| Principal's Report |
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| Written by James Russell | |||
| Monday, 16 March 2009 14:00 | |||
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HERMON MIDDLE SCHOOL December 2, 2009 TO: SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS FR: JIM RUSSELL, PRINCIPAL RE: REPORT – DECEMBER 7, 2009 SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Several meetings of note were held around the much appreciated Thanksgiving break. On Thursday, November 19, Hermon administrators, guidance personnel, curriculum and special education directors, school nurse, and high school interventionists met at Hermon High School with district social worker Kara Kitchin to discuss dropout prevention strategies and possible interventions. The multiple risk factors involved, the importance of transitions between the elementary and middle schools and middle and high schools, social skills development and career awareness were all discussed. One factor that offers a hedge against dropping out, a connectedness to someone and/or something, is evolving daily at the middle school with our advisory program. The following Monday, November 23, several members of the group above gathered again with teachers serving on the Professional Development Committee to clarify the committee’s role in planning activities for early release and in-service days. Monthly meetings with principals to improve communication and develop plans for staff meetings as well as the days mentioned above were the recommendation of the gathering to accommodate the unique needs of each building. That evening, the HMS PTA held their November meeting where they finalized their Little Caesar’s pizza fundraiser results, discussed other money-making opportunities and what their role might be if a holiday performance could be secured. Events for the post-Christmas months and March’s Spring Into the Arts were also talked about. The enthusiasm and energy of this relatively small group is appreciated. Following the break, I had the opportunity to work with Brandy St. Pierre and other staff members to analyze some of the 2009 MEA results. Identifying specific areas where students were not successful, strategizing how to increase the skills and knowledge of these students as well as how to move students toward increased proficiency in pursuit of adequate yearly progress were the focus of our group. Monday, November 30, also marked the beginning of our annual book fair. Students have the opportunity to visit the many offerings in the library during study hall, with their class or with their family on Wednesday’s Family Night. Basketball, cheering and chess squads returned to action during the first week of December. Due to an early-season bye and the Thanksgiving holiday week, the time between outings seemed especially long. As Tuesday’s results attested however, the extra time practicing and resting proved very beneficial. Monday, December 7, marks Alcohol Awareness Day and the beginning of Alcohol Awareness Week around the state. 5th grade teachers will be addressing awareness and education about alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and dependence with their instructional groups while science teachers Amanda Lovejoy and Jim Fratini will speak to the issues in their science classes. HMS’ behavior Response to Intervention (RtI) leadership team, Jill Churchill, Tonja Edgecomb, Ann Wheeler and I, will meet with the University of Maine’s Jim Artesani on Monday, the 7th, to continue our work on implementing positive behavioral supports. A Statement of Purpose and Common Settings Behavioral Expectations Matrix is available for discussion and adjustment. Band director Terry Flegel has forwarded information about the upcoming Hermon Middle School Holiday Concert scheduled for Wednesday, December 16, in the high school auditorium at 7:00 p.m. The evening’s entertainment is free, open to the public and will showcase the following groups: 5th grade band (42 students) 6th grade band (27 students) 7th/8th grade band (26 students) Jazz Band (26 students). Chorus director John Kollman’s choruses will also be performing. They feature two groups, a 5th/6th grade chorus and a 7th/8th grade chorus. Looking back at two events that took place in November finds the following: Results from the Fall Eastern Maine Mathematics League are in. In grade 6: Madeline Williams (33 points) 5th place (tie) Ali Reynolds (30 points) 9th place Team #2 – 7th place; Team #1 – 10th place (of 20 teams) In grade 7: Team #1 – 13th place; Team #2 – 17th place (of 20 teams) In grade 8: Jeremy Beaulieu (31 points) 5th place (tie) Gretchen Spencer (26 points) 13th place (tie) Team #1 – 5th place (of 20 teams). Included with this report is a copy of a thank you note written by grade 6 team leader Mark Fitzpatrick to one of the sponsors of the grade 6 trip to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Written on behalf of the other team members and the students, Mr. Fitzpatrick’s expression of gratitude is offered for the outstanding educational experience all attendees (including Mrs. Nicola!) enjoyed just prior to Thanksgiving. Enrollment (as of December 2, 2009): Grade 5 – 62 Grade 6 – 72 Grade 7 – 58 Grade 8 – 69 Total - 261 HERMON MIDDLE SCHOOL November 18, 2009 TO: SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS FR: JIM RUSSELL, PRINCIPAL RE: REPORT – NOVEMBER 23, 2009 Tuesday, November 17, was a busy day for staff and students, specifically me and those athletes competing in basketball, cheerleading and chess. In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting facilitated by Curriculum Coordinator Gail Gordon to continue a previous discussion around the topic of standards-based education. Also in attendance were other Hermon administrators as well as the principals from the three S.A.D. #23 schools. We reviewed some of the things that are currently happening in all of the schools represented, discussed elements of the presentation made by the Hermon High School English teachers at the November 16 School Committee meeting and plotted what our next steps should be. My plan is to generate some discussion questions for HMS staff about the process and rubric utilized by the HHS English 9 teachers and the grading and reporting practices utilized at Caravel Middle School. Later that afternoon, the 2009-2010 winter sports seasons got underway with games/matches against Glenburn. Doubleheader sweeps by both the “A” and “B” basketball teams and an exciting conclusion in the chess match found all teams, including the cheerleaders, starting their seasons on a very positive note. To address some of the problems areas identified last season, Athletic Director Scott Perkins and I implemented some expectations for HMS students remaining after school to attend the basketball games and worked with Maintenance Director Larry Dearborn and his staff to have the lighting situation on the side of the school improved to better handle the parking for after school activities. Additionally, Mr. Perkins has been able to employ both a timekeeper and a scorekeeper (other than himself) so as to free him up for better site management. Wednesday, November 18, found the members of the HMS Math Team busing to the nearby Hermon Baptist Church with their coaches, Nicole Wass and Shelley Cyr, and a couple of parent volunteers to take their first series of tests of the math team season. More than twenty-five mathletes computed and calculated their way through the tests, enjoyed snacks and lunch and had the opportunity to review their results with the coaches before returning to school. At the afternoon staff meeting, in addition to the regular agenda items, Gifted/Talented consultant Marcy Soucy shared some before-during-after lesson strategies and thoughts with staff. Her PowerPoint presentation offered several easy to implement suggestions to improve learning for students of any ability level. During the latter part of the meeting, those teachers who attended July’s Middle Level Education Institute continued the work they have been doing with staff around education at the middle level. They reviewed staff comments about a prior presentation involving the Bright Futures document, discussed with staff the data they had generated about practices suggested in the document, and gave meeting attendees a chance to better acquaint themselves with middle level lingo. More time will be needed for this group to implement all of the components of their project. I have approved the placement of three student teaching interns from the University of Maine for the second semester. Jonathan Hart will continue his work in Grade7/8 math with Shelley Cyr for 15 weeks (January 11-May 7, 2010); Ashley Hanson will work with Rose Ross in grade 5 for 8 weeks (January 11-March 12, 2010) before returning to a placement at Hermon Elementary School; Sarah Harbison will work with Jantha Henry in grade 8 for 8 weeks (March 15 – May 7, 2010). All teacher candidates are required to successfully pass the Praxis I and Praxis II Exams before they begin their internship. They also submit a student profile and must meet personally with the teacher and myself prior to coming on board. Mentor teachers are charged with being influential in making a positive impact on the teacher candidate’s professional development. In response to an inquiry at the November 9 School Committee meeting, I am submitting the following information from French teacher Ruth Parent re the grade 8 French class’ trip to Quebec in May of 2010. 61 grade 8 students are enrolled in French class; Trip cost if 47-49 students go: $415; Trip cost if 45 students go: $425; Number of students committed to going [deposit ($100) paid] as of November 18: 23; Number planning to go: 35 [making the cost of the trip approximately $550]; Amount of money fund-raised: $1434; Fund raising was not required of those who wanted to go but offered to help defray the cost of the trip; Academic and behavioral qualifications had been discussed; Bottom line: Not enough students had committed to attending without the cost of the trip being prohibitive so a decision was made not to go forward for this year. Also included with this report is a summary of the staff feedback given to Advisory Coordinator Shelley Cyr at the staff meeting of October 28. Mrs. Cyr and I present these as evidence of the “temperature” of the staff relative to the Advisor/Advisee program at the conclusion of the first quarter. A couple of dates of note: Friday, November 13 PTA fundraiser pizza delivered and picked up PTA’s major fundraiser Monday, November 23 PTA meeting, HMS MultiPurpose Room, 6:30 Monday, November 23 Grade 6 trip to Gulf Research Institute of Maine Tuesday, November 24 Cyr bus leaves at 6:45, returns at 1:45 Two groups (about 36 students each) go each day Monday, November 30 Hermon Middle School Book Fair - Friday, December 4 Family Night – Wednesday, December 2, 3:30 – 7:30
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 07:37 |