Friday, December 12, 2014

Impressive


That’s the one word that I have said to myself several times over the last month and a half at different events that our students have been involved in. From concerts and sporting events, to our school musical and First Lego League, I am blown away by how talented, poised and committed our middle school students are in a wide variety of activities outside of the classroom.

First Lego League (FLL)
West Genesee Middle School students took part in West Genesee School District’s first ever First LEGO League (FLL) competition. Our FLL team, West GeNXT, is a group of 7th and 8th grade students that strategized, designed, built and programmed autonomous LEGO robots to perform a series of tasks in competition with other schools. Over the course of several months the West GeNXT team focused on real-world math, technology and science concepts in preparation for their first tournament. We are looking forward to adding some teams at the middle level down the road and hopefully getting some of our elementary schools involved as well.

FAME Jr. 
In November 125 students worked together to put on three amazing productions of FAME Jr. There were 90 students performing on stage as musicians, dancers and actors and 35 students behind the scenes working lights, sets, curtains, security and as ushers. We also had at least five former WGMS students from the high school on hand helping in a variety of ways at each rehearsal. The high-energy show focused on the last years of New York City's celebrated High School for the Performing Arts, telling the inspiring story of a diverse group of students who commit to four years of grueling artistic and academic work.  

Concert & Athletics
November and early December saw all of our performing groups in all three grades take the stage at the high school, while our winter sports teams have their seasons well under way.  As impressive as they are in concert or on game day, the most impressive thing to me is the time and effort that goes into all of the countless hours practicing without an audience. It’s easy to get excited about a performance or a big game, but it takes true commitment and dedication to show up and work hard every day.  

Our teachers and coaches deserve a great deal of credit and appreciation for all of their time and effort in working with our student-performers and student-athletes. The passion and enthusiasm of our teachers and coaches shines through in our student’s performances. It really is impressive and it is all of these opportunities, in conjunction with the incredible things that take place in our classrooms, that really make the middle school experience so special.

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms

Every good coach is a GREAT teacher

6th Grade Chorus taking the stage at the High School

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Listening to Understand

This past Friday our students had a half day. The half day schedule at the middle level can be a scheduling challenge; do we have super short periods or do we cut certain periods out of the day? Essentially, how do we maximize the time we have and make it meaningful and relevant? On the half-day our focus was exclusively on strengthening our positive school culture with a morning program dedicated to an Olweus Classroom Meeting which included an assembly and classroom activity. Our building level Olweus Anti-Bullying Team has worked incredibly hard over the course of the last three years to incorporate terrific activities and classroom meetings for all of our students and staff. Friday was no exception. It was terrific!

The overarching theme of the morning was that all of us need to start doing a better job of listening to people. And not just listening to what they say. We often listen to others in an effort to form a response to what they say, but we really need to all do a better job of listening to understand. We need to listen with our eyes, listen with our ears and listen with our hearts. As we start to listen to people and develop a true understanding of their perspective and how they feel, we start to build empathy. That is incredibly powerful. And that results in more students and adults standing up and speaking up when we hear, see or feel that something isn’t right or when someone needs help. We are making a difference and our students are stepping up more than ever.

 
Friday Night Hoops
 

On Friday night we had a PTA sponsored school dance and 3 on 3 basketball tournament. It was a terrific evening and a great opportunity for our students to be active and have some fun on a Friday night.  Yes, it is possible to have fun without looking at a screen! We had 27 teams participate in the basketball tournament and an equally large group of students in the cafeteria dancing and jumping around to DJ ‘J9’, one of our physical education teachers who volunteered her time. I am very appreciative of the great turnout of volunteers who helped make this night a success. We had parents, teachers and former students involved in chaperoning, refereeing and doing anything else we needed.  As a school community we will continue to create opportunities for our students outside the scope of the school day.
 

Family Fun Night
Next Friday, November 7th is our annual Family Fun Night at West Genesee Middle School. As we have done the last several years, our West Genesee Middle School staff will be playing basketball against some of our Camillus First Responders representing the Camillus Police, local fire departments and WAVES ambulance. Doors open at 6:30 PM and we jump it up at 7:00 PM. The good news is that emergency responders are actually playing in the game should anyone, like the building principal, need emergency assistance. This has evolved into a wonderful community event to not only bring our parents, students and staff together, but also to recognize and thank the men and women that help to protect and keep all of us safe. We hope to see all of you next Friday.
As always, thank you for your continued support of our students and staff.
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Meeting the Learning Needs of All


Over the last few weeks I have had really good conversations with some parents about how we approach meeting the needs of all of our students. In a standards-based classroom of students with a wide range of abilities, strengths and weaknesses, the concern is how do we create opportunities in which everyone is challenged and pushed to grow? It’s a great question and one that those in education grapple with continuously. In a perfect world we would create twenty-five pinpointed lessons that meet the specific individual needs of each and every student walking into our classroom. But there are the limitations of time, scheduling, resources, the need for sleep (now and then), and an array of other obstacles that prevent that from happening to that level all of the time. But, that doesn’t mean we are not meeting the diverse learning needs of all of our students. In fact, I think we are meeting the wide range of needs of today’s students better than we ever have by differentiating what we do and how we do it.
 
Differentiated Instruction
The phrase ‘differentiated instruction’ gets thrown around by a lot of people and everyone who uses the phrase has a version of what they think it means or should mean. Sometimes I think people believe that by just saying “differentiated instruction” we magically meet the learning needs of everyone at the snap of a finger. Just “differentiate” already! It isn’t that simple and there is no magic methodology to making it happen. Meeting the needs of all of our students requires tremendous planning, incredible collaboration, and great creativity and innovation on the part of our teachers. 

Differentiation is about knowing our students so that we can provide opportunities for all of them to learn and grow (not just to get grades…good grades do not necessarily equate to learning, but that’s another blog for another time). It starts with using formative assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses of our students. What are areas and skills that they have mastered and what are areas or skills that they need additional help and practice? Using that as a starting point we can then differentiate how our students obtain information and how they demonstrate their learning. Two of the most common and effective (but not the only) ways that we routinely differentiate is in how we group students within our classes and by giving students choice and voice.
 
Grouping
By occasionally organizing groups of students by learning needs we can facilitate the learning experience by giving each group a different task or inquiry-based question or Essential Question to answer. By changing the type of question and level of rigor associated with the task each group is responsible for, you can meet the diverse needs of all of the students in the room and challenge all of them based on what you know about them as learners. If some students already know the answers to the questions we are asking to most of the class then we can simply ask them a different question. 

Choice and Voice
When we offer students a choice in their literacy experiences (what they read or the writing task) or in the tasks and projects they complete and we give them a voice in their learning, we build student motivation and ownership of that learning. We routinely offer students a few options or even allow them to propose an idea of how to demonstrate their learning. When we give students choice and voice we are empowering students. Their interest and motivation can play a key role in driving their individual learning needs.
 
Differentiation is really about creating opportunities for all students at different times to be truly challenged. Whether it is the finished product they produce or the question that drives their inquiry, differentiation can be both incredibly simple and unbelievably effective for students at the same time. We strive to create opportunities in which all of our students are challenged and pushed to grow. Those moments of struggle are opportunities. Allowing students to struggle, to persevere and support them as needed is critical. It is out of struggle that we often see the greatest growth. All students deserve to be challenged and in order to prepare them for their future they need that.
 
Consistent Practice, Not Lip Service
Great questions drive great conversations. While talking to those parents and explaining ways in which we work to challenge all of our students, my mind instantly jumped to all of the different things I see in classrooms, some obvious and some very subtle, that help all of our students learn and grow. Those consistent, effective practices aren't just ideas in my head, it's actually what happens live and unrehearsed with students every day. What I see on a consistent basis is outstanding, but like any other skilled professionals, we continue to reflect on our practices, look for resources to help us do our jobs more effectively and mix creativity and innovation into our daily practices. We’re really good at what we do, but we're always looking to get better.

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms

Monday, September 22, 2014

And We're Off!

The start of the school year is like the beginning of a new sports season; everyone is undefeated and optimism is at an all-time high for what we all hope, and expect, to be a great year. We are just about three weeks into this school year and there are two things I know about our school already: we have great kids and we have an amazing group of caring adults that are champions for our students. Optimism is high for what I know is going to be a great year.

 
School Culture
A positive school culture is the foundation for everything that we do. An important part of our positive culture is our continuous Olweus classroom meetings; ensuring that we all speak the same language and that the expectations for how we interact and treat one another are clear and reinforced throughout the year.  Last week we had our first classroom meeting of the school year and we focused on our theme of opening our eyes and taking notice of people around us:  
“We are all unique individuals. Let’s not just respect and accept one another. We can do better. We can truly celebrate our diversity. To do this we must open our eyes and take notice of one another.”
In this fast paced world that often has our faces glued to screens; we need to look up, connect, and engage with others. One of the goals of our Olweus Team is to build opportunities within our classroom meetings and throughout the year to get students and adults interacting with one another in positive ways. We cannot underestimate how powerful the connections that we have with one another and the relationships we build are, particularly for this age group. We will continue to make those human connections a priority and build in opportunities as often as possible. Make an effort every now and then to turn off your device, look up and make connections with fellow humans.

6th Graders Dancing the Afternoon Away

Playing some bball at 6th Grade Dance
Another event tied to building a positive school culture that took place last week is our PTA sponsored 6th grade dance. This has become an annual event that allows our 6th graders to ‘own the building’ and connect with our staff in a fun and relaxing way. There was music and dancing in the cafeteria, basketball in the gym, and if my math is correct we had nearly 200 of our 6th grade students stay after school to participate. It was a terrific way for our 6th graders to jumpstart their middle school years!

Open House
This Thursday, September 25th is our WGMS Open House from 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM. Parents and guardians will follow their student’s schedule and have a chance to get an overview of the different classes that they are in and the teachers that they are working with. This is a big night at WGMS so please plan on arriving early. Parking will get tight and we do start promptly at 6:30. We look forward to seeing all of our WGMS families on Thursday night!!
Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. I will have a few blogs coming out over the next week focused on our First Lego League team and the importance of everyone making a commitment to reading.  

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms

Friday, August 22, 2014

Optimism in Education


While the New York State Education Department has had its’ share of criticism over the years; there was unprecedented backlash last year in New York State around Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS), the 3 through 8 State Assessments tied to those standards and the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) system for teachers and principals which incorporate student performance on those assessments as part of the evaluation process. You couldn’t turn on the news, open the paper or spend any time on social media without reading about it. Everyone has an opinion, some more informed than others, and unfortunately most of the recent initiatives in public education have been lumped by many into one big negative mess giving the impression that everything going on is a disaster. Now I’m not going to defend the rollout of CCLS, the current assessment system or every component of the evaluation system used for our teachers and principals. But with the release of the 3 through 8 State Assessments and the debate now shifting to include commentary on what the assessment results mean about our kids and our schools, we need to acknowledge that while aspects of the latest educational reform of public education need serious attention (and attention from people who have spent their careers in public education teaching and leading teachers, not politicians), what is happening instructionally in our classrooms and schools has never been better, regardless of what the assessment results show.
In my 16 years at West Genesee, as a teacher and administrator, there has never been a time with more productive and focused conversations around curriculum and instruction, pinpointed research-based instructional practices embedded into our daily routines, and a student centered culture of continuous improvement built into all that we do. We still have a lot of work to do, and there are areas that need significant attention as we move forward. But we are doing great things with a driving desire to do what is best for our students in order to maximize their achievement and learning while preparing them for their future.   
State Assessments are part of the current reality, but I do not believe that any one assessment over a three day period gives an accurate and reliable measure of student achievement and learning. What we hang our hat on at West Genesee (and every district should for that matter) are the essential skills and knowledge that we have identified in each grade and curricular area as most important for our students and incorporate them into meaningful, relevant and rigorous learning opportunities. Nobody should have the State Assessments or the results of those assessments as their primary focus.  

If nothing else, the ‘perfect storm’ of reform within public education, regardless of what you think about it, has created an opportunity for educators to engage in serious reflection on our practices and has led to important conversations that have been long overdue.  

While rational discourse continues around the current reform agenda in public education, we will remain committed and focused on preparing students for their future, which is worlds apart from the past that we experienced. We need to think about education in a completely different way if we truly want our kids to be ready for the world that is significantly changing every day. With that said, it is an exciting time to be in education, and I believe that our best days are ahead of us.
At West Genesee our teachers reflect a culture of continuous improvement. This summer they have been involved in extensive professional development and have put in countless hours preparing for the year ahead. I am so excited to start the 2014-2015 school year and have our building come alive again with the enthusiasm, curiosity and creativity of both our students and staff.

Continued Success, 

Steve Dunham
Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms
 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

There Is No Finish Line

Just as the one hundred miles an hour pace of the end of the school year starts to slow down and we all catch our breath, the calendar and our focus turns to the beginning of the next school year. It’s hard to believe that just a few short months ago we were talking wind chill and this past week the talk turned to heat index. Just like that the 2013-2014 school year is in the rearview mirror. It ended with saying goodbye and good luck to a terrific group of 8th grade students who are moving onto the high school and welcoming our incoming 5th graders to West Genesee Middle School. One class leaves, the next arrives and we move on. It was a great year to be a Wildcat!

One of the things we talk about all the time at West Genesee Middle school is continuous improvement. Although we have been planning for next school year well before this one ended, the focus of the summer is reflecting on everything that we do in order to try and do it better. Instruction, professional development, time for teachers to plan, student support services, safety, building operations, communication, parent engagement and involvement, and  intervention services, just to name a few of the areas we will analyze and try to enhance as we start the 2014-2015 school year. What drives us is the idea that there is no finish line. There is always room for improvement and opportunity to learn from others and grow. We are not content to be good at what we do; we want to be great. Our students deserve it and we expect it of ourselves.

So as those that complained about the cold four months ago now complain about the heat, many of our teachers will be engaged in a variety of workshops and professional development through July and August to fine tune their practices and continue to improve at what they do and how they do it. It is also a great time for all of us to find some time to relax and recharge before the one hundred mile an hour pace of the 2014-2015 school year gets underway. I can’t wait! Have a great summer!

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms

Thursday, May 29, 2014

May Update

This is an exciting time of the school year: our modified sports teams are wrapping up their seasons, final concerts of the year dot the calendar, and our students prepare for end of the year activities and assessments. It is a busy time of year to say the least.

Last week we had our first official ‘Peer Observation Week’ at WGMS in which teachers opened their doors to their colleagues and people were able to get into different classrooms to see their peers in action. The best professional development that anyone in education will ever receive is observing amazing teachers in action. ‘Peer Observation Week’ was another step in strengthening our Professional Learning Community and further nurturing our building culture that embraces the practice of individuals learning from one another, where instructional support and expertise comes from our colleagues within, and where people are comfortable to try new things and take risks instructionally. The feedback from our teachers was very positive and we look forward to making this a natural part of what we do.

Teamwork, competition & sportsmanship
#awesome


Of all of the many things happening in our building, the most exciting to me are the authentic, meaningful experiences our students are having in our classrooms. While in classroom the last few weeks I have seen our students creating a planet project video using a green screen in 6th grade science, a building-wide service learning project, ‘Project Wildcat’, involving research and oral presentations for many of our students in mathematics and reading, authentic research questions driving research for an English and Social Studies cross-curricular project in 7th grade, engineering challenges in many of our science and technology classes throughout the building, and last Friday, the culminating Greek Olympics for our entire 6th grade. All of these experiences take a great deal of planning on the front end by our teachers, but are exactly the types of learning experiences that we want for our students; authentic, relevant and meaningful.




Greek Olympic Champions: Sparta

Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. We are looking forward to a terrific month of June ahead!

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms

Friday, May 2, 2014

Keeping Our Focus in Education

Some West Genesee administrators and teachers had the opportunity to meet with Emily Davis prior to Spring break. Emily is a Teacher Ambassador Fellow from the United States Department of Education. It was a terrific opportunity to have Washington’s ear as it relates to some pretty large Federal mandates and initiatives, as well as some global concerns around education. As a parent, teacher and administrator I have thought a lot about that meeting and the state of public education in general. My thoughts are not about what is wrong with public education, but rather what is right about it and how we can continue to evolve and make it even better. The system isn’t broken from where I sit. Our public schools in New York State are among the best in the nation, and our country has the greatest system in the world. It isn’t perfect by any means, but it is the best system out there because we educate everyone, and we are able to debate and voice our concerns over what needs to be improved and changed.

My immediate concern is that our attention is being drawn away from some very significant issues and being narrowly focused on concerns over standardized assessments and CCLS. I’m not defending high-stakes assessments tied to teacher (and principal!) evaluation in any shape or form, I will never support or advocate having elementary and middle school students sitting at desks for 90 minutes at a time to do anything, and I’m not profiting from the implementation of CCLS in any way. I respect the views of those who are expressing their dissatisfaction with State assessments and the rollout of the CCLS by the State, as well as the implementation of those standards by some school districts. My concern isn’t the battle and debate over assessments and CCLS. My concern is that attention is being diverted from other important, much needed (and often avoided) debates that need to take place.

As a State and nation there is an unwillingness to grapple with some of these deeper structural issues. We pick easier, short-term battles and avoid the long-term structural battles that IF dealt with would have the biggest collective positive impact for everyone; ALL of our children, in ALL districts.  For most, the neighborhood you live in today still determines the quality of education and the opportunities you have access to. You can drive ten miles and cross four school districts with incredibly different opportunities and programs for their kids. There isn’t a better example of true inequity than that, but because it is uncomfortable, difficult, political, and it has always been that way, we don’t deal with it.

In addition to inequities, public education is in need of a re-boot to help it catchup to the world that is changing at an ever increasing rate just outside of our walls. Many classrooms across the country look very similar to the way they did in 1985. Many districts lack the infrastructure to provide learning experiences that mirror what our students will see in the military, college and in their careers. Personal electronic devices are a part of the new-normal for our children and society, but schools are often the only place where those devices are banned and their use connected to harsh consequences.  There is a lot of work to do to adjust public education to mirror the times, close the opportunity gap that exists, and bring schools out of the 1980’s or 1960’s for that matter. All of that work is incredibly important and in need of much more national and State attention.

I understand the frustration and concern that is dominating the headlines with testing and standards. I am experiencing both from the perspective of a parent and a building principal. I also have concerns that some of those making global decisions about public education are not be in touch with what happens in the trenches of public education on a daily basis and/or have had limited to no experience in public schools. I’m concerned that some decisions are solely about the business end of education as opposed to making decisions that are in the best interest of our children.

Despite those concerns, significant and meaningful change is in the air; change that impacts students directly for the better. I’ve been fortunate to see it happening in classrooms and districts across our State and country. You can see it in the learning experiences our students are given each day at West Genesee. You can hear it in the voices of both new and veteran teachers who are working tirelessly to provide the best opportunities for their students.  You can see the wonder and excitement in the eyes of our students who are having relevant, meaningful and rigorous opportunities that stretch their imagination and have them thinking ‘big.’ Creativity by administrators and districts to maintain and even enhance programs, as funding is being cut, is alive and well. Future teachers are receiving training and professional development that better prepares them for today’s world and today’s students. The much needed re-boot is underway and is being powered by the enthusiasm, passion and energy of teachers, administrators, school boards, and parents that put kids first. That meaningful change deserves much more attention and support than it is getting.


Meanwhile, the debate over standardized assessments and CCLS will and SHOULD rage on, but not at the expense of taking the spotlight off of these other areas. For those of us in classrooms and in school buildings, our daily focus will continue to be on our students and moving public education forward so that we may better prepare future generations for our changing world. The most unfortunate fallout from the standards and testing backlash is that it has provided the perfect distraction from the real, deep rooted issues in education which are poverty, equity and the inability of schools to evolve at a rate that remotely comes close to the rate of change in real world. I hope we all get as excited and outraged over those deep rooted issues and inequities that exist from zip code to zip code as we are over standardized assessments and CCLS. All of it needs our voice and attention.

Steve Dunham
sdunham@westgenesee.org
@Sdunhamwgms

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Finish The Race

This school year has absolutely flown by! It’s really unbelievable that it is already May. With May on the calendar thoughts of warmer weather (hopefully!), pool parties, flip flops and summer vacation begin to creep into our thoughts. The end is near, but we are not there yet!

One of the things we talk to our students about is seeing things through until the end and finishing strong. The school year is very much a marathon. For anyone who has run the 26.2 mile race or any distance for that matter that takes you beyond what you are typically comfortable with, the goal isn’t to be in the lead after mile 1. The goal is to finish; and to finish strong! Nobody wants to limp, crawl or have to be carried over the finish line if at all possible. For our middle school students, they are going to need the same support and encouragement to stay the course as they have received all year.

All of those good habits that we have tried to develop and strengthen throughout the year are what will help students get there. Getting enough sleep, eating a good breakfast to start the day, using their planners, asking questions, taking pride in what they put their name on, not settling for mediocrity, planning and prioritizing school work and extracurricular activities, and seeing things through to the end are essential. As adults, we need to reinforce how important all of those little things are and we need to help our children make those habits a part of who they are. Those habits are not just about school, but are needed to be successful in every facet of their lives.

There is no better feeling than crossing the finish line. When you can look back with pride on the journey and reflect on the hard work and all of the little things that got you to that point, your capacity to handle the next race or next challenge thrown your way grows exponentially. The finish line is just about in sight, but we still have some work to do.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your ongoing support of our students and staff.

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Team Wildcat

School years are marked by events in time; moments that standout among the typical and become bigger than anticipated. These events help to shape a school’s culture and define the norms and expectations of the adults and students that call a building home.

On March 28th West Genesee Middle School had one of those moments when our students, staff and members of our school community came together as one and hosted our first St. Baldrick’s event. The event originated as an idea from some of our students back in December who were looking for a way to get involved and make a difference in the lives of other people. Our conversation was the springboard for what became our St. Baldrick’s event that all of our students, staff and school community could rally around, have some fun, raise money and raise awareness for childhood cancer.



Team Wildcat pre-shave photo

Nine staff members committed to growing their hair and then shaving it off. Hair length, hair style and the use of various hair products was the topic of conversation for three months leading up to the event. During each of our three lunch periods on the 28th different shavees had their heads shaved up on our stage in the cafeteria so that each of our three grade levels could be a part of the event. 

Mr. Sparks & Mr. Chapman
awaiting the clippers
Shavees
Mr. Sweeney & Mr. Voll
ready to go bald!
Sporting the curly mohawk for the cause















Pictures don’t fully capture the excitement, joy, unity and pride that filled our building on that afternoon. All of us, shavees, students, volunteers, and supporters were part of something very special. In all we raised $4,660 to help fight childhood cancer!! But even more impressive, we saw how an idea and a desire to make a difference by our students could bring a school together and help fight something that far too many of us have been affected by in some way. Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts and we look forward to making our event bigger and better for 2015! #Wildcatpride #GoBaldOrGoHome
Team Wildcat post-shave: bald and looking good!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

March Madness is Underway

From the harsh and relentless winter weather to the flurry of activities in the building, March is living up to the term typically used for describing the excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament.  Whether a casual observer of March Madness or a fanatic, the tournament and this time of year, are extremely exciting.

National Foreign Language Week
March 3rd through the 9th was National Foreign Language Week. One of our greatest strengths as a nation and state is the diversity of our people and multicultural population. This was a terrific opportunity for us at WGMS to foster an appreciation and awareness of the different languages and cultures represented in our building. Each day we had students make announcements in a variety of languages, we played music from all over the world, and our Foreign Language Clubs had a poster contest for students to reflect this year’s theme of “Don’t Let Learning a Language Slip Through Your Fingers”. All in all it was a great week celebrating and sharing our cultural differences by bringing all of us together.

Talent Show
This past Friday we held our annual Talent Show at WGMS. Our Student Council ran the entire event and we saw performances from students in all three grade levels singing, dancing, playing instruments, and performing skits. I think the thing that amazes me the most about our student performers isn't just their diverse talents, it’s the courage and confidence that they have to perform in front of their peers and a packed house. Beyond impressive!!

St. Baldrick’s
On March 28th WGMS is hosting our first St. Baldrick’s event in an effort to raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer. Our students got this off the ground in January and it has evolved over the last few months into a terrific community building event. Nine of our staff members (yes, I’m in!) will be going bald in front of our students at different times throughout the day. We have had a lot of fun growing our hair for three months and are looking forward to having it all shaved off. Here is the link to our event: http://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/90369/2014


Olweus Meeting
Tomorrow we will be holding an Olweus meeting for our morning half-day with students. Each grade level will be watching a movie tied to the themes of tolerance and standing up. Prior to watching the movies each group will discuss the following quotes and make connections with the movie, different events in history and in our everyday lives:

“In the end we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
 – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act. 
 – Unknowm


Of all the things that we do in school with our students, having meaningful discussions about tolerance, standing up, acceptance, and compassion are the most important. Our students make a difference when they act with bravery, compassion and empathy on a daily basis. We are surrounded by heroes and many of them our are kids!!

Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff. Best of luck to all of you with your brackets. It's a Great Day to Be a Wildcat! Let's go Orange!!

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
sdunham@westgenesee.org
@Sdunhamwgms

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Student Inspired

This year we have worked to incorporate more opportunities for our students to be in positions of leadership and we have made ongoing efforts to solicit information from them. Their input has been invaluable! Recently during a conversation with students they asked about raising money for cancer research, specifically childhood cancer which several of them have had firsthand experience with. They were incredibly well informed, passionate, and inspiring. As our conversation continued and excitement grew an idea was born: to host a St. Baldrick’s event at West Genesee Middle School. The enthusiasm and passion of those students made it an easy decision to support them and for our WGMS staff to get behind the idea. It’s incredibly powerful when a student-initiated idea brings your school community together for a worthwhile, relevant and rewarding experience.

On March 28th we will be hosting our own St. Baldrick’s event at WGMS and currently have 9 staff members willing to have their heads shaved for an incredible cause. All shavees have agreed to allow their hair to grow and not get it cut until the event. Many of us have been haircut free since Christmas; my hair hasn’t been this long since 1978! Our students have started collecting donations on Fridays during their lunch periods and are involved with promoting the event both throughout the building and the community.

Below is an overview of our event at WGMS and links to both our ‘Team Wildcat’ fundraising page and to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation page which contains information about their efforts to conquer childhood cancer. Anything that you can do to promote or support this student-inspired event is greatly appreciated.

Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms

Our St. Baldrick's event at West Genesee Middle School took off as a result of our students looking for a way to support and stand with fellow students and members of our community who have been impacted by childhood cancer. A conversation became an idea and that idea has now become an event.  Through our efforts as a school community we are going to raise awareness, raise some money and have some fun all in an effort to help fight childhood cancer. Please support Team Wildcat in any way that you can and help us make a difference in the lives of children in our community and across the country. It's all about "The Power or WE!"



Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Plowing through Winter

They say as you get older time goes by faster and faster. I must be getting really old because January went by in the blink of an eye. We had snow days, Martin Luther King, Jr. day, Teacher Workshop Day, and then suddenly it was Superbowl XLVIII and January was in the rearview mirror.

Much of the late fall and early winter were dominated by the debate on the New York State educational reform agenda. Pick up any newspaper, turn on the television, check out the latest tweets on your Twitter feed or dive into the wide array of blogs out there in cyberspace and you would have found a great deal of time and energy being spent on debating the merits and ills of the Common Core Learning Standards, State Assessments, and Teacher and Principal (don’t forget us) evaluation. Fast forward several months and it appears as though the Board of Regents is listening to parents and educators and taking another look at some of the changes that were thrust upon our schools and students so abruptly. Regardless of what you believe about the recent reforms and irrespective of any changes or relief that are made in the interests of our students, teachers, or administrators, a tremendous ‘reshaping’ of education in our country is underway. This reshaping has significant implications on how we prepare our students to enter the new workplace of the 21st Century. It goes beyond reading in the content area, explicit instruction of vocabulary, increasing opportunities for collaboration, and re-thinking how we assess. All of those are meaningful and powerful endeavors that we are all in the middle of infusing into our practices at West Genesee Middle School and we are doing so quite well I might add. But the deep reshaping that is needed in our schools to truly and meaningfully prepare our students for the workplace is more systemic; it will require thinking about every facet of education differently. We can’t go about preparing our students today in the same way that we did in 1985. Not only has the world changed, but so have our students. One of the most exciting things about being at West Genesee is the forward thinking and commitment to continuous improvement that are embedded in our practices as a district. We are not only focused on doing great things with our students in the present, but we are anticipating what our future students will need as we continue to thrive in a world of incredible change, regardless of what the State or Federal government throws our way.   


What’s happening at WGMS?

Great Message
This past Friday we were fortunate to have author Ben Mikaelsen come to WGMS to talk with our 6th grade students about becoming an author and the power of telling a story through writing. Mr. Mikaelsen shared his experiences as a struggling student and as someone who had a difficult time fitting in with his peers at times. When 231 sixth grade students are all sitting quietly with eyes fixed on the speaker, you know that he has connected with them. He left all of our students with this powerful message: “Make your life story the greatest story that has ever been told! Believe in your dreams, believe in yourself and never give up!” 


Student Leadership
We are constantly looking for different ways to provide our students with leadership opportunities. This year we initiated a Middle School Ambassadors group made up of students from all three grade levels, athletes and non-athletes, musicians and non-musicians, honor roll students and struggling students, and everyone in between. Middle School Ambassadors are student leaders within the building that work with building administrators on shaping and continuously improving our school community. Their input is invaluable at helping to inform our decision making and providing us with the unique perspective of a student. Our Middle School Ambassadors will take an active part in the school improvement process unlike any other students have before. I have met with them on two previous occasions and will be connecting with them during the school day later this week. Our agenda for this week is a review of the Seven Essential Elements of a Standards Focused Middle School Program and to evaluate how we are doing things at WGMS through the eyes of our students. As a staff we continually reflect on our practices in order to improve, now we are including our students in that conversation. They have a great deal to offer and now have another avenue to share their thoughts. I’m looking forward to learning from them.


Continued Success,
Steve Dunham


Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms