Gratitude
I'm going to carry the message of gratitude into this coming week. I hope you all had an enjoyable time of rest, relaxation, and hopefully you had some extra time to spend with family and friends. I'm grateful for the extra few days for the small things like reorganizing my sock drawer (yes...I know, very exciting), finishing some Netflix series (The Crown, and All the Light We Cannot See), or enjoying the sunny weather on a walk. I also am grateful for key moments like my son's Thanksgiving football game, my other son's acceptance letter for a co-op job, or spending quality time with my mom and aunts reminiscing about the impact they have had on my life. At the beginning of the year I shared "Seasons of Love" because I do firmly believe that our lives are made up of all of these moments and time passes so quickly, we might as well enjoy each moment and make a positive difference in the world while we are at it. As I return back to work after these few days of reflection, I want to express how grateful I am for all of you. It is a privilege and honor to work in a profession where we are driven toward our vision to help our students cultivate their fullest potential, create their own future, and contribute positively to an ever-changing world. Don't ever forget that you do that! You make a difference!
Our VisionFocus on us
This month's issue of Educational Leadership is focused on the challenges of challenging student behavior. Like all of you see first hand each day, the pandemic impacted the social emotional health of many of our students, which can sometimes translate to challenging behaviors in the classroom. One of the pieces I liked the most in this issue is the article entitled, "Dysregulated Students Need Regulated Adults," by Nina Weisling. The article discusses both the things we can do as individuals to prioritize our own ability to remain regulated when it is most challenging and necessary, and also discusses what our schools and district can do to support us. Personally, I need to do better at prioritizing exercise, mindfulness, and time with family and friends. Weekends like the one we just had, fill my cup and remind me about my need to attend to what I call the home/work "balance." When it comes to our workplaces, I noticed that our MURSD schools actually do many things that the article suggests - bringing staff together for fun and to build community, encouraging teams to problem-solve together, and enabling staff to "tap-in or out" when escalated. Because we strive to be a workplace that gets better, this week we ask you, how we can help you be your best, most authentic self each day? Click the link to share your thoughts. And, share this link with your colleagues who may not have time to read this newsletter.
Reasons to celebrate
Did you know that Justin Williams, one of our extraordinary Miscoe Hill Art Teachers, was honored with the Middle Level MAEA Art Educator of the Year Award this year? Hooray, Justin! If you've never been in his classroom it is worth the field trip! Please congratulate Justin the next time you see him and ask him what cool creative adventure his students are engaged in.
Capital Needs Survey
A school capital plan serves as a vital financial roadmap for educational institutions, detailing the allocation of funds for major investments, projects, and asset acquisitions within the school environment. Its primary purpose is to effectively manage and optimize the school's capital assets and expenditures.
The Mendon-Upton Regional School District has formed a Capital Planning Subcommittee who is working on reviewing analyses of all of our facilities, fields, and technology needs to help guide in the development of a district capital improvement plan. If you would like to learn more about our current capital planning process please go to our capital planning webpage: https://www.mursd.org/page/capital-planning for more information and updates. We have a comprehensive maintenance and improvement plan within our operational budget and our operations and maintenance department work diligently on preventative maintenance and replacing items as needed. From a funding standpoint, the nature of Capital Improvement Projects is that they primarily fall outside of the operational budget due to the significant costs of the projects and the non-recurring nature of the needs (i.e. roofs, windows, carpets, fields, auditoriums, HVACs, etc.). As part of this capital improvement plan development, we are seeking public comment. The district has multiple areas of need and appreciates your input in the decision-making process to ensure that community input is provided as part of the the capital planning process. Please click on the button below to take the survey. 1/2 day PD next monday, December 4th
That's right, next MONDAY is our next 1/2 day PD day! In an effort to switch things up and not always have half days on Fridays or the same day in the some schedules, we are varying the days of the week we experience our PD days this year, and our next one is next Monday, December 4th. This PD day will be level-based, with agendas built by members of the PD Committees at each school. You will be able to see descriptions of each of the workshops on the district PD website. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, some schools/district-wide departments have not quite completed their descriptions, so expect that the website will develop as the week progresses, and plan on signing up on TeachPoint/Vector Solutions between Wednesday and Friday of this week.
MAssachusetts dyslexia institute
The Department is again offering school and district teams the Massachusetts Dyslexia Institute, facilitated by Crafting Minds. The institute builds participants’ knowledge of the Massachusetts Dyslexia Guidelines, which provide educators with relevant, research-based best practices for the early screening and instruction of students with reading difficulties, learning disabilities, and dyslexia. The institute will be a 45-hour series of synchronous and asynchronous professional learning sessions that will help teams:
Planning with the wida ELD standards framework
This Virtual Workshop, being help on December 7th and 14th from 3:30-5:00p.m. is designed for educators and leaders who are responsible for language development within content learning (In other words, all of us!). In each session, participants will receive additional resources for using the ELD Standards Framework in instructional planning. Teams are strongly encouraged to attend the webinars together. Contact Davide Parker ([email protected]) if interested in registering. Check out the program flyer here.
#MURSDTHRIVES
This month's district newsletter will be out by the end of the week, so if you'd like to nominate someone for a "You Inspire Me" recognition, please fill out the form below.
laughter is the best medicinefor inspiration
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Focus on us - Gratitude
As we approach the Thanksgiving break, our thoughts naturally turn to gratitude. It feels good to be the recipient of gratitude - to know that someone appreciates you. But did you know that expressing gratitude can also have positive impacts on the giver's health and wellbeing, as well? Many mental health professionals suggest cultivating a gratitude habit to help us notice and remember the positive things in our lives. Here is an article from Psychology Today that shares the science and some ideas for cultivating a gratitude habit. Part of mine is getting to write this newsletter each week, when I get to pause, look at the pictures I've taken around the district, and think about how lucky I feel to be a part of what makes MURSD special. I am grateful and hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Reasons to celebrate
Fields trips supported by grant funding. Both our ability to resume field trips and the fact that we have been awarded funding to support these trips are reasons to celebrate! Three separate groups of students led by Matt Merten, Brendon Roseneau, Ryan O'Connell and Paula Sheehan, either have or will be able to participate in experiences in Boston related to their curriculum and funded through a Civics grant awarded to MURSD. One of these trips was in integral part of Ryan and Paula's Project-based Learning unit. If you have ideas and need support with applications for grants or funding, reach out to Cheryl, so we can be on the lookout for funding opportunities. In the meantime, congratulate your colleagues on these engaging student experiences that they helped curate.
Strategic Priorities Snapshot
This is a continuation of our work last year as we have greater access to multiple data points for our students. The Open Architects data platform, in which we continue to connect to our multiple data points, is one avenue for supporting our data inquiry. We also are expanding our data inquiry protocols to better assist educators in the data inquiry process. From a curriculum standpoint, when we review our assessment data, we are able to identify areas for growth for reviewing and revising our curriculum. For example, we have identified a renewed focus on improving our writing practices across grade levels and disciplines as a result of our analysis. From an instructional standpoint, when we analyze the data at a classroom level and student level, we are able to identify areas for instructional shifts to better support our individual student needs. District Book Study
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