The Academy Weekly Memo: December 4-8, 2023

 

Together: "The power of a caring teacher can be felt for a lifetime."-Deidre Roemer, Superintendent of South Milwaukee Schools

I. Praise and Thanks: 

• Thanks to Barbara Lewis, Alix Denny, Joy Hickman, Suzanne Smith, Kori Trainor, and Allison Phelps for all participating on the teacher panel for the Advisory Board Meeting. I appreciate them taking time from their respective busy schedules. They all exemplified the Portrait element of "being willing to be a part of something that is different and innovative."
• Thanks to Marla Cantrell for her sincere leadership in organizing the Angel Tree. I appreciate Marla exemplifying the Portrait element of "seeing possibilities instead of limitations" in serving our mini-Mountaineers. 
• Thanks to Jazz Brown for securing a new community partner for the Academy. I appreciate Jazz exemplifying the Portrait element of "believing that all children can learn and should have equitable access to knowledge."

II. This Week's Events: 

Monday, December 4

• 8:15 a.m.-Leadership Team Weekly Planning Meeting-Room 301
• 3:00 p.m.-Solutions Summit-Media Center
• The 2-3 Grade Span Team will meet at planning to review probes.

Tuesday, December 5

• Student Teachers: Last Day
• 3:00 p.m.-SIT Meeting-Media Center
• The K-1 & 4-5 Grade Span Teams will meet at their respective planning times to review probes.

Wednesday, December 6

• 9:00 a.m.-Care Team Meeting
• 12:00 p.m.-Hiker of the Week Names Due to Darron Daniels
• All teachers are to begin administer ALL grade level probes to each student in their Reading Workshop Groups during scheduled Reading Workshop times.

Thursday, December 7

• Progress Reports Go Home with Students
• 7:15-8:00 a.m.-Mountaineer Mingle-Media Center
• 8:00 a.m.-Schoolwide Morning Meeting
• 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.-Mt. Airy City School Team Visits the Academy
• 3:00 p.m.-Mentor Check-In with Heather Wham

Friday, December 8: Book Character Day-School Spirit Theme Day

• Dr. Dan Poling & Dr. Chris Van Loan of App State Visit for De-Escalating Behavior PD
• 8:30-9:25 a.m.-4-5/Evans
• 9:30-10:15 a.m.-Specialists/McDonough/Black
• 10:20-11:05 a.m.-K-1/Reynolds/McKenzie
• 11:10-11:55 a.m.-2-3
• 1:45-2:30 p.m.-Leadership Team/Care Team
• Enrichment Friday Featured Activities-
• 4-H Club Visit with Kindergarten
• Jamie Parson of App State Office of Diversity Monthly Read Aloud

III. Updates and Reminders:

A. DIBELS and Reading Workshop Updates:

• Dr. Snow sent an important email last week with the subject entitled "DIBELS and Reading Workshop Updates." 
• If you have not read that email, then please be sure to do so immediately. 
• This week, grade level teams will meet during planning (see email or above for schedule times) to train/review how to administer progress monitoring probes. EC and ML teachers are to choose one of those planning times to review those probes. 
• Starting this Wednesday, all teachers are to administer all grade level probes to each student in reading workshop. 
• It is vital that we are all following the proper procedures for administering these probes, analyzing the data, and adjusting reading workshop groups/plans. 
• All hands are on deck for this student-centered movement. 

B. Soundbar Schedule Installs:

• Click here for the Soundbar installation schedule. It will take place 12/4-12/6. 
• The only thing that you will need to do/know after the soundbars are installed is you will adjust the volume on the board by using the knob on the side of the soundbar. All other board functionality will remain the same.
• Please contact Matt Cooke if you have any questions. 

C. De-Escalating Behavior PD This Friday:

• This Friday, we have scheduled mandatory professional development for De-Escalating Behavior. 
• Curriculum Coaches have reached out to teachers to gather specific needs for Drs. Poling and Van Loan of App State to facilitate this PD. 
• Members of the Teacher Leadership Cadre are to plan to be on campus this Friday and attend your respective scheduled time for the De-Escalating PD. The Teacher Leadership Cadre work is asynchronous and can be completed individually. 
• The De-Escalating Behavior PD is designed to support our student-centered efforts and a great opportunity for us to learn new strategies to support our mini-Mountaineers.

D. Book Character Day This Friday:

• We have another Spirit Theme Day on the horizon for this Friday. Thank you to all who participated in the Student/Teacher. 
• This Friday is Book Character Day. Let's all get in the fun with this and share our love for reading for our mini-Mountaineers! 

E. Upcoming Dates

• Here's what I shared with teachers during the PBL PD on Friday. I wanted to place here so that all are aware of what was shared regarding upcoming dates: 

• December 8: De-Escalating Behavior PD

• December 15: This will be a modified Enrichment Friday. Teachers are to be in planning and PLTs from 8:15-11:15 a.m. Teachers are to return to their students at 11:15 a.m. and remain with them for the duration of the day. There will be no clubs on this day. This is the last day of school before Winter Break and this will accommodate any winter/holiday, standards-aligned fun activities. 

• December 18-20: These are teacher workdays. All faculty/staff (except for Substitute Teachers) may opt to work from home during this time. If not, then you may take leave if you have it accrued. Please email both Melanie Hicks-Lane and Sean Gaillard by December 15 to notify of plans. The building will be open from 6:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on those days. 

• January 2: This is a teacher workday. All faculty and staff are to return on this day after Winter Break. This is an opportunity to work in classrooms, co-plan, and work in PLTs. There will be some type of faculty meeting/PD on this day as well. 

• January 5: This will be a regular day of instruction due to the short week. There will be no Enrichment Friday activities or clubs on this day. 

F. App State Forsyth Alumni ToyDrive:

• The App State Forsyth Alumni Chapter is sponsoring a toy drive for our mini-Mountaineers. 
• They are hosting an event at JuggHeads in Winston-Salem on Thursday, December 14 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. Click here for more details. 
• We are invited to attend. It would be great if we have solid representation from AMF to show our gratitude. This group has been working hard behind the scenes to support our mini-Mountaineers. 

G. Vector Training: Mental Health Modules 

• The required mental health module is due December 15. 
• All Academy at Middle Fork employees are required to complete these important modules. 
• Click here for the link to access the modules. 

H. Mountaineer Morning Mingle

• We are hosting a parent/guardian outreach event on December 7. 
• Please be sure to see the email from Darron Daniels regarding a new parent/guardian outreach event we are implementing at the Academy. The "Why" behind this event is to invite families into our school to receive school information, learning sessions, and connect with community organizations. 
• Breakfast is being provided by Chick-Fil-A for our families who attend.
• Darron provided parking directions for everyone as this event is taking place on 7:15-8:00 a.m. 

I. Solutions Summit This Monday

• We are having another Solutions Summit scheduled for this Monday at 3:00 p.m. in the Media Center. 
• The topic for this event is the Master Schedule. 
• All are invited to share ideas and solutions regarding our Master Schedule. 
• Coach Phelps is facilitating this session.