Webster City Middle School “Where Academic Excellence and Character Count”

THANKS! Custodial Staff Keith Thomason Chuck Stein Lynn Reinsch Secretarial Staff Barb Mary Ellen And Of Course, YOU!

Creating the Safe Environment for All With Norms/Ground Rules S eek opportunities to get involved P raise, no putdowns A ctive Listening C ommunity Feeling – make everyone feel a part E mpathy -- put yourself in place of the other person.

DOOR PRIZES 1)Check your chair! 2) It’s a team effort … what does it say?

Let’s See What Kids Can Do!

TEAM T ogether E veryone A chieves M ore!

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL ACADEMIC PHYSICAL Thinking About The Kids We Work With Each Day …

SOCIALEMOTIONALACADEMICPHYSICAL Thinking About The Kids We Work With Each Day … What are some things that you do/could do to take advantage of these characteristics to create more effective learning situations? What do you see students doing that reflect these characteristics?

With Decisions Being Made As A Teacher/Team, Continue to Ask… How will this decision assist our unique students as learners?

So, Why Are We Here? What Is Our Purpose? We must be committed to doing whatever it takes to provide higher levels of learning for all students!

District Priorities…. Focused, Viable, Consistent Curriculum Consistency in Assessment and Grading Equity For All Students Use of Research and Best Practice Variety of Instructional Strategies That Reach All Learners fdf

We’ll Continue Our Focus To Provide Higher Levels Of Learning For All At WCMS! Enhance student social, emotional, and behavior development. (Relationships with Character Counts/Positive Behavior Supports) Improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment through the Rigor and Relevance framework Improve all student performance in all areas with specific focus in communication (reading comprehension*) and mathematics*. (*Student Achievement Goals for No Child Left Behind)

HOW … Continued Journey With Professional Learning Communities Thinking About The Three Big Ideas Of A PLC … A.Focus on Learning B.Collaborative Culture C.Focus on Results

Professional Learning Communities – A, B, and C Conversation Process … 1. Find two other people…another grade level, another subject, etc. – just two individuals you do not regularly work with. (Paraeducators – join two other paras.) 2. Find a spot for your group & read the page silently to yourself. After the three of you have read the information, ask one person to be an A, a B, and a C. A will facilitate the conversation around the “A” section/question: Learning. B will facilitate the conversation around the “B” section/question: – Collaborative Culture. C will facilitate the conversation around the “C” section/question: – Focus on Results.

HOW … Continued Journey With Professional Learning Communities Hearing Perspectives From Conference Attendees (Present and Past) Where Are We?

You Know You Belong In A PLC If... You believe the fundamental purpose of our school is to ensure all students learn at high levels and are a committed learner to make this a reality! You think collaborative teamwork is a great way to continuously improve our school! You are hungry for evidence that students are learning and are ready to respond when feedback tells you otherwise.

LOGISTICS … Staff Handbook Highlights With “Smarter Than a Fifth Grader” Important People For Us … Our Guest Teachers! Schedule For First Few Days... Other (Word of the Week, Voice Levels, Supplies for Kids, Special Ed. Schedules, Visits To Other Classrooms, Etc.)

Team Work Today and Through The Week … Common Expectations for Students Logistics and Other Items To Begin Year Rigorous and Relevant Learning for Kids Roles/Responsibilities of Team Members Team Norms (Approximately 6-8 ground rules/norms that your team agrees upon)

Serve and support all of you who have direct contact with students each day Continue the focus on high expectations for learning and positive behavior of all students Continue to learn and work together with your teams to … Develop and/or refine interventions based on formative assessments Develop and/or refine intervention schedules for students Be healthier, be a great family member and leader, take risks/make mistakes/bounce back, and have fun! Our Personal Goals For the Year

Create learners, earners, and citizens … and believe that you can make difference in someone else’s life everyday! So, Our Challenge to You...