This Week at GCMS

Another Great Week:

We have had another great week at GCMS!  I felt like we had a productive follow up meeting after our instructional rounds from last week.  We will be continuing the work with the assessment focus and working on those “next level of work” items identified during the process.  Thanks again to everyone who helped with the rounds. 

Red Ribbon Week:

I had a kid ask one day this week, “why don’t we ever have a spirit week at GCMS?”  I responded “you mean where everyone dresses up in different themes each day?”  He said “yes, that would be great!”  I elaborated, “how about school colors one day?”  He loved it.  I went on, “and a camouflage day and a sports team day!”  By this time, he was on to me…”kind of like this week, huh?”  Red Ribbon Week is a lot of fun, but it gets a little crazy as well.  We need to always remind ourselves that if one kid says no to drugs because of these activities, it is well worth the craziness. 

PLC Alternative Plans:

Since there will be no PLC Day on November 8, we are working on plans for an alternative professional training.  This will likely be set up through Google Docs, so everyone can participate and respond digitally.  We will structure the learning so that it is worth 6 hours of professional credit.  This learning will support the focus areas that we are working on and will likely explore the concept of growth mindset.  This will not have to be completed right away.  We will give you plenty of advance notice about the due dates, etc.  More information to come!

School Rings:

Students who ordered school rings from Balfour will have their rings delivered during lunch on November 10.  Students will need to pay their balance in order to pick up their ring. 

Halloween:

GCMS will have a costume day on Monday, October 31, including a costume contest in the gym that morning.  Categories will include 1. Scariest  2. Most Original or Funny  3. Best Group.  Basic guidelines are:  no masks except for during costume judging, any face paint or hair coloring spray should be applied at home and not brought to school and not on the buses, no clown costumes because of media hype and threats elsewhere, and no real or fake weapons of any sort as part of costumes.

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:

Oct. 24-31…Red Ribbon Week

Oct. 27…Walkathon Rewards

Oct. 31…Costume Contest, 7:45 am

Nov. 1....Boys Basketball Home Opening, 5:30

Nov. 4…KIP Survey (6^th and 8^th graders)

Nov. 7-8..No School in Grayson County (PLC Day postponed)

Nov. 14…November Faculty Meeting, 3:00

The Hum of Activity!

Another Great Week!

It has been another great week at Grayson County Middle School!  Lots of activities make our school an exciting place to be.  I have just a few notes to share as our week comes to a close.

Instructional Rounds:

Our team of observers enjoyed visiting the GCMS classrooms yesterday and saw many great lessons and learning activities in action.  We were able to observe in all core classrooms, ECE classrooms, and related arts classrooms yesterday.  I appreciate Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Meredith assisting us with observations.  Our team worked after school yesterday to analyze our observation notes, and we plan to share feedback with our faculty after school on Monday (October 24).  We will meet in the library at 3:00 with two main agenda items.  Wayne Meriwether from Twin Lakes will be here to share some information about our local hospital, and then we will discuss and share feedback from instructional rounds.  Thank you everyone for making this process go smoothly yesterday.

Edgenuity Lab:

I appreciate the extra efforts that everyone is making to utilize the Edgenuity lab as one more chance for students to be successful.  Several students have been able to bring grades up through the Edgenuity program, and that is the goal.  Several students have been assigned and not yet brought their grades up, but as they discover that learning is “unavoidable”, hopefully, they will succeed as well.  Thank you to our Title teachers for taking this on, Mrs. Miller for spearheading this program, and to our classroom teachers for helping our students succeed.

GCHS Band Performance:

We are happy to have the GCHS marching band performing at GCMS this afternoon.  We will be flipping 6^th and 7^th periods today.  All students should go to 7^th period right after 5^th period today.  We will begin calling students down to the gym near the end of that class around 1:40 this afternoon.  Depending on how much time is left after the performance, we may or may not return students to teams afterward.

Halloween:

GCMS will have a costume day on Monday, October 31, including a costume contest in the gym that morning.  Categories will include 1. Scariest  2. Most Original or Funny  3. Best Group.  4. Staff Members.  Basic guidelines are:  no masks except for during costume judging, any face paint or hair coloring spray should be applied at home and not brought to school and not on the buses, no clown costumes because of media hype and threats elsewhere, and no real or fake weapons of any sort as part of costumes. 

School Rings:

Students who ordered school rings from Balfour will have their rings delivered during lunch on November 10.  Students will need to pay their balance in order to pick up their ring. 

Quote of the Day:

“Failure is success if we learn from it.” ~Malcolm Forbes

Coming Attractions:

Oct. 21…GCHS Band to perform at GCMS

Oct. 24…Faculty Meeting after school, 3:00

Oct. 24-31…Red Ribbon Week

Oct. 27…Walkathon Rewards

Oct. 31…Costume Contest, 7:45 am

Nov. 4…KIP Survey (6^th and 8^th graders)

Nov. 7-8..No School in Grayson County (PLC Day postponed)

Nov. 10...GC School Board meeting at GCMS, 6:00

Nov. 14…November Faculty Meeting, 3:00

Back To It!

Welcome Back!

It was good to have everyone back this week after a week of fall break.  The first quarter of the school year is always such an exciting time, but it is also a hectic time, so the break is certainly needed.  As we wind our way toward the end of this week, I have just a few notes to share.

Instructional Rounds at GCMS:

As you know, our school-based instructional rounds at GCMS are scheduled for Thursday, October 20.  We plan to get in all classrooms that day for 10 minute walk-throughs, and we will be focusing on formative assessment.  I sent you the schedule and the guiding questions which our team of observers will be considering.  I have asked our 4 teachers who have been participating in the L2L Aspiring Principals program to assist with the observations and analysis.  The team will stay after school that day to analyze our data, and then we will share our analysis with the faculty after school on Monday, October 24.

Street Heat Band at GCMS:

Our PBIS reward assembly for the students is planned for Friday afternoon of this week.  The Street Heat Band from Jefferson County will be performing for our student body at 1:00 on Friday.  We appreciate Stacy Pierce and Mr. Whitmore for making the contact and taking care of details for the concert.  The group has performed here in past years and is always a big hit with our students!

Observations:

Observation window 1 is well underway and should wrap up on October 31.  If your peer observation falls in window 1, please be arranging this with your peer observer.  Also, non-tenured teachers should be arranging your first mini-observation of the year if you have not already done so.  For folks in your summative year, please remember that your peer observation needs to take place before your full observation by the principal or assistant principal.  Tenured teachers not in your summative year may set up your mini observation at any time. 

Quote of the Day:

“I bring you the gift of these four words:  I believe in you.” ~Blaise Pascal

Coming Attractions:

Oct. 14…Reward Concert for students with no referrals.

Oct. 19…Report Cards go home.

Oct. 20….Instructional Rounds at GCMS

Oct. 21…GCHS Band to perform at GCMS

Oct. 24…Faculty Meeting after school, 3:00

Oct. 24-31…Red Ribbon Week