I hope everyone enjoyed this beautiful fall weekend! The Choice Fair was on Saturday was exciting for all. Our table was visited by many Charlestonians. Truly looking down the corridor of Burke High I could say that our county has done an amazing job giving parents choices. There were magnets ranging from Montessori to Math and Science, to the Arts...but among more than 30 magnet and charter tables we were the only School of Global Studies.
Out of our discussions (both during the PD and following) some ideas were shared and some quick changes are rolling out in the next few days to help us build stronger classroom communities and Memminger community.
* Instead of our school-wide morning news I am asking for all teachers to do a Morning Meeting with your classroom. There's a lot of information on the internet about Morning Meetings and many of our classrooms are already doing morning meetings. The purpose of this daily routine is to create a positive climate for learning, and reinforces academic and social skills. Students and teachers sit in a circle (if your room arrangement can handle that) and greet each other by name, take turns "sharing" anecdotes, sing, and or play a game. If you already do morning meetings and would like to share with our staff what you do (in particular) please add a comment to this blog.
Morning Meetings to begin this week. Meetings should occur between 7:45-8:05 if you have the first special area time at 8:05 a.m. This is an expectation for all classrooms in place of the general announcements.
*Discipline and Recovery Room-
Our Recovery Room (RR), which is located in Ms. Manigualts Student Concerns Specialist room, will have three "zones." A "cool down" zone for students who have asked to see Ms. Manigault (self-initiated) or have been sent by a teacher for a stand-and wait. We will make a pass (similar to the nurse pass) for you to use when sending a student for de-escalation. These students will return to your room in 7-10 minutes.
The second zone is the "in process" zone. Students sent to the Recovery Room will be "in process" until an administrator can process the referral. Students should come to the room with an office referral. You do not need to call the front desk. Send the student with a responsible peer. The peer will report back to you that the student arrived to the Recovery Room.
The third zone is the "extended stay" zone. Students who are staying a while will need relevant work sent to the Recovery Room. Ms. Manigault will call you if your student is staying in "extended stay" or a parent is picking the student up.
You will not need to call the front office. Remember that students will walk to Ms. Manigault (if their homeroom is in the building) if not then an adult will need to walk the student to the Recovery Room (CD/K). Students in grades 1-6 can walk to the RR alone (student-initiated cool-offs) or with a peer (teacher-initiated stand and waits or office referrals).
If there's a fight please call the office immediately so the crisis team can be dispatched to your room.
*Starting Tuesday morning some of our students will be invited to be in the Breakfast Club. This group of 4th-6th graders will meet each morning with Ms. Manigault, guidance counselor (Tuesday-Thursdays), Ms. Ludwick (Mondays and Fridays) and myself to set behavior goals for the day. The teachers at this grade level had submitted names to me. Parent letters will be sent out tomorrow. Students in the Breakfast Club will report to the Recovery Room before coming to their homeroom class each day. These students will get a CICO sheet. They will go to the RR to check in mid-day (at lunch time) with Ms. Manigault. They will turn in their CICO sheets to me at the end of each school day.
If you have any questions please ask me.
Moving forward,
Dr. N
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