As we come to an end...

With all the talk of 8th grade promotion a week away and two weeks left for 6th and 7th, even I have to admit we are reaching the end of the 2010 - 2011 school year.

Many parents and staff have heard me say countless times that middle school is a process. The learning and maturation from 5th grade to becoming freshmen is not a light switch. It is not an event or occurrence. It is a process that takes a full three years. I also view a student's education from K-12 and beyond as a process encompassing countless educational and personal milestones.

At the same time, there is no denying the last day of school as an event. I remember a first day of summer vacation almost ten years ago. My middle son had his brand new RED gym shoes and the temporary "cornrows" in his hair (remember Allan Iverson) running down the hill towards the neighbor's house on a perfect summer day.

It is like I am standing there now. The smell of lilacs. The dark green grass. The cloudless, bright blue sky. The brand new red shoes. The blond, goofy looking hair. Blue shirt, red shorts. The group of kids yelling his name and jumping around as he got smaller and smaller in view running down that hill as fast as he possibly could. I really don't think it ever gets better than that. The whole summer was in front of him with endless possibilities, and second grade was a thought too far into the future for him to even try to conceive.

I guess we all remember that feeling. In education, it is important for us to finish the year on a strong note. To make sure that we lay the ground work for continued growth next year - when summer vacation does inevitably come to an end.

The staff at the middle school will be working with Mr. McPherson this summer to ensure gains in curriculum and staffing for next year. I will be working with Kingston Elementary staff to make sure we continue the gains made in recent years under the leadership of Mrs. Dudley.

As our students run off with all the promise of a full summer, we hope they thoroughly enjoy it. That they get to do all they would like. We know, when August comes around again, they will be recharged and ready to continue on their path in education. We will make every effort to ensure that they will be coming back to a quality school that is another year better and another step further in meeting their individual needs.

I wish all GK families a happy and safe summer making memories that will last a lifetime.



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It's Spring Again! A Time to Grow and a Time to Change

Yes, I know, next week's weather forecast hints at the possibility of snow. However, it is a beautiful Spring day today! With Spring Break upon us, I am declaring that Spring has sprung.

It is an excellent opportunity to recharge, regroup, and finish the year strong. There are months left of learning and great opportunities for our students. Middle school is a time of such great change. Our students that enter as a large group of elementary kids develop and change over the years. They become more individual. More independent. More discerning of likes and dislikes. More conscious of where and how they fit in. More aware of being accepted or disenfranchised. Sometimes with ease; sometimes with a lot of pain. It is a process. Sometimes it takes all three years. Sometimes more. Through it all, the kids usually figure it out with support from family, friends, and teachers.

The next thing you know, it is 8th grade promotion night, and I find myself talking with parents wondering where the time went.

It is the same this year. As I reflect on my 10 years at GKMS, I think of the great kids, parents, and staff I have reached out to and those who have helped me learn and grow. I think of the great progress we have made. I have been truly lucky and consider it a privileged to have been a part of this great school for so long.

As Spring brings about new growth and change, I am fortunate to have a new opportunity. Next year I will be the principal of Kingston Elementary School. While GKMS will continue to move forward with leadership from Mr. McPherson and the great staff, I will have the opportunity to learn from the excellent and hard working staff at KES. Often, I have heard Mrs. Dudley praise the effort and dedication to kids that the KES staff commits to on a daily basis. I look forward to learning from them and playing a role in the process of continued growth and improvement of this already excellent school.

ISAT Week is Here!

As some of you were surprised to read last year, I look forward to and welcome ISAT week. Of course there are some minor inconveniences to the schedule. And, there certainly are difficulties in conducting regular learning activities in shorter class periods.

However, for any inconveniences we may incur due to ISAT week, it brings with it great opportunity. Our students and teachers work hard all year to learn, grow, and create. ISAT week brings with it the opportunity to show that learning. Our students have the opportunity to prove that as individuals and as a group, we can succeed with kids from all over the state.

I look forward to a great week of giving our kids the chance to show what they know.

Mission Possible!

Along with Character Counts and our PBIS Behavior programs, GKMS students talk openly and participate in lessons designed to help create a Bully Free GKMS.

February’s lesson took place during the early release / conference days. Staff and students discussed the various aspects of what constitutes a bullying situation. Not all negative behaviors are bullying, however, many are.

Students then participated in various projects from an assignment menu visualizing and describing a Bully Free GKMS. There is no doubt in my mind that the combination of excellent parental support, a positive climate, education, and our great students all make a Bully Free school very possible.

Some "Tips" for Educators

There are many talented, creative, and dedicated professionals who devote their lives to helping kids learn and achieve. One of my favorites is Douglas Reeves. Below are his top tips to educators for helping to keep kids involved in learning.

We continue to work on strengthening these skills with GKMS staff and better serving our students' needs.

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Douglas Reeves’ Five Top Tips

to Improve Student Engagement

1) Choice - A recurring theme of the research on motivation is choice. This does not mean that students have the choice of whether to engage in the assigned work, but it does mean that effective teachers can provide choices of how students engage in the work. Every time students engage in a choice, they are making a wager that they are choosing wisely, and nobody likes to lose a bet. All of the remaining parts of this "Top Five" list are variations on the theme of choice.

2) Homework Menus - A Homework Menu creates a series of choices for students that will provide opportunities for proficiency for all students, while providing opportunities for challenge for those who are bored, and reinforcement and practice for students who are struggling. Some teachers create their Homework Menu in several columns, and students choose one or two problems (writing prompts, math problems, and so on) from each column. Not only does this strategy help to engage students, but it also provides valuable feedback for teachers based on the accuracy of the student work and the choices that students made.

3) Electronic Games - Using Macromedia Flash Professional 8 (free trial versions available at www.Adobe.com), one of Mr. Kane's 8th grade history students created his own electronic game. Built around the theme of freedom during Revolutionary times, the student-produced game first provided pictures and quotations from Founders, and then asked questions about this period of history. Players received immediate feedback, including the opportunity to learn more and change their answers. While many students also chose essays, posters, dramas, and other creative methods of completing the assignment, there's something about 8th grade boys and electronic games that seems to click.

4) Student-Generated Rubrics - Larry Ainsworth, author of Power Standards and many other publications, wrote Student Generated Rubrics, a book in which he demonstrates the power of students creating with clear and student-accessible language their expectations for performance. If you have ever had playground duty, you might have overheard students explaining the rules of a game to other students. In this context, students can be remarkably precise: You can go here, but you can't go there. You can do this but you can't do that. Equipped with such clear expectations, new students quickly learn the game. Why not capitalize on the ability of students to articulate expectations in the classroom? How much more clear might our rubrics and other expectations be if we took the time to have students express those expectations in a format and language that is clear to them? They might even use a combination of words, symbols, and pictures, knowing intuitively that not all of their classmates learn in the same way.

5) Engaging Scenarios - In the book and seminar series Making Standards Work, the first step of creating an effective standards-based classroom assessment is the creation of an engaging scenario. For example, before we assign a challenge to our students, we ask, "Why would anyone really need to know this? What real-life roles might our students play if they were using this information?" Science teachers in Alaska, for example, use simulations of the Exxon Valdez environmental disaster to help students develop language, math, science, and speaking skills as they engage in a court battle to represent the interests of Native Nations, local governments, tourist business owners, and many other stakeholders. Math teachers in Denver put students in the pilot's seat as they use real-world navigation problems to hone their rate/time/distance skills and their understanding of geometry. Speech teachers throughout the nation are using compelling scenarios ranging from domestic violence (the current Lincoln-Douglas debate topic) to concerns over the college early admissions process (the current Public Forum debate topic) in order to help students practice research, writing, and communication skills.

The New Year

Welcome back. I hope everyone enjoyed Winter Break and is recharged and ready to go.

Over the next week, I will be reviewing upcoming curriculum with staff and map our course of action for next three months. Our staff is working to continue to provide standards based curriculum in meaningful ways for our students.

We will also continue working with students as they mature and seek positive interactions with each other. Our students all benefit when we treat each other with respect.

I welcome parents to contact the school at any time to review curriculum goals, PBIS positive behaviors and expectations, and any other aspect of GKMS life. Only by working together can we continue to make GKMS a great place.

Holiday Season

The holiday season is here. For many, this seems to be the time of the year when we can most easily open ourselves to both giving and receiving help, encouragement, and friendship. In the current climate, some families never before needing help, find that a little would be welcome. Many families wanting to help others, find there are so many areas to be of service they can't possible meet them all.

GKMS students are focusing on a few very specific ways to help all area families - including some of our own.

Delivery of items from our October food drive found a very sparse inventory at the Genoa Food Pantry. Because of this, Student Council and Community Impact Club are hosting a movie during the final school day before Winter break. Admittance for students will be 3 food items or a hat / mitten set. All items will go to the Genoa Food Pantry.

We will also be accepting donations from the public until Wednesday, December 15th. Please bring any donations to the front office.

On a more personal level, Student Council is helping to brighten the holidays for two families by contributing gifts for younger children and food cards. Student Council is also sending holiday cards to local service men and women who will be far from home.

No matter how overwhelmed we all may feel by work obligations, family schedules, and financial concerns, it is important to me that I remember to count blessings and appreciate those around me. We all have a wealth of people to help, to count on, to give to, to receive from. I consider this a perfect time to rededicate myself and remind our students of ways to contribute and excel. To take a moment to think of others. To let others do for us. To do what we should be doing all year long.