Focus on the Fabulous
This week we will be debuting our newest addition to the Center of Focus- Teacher Features. These are articles that Skoglund middle school teachers and staff have put together to support our effort of keeping parents and families informed of the goings on at the middle school. Our first two staff members featured will be Gail Martinez, our 7th and 8th grade Language Arts teacher, and Becky Reed, our district librarian. Take some time to see how our fabulous staff is working hard to increase academic achievement for ALL students.
Teacher Features
Gail Martinez- LA Teacher
Language Arts with Mrs. Martinez
This is a disclaimer as well as an informative blurb on the lessons going on in language arts classes. This month’s focus is on persuasive writing which attempts to influence the way readers think or act, so if your kiddos have insisted on arguing with you at home about why they shouldn’t do the dishes or why they should get paid to do chores, I sincerely apologize. I am just doing my job.
In our quest to master persuasive writing, the students have learned about claim, opposing arguments, and call to action. Students have written three persuasive essays so far and each time have progressed and shown proficiency in effective ways of defending their position with logical reasons and backing up each of those reasons with details, facts, and examples. They have also learned how to introduce an opposing argument (or how someone might argue against them) and point out the weakness of that argument with a rebuttal.
Equally important, students have improved their skills in the process of writing. Ask your student what steps they take in writing an essay. What do you do first? Second? Last? You can also ask your student what they’ve learned about their writing through peer grading. Or how do you start an essay?
I know how hard it is to be a working parent and the opportunity to volunteer or sit with your child in class never presents itself, but if you ever get a day or a couple of hours to visit us in class we would be honored. If not, you can continue to support your student by asking what they are writing about.
This is a disclaimer as well as an informative blurb on the lessons going on in language arts classes. This month’s focus is on persuasive writing which attempts to influence the way readers think or act, so if your kiddos have insisted on arguing with you at home about why they shouldn’t do the dishes or why they should get paid to do chores, I sincerely apologize. I am just doing my job.
In our quest to master persuasive writing, the students have learned about claim, opposing arguments, and call to action. Students have written three persuasive essays so far and each time have progressed and shown proficiency in effective ways of defending their position with logical reasons and backing up each of those reasons with details, facts, and examples. They have also learned how to introduce an opposing argument (or how someone might argue against them) and point out the weakness of that argument with a rebuttal.
Equally important, students have improved their skills in the process of writing. Ask your student what steps they take in writing an essay. What do you do first? Second? Last? You can also ask your student what they’ve learned about their writing through peer grading. Or how do you start an essay?
I know how hard it is to be a working parent and the opportunity to volunteer or sit with your child in class never presents itself, but if you ever get a day or a couple of hours to visit us in class we would be honored. If not, you can continue to support your student by asking what they are writing about.
In the Library with Ms. Reed
As teacher librarian for Center Schools, I have the privilege of serving all of our students, from pre-K through seniors, as well as community members who use our library. For twelve years before, I was a special education teacher with most of that time spent at the middle school level. That's where my heart truly lies! (Shhh! Don't tell the elementary school or the high school I said that!)
My job changes from day to day, which is something I really like - it is NEVER boring! Lots of elementary and middle school students take advantage of our open library before school - we regularly have 30 to 40 students on cold mornings! When I see preK children we sing and dance and read stories aloud in English and Spanish, although I almost always have library paraprofessionals, students or other helpers read the Spanish for me since I'm not fluent. Thank goodness so many people are willing to help.
Since all elementary classes have library time each week, I plan lessons for each grade level with the aim to support learning that has gone on in regular classrooms. These lessons nearly always include age-appropriate literature - from picture books to chapter books. Students of all ages enjoy being read to; I wish there was time to read aloud to the older kids as well!
I don't get to see middle school students as regularly or as often as I would like, but I very much enjoy interacting with them individually when they come to the library. The library is open to MS/HS students during lunch and on cold days quite a few students take advantage of this. Helping a student find that "just right" book is one of my favorite things to do. The older students are very helpful about suggesting new books they would like to see in the library and I honor their requests as often as possible. Classroom teachers also invite me into their rooms to teach information literacy lessons. I've taught students how to save, share and collaborate on documents using Google Drive, what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, how to search efficiently and effectively using search engines, how to use our subscription databases and how to cite resources they've gathered while doing research. Every time I go into a middle school classroom, I learn from the students (although, what I learn isn't always on the same topic as what is being presented!).
With such varied duties and responsibilities, I'm fortunate to have two highly qualified library paraprofessionals and a library tech working in the library. Perfecta Guadiana, who came to us when we merged with the public library in 2004, takes care of many of our public library tasks as well as working with kindergarten classes. Because of Perfecta, our library is open two nights a week until 8:00 PM. She takes charge of our interlibrary loan service by keeping excellent records, keeping in contact with library patrons who have borrowed books through ILL, and communicating with CLiC (Colorado Library Consortium) on courier matters (there is a gentleman who works as a courier, or delivery person, bringing ILL books to us and returning them for us. He's not a Center Schools employee, but he's a great guy and we're very lucky to have Tom on our team!).
Carol Phillips has worked in Center Schools libraries since the late '90s. This year, Carol teaches our first grade library classes and keeps track of our overdue library books. Sending out overdue notices and contacting people who need to return or pay for library books is not an easy job, but Carol completes it with efficiency and tact. She is always proactive in finding solutions for library users who encounter circumstances where they have difficulty paying for lost or damaged books, from setting up installment plans to finding work solutions. Carol is also actively involved and has teamed with high school staff to promote the PLAN and EXPLORE tests - practice for the important ACT students take in 11th grade. Carol has assisted in teaching students test-taking strategies including locating and taking practice tests beyond PLAN and EXPLORE. No student ever misses taking PLAN or EXPLORE due to financial constraints because Carol always finds scholarship money for these students.
Cheryl (Cheri) Garcia has more library experience than all the rest of us having started as a library aide to Mary Lou Fyock back in the middle part of the last century! Cheri is a whiz at all things library including cataloging, trouble-shooting our online catalog and organizing shelves (a HUGE and constant library task). I'm pretty sure she knows the name of every elementary student, and if a book has been misplaced in the library, Cheri will find it. Cheri works with second grade students the most, but she also teams with Perfecta to work with kindergarteners since we have two sessions with two kindergarten classes each. She is a flexible, organized problem solver who helps keep library activities flowing smoothly.
Fyock Library is well supported and well used - a wonderful place where our schools and our community intersect.
My job changes from day to day, which is something I really like - it is NEVER boring! Lots of elementary and middle school students take advantage of our open library before school - we regularly have 30 to 40 students on cold mornings! When I see preK children we sing and dance and read stories aloud in English and Spanish, although I almost always have library paraprofessionals, students or other helpers read the Spanish for me since I'm not fluent. Thank goodness so many people are willing to help.
Since all elementary classes have library time each week, I plan lessons for each grade level with the aim to support learning that has gone on in regular classrooms. These lessons nearly always include age-appropriate literature - from picture books to chapter books. Students of all ages enjoy being read to; I wish there was time to read aloud to the older kids as well!
I don't get to see middle school students as regularly or as often as I would like, but I very much enjoy interacting with them individually when they come to the library. The library is open to MS/HS students during lunch and on cold days quite a few students take advantage of this. Helping a student find that "just right" book is one of my favorite things to do. The older students are very helpful about suggesting new books they would like to see in the library and I honor their requests as often as possible. Classroom teachers also invite me into their rooms to teach information literacy lessons. I've taught students how to save, share and collaborate on documents using Google Drive, what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, how to search efficiently and effectively using search engines, how to use our subscription databases and how to cite resources they've gathered while doing research. Every time I go into a middle school classroom, I learn from the students (although, what I learn isn't always on the same topic as what is being presented!).
With such varied duties and responsibilities, I'm fortunate to have two highly qualified library paraprofessionals and a library tech working in the library. Perfecta Guadiana, who came to us when we merged with the public library in 2004, takes care of many of our public library tasks as well as working with kindergarten classes. Because of Perfecta, our library is open two nights a week until 8:00 PM. She takes charge of our interlibrary loan service by keeping excellent records, keeping in contact with library patrons who have borrowed books through ILL, and communicating with CLiC (Colorado Library Consortium) on courier matters (there is a gentleman who works as a courier, or delivery person, bringing ILL books to us and returning them for us. He's not a Center Schools employee, but he's a great guy and we're very lucky to have Tom on our team!).
Carol Phillips has worked in Center Schools libraries since the late '90s. This year, Carol teaches our first grade library classes and keeps track of our overdue library books. Sending out overdue notices and contacting people who need to return or pay for library books is not an easy job, but Carol completes it with efficiency and tact. She is always proactive in finding solutions for library users who encounter circumstances where they have difficulty paying for lost or damaged books, from setting up installment plans to finding work solutions. Carol is also actively involved and has teamed with high school staff to promote the PLAN and EXPLORE tests - practice for the important ACT students take in 11th grade. Carol has assisted in teaching students test-taking strategies including locating and taking practice tests beyond PLAN and EXPLORE. No student ever misses taking PLAN or EXPLORE due to financial constraints because Carol always finds scholarship money for these students.
Cheryl (Cheri) Garcia has more library experience than all the rest of us having started as a library aide to Mary Lou Fyock back in the middle part of the last century! Cheri is a whiz at all things library including cataloging, trouble-shooting our online catalog and organizing shelves (a HUGE and constant library task). I'm pretty sure she knows the name of every elementary student, and if a book has been misplaced in the library, Cheri will find it. Cheri works with second grade students the most, but she also teams with Perfecta to work with kindergarteners since we have two sessions with two kindergarten classes each. She is a flexible, organized problem solver who helps keep library activities flowing smoothly.
Fyock Library is well supported and well used - a wonderful place where our schools and our community intersect.
Rewind
Students attended the Drug Abuse presentation on Wednesday and I heard several positive comments about the program. This past week we had Parent Teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. Teachers had the chance to meet with parents and discuss students’ progress. The conferences ran smoothly and we had a decent turnout both nights. Our middle school girls competed in the end of the year tournament in Alamosa. Our 8th graders competed against some tough teams in the top bracket, and unfortunately finished their season on Friday with a loss to Sargent. The 7th grade team played hard and ended up taking 3rd place in their bracket. Here’s to a great basketball season Lady Vikings.
Forward Focus
Monday I will be playing catch up since I was out all of last week. I plan on reviewing lesson plans and getting into classrooms throughout the week. I will be meeting with Kevin on Monday to finalize the PLC agenda and on Tuesday to make final plans for the TCAP schedule. I also have several IEPs scheduled throughout the day. Tuesday evening we have our monthly Accountability and Board meetings. Wednesday will be an early release and students will participate in ICAP activities during the shortened schedule. Wednesday afternoon, teachers and staff will participate in PLCs. Friday I will be working with Focal Point on Teacher Effectiveness.
On a Personal Note
I would like to end this week’s Center of Focus by thanking everyone for pitching in while I was gone last week. Mr. Jones was willing to pick up a number of extra responsibilities throughout the week in my absence. It was nice to be able to focus on my mom and not have to worry about things here, because I knew the middle school was in good hands. Mr. Jones attended my monthly AD meeting for me and took the responsibility of facilitating the BLT this month, along with handling the daily issues that presented themselves. He also took charge of getting things taken care of for the middle school basketball tournament that was held during the week. It’s nice to be part of a team that just picks up the slack when you aren’t able to, and I am grateful for that.
Thanks to my amazing staff that helped out with extra responsibilities too! I appreciate Cruzita DeHerrera and Jose Chavez for handling the discipline issues throughout the week. Thanks to Linda Donaldson and Shirley Atencio for helping out with the basketball supervision. Debra Lujan helped with getting things set up of for the basketball tournaments as well.
Thanks to everybody who sent thoughts and words of encouragement throughout the week. They were much appreciated and I am happy to report that my mom is doing really well. She will be staying in a Rehabilitative Center for a few weeks to make sure she is strong enough to return home. I'm glad to be back at work this week!
Thanks to my amazing staff that helped out with extra responsibilities too! I appreciate Cruzita DeHerrera and Jose Chavez for handling the discipline issues throughout the week. Thanks to Linda Donaldson and Shirley Atencio for helping out with the basketball supervision. Debra Lujan helped with getting things set up of for the basketball tournaments as well.
Thanks to everybody who sent thoughts and words of encouragement throughout the week. They were much appreciated and I am happy to report that my mom is doing really well. She will be staying in a Rehabilitative Center for a few weeks to make sure she is strong enough to return home. I'm glad to be back at work this week!