Jan 23, 2017
Second Semester Progress Reports are coming later today
The Game of Life!
Lessons from the Middle School
Working with these students, they could be practicing anything from serving coffee, to counting money, laundry, shopping, cooking food, and other skills necessary for life. Above, they are appreciating the Lincoln County Retired Teachers Association for their endorsement and funding of the Keurig machine. Once again, a staff member went above and beyond, and now our students benefit from those efforts!
Thank you Ms. Dahlia.
What are our areas of focus at the Middle School?
Attendance, Achievement, and Behavior
Middle School Attendance
Fundraisers
Fundraisers allow us to do few extra little things for students throughout the day.
At lunch, a few (10-20) students have received a little sample treat from our fundraiser guy, Rick.
These really are some of the best chocolates available.
The students are selling these to raise funds for various activities, like Knockerball last year…
Motivation flows from students when teachers use relevant materials to present rigorous content based on relationships.
We really do have to reach them to teach them!
Focus on the Minors to Reduce the Majors
Schedule for Jan 23rd - 27th
Monday
- Valentine's Day Chocolate Fundraiser all week
Tuesday
- Board of Education Meeting at Central Office at 6:30pm
- Highlights include the Student Work Sample
- Student of the month candidates
Thursday
- Chess Club in Mr. Utlaut’s room
Here’s a fun #TBT pic from an attendance contest last year
Friday
- Valentine's Day Chocolate Fundraiser concludes -
Upcoming/ Ongoing items:
- Yearbook sales window - Jan 23rd - Feb 17th
- Harlem Wizards at TBHS, Feb 19th @ 2:00 pm
Nice work Ms. Gross!
Word of the month:
“FAIRNESS”
Trying to stay as brief as possible, I wanted to reiterate on ALL the positive I see throughout the community: authentic praise, sincere smiles, high fives (or fist bumps), teachers out of their comfort zone, parents holding students to their individual high standards esteeming rigor over difficulty, mindful that fair does NOT mean equal. Assignments may actually differ, but each student gets what he or she needs to succeed! That is true education, one that takes each person to their next level!
NAEP Exam
We have been selected to represent in the NAEP tests. A few 8th graders will be chosen to act as our Ambassadors. Additional details: found here.
Conclusion:
Fear of Failure!
Gamification is only one way to help students learn to overcome the fear of failure. Authentic praise and encouragement from a caring adult is another.
Avoiding phrases like, “We only like winners!” or “Second place is for losers” or
“No losers allowed!” is where this starts.
Anything that ties performance or achievement with approval reinforces the idea that learners are not worthy unless they perform perfectly the first time.
For instance, there is no way to match, copy, reproduce, duplicate or even truly describe the colored nuances between the two cloud sets, seen in the same sky. Even this photo fails to portray the depth and breadth of the beauty displayed over our Lincoln County sky. We might try to paint it to capture the beauty, but would fall quite short. In the same way, we can’t reach the pinnacle of perfection, no matter how high we try. Failure is necessary, mandatory, and even vital for life-changing growth.
It is the fear of failing, letting others down or not earning enough love that stifles many learners. Students may tend to doubt their efforts, thoughts or growth are sufficient to meet another’s expectations. Hence, they self-impose a posture of withdrawal, frozen from even trying, because that leads to rejection. Too often, students act out to avoid the trial or educational adventure if the fear of failure rests within their consciousness. They wear their own handcuffs, motivated to avoid rejection due to missing the mark.
Additionally, caring adults adjusting their attitudes and actions, speaking words of hope, positivity and encouragement among ourselves and with our students with NO COST TO OURSELVES overcomes this negativity. I understand that students need anywhere from four to twelve positive interactions to overcome a single negative comment. (Even then, the negative comment still remains lodged in their cranium.) The positivity permeating this place extends far deeper than these walls!
Keep it up, Community. Together, we are truly changing the world, one positive comment at a time!
Humbly,
Tom McCracken
No comments:
Post a Comment