Friday Memo - 10/8/21

Important dates
October 8 - Book Fair starts
October 9 - Staff visit to EarthDance Farms, 10am
October 11 - Mayes at District Admin Cabinet meeting 9:00 am until --
October 14 - PTO meeting, Hixson Library, 5:15 pm
October 15 - Vogt out of the building
October 18 - Panorama window opens; Grading window opens
October 18 - Mayes at District Admin Cabinet meeting 9:00 am until --
October 19 & 20 - Parent Teacher Conferences, 4pm - 8pm
October 20 - Book Fair ends
October 21 - Parent Teacher Conferences - 9am - 4pm; NO SCHOOL for students
October 21 - Admin at DLT, 8:45 am - 9:45 am
October 21 - Mayes at New Admin meeting, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
October 22 - NO SCHOOL (comp day)
October 25 - Mayes at District Admin Cabinet meeting 9:00 am until --
October 27 - Panorama window closes; Grading window closes
October 28 - 6th grade day at the park
November 1 - Hixson Staff Retreat at Camp Wyman
November 8 - School Improvement Team meeting
November 24 - 26 - Thanksgiving Break

89th issue of Hixson Happenings
Click HERE to read the most recent Hixson Happenings!

Missouri Green Schools - Sprout level recognition
On Tuesday, October 5, Hixson Middle School was been awarded Sprout level recognition by Missouri Green Schools (MGS) for taking steps towards making an impactful difference in the lives of our students, staff, and surrounding communities. We were being recognized specifically for the work that Eric Hayes is leading with our new Sustainability class and newly established community garden. Hixson was one of six schools recognized for their accomplishments. MGS announced the honorees on their website and in their social media. Please read the attached press release and click the links below to view the announcements!

https://meea.org/missouri-green-schools/honorees/

http://meea.org/missouri-green-schools/

Thank you Mr. Hayes for all of the amazing work that you have done so far to engage students in this important learning, including creating a Sustainability class/curriculum and our amazing garden. I am looking forward to all of the excitement and innovation that this course will generate from our students now and in the future. THANK YOU MR. HAYES!

Reflections on this week
This was a pretty challenging week. We had many issues with sub coverage and some pretty significant discipline issues that took up a lot of administrator time. Administrators most impacted by the discipline issues are Mike and myself. We ask that you please be patient as we desperately try to catch up to where we should be in our "work" early next week. The admin team will need to have longer than usual admin team meetings next week to help us recalibrate. Thank you so much for understanding!

On a positive note, I did have an opportunity to sit in on some of the 7th grade circles led by Jeff Atterberry and Lynne Reif this week. It was so refreshing to listen to our students talk about their experiences at Hixson so far, and share ideas for how to make things better. Many students seem to be enjoying the freedoms that come with being a student at Hixson (some a little too much), but many students also feel we need to increase passing time and improve our mask wearing. These are just some of the wonderful things they shared. I encourage you to make time for these conversations in your classroom as well whenever you feel it is necessary.

Extra duty opportunities (for pay)
Please let me know if you would be interested in being a bus monitor or our yearbook sponsor. Both positions carry a stipend. The stipend for yearbook is $2,080. I am waiting on HR to confirm the amount of the stipend for the bus monitor.

Panorama update
I missed my Panorama webinar twice this week due to the many challenges that I mentioned in the paragraph above. The purpose of the webinar was to help me finalize preparation for the survey. Because of this, I am pushing our Panorama survey window back to October 18 - 27. Instructions will be coming to you for having your students take the survey in Statesman Time. Thank you for your patience and flexibility.

Thank you!
There are so many teachers who have recently helped cover classes that didn't have a sub. I would like to publicly thank you all for helping us out. Your efforts are greatly appreciated! Also, thank you to the teachers who offered to help but didn't end up needing to cover a class!

Leslie Creath, Gail Tumminello, Hope Strasser, Jen Shaughnessy, Tracy Lee, Lauren Pleban, Polly Hake, Kendra Day, Megan O'Brien, Katie Kraushaar, Jacob Norman, Bianca James, Jessica Greenberg, Christy Cox, Sean Cahn, Eric Hayes, Ashley Cheney, Jodie Hintze

Also, I want to send a HUGE shout out to Sarah Magruder for coordinating our substitute teachers every day. This is not an easy task, especially these days, and she always does it with a smile on her face! 

Message from iDEA The iDEA (professional development) committee met on September 7th to begin planning dynamic PD opportunities for the 2021-2022 school year. For more information about the mission and goals of iDEA, please visit our website: iDEA website.

For more information about iDEA at the building level, please reach out to your representative - Leslie Creath and Lisa Rodriguez.

Grant Opportunities:

The Webster Groves School District iDEA Committee has developed a grant to support professional learning that enables teachers to implement innovative practices designed to enhance learning for all students. The purpose is not to supplement available general operating funds, but to provide money for a worthwhile project that would not otherwise be funded by the Webster Groves School District. Please know that these grants can be used for virtual opportunities.

The grants can also be found on our iDEA (professional development) website