Friday Memo - 8/26/22

Important dates
August 31 - Deadline for schedule change requests
September 2 - Kona Ice to visit Hixson!
September 5 - No School; Labor Day
September 7 - 6th grade Camp parent meeting; 6:30 pm
September 9 - Kona Ice to visit Hixson!
September 12 - Late Start Day
September 16 - Early Release Day; dismissal at 12:32 pm
September 16 - PLC Mini Conference presenter expression of interest email due to Mayes
September 23 - Kona Ice to visit Hixson!

119th issue of Hixson Happenings

Team & Department Photos are in!

We made it through week 1! Woo hoo!
I thought this was an AWESOME week! Thank you for all you have done to make this week so amazing for our students! I have received lots of positive feedback about the work that you're doing with your students. Just this morning in the parent drop off line, a parent said to me, "My daughter [6th grader] said she's having such a good experience at Hixson that she forgot today was Friday!" This is exactly the type of feedback we want to hear!

If you're ever exhausted and need something to put a quick smile on your face and wash all your cares away, please feel free to use the emergency puppy below! Have an awesome weekend!

Staff updates
We hired a Clinic Aide! Her name is Victoria Montgomery and she was approved by the BOE last night. As a former emergency room technician and volunteer firefighter, Victoria is bringing a wealth of experience to the table. I am not sure when she will start yet, but hopefully sometime next week!

Update from Human Resources
Please note--The COVID Leave policy that was afforded to staff last school year expired on June 30, 2022. They (HR) do not have any plans to offer the COVID Leave again as of now. They will continue to monitor staff sick days. 

Important Re-norming Reminders

• No student should be in the hallway without a pass during class. A Hixson Administrator will bring your student back to your classroom and ask you to give them a pass if they are found in the hallway without a pass during class.
• Students should not be released from class early.
• Please make sure your learning goals are posted in your classroom at all times.
• Students should not wait at your door to be dismissed from class. They should be engaged from bell to bell. 
• Don't forget to plan for closure each day in your classes. Remember, how do you know what students know by the end of class?

Updated Attendance Procedures
Please be sure to review the updated attendance procedures that can be found in the most recent issue of Hixson Happenings (link above) and in the Student Handbook.  

Staff Attendance Updates

• Departments/Job Classifications that should direct their attendance inquiries to Nikita Hicks: Social Studies, Science, PE/Health, Fine Arts, Instructional/Progress Monitoring Coach, Aides/Interventionists, Library, Counseling
• Departments/Job Classifications that should direct their attendance inquiries to Kelley Ramay: Nurse, Math, ELA, Practical Arts, Reading Specialists, World Languages, SSD

Team and Department Newsletters

Please make sure your newsletter is updated by the end of 7th hour on the Fridays listed below. These are also the due dates for your grades to be updated (except Aug 19). We will run grades reports on these dates to ensure they are updated. If there is an issue with your grades, then your evaluator will contact you.

Semester 1

August 19, 2022

September 2, 2022

September 16, 2022

September 30, 2022

October 14, 2022

October 28, 2022

November 11, 2022

December 2, 2022

December 16, 2022

Semester 2

January 6, 2023

January 20, 2023

February 3, 2023

February 17, 2023

March 3, 2023

March 31, 2023

April 14, 2023

April 28, 2023

May 12, 2023 (last newsletter of the year for teams and departments)

*The last Hixson Happenings of the year will be sent to parents on May 19, 2023.

School Improvement Team (SIT)

Please consider joining one of the sub-committees of the School Improvement Team. All staff are welcome to join! The meeting dates are listed below. Please email the leaders of the teams if you are interested in joining!

Sept 19, Oct 10, Nov 14, Dec 12, Jan 23, Feb 13, March 13, April 10

Progress Monitoring, Intervention, Grading, & Assessment (led by Aimee Vogt) - The PMIGA committee examines current practices surrounding grading and assessment and works to tighten and provide commonality amongst these practices. After completing this work, the committee will examine the success of our efforts in providing interventions using progress monitoring data. 

Character Education & Social Emotional Learning (led by Jeff Atterberry) - Character Ed/SEL committee works together to design and implement a school wide character education plan based on the 11 Principles of Character Education (members will get a copy of the book). This team will also tune/refine/create Statesman Time lessons, and work together to improve overall effectiveness of the program. Please join this team if you have an interest in continuous improvement of the culture/climate at Hixson Middle School, and desire to help our school become a State School of Character!

Hixson Structures and Systems (led by Shenita Mayes) - The Hixson Systems and Structures committee will work together to seek answers to the question, "Is our school currently structured in a way that prioritizes the needs of our students?" Systems and structures can include anything from the bell schedule to the master schedule to rules/procedures/unwritten rules etc. This committee will take a deep dive into our current systems and structures by shadowing Hixson students for a day, examining sample schedules from other middle schools across the country, gathering feedback from important stakeholders, and determining what we can do to improve the middle school experience for ALL of our students. This group will receive and utilize the This We Believe text from the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) as a framework of best practices in middle school education to guide their work.

Professional Development Opportunity 

Equity is defined as a state of existence that is reached when our social identities, and the intersections thereof, do not predict our outcomes. As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that ALL students receive an education that allows them to thrive and reach their fullest potential. This means that our work with students is purposefully loving, affirming, challenging, and empowering. 

In this salary credit course, participants will learn and implement specific strategies/techniques/approaches to instruction that will yield equitable outcomes for the students they serve. The course will begin with an immersion experience that will give a glimpse into the history of education in St. Louis, connecting the equity issues that we see today to their historical origins. Then, participants will meet every six weeks after school to continue their learning, reflect on what they’ve implemented, and discuss the results of the implementation. The salary credit course will culminate in a celebration and an opportunity to assist building administration with planning professional development for the 23-24 school year. 

Facilitators: Mike Hazelton, Shenita Mayes, Jason Heisserer (consultant + former Hixson principal)

Meeting Schedule:

• Saturday, September 24, 2022: History of education in STL Immersion Experience; 9am to 2pm

• Tuesday, November 1, 2022: 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm

• December 13, 2022: 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm

• January 24, 2023: 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm

• March 7, 2023: 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm

• April 18, 2023: 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm

• May 16, 2023: 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm (celebration)

• May 31 OR June 1, 2023: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm (professional development planning)

• Four “on your own” assignments will be embedded throughout the year. They will each require one hour of time. 

Based on this meeting schedule, this course is worth 2 salary credits or a $360 ($15/hr for 24 hours) stipend. If you would like to sign up for this professional development opportunity, please email Mike Hazelton and Shenita Mayes. All staff are welcome!

Middle School THRIVE Program
We are excited to announce that we will be offering an after school WG Thrive entrepreneurial enrichment program for Hixson students starting September 2022, and are currently seeking applicants for after school program teachers. Please click the link below to read the job description, and use the After school activities sponsor sign up to express interest in being a sponsor!

Middle School THRIVE program sponsor

Teaching & Learning Cohort through the Chelsea Center at WGHS
The Experiential Learning Center at WGHS has added a new course this year titled "Teaching and Learning Cohort". This Experiential Learning Class helps students interested in becoming teachers explore that career through observations, hands-on support of small group instruction and teaching in K-8 classrooms throughout the Webster Groves School District. Students will also participate in seminar-style classes to study best practices in teaching and to reflect on their learning along the way.

The four students in the cohort, plus their teacher, will be participating in several rounds of 10-minute learning walks on Monday and Tuesday. Teachers whose spaces they will visit have been notified. On September 19 and 20, the students will be coming to observe full class periods. They will be here during first and second periods and would like to visit the same classes on both days. If you are willing to have these students observe your class, please email Aimee Vogt. 

Message from PTO
Hello Everyone! My name is Kelly Dunsford, and I’m part of your PTO’s Communications Team. This year we would like to highlight a “Getting to Know You” feature on the PTO Facebook page. Our hope is that by sharing information about Hixson teachers, it will help the parents feel more connected to the school by being able to put a face to a name, especially when our learners are telling us stories about their day. In order to accomplish this, the Communications Team is requesting that you answer some questions in the Google form (if interested). Thank you! (Please see a sample below)

1.