Week of August 28th

Greetings Staff,

Another great week is recorded in the books of Hilsman Middle School. A huge thank you again for your effort and dedication to moving forward together. In a a like manner, thank you to all that participated in the meetings after school last week. Remember your voices are important to the improvement to our structure and academic programs. After visiting several classes this week, I want to praise you all on the level of rigor that was observed in your classes. Many of our students were actively engaged in the activities. Keep up the great work! Continue working together during collaborative planning, it is evident that team work is impacting instruction. Below are a few announcements and reminders for the week. Cheers to a great week!

Ms. U. Tolbert

• The True North Logic Platform will be ready as of Monday, August 28th. Mr. Forker and I will renew our certification at which time, I will share an orientation video to all teachers from Mr. Jarboe. It is mandatory for every teacher to view the video. I will send an email with more details regarding the process when we are done with our  re credentialing. 
• SILT will meet to develop stems to be used for you as you begin developing your goals. Every teacher will have three goals. One in the area of literacy, numeracy, and SEL. Your content area can decide to have individual or content goals. Much like last year, your goals will be based on the School Growth Plan (formerly known as SIP). WOW sessions will be held next week to provide you with professional learning in this area.
• Remember to take attendance in EVERY class. This should occur no later than 15 minutes after the start of class.
• As of Friday, every teacher should have updated their grade book. It is mandatory to enter grades every 7-10 days. Parents are aware of the policy and we must do our part to properly inform them about the progress of their child. After reviewing the report, many teachers had not completed this task. If you need assistance, please see Mrs. Brinkley or Mrs. Hogan.
• Remember that our workday begins at 8:00 and our need to be professionally dressed. Every staff member should sign in using the jiffy pass using the front office computer.
• There was an increase of discipline referrals this week. It is important to remain firm, fair, and consistent in our practices. Transitions are looking better! Continue to hold students accountable and remember to practice the expectations with them repeatedly.
• Please continue to monitor the behavior of students in the cafeteria. Teachers will need to go though the line with students. The cafeteria staff reported that students are throwing food at them as well as being extremely disrespectful. This will not be tolerated. Please revisit PAWS expectations for the cafeteria. 
• Committee meetings are mandatory. Minutes should be completed and shared with the administrators. 

A couple of gentle reminders from your IC:
- Emergency lesson plans are past due: please submit through the PLC site here under the Beginning of the Year page: Panthers PLC Site 
- Class splits need to be completed in the event a sub is a no-show.  Submit this to a grade level/team folder and share with Hogan, Tolbert, and Forker. 
-Math Inventory and Reading Inventory make-ups should be completed no later than Tuesday.  See Fassbender if you need assistance with make-ups.  
- Hilsman Events Calendar: Check it out to keep up with all the great things going on! 
- NOMINATE A FELLOW PANTHER -- Teacher of the month and staff member of the month nominations are due by the end of the week - Friday, September 1. Click HERE for the nomination form. 

From Skinner: 
The 5K is set for February 3rd this year! If you would like to be a sponsor, we would greatly appreciate that! You can email Meganne Skinner, or Christina Fassbender if you would like more information. More details coming about when and how to sign up to run. 

Monday:
WOW session first planning (not connections) with Ms. Golden

Tuesday:
Connections: Moore will meet with you re: 504s at 8:30am in PL Room

RTI

Wednesday:
Collab planning

Thursday:
Collab planning

Friday:
Happy birthday, Ms. Hughes! 

Sunday: 
Happy birthday, Ms. Jaquis (formerly Messick)! 

Week of August 21

Quote of the Week:

Hilsman is Eclipse Ready!!!

Good afternoon,

Thank you for another great week of school. I realize that the schedule changes caused some frustration but I do appreciate your willingness to remain positive. This week the schedules should be more stable and allow for you to truly begin teaching expectations as well as the curriculum. Remember to be firm, fair, and consistent. If you have not made a positive phone call to parents, please be sure to do so this week and log it into Campus. You all have received many compliments from parents regarding the positive school climate. Keep it up! A smile goes a long way!

A few reminders for the week:

Please come out to the Annual Title 1 and PTO meeting! The T stands for teacher! It would be great to have you present as we work with PTO to support our initiatives and students.

Your voice needs to be heard in the designing of the new building. Consider joining us Wednesday as we look at a few plans from the architect! 5:30 in the Media Center.

Remember that our workday begins promptly at 8:00. Be sure to arrive to work on time and sign in at the front desk. If you are running late, please text or email Ms. Tolbert and your team leader.

We have had several students go home sick with stomach and headaches. Be sure that you are taking care of yourself and washing your hands frequently to avoid getting sick. 

Your attendance is importance! When you miss school, the students miss out, and we all miss you! We have been in school for two weeks and have had a high number of teacher absences. You are the key to a child's academic success. If you must be out, it is understood. However, please make every effort to be present at work. 

Great job with transitions this week! Your presence in the halls is noticeable and is definitely impacting our students' behavior.

Remind students to be respectful in the cafeteria and to take care of our building. Both the custodians and cafeteria staff work hard to serve all of us. Let us be sure to be respectful and mindful of their work. They too play an important role at Hilsman. 

Keep up the great work! YOU are ALL working to move to higher grounds and I want to ensure you that it is noticed by your Administrators. Continue to lift each other up and hold everyone accountable for the work we do at Hilsman. It is not easy but an encouraging word from your peer feels good on a tough day. To the new teachers at Hilsman, hang in there! You got this!

Week at Glance - 

Monday - 21st
Staff may wear shorts (appropriate length, khaki/black) and a spirit shirt to work.

Click Link: Solar Eclipse Day at HMS

SILT Meeting following Dissmissal

Tuesday - 22nd
6th Grade - IB Learner Profile During ELT
SRI during ELA classes
RTI Meetings During Planning

Title I Meeting 6:00pm
PTO Meeting 6:30pm

Wednesday 23rd
Collab Planning
Emergency Sub plans Due
Committee Meetings 4pm -5pm
P-BEST!!  Meeting 4pm - 5pm
Building Committee - 5:30pm

Thursday 24th
Collab  Planning
SMI during Math classes
New Panther Cohort  4pm -5pm
Washinton DC Parent Meeting - 5:30

Friday 25th
Spirit Shirts

House Ceremony - Afternoon activity schedule

Week of August 14th

Greetings,

I know that I have said this several times, but THANK YOU FOR A GREAT FIRST WEEK! Your patience with schedules, transitions, unexpected moves, and other changes is greatly appreciated. If this is any indication of where the year is headed, we are going in the right direction. As I visited classes today, I was overwhelmed by your level of enthusiasm while teaching. It is evident that we have all committed to "renewing our saltiness".  All of the students were actively engaged during instruction.  Below you will find a few reminders to keep in mind as we move forward:

Reminder that our work day begins at 8:00 am. Please be sure to arrive to work on time and sign in at the front office.

Lesson plans are due on Fridays at 6:00 pm.

Remember to establish your classroom rituals and routines for the next several weeks. In addition, make positive contact with parents before Wednesday of next week.

Please continue teaching PAWS expectations throughout the week! Let Ms. Hogan know if you still need a PAWS matrix for your classroom.

Transitions are looking good. Please continue to practice the expectations with the students.

Send your course syllabus home with students and be sure to provide me with a copy. I have had several parents to ask for a copy.

Encourage EVERY child to read daily! We must push literacy as a building.

As we are working to settle schedules, please document attendance. The district is asking that we take attendance in Campus for the next 10 days. I realize that this may have been difficult this week due to incorrect rosters. Beginning Monday, it is imperative to take attendance every day in every class.

Lastly, enjoy your weekend, RESET, and prepare for next week!

Week at a Glance

(SUNDAY)
Books for Keeps Teacher Giveaway -- FREE BOOKS for classroom libraries.
www.booksforkeeps.org

Monday:
**SOLAR ECLIPSE LETTERS MUST GO HOME VIA HOMEROOMS**
RTI WOW Sessions with Scott Emard in PL room during 1st plannings

Tuesday:
RTI Meetings - Scott Emard will be here to assist during the day with RTI meetings.

Wednesday: *Uniform Day*
Collab Planning
4:15 - Mentors/Mentees meet in PL room for district-led Adobe Connect session

Thursday:
Collab Planning
6pm World Language Parent Meeting

Friday: Spirit shirt


UPCOMING: 
Monday, 8/21  -- SOLAR ECLIPSE EVENT
                        -- SILT Meeting (following delayed dismissal)


Tuesday, 8/22 -- 6pm Title I Meeting
                       -- 6:30 pm PTO Meeting

Wednesday, 8/23 -- 4pm Committee Meetings
                            -- Emergency sub plans due

Thursday, 8/24 -- 4pm New Panther Cohort in PL Room
                         -- 5:30pm Washington, D.C. parent meeting

Friday, 8/25 -- Housing Ceremony (more to come)