The following are the key initiatives/items that we have been working on at Woodland Middle School:
Master Schedule-Our building leadership team is analyzing our current schedule for changes going into next school year. We will begin by discussing our priorities and then looking at some schools that have had success, including their structures and schedules.
Math Curriculum Update-We are currently inviting math teachers to join the process of narrowing down materials for a new math adoption. We will hopefully have a proposal for the board by next spring. Additionally, many of our math teachers recently attended the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) conference that happened to be in Portland last week. They were pleased with what they learned and felt this was a great opportunity.
Lunch Time-We have analyzed our options based on feedback at the board work session. Unfortunately, the only solid option was to move the early lunch time from 10:52-11:22 to 1:04-1:34. This was discussed with teachers on the building leadership team and they felt like that would be too late. The other option would be to split a period by lunch which was also not supported by staff. We are going to keep the early lunch but look at options during our schedule conversations for next year.
Post card week- We will have our first Post card week on October 23rd. Each teacher will send 5 postcards recognizing something positive in their students. These will be mailed to parents and are meant to highlight great things about our students, and build relationships with families. We will be developing a Google Doc to monitor who has received a positive contact from the WMS this year.
PTSA Run for your life fundraiser- This was a great event for our students and it happened to be on our Pink “Breast Cancer Awareness” spirit day. The students were decked out in pink and enthusiastic. We are thankful for the PTSA and all they do for WMS.
Bullying- Our PBIS team is working on booster lessons to teach students what to do when they are bullied. Our PE department is also training students on the different types of bullying and how to respond. Additionally, we are attempting to invite a guest speaker for a motivational assembly.
Attendance Structure- We are beginning a new check-in process this month for our at-risk attendance students. They will check in each morning, put a star on the chart, get a PBIS ticket, and have the opportunity to earn larger awards for consistent attendance. This is to help achieve our ultimate goal of under 10% chronic absenteeism.