Free Money

That title always gets people's attention.
This happens every year in every school about this time. The newness of school has worn off and students are starting to slide a tad. Please remind your child of the importance of doing their homework and getting it in on time. We have a system that helps the process but it's no substitute for parental involvement. If you are new to our homework referral process, or need a refresher, it can be viewed on my staff webpage http://www.ecsd.us/staff/malley/
As always, your help is greatly appreciated.

SCMS wants our students to show their colors

We have two huge sporting events coming up Friday and Saturday that we'd like to have some fun with. We are encouraging students to wear their maize and blue or green and white on Thursday to support either Michigan or Michigan State as they prepare to play football on Saturday. Friday we'd like everyone to wear red to support the Saints as they play in their Homecoming Game Friday night.

DC Photos

Anyone that would like to share their photos from this year's trip please transfer them to a CD and send them to school. It would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to use Shutter Fly to post the photos and then give access to those photos to everyone who went on the trip. Of course, I have no idea how Shutter Fly works, but my wife does and she tells me that it is painfully simple
On a separate DC note, everyone who attended the DC trip will be getting a group photo. They are being shipped to SCMS. As soon as they arrive, I'll send them home with your student.

Monday's thoughts

The Lions won??? Time to buy a Mega-Millions ticket....anything is possible.
Just a reminder that we have our fist half day of the year on Tuesday, September 29th. Students will attend their first, second and third hour classes and will dismissed at 11:41. Teachers will be involved with in professional development day during the afternoon.
Wednesday is our official count day. A very important day for students to be in school and on time. Of course it goes without saying, if your child is sick to keep them home, but if at all possible your help in getting everyone to school and on time is greatly appreciated.
I'm really liking this Blog. Please spread the word to other parents to check it out. I have received via e-mail a number of good suggestions already this year. Just so everyone is on the same page...any good idea that works out well, I'm going to take full credit for. Any idea that is less than great (even if it was mine), I'll pass on the credit to someone else. For those that don't know me well, I'm just joking (as far as you know).
Have a GREAT week...

SCMS moving toward a Peanut Free Building

Because I'm experienced (a nice way of saying old), I've seen a number of changes over the years, one of which is the number of students at SCMS that are allergic to peanuts and peanut products. As you can imagine, there are varying degrees to the allergic reaction...some are mildly allergic and some are deathly allergic, even to airborne particles. In the past we have handled this by posting signs on classrooms of those students, stating that the classroom is a peanut free classroom. We also have designated tables in the cafeteria for those students to eat. It's gotten to the point where it seems like we have more classrooms that are peanut free than those that are not. To simplify things, we are just going to make SCMS a peanut free school. Now before you Dads push the panic button (PB&J's are the only kind sandwich I know how to make!!!), this only applies to the hallways and classrooms (basically any snacks the kids bring to school or classroom treats that are brought in). It is a tad tricky and you have to look on the label to see if it is cooked in peanut oil, or processed on a machine that also processes peanuts. I guess the rule of thumb would be, if you're in doubt, don't bring it to school. We'll still have designated peanut free tables in the cafeteria for lunch. I'm going to start announcing this new policy today. Your help, as always, is appreciated.

Toosday's Thoughts

The 2009 version of the DC trip is now history...and it was an absolutely awesome trip. I can't begin to thank our parent chaperones enough for their help. 7th grade parents start planning on sending your student next year and if possible, joining us. It really is a trip that will make memories that will last a lifetime.

Student Council applications are due tomorrow, Wednesday, September 23rd. They need to have both sides filled and out with a parent signature.

MEAP testing is right around the corner (October 13th is the first day). Your help in stressing the importance of effort, getting to school on time, having a good breakfast, etc is appreciated.

Our first 8th grade football scrimmage is tonight. Wow...the start of this year has been a blurr.

Remember, if there is anything that is bothering you don't hesitate to pick up the phone. The majority of problems that I deal with result from a lack of, or miscommunication. And usually what makes it worse is time. I know it's happened to me in the past. What starts out being a little thing, I'll think about so much that it becomes a big thing....then I start yelling and look like a fool when I find out that it really was a little thing. Luckily, with my advanced age and experience, it doesn't happen to me much anymore.

Have a GREAT week

Friday's Thoughts...

During this time of year have tunnel vision...90% of my limited brain power is directed toward the Washington DC trip. For those parents that have students going on the trip, I'll be talking to them during their lunch. Please take a minute tonight to ask them about the talk to see if anything sunk in. Behavior, what they can bring, what they can expect to see, time to be at SCMS are going to be the highlights of the talk. Looks like the weather in DC is going to be great. For the parents of younger students, please start saving for this trip. It's an awesome trip that we would like every student to experience. We'll have a meeting sometime after the first of the year for this year's 7th graders to talk about and plan next year's trip.

SCMS Magazine Sale

During the next two weeks, SCMS will be having it's annual magazine sale. I think it's safe to say that no one likes fundraisers. Two of my son's played hockey and I have sold everything from candy to waste paper baskets, so I totally understand not liking fundraisers. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, economic times are tough and we've become more dependent on these fundraisers to supplement programs. Our school receives approximately 40% of the sales which is used to support a variety of student activities. Participation is voluntary but if you can find the time, and you wanted to purchase a subscription anyway, your help in supporting this fundraiser is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the school.

Weather for Washington DC

As of Wednesday morning things are looking up...and we all know that the weather forecast never changes....Saturday 71/56 with a 0% chance of rain, Sunday 74/62 with a 10% chance of rain and Monday 76/65 with a 20% chance of rain. Good clean living is paying off for me again. This is going to be AWESOME.

Washington DC Thoughts on Wednesday

For those of you that have been on this trip you can sit back and chuckle at me and my worries, for those that haven't gone and have younger kids, start planning now to go and for those that are going this week, get ready for an awesome time. A few things that came out of the meeting last night that I want to re-state. Please don't be late arriving to SCMS. I'm a pretty important guy but Northwest Airlines won't let me hold up a flight for anyone that sleeps in. I'm going to be meeting with the kids this week during their lunch to reemphasize the importance of behavior and that no one goes anywhere without talking to/asking their chaperone first and then they go in pairs. Also...one last thought for today that I did not bring up last night. Those students that are not going on the trip are expected to be in school on Monday and those students that are going on the trip are expected to be in school on Tuesday.

Remembering our Heroes and Victims on 9/11

I know I'm a tad off center on many of my posts, but on a serious note, today is a day to reflect and honor those that lost their lives eight years ago and to give thanks to those that continue to serve and protect our country. We had a moment of silence at 8:46. If ever there is a subject that would be a great topic to talk about with your kids it would be this one. Our current students, because of their age, probably have a tough time remembering. I still remember that day, where I was and all that went with it in the days/months following the tragedy, as I'm sure most of us do.

SCMS Student Council

We are very proud of our SCMS Student Council. Over the years it has been a great group to be involved with. Developing leadership skills, doing community service and helping to improve our school are just a few benefits of joining Student Council. Applications are available in our SCMS Office and we have extended the deadline to Wednesday, September 23rd. There are two sides to the application and a parent's signature is required. Please encourage your student to get involved.

Some Principal info for our new parents

Now that classes have started, I thought I should share a few things about me that some of our new parents might not know. First and most importantly, I'm a great guy. I'm also pretty tall. The reason I tell you that is, from my vantage point I don't always see someone if I'm looking straight ahead.....and....to add to what I'm about to say, my hearing has had better days. So if you happen to walk by me and say hi and I keep walking, it's not because I'm being rude or I think I'm better than you, it's because I didn't see/hear you. A few years ago, I had a student's grandpa go absolutely crazy on me, thinking I was too good to say hi back to him. So if you see me, don't hesitate to talk loudly and jump up to get my attention....I really am a nice guy.

Tweaking Our No Zero Policy

This will be our third year of our NO ZEROS policy. In those three years we have seen a dramatic raise in the number of assignments completed, grade point averages and number of students that have made our Honor Roll. Last year our Lunchtime Homework Help helped to complete over 1000 assignments that would otherwise zeros. This is how our process works:

If a student does not complete/turn in an assignment the teacher “red flags” it in their electronic grade book. A report is generated the next day and the student is given a homework referral reminding them that the assignment needs to be completed and turned into the office the next day. That night, an automated phone call goes home letting parents know that an assignment is missing. If the student does not turn their assignment in to the office the next day then they are assigned a Lunchtime Homework Help. If you are following our process, you will see that by the time the student has been assigned the Lunchtime Homework Help the assignment is already at least two days late.

This year we are tweaking the process to help eliminate a few problems that occasionally occurred. If a student either is disruptive during homework help, comes unprepared to homework help or skips homework help three times during a Marking Period they will be taken out of the Lunchtime Homework Help program and assigned after school detentions/Saturday Schools for the rest of that Marking Period. During that Marking Period they also will not be able to attend dances, Activity Nights, etc.

Obviously our main goal is to have our students complete the assigned work. A secondary goal is to help make the students accountable and responsible. The easiest solution to this problem is for students to complete their work on time. Any and all help you can give us at home, as always, is greatly appreciated.

First Day Meeting

Every year on the first day I meet with each grade level to discuss my expectations, rules, goals, etc. This makes for a GREAT dinner conversation when you ask them how the first day of school went. Instead of excepting the well thought out response of "it was ok..." (I have three sons...been down this path many times) you can ask them about my talk. Don't let them off the hook...dig for information. I'll be talking about behavior, our No Zero's policy, dress code, what a great guy I am, setting goals, etc..... The more that they know that you know, the better life is.

This is going to be a GREAT year.

A little Confusion on the First Day

One of the few things that I really don't look forward to the first week of school is the confusion that comes with catching the bus home. Happens every year regardless of how we try to prepare the kids. The confusion comes in two ways....either the student forgets what bus they rode to school on, or, they got a ride to school with a parent and have no idea what bus to get on. Regardless of the reason, rest assured that there will be a number of us outside with the kids at the end of the day with all the busing info to make sure everyone gets on the correct bus. You can help by checking out the transportation link on our ECSD website, http://www.ecsd.us/