Greetings Oskaloosa Middle School Families and Community Members:
Welcome to Principal Scholes's monthly newsletter! I appreciate you taking the time to read this month's edition to stay current on many of the recent happenings at Oskaloosa Middle School! This 2023-24 school year, I will be highlighting our building's efforts to Provide Safety, Embrace Health, Connect with Kindness, Inspire through Learning, and Operate with Efficiency. Please take a couple of minutes to read and learn about how your child is a part of something great here at OMS!
FOCUS AREA #1 - Provide Safety |
Safety Value Team Update: The Safety Value Team is working on our next staff professional development scheduled for April 17. Nina Mefford, OMS School Nurse, will be leading some professional learning on our most prevalent student health related concerns as we finish this school year and look ahead to next school year. We will also be conducting an interactive activity with staff as a refresher of safety related tools and resources throughout our campus such as stock medicines, wheelchairs, elevator access, AEDS, "Stop the Bleed" kit, fire alarm pulls, fire extinguishers and other safety related resources on our campus.
Middle School Continues Conducting SRP Drills: In an effort to promote and practice the importance of safety at the middle school campus, various drills continue to be scheduled as we transition from the winter season into the spring season in order to keep students and staff ready and prepared, should a real situation present itself. The middle school conducted a Shelter Drill during the month of February and will conduct an Evacuation Drill in March.
FOCUS AREA #2 - Embrace Health |
Health Value Team Update: The Health Value Team met in February to discuss staff support, Career Day, and Advisory lessons. Mrs. Roberts led a collection effort for a colleague who will be undergoing a surgery soon to assist her and her family. The Health Value Team then discussed the upcoming Career Day and reviewed the schedule for the day as well as tasks that staff needed to complete to be prepared for the event. The Health Value Team then reviewed the plan for the keynote speaker to kickoff the Career Day on the topic of resilience. We also discussed the Career Walk participants and the plan for the presentations to take place during 3rd hour for 7th and 8th grade students. The team wrapped up its time together with a brief discussion about Advisory lessons this year and how Advisory lessons may be adapted for the ensuing school year, with a plan to continue the discussion on this topic at ensuing Value Team meetings.
Student Focus Group Conducts Staff Professional Development: The Middle School Student Focus Group met on February 15 in order to finalize presentation materials for leading staff professional development on February 21. Students grouped themselves in accordance with a specific value outlined in our district vision culture that they were passionate about (Safety, Health, Kindness, Learning, and Efficiency). Each Student Focus Group Value Team then presented various goldmine ideas they generated and came to a consensus on after going through an Opportunity/Risk Analysis exercise earlier in the school year that they identified as items they would like to see embedded on campus moving forward to staff on February 21. Each Value Team had a presentation prepared for teachers at the middle school to participate in through a series of five rotations, lasting roughly an hour in length (10 minute rotations). The Focus Group will meet again on February 29 in order to go through an After Action Report exercise, in which they will reflect on their performance during staff professional learning from February 21. Students will review feedback data provided by staff at the conclusion of the professional learning on February 21. Once the data is reviewed and the After Action Report has been completed, students will then begin tackling the steps to accomplish their identified areas of interest in alignment with our district vision culture. Members of the Student Focus Group also will be presenting their work conducted thus far this year at the School Board Meeting on March 5, as part of the Focus on Education.
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FOCUS AREA #3 - Connect with Kindness |
Kindness Value Team Update: The Kindness Value Team has lots in store for both students and staff from now till the end of the year. The team is currently working on The End of the 2nd Trimester Assembly which will be held on March 8th in the GDA. Our 8th graders will be taking a field trip in May to see the Iowa Cubs play. This has always been a hit with all the students and teachers! The team had the opportunity to listen to the OMS Student Focus Group and the needs of our students, and the team is in the process of getting them more space to learn outdoors.
Continued Focus on Quality Communication: Quality communication will continue to be stressed as a vital component to the middle school’s success in order to promote and maintain a positive culture of learning in alignment with our district’s Vision Culture. This is an expectation that exists at all levels of our district at each respective campus. Principal Scholes will continue to keep middle school staff informed, seen through his weekly staff newsletter entitled The OMS Point of which 27 issues have been released so far.
FOCUS AREA #4 - Inspire through Learning |
Learning Value Team Update: The Inspire through Learning Value Team continues to focus its work and energy around Effective PLCs and Engagement. At the beginning of February, the Inspire through Learning Value Team conducted a second set of survey collection data around how the middle school feels about the PLC work they are embarking on. The Inspire through Learning Team utilizes this data to understand where the building is at in our work and plan for celebrations along with future needs/improvements. In the month of May, the Inspire through Learning Value Team will be hosting a series of teacher choice EdCamp sessions around the important topic of engagement. The Value Team is still in the planning stages for these sessions, but are very excited and motivated for this upcoming opportunity.
Sample of 8th Grade Students Complete NAEP Testing: In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education, Oskaloosa Middle School was selected at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year to take part in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, more commonly referred to as NAEP, or the Nation’s Report Card. Fifty 8th Grade students were randomly selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in testing in the areas of Math and/or Reading. Communication to parents from the 8th Grade class was sent out by Principal Scholes two weeks prior to testing. The NAEP was proctored on February 6 in the middle school media center by representatives from the U.S. Department of Education. Accommodations for representatives were made by Principal Scholes and Shari Barnhart to make the assessment process smooth. Participating students in the NAEP were very cooperative and represented the middle school and district well through the process.
School Leadership Team Continues to Meet: The School Leadership Team (SLT) continues to meet twice a month during the course of the school year. The team has developed different sessions for professional development, developed success criteria and metrics, discussed data, prioritized opportunities and risks in order to prioritize appropriate problems of practice to foster student growth, and have engaged in a book study entitled, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. At the onset of each meeting, the SLT engages in a discussion question focusing on a specific chapter from the book study. Additional learning with respect to leadership for members of the SLT will continue through the remainder of the school year. A big focus for the SLT moving forward will be on tackling tasks associated with identified problems of practice the team prioritized at recent meetings (Effective PLCs and Maintaining Voice and Culture), identifying a current state, desired outcome, and time frame to address the identified problem of practice.
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FOCUS AREA #5 - Operate with Efficiency |
Efficiency Value Team Update: The Efficiency Value Team has been looking forward to two of its biggest tasks of the 2023-24 school year. The Efficiency Value Team has been preparing for the upcoming ISASP testing (Week of April 8) and Student-Led Conferences (April 15 and 18). The Efficiency Value Team has been preparing folders and attendance sheets for testing week and making sure that students are grouped appropriately and everyone has a clearly defined homebase for testing. The Efficiency Value Team has also been looking at the Student-Led Conference rollout plan and schedule, and have been adjusting the template used by students during conferences based on feedback provided last year. Lastly, the Efficiency Value Team also just finished 2nd Trimester College and Career Readiness (CCR) reflections on its rollout with students by staff.