Week Beginning May 31, 2021

 The Week Ahead

Spirit Week

Advisory Slides Link

 Monday, May 31 -  No School 

Tuesday, June 1 - 

• Faculty Out
• Emily out 
• P2 8th - Alexis 
• P4 7th - Molly 
• Alice out all day 
• P3 - Kyle 
• P4 - Kyle 
• P5 - Andrea
• P6 - Alexis 
• Advisory - James 
• PM Advisory 2:25 - 3:10 pm (Grade 7 will already have had a SH today)
• MS Chapel to announce SC Officer winners
• Kim Stracke will be around to take Advisory photos for the yearbook starting at 2:45 pm
• Basketball at home - Varsity Girls 3:30 pm in Kemper (dismissed 3:00 pm) and Varsity Boys 3:30 pm in New Gym (dismissed 3:00 pm)
• MS Leadership Team Meeting 3:30 - 4:15 pm 

Wednesday, June 2

• Faculty Out
• Emily out - None needed
• Nate out for Athletics
• Grade 6 Math Final Day - please see the special schedule linked on 2020-21 MS Schedule
• Golding's room - 6A
• P1 Golding 
• P2 Bloodworth 
• Phan's room - 6B
• P1 & 2 Williams
• Strate's room 6C
• P1 & 2 Bergstrom

• Athletics or early dismissal at 2:25 pm 
• Grade Level Team Meetings - FINAL (I PROMISE) Awards meeting 
• 2:30 - 3:00 pm Grade 7
• 3:00 - 3:30 pm Grade 8
• 3:30 - 4:00 pm Grade 6
• DEI Update Town Hall 6:00 - 7:00 pm (link in the Friday Flash to register)

Thursday, June 3

• Faculty Out:
• None
• All School Orchestra and Strings performance on the Commons at 8:00 am 
• PM Advisory 2:25 - 3:10 pm (all Grade 7 & 8 will have had a SH already today)
• Grade 8 and advisors to meet in the Kemper for a Chapel and Closing practice. 
• Basketball at home - Varsity Girls 3:30 pm in Kemper (dismissed 3:00 pm) and Varsity Boys 3:30 pm in New Gym (dismissed 3:00 pm)
• MS Faculty Meeting 3:15 -3:45 pm to review Field Day  

Friday, June 4 

• Faculty Out:
• James out all day 
• P1 Study Hall - Molly 
• P2 Study Hall - Molly
• Snack 8th - Clare
• Lunch 8th - Clare
• Amanda out all day 
• P1 8th Math - Alexis 
• P2 8th Math - Alexis
• P3 7th Math - Niki 
• P4 7th Math - Molly 
• P6 6th Study Hall - Molly 
• Advisory - Alexis
• PM Advisory 2:25 - 3:10 pm
• DEI Student Survey 

Action Items

• New:
• Late Work: Please remind your students that late work cannot be submitted after June 9. 
• End of Year Exit Check-In Survey Please make sure to complete this ASAP. If you would like to meet in person, you can complete just the first few questions and Ruth will kindly set up a time for us to connect in person. 

• Continuing:
• Please review the tabs on the 2020-21 MS Schedule for the following special dates and let Ruth and me know if you see any issues:
• June 2 - 6th Math 
• June 9 - 8th Field Day 
• June 10 - 7th and 8th Math Final 
• June 14 - 8th Spanish Final & 6th Field Day 
• June 15 - 8th Chapel, 8th Retreat, 7th Field Day

• Directions End of Year Reports: Here are the directions and links to: 
• Subject overviews
• Grades
• Advisor Comments

• Faculty End of Year Checklist: No rush on all of these. This is the list of things MS faculty should attempt to check off before they leave for the summer that includes an End of Year Exit Check-In Survey.

• Sunshine Notes: Please attempt to send 2 sunshine notes this week. Please review the list of Sunshine & PC recipients but remember that this data is not automatically updated once a note is sent. 

Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates, & Reminders

• Milk Boats: The 7th and 8th grade will not have regular classes on June 8 and will instead be in the Kemper, pool, and gyms. We have a schedule of supervision that can now be found on the 2020-21 MS Schedule under June 8. Please know that if you would normally teach that day, that the expectation will be that you will also be in support during those times. 

• Extra Math: Please see the 2020-21 MS Schedule and June 9 tab for changes we have made to that day to accommodate the field day and the extra math classes that the Math team have asked for. PLEASE review this and see that the schedule for that day has changed A LOT! Thank you.

• Grading and MYP: We have a rough draft of expectations for next year. Please review this and if you would like to offer your feedback, reach out. These changes have been based on the conversations with those reps from each subject. 

• Staffing changes: Many of you will have heard that we have a number of changes occurring for next year. We will celebrate all those leaving our community, but to ensure we are all on the same page, here is what we currently know: 
• Susan Sparrow will take on Alice's role in 8th grade; Ana Esquer will replace Devon while she is in Spain next year; Bri Samuelson is stepping into a humanities role; Sophia Richards will become our new science teacher in MS for Niki. 
• We have two other changes that we yet do not have replacements for: Anelisa is leaving at the end of this school year and Angelica will be moving on to a new and exciting role at Bellarmine! 

 

 

Sandra's PD Corner 

Annie recently shared with the USG faculty that a USG student recently shared their experience with us about hearing "Latinx" when describing Latino/a or Hispanic identities. Borrowing Annie's words, "As a Latina, her experience of "Latinx" is one of cultural whitewashing, given that its academic origins carry a "whiff of imperialism" (this a quote from an article [Annie] found unpacking the complexities of this term - NOT a quote from the student.) The student very appropriately wanted to bring this to our individual and institutional awareness - and [Annie and I] shared a great conversation with her about the complexities and origins of this & other terminologies used to categorize identities."  

I wanted share this with all of you because I think this is important for all to consider, AND I wanted to add a couple of other resources that have helped me as I wrestle to understand my own feelings about these terms and how I, in the end, choose to identify myself (answer: I'm all over the place, but generally land on Colombian. Then Latina). 

• The video at the top of this article focuses on Hispanic vs. Latino/x
• Interestingly, they don't explain the fact that Latinx is very much a US construct (but perhaps don't have to as it's a US video).  As I've read more about this, some in Latin America are using Latine, but that, too, seems to be somewhet sporadic, though growing, and certainly more common within younger and LGBTQ+ communities. 
• On the Latine front:
• This article on folks switching to Latine from Latinx 
  
• And this comic strip (referenced in the article above) by Terry Blas

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from all this: it's complicated. The Hispanic/Latina/Latino/Latinx/Latine community is as varied as any - with Asian, Black, Indigenous, Caucasian, Biracial and Multiracial heritages among others - and 33 proud countries represented in Latin America and the Caribbean. Each person you meet (including many in our own community - faculty, staff and students alike) is likely to have their own perspective and strong feelings on the terms with which they identify. So, as with so many things, it's probably safest to ask. 🙂 

A couple of other PD things of note:

• The Grading for Equity Virtual Institute has added a new session June 28-30. I know some of you have been really interested in exploring this book and its messages further. The way they are working it this time is that there is an application process (and we can apply as a group) and then on June 9 by 5p PST, they will notify us if our team has been randomly selected to register. So, if anyone is interested, please let me know ASAP (no later than Tuesday would be ideal!) so i can submit the application as a group and see where that takes us! Note that there is also this self paced course which could be a great alternative for those that still want to work on this if we don't get the Virtual Institute option (or if the timing doesn't work for you).

• We still have a little Title IIA and Title IVA PD funds available (hoping to use some for the Grading for Equity courses!), but if there's anything else you are interested in pursuing this summer, please let me know!

Lastly, we are introducing a "Staffulty Flash" this week (I'm sending it today, but am hoping it will be a mid-week thing going forward).  Some of the date updates, QOTW, etc., will migrate to that so that a) Staff can also see them! and b) the PD corner can go back to being about PD!  Take a look and let us know what you think!

Kudos

• Thank you to all those with whom I have connected, and gone back and forth regarding the subject overviews. Thank you for your patience with my questions and help. We should have these finalized early this week. 

• To all for your help with the end of year awards. I know this is not easy and can cause much debate, but I appreciate your time and thoughtful reflections on who should receive these recognitions. One last meeting, I promise!

Absent Students

• Follow this link for Anticipated Absent Students

The Month Ahead

• Wednesday, June 2 - 6th Math Final 
• Thursday, June 3 - All School Orchestra 
• June 8 - Milk Boats 7th & 8th 
• Wednesday, June 9 - 8th Field Day
• Thursday, June 10 - 7 & 8th Math Final 
• Monday, June 14 - 8th Spanish Final & 6th Field Day 
• Tuesday, June 15 - 7th Field Day, 8th Chapel, 8th Retreat
• Wednesday, June 16 - Closing