TO DO:

Stephen and Katie have welcomed the newest DuVal into their family.  Crosby Reed DuVal was born this week, weighing 7 lbs, 3 oz. and 20 inches long. As you can see, all are happy and healthy!  Congrats Stephen! I’m glad Stephen is taking the next few weeks to be at home as a full-time dad and husband!

THIS AND THAT:

• You are probably aware that Jay McTighe is considered by many as an educational expert in curriculum design and assessment. In a recent article (that I found in Marshall Memo 721) entitled “What Matters When we Assess Learning” Jay not only outlines what matters, but also provides some practical examples of how these things can be implemented into teaching. If you are considering or spending any time at your building talking about student assessment of learning (and for learning!) then this might be an article that you share with your teachers for reflection or further discussion.
• As you recently learned, beginning next year our middle schools will be offering Algebra I to advanced math students instead of Geometry. Qualified students may take Algebra I within your building, through BLPSO, or at their feeder high school.  If you are considering having a section of Algebra I taught at your school, the endorsement your math teacher needs (according to TSPC website) is one of the following: basic math, foundational math, or advanced math. (Thanks to Tara Butler @ SVMS for sharing this info.)

REMINDERS:

• Don’t forget that the Tell Survey is open for your certified teachers to complete, and the district-created survey for all classified employees.
• Remember, we decided to switch our Feb. and March Horizontal meetings.  We will not meet on Feb. 12, but we will meet on March 19 instead.
• We will be interviewing for HDMS principal position on Tuesday, February 20.  I hope you consider coming to the evening forum that afternoon from 4:00 – 5:00pm at HDMS.  I’ll share all of the finalist names with you next week.  (I’m waiting until then because multiple of our candidates indicated that his/her staff was not aware of them applying for other jobs and I don’t want to be the one to share that story for them.)