Week commencing November 26, 2018

The Week Ahead

All Week 

Snack Duty: Strate
Leon back in full time 

Monday, Nov 26

• Shannon out: Personal Day
• New Faculty Meeting @ 2:20pm in MS Office 
• CaP Group meetings @ 3:30-5pm

 

Tuesday, Nov 27

• MS Chapel - Recognition Awards All Grades THINKERS
• MS Leadership Team Meeting @10:50am in the MS Office
• Grade Level Team Meetings in the Faculty Workroom
• Grade 8      3:15-3:45pm
• Grade 6      3:45-4:15pm 
• Grade 7      4:15-4:45pm

Wednesday, Nov 28

• New Faculty Meeting @ 2:20pm in Angelica's room

Thursday, Nov 29

• Emma out from 10am: Personal Day 
• Linh & Ann Marie: Math Conference in Seattle all day
• Long Advisory: Start to make decorations for our tree
• MS Faculty Meeting CANCELLED! 

Friday, Nov 30

• Linh & Ann Marie out: Math Conference in Seattle all day
• Clare out from noon: Oral surgery
• All School Civvies Day

Action Items

• Experience Day Receipts: Please get these into me before the end of the month so that they can be processed in an appropriate time.

• Differentiation Group Survey: If you haven't yet completed the survey, please take a few minutes to do so for John and his group. 

• Smartphones: Building on from the discussion at the start of the school year about smartphones and their place in middle school, please take 5 minutes out of your day to read this article Middle School Misfortunes Then and Now, One Teacher’s Take.

• Last Week Before Winter Break: Please make sure that you have looked at this schedule and are prepared for the events. All are expected to participate even if your class or name is not specifically attached to an event. Please look especially closely at Grandparents' and Special Friends Day for those classes asked to present. If you anticipate an issue with any of these, please let me know ASAP. 

Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates & Reminders 

• MS Office Coordinator: We had over 100 applicants for the position and last week I interviewed 4 potential candidates. I have a few more this week, but I am hopeful that someone will be filling the position before Winter Break. 

• Leon is back! I know you will join me in wishing him all the best and helping in any way possible to ease his transition. Leon plans on using the next few weeks to get all his classes prepared to sing at Lessons and Carols. 

Upcoming Meetings

• Monday 12:  New Faculty Meeting @ 2:20pm in MS Office; CaP Group Meeting @3:30pm
• Tuesday 13: Grade Level Team Meetings in the Faculty Workroom
• Wednesday 14: New Faculty MYP Meeting @ 2:20pm in Angelica's room

Visiting Students

• None

Absent Students

• Jack Macord: Monday, 26.

Kudos!

• The Experience Days were a big hit! Thank you to everyone for giving that 'extra' that our middle school is so known for. You really are a great group of folks.

The Month Ahead

• Sunday, November 25: Tree up in MS Lounge by Price Advisory
• Thursday, November 28: Begin making decorations in Long Advisory for the tree
• Friday, November 30: All School Civvies Day 
• Thursday, December 6: Final decorations added to the MS Lounge Tree
• Friday, December 7: Winter Play @7pm 
• Tuesday, December 11: SHARE in Chapel; Lesson & Carols 5-7pm
• Wednesday, December 12: All School Civvies Day; Holiday Celebration and Sing-along during FLEX; 
• Thursday, December 13: Holiday Tea @1:30-3:00pm
• Friday, December 14: Grandparents' and Special Friends Day (see special schedule); Half Day

Week Commencing November 19, 2018

The Week Ahead

All Week 

Snack Duty: PHAN (if anyone is on campus!)

Monday, Nov 19

• 8:00-8:05am     Advisory 
• 8:10-2:15pm    Experience Days
• 2:20-3:10pm    Athletics of all grades

 

Tuesday, Nov 20

• 8:00-8:05am     Advisory 
• 8:10-2:15pm    Experience Days
• 2:20-3:10pm    Athletics of all grades
• No Grade Level Team Meetings

Wednesday, Nov 21

• No School!

Thursday, Nov 22

• No School! - Happy Thanksgiving

Friday, Nov 23

• No School!

Action Items

• Experience Days Reminders: Here is the Experience Days 2018 document with the schedules, bus timings, and student lists. There are a number of students not attending for various reasons. Please check this document.
• Receipts: Please submit any from Experience Days to me before you leave for Thanksgiving. These can simply be left on my desk with the reimbursement form and I will get it processed ASAP. If things were purchased on the school credit card, I simply need the itemized receipt. 
• Advisory Letters: These should be published by the end of the day. Thank you for your hard work on these and inputting them, along with the subject overviews. 

Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates & Reminders 

• Only two days!!!!
• We have begun interviewing for the MS Office Coordinator. I hope to be able to have a new 'Neil' in place before winter break. 

Upcoming Meetings

• None this week

Visiting Students

• None this week

Absent Students

• Allen	Zoe
  Arnold	Lauren
  Dubose	Monee
  Dusankova	Sara
  Herman-Scholbe	Amelia
  Keogh	Finn
  McDonough	Breanna
  Hedges	Elise
  Schwebke	Abeni
  Wetherbee	Zoe (Tuesday)
  Davis	Olivia

Absent Faculty & Staff

• None

Kudos!

• Thank you all for your hard work with creating and organizing Experience Days. Please enjoy a restful few days off. 

The Month Ahead

• Monday & Tuesday 19 & 20: Experience Days 8-2:20pm
• Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday 21-23: AWS Closed for Thanksgiving
• Sunday, November 25: Tree up in MS Lounge by Price Advisory
• Thursday, November 28: Begin making decorations in Long Advisory for the tree
• Friday, November 30: All School Civvies Day 
• Thursday, December 6: Final decorations added to the MS Lounge Tree
• Friday, December 7: Winter Play @7pm 
• Tuesday, December 11: SHARE in Chapel; Lesson & Carols 5-7pm
• Wednesday, December 12: All School Civvies Day; Holiday Celebration and Sing-along during FLEX; 
• Thursday, December 13: Holiday Tea @1:30-3:00pm
• Friday, December 14: Grandparents' and Special Friends Day (see special schedule); Half Day

Week Commencing November 12

The Week Ahead

All Week 

Snack Duty: CASTRO

Monday, Nov 12

• Advisory letters due by 8am. Please place them in these folders
• Veteran's Day Chapel @ 10-10:45am. See directions below
• MS Preview Day @ 9-11:30am 
• New Faculty Meeting @ 2:20pm in MS Office 
• All School Faculty and Staff Meeting @ 3:30-5pm

 

Tuesday, Nov 13

• Math Contest (Geometry and Independent Math students) @ 10-10:45am in Ann Marie's room. Wagstaff & Finch to supervise.
• MS Chapel - Recognition Awards Grade 6
• MS Leadership Team Meeting @10:50am in the MS Office
• Grade Level Team Meetings in the Faculty Workroom
• Grade 6      3:15-3:45pm
• Grade 7      3:45-4:15pm 
• Grade 8      4:15-4:45pm

Wednesday, Nov 14

• Angelica and John visiting Soundview School all day
• New Faculty Meeting @ 2:20pm in Shelli's room

Thursday, Nov 15

• MS Faculty Meeting @3:15pm in MS Faculty Work Room 

Friday, Nov 16

• St. Luke School visiting @10-1pm 
• Read and approved Advisors letters uploaded to myAW by 4pm. Letters to be released to families at 4:01pm :-)

Action Items

• Experience Days: I will be sending out an email to all the MS on Sunday night or Monday morning informing them of their Experience Day choices. Following this, please reach out with any specific instructions you wish to give your group. I will state about dress code (yes to this if they are on site. No, if they are off and need to be out of dress code due to the nature of the activity: Outdoor Adventure is probably the only one!). All the buses are sorted and tickets booked. If you wanted a movie, I will try to sort that this weekend but please ensure you have a way to play it as many of the new laptops do not have a CD drive. 
• Advisory Letters: During the MS Faculty Meeting on Thursday, we discussed the structure of the Advisory letters. Please follow the guidelines for formatting and submitting your advisory letters. Letters should be submitted in the appropriate folder for approval by Monday, November 12 at 8am. Thank you.
• AWSPA: Maggie is currently informing faculty if their AWSPA funding requests were approved. If you hear, please loop me in. Congratulations to Design for getting their request for materials to build ride-on hoover crafts with the 8th grade.

Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates & Reminders 

• MS Preview Day: Shelli, Joy, and I will be hosting about 12 families interested in exploring the MS for their children on Monday. The event will take place in the Library, but tours will occur around the MS throughout the morning. The following students will be helping with those tours and be part of a student panel. They will miss class 9-11:30am. Thanks for your understanding.
• Grade 8 - Caleb, Rae, & Nadine
• Grade 7 - Jack & Sara
• Grade 6 - Eliza & Arun 
• Veterans Day Chapel: Here is a summary from Bill as to Monday's chapel. Shelli and I will not be there as we will be with visiting families for Preview Day. Please direct any additional questions to Bill.
• Students whose family members are veterans and who are coming to the Chapel should report to the Chapel by 9:45 to sit with their guests. 
• All other students and faculty should be in line and ready to enter the Chapel by 9:55.
• Grades 4, 8, 12 will sit in the balcony as usual.
• Lower School (Grades 2, 3, 5) will line up in the Library Hallway, starting at the 2^nd Grade classroom door.
• Middle School (Grades 6, 7) will line up in the Library Hallway behind Grade 5.
• Upper Schools (Grades 9, 10, 11) will line up in the Great Hall.
• Students will be directed to sit in pews – as many as possible in each pew, as is safe. Faculty should mix with students in and not stand in the aisles during the service (we’ll need to keep those open).
• We aim to conclude the Chapel by 10:30, but it will depend on being in place and starting on time.
• Visiting School:  We have another school visiting on Friday that is exploring the possibility of becoming an MYP school. They will be observing classes and want to chat with teachers and students to get a better understanding of who are and what we do. Thank you for opening your classrooms to them. 
• People out: We have three folks out this week but subs have been already lined up so hopefully, this should be a smooth week. Terri Cole will continue to be in for Leon for the rest of next week. Please introduce yourself to her if you have not had the chance to meet her. She is a new sub with a music background.

Upcoming Meetings

• Monday 12:  New Faculty Meeting @ 2:20pm in MS Office; All School Meeting @ 3:30pm in the Great Hall.
• Tuesday 13: Grade Level Team Meetings in the Faculty Workroom
• Wednesday 14: New Faculty Meeting @ 2:20pm in Shelli's room
• Thursday 15: MS Faculty Meeting @ 3:15pm in MS Faculty Workroom

Visiting Students

• None

Absent Students

• Ryann Frazier November 14-16

Absent Faculty & Staff

• Wednesday 14: Angelica and John
• Friday 16: Shelli

Kudos!

• A general one this week to you all for pulling together at this time. Thank you for the help and support you have all offered those in our community needing that comfort and kindness right now. 

The Month Ahead

• Monday & Tuesday 19 & 20: Experience Days 8-2:20pm
• Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday 21-23: AWS Closed for Thanksgiving
• Friday, November 30: All School Civvies Day 
• Tuesday, December 11: SHARE in Chapel; Lesson & Carols 5-7pm
• Wednesday, December 12: All School Civvies Day; Holiday Celebration and Sing-along during FLEX; 
• Thursday, December 13: Holiday Tea @1:30-3:00pm

Week Commencing November 5, 2018

The Week Ahead

All Week 

Snack Duty: Hartmann

Monday, Nov 5  

• Faculty & Staff Benefits Fair @3:30pm in the Great Hall

Tuesday, Nov 6

• MS Chapel - Recognition Awards Grade 7
• MS Leadership Team Meeting @10:50am in the MS Office
• Grade Level Team Meetings in the Faculty Workroom
• Grade 7      3:15-3:45pm
• Grade 8      3:45-4:15pm 
• Grade 6      4:15-4:45pm

Wednesday, Nov 7

• Seattle Christian School Teachers visit
• New Faculty MYP Meeting @ 2:20pm in Angelica's room

Thursday, Nov 8

• Wainwright School Teachers MYP visit 
• Food Long Advisory 

Friday, Nov 9 

Saturday, Nov 10

• Soccer Celebration for players @5-7pm at the Tacoma Soccer Center

Action Items

• Attendance Google Sheet is BACK!: SchoolPass will continue to be used by parents and Anelisa. However, to allow Anelisa to have a clearer understanding of who is present advisors will be reverting to Google Sheet system to record attendance. I will send a reminder email out on Monday morning, but please copy this link and have it handy! I will also put the link in the Search Cheat Sheet in the Team Drive. Anelisa will use this information to propagate SchoolPass for us. 

• Advisory Letters: During the MS Faculty Meeting on Thursday, we discussed the structure of the Advisory letters. Please follow the guidelines for formatting and submitting your advisory letters. Letters should be submitted in the appropriate folder for approval by Monday, November 12 at 8am. Thank you!

• Experience Days: Following on from Thursday's MS Faculty Meeting, here is the link to the Experience Days sheet that needs to be completed. The most important part is the transportation needs, so that Neil can place tickets. If you need a bus, please complete this section with the date, time of departure and return, and destination by 10am on Monday. This will ensure you get your bus!

• Finals: Please take a look at the revised schedule below and let me know if you have any further thoughts or suggestions via email by the end of next week. Thank you!

Grade	Semester 1 Finals	Semester 2 Finals
6	Math, LA	Math, LA
7	Math, LA, LL	Math, LA, Science
8	Math, LA, Science, IS	Math, LA, Science, IS

Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates & Reminders 

• Public Displays of Affection: USG and USB would like to empower all LS & MS faculty to intervene immediately if you observe behaviors that don’t seem school appropriate, and then follow up with a note to Annie Green or Jeremy Stubbs. As awkward as it may feel, student learning is most effective when the behavior is reflected at the moment – just as any adult should feel empowered to intervene for a student running or yelling in the hall, etc. While the USG and USB are still considering the definition of appropriate behavior for our school environment, please use your best judgment (I know that sounds super ambiguous!)

• Visiting Schools: Apparently, our reputation is pretty good and three schools have asked to send teachers to look at our MYP program or our MS structure. Please see the links on Wednesday and Thursday for the schools coming this week. They will be observing classes and want to chat with teachers and students to get a better understanding of who are and what we do. 

• Something on your mind? I like to think that I am receptive and open to new ideas and I hope I come across that way. At the start of the year we introduced a number of changes to MS, some more successfully than others! However, I love nothing more than trying to solve problems and a challenge is what drives me to do what I do each day. With that in mind, I am asking you all to share your ideas and/or concerns with me. No idea is too wild or wacky; no problem too small or too big. But communication is key! As a former teacher, I know approaching anyone associated with admin can sometimes seem daunting, but I must stress how vital those conversations are. I am generally here at 6:30am if stopping in first thing in a morning is your thing or feel free for a random quick chat as you're at the photocopier. If you would rather make an appointment you are welcome to too! While venting is a necessity and we all need to do that and this includes me, seeking solutions to problems is way more productive and helps everyone grow. So, please come and chat!

Upcoming Meetings

• Monday 5: Faculty & Staff Benefits Fair @3:30pm in the Great Hall
• Tuesday 6: MS Leadership Team Meeting @10:50am in the MS Office; Grade Level Team Meetings @3:15pm in the Faculty Workroom
• Wednesday 7: New Faculty MYP Meeting @ 2:20pm in Angelica's room

Visiting Students

• None

Absent Students

• Corinne Powell - 11/5/2018
• Lauren Cook - 11/05/2018
• Gabe McBee - 11/06/2018

Absent Faculty & Staff

• None 

Kudos!

• Thanks to you all for your hard work planning Experience Days and facilitating today's conferences. It is a pleasure to work with you all and hear the positive feedback from parents. Have a restful weekend.

The Month Ahead

• Thursday, November 8: Food Long Advisory (moved due to the need for conference prep the week before)
• Monday, November 12: Vets Day Chapel; MS Preview Day; Advisor Letters Due for review @8am
• Tuesday, November 13: Math Competition for interested Grade 8 students (Finch)
• Monday & Tuesday 19 & 20: Experience Days 8-2:20pm
• Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday 21-23: AWS Closed for Thanksgiving
• Friday, November 30: All School Civvies Day 
• Tuesday, December 11: SHARE in Chapel; Lesson & Carols 5-7pm
• Wednesday, December 12: All School Civvies Day; Holiday Celebration and Sing-along during FLEX; 
• Thursday, December 13: Holiday Tea @1:30-3:00pm
• Friday, December 14: Grandparents Day Special Schedule; Noon dismissal