Hello Parents!

GCMS Parents Corner

After starting a blog last year to improve communication with our staff at Grayson County Middle School, it occurred to me that blogging could also be a great way to improve communication between the school and parents of our GCMS students.  I want GCMS parents to always feel well informed about what is going on at GCMS, so I encourage our parents to follow this blog and contact me at GCMS whenever you have questions or concerns about your child’s education or school activities at GCMS.  Entries intended to provide information for our staff are posted weekly.  Parents are certainly welcome to review those notes, but I will make posts specifically to parents in order to try to provide you with as much helpful information about our school as possible.  Here we go!

Introduction:

My name is Jim Blain, and I have worked in the field of education since I graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1988.  My career has included being a substitute teacher, a part time college history teacher, a high school social studies teacher, a gifted and talented (GATE) teacher, an assistant principal in both Breckinridge and Grayson Counties, and I am starting my 8^th year as principal at GCMS.  My wife Teresa is the GATE teacher for Grayson County Schools, and we live in Leitchfield.  Our son Scott is a student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and our daughter Tessa is a student at H.W. Wilkey Elementary.  I am a big Cincinnati Reds fan…they will be better next year!  I enjoy reading, working in my yard, and almost all types of music. 

GCMS Activities:

GCMS is a very busy place for students and staff!  We are very proud of all of our activities, and there is virtually something for everybody!  We have outstanding performing musical groups, including band, orchestra, and chorus.  We offer competitive sports at the middle school level in football, boys basketball, girls basketball, cheerleading, and volleyball.  GCMS has a great academic team program which includes quick recall, future problem solving, and written assessment.  GCMS students also have the opportunity to “play up” in GCHS high school sports in baseball, softball, cross country, track, golf, soccer, tennis, and basketball.  Clubs established at GCMS include Beta Club, Junior HOSA, Junior DECA, KFC, and Drama Club.  Many of these clubs meet during our after school 21^st Century Learning program that we call Cougar Zone.  Our Cougar Zone Director, Melanie Manion, coordinates the after school program which lasts until 5:00 pm each Monday through Thursday.  The students have a healthy snack, then an hour of tutoring or homework help, and then an hour of fun activities.  Some of these fun activities include archery, cooking class, drama, aviation class, robotics, fiddle lessons, drumming lessons, kick ball, craft club, and on and on!  Again, as you can see, there are many opportunities for students to be actively involved at GCMS!

EXPLORE Testing is Coming:

The EXPLORE test is coming soon to GCMS!  The test, which is the first step in the ACT testing program, is scheduled for GCMS 8^th graders on Friday, September 19 and Monday, September 22.  The test is also scheduled for GCMS 7^th graders on Monday, Sept. 22 and Tuesday, Sept. 23.  It is important that students give their very best efforts on the EXPLORE test.  This test is how students show their levels of college and career readiness in middle school.  Our goal at GCMS is to get every student on track to be ready to start college or a career when they graduate from high school. 

Writing at GCMS:

Grayson County Middle School believes that in order for our students to be successful both in and out of school, their communication and writing skills need to be developed to include traditional pen and paper writing activities, as well as 21st Century forms of communication.  Our students are expected and encouraged to apply their thinking and writing skills in every content, and not just in the Language Arts classroom.  The intention of writing assignments is no longer just to develop a polished product like the traditional portfolio.  Instead, attention is given to the writing and thinking processes needed to communicate information through multiple genres.   In the next few weeks your student may be assigned research projects in 6th grade Social Studies, lab reports in Science, creation of historical graphic novels in 8th grade Social Studies, development of fitness or nutrition plans in health and PE, posters and presentations in 8th grade Science, or videos attached to QR codes to explain art processes in Art class.  We hope that you will take the time to find out what your child is doing in their classes to communicate with others.  It is also our hope that we are preparing your child to continue to successfully communicate in a world with ever changing needs and possibilities.  Please encourage your student in their writing.  Who knows?  The next James Patterson, John Grisham, or J.K. Rowling may be walking the halls of GCMS right now!

Quote of the Day:

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”  ~ James Baldwin

Coming Attractions:

Sept. 15….No Cougar Zone today

Sept/ 16…GCMS Home Football game vs. Hancock Co., 5:30

Sept. 17…GCMS site based council meeting, 3:15

Sept. 16-18…Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture Mobile Science Unit visits GCMS (7^th grade)

Sept. 19 and 22….EXPLORE Testing for 8^th grade

Sept. 22 and 23…EXPLORE Testing for 7^th grade

Sept. 24…Pinocchio Play at GCMS for each grade, actors’ workshop during Cougar Zone

Oct. 2…GCMS Walkathon

Oct. 3…GCMS 7^th and 8^th Grade Band performs in the Caneyville Parade

Oct. 3-10…Fall Break

Full Throttle at GCMS!

Cougar Notes:

Things are going full throttle at GCMS this week!  We had a great turnout for parent/teacher conferences on Monday night and another big crowd for Meet the GCMS Lady Cougars Night on Tuesday evening!  Bow tie Tuesday was a big hit, and thanks again to the Board of Education for hosting a Family Fun Night for employees and their families on Tuesday evening.  With our GCMS football team at home to host Butler County this evening, we continue this busy week.  I hope that you can get out to support the team tonight and/or Tuesday night of next week.  I have enjoyed getting into lots of classrooms this past week.  I have found your learning targets posted on the board and activities matching up with the targets.  I have also been impressed that I am seeing very similar work going on within CSI teams.  It is clear that you are coordinating your plans within the same grade/same subject area for the benefit of our students.  Keep up the great work!

Personnel:

Please remember your GCMS family.  I know that several staff members are dealing with health issues and have family members with health issues right now.  Also, please say a prayer for Chailey Maples.  She has been in the hospital this week with some issues.

GCMS Parents Blog:

I am planning to start including more parent information in my blog.  The Cougar Notes entries are typically geared toward GCMS staff members, so I am also going to start doing some entries geared more toward our students’ parents.  I want our GCMS parents to always feel well informed about what is going on at our school, and I hope that expanding the blog plus doing a weekly announcements call through School Messenger will be steps in that direction. 

Monday’s Faculty Meeting:

Just a reminder, our September faculty meeting will be Monday, Sept. 15 and will be dedicated to Testing Ethics and Accommodations Training.  We need everyone to plan to stay for our meeting.  We will try to start as early as possible (hopefully 2:50), since we are required to have everyone participate in both parts this year.  Those with late duty should come straight to the library from duty. 

Observations:

If any teachers would like to go ahead and schedule your observation, please contact the administrator in charge of your evaluation.  We can go ahead and observe for any teacher who is in year one or year two of your evaluation cycle.  This will be a "mini" observation which will last 20-30 minutes.  For non-tenured and other teachers in your summative year (year 3), the peer observation must be completed before your full observation by a principal.  Mr. Shane Decker gets the door prize for having Mr. Whitmore conduct our first mini observation today!

 

All Things PGES (I am going to start intentionally touching on a specific area of PGES on a regular basis in the Cougar Notes.  This week’s entry addresses peer observation.)

Peer Observations:  (this pertains to teachers in the summative evaluation year: all 8^th grade teachers and all non-tenured teachers)

As we start the process of peer observations, I want everyone to keep in mind that this process has basically three parts:

1.            Pre-observation conference…Please start thinking about when you would like to have your peer observation and get together for a pre-conference a day or two beforehand.  Please let the office know if you need someone to cover part of a class to free you up for your conference.  Typical pre-conferences will take about 15-20  minutes.  Peer observers will be looking for evidence in Domains 2 and/or 3.  I think it would be ideal for the teacher being observed to suggest a component to focus on (for example 2C Classroom Procedures or 3B. questioning, etc.).  Perhaps the component that you focused on in your PGP would be the best choice.  The pre-observation forms in our CEP are fine to use, but that is optional.  You will not be required to turn these in to the office.  The only required documentation will be what needs to be entered into CIITS. 

2.            Observation…The peer observation falls into the category of “mini or partial” observation and should last 20-30 minutes.  When the peer observer logs into CIITs, you will need to find “my observation caseload” and your 3 or 4 teachers should be listed.  You will click on “new” over to the right of that teacher’s name; you can click “announced” to set up the date and time, and then “partial” to open the observation.  You can do your scripting on a laptop by clicking “notepad” or you may prefer to do this in a Word document.  You might prefer to just do your scripting by hand instead of on the computer and then enter your evidence into CIITS after the observation.  If you use the notepad or a Word document, you will need to copy/paste statements of evidence into appropriate component boxes for Domains 2 and/or 3.  A piece of evidence might match more than one component.  You do not have to worry about entering anything for Domains 1 or 4 for peer observations.

3.            Post-observation conference…after the observation, the peer observer should complete the entry of evidence in CIITS and then click “share draft”.  This will send an automated email to the teacher who has been observed with the evidence that the peer observer has entered.  The observed teacher then enters information into the appropriate boxes in CIITS as teacher feedback.  This could be further explanation, clarifications, supporting examples, and/or artifacts.  Artifacts can be attached in the categories of documents, videos, or images.  The observed teacher clicks share to send an automated email back to the peer observer.  After these steps have been completed, the post conference can be held.  Remember, the peer observer does not rate the teachers observed.  Only the principals will assign the 1-4 ratings for each component.  Peer observers should click “submit observation” after the post conference has been completed.  Post conferences (like those that principals do) should be completed within 5 school days after the observation.

Peer observation is for information purposes, not ratings or evaluation.  This should take much of the pressure out of the situation.  The peer observation process should be a great way for us to help each other improve our practice and ultimately benefit our students.

All Window 1 Peer Observations should be completed by November 7.

If any (or all) of this is unclear, I will be glad to sit down with you during your planning time and try to help.  Just let me know.

I considered just setting up days for everyone to pre-conference, for everyone to peer observe, and for everyone to post-conference and hiring subs to cover classes….but I know that everyone is at a different point on readiness and when you would prefer to have the peer observation.  With all that said, just contact the office, and either one of the administrators, counselors, Mrs. Pearl, or a classified staff member will cover for either the peer observer or the observed teacher for your pre-conference, for your observation, and for your post-conference.  With Mrs. Pearl and Mrs. Holley’s schedules, there is more flexibility and covering shouldn’t be required, but it will be needed for Mr. Helm, Mr. Parker, and Mrs. Mullins.

Quote of the Day:

“Life is an echo; what you send out comes back.” ~Chinese Proverb

Coming Attractions:

Sept. 15…September Faculty Meeting (testing ethics training), 2:50

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

Sept. 16…District-wide GATE Parent meeting at the BOE, 6:00-7:00

Sept. 16-18…KY Dept. of Agriculture Mobile Science Center at GCMS (7th 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 (8th grade to local factories)

Oct. 2…GCMS Walkathon

Oct. 3-10…Fall Break

Oct. 17…KIP Survey (6th and 8th graders)

Into Month Two!

Cougar Notes:

It has been another good week at Grayson County Middle School!  We have the first month of school in the books, and things have gotten off to a very good start this year.  Our students have learned the daily routines and expectations and are doing very well.  I enjoyed getting to visit several classrooms again this week and was pleased to see high levels of student and teacher engagement in the classrooms.  I have just a few notes to share with you this week.

Personnel:

Congratulations to Mrs. Mary Jane Crawford, who will be retiring at the end of October.  We appreciate the years of work and diligence that she has put forth for the children of Grayson County.  We will miss her but wish her many happy years of retirement.

Parent/Teacher Conferences:

Our first parent/teacher conferences of the school year are scheduled for this coming Monday evening from 4:00-6:00 pm.  Please make every effort to have positive and productive meetings with each parent who attends.  It is important to get off to a good start and to let the parents know that you want the same thing for their child that they want, for that child to succeed.  Parents are always much better to work with when they understand that we are on the same side. 

Peer Observations:

The first peer observation window is now open and will last until November 7.  The second peer observation window runs from November 10-January 30.  Those of you involved in the peer observation process this year (8^th grade teachers and non-tenured teachers except interns) should have received a separate email from me listing who is in which window and which peer observer has been assigned to each of you.  Please let me know any questions you have about the peer observation process.  I am still learning too, but I will be glad to help you find the answers to your questions about peer observations.  Please remember, your peer observation must come before your formal observation (this pertains to those in their summative year). 

Quote of the Day:

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ~Will Rogers

Coming Attractions:

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. 9…GC Schools Family Fun Night at Leitchfield Aquatic Park, 5:30-7:30

Sept. 15…September Faculty Meeting, 3:00

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

Sept. 16-18…KY Dept. of Agriculture Mobile Science Center at GCMS (7th 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 (8th grade to local factories)

Oct. 2…GCMS Walkathon

Oct. 3-10…Fall Break

Oct. 17…KIP Survey (6^th and 8^th graders)

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)