Thank You Cougar Staff!

Cougar Staff:

Is teaching a job where you get to work with kids all day,  every day?  Or is teaching a job where you have to work with kids every day, all day?  It is and has to be the former, rather than the latter.  It is absolutely necessary to have a positive attitude in working with students.  If you think that you have to be here “like it or not”, it is not a good situation for anybody, not for the teacher, not for your co-workers, and most importantly not for the students.  So let’s all focus on having a positive attitude with your “glass half full” instead of “half empty”.  You could even try having your glass all the way full and pouring it out on all the people you come into contact with each day!  Hope there are no Amelia Bedelias reading this.  That doesn't mean that it is easy.  Teaching is probably the second hardest job there is (right behind parenting), but it is also the second best job there is (again, right behind parenting).  Let’s all be thankful that we get to work with kids each day and have the opportunity to make a positive difference!

Staff Concerns:

Please keep Vicki Staley and Eddie Dennison in your thoughts and prayers.  Their uncle passed away this week.  Also, please remember Venita Wilson, whose cousin passed away this morning. 

Thank You:

Next week is National Teacher Appreciation Week!  We would like to thank our GCMS staff with an appreciation breakfast on Monday morning, May 5.  We will have breakfast sandwiches and donuts from Best Donut of Leitchfield.  This will be set up in the GCMS Library starting at about 6:45 am on Monday morning with enough breakfast sandwiches and donuts for every staff member to have a sandwich and a donut.  Bring your own coffee or breakfast beverage and eat in the library, or feel free to grab a sandwich and donut and take back to your room.  Also, our Family Resource Center will be setting up a hospitality room to thank GCMS staff members on Wednesday, May 7.  This will also be in the GCMS library.  We appreciate everything that you do each day to make GCMS a great place for students and staff!

Remix Education:

The students and staff really seemed to enjoy the assembly program presented by Remix Education on Tuesday afternoon.  I appreciate our teachers coming down and helping supervise the students during the program. 

Lunch Accounts:

I noticed on a recent email from Mrs. Hodges, that adult meal charges at GCMS were rather high.  Please remember that food service requests that adult meal charges never exceed $15.  It will be very important to pay these charges off by the end of the school year.

Supervision/Duties:

Please be very diligent about supervision of the students.  This is the time of year that if a student was ever going to engage in foolish or inappropriate behavior, that time is now.  Usually, just the presence of a staff member will be enough to prevent misbehavior, so please be visible at the class changes, in the hallways, to and from the cafeteria, during walking time outside, and so on.  Also, please be on time to early or late duties.  A couple of minutes might not seem like a lot, but a lot can go wrong in a very short length of time with unsupervised middle school students.

KPREP is Coming: (repeated from last week)

As you know, our KPREP testing is slated for May 15, 16, 19, 21, and 22.  Mrs. Majors emailed out our testing schedule last week.  Yesterday, I also sent you the afternoon schedule for each day so that we will not be missing the same class periods every day during the testing.  Each teacher will need to diligently monitor students during all testing sessions.  I expect teachers to be up and circulating during testing sessions rather than sitting at the computer or reading a professional journal.  I (and central office staff) will be coming around and may be in and out of rooms some.  We will be quiet and careful not to disrupt.  It will be necessary to leave all classroom doors unlocked, and as always all door windows uncovered during testing.  I emailed the good faith effort checklist a couple of weeks ago, and I will email that out again.  Please mark this checklist for each student.  At the end of the testing, we will have a good faith effort reward afternoon on May 22 in which students who have received 100 percent good faith effort will be able to choose activities in the gym (battle ball), a movie in the auditorium, fun activities outside (Frisbee, whiffle ball, etc.), or chill zone electronics time in the cafeteria. 

One on One Meetings with Students: (repeated from last week)

Mr. Whitmore, Mrs. Miller, and I will begin meeting with students about the upcoming testing starting on May 5 during study skills classes.  We will review student data from last year’s KPREP as well as current year data from DEA and try to help motivate students to do their best.  Our plan is to come to your team area during your skills time starting on May 5 and visit each day until we have had a chance to meet with every student.  When we finish the study skills groups, we would also like to visit with students who are in music classes toward the end of that week.

Quote of the Day:

“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” ~John Wooden

Coming Attractions:

May 5…SBDMC training for new members, 5:00 at GCHS

May 5…Future Cougar Night, 5:30 for Wilkey and 6:30 for Caneyville

May 6…Future Cougar Night, 5:30 for Lawler and 6:30 for Clarkson

May 8…GCMS Data Team will meet after school

May 9…Last day for Friday Schedule

May 9…Jean Day for $5 donation to Relay for Life

May 12…SBDMC training for all SBDMC members, 5:00 at GCHS

May 15-22…KPREP Testing

May 21…GCMS Site Based Council Meeting, 3:00

May 22…Good Faith Reward, 1:00-2:30

May 23…KPREP Make-up Day

May 20…No school for students – Staff training day

May 26…Memorial Day – No school for students or staff

May 30…Students’ Last Day, 8th Grade Commencement Programs, 8:00, 9:30, 11:00

June 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 will be staff training days.

June 7…Closing Day