Staff News 3/26

Autrey Mill Faculty News     

March 26, 2012

“HAVE A WONDERFUL AND RESTFUL SPRING BREAK!!!!!!”

                                                                    Jimmy ZollJ

News/Timelines/Due Dates

·     Congratulations to our AWEOME cafeteria staff for getting a 100 on their recent health inspection.  Way to Go!

·      Course verifications for rising seventh and eighth graders will go home on Monday, March 26^th and are due back by Friday, March 30

·      Wednesday through Friday will be casual this week as will the Monday we return from Spring Break.

·      PRIDE – On Friday, March 30, PRIDE will be an advisement lesson.  We have spent a good deal of time since the beginning of the semester going over Test Talks and preparing students for the upcoming CRCT tests so we are going to have a little fun just before heading into Spring Break.  The lesson will begin with a Test Talk Feedback Survey followed by icebreaker games.  Details will be given out at leadership and distributed through your team leaders.

          

A mighty roar!

Band – Congratulations to the 7^th & 8^th grade bands on their LGPE (Large Group Performance Evaluation) performances last week.  Both groups did an outstanding job receiving an overall Excellent rating on their stage performances and Superiors in sight-reading! Way to go Band! 

A big thank you to the entire staff for your support of music programs in our school.  A very special thank you to the following teachers and staff for being such amazing chaperones and/or assisting us in getting ready for our trip:  Mandi Mitchell, Lizzie Haber, Gemma DeVita, James Guthrie, Sonya Purdy, Cristy Ray, Tim Anderson, Ellen Bennett, and Debra Clark.  We had several wonderful parent chaperones that assisted us as well.  Your assistance is greatly appreciated!!! 

Math Counts team received 3rd place in the state and Derek Tang got 1st place in STATE individually!!!!! 

Where is Livingston? 

 Kathy Nagle states, “I choose to pass Livingston on to David Buice.  I have witnessed David’s patience and compassion on several occasions while working with students, especially those students struggling in PE class.  He comes up with clever ideas to help these students participate and to feel as if they are part of the class.  He is always available and ready to help when the front office needs something or in locating students in any PE class.  I work closely with David on bus requests for afterschool events and he is always helpful and appreciative.  I believe David is an asset to Autrey Mill and we are fortunate to have him.”  We agree!!

Happy Birthday

Fran Meredith                         3/26

Jill Robertson                          3/27

Liz Grage                                 3/29

Morgan Jacobs                        3/30

Raven Lane-Torrez                  4/4

Maria Purwin                          4/5

Staff News 3/19/12

Autrey Mill Faculty News     

March 19, 2012

“Nothing worthwhile comes easily.  Half effort does not produce half results.  It produces no results.  Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last."

                                                                    Hamilton Holt

News/Timelines/Due Dates

·      Check out this powerful video about the use of technology in the classroom from a student perspective;  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGvl5dg3l2M

·      Course verifications for rising seventh and eighth graders will go home on Monday, March 26^th and are due back by Friday, March 30^th

·      The 7^th & 8^th grade Bands will be attending LGPE on Wednesday, March 21.  An email was sent last week with student rosters and details of departure/return times.

·      Please email Lane Arnold in the media center any scantron needs for the rest of the year so they can go ahead and place an order.

·      PRIDE – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

This Friday, March 23^rd PRIDE will be an advisement lesson.  The topic for this week is the Preparing for the CRCT.  The lesson plans for this week have already been copied for each staff member and placed in your mailbox.  Step by step instructions are included on the lesson page (1-sided) and it pretty straightforward, however, there are a few things that you need to do before Friday.  Please see below.

If you have 6^th grade students in your PRIDE group:

·         You will need a Promethean board / Projector and a computer (If you do not have one please buddy up with another teacher.)

·         You will need the CRCT PowerPoint presentation which can be found on the curriculum server / PRIDE folder / CRCT_March 23, 2012 folder

1.       Go to start menu and run :  \\atryml-curr 

2.       Open the PRIDE folder

3.       Open the CRCT_March 23, 2012

4.       Presentation is called Preparation for Testing

          

                               If you have 7^th or 8^th grade students in your PRIDE group:

·         Teachers will need to make copies of the quiz (“Preparation for Testing!  It’s almost time for the CRCT…..)  for each student – page 2 of your lesson packet  (double-sided)

·         Just FYI – page 3 of your lesson packet is the answer key to the quiz

                               ALL teachers with a PRIDE group:

·         You should have a rubber-banded packet of Raise Your Grades: Taking Tests brochures and white Test Talk postcards.

·         Each student will get a brochure on Friday as a part of the lesson.

·         Test Talk postcards – These have been pre-written, pre-addressed, and pre-stamped.  Please write in the student’s name on the line at the top of the letter (Dear __________) and then sign your name at the bottom of the postcard.  These must be mailed by Friday 3/23/12.

A mighty roar!

·         On Monday, a 7^th grade student missed the bus.  This wasn’t just any student – she was a brand new student to AMMS and it was her first day here.  Kathleen went above and beyond to help her by communicating with her mother and staying here until 6:00 when someone could finally make it to pick her up.

·         Kudos to Kevin Cown and Malinda Hill for their outstanding work with our track team.  The team competed on Saturday at Westlake High School.

·         To Lizzie Haber and Shaby Bedi-Rehal for planning three days of fun, engaging, and educational activities for the 7^th graders who did not go on the Rock Eagle trip. Every student had a smile on his face no matter what the activity.  It was incredible to watch the students engaging in team building activities, precisely rubber-banding their shirts to be tie dyed, beating a math teacher at a math game and carefully constructing tessellations, to name a few.  In addition, thank you to Lyn Shiver, Amanda Graham (Marisa Wesker’s student teacher), Gemma DeVita and Laura Behne for helping make these three days meaningful to the students!

·         And to all the teachers and staff that went to the luxurious Rock Eagle Inn and Spa Resort last week and gave of their time, effort and lack of sleep, thank you!!

Where is Livingston? 

 Julie Ferris states, “I would like to pass on Livingston to Kathy Nagle.  Kathy does so much behind the scenes for so many people at AMMS and rarely gets the recognition that she deserves.  She is a tremendous help in planning the Rock Eagle field trip, and I know she helps out just as much for the Savannah trip as well.  She is a day ahead of me constantly, so when I ask her if she can do something, it's either already done or she's already started it.  I asked her if she could show me how to make passes for the National Spanish Exam using a mail merge (still don’t know what that is!), and she had the passes printed and cut before I could blink.  She is willing to help with anything you need, and it is really appreciated!

We agree!!

Happy Birthday

Mary Ann Mokhemar             3/19

Debra Anderson                      3/20

Daniel Quinn                           3/20

Rayna Helton                          3/20

Kailey Pullen                           3/22

Ashley Sutton                          3/24

Jerry Adrien                            3/25

Staff News 3/12

Autrey Mill Faculty News     

March 12, 2012

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity."

                                                                    Charles Mingus

News/Timelines/Due Dates

·      Traffic will be bad on Wednesday morning due to the Rock Eagle trip so plan accordingly.

·      Happy traveling to our seventh graders!! 

·      Don’t forget to join and support our Relay for Life Team.

·      Please make sure you read the leadership minutes.  You will be asked for your input in the discussion surrounding make-up tests, etc.

·      A recent successful audit of our school revealed a few things we need to be cognizant of:

·         The auditor reminds us that any contracts with the school, for outside bus services, field trips, etc. must be signed by the principal.  He is the only one who can legally represent the school.

·         Please plan ahead when you need to make purchases by requesting a check ahead of time.

·         In addition, any contracts for independent contractor services must have the description of work (fully describe the extent and limits of this project) and the dates of service filled in on the contract.

A mighty roar!

·         To Beth Van Riper for the excellent audit report we received this week.  Most of us are not aware of the major intricacies involved with school finances but if you watch the news enough, you know that principals lose their jobs when finances are not handled well.  Beth does an outstanding job of managing all aspects of this very important job.

 Where is Livingston?  Deirdre Hayes states, “I would like to give Livingston to Julie Ferris for all of her hard work with the 7^th grade field trip. This is my second year going on the trip, and each year I have felt confident in what it is that I must do while on the trip. Everything always runs very smoothly because it is extremely organized and well put together. The kids also have an awesome time! Thank you for all of your hard work Julie – I know that a lot goes on behind the scenes in order to make the field trip a success. Julie has also been great to work with in leadership this year. She brings many great ideas to the table!  We agree!!

Happy Birthday

Betsy Skalet                 March 12

Dan Kearney               March 12

Cedric Dunans             March 13

Staff News 3/5

Autrey Mill Faculty News     

March 5, 2012

“What is the recipe for successful achievement?  To my mind there are just four essential ingredients:  Choose a career you love.  Give it the best there is in you.  Seize your opportunities.  And be a member of the team."

                                                                    Benjamin F. Fairless

News/Timelines/Due Dates

·      There are still teachers who have not submitted $100.00 worth of receipts to the PTA.  The absolute final day will be March 9. 

·      Be on the lookout for Roster Verification information from Debra on Wednesday March 7.  Please follow her directions that will be attached.  The 3rd Qtr. Grading Timeline will be forthcoming from Nan. Grade reporting week begins on March 12.  Please make sure you are not waiting until the last minute to enter grades, conduct, and comments.

·      Do not forget to spring forward by moving your clock ahead by one hour before you go to bed Saturday night, as daylight savings time begins.

·      We will meet in the cafeteria from 10 – 11:15 on Friday for an introduction to the Common Core Standards.

·      Make sure you read the newsletter that Laura Hunter sends out from the professional learning department.  It contains a lot of useful information.  Did you know professional learning is on Facebook and Twitter?  Look at the posters in the teacher dining room or mail room for more information.

·         Check out http://www.spicynodes.org. It is an interesting way to make concept maps.

 Where is Livingston?  Gemma DeVita states, “I would like to nominate Deirdre Hayes as the next recipient of Livingston.  Deirdre has coordinated a fabulous Black History Month this year at our school.  She has used all of the school's resources to promote the achievements and contributions of African Americans to American culture.  The Morning News engaged students in learning about African-American history, as well as, informative posters posted through our halls.  The month culminated with the jazz band playing in the front rotunda.  What a celebration thanks to Deirdre Hayes and her efforts.” We agree!!

Happy Birthday

Cindy Smith                 March 7