Friday, November 10, 2023

Week Beginning November 13, 2023


Please see the note about our new MS Counselor, Vicki Pastore, who starts this week. Angie deserves a BIG THANK YOU for being flexible with her schedule and helping us navigate these challenging last few weeks as a newbie herself and only PT. If you haven't been up to her current office recently, stop by. There's a wonderful new display with some thoughtful notes from our kiddos. 

  ACTION ITEMS

  •  HATCH Week: Below are the links you may need to continue with your planning for HATCH week. A reminder that we will be working on this on Wednesday during the faculty meeting too. 
  • Case Studies and Survey: We had hoped to do another case study and question this week, but we have still not received the next one to review and going in blind seems foolish. This means that there are advisory slots on our two non-letter Special Schedule days this week which might need filling. We are considering all options, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. 
  • Moving: Everyone but Lindsey, Heidi, and Gretchen will be moving classrooms once we have the go-ahead to move into our new space, and only learning support is currently returning to its original classroom. Dimpy and Dan, this means you are likely to be moving too! We are trying to finalize who is going where. As you can imagine, there is a lot to consider as room spaces continue to evolve in all of AWS. Unfortunately, we still don't have a move-in date due to the ever-changing variables. However, I am confident we should know more after Thanksgiving when there will be a big electrical shutdown to work on the remodel. Prior to this, we have set aside 1.5 hours during in-service to pack up some of your space, and we have lots of boxes ready for you to accomplish this. I also acknowledge this amount of time is unlikely to be sufficient for many of you, especially Will and Science! It's also terrible timing - we have a huge number of events we are planning right now, and had we had any idea of this delay, we wouldn't be trying to do HATCH Week AND a big move at the same time. Your willingness to pitch in and make this work as best possible will be key,  and I am so grateful knowing how this team ALWAYS steps up! So here are a few things to consider: 
    • No one is moving into the Grade 6 corridor next semester after we leave. So, at this time, if you are in this area, you only need to box up what you need immediately once we move. Of course, you can do more but there is also no rush. We can take our time over the following months as you are already teaching in your new spaces
    • Moving boxes are located outside the MS Office. Once you have a box packed, please label it with your LAST NAME and put it in a corner of your current room. 
    • For those of you in the MS Wing under current construction, we will need to plan a time after school to get you in, and Shelli and I will help! - Kyle, Amanda, Katie, and Andrea, please connect with me when you get a moment to discuss this. 
    • Furniture - some is moving, some is staying behind, and we are getting new to replace it. Once we are in the new spaces next year, we can get extra whiteboards, etc. as needed, and any of the finishing items. If there is a particular item in your current room you want (file cabinet or such), please let Ruth know too. Our plan is to try to bring some consistency to our rooms and to help them look their best. So if you have an old tatty bookcase, we would rather find one to replace it.
  • Model UN: Susan Sparrow is returning to lead this fantastic event! Grade 7 and 8 teachers who are not on the Grade 6 field trip, please see the links listed on Thursday to review the schedule and expectations. We will also review this on Wednesday at 4:15 pm at the end of the MS Faculty HATCH planning meeting. Susan will livestream in to review the day and answer any questions. 

FYI
  • Katie's maternity leave begins Tuesday: Gretchen will be covering her Grade 7 and 8 math sections and Dave will take her Grade 6 and advisory. Our new MS Teaching Assistant will cover Katie's Office Hours starting after Fall Break. 
  • Welcome to our MS Counselor: We are thrilled to announce that Vicki Pastore is our new MS Counselor! She will be on campus every Tuesday from noon, and all day Wednesday -Friday. Please make sure to stop by and introduce yourself to her. She will be sharing the office with Angie. 

  • Katie & Jeremy Meal Train: Here is a link to a meal train sign-up to support Katie, Jeremy and Ben while they welcome their new baby. They asked for M, W, and F deliveries between 11/29 and 12/15 because they have family staying with them on either side of that. If dates fill up fast I’ll add a few later in December. If you want to bring something to school, Carie has kindly offered to deliver it.

  • Coat Storage: With the colder and wetter weather, we want to ensure that our students have a place to store their coats during the day.  We now have a series of coat racks and a bunch of hangers for Grades 7 and 8 to use, and we'll review these locations during our MS Gathering.
    • Wood/Bloodworth/Sam Advisories:
      • A coat rack will be available to them in the hallway between Bloodworth's and Wood's rooms
    • Dunbry/Price/Fire and Miller Advisories:
      • A coat rack will be available to them in the hallway outside of Dunbry’s and Price’s rooms
    • Parker/Mazzetti Advisories:
      • A coat rack will be available to them on the Bamford Commons covered area near the stairs down to the gyms
    • Cantor/Grace Advisories:
      • They will be able to use the 22 hooks on the landing right outside Nurse Paula’s office
  • Learner Profile Awards: Just getting this on your radar! At the end of the academic year, we have traditionally given out awards for each of the Learner Profile Attributes in Grades 6 and 7. Grade 8 have received other awards combining these attributes. We have also discussed awarding these awards for the Learner Profiles at the end of semester 1 and then again for semester 2 at the end of the year. In early 2024, we will revisit this possibility, so start to think about which of your students embraces and embodies these attributes. 

 USEFUL LINKS

WEEK AHEAD

Monday, November 13 - Bri's Birthday!

  • B Day 
  • Visitors: None
  • Faculty out: Katie Miller - Gretchen; Bri - Sub Mara
  • MS Gathering - in the theater (GH in use for another event)
  • All School Chapel  
    • Grade 8 out for House Social (Families 1-15 to Dining Hall; Families 16-30 to the Great Hall)
  • MSG Soccer has an early dismissal at 2:30
  • JV Basketball has an early release at 2:45 today. They should be in their Blue House Social (8th) OR All-School Chapel (6th/7th) until then. Those leaving at 2:45 should sit in the BACK of the Chapel. The Grade 6 team also plays later but does not have an early release. No game for Varsity.
  • All School Meeting 3:30 pm in the Chapel - Endeavor Grant presentations/panel

Tuesday, November 14 - Vicki Pastore's First Day!
  • A Day
  • Visitors: None 
  • Faculty out: None
  • Grade 6 GLTM 7:45-8:15 am (Carie & Bri's room) 
    • Overview of the Grade 6 Journey for subject connections (5 min), then review of students in general.
  • Advisory:
    •   Advisors Choice
    • PRICE ADVISORY joining BLOODWORTH ADVISORY since Price is off-campus at TRM
  • Lockout Drill 1:30 pm 
  • Office Hours - Amanda to cover 7C for Katie in Will's room
  • DEI Meeting 3:30-4:00 pm 


Wednesday, November 15 - Special Schedule Day

  • - Day
  • Visitors: None
  • Faculty out: None
  • Grade 7 GLTM 7:45-8:15 am (Carie & Bri's room) 
    • Overview of the Grade 7 Journey for subject connections (5 min), then review of students in general.
  • Grade 7 and 8 Wednesday Model UN Prep Time  - LINK TO SLIDES FOR PREP DIRECTIONS FOR KIDS (they also received an email from Susan with directions)
SHELLI WILL BE AROUND ON TUESDAY WITH HARD COPIES OF EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR THURSDAY. THE LAST PAGES OF THE PACKET WILL CONTAIN THE LISTS OF STUDENTS IN YOUR COMMITTEE. PLEASE USE THAT TO TAKE ATTENDANCE FOR THIS PREP PERIOD.
    • Grade 8 Committee #1  (UNHCR) - meet in Dimpy's classroom with Dunbry
    • Grade 8 Committee #2 (DISEC) - meet in Wood's classroom with Wood 
    • Grade 8 Committee #3 (UNEP) - meet in Price's classroom with Price 
    • Grade 7 Committee #1  (UNHCR) - meet in Great Hall with Samuelson  
    • Grade 7 Committee #2 (DISEC) -  meet in Great Hall with Fire and Grace 
    • Grade 7 Committee #3 (UNEP) - meet in Cantor's and Grace's Classroom with Mazzetti and Cantor 
  • Girls’ Soccer and Varsity + JV Boys’ Basketball have early dismissals at 2:15
  • MS Leadership Team Meeting 2:30-3:30 pm - Hoping to still make this happen
  • MS Faculty Meeting 3:30 - 4:30 pm (Carie & Bri's room) 

    •    HATCH Week planning. Meet in Carie's room

    • 4:15 pm Grade 7 & 8 Teachers: Overview of Model UN on Thursday with Susan Sparrow.

    • 4:15 pm Grade 6 Teachers + Dimpy: Review the field trip on Thursday.


Thursday, November 16 - Special Schedule Day


Friday, November 17 - CIVVIES 
  • B Day
  • Visitors: Cali Kingston Grade 6 (UPDATED11.14.23)
  • Faculty out: None
  • Advisory: 
    • Advisor choice
    • BLOODWORTH ADVISORY joining PRICE ADVISORY since Bloodworth is off-campus with Grade 8
    • Samuelson's Advisory (all except Cooper Brooke) will be joining CANTOR Advisory today since Samuelson is off-campus with Grade 8
  • 8th Graders who are off-campus today for service between 11:10-1:00 PM:
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)