Thursday Thriller December 19, 2024

 Thursday Thriller
December 19, 2024

Finding Joy during the week!

Students are enjoying coloring at lunch. 

So Nicole and I may or may not have hidden in the staff lounge to snack on the chocolate dipped treats😂

Algebra students creating ornaments using only equations of lines plus domain and range restrictions (just so you know I had to look at Robin's FB post to actually get the mathematical terms 😆)!

Some of our NJHS students reading the books they collected and donated to WWCCF children. :D

7th and 8th grade Winter Concert

Nuts-n-Bolts
1.     Activity day and Assembly tomorrow!  Please review the schedule.

2.   January 6th-James Layman will at Garrison for the day.  If you would like to have him do some activities in your class to re-connect students, build on kindness, unity and the 3Rs, sign up for one class period by emailing Nicole F. 

ALL students will attend an assembly together.

3.  Please sign payroll before you leave today. :D

4.  Chromebooks for middle school students will have a nightly internet access pause from 11:00PM to 5:00AM. This will be seven days a week.

Something to Ponder

Hope you have a great winter break. Take the time to relax, recharge, and enjoy your hobbies, time with family, naps, travel, good books, or whatever helps you unwind. Wishing you a restful and refreshing break!

Thursday Thriller, December 12, 2024

 Thursday Thriller
December 12, 2024

Finding Joy!  A principal from across the state shared that instead of labeling her calendar with "Walk Throughs" or "Classroom Visits," she uses "Finding Joy Walks." I gave it a try, and it really shifted my perspective and outlook. Here are a few joyful moments that made me laugh and smile. :D

Jami checking in with her science students.

The group of boys who played soccer whenever they could, even with volleyball nets set up.

Beth was dancing in the hallways to the music.

Jayden is working on constructing his robot designed to pick up and grasp objects. He and his partner first programmed it on the computer before starting the build.

Students in Bertram's class made ornaments from the 3D printer and added lights.

In the words of Jacob, "I love snacks and books so why wouldn't I want to come to book club?" 

🎤Drop

Making Gingerbread Houses this Morning!

NUTS-n-BOLTS

1.    As the semester wraps up and grades are posted, it's important to communicate with families if a student is failing your class—whether through a progress report, email, or Parent Square. Yes, parents have access to Skyward to check grades. Yes, students are given daily reminders and opportunities. Yes, I understand your reasons for feeling frustrated about additional communication. But even as adults, with fully developed frontal lobes, we still forget work-related tasks like reading emails, signing payroll. Grace goes a long way. Please be sure to notify families before posting the final grade. If you have any questions, feel free to come see me.

One more thing about grades—if a student is failing because they haven’t turned in a signed syllabus from August or September, that’s a tough situation. From the outside, 1) What standard does this fall under? 2) Are we punishing the student because the parent didn’t sign it? Please make sure you’re putting me in a position to defend you.

2. ASB is planning the activity afternoon on the 20th. They are working with their ASB advisors, Nicole M and Yaneth, to plan a fun afternoon! We’ve been recruiting volunteers to help with setup, cleanup, and running stations. While we may not have enough volunteers for every station, we’ll keep trying to gather more.

3. January 6th-James Layman from AWSP/AWSL-Association of Washington Student Leaders will be on campus for the day. We plan to run an assembly schedule.  The purpose of James' visit is to reset after semester one and circle back with the foundations of Unity of Day; why is being a kind human so important.

4.  NJHS students will be delivering gently used and new books to our WWCCF students next week on the 17th. The goal is to donate 100 books. If you’re looking to clear some space on your bookshelves and make room for new books, this is the perfect time to donate! :D

5.  We have a new CIS (Communities in School) Coordinator beginning on January 6th. Fifth time's a charm!  Jennifer Hernandez is currently the CIS Coordinator at Gibb Elementary in M-F, native of Walla Walla and related to an awesome staff member! Jennifer is Yaneth's sister and we are confident that the two of them pairing up will bring great things and stability to the CIS position at Garrison.

6.  Monday, December 16th-Nicole and I will be at principal PD from 7:30-10:00. Counselors will be in the building. 

7.  While the holidays bring joy to many students and staff, we must also acknowledge that they can be stressful for various reasons. Our students experience the same stress. When our own stress and exhaustion mix with the stress of students, it can lead to challenging behaviors. If you need a break, please let Steve, Nicole, Nicole, or me know. If you just need 5-10 minutes to reset, we’re here to help. We’d much rather you take a breather than struggle through a meltdown with students. Grace is a beautiful thing.

8.  Nicole and I met with the custodians today.  Our goal is to meet with them once a month to find out what is going well and what needs some attention.

    -It makes a big difference for the custodians if you have students pick up the floor and put their chairs up. This allows them to avoid spending extra time on these tasks before they can start vacuuming. I’ve also informed the night custodians that if chairs aren’t put up and there are items like pencils, pens, or glue sticks on the floor, your room will be skipped.

   -10 minutes into 2nd period-PUT YOUR BAB GARBAGE CANS IN THE HALLWAY

   -  Marco Sierra cleans the 7th and 6th hallways

   - Billy Yaw cleans 8th and library

   - Billy and Marco divide up 115-118, shop, art and music 

  - Brandon takes care of all work orders, lunches, cleaning all over the school that is needed

  - If you work late, please let the custodian know so they can clean while you work. Otherwise, they may skip your room or return later if time allows.

Something to Ponder

This week's "Something to Ponder" ties in perfectly with #3—reinforcing our school and classroom expectations.

Dave Stuart, Jr. discusses his "Woodenization" methods and how they help boost student effort. He draws inspiration from the legendary coach John Wooden, who would teach his players the proper way to put on their socks and shoes.

"As you might imagine, at first, the players were probably wondering what their coach was doing. Why start the season talking about socks and shoes? These were some of the best high school players in the country, already experienced in getting ready for basketball, and yet this legendary coach spent over 30 minutes explaining the details of socks and sneakers.

Then, with a twinkle in his eye, Coach Wooden would stand up and explain. If our socks have wrinkles or our shoes aren't tied properly, we could get blisters. And if we get blisters, we might have to miss practice. Missing practice means we won’t be as prepared for the game, and if we’re not prepared, we won’t perform our best. All because we didn’t pay attention to how we put on our socks and shoes."

Dave Stuart applies this same philosophy in his classroom as a practicing high school English teacher. 

Student Testimonial

These are a few time time stamps of the video.  Here is the link to Dave Stuart's article and blog.

8:10 minute video he explains why Woodenization is so important and how it will benefit students and empower you!

2:10 DS explains Coach Wooden's socks and shoes.  Learning conucive behaviors need to be taught rather than assumed by the student. 

2:51 What this does is normalize not knowing; everyone is being taught

4:54  DS explains the "Smallies" name on paper, how to turn in work, how to enter the classroom and "Biggies" as note taking, reading independently, etc.

6:00 "Smallies" are taught for 5 mins and then reinforced 100% of the time-modeling, reteaching, feedback, lots of repetition and practice.

SO MANY GOLD NUGGETS!!! I’m confident you’ll walk away with more than one key takeaway, just as I did.

Thursday Thriller December 5, 2024

 Thursday Thriller
December 5, 2024

Breaking NEWS:  Reggie's 8th grade boys, the "B" team, came back for win after being down by 15! The boys are determined to be undefeated this season!! The boys were super excited!!!

Photos from the Field

The SeaTech Criminal Justice Cadets, led by instructor Todd Smith, visited Stephanie's Medical Detective classes. Students had the opportunity to participate in fingerprinting, examine a crime scene, and explore other forensic stations. One of the highlights of the visit was seeing the pride the Cadets took in sharing their knowledge about each station and discussing their future plans after graduating from SeaTech.

Last night's concert was STANDING ROOM ONLY! The kids did so well!  The 6th grade choir always gets me with Danny-Boy

Great Job Roger and Caleb!

Jayden showing Lauren a negative slope; something he is learning about in math.

Micah and JC are working on building friendships, and the difference in our Behavior room this year has been extraordinary! While we had some tough students last year, this year the atmosphere in the classroom is much more positive, with clear standards, routines, laughter, and high expectations. It’s been a great transformation, and you should definitely stop by if you get the chance! :D

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.    Little fun for next week with the staff 'dress up' week seeing if students can name what we are doing.  Monday is the fuzzy socks or slippers day
Tuesday Candy Cane Lane-wear red and white
Wednesday-Blizzard wear all white
Thursday-Cozy Cabin-Flannels, boots and beanies 
 Fri YAY-Garrison Wonderland wear your Garrison Gear

2. Thursday, December 12th-Staff Meeting at 7:45

3. Wednesday, December 18th -Extended Staff meeting 3:45-4:15

4.  Please know that Nicole and I fully intend to visit classrooms as much as possible. Yesterday, Chad stopped by the office and remarked, "Wow! It's crazy in here." He wasn’t wrong—Steve, Nicole, Yaneth, and I were bouncing between offices, meeting with students, investigating incidents, and addressing discipline.

I share this because:

1. Our goal is to protect your time and focus in the classroom.
2. We truly want to be present in classrooms, but sometimes the behaviors in the office need our immediate attention so you can keep teaching without interruption.

Thank you for your understanding and patience—we appreciate all you do!

5 .Assessment season is quickly approaching, and Yaz and Agnes have sent an email with a brief screencast video explaining iReady Pro. While iReady Pro was originally set to launch in January, it has launched early so here we go! Please take the time to watch the video, contact Yaz and Agnes if you have any questions, and be sure to join their quick PD and Q&A session on Wednesday, December 11th.

6. Classroom Exclusion Ticket – SAME PROCESS, SAME PROCESS, SAME PROCESS. The only difference is that you give the student the yellow exclusion card to take to the office. If you don't think the student can make it to the office with the ticket, text Ruben. The ticket serves to alert the office that a student is here to be processed with a counselor or admin. It also serves as a visual reminder to the student that they have been excluded and that there will be follow-up.

Please remember that waiting until the end of class to send a student for an exclusion is not helpful, unless the reason for the exclusion occurs at the end of class. Waiting until the bell rings can send the message that it wasn't that serious. When we wait, we end up with a referral and then process it either later that day or the next, and the student rightfully asks, "But I wasn’t excluded from class." If we want to hold students accountable, we need to be accountable to the process as well. Let’s make sure we’re following the steps consistently.

Thank you!

PROCESS:

1. Student is excluded from class
2. Teacher gives student Exclusion Ticket
3. Teacher pulls up the referral form from the HUB and sends it. By sending the referral form as timely as possible, allows us to process with the student about their impact from the teacher's point-of-view; 9 out of 10 times students respond with, "He/she doesn't like me.  I don't know why I got sent out of class." 

4. Admin or counselor processes with student, sends them to room 208 for the remainder of the period.
5. Teacher calls or Parent Squares parent letting them know what happened and the date their child will serve after school detention.  AFTER SCHOOL DETENTION IS ON MONDAYS, TUESDAYS, THURSDAY AND FRIDAYS. If a student is excluded on Tuesday, they would serve Thursday. NO WEDNESDAYS  There is a script in the HUB.
6. Counselor/Admin process with student and send this parent square.

Subject: Follow-Up Regarding [Student's Name]'s Classroom Behavior

Dear [Parent's Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to inform you that I met with [Student's Name] today after they were excluded from class. The teacher felt that [Student's Name] engaged in behavior that disrupted the class and did not follow one of Garrison Middle School's 3Rs: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Do the Right Thing, which led to their removal.

During our meeting, we processed the situation and discussed strategies for improving behavior. It's important that we work together to support [Student's Name] in making positive choices moving forward. The teacher will be following up with a Parent Square message, phone call or email to provide further details on what occurred in class.

Thank you for your continued support in helping [Student's Name] succeed. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards, 

The students our poor secretaries have to put up with :(😆

Kara will place two exclusion tickets in your mailbox tomorrow morning.  TAs will return them by the end of the day.

7.  Just be on the look out for creative ways students are using pens.  

Something to Ponder

I don’t usually go out of my way to search for or subscribe to essays, but this one was included in another newsletter I get every Monday. I’ll admit, I skimmed through some of the 50 points, but numbers 5, 15, 37, 45, 49, and 50 really resonated with me.

Little things like this give me a chance to reflect—both personally and professionally—and help me grow, learn, and strive to be a better human. I’m curious, which of the 50 resonated with you? Find more than one gold nugget in this week's Something to Ponder

WISE WORDS

"You want to make a great investment? Invest in yourself. And then double down." --Josh Brown

The holiday season, end of the semester, and all the holiday activities can bring a mix of stress, chaos, joy, and frustration—sometimes all at once! Just a reminder, you’ve got to take care of yourself first so you can care for everything and everyone around you. How are you doing? How’s your well-being? Maybe you need to 'double down' on yourself.

BELIEF + HOPE = WELL BEING