One Month Down!

Cougar Notes:

It has been a pretty fair week at Grayson County Middle School.  There has been some excitement in the air as the Grayson County Fair kicked off, but all in all, things have gone smoothly at GCMS this week.  We have a long weekend ahead, with a four day weekend for students and a three day weekend for staff.  I hope that everyone gets to spend some quality time with family and friends this Labor Day weekend! 

Friday PD Day:

GCMS staff members should report to work at 8:00 on Friday morning.  Teachers will be meeting in the library at 8:00 for our non-flex PD day.  Here is our tentative agenda:

·         All Things PGES

·         Data Analysis with Individual Student KPREP Data (by teams 1-9)

·         Program Review (related arts)

·         Lunch on your own

·         KYCID Universal Screener

·         PLC sessions

All teachers will be expected to have your self-reflection and your PGP submitted in CIITS before you leave on Friday afternoon.  Most of you have already gotten this in early!  Thanks!

We’ve Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

The culture and climate committee has declared every Friday in September as Spirit Day, so wear your orange and blue and encourage your students to do likewise!  We will recognize the team with the most orange and blue each Friday!

Rank Changes/Certificates:

If any teacher has recently completed a new certification or rank change, please contact the central office and send them your new certification.  Also, if you have completed 15 hours above your rank,  please send the central office a transcript of your additional coursework.  If the CO does not know you have a rank change or hours, they cannot add this to your pay.  Nobody wants their check to be smaller than it is supposed to be!

Digital Citizenship Lessons:

Again this year, students are required to complete the digital citizenship curriculum in order for our school to qualify for e-rate funding.  This allows us to purchase many technology related items at significantly lower prices. In the past, each team has assigned one teacher to teach these technology lessons (2 lessons per grade).   Generally, some of our non-assessed area teachers have taken care of this duty (7^th grade social studies, 8^th grade science, etc.).  I will place these curriculums in team leader mailboxes, and they will need to be completed before Fall Break.  Also, we do need each teacher who actually teaches the curriculum to complete and sign the “teacher verification” sheet. 

Field Trips:

As you start arranging field trips this school year, please keep in mind that we would like for you to utilize school food services for your students’ lunches.  With 65 percent of our students receiving free lunch, our kids generally cannot afford to buy a restaurant lunch while on a field trip.  Please let the cafeteria know at least two weeks in advance how many sack lunches you will need for your fieldtrip.  Also, in the very near future, Mr. Hack will be sending out an email with your password for the online fieldtrip request system.  It’s almost ready for everyone to start using.

Quote of the Day:

“Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.” ~Theodore Isaac Rubin

Coming Attractions:

Aug. 28…Suicide Prevention Certificates due to Mrs. House

Aug. 29…PD Day Non-Flexible (no students that day)

Sept. 1…Labor Day (no school)

Sept. 8…Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:00-6:00 pm

Sept. 9…Bow Tie Tuesday at GCMS

Sept. 9…Meet the Lady Cougars Night, 6:00

Sept. 15…September Faculty Meeting, 3:00

Sept. 16…Staff Tailgate/Cornhole before the GCMS home football game (game time is 5:30)

Sept. 16-18…KY Dept. of Agriculture Mobile Science Center at GCMS (7^th grade)

Sept. 17…GCMS SBDMC Meeting, 3:15

Sept. 22-23…EXPLORE Test for 7th and 8th grade

Sept. 24…Pinocchio Play at GCMS (for all 3 grades)

Sept. 30…Manufacturing Day field trip (8^th grade to local factories)

Oct. 2…GCMS Walkathon

Oct. 3-10…Fall Break

The Dog Days of Summer

Cougar Notes:

It’s been “as hot as blazes” this week after the mild temperatures of early August had spoiled us all.  Coach Gary and his staff have been very conscientious about gauging the heat index to make sure our football boys are safe.  I appreciate everyone watching out for safety during the extremely hot conditions that we are feeling right now.  Any outside walking time during lunch should be kept to a minimum when the temperatures and heat index are so dangerously high. Enjoy your weekend, but be safe out there!

Personnel:

We are glad to hear that Nycol Hart’s daughter Anna did very well with her surgery and gets to go home today.  I know that Nycol appreciates everyone’s concern and prayers.  Mary Ann McKinney’s daughter has been having some health issues and has also been in and out of the hospital this week.  Please remember her as well.  Brittany Geary and baby Bentlee are doing great, and we wish them all the best as well.

Safety (from Mr. Whitmore):

As you know, before learning can occur, our top priority is to keep our students and staff SAFE. I want to thank our Safety Committee for volunteering to conduct a GCMS Safety Assessment later this year.  Fortunately, this is the year for our District Team to conduct assessments at each school. The District Team will be at GCMS next week on Wednesday at 8:30. They will be looking for safety, maintenance/custodial, evacuation routes posted and flip charts, and facility issues. This will give the GCMS Safety Committee a jump start before our own assessment in the fall. I have placed  “Hazard Hunt” forms in mail boxes. Please take the time to report any safety/maintenance/policy issues you observe and return them to Mr. Whitmore.

Family Fun Night:

The Grayson County Board of Education has generously arranged a family fun night for the school staffs and our families this coming Wednesday evening at the Leitchfield Aquatic Center.  This will be from 5:30-7:30 pm on Wednesday evening, August 27.  Please let Mrs. House know if you and your family plan to attend.  We appreciate Mr. Anderson and the board for thinking of us in this way.

Next Friday PD Day:

We are looking forward to next Friday’s PD day at GCMS.  Please remember that this is a non-flexible PD day that does count as one of your four required days.  We will spend part of the day analyzing individual student data from this spring’s KPREP testing.  We are allowed to share data with teachers pertaining to students you had last year and/or students that you currently have this year.  For that reason, we will need to conduct this work in our interdisciplinary teams 1-9 instead of our CSI/PLC teams.  We will also have a segment of time devoted to program review that day, a segment of time devoted to KYCID screeners, and a little time to continue our PGES learning.  I look forward to another productive PD day at GCMS.

Principal’s Advisory Council:

I need for team leaders to send me the name of your team’s student representative to the Principal’s Advisory Council.  This student needs to be a well behaved,  hardworking, good citizen,  who is a creative thinker and doesn’t mind to speak up and share ideas to help make our school better.  If you find someone who fits all those criterion, we might want to clone a few more of them!  Thank you to Rita, Holly, and Carla for already sending me their team’s representative.

Self-Reflections and PGPs:

Many of you have successfully entered your PGES self-reflections into CIITS, and about a third of you have also entered your PGP.  Please remember that your PGP should include at least one goal based upon your self-reflection and at least one goal based upon our GCMS school improvement plan or the district improvement plan.  Both goals should match a PGES component. This should be entered into CIITS by August 30.  As I mentioned earlier, teachers should include the following for each goal:

•             What you want to change about INSTRUCTION that will effectively impact student learning.

•             What is the personal learning you will complete in order to make the change?

•             What will the measures of success be (student growth impact)?

Mrs. Purcell shared a simple template with the principals this week that you may want to use:

During the 2014-2015 school year, I will (insert practice that needs to change or improve).

I will (insert personal/professional learning needed to help achieve the goal). 

Growth will be evidenced through (insert measures of success). 

It will be wise to print both your self-reflection and your PGP after entering it into CIITS.  Mr. Whitmore, Mrs. Miller, or I will review your PGP and either approve it or suggest revisions.  Be sure to have two goals and address those three areas for each.  Remember, we will be revisiting your PGP throughout the year, so it is important to “make it real” and use it to impact your professional practice and student learning.

Quote of the Day:

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” ~John Wooden

Coming Attractions:

Aug. 27...Family Fun for GC School Staff at Leitchfield Aquatic Center

Aug. 28…Suicide Prevention Certificates due to Mrs. House

Aug. 29…PD Day Non-Flexible (no students that day)

Sept. 1…Labor Day (no school)

Sept. 8…Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:00-6:00 pm

Sept. 15…September Faculty Meeting, 3:00

Sept. 16-18…KY Dept. of Agriculture Mobile Science Center at GCMS

Sept. 22-23…EXPLORE Test for 7^th and 8^th grade

Sept. 24…Pinocchio Play at GCMS (for all 3 grades)

Same Song, Second Verse...a little bit smoother than the first!

Cougar Staff:

As we wrap up the first full week of school, I have just a few notes to share.  I feel like we have gotten off to a great start this year.  After the first week of establishing procedures and expectations, we have gotten down to business more this week, and things are progressing well.  I was able to visit several classrooms this week, and I was pleased to see high levels of student and teacher engagement.  I look forward to visiting more classrooms next week.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Personnel:

Please keep the Marshall family in your thoughts and prayers.  Ann’s brother-in-law, John Marshall, and his fiancé, Dayna Knight, died after a motorcycle accident on Wednesday night.  Mrs. Holley told me that Dayna worked as an assistant at GCMS several years ago before I was principal. 

I know that several GCMS staff members have been under the weather recently.  I hope that everyone is feeling better soon.

Faculty Meeting Monday:

We have a faculty meeting scheduled for after school on Monday.  I do not expect a long meeting.  We will spend some time on PGES items, share a tech tool, and have a few housekeeping items.  I believe we will be finished by 4:00.

Principal’s Advisory Council:

I need for team leaders to send me the name of your student representative for this year’s Principal’s Advisory Council.  Each team should select a student who is a good citizen, hard worker, and good all-around student.  It is also very helpful if the representative is outgoing and willing to speak up and share ideas for helping our school improve for the students. 

Self-Reflections and Professional Growth Plans:

Many of you have successfully entered your PGES self-reflections into CIITS, and about a third of you have also entered your PGP.  Please remember that your PGP should include at least one goal based upon your self-reflection and at least one goal based upon our GCMS school improvement plan or the district improvement plan.  Both goals should match a PGES component. This should be entered into CIITS by August 30.  As I mentioned earlier, teachers should include the following for each goal:

•             What you want to change about INSTRUCTION that will effectively impact student learning.

•             What is the personal learning you will complete in order to make the change?

•             What will the measures of success be (student growth impact)?

It will be wise to print both your self-reflection and your PGP after entering it into CIITS.  Mr. Whitmore, Mrs. Miller, or I will review your PGP and either approve it or suggest revisions.  You will receive an automated email reply to that effect.  Be sure to have two goals and address those three areas for each.  Remember, we will be revisiting your PGP throughout the year, so it is important to “make it real” and use it to impact your professional practice and student learning.

Suicide Prevention Training:

Please complete module 1 of the Jason Foundation training and submit your certificate to Mrs. House before the end of August.  Feel free to work on this during planning time.  This training is found at www.Jasonfoundation.com.  Let us know if you need assistance.

Quote of the Day:

“People often tell me that motivation doesn’t last, and I tell them that bathing doesn’t either. That’s why I recommend it daily.” ~Zig Ziglar

Coming Attractions:

Aug. 18…Faculty Meeting, after school

Aug. 18…Parent Meeting for Teams 1-4, 6:00

Aug. 19…GCMS Football hosts Glasgow, 5:30

Aug. 19…Cougar Zone begin  Tuesday (after that CZ will run Mon-Thurs until 5:00)

Aug. 20…GCMS SBDMC meeting, 3:15

Aug. 22…School Picture Day at GCMS

Aug. 29…PLC Day (no students that day)

And So It Begins!

Cougar Staff:

Thank you for an outstanding first week of school at GCMS!  I feel like we have hit the ground running and that your work teaching procedures and expectations this week will lay the groundwork for a very successful school year.  I have a few notes to share with you as we wrap up the week.  Have a great weekend, and rest up for a five day week!

Personnel:

Congratulations to Bridget Haycraft!  She has been hired as a reading intervention teacher at H.W.Wilkey! We will miss her at GCMS, but at the same time, we are very happy for her.

Please remember the Higgs family from Caneyville.  Justin was an 8th grader in Team 2 last year and tragically died in a four wheeler accident this past Sunday.  Our students observed a moment of silence at GCMS earlier this week in Justin's memory.  Please remember Karen Van Metre’s family.  Her uncle who was her mother’s twin brother passed away this week.  Charlotte McDonald has been under the weather but is back at work today.  We hope she is feeling better soon.  Rita Mullins’ husband suffered a concussion from an accident at work this week, but should return to his work next week.  Stacy Pierce has been going full force as she gets closer to the end of her treatments.  Crystal Bratcher and Venita Wilson are getting closer to being able to kick field goals after both suffering fractures this summer.  I know that there are others that I am probably leaving out, but please always keep your GCMS family in your thoughts and prayers.

Self-Reflections and Professional Growth Plans:

Many of you have successfully entered your PGES self-reflections into CIITS, and some of you have also entered your PGP.  Please remember that your PGP should include at least one goal based upon your self-reflection and at least one goal based upon our GCMS school improvement plan or the district improvement plan.  This should be entered into CIITS by August 30.  As I mentioned earlier, teachers should include the following for each goal:

•             What you want to change about INSTRUCTION that will effectively impact student learning.

•             What is the personal learning you will complete in order to make the change?

•             What will the measures of success be (student growth impact)?

Remember, we will be revisiting your PGP throughout the year, so it is important to “make it real” and use it to impact your professional practice and student learning.

First Period Schedule:

We will start our first period PLC meetings this coming Monday.  Assigned related arts teachers will take the math teachers' groups on Mondays, language arts on Tuesdays, science on Wednesdays, and social studies on Thursdays.  Related Arts PLC will be on Fridays, and advisory will be through teams on Fridays.  Teams can mix and match to even out numbers for advisory, but make sure you turn in accurate attendance.  All PLC meetings will meet in the library starting at 7:30.  Thanks. 

Suicide Prevention Training:

Please complete module 1 of the Jason Foundation training and submit your certificate to Mrs. House before the end of August.  Feel free to work on this during planning time.  This training is found at www.Jasonfoundation.com.  Let us know if you need assistance.

Emergency Drills:

As you know, we are required to complete one of each emergency drill during the first month of school and two fire drills.  Please train your students to take our emergency drills seriously.  It is by being properly prepared that we would handle any actual emergency as well as possible.  As the old adage goes, “when we fail to plan, we plan to fail.”  We must always plan for success.

Grants:

Applications are now available for this year’s MAC grants, sponsored by McDonald’s.  All applications must be postmarked by Sept. 30 to be considered and award teachers or teams of teachers up to $500 for completing a class project (which includes “meaningful, hands-on activities that enhance the learning process”).  Applications will be available at the office.

Warren RECC is sponsoring energy efficiency mini-grants again this year!  GCMS had a winner last year.  You could be next!

Student Health Records:

We still have a large number of sixth graders who have not returned all required medical records.  Each student is required to have a 6^th grade physical and certain immunizations in order to attend.  Please encourage students and parents to get these in to the GCMS nurse’s office ASAP.

Fundraisers:

Just a reminder, all first semester fundraiser requests will be considered at the August 20 site based council meeting.  Booster groups should have all required paperwork (financial reports, officer list, etc.) turned in to Mrs. House before any fundraiser requests will be considered for approval.  Please remember the new board of education guideline is that we are not to approve any processed food sale fundraiser requests, so that means no donuts, pizza kits, cookie dough, cheeses, sweet rolls, soft drinks, etc.  Please complete the fundraiser request form (Mrs. House has these) and include information about specifically what the funds are intended to be used for. 

Travel Vouchers:

Please be aware of a new requirement from the Board of Education.  Any travel vouchers should be submitted within 7 days after the PD date.  This is a new guideline this year.  Thanks.

Teacher Work Day:

As I mentioned on opening day, our teacher work day is 7:30-3:00 this year.  It is still fine for teachers who have their own children at Wilkey to walk over to get them after school if you like, but still, please follow the 3:00 guideline for actually leaving GCMS.  Thanks for all that you do!

Thought for the Day:

I have started having a student to take the microphone and read an inspirational quote each morning in the gym.  The students seem to like this “thought for the day” and having a classmate out in front with the microphone.  I hope to continue this throughout the year.  If you think of a student who would be a good candidate to read the thought for the day, please let me know!

Quote of the Day:

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” ~Vince Lombardi

Coming Attractions:

Aug. 14-15...American Fidelity Rep at GCMS (required for all employees; please sign up for your appointment in the office)

Aug. 18…Faculty Meeting, after school

Aug. 18…Parent Meeting for Teams 1-4, 6:00

Aug. 19…GCMS Football hosts Glasgow, 5:30

Aug. 19…Cougar Zone begins  Tuesday (after that CZ will run Mon-Thurs until 5:00)

Aug. 20…GCMS SBDMC meeting, 3:15

Aug. 29…PLC Day (no students that day)