Spearfish Middle School Spartan Blog: January 2015

Friday, January 30, 2015

Weekly Spartan Blog: February 2-6, 2015

Spartan PRIDE

Supporting our school community core values.

Spearfish Middle School

Weekly Faculty Bulletin February 2-6, 2015

“Empowering all students to succeed in a changing world.”

• Preparedness • Respect • Integrity • Determination • Excellence

National School Counseling Week

National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), will be celebrated from Feb. 2–6, 2015. The goal is to focus attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within our school and how students are better prepared as a result of what school counselors do. National School Counseling Week highlights the amazing impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for their future.

1) Block 4: February 3-24 (8^th band/choir included)

2/3: Beginning of Block 4

2/24: End of Block 4

2) 7^th Grade Stock Show Field Trip, Monday, February 2^nd

3) Parents as Partners Mtg., Monday, February 2^nd, 6 p.m. in the SMS Library \ Agenda: · Middle School Grading and Homework Norm · Purpose of START Time and FLEX Time · School Lunch Program

4) HS Registration, for 8^th grade students during Encore Classes, Tuesday, Feb. 3^rd

5) Team Leader Meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 3^rd, 7:30 a.m. in the conf. rm.

Agenda: A) Follow up on grade level discussion about Grading & Homework Norms, SLL and ICU B) Budget Process C) Literacy Skills across the curriculum

6) PD Early Release, February 4^th, 1:00 Professional Development -brief meeting in the library before work time on PLC Smart Goals, SLO, Assessment Development at 1:15 p.m.

7) Building Leadership Team Meeting: , Wednesday, Feb 4^th, 3:25 p.m. in the conf. rm.

8) Staff Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 5^th, 7:30 a.m. in the library

Agenda: A.SMARTER Balanced Assessment B. S4S Student Leadership Program C. Other

9) Building Capital Outlay Requests: Deadline is March 1st. You must complete the Purchase Order form with appropriate information for your request to be considered. (Request must be depreciable items (desks, equipment etc…, including software).

10) SMARTER Balanced Q and A: See link below

http://doe.sd.gov/pressroom/educationonline/2015/jan/Page1.html

11) Communicate alignment of lesson plans to the curriculum standards on your teacher web pages. -This is tied to the K12 accreditation process.

Upcoming Events below:

Feb. 12 NAEP Test, 8^th Grade

Feb 16 No School, Presidents Day – Teacher Professional Development

Feb. 18 S4S Student Leader Meeting, FLEX Time in the gym (2:47 p.m.)

Feb 27 End of 2nd Trimester

March 3 Science Fair Awards Assembly

March 4 Early Release 1:00 Professional Development

March 6 End of 2^nd Trimester Celebration

March 11 Early Release 1:00 Spring Break

March 12, 13 No School Spring Break

April 2 Early Release 1:00 Professional Development

April 3-6 No School, Easter Break

April 8 Peer to Peer Mentor Training, 7^th grade leaders, 8-11 a.m. (tentative date)

April 15 P/T Conferences Middle School (scheduled)

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance—it is the illusion of knowledge.

-Daniel J. Boorstin

Make it a great week!

Shane

Friday, January 23, 2015

Weekly Spartan Blog: Janaury 26-30, 2015

Spartan PRIDE

Supporting our school community core values.

We are excited to celebrate the annual 6th grade Paper Bowl Championships and Luncheon. Thank you in advance to all the 6th grade parents and community volunteers that make this possible. The winter activities are in full swing. Be sure to catch a basketball game, a dance performance or the much anticipated One Act Play to take place in early Spring. I have included the middle school testing calendar below. Please close attention to the grade level Smarter Balanced Test Windows and avoid appointments or absences. Have a great week!

Test	Testing Window
NAEP, 8^th Grade	February 12th

6^th Grade Smarter-Balanced -Governor’s Lab -Library Lab -1mobile labs	April 8 – April 17
7^th Grade Smarter-Balanced -Governor’s Lab -Library Lab -1 mobile labs	April 20-April 30 *track meet, April 24
8^th Grade Smarter-Balanced -Governor’s Lab -Library Lab -Up to 2 mobile labs	May 1-May 15 track meet, May 5 Music Festival, May 6 track meet, May 8
D-STEP Science	Test Window for Science March 31-April 18, 2014 ***April 14 and/or 15
Spring STAR Testing Window	April 15 – May 15 8^th Gr. = April 20 - 23
No Testing due to track meet No Testing due to Music Festival **Science D-STEP depends on computer specification and length of test on computer
Algebra high school equivalency test	May 15 and 20

Spearfish Middle School

Weekly Faculty Bulletin January 26-30, 2015

“Empowering all students to succeed in a changing world.”

• Preparedness • Respect • Integrity • Determination • Excellence

1) Block 4: February 3-24 (8^th band/choir included)

2/3: Beginning of Block 4

2/24: End of Block 4

2) Building Leadership Team Meeting: Tuesday, January 27^th at 3:25 p.m. in the conf. rm.

Agenda: c) Analyze Assessment Survey Results b) Plan for Feb. Early Release

3) Scheduling Committee Meeting: Wednesday, January 28^th at 3:25 p.m. in conf. rm.

a) Review scheduling timeline b) Review roles and goals for committee

4) Technology Request Deadline: February 1^st, the on-line form to be completed for each request can be found at http://www.spearfish.k12.sd.us/District/Forms/dist_forms.html and is in bold white type and listed as Technology Requests Form. These must be completed by February 1. None will be accepted after that date. No software requests will be accepted. That is a curriculum item.

5) Building Capital Outlay Requests: Deadline is March 1st. You must complete the Purchase Order form with appropriate information for your request to be considered. (Request must be depreciable items (desks, equipment etc…, including software).

6) SMARTER Balanced Q and A: See link below

http://doe.sd.gov/pressroom/educationonline/2015/jan/Page1.html

7) Newspapers in Education: Pick up your papers on Wednesday morning from the Lounge.

8) Communicate alignment of lesson plans to the curriculum standards on your teacher web pages. -This is tied to the K12 accreditation process.

9) 6th grade tailgate and Paper Bowl Championship: Friday, January 30th

Upcoming Events below:

Feb. 2 7^th Grade Stock Show Field Trip

Feb. 2 Parents as Partners Mtg., 5:30 p.m. in the SMS Library

February 2-6 National School Counseling Week

Feb. 3 HS Registration for 8^th grade students during Encore Classes

Feb 4 Early Release 1:00 Professional Development