Sunday Night Memo, 1/27/19

January 27, 2019

The Hixson Table

On Thursday, there were crock pots galore filled to the brim with warm, comforting soups taking over the faculty lounge.  The food was plentiful and more than enough to feed our entire school family twice over.  It was a great opportunity for folks to come together and enjoy each other’s company over a warm bowl of soup or delicious piece of cake.  Thank you to the Social Courtesy Committee for creating a wonderful food series to allow us an excuse to eat but more importantly, venture out of our normal lunch spaces.  I’m looking forward to the next one and can’t wait to gather some more recipes from others.

I did learn that there were some folks who were under the impression that if you did not bring anything to the meal, you were not allowed to eat.  I’m so sorry that this message was shared and consumed and wanted to clarify as we move forward how the Hixson table works.  Knowing history is valuable because it gives insight into the past and vision for the future to do better.  I acknowledge the history from the past but want everyone to know that the vision for the future is everyone is welcome at the table.  I hope this message is clear and we can finally put the previous message into the past.  If you see a colleague not participating, please grab that person.  If you are near a substitute, please grab the sub and invite him/her to lunch.  I grew up in a modest home where we didn’t have fancy things.  However, my mom always made sure there was plenty of food for all the folks who were at the table, including the random drop ins.  If there is one thing I learned from my mom is to always make sure there is enough food for everyone to eat and take home a container!  I promise, there will always be more than enough.

Our jobs are hard.  Sometimes, life becomes hard.  When we come to the table at Hixson, it’s not always about the food.  Sometimes it’s just about connecting with another person.   The food is just a fabulous excuse to come to the table.

Announcements at the End of the Day

Some days we have announcements at the end of the day, some days we don’t.  Please do not release your kids when you hear me or someone come on the intercom.  Please release them when they are told they can go.  When we do have announcements, it is important that we set the norm that we listen to the intercom for the kids.  This is especially important as we work to improve our communication around safe schools.

Character Committee Meeting

The Character Committee is meeting on Monday at 3:30pm in the Library.  The committee is open for all and if you would like to join the work, please do!

Steger Visits

6^th graders will be visiting us this week, starting Monday-Thursday from 9-10:30am.  They will be with us in the morning and touring the building.  Our Hixson Leaders will give tours around the building and lead them in community building circles. 

Incoming 7^thgrade Orientation

Our annual orientation for incoming 7^th grade parents will be Thursday, 1/31 from 6-8pm.

Hixson 7/8 Mixer

The 7/8 Winter Mixer is Friday, 2/1 from 6:30-8:30pm.  Please come and join us for a night of fun! J

Outs this Week

NONE!

Have a fantastic week!

With gratitude,
Grace

Monday Night Memo, 1/21/19

January 21, 2019

Happy birthday to Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  I hope you enjoyed the day with your family on this holiday weekend.  Last night, our Step Team and 7^th grader Lauren Knapp represented our school at the annual community event commemorating Dr. King.  They did a great job!

Welcome to Carley Cook!  Carley spent the weekend preparing to meet her new kids and new school family.  Stop by and give her a shout out as she officially joins the Hixson family tomorrow.

Superintendent’s Visit-Tuesday, 1/22/19

Dr. Simpson and his cabinet will be at Hixson tomorrow morning at 9:45am for their monthly visit.  They may visit your classroom to observe and talk with students.

SLT Meeting-Monday, 2/4/19

Social Courtesy is taking a break from Self Care Mondays and offered the first Monday for SLT meetings. Due to the Monday holidays we will not be able to meet again until April.  Therefore, we will be meeting the first Monday.

At our next SLT meeting, we need to talk about Spring Conferences.  Team leaders and Department leaders, please talk with your team mates about the timeframe for our conferences and gather consensus.  We will make a decision at the SLT meeting on 2/4.

It was brought to the attention of HR the discrepancy of time between Hixson and the HS.  Hixson offers conferences 4 hours longer on the second day and both buildings receive the same comp day on Friday.  Due to the published schedule, the HS will not be extending their time this year.  Starting next year, Hixson and the HS will offer the same amount of hours for conferences and receive the comp day.  HR has given Hixson the option to reduce our conferences by 4 hours to mirror the current HS offering for this year. 

Here are the possible options:

A.      Keep it the same timeframe this year: Tuesday 4-8pm, Wednesday 1-8pm

B.      Reduce the time:  Tuesday 4-8, Wednesday 1-6pm

C.       Keep it the same as the HS:  Tuesday 4-8, Wednesday 1-4pm

Please talk as teams and departments and let your leaders know.  We will then discuss how the majority of folks are feeling and make a decision at the SLT meeting on 2/4.

8^th grade to HS

This week, starting Tuesday, 8^th grade teams will be visiting the HS for their annual transition visit.

OUTs for the Week

Tuesday, 1/22-Grace out all day for training

Wednesday, 1/23-Aimee and Grace out for PLC training

Friday, 1/25-Aimee, Mike and Grace out from 8:45am-10:30am for new admin meeting at CO

Have a great week!

With gratitude,

Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 1/13/19

January 13, 2019

I hope you had a good weekend enjoying all the snow.  I know the commute home Friday was awful and am thankful that everyone is safe, aside from some fender benders, and made it home.  The upside to these situations is watching how we mobilize to take care and look out for each other.  I loved watching folks help out in the office with the steady stream of not so happy parents picking up kids, coordinating tricky bus/cab departures, supervising kids in the hallways and stepping in for others who had longer commutes to allow them to try and get a head start on the road.  It’s times like these that we really are more than just a group of people who work together and I’m grateful for each of you.

Here’s to a “normal” week!

Faculty Meeting, 1/14

The Social Studies Department will be hosting the Staff Meeting on Monday.  The schedule is as follows:

You will be answering an essential question by gathering evidence in several rooms that offer different activities. At the end of the activities we will all gather in the Cafeteria to debrief and share what we learned and how we answered our question.

Schedule:

Cafeteria 3:30 receive schedule and room assignment.

         

Report to the first location at 3:40 (10-15 minute activity) receive your second room assignment.

Passing time 3:55-3:57

Report to second location at 3:57 (10-15 minute activity)

Return to cafeteria by 4:15

NWEA Testing, 1/16

On Wednesday, all 7^th grade students will be taking the district NWEA test.  The schedule is the same as the one followed in the Fall for the first test. 

If you have any questions, please let any of the administrators or Hope know.

PTO Spring Grant

Please see the attachment for the Spring PTO grants.  The deadline is February 1^st.  Please fill out and submit a hard copy to me.

8^thgrade Band Tour

8^th grade Band students will be hitting the road on Friday to perform at the elementary schools. 

Outs This Week

Grace, Aimee and Mike will be out on Thursday for a DLT Meeting at CO from 8-1ish

Have a great week!

With gratitude,

Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 1/6/19

January 6, 2019

Happy New Year!  I hope tonight’s memo finds you rested and ready for the second half of our year.  As we start the second half of the year, I find this phase of the year to move faster than the first.  We will hit the ground running with a variety of activities in January welcoming our incoming 7^th graders and transitioning our 8^th graders to high school.  I look forward to this time as we also begin looking to planning our next school year.  There are a lot of great things happening around the building with various programs and I look forward to our continued growth that comes with dreaming big.  In this “new year” I encourage you to dream big for your kids and yourself.

Welcome back!

Self-Care Monday

Self-care Monday has been cancelled for tomorrow. 

Canfield Drive, 1/23

Our very own Eric Conners will be starring in a compelling play at the Black Rep, opening this Wednesday, 1/9 and running through Sunday, 1/27.  Canfield Drive follows two high-powered news reporters from across the aisle, throw together in Ferguson following the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.  

I’m proud of Eric and his role in this very important play.  If you are interested in going to see the play, we will have a block of PAID seats for Wednesday, 1/23.   Please let me know if you are interested in going to the play and will purchase a ticket for you.

Here is a description of the play:  https://edison.wustl.edu/event/fences/

Have a great week back.

With gratitude,

Grace