Thank you
Thank you so much for a great first week of school! I know that we were met with many challenges last week, but you handled it with grace and flexibility, and we appreciate you for that! Please reach out if you need support, and remember...
Staff Shout Outs!
From Dana Mitchell to Jill Right - "Jill Right was a life saver. She called me willing to help me at 6:30 at night. Her tireless effort is greatly appreciated!"
You can submit a staff shout out through the HIXSON STAFF CHECK IN form, and you can also use it to tell us how you are feeling, provide feedback, or communicate a need. We will follow up as needed. We just want to make sure that YOU are taken care of and we are celebrating the positive things that are happening at Hixson!
Important dates
August 31 - Department meetings
September 4 - Early Release Day/Professional Development Day (see plans below)
September 7 - Labor Day: NO SCHOOL
September 16 - Growth plan must be approved by your evaluator
September 18 - Growth plans due to district
Staffing update
Randy Taylor has decided not to return to Hixson. We are in the process of hiring a new math teacher. Once hiring is complete, I will send an email to the staff announcing our new math teacher. Jill Right will teach the class until our hiring process is complete.
DOMAIN 1: HIXSON & COVID-19
Work location plans
Click the Google Forms below to communicate your work location plans. The forms for the upcoming weeks will appear in each Monday Memo until we no longer need them. The form that's due will always be one week ahead so that I know your plans before the week actually starts. If you already know your plans for each week, then you are welcome to complete them all if you want. If you think your plans might fluctuate each week, then just complete the form when it is due on Mondays. If you need to change your plans after you've already submitted your response, email Sarah Magruder so she can update your information. Work location plans for the week of 9/8 to 9/11 are due today by 3:30 PM. Please make sure you complete this task on time.
Work Location Plans - 9/8 to 9/11
Work Location Plans - 9/14 to 9/18
Work Location Plans - 9/21 to 9/25
Work Location Plans - 9/28 to 10/2
Work Location Plans - 10/5 to 10/9
Work Location Plans - 10/12 to 10/16
Work Location Plans - 10/19 to 10/23
Building subs & instructional support
We have two building subs who are available to support teachers when they are not covering classrooms for teachers who are out. Their names are Ginger Krueger and Kasondra McDaniels. We also have Jodie Hintze, who is an instructional aid. If you need them to support you with anything during virtual learning, please let me know and I will help set it up.
When students are not engaging in virtual learning
The admin/counselor team has been working to develop a plan for how Hixson staff will respond when students are not engaging in virtual learning. We are now ready to share a draft of that plan with you for feedback. Click HERE to view a draft of that plan, and if you have any feedback, please send it to an administrator (Shenita Mayes, Aimee Vogt, Mike Hazelton, Stephanie Berry) and/or counselor (Linda Peterson, Erica Spraggins, Sarah Bodi). We will use the feedback to make revisions throughout the week and implement next week.
Self care calendar
Click HERE to access the self care calendar created by Hixson's counseling department.
Admin needs your Zoom links
If you haven't done so already, please submit the Zoom links and passwords to your classes HERE so we can make sure we have access to everyone's classes.
Feedback from parents
Throughout the week, Mike, Aimee, Stephanie, and I have received a variety of feedback from parents regarding virtual learning. As we transition into the second week of school in virtual mode, I wanted to share the most common feedback that we've received so far to inform your work with students in the weeks to come.
- Praise
- Teachers are making genuine efforts to get to know my student!
- My student thinks his/her teachers are funny and engaging!
- We appreciate everything the teachers have done to make virtual learning a positive experience so far!
- I would love to see more getting to know you activities!
- Push
- My student is not being allowed to turn off his/her camera to use the restroom, and/or get a snack or drink.
- My student's teachers are giving live instruction longer than the 22 minutes.
- Zoom links are hard to find on some teachers' Canvas pages.
- I have a student at Steger and Hixson and when I receive emails, some say the teacher's name on it, while others just say 3rd hour, for example. It might be helpful for teachers to put their names on the emails for those of us who have more than one middle school student, just so we know which emails belong to which student.
The "Push" feedback is not always easy to hear, but it gives us something to think about. Next week, the district will conduct a survey for students, families, and staff to gather feedback on how virtual learning is going. If you have feedback to share, be sure to complete the survey when it is released.
DOMAIN 2: HIXSON AND EQUITY
- 12:32 pm to 1:15 pm - Lunch
- 1:15 pm to 1:30 pm - Introduction & Connection
- 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm - presentation from Sherita Love, Founder and Principal Strategist for Changing Systems and EdHub STL
- 3:00 pm - Please start your Labor Day weekend early! You deserve it!
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