December 11th-15th 

Professional Development Update

Attached is the professional development day survey from last week's PD. 

Please complete survey by end of the day:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdq9jGleNio0NMgCdrUmNztShjO9cR75dmyRsWBYcFRgj-nfw/viewform  

GoGuardian Training 

Please see the message from Julian about GoGuardinan. We will have whole staff training on Monday, January 8th - 3:00-3:30. 

We have access to Go Guardian! My goal is to get each of you an account and signed up before we leave for Winter Break, so that everyone can play around with it and be familiar before we start Go Guardian training when we return. There are many tools within this program that each of you can utilize, and you will need to familiarize yourself with all of the features in order for it to work properly. I have a good understanding already, so I will be training you in teams when we return from break, and can answer any questions you may have. It is important that each of you do the training modules provided by Go Guardian, and then my personal training before using this in the classroom. Our goal is to have this completed and the program in full effect after we return from break, so do not worry about the training right now. However, if you would like to look over the modules once you have received your credentials, go right ahead!

I have sent IT an email of names who will have Go Guardian access, so each of you will be receiving an email (through G-mail, not Outlook) that will invite you to sign up for the program. Be on the lookout for this email so we can get you signed up. 

Once you receive the email and create an account, here are the steps to enroll in the quick training (1 hour, however, it did not take me the full hour whatsoever). Remember we will be doing this after the break, but feel free to work ahead.  

1. Click this link: https://educators-hub.northpass.com/app  

2. Sign up or sign in

3. Click "Resources"

4. Click "Go Guardian"

5. Scroll down to "Go Guardian Teacher Training Course"

6. Click "Enroll" 

7. Work your way through the modules (You can do this at your own pace).

December 4th - 8th 

It's Beginning to look like christmas!!

Christmas celebrations are in full swing with our "Fill the Bus" campaign and our "Door Decoration" competition. It's great to see the energy and enthusiasm from our community supporting our school initiatives. 

The next two weeks will be a busy place for our school. For some students, the preparations for Christmas may cause stress, depending on their home situations. For other students, this period will be full of celebrations and positive family events. Please be mindful of this duality in the holidays season. 

Quinn shared some strategies for dealing with difficult student behaviors that is worth sharing again here:

•Treat the student with Respect. Your Approach Matters. Treat the student how you want to be treated, even if they are upset or confrontational.

•Don’t Personalize the situation: take a breath and look at the situation as objectively as possible.

•Identify the specific behavior of concern.

•Avoid Creating an Adversarial Relationship where there is no room for movement.

•Look for the educational opportunity. An educational conversation from an adult can have a lasting impact on a student. Look for the opportunity to dialogue about the situation.

•Maintain professional communication at all times.

•Address inappropriate, disruptive, or concerning behavior from the beginning. If you have a concern, do not wait to see if it happens again.

Lastly, as we make this 2 week push to Christmas break, please keep positively communicating with our colleagues. We all control our state of mind and we need to stay calm and positive with each other. Keep communicating and planning to ensure our team is aligned with our support for students. And please assume positive intent! 

Professional Development plan

December 6th 1:15-3:30 - Early Release and Professional Development

This week we will continue our work from our last PD day on November 13th, where we focused our time on developing understanding of Progress Monitoring within a PLC team.

All staff will meet in the cafeteria at 1:15-1:30 

1:30-3:00 - Grade level content teams will develop progress monitoring, creating common assessments, and/or develop unit plan curriculum mapping. 

3:00-3:30 - Department Meeting focused on predetermined designated department objectives.

1:15-3:30 - Instructional Assistants and additional support staff will work through PBIS Tier 1: Module 1 - PBIS Basics.

• Use the link to start the course: https://idahotc.com/Resources/View/ID/1228 (Please complete module 1). 

• Use this document to take notes through module 1: ITBS T1 Note catcher PBIS Basics

• Select 1 article to read from this bank of "Relationship Readings". Follow the 4Cs protocol after you have read your selected article. 

New staff member

Courtney Crocker - Grade 6 Choir

Courtney Crocker will join our JMS staff on December 11th. He will take on the 6th grade choir class that Amy has taught this semester. He will have the week of the 11th to transition with Amy and support the Winter concert on December 14th. After we return from break he should be in a good position to take over that class. Please welcome him to our school when you meet.