April 1-5

Good Sunday great people,

I hope that you have enjoyed your weekend! Thank you for a great week of conferences. You all did a great job of communicating the successes and areas of growth of our students to their parents. The parents were extremely complimentary of your work and expressed how they have noticed an increase of rigor in the classroom. Keep up the work! We must finish the year strong.

Please be reminded to provide students with feedback and support. We cannot expect our scholars to do better if we are not giving the proper feedback on tests, assignments, or adjusting instruction in the classroom. It is critical that they understand their areas of growth in an effort to help them improve. In the same manner, it is important to update your grade books every 5-7 days. This expectation is not new however; I found that many grades were not entered until the end of the grading term. This presents a problem to our families, as many are not aware that their child is failing until it is too late. Our job is to provide students with opportunities to be successful. I see evidence of this daily in your classrooms, be sure that parents and students are presented with the same view.

This week will be a busy one! Please be present at work and ensure that your instruction is infused with rigor and a high level of student engagement. If you did not read the email that I sent last Thursday referencing our School Readiness Assessment, please do so tonight. Remember that tomorrow is the last day to take the survey. I want to reiterate that April 3^rd is an opportunity for us to show the great work that we are doing at Hilsman. Know our vision and mission but most importantly know you WHY?

Attached you will find the schedule of events that will take place on Wednesday. I recognize that we will have many activities happening on this day however, we welcomes our visitors warmly into the walls of Hilsman Middle School. If you have any questions, please email or see me.

Schedule for Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Please submit the names of the two students from each grade level no later than 11:00, Monday, April 1^st to me via email.

Things to do and remember:

Ensure that you have a chair with a copy of your lesson plans in a designated area for the observer. Previously, I have known these observations to last between 7-10 minutes.

Make sure your standards are posted and are referenced throughout your instruction.

It is a great idea to make sure that your bulletin boards are updated and reflective of the student work with commentary.

Manage your class. If there is a problem in your classroom, address it. Please do not let the presence of visitors stop you from managing your class. Follow the discipline plan.

Please expect to be observed several times, as we will have an entire grade level out due to a field trip. All classes will be observed. This includes Connections.

Sample Site Visit Schedule
Time	SRA Team Member #1	SRA Team Member #2	SRA Team Member #3	SRA Team Member 4
7:30-7:55 AM	Team arrives at school; morning meeting and data review
8-9:20 AM	Interview with Tolbert
9:30-10:25 AM	Interview with Mr. Forker (AP)		Interview: Moore, Morgan, Williams
10:30-11:25 AM	Classroom Visits Connection Teachers will need to help provide coverage for teachers during this time.		Interview with Teacher Focus Group Q. Turner- 7th SpEd R. Dorsey-LID C. Holland-6th grade Science J. Pratt-8th SpEd M. Dalton-7th Science M. Aqui-7th Math K. Heu-7th Grade ELA
11:30-12:25 PM	Interview with SILT  Skinner Fassbender Watkins Holland Blake J. Page F. Jones		Interview with Student Focus Group
12:30-1:10 PM	Lunch, Mid-day meeting and SRA debrief (consider emerging themes) Callahan's Office
1:15-2:10 PM	Interview with AP or IC M. Skinner		Classroom Visits
2:15-3:30 PM	Team debrief, evidence review, summary writing
3:30-4 PM	Principal Exit Interview-Callahan's Office
4 pm.	SRA team departs

Week at Glance

Monday

Monday 4/1/10 is Dress Down Day for binder checks for the month of March. Students who received 200 or more pts on their March binder checks may dress down. Please make sure students follow the HMS dress code policy. If you have any questions or concerns about binder checks, please email or call your student's teachers.

504/IEP

Tuesday

HMS Soccer
When: Tuesday, April, 2 Where: CMS Time: Boys- 4:30 Girls-5:30

RTI
Wednesday
Relay for Life jeans day

6th Grade Field Trip to UGA on Wednesday, April 3rd!

Faculty Meeting - 4:00 -5:30

Spring Picture Day at Hilsman is on Wednesday, April 3rd. Flyers were given out by homeroom teachers last week for students to take home. Spring pictures are prepay only. If you did not receive a flyer, additional flyers are available in the front office. Prepayment methods are by exact cash (photographer is unable to make change), check or money order made payable to Lifetouch, or you may order online with a credit card. Ordering information and pricing are found on the flyers. Only students who are prepaying for pictures may be out of uniform for Wednesday's picture day. Students must adhere to the dress code expectations as set forth by CCSD and Hilsman. If you have any questions about appropriate attire, please contact the school or your child's homeroom teacher.

Collaborative Planning

Faculty meeting/ baby shower 4:00

Thursday

Collaborative Planning

Friday

PBIS Caring Climate Survey During Lunch Enrichment Time

Track
HMS Track Meet Date: Friday, April, 5 Where: CCHS Start Time: 4:30 p.m.


Upcoming Dates

Orchestra
Our Spring Orchestra Concert is coming up! The concert will be held on Thursday April 11th at 6:30 in the Cedar Shoals High School Theater. All orchestra students will perform! We'll see you there!

Gear Up 4 High School: The UGA Admissions and CCSD will be hosting the Gear Up 4 College Event for all 8th graders at the Tate Student Center Saturday April 13, 2019 from 9am-12pm. Parents and students will learn about the college admissions process and other important information about attending college. There will be free food and prizes. If you are interesting in attending, please RSVP to Jonathan Brunson at jmaurice@uga.edu

Monday 4/1/10 is Dress Down Day for binder checks for the month of March. Students who received 200 or more pts on their March binder checks may dress down. Please make sure students follow the HMS dress code policy. If you have any questions or concerns about binder checks, please email or call your student's teachers.