Battle of the Books Wrap-Up
What an amazing season of Battle of the Books. The staff team, The Middle School Schoolers, banded together to show middle schoolers how poor their retention skills are – I mean, how much fun it is to work together for common outcomes and respectfully compete against like-minded foes. Thanks to all who participated as readers, moderators, timekeepers, or as a shirtmaker. And a HUGE thank you to Marni for all the work that goes into setting these up.
Also, there are student battles coming up this next week where teams of students battle one another, but I’m really in it for the staff vs. student battles, so you’ll have to ask Marni about the details for those if you want to support the amazing students who make the choice to read these books.
Syllabus Requirement
This is a reminder that, with the new semester, all courses must have a syllabus posted in Canvas. Here is an easy-to-edit template that you can use if you’d like. If you need any help completing this document in order to meet the requirement, please let me know. Some additional language can be found on this document as well.
Hallway Walks
Please remember to be as visible as possible during all passing periods and to complete the walk from your classroom to the main office during the passing period preceding your prep. HUGE thanks to those of you I can count on consistently meeting this expectation. The more adults in the hallway during passing period, the more students will come to realize that there is a need for them to be aware of their behavior at all times during the school day. I’m not asking you to be “phone police” but rather to communicate with students – say hello, ask them about their day, lie to them and tell them you like their blindingly white shoes.
We have removed before and after school duties from teachers this year, so I struggle to see how this is a burden, but if there’s something I don’t know about your particular situation, please come talk to me.
Students Returning to School After Covid
Our School Board recently made changes to the isolation and quarantine requirements to shorten the timeline on isolations. Those students and staff who return prior to a full 10-day isolation period have some added expectations in terms of the mitigation measures they need to follow. In order to allow staff to know who these students are so that they can ensure they are meeting the necessary safety requirements, we have a Google Doc with students who are in that return window that will be updated daily based upon the available information. Additionally, these students will receive communication each day reminding them of the requirements, which are: the wearing of a medical-grade, 3-ply or KN95 mask; not removing the mask during ANY portion of the day (even when they are outside); and eating in a separate location. Note that this mask-adherence is not intended to prevent them from taking quick sips of water as needed during the day.
If you have a a student on the list in class and see they are not meeting the requirement, please email Attendance right away if you are not comfortable discreetly reminding them of the expectations.
Helpful Links