Weekly Top For 2-16-18

UMS,

Nice story in Tuesday's Herald Palladium-
Tony Wittkowski from the Herald Palladium wrote a very nice article Tuesday in the Herald Palladium.  Congressman Upton was very complimentary of his visit to UMS, and the Google folks were really impressed with our students. (They mentioned it is not always like this when they travel around the country.)  We really appreciated you being in the "stands" helping monitor student behavior.

Career Day next Friday, February 23rd-

We will have our Career Day next Friday, February 23rd.  The students will have four 40-minute presentations.  You will be in your room as a chaperone, but you are able to switch with staff to see different presentations if you would like. (Work this out yourselves)  You are also not required to be in during your conference period.  Remember that this is a half-day of school with the afternoon being off as a give back to your PD time earlier in the school year.  Thanks to Amy, Beth, Torrey, and Craig for all their hard work with planning!

Technology Monday-

Monday is a technology meeting day for some of you.   Others of you are documenting and reporting in with Amy from time to time on your progress.  

March 1st Assembly-

We have an assembly on March 1st called Carry the Love.  Here is a link for more information: http://hopeassemblies.com/carry-the-love/.  We will run a schedule where we will have every class.  It will be similar to when the high school did this in January. The high school is working with us for itinerants.  The assembly will start at 8:00 A.M.

March 2nd Assembly at 9:00 A.M.-

We will have an assembly with a tumbling team performing for us.  They are doing this at no cost to us.  They are performing in the morning for us, and Berrien Springs High School in the afternoon.  They will also have a message of being healthy.  Since our last assembly (Google & Fred) was 2nd hour also, we will have 2nd hour during the 3rd hour time on this day.  If you have 2nd or 3rd period you need not attend the assembly, so you can have your conference period.

30th Annual Battle of the Books-

The 30th Annual Battle of the Books is on Friday, March 2nd and will take place starting 4th hour.  I know that the students have been reading like crazy!  Many even are reading during the lunch period. 

Around the Corner-

Scheduling is around the corner.  You will here more about this next week.  Thanks to all who looked at course descriptions and also thanks for submitting student constraints.  We will also be sending the April & May testing calendar to you very soon as well.

Quote of the week-

"There is no instinct like that of the heart." - Lord Byron

Have a great weekend,

Chad

Weekly Post for 2-2-18

Folks,


MathCounts-
Good luck to our team today!
6th graders-  Tanvi Gaikwad and Grace Yuan
7th graders- Riley Biggins, James Diamond, Nik Door, 

Ashton Gashin, Harsh Gupta, and Max Warriner  

8th graders- Joe Paine and Nick Strickler 

Coach Latta has them well prepared for the competition!

Valentines-
The valentine making station is here again!  If you have students that may not receive a Valentine or you think could use a Valentine to pick them up, please let Kristin Burnette or Deb Darr know.  They will make one for them.  

Google Online Safety Roadshow-
We will not be adjusting the schedule for the assembly that we will be having on Monday, February 12th.  The assembly will begin at 9:00 A.M. and take 45 minutes.  Due to recent events locally, this is a very timely assembly.  We are honored to be chosen for this. 

Article on Monday-
I know that the article on homework Monday got interesting conversation going. :)  It was not my intent to say that we should not be giving homework. My goal was to get good conversation going, to reflect on our practices, and hear what your other colleagues think about it as well.  Just like our talks on "No zeros" and extra credit in the past.  We all have strong thoughts.  The most dangerous statement sometimes can be, "Because this is the way it has always been done."

Student Count Day-
The Winter student count day is Wednesday, February 14th.  Please make sure that an accurate attendance is taken each hour.  Remember we do not mark tardies in PowerSchool for that day.

No meeting Monday, BLT Tuesday-
We do not have an after school staff meeting Monday.  We do have BLT next Tuesday.  It will be from 2:50-3:30 P.M.

Restroom Usage-
I would like to make sure you are having students sign in/sign out for bathroom usage during class. Many of you already do this.  The form has been on the bulletin board in the lounge for years if you need a form to use. (Of course using your own form is okay also) It really helps us from an office standpoint.  

Quote of the week (In honor of the Super Blue Blood Moon and the Super Bowl ) -

"The earth together with its surrounding waters must in fact have such a shape as its shadow reveals, for it eclipses the moon with the arc of a perfect circle." - Nicolaus Copernicus

“Success isn't measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.”  – Mike Ditka

Have a wonderful weekend,
Chad