Potential Title for Today:
What is your favorite Board Game?
or
Good discipline DOES NOT diminish HOPE.
Winfield Middle School Staff Blog
April 14, 2016
Three Thoughts for the Week:
1. What is the difference between a SETBACK and a DEFEAT?
Think baseball!
A SETBACK might be related to a pitch called a strike but the batter just stood there. It sets us back, behind or in a weaker position , but it does not mean things are done, completed or finished! An opportunity for success still exists and things could still work out! The SETBACK just makes it harder. A big part of education is working to get over this hurdle and overcome.
A DEFEAT might be the end of the inning, the end of the “at bat” or the end of the game. Regardless, there is a sense of finality in the DEFEAT but a sense of hope in the SETBACK. School must teach how to overcome SETBACKS.
These window decals map out the last few weeks. We want to sprint to the future but not kick too early. Finish strong and carry our load all the way to the end. Here, an event, special activity or something is aligned to motivate any and every student in our building. WHO might we be missing? Who is not served in this group of activities? Who are we leaving out? Our DodgeBall Tournament pulls in everybody. Are you IN?
Meet The Enforcers
Back in the day…
From notes folded into footballs, using pens and pencils, we sent men to the moon with less computer power than that little flash drive on the laptop, showing a picture of the Twin Towers, a remote control, laser pointer and an iPad.
2. What are teachers really doing?
Back in the day, when I was in high school and I was texting my girlfriend… Wait! When I was in High School, Apollo 13 had less computer technology than that memory stick in this photo. Writing notes is now a rarity. Bag phones are obsolete. Cursive penmanship is going the way of the dodo bird. How can we attend to this? How can we get them ready for a future using tools of the past?
As teachers, we are preparing students for a future we don’t know anything about. “Dick Tracy” and “Back to the Future” both painted an outlandish version of hoverboards and talking watches. Now, we all know somebody with google glasses, an apple watch, a hoverboard, bluetooth devices loaded into our cars, hand-held computers or technology in any and every part of their lives. “There’s an APP for that!” In fact they have coined another term to describe the absence of technology. A break from the technology, called a phone-fast or cyber-fast is an actual event where people deliberately eliminate as much as possible from their lives, retreat into the past and eliminate the cyber attention for a weekend, day or even a couple hours, all in an attempt to reset.
Teachers are preparing our students by equipping them with tools to use to solve problems that don't even exist yet. For instance, maybe our “phone” is a diode inserted into our fingertip, operating on our blood pressure or pulse, so when we work-out or exercise, with steps, it runs our device. Maybe this device needs a smooth surface, like a desktop, or even another finger, or ???
3. What is Your favorite Board Game?
I love the contemplative look of this young orangutan at the St Louis Zoo. She looks like she is scratching her chin, pondering the choices in front of her and weighing the consequences of each.
At home, we don’t have to hang from vines to do this but we may play all sorts of board games, create adventures and design intricacies together to develop this set of social skills. Students need, cherish and benefit from the interaction, waiting your turn, following rules, celebrating with winners, being polite and working through setbacks and defeat. Students at school benefit from these same skills. Some websites quote up to ten positive reasons to play board games.
Chess, Risk, Scrabble, Monopoly, Life, Clue, Sorry, Chutes & Ladders, Rummycube, Checkers and the list goes on...
Scroll to the conclusion for the rest of this story.
Upcoming Events for Winfield Middle School
Friday - 4/16
- Ac Lab Challenge
- Myra Collins
- DodgeBall Tournament
- “A” Team
Monday - 4/18
- BLOCK SCHEDULE Red Day, 1,3,5,7
- Binder Teams for 7th Grade
- Night Class
Tuesday - 4/19
- BLOCK SCHEDULE Black Day, 2,4,6,8
- Winfield Middle School Track Meeting
Wednesday - 4/20
- Regular Early Release Bell Schedule
- Details on Testing Procedures
- MAP Testing Video
- Rooms/People/Students/Staff
Thursday - 4/21
- BLOCK SCHEDULE Red Day, 1,3,5,7
- PBiS or FACULTY MTG before school
Friday - 4/22
- BLOCK SCHEDULE Black Day, 2,4,6,8
- City Museum for Reading Bingo
Saturday - 4/23
- Middle School Warrenton Track Meet
Upcoming
4/22 City Museum - Reading Counts Award Winners
4/29 National Junior Honor Society Induction
5/4 Spencer Library - Meet the Author
5/5 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/6 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/10 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/11 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/12 Six Flags - Leadership Students
5/16 Field Day - ALL Middle School students
5/18 Chris’s Cakes for Attendance and Student of the Month
5/19 8th Grade BBQ & Walk-Out (8th grade graduation)
5/20 Teacher Checkout
5/25 Teacher PD - Summer Stipend Days
Thanks for the input regarding the PD days for Summer. I will send out invitations to your calendars on these dates as we get more details.
SUMMER SCHOOL
This year, we will be inviting students to summer school based on attendance and achievement in MATH and ELA. Candidate lists are being compiled right now. If you would like for your student to be considered as a candidate, please contact our office. The dates for summer school are June 1 - 28 at the High School, from 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Monday through Friday.
SUMMER ACADEMY
Another transition program we sponsor helps to orient and ease students into the High School routine. This program is called the SUMMER ACADEMY. Eighth Grade candidates will be selected, invited and hosted to participate in this outstanding, acclaimed program. Activities at the High School build connections, relationships and prepare the students with a boost and head start as they transition to the complex world of high school. FACT: a student with a poor freshmen year is far more likely to drop out and never recover from the setback of the credit system. High school students must earn over 22 high school credits to graduate. Successful completion of the SUMMER ACADEMY starts students off on the right foot with their first .5 credit, before they even enter school in August!
4/22 City Museum - Reading Counts Award Winners
4/29 National Junior Honor Society Induction
5/4 Spencer Library - Meet the Author
5/5 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/6 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/9 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/10 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/11 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/12 Six Flags - Leadership Students
5/16 Field Day - ALL Middle School students
5/18 Chris’s Cakes for Attendance and Student of the Month
5/19 8th Grade BBQ & Walk-Out (8th grade graduation)
5/20 Teacher Checkout
Teacher PD - Summer Stipend Days
eValuate Data
Cycle A
Cycle B
eValuate scores, as they are coming in...
April word of the month Confidence - The assurance that you accomplish the task before you.
Rich Hill The staff and faculty of Winfield Middle School have been in a discussion about the effects of poverty and socio-economic status on academic achievement levels. Part of our discussion is informed by the award-winning film, Rich Hill. Presented as a stream of consciousness observation, the film traces a year in the life of three young men from Rich Hill, Missouri being raised in poverty. After watching this powerful film, the staff needed to pause and rejuvenate ourselves. “Invictus” was our response. Interestingly, the man who wrote that poem lost his foot and part of his leg to an illness, yet he persisted into success!
Waiting for Superman After visiting on Monday with the Middle School Staff, my night class finished watching the movie, Waiting for Superman" and then picked up the conversation and continued for an hour trying to answer the question: Do we Fail our Schools or Do our Schools Fail Us? As a team of professionals from Lindbergh, Clayton, SSD, Troy, Desoto, Mehlville and Winfield, we deliberated over the exact same questions. Our students do not come to school wanting to fail. They want success but the don't know how to get there, what it looks like or even what it means! They may be fighting a battle we don't recognize and when we ask them something, it may take them a minute to connect. As their leaders, teachers and mentors, we help them create the passion, articulate their goals and develop their personal potential based on their obvious or LATENT talents. I often times ask myself...
Is it worth it?
I see these children and my heart goes out. I want to give them every advantage, every opportunity to find success. I do not want to crush their spirit, dissuade their drive. I remember a quote: Good Discipline DOES NOT diminish HOPE.
Tell me it’s not worth it when a great group of students arrive enthused to learn, hang out with friends, participate in learning activities, have lunch and even sing Happy Birthday! Thank you.
#everystudent
#everyminute
#everyday
#panorama
Conclusion:
In PBiS, we were talking about how many good memories we all have playing board games with close friends and family. We fondly remembered our wins as well as some of our losses. We talked about “sore losers” as well as “sore winners.” Both are lessons important to learn for successful interaction in social situations. It is good to know how to be humble and charitable in all situations.
My wife tells me not to regularly beat all my guests when we host company. She reminds me that it is a game, and part of the purpose of the game is to learn how to play and not just determine a winner and (more importantly) a loser. She says I must learn to win as well as lose. In either case, I should portray grace and humility. In life, we can’t always be the very best every time. We must understand what it takes to fail, start over and pick back up and continue. A setback is not a defeat and part of school is learning how to accept this.
As teachers, we help ALL students with ALL parts of their lives. We don't have the luxury of picking and choosing. We can't tell parents to send us the good students. We take them all, give them what THEY need and rest knowing we have done the best by them. Teachers are doers, solvers and motivated by challenges to solve problems. We often times take too much on ourselves trying to make things something they are not. While driving to school this morning, I was reminded that we will always have these concerns, challenges and situations in front of us. STUDENTS ARE NOT GOING AWAY. We are here to serve the people, as who they are, to make whatever contribution to their life we possibly can. We happen to use a content to reach them. Math becomes the universal language. Writing and thought processes develop allowing expressiveness. Sciences help us understand our worlds, whether it’s natural science or social science. Arts become avenues of personal embellishment.
As teachers, we can’t solve every problem, yet we will always, perpetually and continually try. That’s what we do and that’s who we are. Regardless, we must operate from the platform of managing problems through process development and systemic adjustments. We can’t solve them all but must manage them all. We serve EVERY CHILD that walks through our doors. The children that walk through our door are not the problem but our future. If they need extra attention, we give that. If they need more support, we give that. If they need extra time, we give that. We will get our students what they need for their future.
It is an honor and privilege to work alongside each of you. Watching this staff, (you) serve these children, helping solve our issues, as well as managing the concerns, I know, it works. I know you work. I know they work.
Tom McCracken
Winfield Middle School
