Happy Thanksgiving!

This Week at GCMS:

As we pause next week to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I would like to say that I am very thankful for so many blessings in my life.  Our son, Scott, will be home from Minnesota, and I look forward to family time with him, Teresa, and Tessa next week and again at Christmas.  I am thankful for my work family as well.  We have a great group of people at GCMS, and it is a pleasure to work with you each day.  Our challenges with this age group, this size school, and problems in this community are great, but I thank you for the hard work and dedication that you show here every single day.  Finally, I am thankful for those who have influenced me over the years, including my parents.  Dad recently turned 94 and lives in the nursing home now.  It has been a difficult transition, but I am blessed to still have him.  Today would have been my mother’s 88^th birthday.  She passed away 16 years ago, but not a day passes that I don’t think of the love and wisdom that she always shared with our family.  The Lord has been very good to me, and I am truly thankful.

Observations:

Observation reminders:  all non-tenured (and probation year) teachers will need a second mini-observation by January 13.  Please contact your observing administrator to schedule your observation.  Also, those teachers who need a peer observation this year should have those completed by January 13 as well.  Full observations for summative year teachers may be completed any time after your peer observation has been completed.

Safe Crisis Management:

Wendy Butler shared this information with me about reducing the number of hours for initial and recertification safe crisis management trainings. From now on, initial trainings will be 12 hours and recertification trainings will be 6 hours. With reducing the hours, it also reduces the staff to participant ratio. For initial trainings, the ratio is 1:12 and for recertification trainings it is 1:6. It is very important that when someone attends a training that they are registered where we have enough trainers to meet this ratio.  We are going to have another initial training December 5-8. Training will be from 3:30-6:30 each night. Location will be determined at a later date.

Friday Announcements:

Hats off to Shane Morris and the IT Club for the new format Friday Video Announcements!  The first two editions have been very informative and even more entertaining.  It is so fun to see the students presenting news about our school.  I look forward to seeing future shows!

Catch Up Café:

We have been having some problems lately with students not showing up for Catch Up Café.  If we have to fish them out of the cafeteria, it often cuts into the time that they have to work in CUC.  The simplest and best way to help this is for teachers to always check the CUC list to see if any of your lunch class is on the list.  Then remind them right before lunch that they are to report to CUC.  Thanks for your help with this.

Week in Review:

We were very pleased with this year’s Veterans Day program at GCMS.  We had over 40 veterans to sign in at the program, and our students did a great job showing appreciation and respect for our veterans.  We had a great faculty meeting on Monday afternoon as well.  I appreciate Gary Parker and other members of the assessment team for leading the sessions about how to provide effective feedback to student work and assessments. 

Quote of the Day:

“Life is like a game of tennis; the person who serves well seldom loses.” ~anonymous

Coming Attractions:

Nov. 21…GCMS Home Boys Basketball, 5:30

Nov. 22…GCMS Home Girls Basketball, 5:30

Nov. 23-25…No School, Thanksgiving Holiday

Nov. 28…GCMS Home Boys Basketball, 5:00

Nov. 30…Team Leader Meeting, 7:15 am

Mid-November GCMS News

Tis the Season:

It has been a brief week at Grayson County Middle School after the long weekend and Election Day.  This time of year is so broken up in the calendar that it is sometimes hard to get the “normal school” rhythm going.  We will be here all week next week, and then it’s Thanksgiving Week.  Three weeks later, its jingle all the way!  The school year is flying by, and I have just a few notes to share with you.

Veterans Day Program:

We are planning our annual Veterans Day program at GCMS for Friday, November 11.  We are hoping to have a good number of veterans and active duty military in attendance again this year.  It is so important for our students to learn about the significance of our veterans and their sacrifices for our country.  We have invited veterans to arrive at 7:30, and I would like for our GCMS staff members to come and be seated in the bleachers with the students.  The program should begin at about 7:40.  I would like to thank our veterans, whether they be staff members, parents, grandparents, or community members for their service to protect our freedoms and our nation. 

Faculty Meeting on Monday:

Our November faculty meeting is scheduled for after school on Monday, November 14.  We will meet in the library at 3:00 with our focus on the assessment work that is going on at GCMS.  We want to take a good look at feedback on assessments to make sure that we are providing the most effective feedback possible to guide student learning.  Members of the assessment committee will be leading this segment of the meeting.  As usual, the meeting should last about 45 minutes and we plan to finish before 4:00. 

Infinite Campus Parent-Portal: (repeat from last week)

We are getting more and more parents using the Infinite Campus parent portal.  This is a great sign of increasing parent involvement in student academic success.  This also makes it more important than ever for teachers to keep grade posting up-to-date in Infinite Campus.  Teachers, please make every effort to get grades in quickly.  We don’t ever want parents to check the portal and find that grades have not been posted and are not up-to-date.  This is another great way for teachers and parents to partner for student success. 

Quote of the Day:

“Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation.” ~Simon Sinek

Coming Attractions:

Nov. 10…GCMS Home Boys Basketball, 5:30

Nov. 10…GCMS Host Night for School Board meeting, 6:00

Nov. 14…November Faculty Meeting, 3:00

Nov. 14…GCMS Home Boys Basketball, 6:00

Nov. 16…Midterm Grade Reports go home

Nov. 17…GCMS Home Girls Basketball, 5:30

Nov. 21…GCMS Home Boys Basketball, 5:30

Nov. 22…GCMS Home Girls Basketball, 5:30

Nov. 23-25…No School, Thanksgiving Holiday

This Week at GCMS

We are in Full Swing:

November is traditionally one of the busiest months of the school year at GCMS.  Both girls and boys basketball seasons are in full gear.  Our music programs are very active with concerts and performances.  Many of our middle school students have participated in high school marching band this year and were part of the “Top 10 in the State” performance this past Saturday!  Go Cougar Band!  Our GCMS cheerleaders are doing very well, and recently finished second in competition at the Cheer Challenge in Bullitt County.  Cross Country has had a great season and much success as well.  GCMS recently had 9 students to qualify for and participate in All-State Chorus!  Archery, baseball, Cougar Zone, Beta, DECA, drama, KYA, and on and on…  There are so many great activities for students in our school system.  Let’s always encourage our students to get out there and participate.  When students find their passion, whether that be sports, music, drama, or whatever, that is what will drive them to succeed in school.  Go Cougars!

                                     Junior High All-State Chorus

Movers and Shakers:

Did you ever notice that if you want something done, and need to delegate, you have to ask some of the people who are already the busiest.  I try to spread things around, but those who are going to get things done tend to be the ones already getting things done.  Do you feel like no one ever asks you to lead a project or initiative?  Look at what you have been doing already.  If you want to be a “mover and shaker” or “change maker” then step up and volunteer.  When there’s a need, step up to meet the need.  Everybody is busy, it’s true, but I have noticed that the busiest people always find time and strength to do even more.  That’s what makes a “go to” person.  So take it as a compliment if you are asked to lead an effort.  Someone is expressing their confidence in you. 

Infinite Campus Parent-Portal:

We are getting more and more parents using the Infinite Campus parent portal.  This is a great sign of increasing parent involvement in student academic success.  This also makes it more important than ever for teachers to keep grade posting up-to-date in Infinite Campus.  Teachers, please make every effort to get grades in quickly.  We don’t ever want parents to check the portal and find that grades have not been posted and are not up-to-date.  This is another great way for teachers and parents to partner for student success. 

Grayson County Schools App:

The much anticipated Grayson County Schools App went live this week.  I encourage everyone to download the app onto your smart phone and other devices. Visit the App Store or Google Play and search Grayson County Schools, KY to download it today.

 The new app has great potential as an effective communication tool in our school system.

Quote of the Day:

“Some men see things as they are and say “why?”  I dream things that never were, and say “why not?” ~George Bernard Shaw

Coming Attractions:

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

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

Nov. 10…GCMS Home Boys Basketball, 5:30

Nov. 10…GCMS Host Night for School Board meeting, 6:00

Nov. 14…November Faculty Meeting, 3:00

Nov. 23-25…No School, Thanksgiving Holiday