Newsletter for Week of April 20

Julian School Improvement Plan - Update

The School Improvement Plan at Julian Middle School is focused on providing equitable learning opportunities that increases student engagement for all students. There are 5 teams of teachers that have done work in the following areas: Powerful Instructional Practices Team, Behavior and Academic Intervention Practices Team, Technology Instructional Practices Team, Social Emotional Learning Team, and the Family Engagement Team.

Part of our School Improvement Plan process is having teachers create and lead professional learning opportunities for their colleagues. At our April staff meeting, Julian teachers attended sessions on the following topics: 

  • Keep Calm and Teach On

Understand the concept of emotional constancy and how to apply it in your classroom.

 

  • Tech Tools to Maximize Engagement

Quickly appreciate the value and benefits of integrating technology into the classroom, including Quizlet.Live, Today’s Meet, Gravity). Exposure to a variety of digital tools will demonstrate practical ways to seamlessly differentiate instruction, providing authentic and exciting learning experiences for all learners. Teachers will get a chance to explore these tools as part of this session.

 

  • Encouraging Differentiated Assessments

Discuss the barriers and obstacles around student engagement. Learn how to provide options to students when choosing ways they’d like to demonstrate their mastery/understanding.

 

  • Discipline vs Punishment (Old School vs. New School)

Engage in discussion with colleagues about the difference between Discipline vs Punishment in the school setting. Engage in self-reflection around the system for behavior management that you employ in your classroom and the underlying motivation for your choices in responding to student behavior.

 

These learning sessions were created and led by Julian teachers. This model is enabling us to further establish collective teacher efficacy throughout our building. Collective teacher efficacy is the shared belief that through our collective action, we can positively influence student outcomes, including those who are disengaged and/or disadvantaged. I hope you have ebnjoyed hearing about some of the professional learning that our teachers have expereinced at Julian Middle School this year.

 

Spring MAP Testing

On May 2-4, Julian students will take spring MAP tests. We are encouraging everyone to put forth their best effort on this final MAP assessment of the school year.

 

38th Annual Ethnic Festival 

Oak Park Elementary School District 97 will host its 38th annual Ethnic Festival and World Languages Day on Saturday, May 5.

School and community members are invited to participate in the event, which will kick off with a parade at Julian Middle School, 416 S. Ridgeland Ave., at 10 a.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear their heritage clothing or colors or school spirit wear.

Following the parade, the festival will continue at Julian until 4 p.m. with musical performances, hands-on activities, dance, art workshops and more.

The theme this year is "Celebrate Diversity: The heART of Who We Are.

 

Tribute to Excellence – Thursday, May 24

We will have our annual "Tribute to Excellence" program on the morning of Thursday, May 24 starting at 9:15. On this day, students are honored for going above and beyond inside and outside of the classroom. The students being recognized will receive an invitation to attend the program during advisory within the next couple of weeks. An email blast will also be sent to the parents/guardians of these students inviting them to be a part of the program.

Some of the activities students will be recognized for are as follows:

Math Club, West 40 Speech and Drama Festival, Choir, Orchestra, Band, Art Contest Winners, Robotics team, Volleyball, Basketball, Spoken Word, Best Buddies, and many more.

The program typically lasts about 75-90 minutes. We hope that many of you will join us here at Julian Middle School on the morning of Thursday, May 24 to recognize our students.

 

Honor Roll Breakfasts

Thank you to our PTO for coordinating the Honor Roll breakfasts at Julian Middle School this past week. Hundreds of family members and friends joined us to celebrate the academic success of our students over a nice breakfast that was provided by our PTO.  

 

Upcoming Events:

No School – Monday, May 28 / Memorial Day

8th Grade Graduation - Thursday, May 31 

Last Day of School for 6th and 7th Graders - June 1 / 12:00pm Dismissal 

Sincerely,

Dr. Todd T. Fitzgerald