Middle School Staff Newsletter

South St. Paul Middle School- Week of September 20, 2020

Principal's Update

Middle School Staff,

And Away We Go

Here we go. Hybrid is starting tomorrow for our 6th grade students and staff. COVID numbers would indicate that we will be able to continue in Hybrid for at least a few weeks.

Furniture Removal

If you have furniture that you would like removed from your room in order to facilitate distancing during hybrid, please fill out this Google Form. Fill it out ASAP. The furniture will be removed from High School Starting on Monday. Our 6th Grade will be done on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and our 7th and 8th grade on Thursday and Friday of this week. Remember, this is only for tables, chairs, and student desks. Along with filling out this form, take masking tape and put your room number on the items to be removed. On the masking tape, write the room number you want the items to be returned to when we can be back at 100% capacity.

Distance Learning Wednesdays

The Middle School and High School have come to an agreement about the Wednesday Google Meet Schedule.

Diminishing Defiance

Keep in mind your empathetic statements when addressing students that need to be reminded of the expectations.

Try to use statements such as "I notice..."

"I notice you are running. Why are you feeling so rushed?"

Remember S.O.D.A. from our presentation on Sept. 1:

Stop- Rather than reacting in habitual ways, stop and pause. Don't let the student's animated response or non compliance trigger you.

Observe- Take a breath. Don't react. Think about what is happening in neutral terms.

Detach- Don't focus on being right or exercising power over students. Rather, direct your energy toward being responsive rather than reactive.

Awaken- Shift focus from yourself to the student. See the student as someone who has feelings. Shifting your focus will put you in a better position to respond rather than react. (Hammond, 2015)

Election Cycle

I'm asking that, for the rest of the election cycle, staff do not share with students who they are voting for or which parties they support. All classrooms and school spaces should be absent of messages and images supporting political candidates, unless being used in the context of a primary sources, or in a critical thinking activity where both/ many sides were being explored.

If a student asks a staff member who they are voting for, I'm going to suggest the staff member share with the student the process they and other adults use to make their choice, but not the choice itself.

I understand that this is a small town, and that people all live here and have yard signs and bumper stickers. But I really want the school building, workplace and classroom environment to be as neutral as possible so all students feel safe and welcome. School staff help students practice critical thinking skills, we don't teach them what to think.

I'm open to conversation around this. Please call me or send me an invite for a virtual chat if you would like to engage in conversation about what I am asking for the remainder of this election cycle.

Pride

I am so proud of every grade level group, subject area team and student support groups like ELL and SPED. You are communicating, collaborating and problem solving. You are helping each other, and you are helping students and families. It is frustrating and challenging. You are doing it anyway. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Leah A. Bourg

Data For K-12 Schools in MN: Updated Sept. 17, 2020

The numbers in Dakota county for the past 6 days have been less than 60 new cases each day. This will keep our average in the low to mid 20s. A number of 30 cases per 10, 000 residents, requires us to go to distance learning.