Sweet Summertime!

Cougar Staff:

It is a bit quieter this week as the school year is wrapped up with a big bow finally on top.  Our son, Scott is enjoying his summer study abroad in Denmark, but as usual, Tessa is keeping lots of activity going at the Blain house.  At GCMS, Summer Cougar Zone has started, and Mrs. Manion reports that it is going well.  Preparations are being made for next week’s Camp Invention, with Mrs. Frank serving as Camp Director this year.  Several of our science and math teachers have been here working on standards and plans for next year.  The custodians are working hard on floor waxing and cleaning.  The roofing project on the west end of the building should get started next week.  So “quiet” and “slowing down” are very relative terms when referring to activity at GCMS.  I’m certain that Grand Central Station has its quieter, slower moments as well.

Congratulations:

Again, I want to say congratulation to Mr. Barry Duvall on his retirement from teaching at GCMS.

Congrats also to Mr. Shane Morris on his upcoming wedding on June 21.

Congrats to Mrs. Brittany Geary on finding out that she is expecting a baby boy this fall.

Staff Days:

I feel very good about the progress that was made during our week of staff training days.  PGES is such a huge proposition, but it also holds such huge potential for positive benefit.   I know that nobody savors the prospect of still being in school in June, but the training days really couldn’t have come at a better time.  I am confident that with this “head start” that we will hit the ground running when we return to school at the end of July.  It was interesting to look through everyone’s self-reflections that were completed last week.  I commented last week that I thought that several of our strongest teachers seemed to be the hardest on themselves in the ratings.  Through our administrator training, it is clear that “developing” and “accomplished” will be the most common performance ratings, but there are likely to be a few “ineffective” and hopefully a few “exemplary” in the mix as well.  I heard good comments about last week, and I appreciate everyone’s hard work and positive attitudes.

Data Retreat:

Our School Improvement Team will be attending a data retreat on June 18-20 at Smiths Grove.  We have gathered data from our school with the intentions of developing new improvement goals for this coming school year.  I appreciate David Whitmore, Becky Miller, Becki Pearl, Nycol Hart, Susan Higdon, Amanda Thomas, Lisa York, and Stacy Downs agreeing to help me with this process. 

Math Grant:

Our math teachers will be putting in some days attending Math-Plus grant training in late June.  I appreciate them going the extra mile to make sure that our students have the most effective instruction possible.  Thanks to Melanie Gallagher for heading up the Math Plus grant for GCMS.

Weighting of Grades:

Our GCMS Site Based Council recently revised the No Zero Policy for the coming school year.  Teachers are still not to record zeroes in Infinite Campus, but require make up work, catch up café, test retakes, , etc. to insist on student learning.  The section that has been changed is the weighting of grades section.  No longer will it be required to have a certain percentage summative, a certain percentage daily, and a certain percentage communication pieces.  With our Standards Based Grading Teams basing grades 100 percent on summative assessment, the council granted them an exception to the policy last year.  With more teams volunteering to go standards based next year, the council felt it was more appropriate to change the policy instead of expanding the exceptions.  We do still encourage teachers to based grades largely on summative assessment since that is where students demonstrate mastery.

Fundraisers:

Our school district is making a big effort to reduce fundraisers this coming school year.  The district does not want groups raising money just to be raising money, but to be able to clearly detail what the funds are needed for.  All Redbook forms will need to be filled out from now on.  Fundraisers involving the sale of processed foods (donuts, pizza kits, butter braids, cheeses, sausages, and on and on) are not acceptable for school fundraiser requests this coming year.

Time Flies:

It does not seem possible that I have completed seven years as principal at GCMS!  Mr. Bill Embry was principal for seven years here, so as I begin my 8^th year, the only person who has been GCMS principal longer is the immortal Kenneth Ray, the man who was principal when I was a student in middle school here!  Mr. Ray served as GCMS principal for 10 years in the 1970’s-1980’s.  I have often said that this is the best job that I have ever had, and I appreciate the great staff and students here that make it a pleasure to keep coming back!

Quote of the Day:

“A loving person lives in a loving world.  A hostile person lives in a hostile world.  Everyone you meet is your mirror.” ~Ken Keyes

Coming Attractions:

June 18-20…Data Team Retreat at Smiths Grove

June 24-25..Math Plus grant meetings at GRREC

June 26…Math Plus leadership meeting

July 15-17…Sixth Sense

July 29..GCMS PD Day

July 31...GCMS Opening Day and Back to School Night

Aug. 1….District wide day in Grayson County Schools

Aug. 4…Not a required work day at GCMS

Aug. 5…Students first day of school