Thursday Thriller

 Thursday Thriller

January 4, 2023

While the last half of winter break had its challenges, there were definitely parts of it that were great!  Sharing family pictures helps remind me pause, reflect and find the good.💙

                                              Schmidt-Doepker-Ramos-Hallowell Family Photo

                                    My parents are doing better and definitely on the mend. Mom had an MRI yesterday.  Come to find out she had compressed a verterbrae when she was trying to get out of bed and slumped down because her legs gave out.  Kidney infection is being treated with antibiotics and the back is being treated with some pain meds and rest. 💛

Madi's Baby Shower 

                                    Isella's 9th Birthday.  This photo gives me great joy! When your 15 year old daughter tells you she's pregnant, your world stops. "This can't be happening, what are we going to do?"  Isella was the blessing we needed to bring our family closer together. Kate's determination and dedication was the WHAT of the 'what are we going to do.'💗

                                                         Axcel on his first snowmobile ride.

                                                                                

                         Lucas hung out with Nonnie and Mini while everyone was snowmobiling.

Thanks for letting me share a little piece of the Doepker's.  I appreciated all the warm welcome backs and inquiries regarding my parents.  I'm very thankful for YOU!  I love coming to work! New challenges each day that make me laugh, pull my hair out and/or make my heart hurt. Whatever the circumstance, know you have a family at school to help, support and listen when you need it.   I hope this week you have talked with colleagues and friends, shared stories of what you did over break and pulled out your phone to share a photo.  Life's little moments are worth sharing. :D

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.  We are still posting for Sara Huxoll's HRA (Health Room Assistant) and Reggie's para positions.  If you know of people who are qualified and would like to work with the GREATEST staff, please have them apply through the District website.

2. Update on the Health Center:

    November:  15 students were seen for Medical Services

    December:  28 students were seen for Medical Services.

Of the 43 students, 7 were sent home and the remaining 36 were able to go back to class.

Currently, Amy Wells, RN is overseeing our clinic full time until we can find a replacement for Sara.  If Amy is super busy we can send students to the HC.  Yes, there is paperwork and parental consent forms that need to be completed (they can also get parental consent over the phone to treat) . With that being said, parents are consenting as we have seen in the numbers. 

Counseling/Mental Health:  24 students were signed up.  75% showed for their appointments. 25% were no show due to attendance which is the battle we continue to fight each day. 

HC hours are Monday-Thursday 9:00-3:00, Friday's are paperwork and meetings.  The last mental Health appointment of the day is during 6th period.  No student will be at the HC after 2:45. Last medical appointment is at 2:30pm.  Any student being sent home for illness will always be directed to go and wait in our office. The HC attendance log is always shared with Janelle.  Students who are sent back to class will come with a note.

Mariana Saldana is the HC Care Coordinator, Delia Gutierrez is our Mental Health Counselor,  and Jenny Maxon is the medical provider.  

mariana@thehealthcenterww.org

delia@thehealthcenterww.org 

jenny@thehealthcenterww.org 

We are THRILLED to have them at Garrison to support our students!!

3.  CIS Coordinator, Grace sent out a reminder about volunteers.  Here are the three critical points about volunteers.  Grace takes care of everything for you. :D  If you have a need for volunteers, talk with Grace.  She will get the information and post it on the VIP board for you.  EVEN if you have a trusty volunteer who is a regular THEY MUST SET UP AN ACCOUNT and SIGN IN EACH TIME-Grace can help.  The VIP system does all the background checks, tracks time in/out and let's us know how many volunteers we are seeing at Garrison.

1. All volunteer opportunities need to be listed in the VIP system – that is any event, or project, a teacher/school has that needs volunteers and the teacher/school needs to get the details to the CIS advocate at their school. (CIS advocates will be sending the VIP volunteer opportunity forms to everyone at the school today, if they haven't already.)
2. If a teacher has a volunteer that is regular in their classroom they can work with the CIS advocate to set up an opportunity just for them so they can check in/check out
3. All volunteers must use the kiosk to check in, every time they volunteer. This should replace paper sign-ins. 

4.  Garrison vs Pioneer who will win the attendance contest?! Next week kicks off our January Attendance Contest against Pioneer Middle School! Each week we will compare attendance numbers and the winning school will receive a prize. Attendance is key to students’ academic success, as well as their ability to build relationships with students and staff. Let the kids know—our reputation is at stake! January 8th through Feb. 2nd.

5.    I happened to walk into Heather's first period at the right time! This is an option to project the students' lessons tracker.  She is also working with a student on his iReady Typical and Stretch Growth goals.  NICE JOB, Heather! 

We're steadily chipping away at the students who need to finish their first quarter iReady lessons. It's frustrating to see them fall even further behind for the second quarter. 😒 Here's the breakdown by lunch schedule. We're making sure they're held accountable. It's almost like lunch in room 165 has its own circle of hell, but too bad they haven't all read Dante's Inferno to appreciate the reference!"

6. A huge shout out to GMS staff consistently attending their students' IEP meetings! 😄 When parents or guardians receive the full view, encompassing both strengths and areas for growth, alongside strategies to support their child, your presence at these meetings holds immense value!! It communicates care. Participating in IEPs, especially for students confronting specific challenges in your class, aligns with our professional responsibilities. I'll be reaching out to some of you regarding upcoming IEP sessions."

7.  Coins, coins, and more coins!  Do you need more?  We will deliver them to you!  Shoot me an email.

SOMETHING to PONDER  

As many of you have commented, having Tobi and Maria at the front door each morning monitoring students placing their phones and air pods in their backpacks has been a true game changer!  Our PAC students have said just as much-"So much better without the cell phones!"  They did not think having a 'cell phone station' during activity day was a good idea.  "Why do we want students to be on their phones when they can interact with their friends and play games?"

This is a summary of the article Should schools ban cell phones?  Are we doing doing enough at GMS or are there other steps we need to take?

Hope you find a gold nugget in this article.  If you want to add your thoughts on this jam board, please do so. :D

SUMMARY:

Cellphones in Schools: To Ban or Not to Ban

In this Education Gadfly article, Tim Daly (EdNavigator) reports that France and China

have forbidden student cellphone use during the school day, and the U.K. is actively

considering a ban. In the U.S., many K-12 educators, academic leaders, and newspaper

editorials are on board, for these reasons:

- Since around 2012 there’s been an increase in young people’s loneliness, anxiety,

depression, and other mental health problems, coinciding with heavy social media use.

- Cellphones prevent students’ face-to-face socializing in school, and many kids have

lost the art of conversing with peers.

- Even in schools with cellphone restrictions, students find ways to circumvent them; one

study found that 97 percent of teens are on their phones for an average of 43 minutes during the school day.

- Studies show that cellphones distract from learning – even when students aren’t

actually using them – and are contributing to distressingly low student achievement.

Daly looked for adult advocates of the opposite position – that cellphones are relatively benign

and shouldn’t be banned – and couldn’t find arguments worth sharing.

Several different levels of cellphone bans are being considered and implemented, each

with pros and cons:

• Leave cellphones at home – This simplifies enforcement for staff. But there’s been

pushback from parents who want their children to be reachable at all times, including in transit

to and from school, also from cashless students who want to be able to pay for items

electronically before and after school.

• Student cellphone use is not allowed during the school day – This is the most

commonly used policy now, with students leaving their phones in lockers or parking them in

classroom holders under teachers’ supervision, not permitted in bathrooms and during passing

time, lunch, or recess. The downside of this approach is more enforcement responsibility for

staff and the possibility of inconsistency from classroom to classroom.

• No cellphone use during classes – This means phones aren’t on desks, under desks,

streaming music into earbuds, or secretly taking videos of classmates or teachers. The

downside is that phones are still in pockets, purses, or backpacks, constantly distracting

students from learning, and a trip to the bathroom is an opportunity to dive into social media

and messaging. Banning phones during classes is the least popular policy among educators,

says Daly, because it “requires a substantial level of teacher enforcement, which quickly

becomes exhausting. Many teachers simply give up.”

What’s needed, he believes, is a policy that can be consistently enforced, minimizes

hassles, and doesn’t distract from instruction. “Teachers don’t want to spend all day policing

phones,” he says. “It’s awkward. It’s infantilizing. It can escalate. For some kids, having

something cherished taken from them puts them in a very defensive, anxious position. Power

dynamics across lines of difference zoom to the fore. Parents get really angry. Administrators

often won’t back teachers who enforce the administrators’ own policies.”

Another consideration as schools decide what to do about cellphones is the current

trend away from harsh, no-excuses discipline. In the wake of the pandemic, many students are

struggling, fragile, and in need of relationship-building. Attendance is down and a good

number of students aren’t present even when they’re sitting in classrooms. Teachers are

competing for students’ “mindshare,” says Daly. “It’s no fun when half your class isn’t truly

there. Banning cellphones won’t solve that problem.” Schools have also invested in one-to-one

technology, putting tablets or laptops in students’ hands most of the day, and kids are adept at

working around the firewalls to play games and communicate with each other.

In light of these complicating factors, what are schools to do? Daly proposes a four-part

Strategy:

• Invest in pouches with strong magnetic locks so students have their phones with them

but turned off and put away for the whole school day, with convenient unlocking stations at

school exits (Yondr is one company marketing these).

• Insist on consistent enforcement by staff. “Teachers can’t ignore bullying or physical

violence,” he says. “They can’t let kids cheat on state tests. They shouldn’t ignore phones,

either… Hold teachers accountable on performance reviews if they are undermining the

school’s campaign for phone-free learning.”

• Have meaningful penalties when students break the rules, not just giving the phone back at the end of the day, which is when they would get it back anyway. Daly suggests detention or requiring parents to come to school and pick up the phone.

• Ensure that classrooms are “warm, lively, engaging environments where kids can focus

on things worth doing,” he concludes. “Target all barriers to that goal, even if they turn out to

be iPads, bad curriculum materials, boring instruction, negligent classroom management, or

low expectations. If we don’t address those things, how can we blame kids for watching

TikTok in the bathroom? Wouldn’t you do the same?”

“Should Schools Ban Cellphones?” by Tim Daly in Education Gadfly, December 8, 2023

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QUOTE

Thank you to Jami E! I sat with Nate C's 6th period class while Jami explained to students about the winter reading challenge. I'm not going to lie-I was pretty excited!! Jami had a lot of books on the table for students to choose from (I took quite a few :0).  One book she had was a graphic novel titled The Playbook by Kwame Alexander.   An incredible book of quotes, stories and metaphors through sports. This week's quote comes from this book. 

  

  Rule #42 Be unselfish. Share the ball. Work Together. Win Together.

  

  The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I'd made my teammates play. 

                                                                    -Bill Russell, Hall of Fame player/coach, five-time MVP and centerpiece of eleven NBA championships with the Boston Celtics

Also, going through some of my parents' old newspaper clippings and photos, I found this gem. LOL.  Clearly, I didn't know where to look when the picture was taken.😅

1.   Bookmark THE HUB

2.    Don't let students off the hook with, "I don't know."