Teaching Learning Caring

Wow! What a fantastic first eight days of school.  Our first week of school was like boarding a

Mr. Boynton (7th Grade Math) getting
our passengers ready! 

Boeing 747 air plane.  In order to have a successful flight, the flight crew spends a tremendous amount of time checking the equipment and preparing the passengers for the flight. Like a good flight crew, educators also spend a great deal of time creating the atmosphere and preparing the students for the journey.  During our preparation this past week we focused on teaching the rules, reinforcing procedures, making schedule adjustments, and building relationships with our passengers. We truly have an outstanding "flight crew" and our "plane" ,  Flight 4345 Welcome All, is headed to destination "Excellentiam sine excusatione".    "Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. If you haven't done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin. If you have any questions about our flight today, please do not hesitate   to ask one of our flight attendants. Thank you!"   (Apologue to be continued....)

Remember this blog is a replacement of my weekly memo.  The blog has three basic sections:  TLC, CIA, and Organizational Update... please review each section for updates to stay connected.

 

Grade Level Meeting  Agenda 8/20/2013

Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment (C.I.A) 

Dan Cathy meets CCMS
students at BizPark!

On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, CCMS five students were selected to represent Fulton County Schools at the grand opening of Junior Achievement Financial Park and Biz Town.  Read more about Financial Park partnerships and commitment to middle school students.

 

* J.A curriculum will be taught primarily in our 6/7 grade Social Studies classes.  Additional details and resources will be provided during grade meetings the week of August 26.

 

* Yeah!  CCMS 6th grade class will be the first  middle school to visit Atlanta's Biz Town. Our 6th grade trip to BizTown is scheduled for September 10, 2013. 7th grade will visit Financial Park in October.   

 

Student @ BizTown...
Looks like the real thing!

 Highlights!

1) Classroom Non-negotiable "CIA":  Please review page 6 in CCMS faculty handbook as the administrative team will conduct walkthroughs during the week of August 26 looking for the artifacts on page 6.   Revisit your assessment practices and ensure that you are using data from your pre-assessment to guide instruction.

 

CCMS Faculty Handbook 2013 

Beautiful mural depicting history!
Challenge: Great interdisciplinary project..

2) Text Books:  Mr. Russell will complete delivery of all student text books on 8/21/2013. Remember the text books are not the curriculum and the sequencing of the book is not always aligned to our curriculum maps.  If you need assistance with gathering resources contact your Department Chair:  Math: K.Johnson;  Reading: K.Simmons; Science: A.Reddick;  E.LA: G.Kellett;  Social Studies: Ponder;  World Language: Brock; Connections: Seawright

 

3)  RTI:  "Universal Screener" - We expect to begin administering the universal screener in Math and Reading within in the next two weeks and refine our RTI program.  Effective the week of August 26 all grade levels will have advisement time only two days per week.  Our focus is ensure that we protect the 2nd period class as most required state testing is completed during 2nd period.


4) School Improvement Plan:  An overview of the School Strategic Plan will be shared with SGC the week of August 26 for review and approval.  See the link below to see an overview of our Strategic Plan... All faculty is expected to know our three long term goals: 1) Improve Science/Math 2) Increase High School Readiness  3) Increase Advanced program

CCMS Strategic Plan Overview

Organizational Update 

 

Mrs. Hunt provided breakfast
and supplies to 16 teachers!
Remember to routinely call our
parents and send praise notes.

1) Safety Review:  Recent incidents has caused us to pause and review our safety protocols. Our School Crisis and Safety Team will meet the week of August 26 and review all safety protocols.  We have scheduled a fire drill this week and will have lockdown drill in the next few days.  Please review pages 43-45 in CCMS Faculty Handbook.  Administrators will meet with each grade level next week. Remember we will have several "drills" during the next week.
 * All exterior doors are locked at 8:45 (main entrance)

 * FCBO has implemented a plan to provide all schools with a buzzer/video surveillance system within the next six months.      

2) Intramural Schedule (click here);  we would like to create a 6th grade internal athletic program and I am currently looking for two coaches to take on this project (e-mail Holland if interested).


2) Please see page 27 -29 for a overview of all meetings.  You can anticipate meeting with your grade level team every Monday as called by the grade level chair (page 27), Thursdays are reserved for RTI and Data review meetings.

3)  Parent Night (8/27):  Tuesday, August 27, 2013.. All teachers are expected to remain to meet and greet parents and provide syllabi and general expectations.  Refer to page 28 of CCMS Faculty Handbook for details.

3) Time:  I hope to have digital clocks installed in the hallways in early September to reinforce a focus of maximizing on instructional time.

4) Splost IV Renovations:  We will have various contractors in/out of the building during the next few weeks. We are scheduled to have our roof, HVAC, and parking lot replaced in the next year.