In the blink of an eye the month of January is gone. It has been a fast moving and very productive month at West Genesee Middle School for our students and our staff. All of our students in grades 6, 7 and 8 took part in a universal AIMSweb screening for both Mathematics and Reading. If you have read my previous posts you know that this allows us to get another piece of data on students to make instructional decisions to better meet their needs. Many of our students also took interim assessments in some of their core courses to provide teachers with a snapshot of where students are. Teachers will now use that data to help shape instructional decisions as we head into the second semester. That is sound instructional practice.
Along with improving our assessment system, we are changing our instructional practices. Infused into the new Common Core Learning Standards is the need to provide students with instructional opportunities to develop and utilize 21st Century Skills. Twenty-first Century Skills are all about having students communicate, collaborate, thinking critically and being creative and innovative. In classrooms in all grade levels and in all content areas our students are getting these opportunities. These real world, real life skills are essential for students to be ready for college and beyond. The days of memorizing and regurgitating lists and lists of facts and basic information are being replaced with the need for students to apply, analyze, evaluate and create using that information. These higher level thinking situations can and should be challenging for students. We are pushing our students beyond simply meeting minimun requirements and working towards mastery. That push can bring with it some struggle, but getting out of one's comfort zone and struggling at times is where growth occurs. For all of our students, helping them grow and improve is our focus.
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| Powerful Collaboration: Teachers teaching teachers |
Professional workshops days are a key component of the improvement process we are entrenched in. This past Monday our teachers had an opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues from both middle schools. Lots of terrific work tied to aligning curriculum, developing common interim assessments and sharing best practices took place. I can't say enough about the effort and commitment our staff continually puts into their work. I am inspired on a daily basis by what I see in our classrooms!
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| Top Spellers Advance to CNY Finals |
I am also inspired by the incredible talents of our students. Our athletic and fine arts programs continue to flourish through the winter season. In addition to that, three of our eighth grade students have advanced to the Post-Standard CNY Spelling Bee Finals this Saturday, February 2nd at 2 PM. The event will be televised on WCNY and we wish all three of them, Nicholas Cantello, Brennan Costello, and Russell Graziano the best of luck as they compete against the best spellers in the area.
Some of the activities on the calendar the next few weeks include WGMS Movie Night, our building level Optimist Speech Contest, the next Olweus Classroom Meeting, and a number of club and intramural activities. As always, please check the 'Announcements' section of our web site for specific dates and times. Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff at WGMS.
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
