Kids show us that Sometimes being Pragmatic is BAD

Pragmatic Defined: dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations

Adults often view children as naive because their solutions to difficult problems are deemed too idealistic and impractical. Hunger? Feed the world!  War?  Make everyone obey peace!  Global Warming?  Take care of the planet!

To a middle schooler the answers to difficult questions are easy.  There are no practical or logistical considerations and while we adults regard this as naive or unfeasible, I often find middle schoolers' perspectives to be refreshing.  

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day.  For those who do not know, Earth Day began informally in 1969 and more formally in 1970 but much of the push for it happened 20 to 30 years earlier with the work of Rachel Carson, author, scientist, and environmentalist who wrote the book Silent Spring.  In her book, published first in 1962, Carson followed up on nearly 20 years of research into the uses of pesticides in the United States.  She was also motivated to publish as a result of public perceptions that many of the era's Politicians were naively and unscrupulously believing propaganda being disseminated by chemical companies.  As a result of her book, attention was brought to bare on DDT, a pesticide linked to the declining Bald Eagle population (among many other birds of prey in addition).

Today, some 50 years later, (actually in August of 2007) the Bald Eagle has been removed from the Endangered Species list because of its population rebound.  The Bald Eagle, our national symbol, is a glaring reminder of how one person really can change the world and in recognition of Carson's work, Earth Day, or Earth WEEK as we like to call it around BCMS, is an annual reminder to all of us adults that there are times when it's not good to be practical!  

I hope you'll join me in being just a little more naive, innocent, and engaged in working toward making our planet a little bit greener and environmentally healthier over these next few weeks (or year round if you feel like I do). 

Our middle school students are a big reason why BCMS was awarded the first ever Green Ribbon School Award (only 1 of 3 schools in NYS to earn this distinction in the first year the award was offered in 2012) and while the students who were here in 2012 are now High Schoolers, our current students continue to broaden and build upon all that we did 4 years ago.

A tough reality for adolescents is learning about being practical.  There are times when being practical butts heads with being idealistic and one reason why I LOVE working with middle school aged students is that they remind me all the time that practical doesn't always have to win out against idealistic.  There are times that we adults should be forced to pause, to reflect, and to consider if by practical, what we are really being is inflexible, to expediting, or simply complacent.

And so, ...

... here's to EARTH WEEK,
... here's to being idealistic,
... and here's to recognizing that sometimes... A LOT of times, middle schoolers demonstrate a genius that makes the world a better place!

Happy Earth Day, and have a Great Spring Vacation!

May Events
May 2 (Monday) All students return to School
May 4     BOE Meeting 
May 6 (Friday)  BCMS' Staged Creations Play Production Opening Night
May 7      Staged Creations continues
May 8      Mother's Day
May 9 (Monday) BCMS Open PTO Meeting for Parents (7:00 PM)
May 12 (Thursday) Grade 5 to 6 Parent Transition and Orientation Meeting 7:00 PM
May 13 (Friday) 6th Graders have a 1/2 day due to 5th grade Moving Up Day.  More information will be sent to parents after our break

Replacing Fear with Curiosity... The Cultural Value of teaching children to be Curious and how it

A few weeks ago I promised a piece about how we measure ourselves as a school and hold ourselves accountable.  It's really long-winded and to be honest probably boring to those who don't get jazzed by reading about school accountability.  For those who do however you can read the piece here, (or scroll down the page) and for those who don't a much more compelling piece is below.

We conducted an assembly with our 8th graders on Wednesday, March 30, and because of the emotional depth that surrounds the Holocaust, we only exposed our 8th grade students to our guest speaker, Ms. Kati Preston, but we certainly hope to bring Ms. Preston back for our current 6th and 7th graders in the future.

To: All BCMS 8^th Grade Parents;

On Wednesday, March 30, we were extraordinarily fortunate to have students attend a presentation by Kati Preston who was a “hidden child” of the Holocaust.  Author of the book Closing the Circle: From Holocaust to Healing, Kati’s message was met by our students with overwhelming engagement, respect, and admiration.  Seldom have we seen students hug a presenter out of their resonance and gratitude.

Among some of the poignant topics and points Kati spoke about:

• Kati described what it was like to have to hide indefinitely in a straw barn to avoid being sent to the concentration camp Auschwitz, where many of her family and friends were sent
• Kati talked about what a wonderful opportunity it was to come to the United States and raise her children
• She created an appreciation for the value of being educated and that only through education can people come together and learn tolerance
• Kati described overcoming hatred in being able to move forward in life and to eventually forgive the crimes committed during the era

I often speak to close out presentations done in our assemblies only to highlight how the presenters’ messages resonate with our educational and character ideals but with Kati this wasn’t necessary.  It is however why I and Mr. Nick Petraccione, our K-12 Social Studies supervisor, are sending this note out to you.

 

We hope you’ll take a moment to ask your 8^th grader how they felt about the presentation.  We would enjoy receiving any reflections that students care to forward to us and we will send these to Kati.  Feel invited to forward to either or both of us at; (npetraccione@bcsd.neric.org, or mklugman@bcsd.neric.org).

The Urgent Call to Replace Fear with Curiosity

On March 22, 2016, Education Week published an article by this title and in it, the authors, Maya Soetoro-Ng and Alison Milofsky, put out a global call to teach this generation of children to see through political and cultural messages that control populaces through the use of fear.

“In the name of cultural or physical survival, it [fear] can be manipulated to fuel tensions that can spiral into cycles of violence. Taken to extremes, the results are evident—from sectarian divisions in Iraq and Syria, to religious divides in Nigeria or Myanmar. Tensions still threaten in Bosnia Herzegovina more than 20 years after the end of that crushing war. Fear also contributes heat to the political debates about terrorism and refugees in the U.S. presidential campaign.” 

Among the more poignant responses of the students to Kati Preston’s presentation was a standing ovation to Kati’s very similar challenge to our students to educate themselves to the point where truth, ethics and conscience cannot be diffused by any leadership that uses fear to do so.

“By helping children practice from an early age how to critically examine their own needs and identities and understand those of others, we could better ensure that, as adults, they have the ability to engage in disputes without turning to violence.”

With gratitude we thank Ms. Kati Preston for her outstanding presentation grounded in peace, love and the value of education!

Sincerely,

  

Mike Klugman                                                                                   Nick Petraccione

MS Principal                                                                                      K-12 Social Studies Supervisor

End of Week Notes

Well done! A Phenomenal 8th Grade Concert!

• To all of our 8th grade choral, band, and orchestra students for a great concert this past Thursday night (April 7) and thank you to our music teachers, Ms. Daly, Ms. Taylor, and Ms. Van Voris for their leadership!  
• Also... A WONDERFUL BAND FESTIVAL!
• Our music festivals make my top 5 'BC favorite events' each year and I shared the following with ALL of our middle school last week:
• I related a story about how a student from another school, when he showed up to a state-level honors band, asked his mother why every other kid in his section was from Bethlehem!  YES, the program is that good!  
• If you haven't been to one of our festivals and you have little kids who you're interested in inspiring to music, get them to the festival each year!

Impressed by our students

• This past week I was continually impressed by our students throughout our ELA testing
• They demonstrated resilience, grit, patience and an amazing amount of impulse control in being respectful to /of their peers concentration.  Even students whose parents made the choice to opt them out of assessments demonstrated tremendous respect for the testing environment by not being disruptive, by following directions and we are grateful to both them and you, their parents!  ALL of our students demonstrated a maturity and resolve to act in their best interest that was inspiring!

Reminder - NYS Math Assessments begin Wednesday

The Pavilion Project is well under way

• The BCMS Pavilion promises to be a great addition as a teaching space and as a recreation space for our community.  WE NEED YOUR HELP!
• Please visit our PTO fundraising page to read more about the project and make a donation

The Week Ahead

Monday, April 11

• Last week of the third quarter

Tuesday, April 12

• Late Buses

Wednesday, April 13

• Day 1, NYS Math assessments grades 6, 7, 8
• Late Buses

Thursday, April 14

• Day 2, NYS Math assessments
• Late Buses

Friday, April 15

• Day 3, NYS Math Assessments
• Friday After School Support (3:00 - 5:00)

How should a school measure itself?

When asked what I think the most important responsibilities of being a Principal are there are some that immediately dominate my thinking:

• Hiring the best teachers
• Supporting current teachers to be the best they can be

Those two things are probably at the forefront of any Principal's short list.  The following  should be as well:

• Being visible and approachable for students (and developing relationships with students)
• Being the primary agent for curricular accountability in the school... unless you have a whole team that does this collaboratively!

Being the person, or part of a team that effectively asks 'are we doing all that we should for students' is an enormous challenge and I think it is certainly one domain that distinguishes schools from each other.

Our team includes the rest of our building administration, our department supervisors, and our central administration.  We each play a different role based upon our perspective and these are described here (note that the following description is similar in other school districts but often not identical because of any number of variables):

• Superintendent
• Very different district to district
• some have no impact on curriculum b/c they manage budget, legal issues, and personnel issues
• some have a huge imprint on curriculum b/c they see it as a necessity of their responsibility
• In BC we have a dedicated Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction because of how demanding both roles are at all times
• Assistant Superintendent
• Coordinates a consistent curriculum between grade levels (for example, from 5th to 6th grade) by working closely with Principals and Department Supervisors
• BC also uses TEACHER LEADERS in various roles to assist in this process
• Coordinates a consistent understanding of all state mandated assessment and mandated curriculum that will be implemented in each school
• Director for Special Education
• Leads the instructional programming and service provisions necessary for not just students with identified needs but for all students indirectly
• Department Supervisors
• They specialize in their area of expertise to understand
• The best methods of instruction
• The best methods of assessment
• Coordinate smooth transitions between grade levels 
• Coordinate developmentally appropriate expectations at each grade level
• Coordinate consistency in teaching within each grade level
• Lead the professional development efforts for teachers
• Lead the hiring process of new teachers in partnership with Principals
• Building Administration
• Review data from grading and assessments and share with Teachers, and supervisors
• Conduct observations and evaluations of teachers
• Support teacher growth (with content supervisors) by focusing on consistent, developmentally appropriate teaching tactics
• Support the developmental needs of students at the grade levels in their buildings
• Support teachers in creating an environment that values engagement, rigor and focus for all students

These are the people who support our TEACHERS, but there are processes that drive what I would call an ethically responsive school philosophy.  Some of these are listed here:

• Use of Data 
• Too much of education is driven by "what feels right" (intuition)
• Unfortunately, great teachers are aware that there is a domain of learning that is "counterintuitive,"  In other words, if you only do what feels right, you miss this entire domain.
• Data helps us ask and conclude if our students are learning... period!
• It doesn't necessarily direct us toward better instruction but it will tell us if our current instruction is working.
• Types of data
• State assessments - help us gauge how we are doing both internally and externally (compared to other schools)
• Internal Assessments - allow us to align specific assessments to specific standards we have just taught to assess how our instruction is doing
• Grading data - allows us to have deep discussion about whether the way we grade influences students learning, if we are grading what we in fact want to measure and ensures that we have greater consistency between teams in the building
• Qualitative data - qualitative data are observations that are often hard to quantify.  
• How many students raised their hands to questions in class?
• How many students are guessing to get the right answer?
• How many students are really engaged at any moment of a class?

The cycle of data used by schools also (often) determines how effective a school is.  Schools who want to be average look at some data but it's often either too broad, to narrow, or not done more than just a few times in the year.  Effective cycling of data analysis occurs with the following:

• Frequency - with unit tests, quarter tests, mid-terms and after final exams
• At the broad levels of both state-wide and school-wide
• At the narrow levels of the individual student and even the individual question
• This is an area where our Department Supervisors excel!
• AND at the observational level.  Teachers get observed about every 10 weeks at a minimum and as a requirement the evaluators provide feedback in three domains:
• The instructional domain - how the actual flow and progression of the lesson is carried out
• The planning domain - how the plan did or could have made the instructional delivery better
• The affective (or student rapport) domain - how the teacher engaged and related to students during instruction (an often over-looked domain)

In short, it takes a team of people with very defined processes and protocols that facilitate working together toward a common goal.  AND, the work is never done.  We learn from every test and measure we engage with where those areas are that we do well in, but also where we need to do better!

So who are all of these people?  You know your child's teachers, or we at least hope you do.  If you don't you should always feel welcome to reach out and ask questions.  As to our other leaders please also feel welcome to reach out to any of the individuals below at any time.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about how we hold ourselves accountable!

• Superintendent (Interim) - Jody Monroe - jmonroe@bcsd.neric.org
• Assistant Superintendent (Interim) - Dave Hurst - dhurst@bcsd.neric.org
• Director of Special Education, Kathy Johnston, kjohnston@bcsd.neric.org
• Building Admin
• Principal, Mike Klugman, mklugman@bcsd.neric.org
• Assistant Principal, Mark Warford, mwarford@bcsd.neric.org
• Hall Principal, Ken Rizzo, krizzo@bcsd.neric.org
• Our Department Supervisors
• Mathematics - David Hurst (also our interim Assistant Superintendent)
• English Language Arts - Andy Baker, abaker1@bcsd.neric.org
• Social Students & Business - Nick Petraccione, npetraccione@bcsd.neric.org
• Science & Technology - Jen Gonyea, jgonyea@bcsd.neric.org
• Health, FACS, & PE - Fred Powers, fpowers@bcsd.neric.org
• Art - Melanie Painter, mpainter@bcsd.neric.org
• Music - David Norman, dnorman@bcsd.neric.org
• World Languages - Sarah Cioffi (interim), scioffi@bcsd.neric.org
• Committee for Special Education Middle School Chairperson,
• Meg Wyanski, mwyanski@bcsd.neric.org

Growth takes time!

Growth takes time!

At our faculty meeting this week our staff experienced the next in a series of workshops on defining, identifying and growing students grit.  Despite it becoming a buzzword over the last 12 months, schools have always tried to develop the elements of grit.  Key words that define the attribute are 'perseverance,' and 'passion' and 'the ability to set and stick with long-term goals.'  When we think about people who lack this, we think about people who are often impulsive (who don't think about the long-term consequences of their decisions), and who often won't stick with a task or goal that becomes challenging.  In short, we parents sometimes think of our own kids!

What's important to realize as parents is that this is okay.  One doesn't become 'gritty' simply by thinking about it or because a new challenge comes along that is so engrossing that a switch is flipped.  I think one of the hardest parts of parenting is trying to sort out those things that are obvious to us now and trying to remember how we learned them.  I don't, for example, remember when it was that I was finally able to translate the focus I could easily employ when playing a sport to reading a difficult text.  And so, when I teach my kids I find I'm trying to learn as much about the way I learned and asking myself if I'm trying to accelerate them too quickly by asking them to be masterful at a skill at an age when this expectation is not developmentally appropriate.

An important lesson for children is one we have to learn with them; that gaining a new skill or strength is best done in a lengthy, consistent, and incremental growth curve that allows for a partnered growth of passion for whatever it is that is being practiced.  What we (parents and children) fail to understand sometimes is that when this curve is rushed the result is often unpredictable.  In situations where students really excel there is as much love and passion for that thing they are excelling at as there is discipline and regimented practice.  In environments where there is no passion or time dedicated to enjoyment, it's fairly easy to predict that any child will grow his skill.  It is also likely, however, that while the child becomes skillful, the child will also lose interest.  I love it when one of my children comes home from a "lesson" and immediately wants to practice (on their own) what they learned in the lesson.  I see their excitement and their passion.

As a middle school staff much of our intentional professional development is therefore directed into two realms; we want to develop the specific tactics that help students learn our various subjects (math, science, art, etc.) but we also spend an equal amount of time learning how to inspire students in our subjects as well.

Importantly, and contrary to what some or even many parents might perceive, we do not consider ourselves judge and jury over what the right pace of learning is.  We constantly survey the world outside of Bethlehem to assess if there are methods, expectations, and mechanisms that get students along their growth curve faster.

As conscientious educators we realize that this disposition is not consistent from school to school and this is why there has been so much discomfort with the Common Core Standards.  We support these and we recognize that they are a push for us because they raise expectations but while others cry foul stating that they are too rigorous and do not allow students to exercise their passion, we recognize that we, the adults charged with growing our expertise, have to get students to these expectations in an intentional manner that allows for them to still exercise their love for math or English.

In next week's post I will describe both how we assess our progress using internal data but I'll also describe how we gauge our progress using external 'data.'  It will be my pleasure, while describing both of these domains, to give parents a deeper introduction to our Department Supervisors, our Central Administration, and to describe their role in leading these processes.

Until then have a great weekend!

End of Week Notes

Beginning of the 3rd Quarter

• At the start of the 3rd quarter we encourage students to remember that they are NOT the grades they have earned thus far this year!!!!
• For students who have done really well this means that they have to remain consistent with things like organization and effort and participation in class.
• For students who have struggled it means realizing that things like organization, study skills, and work ethic are often more the reason for struggle than any cognitive issues.  We always remind students that there is no reason why someone who has struggled cannot immediately experience growth!

Thank You's

• We are grateful to the local chapter of the Kiwanis Club for their support of our Character Breakfast!
• To Mr. Rizzo and Team Teachers for your work to bring off our Character Breakfast!
• To our 6th grade teachers and students who had a great time at our 6th grade social last night!
• To all the parents who participated in our Tuesday Night PTO meeting.  I will be posting the presentation from our Guest Speaker, Mary Lawyer, at some point soon.  Mary did a great presentation about how parents of middle school aged students can begin now to prepare (financially) for college

"Public Science is Broken"

• A headline this powerful demands to be read!
• It was stated by the lead investigator of the water contamination issues in Flint, Michigan and when I read his comments I immediately thought of how politics is contributing to the discredit of science!

Calling All Spellers!  BOU Annual Spelling Bee - February 25th!  (It will be at the High School)

Check out our Character Award Winners!

One of the most beautiful Winter Storm PhotosEVER!

Quote(s) of the Week

"I never lose!  I either win, or I learn!"
A great growth mindset quote from Cori Difabbio

"If anyone worked as hard as I did, they would get the same result!"
J. S. Bach (forwarded by Pat Pisanello)

"In Flint the agencies paid to protect these people weren’t solving the problem. They were the problem." (see above for more)

Calendar of Events... 

Monday, February 8

• Teacher Dept Meetings
• Spring Sports Signups this Week!!

Tuesday, Feb 9

• Teacher Dept Meetings
• Late Buses

Wednesday, Feb 10

• Late buses

Thursday, Feb 11

• Late buses

Friday, Feb 12

• FASS (3:00 to 5:00) (Friday After School Support)

Saturday, Feb 13 - February Break begins - School resumes on Monday, February 22nd

Have a great weekend!

Sneak Preview of our next Character Focus

Grit has become a buzzword around education this last year or so.  Unfortunately for those who only chase trends rather than thinking long and hard about whether they are worth chasing, GRIT is a difficult and elusive attribute without a few foundational skills that precede it.

Grit Defined: (by Angela Duckworth, the lead researcher whose work has advanced the public's awareness these last few years)
Perseverance and passion for long-term goals

Our work at BCMS these last 5 years has focused on character strengths and within these are the following:

• Perseverance
• Love of Learning
• Persistence
• Self-Regulation

The work we have done these last five years has focused on building the foundation of and for Grit. In short our work has developed students to have a healthier self-concept that is defined by Carol Dweck.

Throughout the last two years our staff has studied the work of Dweck and we've been reading and discussing the importance of having a GROWTH MINDSET rather than a fixed mindset.  (See Dweck's book Mindset; the new psychology of success)

Dweck defines each of these:

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.

In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success (without effort).

Where this contrast becomes starkly apparent is not in success but rather in failure.  People either shrink from failure or learn from it and Dweck's research (and our intuitive and observational evidence) suggests that rising from failure requires a GROWTH MINDSET.  Individuals with a fixed mindset avoid taking risks because failure is a judgment rather than a learning opportunity.  When a fixed mindset individual fails it simply confirms what they already believe, that they do not have the skill to be successful at a task and never will.  When a growth mindset individual fails at a task it simply confirms that they either didn't work hard enough or didn't prepare adequately.  These individuals use failure as a blueprint toward later success and they make their failure a learning experience rather than a judgment.

Throughout the month of February, as we begin the 2nd semester of the year, we will be reinforcing for students when they exhibit a Fixed Mindset and helping them realize that any fixed mindset can be adjusted to a growth mindset.

We have a very special student assembly in the planning and we will announce details about this shortly ... and parents will be invited!  Much more to come.

Thank you and have a great (3 DAY) weekend!

End of Week Notes

A big week for 8th Graders!

This week and last kicked the beginning of our 8th graders transition to high school.  'Why so early?' one might ask and the answer is simply to provide families time to process course selections as they make this transition.  We are genuinely proud of this group.  They represent themselves impressively in all they do and they continue to be great models!

Building Safety

NY schools are required to have a safety structure at both the district and building level.  Our bldg team met earlier this week and we routinely debrief after all of our drills.  We conducted one drill (a lockdown) earlier this week, and as per usual, our students and staff were responsive and universally supportive of our need for general preparedness.  

Martin Luther King Jr, Annual Recognition

• Mr. Warford went on our morning announcements this morning with a poignant message about how we try to keep visible at ALL times the lessons learned from the Civil Rights Movement... lessons that our country still works to improve upon to this day.  Tolerance, acceptance, equity and equality all are underscored in our character program and we are grateful to our students for their resonance in trying to model these.
• We also want to recognize 9 students who are winners of the 20th Annual Black History Month Creative Expressions Contest.  These students will have additional opportunity to create PSA announcements that will air on local radio stations and we are enormously proud of their achievement!

8th Grade Snowflake Dance 

Tonight (Friday Night) the snowflake dance, initiated last year by students request, is back!  We hope your 8th grader can make it.  Students can pay at the door.

Reminder - BCMS Musical "High School Musical Junior" is less than 1 week away!

• For those unaware, the "Junior" in the title indicates that the play is condensed to be appropriate both in time and content to a middle level audience.  Our Middle School musicals have enormous production polish and sophistication while remaining a fun event for family members of ALL ages.  We hope you can join us.

The Week Ahead...

Monday, January 18

• No School - MLK day observance

Tuesday, January 19

• Late buses
• Chicken Parm Pick Up 

Wednesday, January 20

• Late Buses
• Grade 8 Special Education Parent Transition Night (6:30 PM)
• BOE 7:00 PM

Thursday, January 21

• Late Buses
• MS Musical Opening Night

Friday, January 22

• Friday After School Support
• MS Musical continues

Saturday, January 23

• MS Musical Continues
• Ski club to Bromley