Week of September 11

Good evening Teachers,

Official word has been sent out from the District that school will be closed Wednesday, September 13th as a result of massive power outages in our area.  Due to uncontrolled circumstances, please expect some changes to our plans. We will NOT have half day PL this week.We will need to reschedule this for early October. In addition, DO NOT worry about posting grades until we return to school. Many of your have completed the TKES pre-observation components, however the due date has been changed to this Friday. Remember you only have to complete the first two components. The SMART Training has been postponed until September 19th. If you are a SILT designee for this training, this is the final date per Dr. Means. We realize that being out for three days will cause for a change in your lesson plans. Feel free to alter your plans to accommodate what you will need to cover in your classes. Be prepared to receive some excited students upon our return to school. They have been home for an additional three days and are probably filled with energy. It will be imperative to hold them accountable and to reinforce the PAWS Expectations. We will not allow unnecessary hall passes, no movement the first and last 15 minutes of every class, implement silent lunch the first 10 minutes of each grade level's lunch, silent transitions, and ensure high quality bell to bell instruction. Again, I hope that you and your families endured the storm and are safe. 

Shout out to Ms. Destefani, Mr. Hussain, Ms. Page, and Ms. Skinner for presenting to our parents at Friday's Principal's Coffee. They provided our families with very detailed information on Google Classroom. 

DOUBLE shout out to our faculty member of the month, Ms. Holland, and our staff member of the month, Mr. Stevie.  

From your AP:
 - Please remember that grade level house incentives will take place on Friday afternoon. Grade levels should work together to plan incentives by house. If you have questions or need support with planning, please email Mr. Forker directly. 

From your IC: 

• Please make sure you have completed a detached duty for our macroplannings on Wednesday and Thursday of this upcoming week. Your subs have already been taken care of. 

Click here for info on submitting a detached duty

Hilsman Macroplanning Details for Wednesday and Thursday

• We are in the planning stages of a dinner dialogue series with our families and stakeholders guided by the themes in Richard Milner's text Rac(e)ing to Class.  For our new faculty, please see Hogan for copies of the book.  Our whole faculty conducted a dialogue with this text in April of the past school year. If you are interested in joining us for phase two of the conversation please submit the form below:

Dinner Dialogue RSVP

• As you all prepare your TKES platform for this school year, I am available to answer any and all questions you may have.  Your two big "to-dos" BY TUESDAY of this week are: 1) completing the orientation (with video) and 2) completing the self-assessment.  You will receive more guidance on writing your goals after SILT representatives go through the SMART systems training at the BOE.  At this training, we will develop stems that make your goal writing a little less painful. :) Here, again, is the presentation shared at the faculty meeting: 

TKES Orientation

September 11th Memorial Day Resources: 

ELT Presentation

9/11 Resources (links, etc.)

IB reminders:

1. Remember to save student work to collaboratively score.

2. Make sure you have completed the reflection for each unit as you finish the unit.

3. Start talking to your students about our Hurricane Harvey campaign that starts next week. The presentation was shared with everyone this week.

Trash Harvey Campaign Presentation

4. Get with the other teachers in your house to discuss a way to post students' names from your house somewhere in the school.

Mr. Hussain will be buying pizza for everyone who wants to plan after school on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. He will be available to co-plan during this time (and co-teach during a class if you want). Stop by his classroom (room 205) after school to check it out next Tuesday! His strengths include technology integration, wearing ties, and growing a beard. 

Monday: SCHOOL CANCELLED #irma 

*September 11th Day of Remembrance

TO BE RESCHEDULED: 

WOW Sesssion with Maxey first plannings (including connections team) 

10am GRADES DUE IN CAMPUS

Tuesday: SCHOOL CANCELLED #irma 

Progress reports go home 

Volleyball away vs BHL 

Wednesday: SCHOOL CANCELLED #irma

*We would normally hold vertical meetings after school on this Wednesday of the month. However, verticals will take place during our content macroplanning this week. 

Math AM - Macroplanning/Cancelled

ELA PM - Macroplanning/Cancelled

Thursday: 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MS. OYEYEMI! 

Social Studies AM - Macroplanning/Cancelled

Science PM - Macroplanning/Cancelled

6pm DC Trip Parent Meeting 

Friday: Afternoon Activity Schedule

Each grade level should have planned for activities on their hallway. Forker will check in with grade level team leaders Thursday for logistics. Any questions or need of support, email Forker directly.

2:30 Grade level house celebrations 

Saturday: 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FASSBENDER!

Week of September 4th

Monday:
Labor Day - No School!!

Tuesday:
RTI (first plannings)
Tolbert @ Mindset Training

Wednesday:
Collab planning:
- 1st plannings: ELA
- 2nd plannings: S. Studies
Tolbert @ Mindset Training
C-Team Football Away @  Madison County @ 5:30
4pm Faculty Meeting 

Thursday:
* Progress report period ends*
Collab planning:
- 1st plannings: Math
- 2nd plannings: Science
Volleyball - HMS @ CMS @ 4:30

Friday:
Principal's Coffee 8:30am In Media Center
Hogan at BOE (AM)

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)

Week of May 15th

Monday

Meet with Forker 1st Planning regarding Post-testing procedures and Instructional Plans
2pm - 8th grade awards ceremony 

Tuesday

2pm - 7th grade awards ceremony 
6pm - FFA Banquet - All staff are invited!

Wednesday
Instructional Plans Due by end of day

9:30 am - 6th grade awards ceremony 

4pm SILT

5pm Title I Feedback Session 

Thursday

6pm - 8th grade moving on ceremony 

Friday 

Half day for students! 

Postplanning dates and agenda: 

Monday, May 22nd

• PBIS Meeting 10am in Cafe Everyone is Invited - 
• Checklist items for the end of year need to be signed off on and turned in to Ms. Jernigan by the end of the day.
• If you are moving classrooms, take this time to make that happen. See Ms. Tolbert or Hogan for room assignments. 
• Macroplan with your content team for next year. We would like to set all of quarter 1 and most of quarter 2 before we go home Wednesday.  Not much should change among your content areas from this year.  This will make our lives much easier in the fall. 
• Scheduling committee will meet for feedback session at 2:00 in Kranc's room - which will be our PL room for next year. 

Tuesday, May 23rd

• Continue to macroplan
• Continue to move classrooms if needed
• Scheduling committee will meet again if necessary based on Monday's meeting. 

Wednesday, May 24th

• 10am ELA vertical meeting with Carlyn 
• 10am Social Studies vertical meeting - Hussain's room
• Continue to macroplan
• Continue to move classrooms if needed

Happy, happy birthday to our summer born faculty & staff! 

Coach Pullen

Ms. Skinner

Ms. Dalton

Mr. Squires 

Ms. Viera

Ms. Camp

Ms. Hogan

Ms. Seymour

Mr. Heu

Ms. Johns

Ms. Hubbard

Ms. Rohrbach

Ms. Gonzalez

Ms. Zabetakis

Ms. Nguyen
Ms. Little
Mr. Dorsey

***If your name is not on the above list, but you have a summer birthday, please email Hogan so we can add you to our calendar! We love to celebrate birthdays! 

Week of May 8th

STAFF SHOUT OUTS! 
Congratulations to our Teacher of the Year, Ms. Skinner, and to our Paraprofessional of the Year, Ms. K. Brinkley! You are rockstars and we are so fortunate to have you as part of our Hilsman family.  

Congrats as well to our Teacher of the Month, Mr. Spinks, and to our Staff Member of the Month, the one and only, Mr. Zeddie! 

From Ms. Seymour: 
Support the Hilsman Garden and your healthy lifestyle by attending our weekly produce market every Wednesday from 4-6 pm at Hilsman. We have fresh, local vegetables and herbs from the UGArden and HilFarm available for purchase, and can accept cash, check, and cards. Any EBT cardholders qualify for a 50% discount on veggies! We hope to see you there!

From Ms. G: 
May 8, Monday - EOCT HS Physical Science Make-up 

May 9, Tuesday - EOCT HS Coordinate Algebra

May 10, Wednesday - French 1 Final Exam

May 10, Wednesday - Spanish 1 Exam (written)

May 11, Thursday - Spanish 1 Exam (oral)

Scheduling for Next Year: 
Hogan is finalizing the schedule for next year.  What she needs from you all: 
* 6th grade to schedule rising 7th grade ELTs (will share spreadsheet) 
*7th grade to schedule rising 8th grade ELTs (again, will share spreadsheet) 
*A list from 6th grade, 7th grade, & Connections teams of students who should not have classes together and any potential personality conflicts with teachers. (will share spreadsheet)

Once we have a final draft prepared, the scheduling committee will convene to provide feedback, edit, & revise. If you want in on the scheduling committee, we are an open group. Just shoot Hogan an email, so she can include you on the emails.  

Room Placements for Next Year: 
This is also in the works. Stay tuned. Since we are unteaming, Ms. Tolbert would like to have classrooms arranged so that content areas are clustered. If you are in a science classroom but you do not teach science, go ahead and prepare to pack it up. 

Calendar for Next Year: 
BY TUESDAY, Ms. Hogan needs each team to assist in creating our calendar for the 17-18 school year.  I have given each team leader the full calendar. Hand write the dates of any and all events for next school year.  This includes: field day, House party dates, any and all potential field trips that you are aware of, award ceremony dates and times, etc. Go ahead and set them now.  Hogan will meet with teams on Monday to answer any questions you have. 

End of Year Award Ceremonies: 
If you would like Hogan's assistance in making copies of invitations and programs for the ceremonies (only students receiving awards will be given invitations to take home to parents -- with the exception of the 8th grade moving on ceremony) she needs these items by the end of the day Monday. 
Monday: 
8:30am - Pre-AP Mini-session (Oulevey/Yungmann)
6th Grade Field Day 
4pm PBIS Meeting
7pm Band Concert at Cedar 

Tuesday: 
Rising 6th Grade Visitation 
RTI Meetings
4-5:30 - PDSD mentor reception at Cine
5pm Building Construction Committee 
6pm PTO Meeting 

Wednesday: 
*SEPUP Orders Due (Science teachers) 
8th Grade - Collection of student devices
7th Grade - Field Day 
4pm 6th grade band registration 
4pm Orchestra Instrument Open House 
4-5pm Mother's Day Plant Sale 

Thursday: 
*SET - Atlanta Trip 
6th Grade - Collection of student devices 
8th Grade - Cedar English Teachers Visit (UGA Room)
Team Rever field trip (6th grade) 
1pm Second Annual Panther's Marketplace (Team Gora)
4-5pm Mother's Day Plant Sale
6-8pm 8th Grade Dance 
**8th grade teachers, please bring pastries **

Friday: 
*SET - Atlanta Trip 
9am - Principal's Coffee in Media Center 
7th Grade - Collection of student devices 
8th Grade - Field Day 
6:30 pm - Chorus Concert - Community Choir

Saturday: 
Transition Camp for Rising 6th Graders 

Sunday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. YUNGMANN!

UPCOMING: 
5/15 -- 2pm - 8th grade awards ceremony 
5/16 -- 2pm - 7th grade awards ceremony
5/16 -- 6pm - FFA Banquet
5/17 -- 9:30am - 6th grade awards ceremony 
5/18 -- 6pm - 8th grade moving on ceremony