Welcome to the end of a four day week. After today, I have only one expectation for you. Are you ready?
You deserve to put your feet up. You deserve to put schoolwork away. You deserve time for your family, friends, and yourself.
If you think that all of those expectations are a waste of time, you're wrong. We cannot be better tomorrow if we don't take care of ourselves today. Remember, there are no unimportant days.
Everything that you do for yourself this long weekend will pay dividends as we head into November. I'll also promise you this. Unless there is some sort of emergency, you won't get any emails from me unless you email me first. This upcoming weekend is all about you.
Calendar
Friday, October 29th No School
Wednesday, November 3rd Building meeting 7:45AM in the Learning Lounge (bring your data from Thursday's PD discussions)
Thursday, November 4th Jay attends WSPRA conference
Friday, November 5th End of 1st quarter/ Jay attends WSPRA conference
Wednesday, November 10th District meeting 7:45AM
Thursday, November 11th Conferences 4:30-8:15PM
Friday, November 12th PTO meeting 9:45AM
Tweets, quotes, and blogs
(from Inspiring Quotes)
(from Inspiring Quotes)
I'm finishing this up at home after our day of professional learning. I didn't get to see you all today and I apologize for that. I really enjoyed the time I did get to spend with you as we were either digging deep into the data or learning CPI. Let me say this again, unless you email me over the weekend, you won't hear from me via email unless it's necessary. Relax and enjoy the weekend!
Jay
Take care of the kids. Take care of each other. Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell
Our PTO is pretty amazing! They support us with a variety of things, from volunteers to food at conferences to pies at Thanksgiving. In the short span of two weeks, our PTO and our families raised an awful lot of money. Some of this money is used in the grant process. Please consider taking some time to apply for a grant. The information is below.
It is time to submit grant requests to the Merton PTO for consideration! If you have an idea for how you could use PTO funds to enhance our school community, please follow these instructions for submitting your grant request:
4) Click on blue "Staff Grants" button and complete and submit the form
A few guidelines:
1) No classroom furniture requests
2) No rug requests can be honored this year
3) No core curricular or necessary support materials to meet student needs
Requests need to be submitted no later than midnight on Friday, November 12th. Merton PTO representatives will then meet with the school Principals to review the grant requests and decisions will be communicated in late November/early December.
If you have any questions, please contact Jenny Shotola, Merton PTO Treasurer at shotolaj@gmail.com.
Schedule for obstacle course today
12:00-12:25 5th grade
12:25-12:50 6th grade
12:50-1:15 7th grade
1:15-1:40 8th grade
Calendar
Friday, October 22nd PTO Fall Fest
Monday, October 25th 8:20 meet up in the commons/ Merton Monday/ Board meeting
Tuesday, October 26th Conferences 4:30-8:15PM
Wednesday, October 27th Grade level meetings 7:45AM
Thursday, October 28th Professional Learning
Friday, October 29th No School
Tweets, quotes, and blogs
"You have so many extraordinary gifts; how can you expect to lead an ordinary life?"
I received an email from USNews and World Report this week that ranks our school as the 49th best middle school in Wisconsin. Here is the link to the article. It's nice to be ranked but it also shows us that we have work to do to move up. Together we can make progress to move up. I believe in you and have been so impressed as I listen to you discuss what you can do to help us be better overall. This isn't a you thing or a me thing, it's a we thing.
Hats...
I know that I've put this in the announcements and also communicated with you. We are not allowing hats in classrooms. Please remind our students to take off their hats when you see them. Hats are fine before school, after school, at lunch and recess, and on special occasions. I'll be mentioning this in the announcements this morning, too. Any concerns, just let me know.
I was surprised when I saw the shoutout from Tanya yesterday. The ones who deserve the shoutouts are each of you for what you do every day, and I don't tell you that enough. You are here for our kids, whether they are in person or virtual or neither. You support them in ways that some people don't notice, but I sure do. You have individual conferences with kids at all times of the day both in class and outside of class. You are connecting in the hallways and in your classrooms. You reflect on your lessons and look for ways that you can be a bit better the next time. I've had meetings with a number of you individually and in groups over the last week and each time I leave those meetings knowing that you are doing your best with what resources you have. We are working on getting better resources for you both in terms of people and in terms of materials. It's not going to happen over night. It's going to take time and it won't always be easy or pleasant. No change that makes a difference can be either of those things. We will continue to get better for our kids every day. Thanks for all that you do for our kids and each other. Now make sure that you carve out some time to be with family and friends and don't forget some time for yourself, too.
Jay
Take care of the kids. Take care of each other. Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell
Another week has gone by, and the time has gone by, too. How was your week? I want you to reflect on how you spent your time this week, not just the time in school but the time out of school, too. It's easy to think about the time that you were with kids in class, but what happened during those times you weren't with kids? Did you spend your time doing "school work"? Did you spend your time taking care of yourself? Did you spend your time with family and friends? Did you spend your time alone? Whatever you did is the right answer for the time that you were in. It's what you needed to do at that time. I know that I can't be at my best if I'm not rested or fed. As Jen would say, she knows when I'm tired or hangry. Sometimes I'm both. As I have gotten older, I've realized that I can't go to bed late and get up early. I did that when I was in my 20s and 30s, and I wasn't successful doing that then. Now that I'm older, I really can't go to bed late and get up early. I won't be productive or awake. But it took me a while to learn that. Now I've got boundaries- no tech in the morning until I've read for 30 minutes and no technology after 9PM (except for sports on television). Those boundaries have helped me sleep better and start my day with a better attitude. It works for me but it might not work for you. All I ask is that you find your own boundaries and then you'll be more productive and happy, both at school and in life.
Calendar
Monday, October 18th 8:20 meet up in the commons/ Merton Monday/ BLT meeting 4:15
Wednesday, October 20th Workout Wednesday/ Content meetings 7:45AM/ PTO Culver's Night
Friday, October 22nd PTO Fall Fest
Monday, October 25th 8:20 meet up in the commons/ Merton Monday/ Board meeting
Tuesday, October 26th Conferences 4:30-8:15PM
Wednesday, October 27th Grade level meetings 7:45AM
Thursday, October 28th Professional Learning
Friday, October 29th No School
Tweets, quotes, and blogs
"You can't control the success or failure of a thing you work on. You can only control the thing you work on."
"Strength lies in differences, not in similarities."
Stephen R. Covey
Monday Meetup at 8:20
On Monday, it was great to see some of you in the commons as we welcomed Bekki Crowley, our new special education teacher. Having all of you there would have been even better. You may wonder why we're meeting up on Mondays at 8:20. It's a time for all of us to get together as we start the week. Often we only are together as a school one Wednesday morning a month. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that's often enough. When we meet next Monday, bring the name of a student that you'd like to discuss. It's only 10 minutes of time, but there will be lots of staff available to provide suggestions and viewpoints. I look forward to seeing you all in the commons at 8:20 Monday.
Conference invitations
Please make sure that you have updated the conference lists for Tanya as she will be sending letters out to families today. I appreciate your preparation in advance of conferences. Conferences will be from 4:30-8:15 on both Tuesday, October 26th and Thursday, November 11th.
Need a guest teacher for less than a "full" half day?
If you have a "time off request" that is less than a "full" half day, please do not enter this in AESOP. Please inform Jennifer Sevcik and me about the request and we will fulfill that time off request internally. If we fulfill this request with an outside sub through AESOP, we are obligated to pay them for the "full" half day.
District Improvement Plan
On Monday, our BLT will be discussing our District Improvement Plan. Please remember this is a "we" plan, not an "I" plan. We'll continue to discuss this plan as a staff and in small groups. What we do with our improvement plan will impact everyone, not just our Math and Language Arts teachers. We need all of your voices in these conversations. Decisions about instructional minutes and curriculum don't impact just a select few. They impact all of us. Please make sure that you have a voice in our discussions by either sharing your ideas with a BLT member or me.
Mustang University
Please remember to sign up for your Mustang U courses. The registration can be found in Maria's email or with the following link.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Maria or me.
Next Wednesday is a Content Wednesday
At 7:45 next Wednesday, please meet with your content colleagues. Math teachers will be talking about a universal screener, LA teachers will be discussing running records, and other content area teachers should meet to discuss their pacing and curriculum. More specifics will be provided next week.
I've been fortunate to visit your classrooms more in the last couple of weeks. I hope that continues as it is one of my daily priorities. If there is anything you'd like me to be a part of or would like some feedback on the learning in your classroom. Please let me know or, better yet, send me a calendar invite.
Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!
Jay
Take care of the kids. Take care of each other. Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell
Today ends our first full week in October. I was able to visit a lot of classrooms beginning on Tuesday and got into more classrooms on Wednesday and Thursday. It was so great to see you and the kids in action. As I mentioned Wednesday morning, it's great to see you teaching our kids and learning with our kids. Your impact on them is immeasurable. Thanks for bringing your "A" game for the day every day. You know your "A" game yesterday will be different than today. Just keep bringing it!
Calendar
Friday, October 8th PTO meeting 9:45AM
Monday, October 11th Meet at 8:20 in the commons/ Merton Monday (wear Merton gear)
Wednesday, October 13th District meeting 7:45AM
Monday, October 18th 8:20 meet up in the commons/ Merton Monday/ BLT meeting 4:15
Wednesday, October 20th Workout Wednesday/ Content meetings 7:45AM/ PTO Culver's Night
Friday, October 22nd PTO Fall Fest
Monday, October 25th 8:20 meet up in the commons/ Merton Monday/ Board meeting
Tuesday, October 26th Conferences 4:30-8:15PM
Wednesday, October 27th Grade level meetings 7:45AM
Thursday, October 28th Professional Learning
Friday, October 29th No School
Tweets, quotes, and blogs
"One of the greatest things you have in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be."
Jaime Escalante, educator
This might be a stretch, but when you don't know if you've made an impact on someone, this video may be something that will help you realize that you have. You might not be able to time travel like in Dr. Who, but your impact on our kids is greater than you know.
"Our heads are round so thought can change direction."
Francis Picabia, artist
"Success is its own great reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and should not be feared."
Sonia Sotomayor
(from George Couros' blog)
"Be a propellor for your group, not an anchor."
AJ Sutter, educator
"Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world."
Dolores Huerta, labor leader, civil rights activist
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson, writer, poet, essayist
Need a guest teacher for less than a "full" half day?
If you have a "time off request" that is less than a "full" half day, please do not enter this in AESOP. Please inform Jennifer Sevcik and me about the request and we will fulfill that time off request internally. If we fulfill this request with an outside sub through AESOP, we are obligated to pay them for the "full" half day.
District Improvement Plan
Thanks for your time on Wednesday morning. It was great to listen in on conversations and I appreciated your questions. Please remember this is a "we" plan, not an "I" plan. We'll continue to discuss this plan as a staff, in small groups, and at our BLT meetings. What we do with our improvement plan will impact everyone, not just our Math and Language Arts teachers. We need all of your voices in these conversations. Decisions about instructional minutes and curriculum don't impact just a select few. They impact all of us. Please make sure that you have a voice in our discussions.
Assessing Student Work
Remember way back in August when we discussed assessing student work? Well, Maria and I are looking forward to meeting with you to assess your next assessment. Please let Maria and I know when you would like to meet as a content area for this first discussion. If you have any questions, please let me know.
#GoodNewsCallOfTheDay
If any of you have names of students or staff who deserve a #GoodNewsCallOfTheDay, please get their information to me. I've made two calls this year which can be found in this spreadsheet created by Jenny Matson. If you make a call or send home a Mustang Mindset card, add the student name to this list and let me know so that I can congratulate the student, too. Thanks for recognizing our kids and each other.
It's playoff season for Major League Baseball. I'm a big Brewers fan, but I follow the Red Sox, too. That goes back to the 1960s and chats with my grandfather. What's awesome about the playoffs is that there are players who step up and perform that no one has heard about before. I think about Craig Counsell, current Brewers manager and utility player in the Major Leagues. Craig Counsell was a utility players. A utility player can be put anywhere and will be adequate. He lacks the talent of any starter at a position but he has the talent to play every position. When he's in the game, there's always a chance that he'll make an impact. He adjusts to the position he's playing that day and gives it his best. Sometimes his best isn't good enough and other times it's better than anyone would think. It's the effort that matters. When I had the chance to see you all this week, I really noticed the effort. Without effort there can be no success. Thanks for bringing your best effort every day.
Jay
Take care of the kids. Take care of each other. Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell
