Week of 5/12/2019

Happy Sunday,

Happy Mother's Day! I hope that you all took a moment this weekend to decompress from a long week, refuel, and prepare for the last week of school. Thank you for your work last week. I know that many of you sacrificed your plannings to help make the field days a success. Another loud shout out to Connections and the coaches for organizing a fun event. The students loved it!

I know that the news shared on yesterday was troubling. We will have support on site to help assist our students and our staff. I encourage you to seek assistance if there is a need. If a child expresses a need for support, please send them to the counselors. Please remember to arrive at 7:15 tomorrow for a mandatory staff meeting. Members from Instructional Services will be present to help supervise our students and to cover the front office.

As we prepare to close our year, I encourage you to stay focused and remain encouraged! The work that we do is not easy but please know that it is both necessary and important. If you need a reminder, look at the students' MAP scores or reflect on the number of challenges that we have overcome this year. It was hard but we made it! Let us make it for the next 5 days! We can do it! Keep your heads up Panther Nation.

In it to win it,

Tolbert

Announcements and Reminders

Grades are due in the system Thursday no later than 4:00. We must be ready to print report cards at 6:00 pm in preparation for the last day of school. The grading window is open. Please begin entering your grades.

Makeup Work

It is our goal to help every student be successful at HMS. If you have a student that need to make up assignments that they are lacking during this term, please encourage them to do so as well as communicate it to parents. I ask that you provide options that will allow our students to get the work done. Remember not every student can remain after school for a number of reasons.

Checking it Twice

Please check and double check your list of students for Honor Awards. It is critical that we do not leave anyone out as it is hard to make this up to the students and parents. I will run another grading report tomorrow and share it out. You are strongly encouraged to check the grades of the students in your homeroom in Campus to avoid a mistake.


Boxes

Boxes will be distributed Thursday. At this time each teacher will only be given 10 boxes to pack up material that you will NOT need upon your return to school in August. Please do not take any of the boxes until they are properly distributed.

Supervision of students and Professionalism

This is a reminder that we are to be present and actively involved in the hall during EVERY transition. Students should be signed out and given a written pass when they are permitted to leave your classroom. There is no exception. Additionally, students should not be permitted to leave class unless it is an emergency. We have had a lot of unnecessary movement in the halls during instructional time. WE will continue to teach from bell to bell.

Remain mindful of the manner in which you are redirecting our students. It is not permissible to yell at students, make sarcastic remarks, or publicly embarrass any student. Additionally, we do not put students out of the classrooms. Please follow our discipline procedures.

Your presence at work this week is necessary for us to end the year successfully. Please be present at work unless there is an emergency. Your smile is needed to encourage someone in our building.

Data Collection for the EOY

MAP scores are accessible. Please begin to review and disaggregate your data. We need to update our SGP with our most recent data and measure our growth this year.

Preference Form

Below is a preference form for the next school year. Please take a moment and fill this out so that we can begin planning for next year. This will need to be completed before Wednesday at 12:00 pm.

Preference form for 2019-2020

Awards Ceremonies

6th Grade-May 15th at 10:00 am @ Cedar Shoals (auditorium)
7th Grade-May 14th at 10:00 am @ Cedar Shoals (auditorium)
8th Grade-May 16th at 6:00 @ HMS' Gym

Upcoming Events

May 13th, FFA Banquet 6pm -cafeteria 

May 15, 8th-grade Semi-formal Dance 6pm @ Hilsman New gym 

May 17th last day of school early dismiss

Week at a Glance

Monday-Faculty Meeting at 7:15
Khakis with a spirit shirt-No jeans


Tuesday-Jeans for 6th and 8th grades
Enter Grades


Wednesday-Jeans for 7th and 8th Grades
Enter grades
8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance


Thursday-Jeans
Enter grades by 4:00 pm
8th Grade Moving On Day


Friday-Last Day of School
Early Release
1-4-End of the year team data roundup

Week of 5/3/2019

Happy Friday great people!

It has been a chaotic but great last two weeks at Hilsman. Thank you for remaining in good spirits and staying committed until the end. Your zeal and smiles are contagious. Keep it up as we smoothly land this school year. I apologize for the confusion with the field trip. Thank you to the teachers that took the lead to ensure that our students are able to participate in such an eventful trip. As we are quickly approaching the end of the year I want to provide you a few reminders. Please read closely and if you have any questions or concerns, contact an administrator.

Supervision of Students

• Students should be supervised at all times. A sign in sheet should be used in EVERY class to document a student's departure. They should also be given a written pass to show to any adult in the halls.
• The sign in sheet should be created daily by the teacher.
• Teachers should be present in the hall at every transition. There is no exception to this request.

Grades

• Please make every effort to help students successfully end the year. As I have been checking your grade book, I have found that grades are not up to date. It is imperative that parents and students know where they stand academically in your class before May 10th. This will provide time for students to turn in assignments or makeup missing work.
• If you have a student with a grade of 70 or below in your class, it is your responsibility to inform the parent and student orally and via email. 
• A list was provided to the administrators of your top 20 students with behavior and/or academic concerns. I have shared summer school letters twice with the students. Many of them have shown progress however will still need to go to summer school. Please contact the parents of the students that are in your homeroom to inform them that their child MUST attend summer school.

Events

• Grade levels are doing a great job with the blogs! Thank you! Please make sure that the dates for the grade level Awards Day and time along with any other events are in this week's edition.
• Field days, ceremonies, and end of the year events are priceless for our students. Unless a student has engaged in a tier 4 behavior, please refrain from taking these events from our students. Remember we want to give every student an opportunity to be successful! 

Professionalism

• It is understandable that you are tired and somewhat frustrated. We are at the end of the year and you have given your all. It is important to remain professional at all times. Your tone and actions can be perceived by others in ways that you did not intend. Yelling at students, touching students, and using threatening language will not be tolerated. We want to remain firm, fair, and consistent but we must do it with love. Many of our students experience extreme anxiety during this time of the year. Please discipline with love! 

Announcements

Band Concert

Band Concert Monday, May 6 6:30 PM Cedar Shoals Theater

Food for the Soul

Biggums BBQ Foodtruck 5/9

Advance Content Recommendations

Please make sure that you have filled out the Advance Content Teacher Recommendation Forms

Information from the Coaches! Field Day

Field Day Schedule will be as follows: Tuesday, May 7: 6TH GRADE (4th period class teams) Wednesday, May 8: 8TH GRADE (5th period class teams) Thursday, May 9: 7TH GRADE (4th period class teams) Teachers, please be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you have gone over your rosters and put into the Field Day Team Roster Spreadsheet the names of the students who will participate in each event for the afternoon portion. In order to have a fun, successful, and incident-free field day, EVERYONE needs to do his/her part to prepare and plan ahead. Make sure you are communicating with your students about your team color and the expectations for that day. Links to pertinent information can be found below: Field Day Instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pkE2A1MjteilV6kamYoxVtI0y7yFKst3jV1YWvQnRCY/edit?usp=sharing Field Day Scoring:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LXa1Kake9p0617zVmlQE9EgpLbpV-XR6cia_V6rYfDY/edit?usp=sharing Field Day Team Roster: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f08O-1jSLnvWcOfpiU3jY3gForYmbyeFChdw9r-eAUQ/edit?usp=sharing Field Day 6th Grade Morning Event Rotation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14PPBa_p4_gH84VgfG4mqhta-115-qsg_CsgiwBMTzZA/edit?usp=sharing Field Day 7th Grade Morning Rotation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mtgogy4nc1bqfLVFyWXI0I21BGQ9sVWULAyEvGAAET8/edit?usp=sharing Field Day 8th Grade Morning Rotation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hyPT06HEA39T_NatGoP0VmSbC51DAgTtjv_EFzcFEBg/edit?usp=sharing

Week at a Glance

Monday

Band Concert

Tuesday-6th Grade Field Day

Field Trip to Atlanta Civil Rights Museum

RTI

Science EOC

Wednesday-8th Grade Field Day

Thursday-7th Grade Field Day

Makeup Science EOCT

Friday-Begin working on grades!

April 16-19

Monday
Holiday

Tuesday
SRI Administration
Short Bell Schedule

Wednesday
ELA Milestones 
See the Panthers PLC Milestones page for questions
Testing Schedule

Thursday
ELA Milestones

Friday
ELA Milestones

21st Century
Afternoon 21st Century for the 2018-2019 school year will end on Thursday, May 9.
Morning 21st Century for the 2018-2019 school year will end on Friday, May 10.

Binder Checks
Please ensure that you are completing content-based binder checks on a weekly basis.

April 8-12

Monday

First planning - meet with Forker to finalize pre-admin examiner training


Wednesday

GA Milestones Practice Test

Short Testing Schedule

Please show tutorial and have students take practice.

Tutorial is located here: GA Milestones Practice Test

Soccer Boys Semi-Finals -- played @ Coile Middle School

#2 Clarke Middle vs. #3 BHL -- 4:30 PM#1 Coile vs #4 Hilsman -- 5:30 PMWed 4/10 - Girls Semi-Finals -- played at Clarke Middle School#2 Coile vs #3 BHL -- 4:30 PM#1 Clarke Middle vs #4 Hilsman -- 5:30 PM

Thursday

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!

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.

March 25-29

Monday
8th grade UGA Field trip
IEP/504

Tuesday
RTI
Soccer HMS at BHL (4:15 boys; 5:15 girls)

Wednesday
Collab planning

Thursday
8th grade UGA Field trip
Collab planning

Friday
Soccer HMS at WRC (4:15 girls; 5:15 boys)
Grade Level Meetings



AVID
Do not forget to utilize student agendas and your binder score card to determine specific assignments, dates, etc. If students are in need of supplies, please see Mrs. Fassbender or an AVID Site Team member for a supply form.

Book Fair
Spring Scholastic Book Fair is March 20th-26th! We hope to see all our parents, faculty and staff, and students!

Rising 6th Grade Parent Night: This will take place at Gaines Elementary School at 6 pm on March 25th. 6th grade teachers should plan to be in attendance as well as connections teachers and support staff who interact with 6th grade students. This will be your opportunity to provide relevant information to our families!
Upcoming Dates
Milestones EOG
4/17 - ELA Section 1
4/18 - ELA Section 2
4/19 - ELA Section 3
4/22 - ELA Make Ups
4/23 - Math Section 1
4/24 - Math Section 2
4/25 - Science Section 1-2
4/26 - Soc Studies Section 1-2
Milestones EOC4/29 - 5/2 - Make-ups
4/29 - 5/1 : ELA EOC
5/2-5/3 - Math EOC
5/6 - Soc Studies EOC
5/7 - Science EOC
5/8 - 5/10 - EOC Make Ups
Map Window - Updated Specific Dates to Follow 
4/17 - 5/17

March 18-22

Happy Sunday Panther Nation,

We have several more hours and we will return to HMS for our last quarter of school. I hope that you had a restful Spring Break and enjoyed your time away from work. The break was definitely good to me as I spent a great deal of time resting and being a mommy! 

As we prepare to return to work, I want to encourage you to remain focused on moving our students forward for the next 45 days. Dig deep and grab a hold of your WHY and let your WHY be your driving force from now until the end of the school year. We all made a commitment to do the work. We have proven that no matter what challenges stares us in the face that we will not give up on each other or our students! Our data tells our story. Let our story be one that ends happily ever after. We can and will do it! Let's move our students and move our data.

Please return and spend Tuesday reminding our students of the Panther PAW Expectations. Continue to hold them accountable for their actions and responsible for their learning. Be sure to enforce the No Flex Zone, No Hall Passes, and No Excuses expectations. Again, we are close to the end! In order to for us not to lose our heads as we are pushed to the edge, we must remain firm, fair, and consistent.

Below are some reminders for the week. I will see you all soon! 

Tolbert

Reminders:

Monday is YOUR day. At this time, I do not have any intentions of hosting any meetings. I will send Mid Year Conference invitations to those of you whose conferences had to be rescheduled. Although classes are short this week, please be aware that we will continue to perform observations.

Tuesday, I will host the Parent Meeting for our most challenging students. I am asking that 3 representatives from each grade level join me as I speak with parents regarding their child's academic and behavior progress. We will allow the parents that participate in the meeting to not attend their conference as the information will be the same. 

Wednesday-Friday is our designated Parent Conference days. Our late day is Thursday. All staff is expected to stay until 7:45 p.m. There are no exceptions.
Connections teachers will be required to attend 10 conferences on each grade level. Additionally, you are required to attend the conference of any child that failed your class. Please document your conferences on the conference sheet provided to homeroom teachers.

As you are preparing to host your conferences, please be sure to review the NWEA (MAP) Resources that were shared by Mr. Forker during Spring Break. It is mandated that we share the Student Growth Worksheet with parents during their conference time. Their signature is also required. A short video was shared to help you better understand the document and the data. 

LSGT-We are in need of  2 teachers to serve on our LSGT for next year. Please consider serving alongside members of the community to improve Hilsman.



Monday
School-Based teacher work day
Mid Year Conferences

Tuesday
RTI
Soccer HMS at CMS (4:15 boys; 5:15 girls)

Wednesday
Collab planning
Parent-Teacher Conferences
 Early Release Schedule 

Thursday
Collab planning
Parent-Teacher Conferences late night
 Early Release Schedule 
BBQ Food Truck at Lunch

Friday
Extended Homeroom for students and staff to participate in the School Culture Survey. We will transition once everyone has completed it.
Grade Level Meetings
Parent Teacher Conferences
 Early Release Schedule 


AVID
Teachers, please take the week when we return to help our students get organized. During classes, offer students the opportunity to clean out binders, papers, etc in preparation of the 4th qtr. Also, do not forget to utilize student agendas and your binder score card to determine specific assignments, dates, etc. If students are in need of supplies, please see me or an AVID Site Team member for a supply form.

Book Fair
Spring Scholastic Book Fair is right after Spring Break March 20th-26th! We hope to see all our parents, faculty and staff, and students!

21st Century and PSP
The afternoon 21st Century Program and PSP will not meet during Parent Conference Week. The morning 21st Century Program will meet during Parent Conference Week.

From our Counselors
Upcoming Classroom Guidance: As a part of Georgia Law under Senate Bill 401, the Clarke County School District is implementing a classroom lesson titled, My Body, My Boundaries, in grades 6-9 to teach child sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention. Teachers and school counselors facilitating the lesson have been trained to provide this important information to your student. If you would prefer your child not participate in the My Body, My Boundaries Lesson, please sign and return the opt out letter that was sent home by March 22, 2019, and return it to your student’s teacher.
Day as a Dawg (8th Grade ONLY): "Each year, Inspire UGA hosts Day as a Dawg, an event where we teach your 8th grader information on how to succeed in high school and beyond. This year, Day as a Dawg will take place on April 20, 2019, and we want your 8th grader to be there! Day as a Dawg is a completely free event that includes breakfast, lunch, and a complimentary t-shirt for your student to remember the day. After Day as a Dawg, your 8th grader will feel more prepared to transition into high school. Be on the lookout for Inspire UGA’s table at parent teacher conferences to sign your student up for Day as a Dawg!" Students that have already received their applications at lunch should hand them in to Ms. Moore, School Counselor, as soon as possible.

Upcoming Dates
Milestones EOG
4/17 - ELA Section 1
4/18 - ELA Section 2
4/19 - ELA Section 3
4/22 - ELA Make Ups
4/23 - Math Section 1
4/24 - Math Section 2
4/25 - Science Section 1-2
4/26 - Soc Studies Section 1-2
Milestones EOC4/29 - 5/2 - Make-ups
4/29 - 5/1 : ELA EOC
5/2-5/3 - Math EOC
5/6 - Soc Studies EOC
5/7 - Science EOC
5/8 - 5/10 - EOC Make Ups
Map Window - Updated Specific Dates to Follow 
4/17 - 5/17



Rising 6th Grade Parent Night: This will take place at Gaines Elementary School at 6 pm on March 25th. 6th grade teachers should plan to be in attendance as well as connections teachers and support staff who interact with 6th grade students. This will be your opportunity to provide relevant information to our families!