We Did It!
I know all of us were a little bit (or a lot) nervous/anxious about starting this school year, but WE DID IT!!! The consensus is that the "wade in" days were a great way to ease us into the 2020-2021 school year. These days provided us with ample time to get to know individual students, reinforce rules and procedures and to go over and practice safety protocols. All in all it was an awesome week.
I cannot tell you enough how impressed we are with you all. We've asked a lot of you and you have done so much in such a short amount of time. You all have made yourselves available to one another to help with Canvas, Zoom, bulletin boards, and to just be a sounding board. We do realize that this has been a big learning curve for everyone, but stay the course...we will soon all be pros!
Since the start of this school year I've asked three things of you: be positive, be flexible and have a can do attitude. I must say you all have not let me down. The Pirate Ship has set sail! The journey ahead is unknown, but I am confident that we will prevail!
Let's have a great week team!
#positive #flexible #candoattitude
House Reveal!!!
It's an exciting time at PCMS! On Monday in B1, our 8th grade students, half of our 7th grade students, and any students new to the district will draw for their houses. We have shared the Google sheet with students who have a house and/or will draw for a house. The house reveal envelopes along with bracelets are in your box. Please check the number of each and let us know if you need more.
This is how the reveal will go:
- For students who already have a house, go ahead and give them their bracelet. After Good Morning Pirates we will make an announcement for those that do not have a bracelet to choose an envelope - DON’T OPEN IT YET!!!!
- When we get the notice that every class is ready (we will send a Remind and ask that you reply with a thumbs up or "ready") we will do a countdown over the intercom and students will open their envelopes. PLEASE TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES AND/OR VIDEO!!!
- When finished, go ahead and update the spreadsheet with student houses and t-shirt sizes for all.
Ninety Four Minute Blocks
This week gave you the opportunity to see just how long a 94-minute class period is. I want you all to be cognizant that the longer class periods give you more time to cover more standards and objectives. Because you are only seeing students every other day, you have to cover more ground with them on the days you have them than you did for a 53-minute class period. Make sure you map out your year with your pacing guide to ensure that you will teach all your standards.
As I said in our opening faculty meeting, you must plan, plan and then plan some more. It's okay to over plan - especially here at the beginning while you are adjusting to the new schedule. Remember to plan for variety in your lessons. Your students will have a difficult time sitting for that long period of time. Articles I've read suggest switching things up every 15-20 minutes to help keep students engaged. Incorporating some type of movement - snap your fingers, stomp your feet, hold up two fingers, etc. - is beneficial to increase the blood flow to the brain when sitting for extended periods of time. To hold students' attention, keep any lecture to no more than 15 minutes. The end of your class period should not be homework time.
Don't forget the key elements of a successful lesson:
- Essential Question
- Bell Ringer
- Anticipatory Set
- Procedures: Teacher Input, Modeling, Guided Practice, Independent Practice
- Assessment/Check for Understanding
- Closure
Pirate Daily
Dr. Beth Bellipanni
Email: bbellipanni@pc.k12.ms.us
Website: https://pcms.pc.k12.ms.us/
Location: 280 West Second Street, Pass Christian, MS, USA
Phone: 228-452-5220
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pcmspirates/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARBum9LgR3kA1q8FfbcJBNWvVJGNOAJ7_aV9zb68sT4gnJp7H1poW74QDlrLm6gqrxhVxVZKAYZOAeLM
