WMS - Weekly Wauna Know

To check the most updated schedule for football, volleyball, and cross country, please click Waunakee Middle School Sports Schedules for the week of October 16-21 2023. Make sure you check it frequently for any changes.

October 16 - B6

Parent/Teacher Conferences 4pm-8pm

October 17 - A1

WYN

Picture Retake Day

October 18 - B2

Art Club -MS Art Room - 3:35pm-4:45pm

October 19 - A3

WYN

Staff Meeting 7:30am-8:00am

October 20-

No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 26 - No School

October 27- No School

November 3 - End of 1st Quarter

Disciplinary literacy is taking center stage in education, emphasizing the critical role it plays in fostering well-rounded, informed individuals. In an increasingly complex world, disciplinary literacy goes beyond basic reading and writing skills, encouraging students to comprehend, analyze, and communicate within specific academic fields. This approach equips learners with subject-specific knowledge and empowers them to think critically and engage effectively in diverse contexts. As we strive to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century, recognizing the importance of disciplinary literacy in shaping informed, adaptable, and knowledgeable individuals is paramount.

If you have forgotten about this Padlet to assist with ideas for your content area, click the link to take a look. I continually add to it and encourage you to do the same.

If you are interested in doing a coaching cycle to build upon your approach to disciplinary literacy, please contact me.

Waunakee Community Middle School 2023-2024 Building Goals

At Waunakee Community Middle School, we are committed to helping each student reach their full potential. To guide our efforts, our school improvement team meets annually during an activity we call our School Improvement Institute, or SII. During the summer of 2023, a team of teachers, administrators, and other school staff from Waunakee Community Middle School gathered together at SII to review data and create our School Improvement Plan for the 2023-2024 school year. Operating under the umbrella of our Waunakee Community School District’s strategic priorities, we developed two goals for continuous improvement for the 2023-2024 school year.

• By June of 2024, we will improve our student growth in reading and literacy by having 80% of our students meet their yearly literacy growth goal as measured by our i-Ready data.

• By June of 2024, 75% of all Waunakee Community Middle School staff will report that there has been improvement in building climate so that it reflects movement towards the desired state for our professional building culture.
  
  

We believe these two goals will help create an environment where all students can thrive academically and develop as independent learners. To achieve this, we value the support and involvement of parents. Please reach out to your child's teachers to learn more about how you can support learning at home. Please visit the district website for additional information and resources related to our school improvement efforts this year.

With our dedicated staff and engaged families working together, we know we can make great progress to support each student's growth and success this school year!

Walter ---- AM**Flagpole - Direct students to the playground

Stachour ----AM**Bus Loop - Direct students to go to the back of the school to enter

Pothof ---- AM**West Door #7 OR Entryway outside Gym (inclement or cold weather days)

Holler----AM **West Door #7 OR Entryway outside Gym (inclement or cold weather days)

Longtin/Bright ---AM**West Door #6 OR Cafe (inclement or cold weather days)

J. Kaltenberg---AM**West Door #6 OR Cafe (inclement or cold weather days)

Pokrass ---- PM**Bike Racks

Chabot-Boucher ----- PM**Bus Loop (near where the second to last bus lines up)

Edwards---PM**Bus Loop (near the fire hydrant)

Houzner ---- PM**Flagpole (outside the main entrance)

Last week, we detailed the importance of creating norms in your PLT’s. Research has found that high-performing teams share high emotional intelligence in these characteristics:

• Perspective taking - team members can consider other perspectives

• Interpersonal understanding - team members care about each other

• Willingness to confront - members will speak up to other members when necessary

• Caring orientation - members appreciate each other and have high positive regard

• Team self-evaluation - the team is willing to evaluate its effectiveness and make changes

• Feedback - the team solicits feedback and is in the process of continuous improvement

• Positive environment - the team focuses on the pursuit of positive outcomes and avoids blaming, shaming, or neglecting

This circles us back to the importance of norms, making the above characteristics the easy choice through routine, ritual, and standards of behavior.

How do you create norms? Here are some tips.

1. Each team should make its own norms. This creates buy-in from team members.

2. Norms should be stated as a commitment to act rather than belief. For example, “We will arrive at meetings on time and stay fully engaged,” is more powerful than “We believe in punctuality.”

3. Norms should be reviewed at the beginning and end of each meeting until they are fully understood and internalized. This may, and should, require teams to review norms for each team meeting during the year.

4. Teams should formally evaluate their effectiveness at least twice a year:

1. Are we adhering to the norms?

2. Do we need a new norm to address a problem?

3. Are all members contributing to the work?

4. Are we working interdependently as opposed to isolated?

5. Teams should focus on a few essential norms instead of an extensive laundry list. Keep it simple

6. One of the team norms should clarify how team members will be held accountable if they are not observing the norms.

Source:

DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree

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Attention Teachers,

If you are taking pictures of students in your classroom or attending school events and have a great picture, please use this QR Code to submit them to us for review and possibly use in our yearbook! We'd greatly appreciate it! The QR code should allow up to 10 photo uploads, and you can submit multiple times.

This Weeks Winner is......

Jonathon Wild

Jon Wild spends his time outside of school officiating baseball, basketball, and football games. This is Jon's 5th year with the Waunakee School District.

Congratulations Jon, come to the office to collect your prize

In appreciation of your willingness to help cover classes, all subs who helped out this past week were entered into a drawing for a free sub. This week we had 20 names entered in the drawing. This weeks sponsor is Jimmy Johns.

Stay up-to-date on the design and construction updates for the new Heritage Elementary School and the new Waunakee Community Middle School. Click here to view Volume 5. Visit our website for additional pictures and updates from our 2022 fall referendum!

Grant Martin - 10/16

Brooke Kieta - 10/21

William Dama - 10/22

Danica Giorgetti - 10/22

Stephen Mikkelson - 10/22

Autumn Pedersen - 10/7

Shelly Kadow - 10/16

Eric Noah - 10/31

Each week you will receive 2 numbers. When you get a regular bingo (across, down, or diagonal) bring your card to the office for a prize. Look for your card in your mailbox. Good Luck.

This week's numbers:

I 28

N 39

Please fill out this form each time you visit a colleagues classroom! Thanks for taking part in promoting a culture of learning for staff and students!

September 4, 2023

September 11, 2023

September 18, 2023

September 25, 2023

October 9, 2023