In this post...
- Mr. Hulseman's September Letter
- What We Are Learning...
- Important Reminders Concerning Traffic & 10th Street
- Signing in and Signing out!
- Dress Uniform
- After School Clubs
- MS Tech Orientation & Using Technology at Home
- Anticipated Absences
- myAW Course Portals
- A few notes on the schedule...
- MYP
Mr. Hulseman's September Letter
“The Summer Day”
Who made the world?Who made the swan, and the black bear?Who made the grasshopper?This grasshopper, I mean -the one who has flung herself out of the grass,the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down -who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.I do know how to pay attention, how to fall downinto the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,which is what I have been doing all day.Tell me, what else should I have done?Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?
--Mary Oliver
As we enter the academic year, we also enter a political season that is already tense. Our job as educators is to make a space where students can develop a sense of self-awareness and an awareness of others, articulate good questions, and grow in both conviction and compassion. I hope that our students and all members of the community will be able to stop, pay attention, and seek understanding about each other's beliefs and motivations. It is because of this kind of attentive listening that we will ensure that we move through the political season respectfully, strengthening our already strong community.
We are adapting our communication strategy (which you can already tell if you're reading this!), in large part in response to the feedback we received via a survey this summer - thanks for your feedback! The weekly Flash will aim to provide the most pressing and time sensitive information and to put important topics on your radar, and this blog will provide more insights into the program and general announcements. Please note the items below on this blog, and feel free to reach out with questions or concerns at any time. I'd also like to invite you to follow me on Twitter - @AWSMiddleSchool - for snapshots and highlights of our day-to-day. You can also follow Vicki Ball (@AWSLowerSchool), Jake Guadnola (@AWSUpperSchool) and Christian Sullivan (@AWSHead) to stay in touch with all three Divisions.
September is already flying by, and there's one more important thing to say: thank you! Thank you for bringing your students to Annie Wright, for partnering with us to support their intellectual and personal growth. Thank you for the many ways you support our students. And thank you for participating in our mission to cultivate "individual learners to become well-educated, creative, and responsible citizens for a global society." It's a hefty task, and I'm glad we're all in this together!
Sincerely,
Bill Hulseman
Director of Middle School
What we are learning...
The school year is off to a stimulating start! Our two day Orientation Trip brought students and faculty to Millersylvania State Park for a variety of group activities, giving Advisory groups, Grades, and the whole MS a chance to connect and welcome new members to the community. Many of the activities were shaped around the theme of journeys, inspired in part by the film “The Princess Bride.”
In future weeks, this section will link to a blog for Middle School families to follow, in more depth, highlights from our academic program. Each week, two subject areas will be featured, giving you a glimpse of what is happening across the curriculum. Stay tuned for plenty of rich insights into our program!
Announcements
Important reminders concerning Traffic & 10th Street:
- Please be attentive to Faculty & Staff who are directing traffic at morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up.
- Parking is never allowed in the 10th Street Circle between 7:30-8:30am and 2:30-3:30pm.
- Parking on the AWS side of 10th Street is for short-term parking only.
- Parking is never permitted on the opposite side of 10th Street without a residential permit.
- When pulling into the 10th Street Circle during drop-off and pick-up, pull all the way forward (to the Pottery Shed).
- Never stop to pick up or drop off students from the left lane of the Circle or from the middle of 10th Street.
Signing in and out!
When coming into the building, please remember to sign in at either the Front Door or the Day School Office/10th Street Entrance. All visitors, including parents, should wear a nametag at all times while on campus. This is extremely important, both for emergency purposes and for identification with students throughout the building. If you are on campus without a nametag, please don't be surprised if a staff member (or even a student) asks you to sign in and pick up a nametag.
On a similar note, please do not enter the main building except at 10th Street or the Front Door on Tacoma Ave. Parents should never ask students to open other doors, such as the MS doors at the end of the Circle, or Dining Room doors.
Dress Uniform
Students looked sharp for photos on our first Dress Uniform day! However, many students didn’t have dress shoes. Please remember that black dress shoes are required for all students, and black belts are required for students wearing khakis. This information was included in Summer News and is posted in the Day School Handbook. Please ensure that your student is fully outfitted before the next Dress Uniform day.
After School Clubs
Sign up is open for After School Clubs! Middle School offerings include Python Programming (coding), Film Club, and Improv Club! For more information, see the Extended Day page on myAW or reach out to Katelyn Hoffman.
MS Tech Orientation & Using Technology at Home
Before school started, we introduced a new tradition to Middle School - Tech Orientation! All students who are new to the MS (the entire 6th Grade and new 7th & 8th Graders) and their parents were required to participate in a tech orientation session that covered everything from setting up laptops and accounts to policies and procedures at school and at home. Part of these sessions prompted students and their parents to come to some agreements about technology at home. As the new school year begins, we encourage all families to continue the conversation about using technology at home. Consider these questions as prompts:- When should students' laptops be in use?
- Where can students use the laptop?
- Who can your student communicate with digitally?
- When can students use the laptop for non-schoolwork related activities?
- How many hours a day can students use the laptop?
- What are acceptable activities on the laptop?
- What are the consequences for violating these agreements?
Anticipated Absences
As noted in the Handbook, MS students are required to notify their teachers at least 10 days ahead of an anticipated absence (for a family trip, for a non-AWS athletics competition or any other non-AWS event, for a religious observance, etc.). Absence Request forms are available in the Day School Office with Mr. Hicks, and they are to be signed by each of the student's teachers, her/his Advisor, and Mr. Hulseman. The ten-day notice gives the student plenty of time to develop a plan with her/his Advisor and teachers about scheduled work and assessments. If you know that your student will be absent later in the year, feel free to notify her/his Advisor now.
myAW Course Portals
Course pages on myAW provide students and families access to the Gradebook, homework assignments, and other course information. This fall, we have faced a number of glitches in importing the new schedule, sections, and course information into the portal, but those glitches should be resolved by next week. If you or your student is still having trouble accessing her/his schedule or homework next week, please let Mr. Hulseman know!
A few notes on the schedule...
As you know, we have implemented a 6-day schedule for the Day School, and we've been getting some consistently asked questions!
Why did you implement a 6-day schedule?
This was sparked largely by our process of working toward authorization as an MYP school. MYP requires each student to have 50 hours of instruction in each of 8 subject areas - Arts (Visual Art and Music), Design, Individuals & Society (aka Social Studies), Language Acquisition (Spanish and Chinese), Language & Literature (aka English), Math, Physical & Health Education (formerly called PE), and Science. In the MYP framework, PHE is not the same as Athletics, and so we've introduced PHE, which focuses on wellness, health, and a variety of approaches to social-emotional well-being) into the academic schedule. Squeezing one more course into an already rich program required a thoughtful analysis of our schedule. The team of faculty that looked at different models settled on a 6-day rotation that allows for more even distribution of specials and uninterrupted academic days (there are no "lost Mondays" in this kind of schedule).
What are the benefits of this kind of schedule?
For us, the biggest benefit of the 6-day schedule is that it allows us to maintain our rich and varied program with fewer transitions during the day and longer instructional periods. Fewer transitions will have an impact on the student experience of stress, and longer periods directly benefit the process of learning. A rotating schedule also allows for an uninterrupted flow of class days - we won't "lose" Monday classes because of holidays. Another important consideration is that these kinds of schedules promote self-management in students - a student must think through the flow of each day and maintain her or his planner, as the schedule will provide variety each week in terms of the juxtaposition of classes (on a 6-day cycle) with community events (like Chapel, Flex, Long Advisory, and Clubs, on a Monday-Friday cycle).
What are the downsides of this kind of schedule?
It's tough for teachers to transition to new schedules. Often, students are able to pick it up within a week, while teachers take a little more time to accommodate a new way of thinking about the structure of the learning cycle. Another downside is that, while the Middle School is sharing the 6-day cycle with the Lower School, the Upper School uses a Monday-Friday schedule that is developmentally and programmatically appropriate. For interdivisional interaction, this will require creative planning.
What are the benefits of this kind of schedule?
For us, the biggest benefit of the 6-day schedule is that it allows us to maintain our rich and varied program with fewer transitions during the day and longer instructional periods. Fewer transitions will have an impact on the student experience of stress, and longer periods directly benefit the process of learning. A rotating schedule also allows for an uninterrupted flow of class days - we won't "lose" Monday classes because of holidays. Another important consideration is that these kinds of schedules promote self-management in students - a student must think through the flow of each day and maintain her or his planner, as the schedule will provide variety each week in terms of the juxtaposition of classes (on a 6-day cycle) with community events (like Chapel, Flex, Long Advisory, and Clubs, on a Monday-Friday cycle).
What are the downsides of this kind of schedule?
It's tough for teachers to transition to new schedules. Often, students are able to pick it up within a week, while teachers take a little more time to accommodate a new way of thinking about the structure of the learning cycle. Another downside is that, while the Middle School is sharing the 6-day cycle with the Lower School, the Upper School uses a Monday-Friday schedule that is developmentally and programmatically appropriate. For interdivisional interaction, this will require creative planning.
How does my student know what Letter Day it is?
All MS students received a calendar of letter days (which is also published in the Handbook), and were encouraged to write the Letter Days into their planners. The letter day is posted throughout the building, including the board outside the Middle School Office and in every classroom.
