Weekly Top for 10-18-19

Folks,


1st rotation over Monday/2nd rotation starts Tuesday-

Rotation 1 ends this Monday, October 21st and rotation 2 starts this Tuesday, October 22nd.

No meeting Monday-

We have no after school meeting this Monday.  

UPTO yesterday-
We had another full UPTO meeting.  They are a supportive group who are helping supplement many worthy requests.  More to come on this!

8th graders next week-
8th grade science classes at Wolf Lake and the SJ Water plant
Tuesday, Oct. 22nd-  MacKellar and Milletics out
Friday, Oct. 25th- Francis and Foster out

Choir Concert next week-
If your schedule allows come out and watch the UMS & SJHS choirs sing at the John & Dede Howard Auditorium beginning at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, October 23rd.  

Morning announcements-
Remember the bell does not dismiss the students from 1st hour on morning announcements days.  The teacher at the end of the announcements dismisses the students.  Kristin and her group of students work hard.

Flu Shots next Thursday-
Flu shots will take place next Thursday, October 24th from 3:00-5:00 PM.  The sign-up sheet needs to be done by Monday.

October 31st deadline approaching-
Just a reminder that the MESSA deadline is just around the corner.  Your insurance sheet can be turned into the office in the envelope and your online registration can be done per the directions Kathleen Hamilton sent.

Bringing the Juice-
Dana, Dave, and Jason-  Helping JB out this week!
Craig -  Dealing with a difficult situation all week!
Maurice-  Many maintenance requests completed
Beth- A beautiful bulletin board!
Kristin, Deb, and Geri-  The new "genrefication" in the media center 
Laurie-  Giving up an evening to assist a student at choir festival
Susan-  Volunteering Builders Club for "Socktober" and the toiletry drive.

Article & website to explore-

See the trees...

Quote of the week-

Have a great weekend,

Chad

Weekly Top for 10-11-19

Folks,


Monday Staff Meeting-

On the agenda:

• Quick tutoring talk
• Student number/Student name clarification/Email 
• Riverwood Center Presentation- Crisis team resource

Goal for 19-20-

You set a goal at the end of last year for this school year if you had a final evaluation meeting with Craig and I.   We will meet with you soon to make sure the goal is unchanged.  Please put this in a google doc. and share it with us when we set up an appointment with you.

MESSA Insurance Sheet-

Don't forget the October 31st deadline for open enrollment with insurance.  This was the email sent out by Kathleen on Oct. 1st.  Remember also that MESSA is requiring online enrollment. We have an envelope in the office for the completed forms that need to be returned to Central.

Retirement Workshop at the RESA-

Please see the updated email from Sue Patzer on the retirement workshop for new, middle, and near the end of your career workshops in figuring out the new law, what your pension can look like, insurance, etc.   The updated email came out on Wednesday afternoon.  They are only having so many open spots so signup soon.

8th grade field trips around the corner-

On October 22nd (MacKellar and Milletics 8th grade classes) and October 25th (Francis and Foster 8th grade classes) will be heading to the fish hatchery and water plant to kickoff their salmon in the classroom project.

Confirmed Parent Contact-

If you have a student with a "F" in your class you must make confirmed contact with the parent of the student.  A confirmed contact can be a face-to-face meeting, a phone call, or a email that the parent responded back to you on.  We as a staff believe that this is how we do business.  

On the flip side, how many positive emails, phone calls, etc. have you made this school year?  Choose 5 students a week (one a day) and give it a whirl.  It will make the student, parent, and you all feel great.  A win-win-win all around! 

Come on now!!!!!  -
We are not contacting students on itsLearning for GO time.  We are relying on the email system that we discussed at our meeting.  This will only confuse the students and they will go to the wrong places.

Reminder:  8th grade orchestra and Uptones gone next week-

8th grade orchestra will be out 2nd hour this Tuesday (per Rachel's email) and the Uptones will be gone 5th and 6th hours on Thursday next week (per an email I forwarded).  These students know they are responsible for their missed work.

Board of Education Meeting-

We have a board of education meeting at Central Office on Monday, October 14th at 6:00 PM.

Count Signatures? -

Are you up to date on signing the count day sheets with Grace?  If not, please come down today and sign them.

Finding a Student ID #-

The most simple way (Per Matt Maier's idea at our tech meeting) to discover who a student ID (when just given a student ID) is to take that ID and put it in the "To" box in an email and the student's name pops up.

Bringing the Juice-

Joanie and Matt-  Completing a very successful CC year!

Jill-  Heading up student council once again!

Carla, Beth, and Melissa-  Giving great feedback in a very intense meeting this week!

Cathy-  Taking a kid under her wings and going above & beyond!

Renee- The Upton Care emails you have received this week if you have a student with a grade that required an email.

Article/Video of the week-

The Power of Relationships in Schools

Quote of the week-

Have a great weekend,

Chad

Weekly Top for 10-4-19

Folks,



Laura's email-
If you haven't answered Laura's email from yesterday yet please do so today.  The survey on a google form will take you less than 3 seconds, unless you want to add and then it make take 30 seconds.  We want to start training students and parents on items delivered/left at home.  It is an anonymous survey.

Kathleen's email-
Don't forget to fill out the open enrollment information from MESSA.  It was in an email sent out by Kathleen Hamilton on Tuesday morning.

Flu Shot-
Don't forget to preregister in the office if you want your spouse and you to get a flu shot at Upton on October 24th.   You can also have a daughter/son 14 years or older.

Bringing the Juice-
Grace- For her count day responsibilities.  Don't forget to sign the sheets!
Laura- For finding ways to streamline a lot of efficiencies in the office.  She is doing a wonderful job!
Renee-  Getting a printer for certificates and printing many this week
Jeff, Wes, Muriel, and Joe-   National Custodian Day this past week.  We are truly lucky to have this crew!
Joanie & Matt-  Coaching the 1st place girls and boys teams in Berrien County!

Flip-flop-
Yes, Grace and Laura have switched spots in the office.  😁

Thanks for caring-
It really has been heartwarming to have the support, thoughts, and prayers from all the staff.  My dad's spots in his lungs are not malignant!  He has something called sarcoidosis.  Hopefully with medication that can be cleared up and he can continue to heal from his defibrillator/pacemaker surgery.  If you haven't heard yet his nurse in Grand Rapids was Lauren Gressley, and she was phenomenal!!!!

Article/video of the week-
A little over 2 minute video.  We do a lot of this at Upton! 

The Powerful Effects of Drawing on Learning

Quote of the week-

Have a great Friday & weekend,

Chad

Weekly Top for 9-27-19

Folks,

Extended 1st Hour-
1st hour may need to be extended slightly (See Kristin's email from 4:31 AM this morning) to watch the Mike Smith video.  We want all students to see this prior to Monday morning.

Go Gold for Cancer-
Please put your Go Gold for childhood cancer research envelopes from your collected $ from 1st hour in the Interact mailbox this morning.

SafeSchools due this Monday-
Just another reminder that SafeSchools classes are due this Monday, September 30th.  It would be great if Upton could have 100% done on time when Central office sends me the report.  😁

Mike Smith Monday-
We have the meet & greet with Mike Smith at 7:15 AM in the media center this Monday morning. As soon as you can get an accurate attendance we will have the students come down.  Please help seat them from the top down.  We will use every available spot.  After Mike address he will be meeting with a combination of a group of 7th & 8th graders for a breakout session.

Count Day Wednesday-

Please remember that we need a super accurate attendance each hour this Wednesday, October 2nd for count day.  No tardies are allowed in PowerSchool.  You will have to record those to the side.  You will just mark Absences only.

BLT Tuesday-

Our first BLT get together of the school year will be next Tuesday, October 1st.  Your department leaders will help set the course for a great school year!  It will be from 2:51-3:36.

Go Time next Thursday-
Our 1st Go time of the year is next Thursday, October 3rd.  I can't wait to see how the new system works!

Bringing the Juice-

Torrey, Amy and Beth-  Planning our Mike Smith assembly

Dana-  Being a part of the AASI Cohort

Kara-  Working hard to streamline and improve GO time procedures.

Scott-  Helping out with a student investigation when I was tied up yesterday afternoon

The ladies in the kitchen-  Always looking out for students who are in need of some TLC and those having financial hardships
B.O.P. President Steve Schadler-  Found a laptop and backpack laying on the ground near the B.O.P. concession stand last night around 6:30 PM and is running it in this morning to Upton.  Steve doesn't even have kids at Upton anymore.

P.S.- You can also send me "bringing the juice" candidates.

Discussion, Debate, and Dialogue-

Many have asked for the pdf of the discussion, debate, and dialogue worksheet from Wednesday and here it is:  D, D, and D PDF.  I have also put it in the school improvement agenda.  Thanks for participating and keeping an open-mind.  I hope that we are able to all push for more dialogue in our professional conversations and even our discussions with students.  As I stated, we can all improve in this.  Here is also a good article on dialogue as well:  Scott London dialogue

Quote of the week-

Have a great Friday and weekend,
Chad

Weekly Top for 9-20-19

Folks,

Through the Halls-
Today 1st hour the Uptones will be wandering the halls to sing the SJ fight song!  Please feel free to open up your doors to enjoy the school spirit!

Picture Day Round 2-
If you did not get your picture taken at start-up day, you must have it taken this Wednesday, September 25th.  One picture with a favorite book (see Kristin if you need one) and one picture for your ID.  It will also be student picture day for those that missed start-up day as well.

Wednesday Late-Start-
Our late start this Wednesday is a school improvement meeting with the whole staff meeting in the media center at 7:30 AM.  Thanks!

10 more days-
You have 10 more days to complete your SafeSchools training.  The instructions are on the UMS Staff itsLearning page.  

Skyward Handbook and Acceptable Use Policy-

Just a reminder that if you haven't completed reviewing the employee handbook or acceptable use policy please do so ASAP.  Kathleen Hamilton sent out an email about this on Friday, September 6th at 3:42 PM.

Schedule B (Clubs)-
If you had a schedule B contract for sponsoring a club in your mailbox please fill it out, sign today, and put it in the envelope near Laura's desk.  This is for people who are in at least their second year of a club.

Bringing the juice-
Melissa suggested that last year we had marigolds and this year we would do shoutouts to people "bringing the juice!"  I know we have many people bringing the juice daily, but the following stuck out in my mind this week!

Joe F.- Helping out a student in need during his lunch period!
Matt M. and Joanie V.- Working together to pull off a change in venue to make the CC meet work.
Mary L.- Starting an after school writing club
Marilyn J. - Starting an after school magic card club
Anne M.-  Spending a lot of time getting "steps in" for a student

Article of the week-

Please read the following article by our late start on Wednesday.  Every Student Matters Article

Quote of the week-

Enjoy the game this evening & the beautiful weather this weekend,

Chad