September 30, 2016

October is going to be FUN!  We know it's cutting into your instruction days and we truly apologize for this.  We also know that these experiences are LIFE CHANGING for many of our kids!  The 8th Grade Career Fair, Cookie Dough lunch party, Cal Berkley visit, STEAM lab, Challenge Days, Superintendent's visit, new collaborative IPR, and more are all great experiences for our kids and we appreciate your patience, flexibility, and understanding as they miss class and you assist them in getting caught up! You are all AMAZING!!

I know that we have said this multiple times and we cannot stress it enough: giving information to parents and helping through the process of middle school helps everyone involved.   Why is it so vital you ask?  It has been proven to: increase student achievement, increase student attendance, increase graduation rates and more.  Check out THIS article to read more and it's extremely important!

Repost for those that missed it:

Have YOU ever really thought about being a student in your own classroom? How engaged would you be?  Would you be paying attention and taking notes? Stop and think about it for a minute.   If your answer isn't a confident yes, stop, take some time and think why.  Too much student down time? Not enough interaction between students?  Check out THIS ARTICLE about 8 easy ways to get kids talking more, with training by YOU the teacher!!

Thank you to those for submitting Student of the Month names on time so I don't have to hunt you down for them!  Much Appreciated!  Please note that we really don't want people to fill out months in advance.  Please just do one month at a time!  Want to get a jump on it for October so I'll leave ya alone? Click THIS LINK and names are due October 21 for "Caring"!

Thank you to Rosa, Mimi, Elizabeth, Susan, Kristy M., Ken, Cristina, Tamia, Dave F., Don, Liz, Sue, Lynn, Kristy L., Dalal, Kimberly, Katherine, Jason, Peckham, Christen, Sandy, Allison, Heather 1&2, Paula, Carol, Sara, Rochelle, Karen and Barb for writing Good News Referrals!!  LOVE THEM and please KEEP THEM COMING!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

• SUPER shout out to ALL STAFF for making Monday SUPER awesome for me =)  Love you all!!
• SUPER shout out to our 6th grade super heroes for their amazing POD work and collaboration!  IT WAS AWESOME and made my HEART SO HAPPY!!!!!  
• SUPER shout out to Kristy, Barb, and Ken for working to have an NGSS pacing guide and text correlation for Science!
• SUPER shout out to Christine and Sue for creating the schedule for Tuesday and STEAM Day!
• SUPER shout out to Rochelle for tackling the 8th grade Career Fair!
• SUPER shout out to Dalal, Lynn, Katherine, and Heather2 for going after and GETTING the DonorsChoose $1500 for their classroom!!  YAY!!
• SUPER shout out to those that have already reached out OR sent up GOOD NEWS REFERRALS, especially to those that have NEVER written them before!! We have already had written 342 for August and September!!  Keep them coming!  Can't wait to see how POSITIVE and FABULOUS October is!!
• What to nominate a fellow SUPER HERO to be recognized at our next faculty meeting?  Click HERE!!  PLEASE!!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

*October 4- Career Fair for all 8th graders in FSUSD
*October 4- October Faculty Meeting in Library
*October 5- NextLesson demo in library
*October 7- Band Rock a Thon with Mr. Peckham
*October 10- No school!
*October 11- Cookie dough early lunch release/DJ in gym
*October 13/14- STEAM Assembly modified schedule coming soon!
*October 25, 26, 27- Challenge Days!  Sign up to come!
*October 28- Superintendent here!
*October 28- Halloween Dance
*October 28, 29- CUE Conference for 7!

September 23, 2016

We have student led/involved parent conferences coming up and we thank you for submitting names!  Also, please reach out to parents, even if it's a general email with Aeries grades, so that these conferences are NOT the first contact you have had with parents.  Trust us, it will benefit you!  Need help with the Aeries sent through email, please go see Dustin.  He nailed it! 

Check out THIS most fantastic form to use with our kids and have them reflect and use during conferences!!

One of the better videos I have seen that helps us understand why these are important and empowering, focusing on how they see things.  They can also articulate why they are/are not doing well in class.

It goes along with this great article, so click here!

Pretty powerful stuff!

Have YOU ever really thought about being a student in your own classroom? How engaged would you be?  Would you be paying attention and taking notes? Stop and think about it for a minute.   If your answer isn't a confident yes, stop, take some time and think why.  Too much student down time? Not enough interaction between students?  Check out THIS ARTICLE about 8 easy ways to get kids talking more, with training by YOU the teacher!!

Thank you to those (Anita, Heather1, Don, Lynn, Julie, Kimberly, Dan, Liz, Tamia, Christen, Elizabeth, Christine, Kristy, Dalal, Dave M., David O., Sandy, Aubry, Barb, Allison, Dustin, Carol, Heather, Dave F., Sue, and Pozzesi) for already submitting Student of the Month names so I don't have to hunt you down for them!  Much Appreciated!

Thank you to Dalal for running our MAP training on Thursday and to those that attended (Sue, Allison, Tamia, Paula, Cristina, Lynn, Tracy, Katherine, Anita, and Aubry!)!

Thank you to Rosa, Mimi, Elizabeth, Susan, Kristy M., Ken, Cristina, Tamia, Dave F., Don, Liz, Sue, Lynn, Kristy L., Dalal, Kimberly, Katherine, Jason, Peckham, Christen, Sandy, Allison, Heather, Paula, Carol, Sara, and Barb for writing Good News Referrals!!  LOVE THEM and please KEEP THEM COMING!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

• SUPER shout out ALL STAFF who helped cover classrooms with no subs!  We really appreciate you all coming together to support each other and our kids!
• SUPER shout out to Allison for spreading the love within our Math Department with her generous donation!
• SUPER shout out to Kristy Melton for all her help in RSP!
• SUPER shout out to Lynn and Heather for getting their $1500 DonorsChoose gift card!!  So awesome!
• SUPER shout out to Elizabeth for taking on ALL of the ILPs, Challenge Day, and more!
• SUPER shout out to Sue for putting sentence stems on desks to remind students how to have academic conversations and 
• SUPER shout out to Pozzesi for having a student FaceTime into class when she was absent so she wouldn't miss work!
• SUPER shout out to those that have already reached out OR sent up GOOD NEWS REFERRALS, especially to those that have NEVER written them before!! We have already had written XXXXXX so far!!!  Keep them coming!
• What to nominate a fellow SUPER HERO to be recognized at our next faculty meeting?  Click HERE!!  PLEASE!!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

*September 27- Volleyball/Cross Country @ Crystal
*September 28- Site Council Meeting
*September 28, 29, 30- PODs 

*September 29- 3:15-5:15 Student-led Parent Conferences
*September 29- College Fair at Armijo
*September 30- PTC General Meeting
*September 30- Minimum Day all dismissed at noon
*October 4- Career Fair for all 8th graders in FSUSD
*October 4- October Faculty Meeting in Library
*October 5- NextLesson demo in library
*October 7- Rock a Thon with Mr. Peckham
*October 10- No school
*October 11- Cookie dough early lunch release/DJ in gym
*October 13/14- STEAM Assembly modified schedule coming soon!
*October 25, 26, 27- Challenge Days!  Sign up to come!
*October 28, 29- CUE Conference for 7!

September 16, 2016

We have student led parent conferences coming up and we thank you for submitting names!  We have sent out over 150 invites already!  As you can see, we are using the words STUDENT-LED parent conferences in order to truly encourage students to come to answer some of the questions that parents WILL have.  This doesn't mean you have to meet one on one with each student prior to conferences AND this is something we will work on to be accurate/effective and have training on for next year!  Also, please reach out to parents, even if it's a general email with Aeries grades, so that these conferences are NOT the first contact you have had with parents.  Trust us, it will benefit you!  Need help with the Aeries sent through email, please go see Dustin.  He nailed it! 

We know that our students come to us with a variety of needs.  We all need to continue to take a look at guiding and supporting one another in order to support our students.  We want to encourage ALL of you to take risks and venture out from traditional approaches to curriculum.  We NEED to ensure that students aren't just completing worksheets for busy work.  Get creative.  Get collaborative with your department, grade level, and cross grade level.  You all have such a WEALTH of tools in your "tool box" to share with each other.  Don't be shy!

We must continue to BUILD relationships with our kids and with each other. It is critical that we provide supports and structure for our students!

Click HERE for some inspiring pages you can print and give to each other, yourself, and your students!!

Click HERE for some ideas on how to get others to help each other (thanks for sharing, Kevin!)

We are in an ATTENDANCE competition!  We are are competing with Cordelia Hills, Oakbrook and Nelda Mundy in an attendance competition from September 12- 23.  Keep encouraging this as we are climbing higher and higher!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

• Shout out to Kristy for the song and hand's on learning for measurement!
• Shout out to our SPED SQUAD (Carla, Tamia, Josiah, and Karyn) for ensuring that our SPED data is accurate and complete!
• Shout out to Heather1 for embracing super hero theme with our treats!!
• Shout out to Heather2 for the second edition of the newspaper!
• Shout out to Dustin for the Aeries idea!
• Shout out to Alisa for JUMPING right in to PE!
• Shout out to Brenda for continuing to take things on!
• Shout out to Susan for being the DISTRICT attendance clerk go-to!
• Shout out to Sarj for the shirt and taking charge!
• Shout out to Rosa, Mimi and Kristy for PE inventory and HOLDIN' down the fort at ALL times!
• Shout out to Sue for creating the MAP Goal assessment for the entire Math department!  Can't wait to see these all filled in for both English and Math with student goals!  Let us know when you are ready and we want to stop by to see these!
• Shout out to Dave F for his first Good News Referrals!  Yay!
• SUPER shout out to those that have already reached out OR sent up GOOD NEWS REFERRALS, especially to those that have NEVER written them before!! We have already had written 219 so far!!!  Keep them coming!
• What to nominate a fellow SUPER HERO to be recognized at our next faculty meeting?  Click HERE!!  PLEASE!!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

*September 12-23 ATTENDANCE COMPETITION!!! 

*September 14- College and Career planning night for parents
*September 17- Dine and Donate at Napa Deli in GV
*September 21- Principal for a Day Event
*September 28, 29, 30- PODs 
*September 29- 3:15-5:15 Student-led Parent Conferences
*September 30- Minimum Day all dismissed at noon

September 9, 2016

With our focus on Academic Conversations, we read a GREAT article (HERE) about modeling conversations with our middle school students.  It is SO common for our students to NOT know how to have conversations but focused on texting and mumbling to everyone.  There are 8 easy ways to model getting students to even HAVE conversations in additional to adding their evidence and opinions.

We are in an ATTENDANCE competition!  We are are competing with Cordelia Hills, Oakbrook and Nelda Mundy in an attendance competition from September 12- 23 (September is attendance awareness month) to see which school has the BEST percentage of enrollment over absences WINS and the principal of that school site gets to embarrass themselves in front of all of the other schools!  I have to say, I really am excited for this and have NO PROBLEM with making a fool of myself, as you all have learned =)  Now, I just need to drag Christine into it!!  LET'S DO THIS GVMS!!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

• Shout out to Sarj, Liz, and Kevin for helping out while Shawna has been out!  Please welcome Alisa to our team as she is taking over for Shawna!
• Shout out to Sue for creating the STEAM Schedule and faculty meeting notes for our whole school for October!
• Shout out to Kristy for taking time during her prep to work with her students who are with Josiah!
• Shout out to our Dept. coaches for supporting our new teachers, their team members and coming in to assist!
• Shout out to our PBIS Team (Carla, Sue, Lynn, Sandy, Dalal, and Josiah) for the ideas and continuing to help steer positive supports and foster the awesome and positive learning environment!  
• Shout out to Elizabeth for the encouraging chalk messages outside! 
• Shout out to Katherine for promoting socialization and support for our TAP students!
• Shout out to Allison for reaching out daily to Christen for any missing work!
• Shout out to Don for sharing concerns and getting advice regarding our TAP kiddos!
• SUPER shout out to those that have already reached out OR sent up GOOD NEWS REFERRALS, especially to those that have NEVER written them before!! We have already had written so far!!!  Keep them coming!
• What to nominate a fellow SUPER HERO to be recognized at our next faculty meeting?  Click HERE!!  PLEASE!!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

*September 12-23 ATTENDANCE COMPETITION!!! 

*September 14- College and Career planning night for parents
*September 17- Dine and Donate at Napa Deli in GV
*September 21- Principal for a Day Event
*September 28, 29, 30- PODs 
*September 29- 3:15-5:15 Student-led Parent Conferences
*September 30- Minimum Day all dismissed at noon

September 2, 2016

What a GREAT job at Back to School Night on Wednesday!  The presentations were awesome to watch and the interactions with families was fabulous!  If parents have questions that you can't answer, please send them our way =)  We are PROUD SUPER HEROES!

With our continued focus this school year on student Academic Conversations, PODs, tech integration, PBIS, lots of support through Professional Development, and more, we ALL need super heroes to share with, to compare with, to plan with, and to support one another.  WHEW! Anyone overwhelmed?  Don't be!  Take a look at THIS ARTICLE about the 10 Signs You're a Superhero and here are just a few:

• You inspire others to want to be a teacher
• You let children learn about themselves
• Your kids accept you no matter what
• You stay positive when negativity is easier
• You encourage- EVERYDAY!

Over the weekend, our community suffered again from violence at the hands of our youth towards our youth.  While it may not have happened in Green Valley itself, it still is something that affects our greater school community. We MUST continue and commit to spread the message of self worth and importance.  Have you connected with the 5 students that we challenged you all with?  As every Viking walks into our campus, we must tell them that they are valued, they are important, they are needed, and they are loved.  We must use our positive words (sometimes harder than it looks) to help them overcome their self doubts.  WE must help them change their view of themselves to gain more confidence!

Take a sec to watch and LISTEN to the words in this video.  If it moves you, share that energy with as many people as possible and SPREAD the love!

We CANNOT give up on our students!!  We HAVE to believe that anything is possible!  We CANNOT make excuses!

We are in an ATTENDANCE competition!  We are are competing with Cordelia Hills, Oakbrook and Nelda Mundy in an attendance competition from September 12- 23 (September is attendance awareness month) to see which school has the BEST percentage of enrollment over absences WINS and the principal of that school site gets to embarrass themselves in front of all of the other schools!  I have to say, I really am excited for this and have NO PROBLEM with making a fool of myself, as you all have learned =)  Now, I just need to drag Christine into it!!  LET'S DO THIS GVMS!!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

• Shout out to Alex for helping Allison with MAP testing!
• Shout out to Heather for sharing the RIT "cheat sheet" out!
• Shout out to Paula for the coffee pods!
• Shout out to Cristina for covering for an IEP!
• Shout out to Sarj and Liz for holding the fort down on Friday!
• Shout out to Margret for the awesome backpack donations!
• Shout out to Pozzesi for the advice!
• SUPER shout out to those that have already reached out OR sent up GOOD NEWS REFERRALS, especially to those that have NEVER written them before!! We have already had 68 written so far!!!  Keep them coming!
• What to nominate a fellow SUPER HERO to be recognized at our next faculty meeting?  Click HERE!!  PLEASE!!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

*September 4- Labor Day

*September 6- 1st Faculty Meeting
*September 8- PBIS Training @SCOE
*September 12-23 ATTENDANCE COMPETITION!!! 
*September 14- College and Career planning night for parents
*September 17- Dine and Donate at Napa Deli in GV
*September 21- Principal for a Day Event
*September 28, 29, 20- PODs