The leaves are falling, squirrels are eating the pumpkins in
the front yard, and critical final decisions are being made about Halloween
costumes over the next few days. It is hard to believe that it is already late
October. Our students and staff are working incredibly hard, Interaction Time
has been going very well, and we have settled in to what continues to be a
great start to the school year.
Last week we had a great turnout for ‘Community Connection
Night’ at West Genesee Middle School. A number of our teacher-leaders presented
information on a range of topics including Supporting Parents through Change, Rigor
and Relevance in Mathematics, Maximizing the Power of our Library, CTE: Pathway
to College & Career Readiness, LOTE: the Bridge from Middle School to High
School, Building a Positive School Culture, and Health & Wellness. A great
deal of information was shared; too much to post in a blog. Anyone who was
unable to attend, but would like some of the information that was shared please
email or call me and we will get that out to you.
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| The Power of Social Media |
One critical piece of information that was shared and that I
urge every parent to look at is an overview of ‘11 Sites and Apps that Students
are going to after Facebook’. I have attached a link to the pdf here: Social Media Link. I am stepping on my soap-box for a moment
because the use of social media by our students is such an important topic that
should be discussed not only here at school, but at home. I have seen a number
of troubling things happen with our students and between our students via
social media the last few years including cyberbullying. As parents we need to be monitoring the
activities of our middle school kids on their phones, computers, iPads, and any
other devices that they may have. When you are 11 or 12 years old there should
be no expectation of privacy when it comes to using social media and different
devices. As far as I am concerned that is non-negotiable. To quote a line from
Spiderman; “with great power comes great responsibility”. Access to the world
via a phone, netbook, iPod, or any other device is great power. For our
students and children we need to monitor and model how those devices should be
used and how we interact with others through social media. (Stepping off of my
soap-box)
The focus of the Community Connection Night was not about
State Assessments, Teacher & Principal Evaluation, or Common Core Learning
Standards. It was centered on the idea that a middle school that embraces our students with
research-based, proven programs that address both academics and personal
development is what works. An environment and culture that celebrates and
cultivates the whole student and strives to provide them with what is best for
them, not just convenient for adults, is essential. That is the charge and the road
we are traveling down at West Genesee Middle School.
Over the course of the next month I will begin to introduce
and discuss ‘The Seven Essential Elements of a Standards-Focused Middle Level
School’ and evaluate with our staff how we are doing with those elements at WGMS. By looking
at our own practices and being reflective with how we are doing, we can
continue to improve as a school to help better support all of our students.
Thank you for your continued support of our students and staff.
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
@Sdunhamwgms
sdunham@westgenesee.org
