Sunday Night Memo, 9/30/18

September 30, 2018

Happy last day of September!  I hope you have enjoyed this beautiful weekend with family and friends.  We took advantage of the cooler temps to weed out the garden and plant some new things here and there for next Spring.  I learned that bumblebees make their homes in the ground when I went to dig up some dead bushes.  Definitely got a mini workout running away from very angry bumblebees.  Kudos to Emily and Joe for a great performance with the 8^th grade band at halftime Friday night.  The kids sounded great and though the scoreboard wasn’t in our favor, the music was awesome!

Here are a handful of notes for this week.  Have a wonderful week.

With gratitude,

Grace

Self-Care Monday

Join Social Courtesy for the first self-care Monday event!  Meet in the gym afterschool and Dana will lead folks in the first event.

Lions Choice Fundraiser

Please send a reminder to your parents for our next fundraiser on Thursday at the Lion’s Choice in Rockhill. The event lasts from 4-8pm and they just need to let the restaurant know they are supporting Hixson.  We get 20% back and this is the extra funds that supply the extras like books, field trips, etc.

Social Courtesy Happy Hour

Just a reminder that the next happy hour will be on Friday at Bar Louie in Kirkwood.  Come and hang out and enjoy each other’s company while unwinding from the week.

Faculty Meeting

Our next faculty meeting is Monday, October 8^that 3:30pm in the cafeteria. 

Planning Ahead

Just a follow-up that the 7^th graders will have the opportunity to hear and meet author Alan Gratz on October 10^th.  A schedule will be sent out this week.  Thanks in advance for your flexibility and support.  This is an exciting opportunity for kids to connect with the author of the book they just finished reading.

Outs this Week

Grace will be out Thursday and Friday for a conference

Sunday Night Memo, 9/23/18

September 23, 2018

Lock Down on Friday

The lock down on Friday was unexpected and set the building into full lock down motion.  Thankfully, there was not a real threat and it was lifted shortly.  However, we had no way of knowing if the threat was real or a prank until the building was swept by law enforcement.  On November 6^th, we will come together as a building to review our lock down procedures and run some different drills.  In the meantime, I wanted to clarify the differences for a lock out and lock down.

Lock OUT – An administrator will announce on the intercom for teachers to check their emails to explain why there is a lock out.  This is done to prevent panic for our kids.  Visitors will be prevented from entering our building and students will not be allowed to go outside.  All classes and hallway passing time will be normal.  The only thing that is not normal is that no one can come inside our building until there is an all clear from law enforcement and/or district administrators.

Lock DOWN – An administrator will announce that the building is in lock down over the intercom.  Teachers follow the 4 E training of evade by locking and barricading the doors, lowering the blinds and turning out the light.  Students need to move away from the door(s) and move into lock down mode.  When the lock down is lifted, an administrator will announce that the lock down is lifted and students/staff are free to move about the building normally.

Friday’s lock down was not a drill and we appreciate the calm way that everyone moved into lock down.  

Help the Helpers

We had a group of parents drop off some snacks for kids on Friday after the lock down.  The parents were frightened by the lock down and wanted to do something to combat feeling helpless.  If you have kids that are hungry or need a snack, the donated snacks are in Nurse Amy’s office.  Please connect with her and she will make sure kids have food. 

I’ll post the note in the faculty lounge but here is what it says:

Thank you for teaching them, loving them, holding them accountable, celebrating them, listening to them, feeding them and protecting them.  Thank you.

NWEA Makeup Testing

47 7^th grade kids will be finishing up or making up the NWEA test on Monday in the library.  Hope has sent out the schedule but wanted to send another reminder.  Thank you everyone for your patience as we complete the district assessment.

Character Ed Committee Meeting

The Character Ed Committee will be meeting on Monday at 3:35pm in the library.  Please feel free to join this committee if you are interested!

Picture Retake/Makeup Day

On Friday, 9/28, students will have the opportunity to retake or take their school pictures if they missed them during our Open House Social.  We will send out a schedule to complete the pictures.  If you have not taken your picture, please plan on stopping in and getting your picture done.  I’ll let you know when the company will be here if you want to take your picture before school.

Social Courtesy Happy Hour

Mark your calendars for the next Happy Hour on Friday, October 5^th at Bar Louie in Kirkwood!  Come and enjoy some great beverages and snacks and decompress.

Outs this Week

Wednesday:  Aimee and Mike will be out all day for PLC training.  Sarah Bodi and Mary Beth Dutch will be out for LACE

Friday:  Aimee, Mike and Grace will be out from 9:30-11:00am for district new admin meeting.

Have a great week!

With gratitude,
Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 9/16/18

September 16, 2018

PTO Mini Grants

This year, there will be a Fall and Spring submission for the PTO mini-grants.  I’ve attached the form and all you have to do is fill it out and send it to me.  I’ll collect them and give them to the executive board to discuss and approve.  Once it’s approved, treasurer Jenn Sauter, will reach out and let you know if you have been awarded one.  They are hoping this will streamline the process this year. 

Meeting w/Dr. Simpson

Just a reminder that Dr. Simpson will be meeting with Hixson staff on Monday, September 17^th at 3:30pm in the auditorium.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

SLT leaders will receive an email about the next meeting and work done beforehand in lieu of the previously scheduled meeting being cancelled.

NWEA Assessment

Just a reminder that all 7^th graders will be taking the district NWEA assessment on Tuesday, 9/18 during 1^st-4^thperiod. 

Faculty Meetings

Life happens and the majority of the times we can’t control what is happening…but our time together as a whole group is limited.  Please try to avoid scheduling after school appointments on our once a month faculty meeting days.  We need your voice and presence as we share this time as a whole staff.

Outs This Week

Aimee, Mike, MaryBeth and Grace will be out on Thursday for DLT meeting.

Have a great week!

With gratitude,

Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 9/9/18

September 9, 2018

Hi All,

I hope you have had a great weekend.  After getting past the rain storm, the Fall like temperatures have been amazing.  I’m looking forward to all the things that come with Fall!  Enjoy the break in temperatures and have a great week.

With gratitude,

Grace

NWEA on September 18^th

NWEA testing for all 7^th graders, 1^st-4^thhour, will be on Tuesday, September 18^th.  We are working on the schedule with testing rooms and will share out this week.

Hope, Jill, Ferrell, Jenn and Grace will be working on Monday building each student’s test to save 7^th grade teachers time. 

Dismissal for Afterschool Activities

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, please dismiss students participating in afterschool activities at 3:20pm.  This will give our halls a chance to clear out before we have our final dismissal group.  Thanks for your continued flexibility as we navigate dismissal.

In your Rooms

Please make sure you are posting your daily agenda, learning targets and goals on the board.  We will continue this practice for now and discuss at SLT in regards to continuing it.  For students, having these posted on the board is a great visual to communicate learning expectations.  It also helps anyone visiting your room know what the focus is without having to disrupt the learning.

Growth Plans

Just a reminder that growth plans are due on 9/21/18.

Upcoming Meetings

9/10-All staff faculty meeting in the cafeteria.  For this meeting, our PLC consultants will be with us and lead us through a protocol to refine our building mission.  Please bring your CLT/Department mission statements with you to this meeting.  We will begin at 3:30pm.

9/17-All staff faculty meeting in the auditorium with Dr. Simpson.  Dr. Simpson will meet with the entire faculty to share what is happening with security and spaces around the district.  

Outs this Week

Grace will be out on Friday for bereavement.

HELP-Stories Wanted

I’m putting together some stories to share out with parents in the next newsletter.  If you have a funny story about an interaction with a kid, please email me the story.  I’m gathering those stories that are so uniquely middle school and keeps us coming back to work with them!  If you could email me your kid story by Tuesday, I’d appreciate it!

Monday Night Memo, 9/3/18

September 3, 2018

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend and Labor Day enjoying a little downtime.  We are definitely now in the full swing of school as we start moving into September.  I hope you stop now and then to give yourself a minute to catch your breath and do something just for yourself.

Have a great week.

With gratitude,
Grace

Marigold Sundays

A couple of weeks ago I shared a conversation with Carin Gado about something she was starting in her classroom.  She wanted to give kids a chance to recognize each other for being marigolds and share it out with the class.  She explained how kids could fill out a form and she would share them on Mondays as a way to start off the week.  What a great way to build community by affirming each other.  As Carin and I continued our conversation, I told her I loved this idea and asked if I could share it out with our school family.  Beginning next Sunday, I’ll post Marigolds written by everyone and share it out in the Sunday Night Memo.  Simply send me an email with the person’s name and what they did for you.  If you want to remain anonymous, I can still post your marigold but leave your name off of it. 

I think this is an awesome way to affirm each other for the many ways we support one another.  Thank you, Carin for the idea and sharing it with us!

Technology

We are short on Chromebooks.  Yes, we are!  I’m currently waiting on Bill K from the district to get another batch of Chromebooks.  Once they arrive, we should have more than enough.  Thank you for your continued patience and flexibility.  I appreciate the creative problem solving and appreciate your understanding.

Thank you to Jason and Lana for working tirelessly to make sure all our tech needs are met!

Lion’s Choice, 9/6

We have a new monthly fundraiser this year and it is with Lion’s Choice on Rockhill.  Support the student activity fund by driving through or stopping in on our monthly Thursdays from 4-8pm.  Let the folks at Lion’s Choice know you are supporting Hixson Middle School and they will credit 20% to our building.   The money we raise goes to helping students with field trips, paying of lunch balances and any of the things that kids need throughout the year.

District Facility Meeting, 9/6

On Thursday, Dr. Simpson and team will be hosting a meeting at Hixson for our community to discuss the needs of our buildings.  The meeting will be in the auditorium at 7:00pm. 

OUTS This Week

Grace will be out on Wednesday, 9/5 from 8:30-1:30pm for a Principal’s Meeting