#MONOMOYSTRONG

AGENDA

4.14.2020 3:30-4:30PM

1. Welcome
2. Shark Shout Outs
3. Health Update - Cheryl Dufault, Nurse Leader
4. Counseling Department Update - Jon Bennett
5. Hiring Update 
6. Phase 2 - Philosophy - Bill Q&A
7. For the Good of the Order 
8. Happy April Vacation

IMPORTANT GRADING DATES & EXPECTATIONS UPDATE

Grading Timelines:

*purpose of q 3 - not to jam MORE work- it is to finish owed work if needed or additional assessments

• Extend Quarter 3 through April 29, allowing students time to finish any work owed, and providing staff time to include any additional assessments they feel are necessary.  An extended Quarter 3 allows it to be more similar in length to an actual school quarter and provides more time for the transition to a true distance learning Quarter 4.

• No Quarter 3 grades will be recorded in Aspen and counted for the initial review/enrichment phase of distance learning (March 16-April 9).  The Quarter 3 extension begins April 13 through April 29.  Click HERE for important report card and term dates. 

• Quarter 4 will begin April 30 through June 22.  Quarter 4 grades will be kept on Aspen.  While Quarter 4 grades will be issued at the end of the year in Aspen, THE GRADE WILL ONLY HELP THE STUDENT’S SEMESTER OR YEAR GRADE.

QUARTER 4 COUNTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, as failure to participate in distance learning will result in a lack of credit for the quarter.  Students cannot academically fail Quarter 4, but they can fail to participate and fail to earn credit towards graduation.  Administration will override and provide only 3 credits when appropriate

TEACHER PAYING TEACHERS RESOURCES FOR STAFF

#MonomoyStrong

Hello MRHS Family, 

I want to thank you all for your continued efforts to support our students and each other.  I receive daily emails from parents, students, and staff sharing uplifting stories and acts of courage and kindness.  It is through these adverse times that our true character is revealed.  Continue to stay positive, relentlessly support each student, their families, and make sure to take care of yourself and your family's wellbeing.  

A HUGE Shark Shout Out to Janie and Jen, two of the BEST administrators in the world!  Thank you for all you do.  We are blessed to have two of the most intelligent, caring, dedicated and selfless AP's who put people first and sacrifice to make our school the best in the state.  Please make sure to share with Janie and Jen how much they mean to you over the course of this week, or send a personalized shout out to Katie Kelly to put in this week's edition of our Friday Focus.  

I am excited to report that the MREA and administration are very close to an agreement on what the next step in our journey, phase 2, will look like at MRHS and the district.  This work was done after a thoughtful and careful examination of the feedback from staff and families.  Included will be our schedule, student and staff expectations, and a clear vision of how we will move our school and district forward.  Today I will share with you MRHS's plan for student grading, including timelines and grade calculations.  

We encourage feedback from our staff on this grading model.  We will be discussing it and answering questions at this Thursday's Swimming with Sharks and at our Thursday Instructional Leader meeting.  If you'd like to share feedback or ask clarifying questions you may also reach out to our administrative team or your department Instructional Leader.  

ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING:

Under these unusual circumstances, teachers will practice compassion in grading, given the inequity in supports or resources available to individual students or if a student has completed work independently, without additional assistance from family members or internet resources. 

• Each Google Classroom lesson shall contain a deliverable that will be used to determine the student's participation (attendance) in the distance learning and their progress on the assignment
• If students are not participating or progressing in class, teachers should connect with the student first, then the parent/guardian.  If there is no resolution or improvement after the correspondence with students and parents, the teacher will contact the student's guidance counselor.  
• Counselors will keep a spreadsheet on all students who are struggling or not accessing learning which administration will have access to and discuss at SST and departmental meetings. 
• Assignments should not be in excess of 75 minutes each time the class meets. 
• All assignments should receive a grade and/or feedback.  All grades will be updated in Aspen.
• No Final Exams 
• No Quarter 4 Progress Reports

UPDATED TEACHER GRADING WINDOW

HIGH SCHOOL Calculation of Quarter 3, Quarter 4, Semester 2, and Yearlong Grades:

• Extend the Quarter 3 through April 29, allowing students time to finish any work owed, and providing staff time to include any additional assessments they feel are necessary.  An extended Quarter 3 allows it to be more similar in length to an actual school quarter and provides more time for the transition to a true distance learning Quarter 4.

• No Quarter 3 grades will be recorded in Aspen and counted for the initial phase of distance learning (March 16-April 9).  The Quarter 3 extension begins April 13 through April 29. Report cards will be issued through Aspen for Quarter 3 at the beginning of May.

• Quarter 4 will begin April 30 through June 22.  Quarter 4 grades will be kept on Aspen. While Quarter 4 grades will be issued at the end of the year in Aspen, THE GRADE WILL ONLY HELP THE STUDENT’S SEMESTER OR YEAR GRADE.

• QUARTER 4 COUNTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, as failure to participate in distance learning will result in a lack of credit for the quarter.  Students cannot academically fail Quarter 4, but they can fail to participate and fail to earn credit towards graduation.  Administration will override and provide only 3 credits when appropriate.

Calculating Semester 2 or Year-Long Grades for the Transcript:

• For Semester 2 courses -- the final grade on the transcript will be the Quarter 3 grade or the mathematical average of Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 grades, whichever is higher.

• In the unlikely event that we return to school on May 4, the final grade on the transcript for year-long courses will be, as follows:

• Q1 (22.5%) + Q2 (22.5%) + Q3 (22.5%) + Q4 (22.5%) + Midterm exam (10%)

• Otherwise, for year-long courses --  the final grade on the transcript will be whichever is higher of the following:

• Q1 (30%) + Q2 (30%) + Q3 (30%) + Midterm exam (10%)

---OR---

• Q1 (22.5%) + Q2 (22.5%) + Q3 (22.5%) + Q4 (22.5%) + Midterm exam (10%)

• Teachers will override year-long grades to whatever is higher.

Instructional Leaders Meeting: Thursday, April 9, 2020 2:30pm

Faculty Meeting (All Staff Welcome): Tuesday, April 14, 2020 3:30pm

SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS

**SPECIAL DAY DUE TO HOLIDAY**

THURSDAY APRIL 9 8:30-9AM

Please continue to reach out to our admin team and we will continue to check in on you.  This Thursday from 8:30-9am (stop in anytime) we will be hosting a google meet "Swimming with the Sharks."  EVERYONE is invited!  Great way to stay connected and share 

#MONOMOYSTRONG

Hello MRHS Family, 

I saw this post online and it hit home to me.  It made me think of all of you, individually and as a staff.  I realize how much you care for and love our students and our school - we are a family after all.  What I am seeing you do for our kids on a daily basis is incredible but not surprising.  The daily stories of courage, love, and efforts to connect reinforce to me we have the best of the best at MRHS, thank you!  YOU may be the most important thing in our students' lives right now, their connection to sanity, their yearning for normalcy, and their hope.  

And yet you have families, personal lives, stress and anxiety that is so real.  Although we are not physically in school this test is one we will pass and will pass together.  Please re-read the post above, take a deep breath, and know that our kids will survive this and come out stronger on the other side, and so will we as individuals and as a school.  It is so important you take care of yourself and your family first.  Work on staying positive and enthusiastic - know it is contagious.  Let's make it our mission to ensure we connect with ALL our students, especially the ones who are trying to be invisible and stay #MONOMOYSTRONG.

It is now our highest priority to ensure that ALL our students are connected and participating.  I appreciate everyone's efforts keeping track of your students, reaching out to them and contacting parents.  Please continue to do that.  We are here to help you.  I'd like you all to send a list of names to individual guidance counselors who meet 1 of 2 categories, or both.  1. student who has not showed up at all or communicated with you = zero connection and 2. student who you are concerned about (social/emotionally or who is not participating).  

I will be meeting with each class via google meet over the next week starting with our seniors today.  I will solicit feedback and share it with you.  Early reports show that kids are overwhelmed.  They are overwhelmed with the situation and with the workload.  Please focus now on taking it slow until we get in our groove.  Focus on the support and portion control - manageable amount of work.  I suggest including authentic real-life assignments they can do to get outside safely or work on projects they are passionate about.  We have students that may be doing work on a mahogany desk while others may be working on a dirty bench with empty beer cans in the way - it is our job to level the playing field the best we can.  We will eventually be transitioning to graded work and we want to make sure we have kids in a good place for that.  

Email from a high achieving junior at MRHS:

Hi Mr. Burke, hope you are doing well. I know this transition to online schooling is new for everyone and at times it can be difficult but I am really shocked about the amount of work I'm being given. I understand that I am in some hard classes but I feel like I am doing more work than when I was in school. I know they want to keep us busy with a somewhat structured day but they also said it was supposed to be stress free, and for me that's not the case. I spend longer than a school day trying to do my assignments. Is this what online school is going to be like or should I talk to my teachers about it?

DESE COMMISSIONER'S WEEKLY UPDATE

Jim Birchfield has shared the district technology tools that teachers should be using with their students.  Google meet is our district supported conferencing platform to engage our students and colleagues.  Please DO NOT use Zoom or other technologies that are not supported by MRSD. 

Message from Jim Birchfield:

Just a gentle reminder to please refer all family technology requests directly to the Help Desk - help@monomoy.edu

If you are a teacher and a family reaches out to you for tech help, please tell them to submit a ticket directly to help@monomoy.edu and to include their contact information, student's name, and school.

Please do not submit tickets on behalf of families if at all possible. This slows down the process of resolving tickets, especially if the family contact information is not included.

So, give yourself a break and pass the tech support on to the technicians, they're eager to assist.

We very much appreciate all of your help and hard work in getting the families up and running with distance learning.

Thank you!

If you are sick or plan on being "absent" on any given day:

*Enter your absence on Subsonline
*Make sure you select "None Required" for a substitute
*There are no paper leave requests required at this time
*Let your students know if you have a google meet scheduled or work with a colleague/Instructional Leader to support you

If you have any questions regarding Subsonline (login, directions, etc.) please email Claire Hooper: chooper@monomoy.edu

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

Please continue to reach out to our admin team and we will continue to check in on you.  Each Friday from 8:30-9am (stop in anytime) we will be hosting a google meet "Swimming with the Sharks."  EVERYONE is invited!  Great way to stay connected and share :) 

MRHS's Innovative Internship Program

As our school opened it's doors 6 short years ago we had the vision to connect our students to the real world.  You could fit the number of students and community partners in a small office.  Today, nearly half our senior class has the opportunity for real-world experiences connecting with close to 30 community partnerships - learn more about this innovative and growing program HERE. 

MRHS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAY & WELCOME BACK CELEBRATION AGENDA!

5 QUICK THINGS! 

SIMPLICITY.CLARITY.PRIORITY

"If we focus our efforts on certain amply proven, essential actions, schools will improve dramatically." Michael Schmoker 

The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence...It demands each of us focus on what is vital-and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions." Jim Collins

WHAT IS TRULY "ESSENTIAL" FOR SCHOOLS?

The evidence/research points hard to 3 fundamental elements:

1. Reasonably Coherent Curriculum (What we teach): PLC Goals
2. Soundly Structured Lessons (How we teach): Great Teaching @MRHS
3. Large amounts of purposeful reading and writing in every discipline (Authentic literacy-integral to both what and how we teach): Literacy Team/Optional Goals 

-READ.WRITE.REASON.RELATE-

-RELATE-

IT STARTS WITH THE ADULTS 
"Recently, the only thing about our schools that the majority of faculty members could come to consensus on was that our plate is full."  Diane Kern

Teacher SNAPSHOT August 

Teacher SNAPSHOT March 

DISTRICT STRATEGIC PLAN

o   Expand Community Engagement and Partnerships by focusing on families' equity of access, increasing community involvement, and further embedding service-learning within the curriculum.

o   Strengthen Social and Emotional Well-Being through a deliberate focus on the development of healthy, supportive relationships and a fully integrated social-emotional learning curriculum.

o   Close the Achievement Gap by developing and implementing targeted instruction and supports to improve outcomes for the largest and most persistent achievement gaps.

o   Improve Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for All Learners by ensuring our collective practices are focused on students, preparing them for college, career, and life as members of both a local and global community.

Strategic Objective 2: Strengthen Social and Emotional Well-Being through a deliberate focus on the development of healthy, supportive relationships and a fully integrated social-emotional learning curriculum.
►We will achieve this through emphasizing student character development and resiliency and strengthening our school climate and culture.

MEET A FEW OF OUR STUDENTS

Treat EVERY student like they were your own

SHARK WEEK CHALLENGE!

WELCOME BACK!

8.26.19

As proud members of the Monomoy family, we enter into our 6th year as a highly successful school on the move.  I am excited to have everyone back Wednesday and look forward to another amazing and successful year!  Over the past five years, we have worked extremely hard developing a philosophy and collective commitment that our school is our "Home Away from Home."  Our beliefs and actions support a safe, welcoming and nurturing learning environment - "You Are Important" at Monomoy Regional High School!

Our entire school community united behind a set of agreed-upon core family values (see above) to live and learn by. Our school will continue to thrive as we place a strong emphasis on the value of each individual in our school. This includes students, staff, parents/guardians, community members, and visitors.

We are excited to be able to assess our progress in implementing and living our core values and beliefs. This year our school welcomes the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) October 27th through October 30th. The NEASC Commission on Public Schools accredits K-12 public schools. NEASC assists public schools through an ongoing cycle of self-reflection, peer review, school improvement, and monitoring to ensure all students experience a high-quality education.

We look forward to engaging our school community in this process and sharing the commission's findings.

**We are in the process of planning a one of a kind welcome for our NEASC guests on Sunday, October 27, 2019, and would love our staff's support in attending this important kickoff to the visit.  Mark your calendars.  More details to come.**

I look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday to begin our important work - Fall is coming! 

Bill

August 28 & August 29, 2019 Agenda

I'd like to give a huge shark shout out to our amazing custodial team!  Our crew worked extremely hard over the summer to allow us to return to a beautifully maintained, clean and welcoming environment.  The school looks as good as it did the day we moved in 6 years ago.  The pride our team has in keeping our school in pristine condition is to be commended.  Please thank our custodians when you see them this week. 

Welcome Our New Superstar Staff! Click HERE

2019.20 Schedule

*Teachers: we will be making an announcement reminder 5 minutes before each meeting to report to the Auditorium

FACULTY HANDBOOK

**Our Faculty Handbook is a convenient way for our staff to find the answers to many questions in the daily operation of our school - our staff and administration created this wonderful document to make life easier for us.  Please bookmark this link!

Looking for Teachers To Represent Our School Council:

We look to build a strong school advisory council this year to guide our important work. A school council is a representative, school building-based committee that meets quarterly and is composed of the principal, parents, teachers, community members, and students. School councils are to assist principals in:

1. Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards

2. Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school

3. Reviewing the annual school building budget

4. Formulating a school improvement plan

5. Reviewing the student handbook

If you are interested please send an email message Bill at bburkhead@monomoy.edu indicating your interest in serving on the school council.

MRHS Shark Sightings Post 15 4.3.18

Today's Faculty Meeting Agenda 4.3.18

How Pineapple Charts Revolutionize Professional Development

The article of the week is a great lead in to today's surprise at our faculty meeting!! 

Observation/Evaluation Information:

Just a friendly reminder that the upcoming due date for ALL TEACHERS to submit EVIDENCE is FRIDAY, APRIL 13th. Please upload your relevant evidence to TeachPoint.

VERY IMPORTANT ......

1) NPTS and Educators in YEAR 2 of the 2-YEAR CYCLE are required to submit evidence on GOALS & STANDARDS 3 & 4B.   While not required, feel free to also submit EVIDENCE pertaining to STANDARDS I & II as your EVALUATOR will be assessing you on ALL 

    STANDARDS.

2) Educators in YEAR 1 of the 2-YEAR CYCLE need only submit EVIDENCE regarding both GOALS.

Please reach out to your Evaluator should you have questions and or concerns. Under separate cover from Mr. Martin you will be receiving the EVIDENCE TEMPLATES  to summarize and organize your evidence. Complete the template APPROPRIATE to your status and upload it along with your actual EVIDENCE.

Monomoy Evidence Document Year 1 of 2

Monomoy Evidence Document NPTS and Year 2 of 2

I wanted to thank everyone for your efforts in reaching out to students and fellow colleagues with a 620 card!  The best parts of my day is witnessing and hearing stories from students, parents and staff who have experienced giving or receiving a 620 card.  Enthusiasm is free and it is contagious, but so is negativity.  Our school prides itself on daily focus on the former.  A student (Sophie Clingan) came to me with the idea of having the back of the card allow space for personal notes - that has become a big hit.  We have plenty of cards, so let's continue to look for reasons to acknowledge, thank and appreciate each other.  Feel free to share your 620 story with me for the Friday Focus or tweet it out at #MRHS620 

The Google for Education newsletter Issue IX, 2018

This Just In Our Latest Research: Tailoring Education for 21st Century Learners Read about our latest research findings with the Economist Intelligence Unit: we surveyed 1,200 teachers and administrators in 16 countries to understand how to prepare learners for a changing economy. Researchers found that using a variety of teaching styles helps to better students’ development, that technology is best when it promotes communication, and that budget constraints are the most common barrier to innovation. Read the full post here. Bring the Magic of Harry Potter Right to your Classroom Google Arts & Culture has partnered with the British Library to bring the magic of Harry Potter to the classroom. This online version of a Harry Potter exhibit includes the series’ original illustrations, a history of witchcraft and wizardry, fantastical beasts, and much more. You can view over 190 items and 10 exhibits right on the Google Arts & Culture site. Step aboard the Hogwarts Express here. The Certified Innovator 2018 Academy Dates Are Here The Google for Education Certified Innovator Program cohort dates are now available! Join us for three days at a Google office to work with the most innovative leaders in education and tackle your challenges together. The dates are: #AMS18 Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Dutch) May 30- June 1 #LAX18 Venice, California, USA (English) July 9-11 #SPA18 Madrid, Spain (Spanish) October 4-6 #DEN18 Copenhagen, Denmark (English) November 14-16 #MEX18 Mexico City, Mexico (Spanish) December 5-7 Applications require Google for Education Level 2 Certification as well as a video highlighting your history of innovation and a challenge you currently face. Learn more here. Teacher Tools Check out Katie Morton’s Youtube channel for accessible mental health videos for difficult conversations with students! Videos include topics like how to talk to children about school shootings and how to talk about anxiety and depression. Trusted PD Partner, Kiker Learning, worked with Inglewood Elementary School teachers to develop a special learning journey for ESL students. Using tools like Google Slides, Expeditions, and Google Maps, ESL students were able explore their new home country and visit their old homes, then explain in English how it felt to be an ESL student in the US. Check out this video for the full story. Administrator's Corner Ideas for Transformation School leaders across the globe are implementing creative and impactful strategies to transform their schools. Check out these recent submissions to the Google for Education Transformation Center: Rethinking Report Card Conferences - Students lead the way Transforming Prosper through Digital Innovation Tech Buddies: Building technology skills and relationships Automated City Model using Voice Controls demonstrating the Internet Of Things Are you helping to lead holistic change in your school? Share your ideas! Engaging Families in Digital Learning The Chromebook team has partnered with the National PTA to develop digital learning programming for parents and caregivers. During the National PTA's "Take Your Family to School Week," we hit the road and held pilot events at five schools across the country. Learn more here or contact us about hosting a Digital Learning event at your school! Tips & Tricks from Educators Using Sites and Forms for Staff Feedback “We've used a combination of Sites, Forms and Sheets to provide ‘dashboards’ for our staff. Each staff member has a personal Google Site that acts as their one stop shop for CPD, monitoring and evidencing. Senior leaders can fill in a Google Form during lesson observations, which is then fed into a Google Sheet shared on the teacher’s dashboard. This allows teachers to immediately access feedback and areas for improvement. The system is very personalized - it's replaced a system that cost several thousand pounds a year and has made big improvements to our school.” - Phil Jones, Pool Academy (@poolacademynews) Using Slides to Create Digital Science Notebooks “My students’ science notebooks are completely digital. I create their assignments in Google Slides and make a copy for each student. I use different graphics, including emojis, to engage the students more. After their work is submitted, I print it out on cardstock. My room is decorated with beautiful slides, and the students are motivated to turn in great work to have it hung up in the classroom.” - Robert Fischetto, JHS 131- NYC Department of Education (@mrfisch55) Have a tip to share with other educators? Submit this short form to let us know your best tricks and ideas, and you might be featured in a future Google for Education newsletter or video. Save the Date March 28 Join our Digital Media Literacy Webinar Tune in at 1 pm ET on March 28 for a webinar with Google for Education and Frontier on digital media literacy. The webinar will cover tips on building a strong 21st century curriculum and preparing students for jobs of the future. Register here. Recess See how Google and Pratham Books are helping children learn to read around the world Google.org and StoryWeaver Help Children Read in Any Language Educators around the world want to help children learn to read, but 40% of the world’s children don’t have access to education materials in a language they understand. To help close these gaps, Google.org gave more than $4 million to Pratham Books to create their StoryWeaver platform, a free, multilingual open source digital library. The platform includes thousands of stories in over 100 languages to help students access books in their language. Check out the YouTube video and blog post to learn more. Missed an issue of the Google for Education newsletter? Check out past issues here.