Superintendent Visit - Quarter 3

Lance will be visiting JMS on Monday, April 14th. He would love to hear all the great work that you have been doing while he is in the library this morning from 7:45-8:15.

Bring books to exploratory/elective classes 

Exploratory/Elective teachers would like support with school-wide effort to have students bring library books to all of their classes. We would like to see students read a book during down time instead of always going to their Chromebooks and possibly playing games, watching videos, or listening to music. Please have students grab a library book when in transition to exploratory/elective classes. 

Jenifer Board Presentation on April 28

We will have exploratory/elective classes featured at the board meeting that Jenifer is hosting on April 28th. Mrs. Ohrtman-Rogers has started working out some logistics to have elements from her class highlighted. Thanks Mrs. Ohrtman-Rogers!

Staffing/Class Changes: Below are the Exploratory/Elective changes (so far) for next year:

I am grateful to the flexibility and willingness of the exploratory/elective teachers for making some adjustments for next year. These updates are aligned to what has been discussed in the Middle School Opportunities Group.

Desirae Reed will offer a Yearbook class in the 8th grade. She would still offer one section of 8th grade Art. 

Will Thompson has accepted the 8th grade ELA position that will open up with Joy Beckman’s retirement.

Jeremy Feucht’s 8th grade Graphic Design class will change from semester-long to quarter-long and will be offered once each quarter. Jeremy will teach the Audio/Visual Tech class, which will also change from semester-long to quarter-long and will be offered once each quarter.

Cheyenne Gregg will have just one GT class in the 8th grade, one in the 7th grade, and one in the 6th grade. She will move into Will’s room (111). She will pick up a 6th and 7th grade Exploratory class that will mirror what Chelby Smith will begin offering at Sacajawea or possibly leadership classes offered to students 6-8.

We are still in the process of working out some other changes that should be announced by week's end. 

Attendance to school and class

we have brought back some consequences for students who are arriving to school late and arriving to class later. Students who accumulate 4 or more unexcused tardies to school will serve lunch detentions. Students who come to class late will get 1 warning and then every tardy after that will be a detention from the teacher. There is teacher discretion here in terms of lunch or after school. We need students to come to school/class ready to learn every day.  If students arrive late to class, please do not send them back to Amanda or Lori for a pass. Mark the student tardy and the office will make any adjustments if needed. 

Staffing Update

• Special Education - Mrs. Henry has resigned her position for next year, which means we are looking to fill this position. I have appreciated all the work Mrs. Henry has done in grade 8 and I know she will continue to be successful in her next posting. 

• Grade 6 - Mrs. Mullikin has done great work this year filling in as a long term substitute for Mrs. Boardman and then moving to fill the position for the remainder of this year. This position has been opened for internal transfers for our district.

Engagement + ELEOT Data Review - We will analyze recent data reports from engagement surveys as well as review parts of our ELEOT results. 

Behavior Focus - We know that quarter 4 will see some behavior increase and we are reinforcing expectations with tardies to school/class and dress code. Quinn will take us through some of the planning to prepare for these behaviors as well as discuss some positive behavior initiatives like quarter 4 activities at lunch and perfect attendance rewards. PBIS team will also update us with SWISS information and provide strategies to address areas that are still concerns. 

Spring Break

Spring Break is amazing! A great time to rest and recharge for the final push that lays ahead. I spent much of the Spring with my mom who came for a visit from Egypt and my sister who was also visiting from Boston. It was nice for us to be together again in Lewiston. 

Engagement Surveys

We recorded over 500 student submissions for our student engagement survey. Early analysis looks like our results are similar to previous years as well as our own internal engagement survey that we administered in the fall. 

Our parent data has slightly improved in comparison to last year. Additionally, we have doubled the submission results going from 124 last year to 268. This is in large part to the drawing we ran during conferences. The winner of the drawing was Kaylee Osoona. 

Staff data is similar to previous year submissions as well. There are areas that we need to focus on for improvement. We will discuss the staff results at the next School Improvement session on April 18th. 

Hats On for Jaysie Jolley

Jaysie is a student at SAC who has suffered some significant medical issues. We have been asked to support Jaysie and her family by running a Hats On Day on Friday, April 11. 

Department Meetings - ISATs and Supporting Bubble Students

We have department meetings scheduled for this week and next week. These should prepare us for upcoming ISATs as well as provide an opportunity to discuss ways we can support our Bubble Students. 

New Website Design and APP

Have a look at the look of our revamped websites https://www.lewistonschools.net/o/jms 

• This link will take you to a page that houses our staff resource links: https://www.lewistonschools.net/o/lisd/page/staff-resources 

Attendance Goal - 92% Currently at 89.2 + Attendance Blitz 4/21-5/2

We have started recognizing students who've had monthly perfect attendance. We have a bulletin board dedicated to perfect attendance and we have been visiting advisory classes recognizing perfect attendance. We have some other actions in the works, but this is an attempt to recognize the good behavior we seek to see from our students and not just react with actions for those who are not behaving. 

We will implement an Attendance Blitz during ISATs to boost attendance and reduce the number of makeups that we will need to do.  

Completion of the Fence

There have been some issues with the installation of the fence that is going around the main building. The fence should be completed in the next two weeks. 

ISAT Resources

Please have a look at the ISAT resources that are attached. We have student assemblies planned over the next 2 weeks to prime students to do their best during the testing window. Thank you to all the teams that have worked to prepare our students to successfully complete their ISATs. 

Please see the attached resources for Students of the Month for March. Thank you for identifying these students before Spring Break and writing excellent nominating commentary. We will announce these students today and send the letters as soon as possible. 

Completion of the fence should be done by April 18th.