Happy Halloween from Winfield Middle School

Winfield Middle School Parent Blog

10/31/16

Our Annual Costume Social at the Middle School follows another AC LAB Challenge

Room to spare for this Limbo Contestant at the Costume Social!

Coach with the Ultimate photobomb!

In the Winner’s Circle for the Second Year in a row!

Well done, Ice Cream Cone and The Hunger Games.

Why post our goals?

Why publish those goals?

Why share them with others?

What family, personal or financial goals have you made?

1st things 1st

Middle School Students try their best “engaged” face! Yet this science lab was ultra-engaging, with everybody up and doing something hands on. Mixing, measuring and molding to explore characteristics of compounds

2. When does “helping” actually hurt?

This article shared by our superintendent reveals a snapshot of the perspective of our leadership, articulating a point of view, thoughts and perspectives on reaching our student body with an emphasis on traditional procedures and alternative methods. Our students need the very best we can give them as they head to their future.

 

...And their best “serious” face!

3. Another SNAPSHOT according to School Digger

The numbers at the dots are as follows:

2009 16.7

2010 18.5

2011 6.7

2012 17

2013 7.9

2014 5.7

2015 6.9

2016 16.7

The year listed is followed by the percent of schools in the state we exceed. #Gettingbetter

Nicely done! Yes, last year, www.schooldigger.com increased our scores and ratings. Major contributions in math and among the cohorts progressing through the building and a tighter bell shaped curve for us demonstrated increased consistency in the building and among each grade. Well done, everyone.

Even Art Class at Winfield even involves snacks!

4. Reflections from our PD Tuesday

Last week, during Fall Break, the teachers of Winfield School District all met together on Tuesday, before the students returned. They spent the day exploring and being trained various approaches for technology in the classroom. Watching our middle school team of teachers and staff work together, demonstrated understanding, technological prowess, and support for the entire district. Our middle school staff members encouraged and reinforced their leadership, fortitude and persistence. They really are #thoseteachers at #thatschool for #everystudent. They have embraced so many things in the past few years. Technology, PBiS, Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions, MAP testing, hardware and software and Chromebooks to name a few. There is nothing they can’t do! I am also encouraged by their progress in planning, organizing and developing the curriculum. Many even spend days of their summer in uninterrupted #nextlevel work as well. Who said, “Teachers get 3 months off?”

5. Schedule

Monday

• Halloween - No costumes at school, please

Tuesday

• Climate and Culture

Wednesday

• Early Release day

Thursday

• First Basketball Games at Home and Away against Elsberry  
• Girls, here, starting at 5:00  
• Boys, there, starting at 5:30

Friday

• 7th Grade Girls and Boys host Van Far - 5:00 start time

Ongoing/Upcoming

• Brunswick - Round Two -Nov 9th for 8th & 9th graders
• November 16 Early Release theme
• Hey Parents, stay tuned for a resurgence in our Middle School PTO
• We will also strive to develop a Graphic Calendar for inclusion in our blog as well

Seriously:

Watching our team of Middle School Teachers work, share, interact, collaborate, cooperate and inspire each other continuously impresses me. Watching the students with their generous hearts, kind spirits and cooperative attitudes reflects the solid quality upbringing in households throughout Winfield. From the comments and interactions with parents at events and practices, to the way folks step up to help each other, to so many positive remarks and notes of encouragement, to the daily lunchtime conversations, this community is becoming home. As only a 7 year veteran, I will always feel like “the new guy.” Regardless, I am proud and privileged to play that minor role. In fact, last Thursday I was supervising lunches with 300 of my favorite people, (students) and I had an epiphany. I realized how fortunate I am to be able to serve this community of families, community and staff. Corporately, we all blend within our diversity and even though we don't all agree on everything, we model tolerance and acceptance for each other and the children like few other settings or environments. These insights combined with the encouragement from supervising lunch periods continues to increase our compassion for these students.

Thank you for allowing us to serve your students,

Tom McCracken

School Appropriate PJs??? We"ll see about that!

Red Ribbon Week, right before Halloween!

Short Week Schedule

Oct 26-28

Winfield Parent Blog

10-26-2016

Our Halloween Social is Friday, right after school.

Students may BRING costumes to school, store them until after, then change for the Costume Social right after school.

A few refreshments will be available.

This week is Red Ribbon Week, with The Halloween Social on Friday after the AC LAB Challenge.

Is this what "they" think about Middle School?

 Does the movie = real life?

Watching the trailer will give you the basic idea of the movie…

The Principal is VERY PARTICULAR about the Rules!

Wednesday

• Basketball practices going on all week.

• Follow your Dreams - Wear PJs  (Yes, we said it was ok to wear “School Appropriate” PJs)

Thursday

• Don’t let drugs MIX you up - Wear mixed up outfits
• 6th Grade - ELA Planning Day
• Football Banquet in the Commons at 5:30

Friday

• RED-Y to live a drug free life. Wear RED
• (No Halloween Costumes during the day but they may change into them after school for the Social Event!)
• Ac Lab Assembly - 2:00ish/8th hour
• Students to take things to the Gym
• October Halloween Social Right after school in commons until 4:45

Ongoing/Upcoming

• Early Release PD - Nov 2
• Jay Reese
• Scott Taylor
• First Aid for Coaches
• Poverty / Reading Connection
• SMART Goal
• Pick Three
• Brunswick - Round Two -Nov 9th for 8th & 9th
• November 16 Early Release theme
• Poverty
• Reading

BRUNSWICK 2016

After raising scores or earning Proficient or Advanced, students enjoyed a trip to Brunswick XL Zone for Laser Tag, Bowling, Pizza, and an Arcade Card for prizes and loot!

Was it worth it? YEP!

Great Tiaras won at Brunswick!

Everybody wants in on the the #photobomb…

Any Given Day at WMS...

Think about all the things that are going on at the Middle School and consider what else we do to try and help students learn. Are there things we should be doing instead? Activities that should cease? New things that should replace these?

• eValuate/MAP Incentives like Brunswick
• Parent / Teacher Conferences
• Fundraising
• Chromebooks for All*
• MobyMax for all*
• eValuate for all,
• Results Review
• Newspapers in Education*
• Data Walls*
• NEE Teacher Evaluations
• Units of Instruction
• Lesson Plans
• Word Walls*
• Lesson Plans
• Readers/Writers Workshop
• Student Self Reported Grades*
• Teacher Support
• Collaborative Work Grant
• Math Consultants*
• ELA Trainers*
• Teacher Collaboration
• Block Scheduling in ELA
• Binder Content Meetings
• Parent Positive Postcards Home*
• PBiS
• Collaboration Days
• Pepsi (& Pizza*) with the Principal
• * New this year

8. Start, Stop and Continue???

• What should we stop doing?
• What should we start doing?
• What should we continue doing?

We are in a great spot. We have so many things going on here at the Middle School. From the basic list above, we have so many great things identified. Our quest now is to determine the difference between the good things, the great things and those we could push off the front burner.

After claiming “We have great soft skills,” the realization of my bigotry began to clarify and focus on the deeper meaning for me! By saying that, am I excluding our academic focus? Do I not expect students to reach the same benchmarks as others? Is the quote, “We’re only Winfield” subliminally hiding a message of lower expectations? Last week, we wrote about lower expectations and soft bigotry. Is that where we are as a building?

It almost reminds me of the quote heard when dating, “Great personality!”  This loosely translated mean the prospect was fun, easy to be around and possibly even entertaining, but lacked the physical attractiveness of the speaker and therefore was not held in high esteem! By selling someone short, we never get to see the real potential! In my shallow, self-centered perceptions, what am I missing?

Is that what my leadership is doing? Do I not expect enough? Does my focus on behavior preclude any academic gains? How can I rethink, reflect and focus on another component of education? ACADEMICS!

Serving Students and Staff of Winfield School District at the Middle School,

Tom McCracken

Striving towards #onthemap at WMS

This Week at Winfield Middle School:

Conferences,

Brunswick,

and Fall Break.

What works at Winfield Middle School!

October 17, 2016

What is our biggest battle?

Here in Winfield, what do we struggle with the most? Where do we find ourselves saying “If only…?”

Is there something we could “fix” to make us happy?

Anyone who has ever faced a battle knows those answers are hard to articulate!

 At Winfield Middle School, we want #thoseteachers to serve #everystudent creating #thatschool. We use all these tools to get there! Where do you see yourself fitting into that equation?

We see parents as the backbone, the foundation and the key element of holding students to the highest standards, keeping a vigilant watch on their behavior, applying tough love when necessary and improving the future by using discipline today.

Heading away from “It’s only Winfield” to #onthemap.

Our very favorite single wish must be: READING!

Even if a student says “I don't like to read” it really means, “I haven't found something I like, yet!”  

Encourage them and keep trying.

It will happen, but not naturally. They will struggle, and that is all the more reason to stay with it. Their future depends on what WE ALL do today!

Remember F.A.I.L. stands for:

First

Attempt

In

Learning

Keep Pressing!

Here is our Schedule for next week!

BUS SAFETY WEEK

This poster won last year’s contest.

Over 80,000 posters were printed and have been distributed.

We even have some at our school.

Sponsored by http://www.napt.org/resources/national-school-bus-safety-week.php

Monday

• Basketball practices for boys and girls this week
• Night 1 Parent Teacher Conferences  -
• Teachers will be in teams, placed throughout the building to assist parents in navigation
• 6th Grade in Ms Cosby’s Room
• Math Teachers in Room 300
• Social Studies in Mr. Davis’ Room
• SPED - As needed
• Science in Mr. Utlaut’s room
• Physical Education in the east end of cafeteria
• English Language Arts across from the Science Rooms
• Electives teachers have signups outside their doors and will be at the high school

Wednesday

• Brunswick for 6th & 7th graders
• Students will come to school, gather assignments for the day and then head to Brunswick. Many of these students have improved their grades enough to earn this type of reward for the first time. Others, typically scoring advanced or proficient make up the rest of the group. All together, we have over 100 going on this FIRST EVER BRUNSWICK TRIP
• We leave about 9:30.
• They will open just for us.
• Bowling for 1 ½ hours
• Laser Tag
• Play through with their $5 Arcade Card
• Pizza & Soda Lunch
• Return by 12:30
• Night 2 Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday

• Like a Friday, with no school for a few days.

Friday

• Fall Break - No School

Monday

• Fall Break - No School

Tuesday

• No Students - Teacher Professional Development Day

Ongoing/Upcoming

• Brunswick  - ROUND TWO - Nov 9th
• We will take the 8th and 9th graders on their MAP incentive trip in the second round
• November 16 Early Release themes - At the middle school, we will be looking at improving reading.
• Red Ribbon Week

October 26, 27 & 28
Wed/26th- “Follow your Dreams” Wear PJ’s
Thurs/27th - “Don’t Let Drugs MIX You Up” Wear crazy mixed up clothes                      

Fri/28th- “Red-y to Live a Drug Free Life” Wear

Thanks for adding to those big white plastic Y2K tubs in front of buildings! They are for winter clothes and coats!

Share the love, share the warmth and share the extra clothes and winter items with those less fortunate and get into a game for free. Winter will be upon us before we know it!

What we have all been waiting for… MAP Scores

Our math shows improvement across all grades and Algebra

ELA Scores

ELA is growing cohorts as each grade travels through the building, from 6th, to 7th to 8th grade.

Science Index Score

Science took back some losses but only tests in 5th and 8th grades.

Above, we see three pairs of graphs.

The first graph in a set of two is a relative score that adds up how well we score compared to every other school in the state of Missouri. The percents of each score are tallied, combining all students:  Below Basic, Basic, Proficient and Advanced. The highest score is 500.

The second chart is just how many students are in the proficient or advanced category. The state uses this indicator as well when determining what schools need extra attention, support and development. The highest score is 100.

Building Summary

This single chart lays out an overview of our school.

SCHOOLDIGGER.COM

https://www.schooldigger.com/ shares this data in user friendly formats without as much detail of information as presented by DESE. By looking at trends, indicators and overall factors, SchoolDigger has in fact raised our status 137 points in their index score. Look there for more data, results and ranking ideas.

#onthemap

What can we all do together?

FOR ELA

Help students read and read better.

Encourage them in reading, to ask questions and allow for failure and redos!

Ask lots of questions about their reading.

Don’t use reading or writing as punishment.

Instead, allow reading to be a privilege or responsibility and something we need to practice at to get better.

FOR MATH

Improve their number sense. Talk about speed, rate and time when traveling.  

(At 60 mph, how far would you travel in 15 minutes?)

Talk about change, sale prices and money when shopping.

(How much would that video game cost if it was 25% off $40?)

Ask Siri or google questions as often as they come up.

Start a savings account!

In the Classroom...

PBiS: 8 Effective Classroom Practices

1. Classroom Expectations
2. Classroom Procedures
3. Encouraging Expected Behaviors
4. Discouraging Inappropriate Behaviors
5. Active Supervision
6. Opportunities to Respond
7. Sequencing and Choices
8. Task Appropriateness

Does it work? Most any system works, as long as there is consistency and follow through from all.

This chart demonstrates our current focus on the minors and addressing things through The Warrior Way, Reteaching, Buddy Rooms and Reflection sheets. By concentrating on the minors, we strive to minimize the number of majors. Early data tends to verify this relationship.

Some Middle School steps to reach our goals:

• MAP Incentive Brunswick - Oct 19th for 6th and 7th graders
• Nov 9th for 8th and 9th graders
• Parent / Teacher Conferences 10/17 & 10/19 for the Middle School
• Fundraising
• Chromebooks for All*
• MobyMax for all*
• eValuate
• Newspapers in Education*
• Data Walls*
• NEE Teacher Evaluations
• Units of Instruction
• Lesson Plans
• Word Walls*
• Student Self Reported Grades*
• Teacher Support
• Collaborative Work Grant
• Math Consultants*
• ELA Trainers*
• Teacher Collaboration
• Block Scheduling in ELA
• Binder Content Meetings
• Parent Positive Postcards Home*
• PBiS
• Collaboration Days
• Pepsi (& Pizza*) with the Principal
• * New this year

BMX Motocross in our gym with the Primary students

Our fundraisers have been so successful that we could bring in these motorcross BMX Trick Riders. We have brought Knockerball, Basketball Trickshot Artists and ???

Asking for those orders teaches the students responsibility, allows them to talk to adults, supports their learning, fun and motivation, and even earns them special prizes, fun and adventures!

Student Reported Grades, Data Walls, Anchor Charts & Word Walls

Not just for English Class, most rooms of the Middle School now have Word Walls and Data Walls. Reminding our student of how far they have come, what they have learned and what high expectations can do for them is often just enough encouragement to help them set goals, work hard and reach beyond their personal limits! Growth, progress and getting better permeates all walks of life.

Sincerely,

Tom McCracken