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DCMS 4th Quarter Newsletter
2021-22 School Year - "Going, going...Gone!"
This School Year, Like Most, Has Flown By...
DCMS Families,
It's that time of year already for the last newsletter of the year - my last newsletter as Davis County Middle School Principal. As many of you are probably aware by now, this will be my last school year as Davis County Middle School Principal as I have accepted a position in Ottumwa as the Associate Superintendent. It has been my honor serving our students and community in this role and I have truly enjoyed this experience immensely. I look forward to a great finish to the school year and many connections in and around the community in the years to come.
Thank you for the kind words, notes, messages and support over the years. It truly has been a privilege serving our students and our community and watching our students grow into responsible, productive citizens.
Go Mustangs!!
Principal McCloskey
What's Coming Up?
Click below for the ACTIVITIES CALENDAR on our website -
https://www.dcmustangs.com/o/davis-county-middle-school/events
Have a wonderful Spring (if it ever arrives)!!
Counselor & SEL Corner - Mrs. Lori Dixon & Mrs. Meg Benge
What are PLT/PLCs all about? Teamwork...
One of the questions I get asked by students in our advisory class from time to time is
"What do teachers do on our days off/PD Days"?
A lot of or teacher PD is spent on Professional Learning with their Professional Learning Team.
PLC stands for a Professional Learning Community , or Professional Learning Team, which encompasses all of our educators and staff district wide who are arranged in collaborative teams. We have many collaborative/data teams that are constantly being informed by data to improve their practice to best serve kids so they can achieve at high levels and grow.
PLC by definition is: “A group of people working interdependently to achieve a common goal for which members are mutually accountable” (Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, Many 2010). “...an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve” (Dufour et. al., 2010).
Here are the driving fundamental and foundational non-negotiables of our Professional Learning Community:
What do we want our students to learn? (the essential, guaranteed, and viable curriculum and standards that all kids must know)
How will we know they are learning? (frequent, team-developed, common formative assessments)
How will we respond when they don’t learn? (timely, directive, systematic interventions)
How will we respond when they do learn? (timely enrichment and extension, TAG etc.)
Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week - MAY 2-6, 2022!!
Thanks for your continued support!
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. Thomas A. Edison
Congratulations!
Go Mustangs!
8th Grade Day at the Ballpark!
AfterSchool Palooza - Foodie Friends
Citizenship Rubric
**Attention Current 6th and 7th Grade Parents - Iowa Core Employability Skills & Career, Technical Education Classes
During these experiences, we are assessing and improving student's Employability Skills/21st Century Skills through exploring Careers and Technical courses.
Click here to access the Employability Skills emphasized in the Iowa Core - https://iowacore.gov/iowa-core/subject/21st-century-skills/2/employability-skills
Contact Mrs. Dixon if you have any questions.
Education Related Articles
Edutopia
Great articles on how to help your student(s) be the best learner possible. If you don't already follow Edutopia on Twitter, I highly recommend it!
Thanks for all you do as partners in education.
Social Skills - Developing Conversational Skills
Standards Based Learning Plans - Update
Here is a brief summary of our grading/reporting system:
M – Meets Grade Level Standards Expectations
P – Progressing Towards Meeting Grade Level Standards
R – Requires Reinforcement to Make Progress with Grade Level Standards
Click here for more information about SBG - https://docs.google.com/document/d/16JHLj45qe6MrFoMHTzXA3EAobNcu2AOn0CjqGQvrtq0/edit?usp=sharing
Please contact Mr. McCloskey or Mr. Milder with any questions or concerns regarding this plan.