The administrative team has thoroughly enjoyed our start to the school year, visiting classes, holding town hall meetings with our students and reconnecting with our school family. I shared in my opening day comments that I’d like our focus this year to be on reflection and improvement. We have established a thriving learning culture here at MRHS and will be guided by our new core values. It is important we place strong emphasis on the use of data to reflect on our instruction, guide us in growing as educators, and adjust instruction to improve student learning. A prime example is our student learning goals for this year. We need to ensure the goals are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time bound) and that we have data to support student learning growth and successful completion of our goals.
I firmly believe in what I am calling the "620" rule. We have 620 students currently enrolled in our school- we need many eyeballs on ALL of them. They are ALL important. They ALL matter.
Some Helpful Hints:
“Each lesson should have clear learning expectations, should engage students in critical thinking & have enough differentiation to support the range of learners in the classroom.”
Scott Carpenter
In my visits to all classrooms during the first week I've already witnessed evidence of clear learning objectives posted on the board, along with essential questions and agendas for the class. Teachers proactively shared and referred back to the learning objectives with students and checked for understanding throughout and at the end of the lesson to ascertain whether kids "got it." I encourage all teachers to do this and encourage you to check in with those teachers that are for support, or feel free to see me.
Focus on the following questions when devising lessons & building Professional Learning Communities:
- What should all students know and be able to learn? (STANDARDS)
- How will they know and how will you know they have learned this knowledge and these skills? (EVIDENCE)
- How do we respond when students DO NOT LEARN what we have taught them? (DIFFERENTIATION AND INTERVENTIONS)
- What do we do when students ALREADY KNOW what we are about to teach? (DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTENSIONS)
Staff Grading Policy Guidelines:
Last year our grading policy committee worked hard and developed a Grading Policy Guideline Document (*see below), which was approved by our teaching staff. This document is based on research and best practices. I highly recommend teachers use it.
- Post Grading Policy for your students in classroom and online:
Your policies might include, but are not limited to:
- category percentages or point system
- opportunities for improvement
- retake policy
- late work policy
- extra credit
- consider minimum failing score of 50% for attempted assessments
- drop lowest score
- alternative assignments
- Provide students with timely feedback
- Homework is not to exceed 20% of total grade (MRHS policy)
- Aspen is a current tool for teachers to use in order to communicate with students and parents. Codes (MIS code, comment box, etc.) effectively help to communicate student performance.
As part of the evaluation process, we will begin by conducting one short announced visit to see you in action with your students. We will be contacting you to establish a convenient time for this announced visit. If you’d like us to visit your class before we contact you please let us know and we'd be happy to visit at your convenience.
We want to make our time visiting your classroom a learning experience for the observer and observee. We would be happy to be a useful “second pair of eyes,” providing you feedback on on your lesson and any particular focus you’d like us to assist you with. We may pre and/or post-conference to discuss the lesson if you’d like.
Our goal as an administrative team is to meet with each of our teachers at least once during the year to check in. We’d like to discuss your goals, instruction, use of data, and how we can support your growth as a teacher.
In an effort to be in classes more often, we will also be dropping by to visit classes as much as possible to say hi and get to know our students and enjoy your teaching and student interactions. We look forward to learning with, and from you.
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. Review the student handbook
If you are interested please send an email message principal Burkhead at bburkhead@monomoy.edu
We are pleased to share our very first MRHS Faculty Handbook Guide. This document was a result of the collaborative work of our faculty, staff and administration in an effort to make life easier through establishing a 1 stop shop for just about everything you need at MRHS. Thank you Katie Kelly for spending several hours collecting the information and creating the document!
SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS!
Last year our administrative team thoroughly enjoyed catching up with our terrific staff over some coffee and breakfast snacks on Fridays. We'd like to continue this tradition and invite you to stop by to share any concerns, say hi, or enjoy time with colleagues. See schedule below:
Friday's
September 22nd
October 13th
October 27th
November 17th
December 8th
December 22nd
January 12th
January 26th
February 9th
February 16th
March 9th
March 23rd
April 13th
April 27th
May 11th
May 25th
June 8th
Officer John Mitchell and SRO Tom Clarke will present school safety assemblies for students during Jawsome this week. 8th and 9th grade students will meet in the auditorium on Wednesday, 9/13 at 11:41 and students in grades 10-12 on Thursday, 9/14 at 12:08. A ConnectEd message will go home to parents today. Additionally, an announcement from the main office will be made prior to the assemblies on each day. Please adjust your Jawsome activities accordingly.
New Staff Members:
I hope this finds you energized and loving Monomoy High School !! "YOU ARE IMPORTANT" and as new staff members we want to support you in all ways possible. Remember our complementary motto, " MRHS - Our Home Away From Home". In order to live and breathe both of these tenets, Mr. Martin and I will be hosting all of you the last Friday of each month, during Jawsome Hour, for a 55 minute working lunch to connect, share, enlighten, educate and have some fun !!
Meeting Dates (location --- A-202):
September 28, 2017 (Thursday ... the only exception to the Friday dates)
October 27, 2017
November 17, 2017
December 22, 2017
January 26, 2018
February 16, 2018
March 23, 2018
April 27, 2018
May 25, 2018
June 15, 2018
Please plan accordingly by adjusting your Jawsome Hour schedule so that you are available on the above dates. Our meetings will be held in A-202. Lunch WILL be provided !! The focus of the 1st meeting will be the Educator Appraisal Process and TeachPoint. Please come with questions and we will come prepared to provide a nuts and bolts overview, answer your questions, provide tips, templates and all the more to make you feel as comfortable as possible with this process.
We want these meetings to be pertinent and valuable !! We will always be soliciting suggestions regarding topics you would like to be discussed. I will also be collecting specific input from last year`s new staff as to the "Top 5 Need To Knows For New Staff" as well as " I Wish I Had Known This ...". Look forward to our 1st meeting on SEPTEMBER 28th !!! Have a Fintastic Day !! Janie
The American Red Cross is looking for schools to help give back for Veterans Day. We are looking for students to make Veterans Day cards so that we may distribute them on Veterans Day to VA hospitals, military bases etc. Please see the attached file (above) for more information and respond back so that I can document that you will be participating. If you have any questions about the project, please don’t hesitate to email or give me a call.
If you would please respond with the schools that are participating in the program.
Thank you for your time.
Nicholas C. Golden
Southeast Community Lead
American Red Cross – Service To Armed Forces
Phone: (774)-454-9955
Email: Nick.Golden@RedCross.org
MakeUseOf | Whether you are teaching a class, giving a lecture, creating a tutorial, or running a training session, these PowerPoint templates are perfect. Some give you tables, charts, and diagrams while others give you a simple educational theme for your situation.
Whole Kids Foundation: School Garden Grant Program
The Whole Kids Foundation is dedicated to supporting schools and inspiring families to improve children’s nutrition and wellness. The Foundation's School Garden Grant Program provides support for edible gardens at K-12 schools in the U.S. and Canada. These grants of $2,000 are awarded to schools as well as nonprofit organizations working in partnership with schools. Consideration is given to new or existing garden projects at any stage of development that help children engage with fresh fruits and vegetables. The application process for both U.S. and Canadian projects opens on September 1, 2017. U.S. applications must be submitted by October 31, 2017; Canadian applications are due November 15, 2017. Visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about the program.
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