Friday, September 10, 2021

Week Beginning September 13


Thank you to all who have decorated their boards outside their rooms. Here are just a couple that I wanted to share, but many more are just brilliant!



Action Items

  • Clubs: Please review the email sent on Friday and sign up for any club you might be interested in helping with on this document. 
  • Adding Clare to Teams!: If you still haven't, please add me! Directions: 
    • Click on the 3 dots next to the name of the class in Teams
    • Select 'Add Member'
    • Type in the teacher's name and be sure to select 'Teacher'
    • Press 'Add' and you are done.

Useful Links


 The Week Ahead

  • Clare out all week but on email and Teams


Monday, September 13

  • MS Gathering ONLINE 11:30 - 12:00 pm. Join here
    • Focus: Announce SC Grade Level Rep Elections & Friday Clubs
  • All School Chapel - Advisory study hall today. Chapel should start soon!


Tuesday, September 14



Wednesday, September 15


  • Advisory Period:
    • Grade 7 gather as a grade in the CHAPEL - Kyle and Ana to lead
    • Grade 6 & 8: Advisor Choice

  • Grade Level Team Meetings in the Nate's room

    • 2:45 - 3:15 pm 7

    • 3:15 - 3:45 pm 8

    • 3:45 - 4:15 pm 6


Thursday, September 16



Friday, September 17

  • Advisory Period: Advisor Choice
  • 2:25 - 3:10 pm - CLUBS NOT STARTING YET! Instead, ADVISORY CHALLENGE #3 (directions coming from Shelli later this week)



Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates, & Reminders

  • Student Council Reps: In the chapel on Monday, Shelli will talk about the Rep elections that will occur next week. Packets for students wishing to run will be available on Monday, with pre-approved posters going up starting on Friday. Election speeches and voting will occur the following week. 
  • After School Arts activities: Please see the All-School Calendar for a list of activities that are occurring if have students asking. 
  • Duty Changes for this week: 
    • MS Lounge 7:30 - 8:00 am - Kyle all week 
    • Carline Start of Day 7:30 - 8:00am - Shelli all week 
    • Carline End of Day 3:15 - 3:30 pm Shelli all week 
    • Dining Hall 12:00-12:30 
      • Monday - Will 
      • Tuesday - Kyle 
      • Wednesday - Will 
      • Thursday - Kyle 
      • Friday - Kyle 
    • Other 
      • Tuesday 6B Office Hours - Bri 
      • Friday Study Hall P6 - Bri
      • Friday MS Lounge 12:15-12:30 - Susan 


Absent Students



The Month Ahead

  • Grade 7 Virtual Parent Coffee (Grade 7 teachers, please attend if NOT teaching) Thursday, September 23, 8:30-9:15 am
  • Student Council Rep Candidate Speeches + Election, Wednesday, September 22
  • All School Civvies, Friday, September 24
  • Grade 8 Virtual Parent Coffee (Grade 8 teachers, please attend if NOT teaching) Thursday, September 30, 8:30-9:15 am 
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Sunday, September 5, 2021

Week Beginning September 6, 2021

The Week Ahead


Monday, September 6

  • NO SCHOOL


Tuesday, September 7


  • New Faculty Meeting in the MS Faculty Workroom @ 8:10 - 8:55 am
    • Focus: Gradebook review - OPTIONAL!
  • Advisory Period: Character Strong (password Anniewright2020)
  • CHANGE TO OFFICE HOURS:
    • Grade 6 will not have Office Hours but instead more Tech training in their advisory groups. Please note that the following teachers will NOT be available for student help during that period: Wilde, Phan, Golding, & Samuelson.
    • Grade 7 & 8 NEW students to the MS Lounge for more Tech training with Shelli and Clare

Wednesday, September 8

  • Advisory Period: Student Council meeting in the Faculty Workroom 

  • Grade Level Team Meetings in the G412 (Nate's room opposite Susan's)

    • 2:45 - 3:15 pm 6

    • 3:15 - 3:45 pm 7

    • 3:45 - 4:15 pm 8


Thursday, September 9 - DRESS UNIFORM

  • Photo Day (Great Hall)
    • 11:15 - 11:30 am Grade 7 (missing last 15 minutes of Design)
    • 11:30 - 11:45 am Grade 8 (during Advisor)
    • 11:45 - 12:00 noon Grade 6 (during Advisor)

  • MS Leadership Team Meeting 2:15 - 3:10 pm

  • MS Curriculum Night #1 6:30 - 8:00 pm (Zoom link coming soon)


Friday, September 10

  • Advisory Period: Advisor Choice (consider finishing the plates)
  • Clubs (Activity / Discussion) 2:25 - 3:10 pm - NOT STARTING YET! Instead, advisory study hall for 7th and 8th and last bit of laptop training for 6th Grade before students take them home
  • Finished plates due to the MS Faculty Workroom by the end of the day


Action Items

  • Missing Team Classes?: If you are missing a class in Teams, this is because another teacher has already been added as the lead. Lead teachers, you will need to add these teachers to the class. Please also add me! Directions: 
    • Click on the 3 dots next to the name of the class in Teams
    • Select 'Add Member'
    • Type in the teacher's name and be sure to select 'Teacher'
    • Press 'Add' and you are done!
  • Advisor Introduction: Next week, BEFORE the Curriculum Night on Thursday, please reach out and introduce yourself to each of your advisory families. Here is a suggested template to use. A tip: please make the email personal and use the student's name and correct pronouns. 
  • Vidigami: If you have photos from Orientation, please add them to the Vidigami folder so we can upload them by Thursday evening. Thank you!


Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates, & Reminders

  • Curriculum Night: Jake made a change on Friday afternoon asking that all parent virtual meetings are now on Zoom. Please note that the original Teams invite has been canceled and a new Zoom one will be sent soon. All MS Faculty are asked to attend virtually. And yes, this can be from home! The topics will be as follows:
    • MYP & Grading Review
    • Character Strong Overview
    • Break out rooms by Grade Level (advisors only need to attend)
    • Overview of the Journey program (by grade)
  • Photo Day: Please see the schedule above. Design team, please accompany the students when they go. Advisors in 6th and 8th, please take your groups at the allotted times. This is a Dress Uniform day, but I suspect many will not have all the elements. We do have ties to lend, but no vests. Faculty, please make sure to get your photo taken as well for your new IDs!
  • Arts Offerings begin Wednesday: Please see Annie Green's email if you have a student in the school and you would like to enroll for free! A reminder that Dimpy's room and the Design lab will be used on certain days for these after-school lessons. 
  • PHE & Changing: Due to the need to still continue to physically distance, MS students will not change clothes for PHE for the time being. Nate will update the students when and if this changes. Thank you!
  • Advisory at Garfield: If you decide to take your group to Garfield, please email msattendance@aw.org. 


Absent Students



The Month Ahead

  • Student Council Election Packets available, Monday, September 13
  • Grade 6 Virtual Parent Coffee (Grade 6 teachers, please attend if NOT teaching) Thursday, September 16, 8:30-9:15 am
  • Grade 7 Virtual Parent Coffee (Grade 7 teachers, please attend if NOT teaching) Thursday, September 23, 8:30-9:15 am
  • Student Council Elections, Thursday, September 23
  • All School Civvies, Friday, September 24
  • Grade 8 Virtual Parent Coffee (Grade 8 teachers, please attend if NOT teaching) Thursday, September 30, 8:30-9:15 am 


Useful Links
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Sunday, June 13, 2021

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!!!!

 


IT'S THE LAST WEEK!!!!
Just because this photo is priceless! More on Vidiagami if you want a giggle.


The Week Ahead

 Monday, June 14 - ADVISOR REPORTS DUE TODAY!

  • Faculty Out 
    • None
  • Grade 8 Spanish Final 
  • Grade 6 Field Day 1:30 - 3:00 pm



  • No Chapel - Advisory instead for 7th and 8th 2:25 - 3:10 pm 
    • 7th Grade Advisors - Please give your advisees the summer work packet and tell them as well that their summer reading novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, will be mailed to them as soon as it comes in.
    • 8th - Gather in the Kemper. Final Practice & give out t-shirts for Chapel tomorrow (need to wear uniform on the bottom, but they can bring a change of clothes for the retreat).

Tuesday, June 15 - Please see the special schedule for today
  • Faculty Out
    • Molly to cover for Heidi so she can attend the 8th grade events
  • Last day for 6th and 7th grade on campus
    • Please check that all supplies are taken home 
    • Yearbook pages (yearbooks won't be available until end of the summer)
  • 8th Grade Chapel 9:00 - 10:15 am 
  • Grade 8 Retreat off campus at Titlow 
  • Grade 7 Field Day 1:30 - 3:00 pm 
  • PM Advisory 2:25 - 3:10 pm 
    • Grade 6 only - give our summer work packet 



Wednesday, June 16 - MYP GRADES CHECKED BY THE END OF THE DAY 




Thursday, June 17 - Inservice Day 
  • This day is very much yours to work through the end of year check list. Please check in with me at any point if you need anything. 
  • 1:00 - 2:00 pm Grade 5 to 6 Transition meeting in the 5th Grade room
  • 2:45 - 3:30 pm MS Faculty Closing Gathering (outside if nice weather) 
  • 3:30 pm All School Closing meeting on Bamford Commons


Action Items
  • New:
    • Criterion Exemption: If you have a student who should be exempt from a criterion, please add a note to the student on the document and email Ruth and me. Thank you!
  • Continuing:

Changes to the Week Ahead, Updates, & Reminders

  • Teacher Speeches: These will occur for Grade 6 and 7 at the Field Days this week. 8th Grade will be live during Closing. Thank you all!

NOTES ON REPORTS FROM RUTH: 

  • Just a reminder, PLEASE DO NOT ADD/ALTER RESPONSIBILITY GRADES IN myAW AFTER THIS POINT. If you have updates to Responsibility Grades, please update the Letter Grades in the docs linked below:

     

    Please be sure you are double-checking to make sure these responsibility grades are as you want them to be AND that you are adding explanations for any responsibility grades lower than a B-.

     

     

    Report of summative scores for the year (for reference only to help determine Final Individual Criterion Grades to be entered in the Grades docs)

    • In the link above, please find reports for each subject/grade on individual tabs (except for 7-8 Math which is by Course)
    • Columns A-H list students’ summative scores for the year by criterion 
    • Columns J-N list students’ summative scores as an average and a maximum score given this year
    • If a student did not receive a score for a summative, it will not show up on this report (they will just have fewer summative scores shown)
    • You do not HAVE to use this report. It is here if you find it helpful when determining individual criterion scores.
    • If you are still grading summative assessments, that is COMPLETELY okay. You can use the report above as a reference for your OTHER summative scores when you are determining your individual criterion scores.

Sandra's PD Corner 

I want to kick off this PD corner with a massive thank you to all of you who have engaged PD work this year in ways big and small.  Professional Development - in both formal and informal ways - helps us model inquiry, reflection, risk-taking, open-mindedness, thinking, balance, communication, care, and knowledge for our students. You have all this year engaged in conversations about pedagogy, about care for students, about improving your craft and making students feel seen, heard, and valued. Thank you.  

As we head into the summer, I hope those of you who are able to 'switch-off' school do so and focus on your personal wellbeing!  I wish you personal joys, relaxation, and re-centering. For those of you who are still 'on' (pre-school teachers - I'm looking at you!), or those of you who find your summers filled with other gigs (and even summer PD!!) - I hope you, too, can find moments of self-care, moments of deep breaths and joy, and moments of rest and relaxation.  In short, I hope for each of you a summer to your personal liking, and (though I know this is the last thing you want to hear!) I can't wait to see you all in August, rested and ready for a new (less COVID-y!) year.  

Should you want to some summer PD, let me know! I still have some funds we can consider for workshops, conferences, webinars, courses, etc. 

The RWL contingent will be sharing some suggestions for reading/watching/listening next Thursday for those of you who wish to read a new and interesting book, watch some documentaries / movies, or listen to some music/podcasts that might make you think, grow, learn, laugh, or cry.  And we hope as we head into August in-service and next year, there will be opportunities to chat, informally, about your thoughts/take-aways, etc. 

Lastly, I wanted to pass along some thoughts that Lucy Iwamoto, Lower School Learning Support Specialist, shared about her own experience and perspective here at AWS. There are so many identities represented in our faculty and staff, and many of us have personal stories that inform how we teach and how we show up each day to work.  In fact, this was central to the faculty conversations with Kisha this year. 

Lucy shared this in honor of Pride Month with Lower School Faculty last week and with her permission, I thought it important to share her resources and some of her thoughts with all of you, as well.

It’s that time of year again and the rainbows are out!

 

Lots of our students know that my wife (Ms. Ruth) works in the Middle School, and that our kid Teagan has two moms. This isn’t usually something that usually comes up in conversation, but every now and then it does.

 

I’m proud (and, more importantly, feel safe enough) to bring my whole self to work, so I will talk about my family in age-appropriate language if questions arise, to colleagues, parents and students. A couple of students had a eureka moment recently about this, and they were quite surprised that they actually know someone in their life who is gay. They suddenly had a LOT of questions. It made me realize that, although plenty of students do have family friends or relatives who identify as LGBTQ+, this isn’t the case for all students.

 

There’s sometimes a perception that homophobia is something that happened a long time ago, or that only happens in a faraway state or country, but kids who have two moms/two dads have told me that they do feel different, and can be scared about what others will think of their families.

 

There’s also sometimes a perception that kids are too young to understand about gender and sexuality diversity, but students sometimes do have questions about their own gender, or have feelings for those of the same gender, and they can be worried about what their peers and/or families will think. Not talking about it can grow shame, even if that isn’t the intention.

 

We don’t live in a post-homophobic society yet, and there are some good books and educational resources out there, especially about different family structures and LGBTQ+ history. I’m always happy to lend books/make recommendations/be a resource to talk about different family structures, gender inclusion and what being gay means (and also why it isn’t an insult).

 

Some books:

https://welcomingschools.org/resources/childrens-books-lgbtq-inclusive

 

Some lessons:

https://welcomingschools.org/resources

https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/lgbtq-pride-month-and-education-resources

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/celebrate-lgbt-pride-month-with-perspectives

 

Happy Pride!


Some of this may resonate with many of you, it may lead you to some reading and more questions, and it may also answer some questions.  I've added the resources to the DEI Resource board, as well.  I am thankful to Lucy and others who have shared resources that speak to THEIR own experiences that I've been able to add to that board. Please send any resources you might have my way. That resource board is only made stronger by adding voices and perspectives to the mix. And of course, it serves as a great complement to the RWL list!

So again, to all of you THANK YOU for a year not soon forgotten. To those of you leaving Annie Wright - thank you for all you've given us and good luck in your next adventure. 
To all, it is a pleasure and an honor working with all of you.  And I have LOVED starting to see the bottoms of some of your faces as the moments have presented themselves this last week!


Kudos

  • To the Milk Boat crew! John, Kyle, Niki, Heidi, and all the others that helped - Ruth, Erik, Eric, and Alex. This event went off without a hitch, thanks to you all! Great work on keeping a tradition alive in a pandemic. 
  • To the Grade 8 Advisors for being such great sports. Stuart, Heidi, Nate, Angelica, and Alice for dressing up as dinosaurs in the sweltering heat and STILL smiling about it! Thank you, the smiles on your students was evidence enough that they LOVED it!
  • A big thank you to all who got their Responsibility grades in on time. This was MUCH appreciated by Ruth and I. 
  • A MASSIVE thank you to Ruth for making all the behind-the-scenes technology pieces work for the reports and slide show for the 8th-grade chapel. I'm not sure how she does it all AND keeps her cool!
  • To those folks who are grading finals - Amanda, Linh, Emily, Gretchen, and Angelica. Thank you for the extra hard work at this already very stressful end of the year. 

Absent Students

The Month Ahead 
  • Monday, June 14 - 8th Spanish Final & 6th Field Day; Advisory reports due.  
  • Tuesday, June 15 - 7th Field Day, 8th Chapel, 8th Retreat
  • Wednesday, June 16 - Closing 
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Sunday, June 6, 2021

Week Beginning June 7, 2021

  The Week Ahead

 Monday, June 7 

  • Faculty Out 
    • Emily all day 
      • P2 Math 8th - James 
      • P4 Math 7th - Alexis
    • Molly all day 
      • Snack - Will 
  • Last MS Chapel of the year! 2:25 pm 

Tuesday, June 8 - 7th & 8th Grade MILK BOATS
  • Faculty Out
    • Molly covering for Heidi, so she can attend milk boats 
  • Milk Boats 
    • For directions, please read this document
    • Please see the 2020-21 MS Schedule for the special schedule for the day
  • Attendance for all grades will only occur P1. 
  • PM Advisory 2:25 - 3:10 pm 
    • This may or may not occur for 7th and 8th grade based on the progress with Milk Boats. 
  • MS Leadership Team Meeting 3:30 - 4:15 pm 

Wednesday, June 9 - 8th Grade FIELD DAY 
  • Faculty Out
    • None
  • Grade 8 Field Day 
    • For directions, please read this document
    • Please see the 2020-21 MS Schedule for the special schedule for the day
    • Lunch is provided for all and an email will be sent once it has arrived at the tent where the 8th grade usually eat. 
  • Athletics or early dismissal at 2:25 pm 
  • Grade Level Team Meetings - End of year Advisor Reports: Advisors, please come with specific questions about your advisees to help you complete the end of year reports by next Monday. 
    • 2:30 - 3:00 pm Grade 6
    • 3:00 - 3:30 pm Grade 7
    • 3:30 - 4:00 pm Grade 8
  • Math placement letters for Grade 6 released and on myAW for families. 
  • MS Update Town Hall 6:30 - 7:15 pm

Thursday, June 10 - All School Civvies. 7 & 8 Grade Math Final 
  • Faculty Out:
    • Dimpy out all day (sub plans here)
      • P1 6A IS  - Molly 
      • P4 6C IS - Molly 
      • Lunch duty - Clare
      • P 6 6B IS - Molly 
      • Advisory - Molly
  • PM Advisory 2:25 - 3:10 pm (all Grade 7 & 8 will have had a SH already today)
    • Grade 6 - Math sections for Grade 7 meeting. More information will come from the Math Department about how this will occur. 
    • Grade 7 use as needed
    • Grade 8 Practice Chapel in Kemper
  • MS Faculty Meeting 3:15 -3:45 pm 
    • Quick check in about end of year events 

Friday, June 11 
  • Faculty Out:
    • Devon - no cover needed
  • PM Advisory 2:25 - 3:10 pm
    •  Use as needed
  • Grade 7 & 8 Math makeup finals as needed during Math class. 
  • Responsibility grades are due by noon in myAW. These grades will then be pulled by Ruth directly after lunch, ready for the reports. 


Action Items
    • 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 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
  • 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. 
  • String Instrument Return: Stuart will be collecting these on Friday, June 11.

Sandra's PD Corner 

  • Returning next week 


Kudos

  • A big shout out to Stuart for the great job he did with the Orchestra and Strings classes on Thursday. If you happened to see or hear the performance, I am sure you will agree with me that it felt like an almost normal event! Stuart and his early morning kiddos who practice most days before school and the Strings classes deserve a big round of applause. Thank you all! 

Absent Students

The Month Ahead
  • Tuesday, 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; Advisory reports due.  
  • Tuesday, June 15 - 7th Field Day, 8th Chapel, 8th Retreat
  • Wednesday, June 16 - Closing 
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