Strategic Priorities Snapshot
Periodically, we will share some snapshots of our strategic priorities and action steps for this year. This year's Deeper Learning Goal is to:
This is a continuation of our work last year where we spent time introducing our Portrait of a Learner competencies across the district and providing opportunities for students to reflect on the competencies (super powers) and their own strengths. A powerful outcome of last year's work happened at the start of this year when our elementary students were giving new student tours. One of the 4th grade students told the new students all about PoL superpowers! We also have received positive feedback from students and families regarding having public showcases/presentations/sharing of learning with authentic audiences. This could be sharing work online, engaging with community partners, presenting to peers, showcases and symposiums that invite the community in, civic projects that are shared with local leaders. There are so many avenues to have students have meaningful expression of their learning, to create products of learning, and to engage authentic audiences. Be sure to invite me in when you are going to have these celebrations of learning as it is my favorite moments to hear from students what they have learned. We also received a lot of input on the need to maximize/adapt our schedules to better meet the needs of our students and programs. We hope you bring your ideas to the table for future discussions on how we can improve our schedules. 1st mentor meeting - Tuesday, September 26th - 3:45
All district mentors will be meeting in the Miscoe Staff room on Tuesday, September 26th at 3:45 for the first time to organize and review MURSD mentoring supports and activities. All new mentors will also be gathering on October 16th from 8:30-2:00 for mentor training. Reach out to Andrea Rutkowski ([email protected]) if you have any questions.
PD Committee meeting - Wednesday, September 27th at 3:45
The District PD Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, September 27th. Connect with your committee members to share ideas for PD, or feel free to join us. We'll meet in the Miscoe Staff room at 3:45.
Approaches to Play and learning Resources Pilot
As an extension of the posted SEL Resources for Grades 1-3, DESE’s Early Learning team, in collaboration with volunteer educators, has drafted resources for grades 1-3 to support development of the Approaches to Play and Learning competencies in the areas of eagerness and curiosity; focus, attention, and persistence; and organizational skills.
Teachers and administrators are invited to pilot these resources from October through December. The Department is holding an informational webinar with more information about the resources and pilot and will offer the webinar twice: 3:00-4:00 p.m. on Monday, September 25 and 7:30-8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 26. Interested teachers and administrators are encouraged to register for the webinar. Anyone with additional questions about this opportunity can email Jane Haltiwanger at [email protected]. Practical approaches to strengths-based math Classrooms
As a nice follow-up to last week's newsletter, for the listening pleasure of teachers in grade K-5, check out this podcast on practical approaches to build strengths-based math classrooms, produced by the Math Learning Center (Bridges). Also check out the October Numbers Corners "workouts" - videos posted by veteran teachers with tips and tricks to implementing Numbers Corners for the month of October - log in to Bridges site and then click the links (K, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5). Reach out to Molly Smith, Kami Ellis, or Lauren Lajoie, our K-8 math teacher leaders if you have questions about the site or see something else you think your colleagues would benefit from.
School and district teams that are involved in welcoming and supporting newcomer students are invited to join DESE from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 28 for a webinar featuring representatives from Salem Public Schools, who will share some best practices and lessons learned. The webinar will also highlight updates to DESE’s newcomer FAQ (download). Registration is open online.
On a related note, the U.S. Education Department has re-released its own Newcomer Toolkit, originally published in September 2016. This toolkit is a resource for State, local, and school leaders in supporting multilingual learners and general education educators who directly serve immigrant and refugee students. Additionally, a national English Learner Toolkit reminds educators of the civil rights of families of newcomer students. MA teacher stem fair
Educators and their families are invited to a free Massachusetts Teacher STEM Fair from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 30 at Patriot Place Conference Center. Attendees can participate in hands-on STEM lessons and learn about STEM organizations. Registration is open online.
Cybsersecurity Training modules
Our district is one of many school districts and municipalities who are part of a state sponsored cybersecurity training program. We initially signed up last year to participate in this Fall and were placed into the Spring modules by the state. Each month they released cybersecurity training modules to staff members to complete. These are the frequent reminder e-mails that you may have received last year or into this year. We are receiving information that the cybersecurity training may end up being a requirement from the state and those of us participating now are receiving the training earlier. I personally have gone through the modules and while cybersecurity is certainly not my number one interest of choice to spend some of my time, I will admit that I have learned new skills as a result of participating in the training. We do recommend that you try to chip away at the modules at your leisure as the more of us collectively who are trained, the less likely our schools will be vulnerable to various cybersecurity attacks, which are on the rise. We will be providing PDPs in Teachpoint for those who complete the modules to recognize your time and efforts to learn more about this improtant safety topic.
#MURSDTHRIVES...You INSPIRE ME
We are launching this year's "You Inspire Me" nominations in our weekly updates. Please take a moment to complete the "You Inspire Me" nomination form to celebrate any member of our school community. They will then be either highlighted in our monthly district newsletters to the community or they will receive a personal notification that they have been nominated and why.
laughter is the best medicine
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