Week of January 2nd

An article and a video that echoes Dr. Love's professional learning with us: 
Stepping Up to Teach in Turbulent Times

PBS Newshour Jacques Pepin - Following a Recipe can Lead to Disaster

***Reading Inventory and Math Inventory make-ups will take place during ELT Wednesday and Thursday of this week. 

Monday: PLC DAY AGENDA

8:30 am - Faculty Meeting 

9:30 am - 12:30: PL with Dr. Bettina Love -- Check out her phenomenal work: http://www.bettinalove.com/

12:30-2:00 pm Lunch 

2:30-4:00 pm - SILT 

Tuesday:
RTI Meetings 

Wednesday: 

ELA & Soc. Studies collab w/Hogan 

Thursday: 

Math & Science collab w/Hogan 

5pm - Family Science Night (click here)

Friday: 

Be awesome! 

Week of December 12th

Social Studies Fair: 
Setup and judging will take place this week.  Here are the details: 
Monday, Dec. 12, Set Up; Tuesday, Dec. 13, Judging; Wednesday, Dec. 14, Break Down (and deliver back to ELT classrooms). Social Studies teachers are asked to come at first planning TUESDAY for school level evaluation/judging.

HOUR OF CODE: 
Hilsman students will participate in the International Hour of Code for the third year in a row next Wednesday (8th grade) and Thursday (6th & 7th grade) during ELT. You can even see us on the map right here: https://hourofcode.com/us/map. The goal is to introduce students to the world of coding in a fun and supportive environment. Learn more about the initiative here: https://code.org/. 

Needs for Adaptive PE: 
Ms. Luthi and Team Gora are asking for any sporting equipment donations for our adapted pe class.

21st Century Program Updates:
21st Century Evaluation Results that we have been asked to share with staff and families. 

Links to Full Reports

Summer

2015-2016 School Year

21st Century Evaluation Presentation

Weekend Birthdays: 
Happy birthday, Ms. Destefani! (12/11)

Monday: CAN-A-THON Ends TODAY!
Happy birthday, Ms. Postero!
**Advisement** See email from Ms. Moore
8:30 - Front office staff meeting
9:30 - Admin meeting
10:30 - Instructional leaders meeting
4pm PBIS
7pm Band concert

Tuesday:
**Pre-Bee Spelling Bee elimination rounds during lunch
RTI meetings
4pm SILT 

Wednesday: HOUSING CELEBRATION! (More to come from Mr. Forker)
ELA/SS Collab Plannings w/Hogan
4pm Vertical Meetings


Thursday:
Happy birthday, Ms. Tillotson!

Math/Sci Collab Plannings w/Hogan

4:30 pm - Holiday Bash at Blind Pig Eastside 
Friday:
And the tradition continues...Wear your tackiest, most festive holiday sweater. 



During 6th & 7th Periods - 7th grade will host a "Sock Hop," dance to culminate our study of The Outsiders.  Students will be in costume (Greaser or Soc).  Teachers are invited and encouraged to dress in your favorite '50s attire and come rock around the clock together.


Birthdays over the winter break: 
Happy birthday, Ms. Callahan! (12/19)

When we return: 
Professional Learning Day, Jan. 2nd at Hilsman
We will kick off the new year with Dr. Bettina Love. Read more about her: http://www.bettinalove.com/. 

Family Science Night will be held on Thursday, January 5.  Drop in anytime between 5:00-7:00 pm. All students and their families can attend.  

Area businesses and organizations will be present hosting fun, interactive science activities and student science fair projects will be on display.

Family Science Night Presentation

District Science Fair - January 7 

Week of December 5th

Panther Family:

We are in the final stretch until winter break. This week we will be administering the Reading Inventory and the Math Inventory. Please encourage all students to do their absolute best and remind them of our high expectations for these assessments.  We will be celebrating all of those who show growth.

This week during collaborative plannings we will focus on creating assessments that address the low performing standards on the first benchmark.  Thankfully the performance bands have been adjusted. As is to be expected there are areas in which our students outshone the other middle schools, and there are areas that are in need of growth.  Please continue to embrace the instructional framework and be mindful of its advantages for student achievement.  Hogan will be conducting walkthroughs on the instructional framework throughout the week. So, when you see her, don't be concerned. These are purely for constructive feedback and to get a pulse on the full implementation of the framework.

Across contents, grade levels, and connections courses, we must be mindful and intentional in our approach to literacy. Please take time to check out this article, "It Takes a Village..." .  We need all hands on deck when it comes to improving the literacy of all of our students. This is a fixable problem when we all work together for our kids, and it is our moral obligation to do whatever it takes. We will be having focused conversations on literacy in our classrooms during plannings this week. Please think about your approaches to teaching reading, writing, and speaking in the classroom and bring your thoughts, ideas, celebrations, and struggles to the table.

Hopefully, this week will be a little more predictable and smoother than last week. :) Hilsman is one phenomonal village for our students and their families.  It's an honor to work with you all each day.

So, here we go!

Monday:
*Ambrose to meet with Social studies teachers during plannings to discuss literacy initiatives
**Advisement** See email from Ms. Moore
8:30 - Front office staff meeting
9:30 - Admin meeting
10:30 - Instructional leaders meeting


Tuesday:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MS. TOLBERT!!!!
7th and 8th grade: Extended Homeroom -- RI (formerly the SRI) presentation linked here
6th grade will administer SRI in the ELA classes.
RTI meetings

4:00pm Tech Leaders Meeting

Wednesday:
*Carlyn to meet with ELA during collab plannings
Math Inventory will be given in the math classes throughout the day.
ELA/SS Collab Plannings w/Hogan

4pm Faculty Meeting (meeting in the cafeteria)
Basketball game vs CMS

Thursday:
Math/Sci Collab Plannings w/Hogan

Basketball game vs BHL
6pm - Sip & Talk (with Hilsman parents)

Friday: Happy Birthday, Mr. Hussain!
*Jeans if you donated to sunshine committee


Upcoming:
12/12 - Social Studies Fair
           PBIS @ 4pm
           Band concert @ 7pm
12/14 - Vertical Meetings