the I Am project.  I even told her that if she ever gets fired from GCMS, she may have a future as a videographer!  Here’s the link for those who haven’t seen the I Am Project video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWq8oa6SiUk&feature=youtu.behttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWq8oa6SiUk&feature=youtu.be

Early Bird List:

It is time for Mr. Blain to update the School Messenger “Early Bird” list.  This is a list of staff members who would like to receive a School Messenger call from the central office as early as possible in the event of school delays or cancellations due to inclement weather.  Typically, the Early Bird list is called about 30 minutes before everyone else is called.  If you were on the Early Bird list last year and want to stay on it, you don’t have to do anything.  If you want to be added or deleted from the Early Bird list, please let me know.  This is especially nice for those who drive greater distances to get here from out of county or from the farthest reaches of Grayson County.  As always, school cancellations and delays are also posted on the Louisville and Bowling Green TV channels, K-105 radio, and on the GCBOE Twitter.

Help Desk Tickets:

Please utilize the technology help desk ticket system when you have technology needs.  Kevin will get to your tech requests as quickly as possible, and the ticket system is the most efficient way to do this.  Please understand that Kevin cannot always drop what he is doing to respond to your tech issue, but he will get to each and every tech need as quickly as possible.  We appreciate the work that Kevin does each day to make things run smoothly with technology at GCMS.  Thanks.

Also, please take the tech survey that Jerrod Graybeal sent out yesterday.  I completed it, and it really took less than 1 minute to finish.  Please complete this by November 23.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NWWRS8Y

Quote of the Day:

“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” ~Lady Bird Johnson

Coming Attractions:

Nov. 25-29....No School, Thanksgiving Week

Dec. 7…GCMS hosts 6^th Grade Showcase (academic team)

Dec. 7…GCMS girls basketball conference tourney, at McLean County

Dec. 9…Christmas Breakfast, sponsored by GCBOE

Dec. 10..Team 7 Showcase Lesson Day

Dec. 10..GCMS Christmas Dinner, 6:00 pm at GCMS

Dec. 16..Staff Potluck Lunch in Library

Dec. 17..8^th Graders tour the GC Tech Center

Dec. 20..Last day before Christmas Break (that day, we will be using our Mon-Thurs schedule)

Dec. 21-Jan. 5…Christmas Break

It's Novemberrrrrrrrr!

Cougar Staff:

It’s been another very busy week at GCMS, and I have a few notes to share as the week winds down.  I hope that everyone has a restful and relaxing weekend.  As the colder temperatures of November came in, I thought about how fast this school year is flying by.  Earlier this week, I was asked to sing and serve as a pall bearer for the funeral of a dear family friend, Mildred Patterson, and I thought about how fast life flies by. Please take time each day to spend quality time with your family and friends.  Don't let the little things in life dominate your time on earth.  Here is a little video that sort of sums up this idea of keeping the first things first and not getting lost in the details.  Enjoy your time and spend it wisely.  http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/the-empty-pickle-jar-v/?cm_mmc=ExactTarget-_-WS-_-11.13.13-_-PickleJarMovie&utm_source=exact-target&utm_medium=mail&utm_content=WS-_-11.13.13-_-PickleJarMovie&utm_campaign=ecommerce&j=311201&e=jim.blain@grayson.kyschools.us&l=3516_HTML&u=13930944&mid=7001668&jb=19

Personnel:

Please keep those GCMS staff members who are dealing with health concerns in your thoughts and prayers.  Both Stacy Pierce and Laura Goff will be having surgeries on Friday (today).  I know that you join me in wishing each a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.  There are many others who have illness, sick children, family members with health concerns, and on and on.  Please remember your GCMS family.

Non-Tenured Teacher Observations:

Please remember that all non-tenured teachers must have one formal classroom observation each semester.  If you have not already had your observation, then please get together with the administrator in charge of your evaluation to schedule your observation.  These should be completed by December 15.  Tenured teachers are required one formal classroom observation each year, and it is fine for tenured teachers to go ahead and have your observations early in the year.

Thank You Team 1:

I heard many positive comments about the showcase lesson day hosted by Team 1 earlier this week!  I enjoyed visiting each classroom myself.  The students and teachers were highly engaged, and a high level of learning was happening.  Thanks for a job well done.  We look forward to continuing visiting classrooms throughout the building as we share strategies and learn with and from each other.  The peer observation component of TPGES will be structured differently from showcase lessons, but it is certainly great experience for teachers to get in each other’s rooms like this.  We are moving in the right direction!

Veterans Day:

I want to thank everyone who was involved in helping to make this year’s Veterans Day program such a great success.  The GCMS choir, led by Teresa Jarboe, did a wonderful job.  Our Boy Scouts from Grayson County Troup 631 were outstanding as well.   Ben Jackson did a great job in sounding Taps.  As an old trumpet player from way back, I can tell you that playing Taps in front of a large crowd is a lot of pressure on a young fella!  It was especially great to see so many veterans with us on Monday.  They really seemed to enjoy and appreciate the program.  Our students were very well behaved and respectful.  Again, a big thank you to all of our veterans for their service to this great nation.

Congratulations:

Congratulations to Lea Ann Frank and the GCMS Energy Team for winning a $700 grant from Warren RECC.  The team has proposed to install motion sensors to control the lighting in some of our restrooms at GCMS.  This way when the restrooms are not in use, we will not be wasting electricity through lighting.  Great idea!

Bonus Checks:

The Grayson County School Board approved a 1.5 percent bonus for employees at Thursday night’s board meeting.  Employees should receive the bonus checks before Friday, November 29.

Quote of the Day:

“You can make your life whatever you want it to be.” ~Wally Amos

Coming Attractions:

Nov. 20.....6th Grade Back to the Future Day

Nov. 20.....GCMS Site Based Council Meeting, 3:00

Nov. 25-29..No School, Thanksgiving Week

Dec. 9......Christmas Breakfast at GCMS sponsored by GCBOE

Dec. 10.....GCMS Christmas Dinner, 6:00 pm at GCMS

Dec. 20.....Last day before Christmas Break (that day, we will be using our Mon-Thurs schedule)

Dec. 21-Jan. 5..Christmas Break

Next Best Place to Disney!

Cougar Staff:

I sometimes jokingly tell students that GCMS is the next best place to Disney World.  While some may disagree, we should all be very thankful to have such a great place to work each day. Working with young people and having the opportunity to make a positive difference is an awesome thing.  Let's always strive to take full advantage of that opportunity!

We are marching right into November as I write this week’s edition of Cougar Notes.  The school year is going so quickly!  If any of you want to slow down the clock, I’m sure that the Cheer Boosters and BETA Club would be glad to have some extra chaperones for the after school dance today!  Funny how slowly the clock ticks during certain events!  Either way, I hope that everyone has a great weekend.

Personnel:

Please keep your GCMS family in your thoughts and prayers.  We have lots of staff members dealing with health concerns and upcoming surgeries as well as family members with health issues.  Please remember Stacy Pierce, Laura Goff, Cassie Jarboe’s daughter, Tez Hawkins’ son, Karen Van Metre, David Whitmore, Rita Mullins’ daughter, Ellen Thomas’ husband, Pam Armstrong (no field goal kicking), everyone who is still coughing and hacking, and many more.  Also, we wish Kevin Butler a safe return from his mission trip to Africa.

Check out Mrs. Miller’s Blog:

Mrs. Miller has updated her blog!  Check it out at:  http://asstprinmiller.blogspot.com/2013/11/unexpected-shift-to-growth-mindset.html

Veterans Day Program:

We will be having our annual Veterans Day program on Monday, November 11 starting at 7:45 am in the gym.  We would like to honor GCMS parents, grandparents, and staff member who are veterans of the United States military with a brief patriotic program that morning.  We would like for our veterans to be seated in the honorary seating on the floor.  We would like for all staff members to come to the gym for the program and to help supervise our students in the bleachers that morning.  Thanks in advance.

Showcase Lessons:

I enjoyed visiting each of the Team 6 classrooms for showcase lesson day earlier this week.  There were a wide variety of highly engaging learning activities going on in the classrooms.  I heard many positive comments from the other teachers who visited as well.  It is a great feeling to know that with the “peer observation” component of PGES on the horizon, that our GCMS teachers have experience getting used to having colleagues in their classrooms on a regular basis.  We look forward to our Team 1 showcase lessons on Tuesday, Nov. 12. 

Taking Attendance:

Please be vigilant about taking attendance each period.  If you have a student who is counted absent and then comes in later, please make sure that Mrs. Venita is made aware with a phone call or an email, and she can make the necessary correction.  It is important that we always have an accurate accounting of our students, and it also avoids unnecessarily alarming parents when the attendance call goes out each day. 

Video Link from Mr. Belcher:

Josh Belcher shared an interesting video link with some of us this week.  It discusses divergent thinking and the need for school reform to improve in that area. 

Check it out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKEtm3h2qgo. 

Internet Usage Monitoring:

I want to remind you that school internet usage and school email is regularly monitored by the Grayson County School District and by KDE.  I receive an electronic report each week detailing the internet usage of GCMS staff members.  These reports include total time on the internet, number of website hits or visits, number of violations (inappropriate sites or attempts to log onto inappropriate sites), and specific sites visited.  This monitoring pertains to internet usage on the school’s network or while using school devices off the network.  Some staff member’s names appear on a top 5 list each week for these categories.  While I do not have the time, nor the desire for that matter, to talk to those who appear on the top 5 lists each week, I do want to remind you to always be professional in your school internet usage.  Please don’t email or get on any websites that you wouldn’t want your mother (or your principal or superintendent) to be aware of.  It is also important not to let students use your log-in and to not leave your workstation unattended when logged in.  Thanks.

Quote of the Day:

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” ~Sir Josiah Stamp

Coming Attractions:

Nov. 8.. School Dance, 3:00-5:00, sponsored by Cheer and Beta Club

Nov. 11..Veterans Day Program, 7:45 am

Nov. 12..Team 1 Showcase Lessons

Nov. 13..Progress Reports go home

Nov. 13..High School Softball Meeting, 2:25 pm

Nov. 20..6th Grade Back to the Future Day

Nov. 20..GCMS Site Based Council Meeting, 3:00

Nov. 25-29..................No School, Thanksgiving Week

Dec. 10..GCMS Christmas Dinner, 6:00 pm at GCMS

Dec. 20..Last day before Christmas Break (that day, we will be using our Mon-Thurs schedule)

This Week at GCMS

Cougar Staff:
Thanks for another great week at Grayson County Middle School!  It has been busy and crazy at times, with Red Ribbon Week and Halloween, but in all a great week.  Thanks for a very productive PLC Day today.  I felt like we had some really good conversations about learning targets this morning and about standards based grading this afternoon.  Thank you to the teachers from the teams piloting standards based grading for sharing their experiences so far.  Everyone seemed receptive and interested in doing whatever will benefit students most.  I look forward to more teams considering adopting this approach to instruction and grading.

Staff Concerns:
I know that we have several GCMS staff members and family members who are dealing with health concerns and medical issues right now.  Please remember each other in your thoughts and prayers during difficult times.

Program Review Gallery Walk:
We got a really good response from today's program review gallery walk.  I know that so many of you are doing so many things in your classrooms that will reflect favorably in our school program review.  It is very important that we get these things documented as supporting evidence.

Halloween:
Thanks for helping our students to have fun and "be kids" at GCMS on Halloween.  The costume contest was a lot of fun, and the students loved the staff performance of "What Does the Fox Say?"  Great job!

Quote of the Day:
"Narrow-minded people are similar to narrow-necked bottles.  The less they have in them, the more noise they make pouring it out." ~Alexander Pope

Coming Attractions:

Nov. 6....................Team 6 Showcase Lessons

Nov. 11…………..Veterans Day Program, 7:45 am

Nov. 12..................Team 1 Showcase Lessons

Nov. 13..................Progress Reports go home

Nov. 20……….….6th Grade Back to the Future Day

Nov. 20.................GCMS Site Based Council Meeting, 3:00

Nov. 25-29............No School, Thanksgiving Week