Evergreen Middle School
February 2, 2024
Message from Principal Collins
Hello Evergreen Families
This week, we started our second semester, report cards will go home on February 9th. Be sure to ask your child(ren) to see their report cards and talk about the academic growth they have made since the beginning of the school year. You can also view grades on ParentVue.
Our dedicated teachers and staff have been working diligently to design an engaging and inclusive curriculum that will foster a love for learning and inspire our students to reach their full potential. We will continue to provide opportunities for personal growth, support individual interests, and cultivate an inclusive community where all feel valued and welcomed. As teachers prepare for instruction each day, it is essential to think about how they will set the stage for learning. Through understanding the development of our students, teachers model the expected outcomes by providing direct instruction and clear expectations for the learning targets. Then, it is important that teachers provide students with guided practice. An essential component to any lesson is the evaluation/assessment of learning. After students have the opportunity to independently practice what they’ve been taught, our teachers closely assess their mastery to determine next steps (progress or pause) for their students’ learning. At Evergreen, following this cycle for a lesson exemplifies why our teachers consistently maximize student academic success!
We are getting ready for our next sports seasons. Tryouts and practices have already begun. Thank you for your support of our Grizzly Athletes. Remember sportsmanship is an expectation and each of us has a part to play in this role. Though you may disagree with an official’s call, there is no reason to berate the officials for what you perceive being an error in judgement. Officials are in short supply and this situation is not improving anytime soon. We can all do our part to ensure officials want to come back to Evergreen to officiate our contests. We can all do our part to make sure we all enjoy our sports.
Partnership between home and school is fundamental to the success of our students. We encourage families to stay actively involved in their child's education through open communication with teachers, attending school events, and participating in student led conferences. We value your input, feedback, and support as we collaborate to create a positive and enriching school experience for our students.
I am confident that this school year will continue to bring many memorable moments, achievements, and new discoveries. Together, let's embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and make this a truly remarkable year for each and every member of our school community.
I thank you for entrusting your child(ren) to us and for the sacrifices you make each day to send your child(ren) to Evergreen.
Your Partner in Education,
Mrs. Collins
253 945 5100
Three things that don’t work in teaching
You might be surprised to learn that we know a lot more about what doesn’t work in teaching than what does. This makes sense when we consider what we know about health and nutrition. We are much closer to describing all the things that are bad for us (e.g., cigarettes) than those things that good for us (e.g., are egg yolks healthy?). I wanted to share three things that we know aren’t very good for learning in this post. These are transient information, incoherence, and multitasking.
Transient information is basically when the teacher keeps talking and you can’t stop them to ask a question or jot down a note. A continuous flow of information makes it hard to remember what was said, because each item the teacher presents “disappears” before the student has time to process it. The researcher, Richard Mayer, has produced dozens of studies showing that it’s better for teachers to pause their speaking after a small amount of explaining to prevent the negative impact of transient information.
Incoherence is when the teacher is speaking while sharing images, GIFs, animations, and text on the board that conflict or distract from what they are saying. You might think no teacher would do this intentionally, and you are probably right. But in practice, it happens all the time. Teachers should only use media when it complements what they are saying. I recommend teachers press B (for Black) while in PowerPoint to black out the slides if the contents of the slides could be distracting.
Multitasking is the final thing that research shows is bad for learning. Many people think they are good at doing two things at once, but they don’t measure how productive they would be if they just did one thing at a time. Overwhelmingly, studies that force students to simply finish the first task before switching to the next show that “single-tasking” is the better strategy. So, the next time you see your child on their phone while doing chores, just remind them, kindly, that they are only making the chores last longer!
Zach Groshell, Ph.D.
Instructional Coach
Evergreen Middle School
