SEMS Staff Weekly Update
May 13th, 2024
Hi SEMS,
I was so inspired this week by so many teachers taking risks in their classrooms to 'play' with Future Ready Learning environments through authentic learning opportunities. What's an 'authentic' learning experience? This will be the work of next school year together, but some sneak peeks of activities I saw this week: Creating alternative seating in a classroom and letting students sit where ever they like, Students investigating a real world scientific ethics dilemma and presenting them to scientists, Researching a topic of their own choosing and going down a 'rabbit hole', and teachers prepping for statistics for the start of the year next year so they can incorporate real life in to math throughout the upcoming year! I appreciate our teachers creativity, collaboration with one another, and risk taking.
-Tricia
Schedule for the Week
Monday
- Science CAASPP Testing Starts
- ELA CAASPP Make Ups in the Library this week
- ILT Meeting at 2:45pm
Wednesday
- ELAC Meeting at 8am
- WEB Play Day for New Leaders during 7th period
- Spring Choir Concert at 6pm
Thursday
- Spanish Finals...SHHHH!
- AP meeting: Jenn @ DO a.m., Cheryl @ D.O. p.m.
- Warehouse Order Deadline
- PTO Meeting at 12:30pm
Friday
- Fun Friday's with Vega
- Tricia Off Site
Upcoming:
May 20th: Math CAASPP Testing Starts
May 23 & 24th: Spanish Finals...SHHHHH!
May 27th: Memorial Day Weekend
May 28th: 8th Grade Yearbook Distribution
May 29th: 6th/7th Yearbook Distribution, Whole Staff Celebration, Grading Time, and Off Campus Celebration
May 30th: 8th Grade Party
May 31st: Mini Marathon
June 4th: Promotion Rehearsal
June 5th: Promotion
Want to check out ALL the happenings on campus? Check out the SEMS Master Calendar.
Last Chance.....Thank you PTO!
If you haven't already signed a thank you card...cards in my office. I'll be giving the PTO members them at our last PTO meeting of the year this Thursday.
If you are open to donating $5 to help me buy them some thank you gifts, my venmo or cash donations are in my office. NO PRESSURE!
Master Schedule
I believe everyone has a copy of their departments draft schedule for next year. Celena is now entering the sections in to Synergy. Once we have that done, and we have cleaned up any balancing issues, we can send out a full draft to the staff.
A thank you to our very own Nurse Mojdah Rassouli who supports our students and families at SEMS!
End of Year Library Dates
End of the Year Activities
Going off campus? Have an outdoor event you are hosting? etc...??
As the end of the year is approaching, there is a lot happening on campus. To help aid us in best being prepared, can you please make sure that if you are taking your students off campus for lunch (ASB, SEMSTV, etc.) or are hosting an event outside with your classes, that you please let Diana C. know so she can add it to our master? I feel like I've been saying yes to a lot of ideas, but I don't know that I've been great about putting them on the master calendar...so if you could help us (and by us, I mean me) by confirming with Diana that it is on the calendar, that would be greatly appreciated!
8th Grade Party
Scheduled to be on May 30th from lunch through the end of the day. Students will get their yearbooks earlier in the week. We will look for 8th grade teachers to support with supervision. Should be a fun time! Students who are not demonstrating safe or kind behavior, will lose the privilege of participating.
Promotion
Rehearsal will be on June 4th in the morning. Teachers will be reading the names of their Homerooms students.
Letter Home Sent on Friday, 4/26
We will host a staff meeting prior and will share details with students in May.
Independent Study
The District has created new Independent Study documents for all schools to use. Independent Study may be an option for students who miss a minimum of 3 and up to 14 consecutive school days. If a child will be participating in independent study, they will receive a sheet from attendance to have signed by teachers (sample page 1) and deliver to attendance before they leave. When they return, you will receive another sheet (sample page 2) to fill out and return to Attendance. Work samples can be housed in Google Classroom, so you will not have to provide hard copies.
Please click here for the sample documents with the teacher sections highlighted. The hope is that this is as easy as possible for all involved. Thanks for your help!
Contract Hours
As we approach the end of the year, I find it harder and harder to get up in the morning and get the family out the door...so I just want to start by saying I get it! However, I want to encourage us all to be good team members to each other and respect the 7:30am-3pm contract hours. It's one of those small things that can begin to breed resentment on staff if not everyone is following the expectations. If, for some reason, you need to be late or have an important appointment or child care in the afternoon issue, please just let me know ahead of time. I think you all know by now that I am accommodating with those things. Thank you in advance.
Kinder Future Resources
The Future is....Partnered with Community!
What’s a low prep and sustainable way to create future focused, authentic learning experiences?
❔❓🙋❓❔ Bring in Community Partners!
Collaborating with the community is a powerful way to create change for students, teachers, and stakeholders. According to UNESCO, successful schools understand the importance of establishing harmonious relationships with their surrounding community. And for good reason—community involvement in schools can help increase access to learning opportunities, boost student retention, promote optimism among teachers, and improve attendance rates of children at school.
Check out what our 8th grade science department did in the first annual SEMS Science Ethics Fair!
They selected a unit. A short Natural Selection unit taking place right before CAST testing was perfect place to start!.
They adopted a fast-fail mentality. They just went for it, and solicited feedback about what could be rapidly improved in future iterations.
They thought about how their unit might connect to real world career applications. Scientists need to secure funding to justify further research and they are often called to justify the ethics of their experiments. They asked parents who work in science or communications to be the judges. They started with five experts this year and will hope to triple that number next year!
They reviewed feedback and made changes for next year. Based on responses, next year SEMS students will practice their presentations more and wear their lab coats, and we will invite more community partners.
Sure, all this might be good for students, but can this strategy also help teachers with their practice? You betcha! 😀😁😊According to Hanover Research, “community engagement boosted optimism and confidence among teachers. The improved attitude of teachers, in turn, led to improved student achievement.”