Middle Matters from the Week of February 15th

  • Posted February 18, 2016

Brooks Families:

We have reached our 100th day of school! So much has been accomplished by our teachers, staff and students. I am proud of the work that has been done. We have increased the amount of feedback teachers receive about instruction, we have developed a tool to examine our tasks/assessments, we have committed ourselves to opening our classroom doors for peer observation, we are building trusting relationships across the school community, our students are thinking globally and doing great service projects, and we are talking more about ways to create a more positive culture and climate. Thanks to all of you for your continued support of the Brooks Team!

Parent-Teacher Conference Reflection

Please take a few moments to give us feedback on our new conference style. We appreciate your patience as we work out the kinks. The goal was to provide parents an opportunity to interface with more teachers and learn more about their student's experience at Brooks. Take the survey HERE.

School Improvement Team Update

The SIT met on Wednesday (2/10) and looked at our progress toward improvement. We made some short term goals and they are listed below. These are the things that we plan to accomplish by years end. High Five to your School Improvement Team for their thoughtfulness and time. 

  • Professional Development
    • Three additional Teacher/Peer Visiting Days to increase collaboration
    • Looking at Task Complexity via Summative End of Unit Assessments three additional times
    • Teacher self evaluation (strengths and areas of growth)
  • Curriculum & Instruction 
    • Use the draft of our Curriculum map to begin vertical alignment
  • Assessment
  • Conditions for Learning
    • Create a Positive Recognition Committee (parents, teachers & students)
  • Community & Family
    • Create a School Compact template

5 Essentials Parent Survey

It's that time of year again! Please take a few moments to fill out the 5 Essentials Survey HERE!. 

​Allow me to intro​duce...

Ms. Myles from our Physical Education Department and Ms. Cassin from Humanities. Both of these dedicated teachers have been in District 97 for over 20 years! Check out their bios. 

Presidents Day 2/15

Remember that Monday is a non school day! Enjoy this time with your family. 

Vision Screening for 8th Grade Students
All eighth grade students will undergo vision screenings mandated by the State of Illinois during the months of February and March, 2016. Following the screening process, parents/guardians of students requiring comprehensive professional eye and vision examination will be notified. 

Please keep in mind the school vision screenings are not designed to be diagnostic and are not a substitute for professional eye examination. Your child is not required to undergo the vision screening if a professional eye examination has been completed in the previous 12 months. To be exempt, a report completed and signed by your child’s eye doctor must be provided to the school nurse prior to February 22, 2016. 

If you have any questions or if you need any further information, please feel free to contact the School Nurse, Ms. Dawe ([email protected]) or708.524.3058

 

Yours in education,

LeeAndra Khan, Principal

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School - Oak Park, IL

​See my weekly announcements at Middle Matters

​Follow us on twitter @brooksOP97​