Sunday Night Memo, 4/28/19

April 28, 2019

Looking for National Junior Honor Society Sponsors

We are looking for a team of 2-4 folks who are interested in sponsoring a National Junior Honor Society for kids.  Please grab a colleague or two and let me know if you are interested in leading this group for next year!

PBL and Teaming and the Future

There is currently a team exploring what it will take to develop into a PBL focused team for the future.  If you or your teammates are also interested in this, please let me know.

Faculty Meeting, 4/29

Our last faculty meeting will be tomorrow at 3:30pm in the cafeteria.  Our Character Committee will start off our meeting to share the outline for next year and I’ll follow up with our end of the year packet.  There are a couple of changes to go over for check out since our last day of school with kids and last day for teachers is on the same day.

Spring Choir Concert, 5/1

Come and enjoy the beautiful voices of our 7^th and 8^th grade choirs this Wednesday at 6:30pm for the Spring Concert!

Jazz Band Concert, 5/2

Tap your feet and follow along with the Jazz Band on Thursday at 6:30pm!

Book Battle, 5/2

Our Book Battle students will depart in the morning for the annual regional competition.  Good luck to our readers!

Art 3 Gallery Opening and Exhibit, 5/3

Make it a date night and grab dinner at some of our local restaurants and end the evening with a walk through at the Old Orchard Gallery to see our talented Art 3 students display their work.  Our kids are incredibly talented and will not disappoint!

Welcome

Welcome to Jake Norman, Adam Vorel and Emily Bardot.  They will be joining the Hixson family next year and we are excited to welcome them.  You may see them around here or there before they officially start.  Jake will teach Spanish, Adam will teach Science 8 and Emily will join the Counseling team as an instructional aide.

Outs This Week

Grace out Friday from 7:30am-9am for a meeting off campus

Have a great week!

With gratitude,

Grace

Sunday Night Memo (1 day early), 4/20/19

April 20, 2019

MAP Test Prep

The MAP test is coming!  Our schedule will be finalized and sent out this week but testing will begin on May 7^th.  7^th and 8^thgraders will be taking the assessment on 5/7 and 5/8.  Only 8^th graders will be taking the assessment on May 9^th and 7^th graders will return to a normal learning day.

To prepare, please start collecting headphones from students for MAP testing.  Headphones will be needed for portions of the test.  While we will have some for anyone who forgets, it will be helpful to collect and hold them for kids in case they forget.

Also a reminder to those that haven't watched the MAP video to please come to room 123 to watch it. It is 20 minutes and must be completed for every staff member.

Character Ed Committee Mtg, 4/22

The Character Ed Committee will meet on Monday afterschool in the library.  Please join the group as they map out character education for the upcoming school year.

Social Courtesy Crock Pot Series-Guilty Pleasures, 4/23

It’s not too late to sign up for the last crock pot series hosted in the faculty lounge!

Orchestra Concert, 4/23

Come and listen to our kids at the Spring Orchestra concert on Tuesday at 6:00pm!

Administrative Assistant Appreciation Day, 4/24

Our front office team works tirelessly to hold down the fort and support us.  Please join me in celebrating our A Team on Wednesday for administrative assistant appreciation day!

Summer Opportunities

Last week, I shared a summer learning opportunity for our building.  In partnership with Steger/Givens, we will be offering a training through Crossroads this summer.  This workshop is the 2^nd level in this training series.  Many of us in the building have been through many different first tier equity and racism trainings so this training is perfect for those interested in moving to the action step.  There are only 20 spots, so space will be filled on a first come basis.  Attendance is required for all 2.5 days.  Please take a look at your calendars and hopefully you will be able to join the learning. 

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Analyzing and Understanding Systemic Racism (the “Analysis Workshop” for short as you see in the timeline): 2.5 day workshop

August 1, 2, and 3, 2019 at Steger/Givens

• August 1 from 8:30 – 3:30 p.m.
• August 2 from 8:30 – 3:30 p.m.
• August 3 from 8:00 – 12:00 p.m.

In this more in-depth training, participants will explore the historical development of institutional racism in the US. From that context a common definition of racism will be introduced. As part of unpacking this definition, participants will investigate how racism is internalized, including the identity-shaping power racism has on People of Color and White people. Emphasis is given to exploring institutional and cultural manifestations of racism, in addition to the individual manifestations and a link between racism and other forms of oppression will be made throughout. A specific examination of how racism manifests in the policies, practices and culture of Webster Groves School District will be applied. A strategic methodology to dismantle racism will be introduced, focusing specifically on applying principles of organizing and social/cultural change within institutions. Group presentation with interactive discussion, small group discussions, reflection, and video are all used.

OBJECTIVES:

• Create a shared language for talking effectively about systemic racism, and how it operates in society, and your organization

• Analyze what systemic racism is, how it operates institutionally and culturally, and how it impacts us as individuals

• Explore the historical development of institutional racism in the United States, and how it impacts society today

• Begin equipping Steger/Givens, Hixson and Webster Grove School District with a framework for examining culture and values, and moving toward antiracist transformation.

OUTS This Week

4/22-Grace OUT in the morning from 8-10am for Disciplinary Review meeting

4/26-Grace and Mike OUT for Student Leaders trip to Birmingham

          Sarah and Linda OUT for MO Counselors Leadership

Have a great week!

With gratitude,

Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 4/14/19

April 14, 2019

WELCOME

Please join me in welcoming Sarah Magruder to the Hixson Family.  Sarah will join our front office team as the administrative assistant to the principal for the next school year.  Currently, Sarah is serving with the Steger/Givens front office team.  From time to time, you may see Sarah at Hixson as she transitions into her new role. 

Kathy Edwards will be officially retiring at the end of the school year but staying on part time to manage our building budget and pass on all her knowledge to Sarah in the next year.

Social Courtesy Events-Library, after school

If you are able, please join in celebrating the Hixson babies who have arrived or will arrive.  On Monday, we will celebrate Baby Cetro and Wednesday, we will celebrate Henry Creath.  Bring your sweet tooth and best advice for parenting survival!

Library Appreciation Day, 4/16

We would be lost without our Library and Librarian, Gail!  We celebrate the centerpiece of our building on Tuesday with other schools across the country.  Happy Library Appreciation Day to Gail!

Spring Band Concert, 4/18

Spring is here and our talented band students are kicking off the season with their concert.  Join us for an evening of music with the 7^th graders starting off the concert at 6pm and the 8^th graders at 7:30pm.

OUTS This Week

Wednesday-Grace out from 8-11 for CO meeting

Thursday-Aimee, Mike and Grace out from 8-10:30am for DLT at CO

Have a great week!

With gratitude,
Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 4/7/19

April 7, 2019

Substitutes and the Final Countdown

As we head into the next 7 weeks of school, it becomes difficult to get sub coverage some days.  If you are sick, please put in for a sub the night before.  When subs are requested in the morning, we are not able to always get the position filled.  When this happens, we have to pull our support staff to cover. 

Interview Committees

We have space on our committee for the upcoming interviews.  We need your voice as we bring in new members to our school family.  Please sign up if you are able to join this process.

Faculty Meeting, 4/8

Our annual MAP faculty meeting will be on Monday beginning at 3:30pm in the cafeteria.  This is a mandatory meeting for everyone as we head into MAP testing.  Our MAP testing dates are May 7,8 and 9. 

Firenza Pizza Fundraiser, 4/11

On Thursday, our monthly fundraiser at Firenza will run from 5-8pm.  No fliers are needed and the restaurant will give 20% back to Hixson from all sales during that time. Grab a friend, your family or take some pizza home for dinner!

Student Leaders Summit, 4/12

On Friday from 10:45am-1:30pm, student leaders from Steger, Hixson and the HS will come together for a brief learning summit.  The Summit will be hosted at Hixson and students will be in the Library for the day.

LAST Meeting for the Year AND Open House Social Time

Our last faculty meeting was originally scheduled for May 6^th.  At our SLT meeting it was shared and supported that we will be moving the meeting to Monday, April 29^th.  This will be our last faculty meeting to review end of the year closing procedures as well as talk about our character work.  Please mark your calendars.  By moving the meeting, this allows us to have a meeting free May.

Our Open House Social will be held in the same format as last year.  The date for the next school year is August 8^thfrom 3-7pm.  The times have been adjusted to offer a later window for our families and their work hours.  It was shared and supported at SLT that the time change would reflect a 2 hour comp time (earlier release) on our August PD day.  Please mark your calendars for this day and time frame as well.

FREE Baseball Game Tickets, 5/7

I have 10 baseball tickets to the game on 5/7.  The game starts at 6:45pm against the Phillies.  The tickets are in section 367, row 12. 

Let me know if you want some-first come first serve!

OUTS This Week

Wednesday-Mike and Grace out from 12-4pm for Students Leaders Conference w/kids

                      OC out for Safety training

Friday-Aimee and Aaron OUT

Have a fantastic week!

With gratitude,

Grace