Advisory at KRMS

Before I jump right into information about our new advisory program, I want to take the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Andrea Costanzo and I am the new assistant principal here at KRMS. I am so excited to be here this year and am grateful for the warm reception I have received from the KRMS community. I'm looking forward to a great school year!

A little bit about me: I attended the University of New Hampshire for my undergraduate studies and then moved home to Braintree, Massachusetts when I graduated. I worked as a Behavior Therapist for a company that provided primarily early intervention services for children on the Autism Spectrum. While I enjoyed working with children and their families, I knew that I really wanted to be in the school setting and have a classroom of my own, so I began an M.Ed. program at UMass, Boston. After completing that program, I moved back to NH to join my fiance (now husband) and took a position covering two maternity leaves in the English Department at Merrimack Valley High School. The following school year, I began teaching English at Franklin High School where I have been for the past five years. I am currently a student in the Ed.D. program at New England College and my research focus is competency-based education.

This month, I want to focus my post on our new advisory program. All students and staff are taking part in our new advisory program this year. Students are in small, grade-level groups and will stay in the same advisory with the same advisory teacher for their time at KRMS. The focus of advisory this year is building relationships to ensure that KRMS is a welcoming community where each student feels a sense of belonging. You can find a little more information in the KRMS Parent Advisory Handout.

For the first couple of days of school, advisories spent time engaging in welcoming activities and getting to know one another. Advisory teachers selected a variety of ice breaker activities such as name games, silent birthday lineups, and creating time capsules. Moving forward, each day of the week has a different theme in advisory as follows below:

Mojo Monday On Mondays, we come together to share about our weekends and any highlights or experiences we had. This is our time to reconnect as a group and set the stage for the week.

Take Charge Tuesday On Tuesdays we focus on planning and organization. To do so, we look at the school calendar on the website, discuss class projects and deadlines, and get in the habit of using agenda books. We also discuss time management and how to balance all of our school obligations and extracurricular activities.

Wonder Wednesday On Wednesdays we pose thoughtful questions as a way to get to know each other, spark conversations, and share laughs. We have asked questions such as “I wonder what you want me to know about you?” and “What would make today the best day ever?”

Thoughtful Thursday Each Thursday our advisory conversation centers around a common prompt that we discuss as a group. Some of the prompts this year have included “Who do you think has had the largest influence on who you are today?” and “What is your favorite quality about a friend?”

Forge Ahead Friday Fridays are our day to reflect on our week at school and use those reflections to plan for the week to come. Questions are posed such as “Thinking about things that went well last week, what are you most proud of?” Students are also asked to reflect about something they would like to go better next week and what supports they will need to be successful.

The daily themes are a great starting point to engage your student in conversation about advisory and their day at school!

There is a steering committee of teachers actively working to continue to build our advisory program and we are always open to feedback. Personally, I am thoroughly enjoying my seventh grade advisory and look forward to our activities each day!

1:Go Computer Pilot at KRMS

Welcome back to the Symbiosis blog.  We took a break for the summer, but we are back up and running.  Our goal is to post four times per month with one post coming from the technology integrator, Laurie Prewandowski, one post coming for our new assistant principal, Andrea Costanzo, one post coming from a guidance counselor, Kara Byrne, and one post coming from our school nurse, Amy Holobowicz.  The idea is to share information from our respective domain and begin a conversation with our KRMS parents.  Be sure to sign up to have the blog posts delivered directly to your inbox.

From the Technology Integrator

During the 2018-2019 school year, we began a computer pilot program that we are calling 1:Go.  This is a bit different from the common name of "1:1 Program" because in our program students are not taking the device home.  Students are basically picking up a Chromebook from their cluster area each morning and taking it to go with them to each class throughout the day.  They are to return the device to their cluster at the end of the day.  There are areas in the cafeteria for kids to place the computer as we don't want students using technology at the lunch table.

There are a few reasons why we wanted to begin this pilot program.  The first reason was that despite having about 100 more laptops than kids in the building, we still had teachers who were not able to access technology on a consistent basis with students.  These teachers were generally our specialists for Unified Arts such Art, Band, Chorus, General Music, FACS (Family and Consumer Science), TechEd (Industrial Arts), Physical Education, Health and World Languages.  It was not logistically possible to move carts around during various class periods.  With our new plan, the student brings the device to each class so all teachers have equal access to technology resources to offer deeper learning in every content area.

Another reason why we wanted to try this program is that some of the computers were being damaged.  This damage was a range of things such as picking off keys, breaking the webcam and bending the charger port so the device would no longer charge.  It was challenging to know who was doing this and at least 15 brand new devices were damaged in several of our new carts in the first year of their use.  Now, each student is responsible for one device.  The device is labeled with a student name.  The students are required to use their designated device only.  They are not to use another student's device.  Students are being instructed in the responsible use of these devices on a daily basis.

The final reason why we wanted to try this program is that we want to be responsible users of district assets.  Instead of purchasing more carts and more devices so each teacher had a cart, we decided that it was more fiscally responsible to ask each student to carry a device from class to class.

We are just beginning this process, but we have already seen some positive results.  Several teachers have been thrilled to have access to technology to support the learning in their classrooms.  Students are learning to be responsible for a piece of hardware that must travel from room to room.  Most of the students are taking this very seriously.  Also, students are taking ownership of a device when it has issues.  Now, when a screen isn't working or a key falls off, instead of just putting the device back in the cart and taking a different one, the student is bringing the device to the tech office for repair.  This allows us to maximize our warranty programs.  Students are immediately given a spare device to use to minimize the loss of classroom instruction time.


We welcome any comments you have about this program.  Please use the comment feature available on this blog.

Parents Ask: Should I allow my child to watch 13 Reasons Why?

"13 Reasons Why"     Is it Middle School appropriate??

I have had a number of parents ask me if the Netflix show, “13 Reasons Why” is appropriate viewing for a middle school student.  Having watched the first season last year, and the second season just recently, my answer is – not without adult accompaniment.  It’s really more appropriate for older high school students, however, the majority of the viewing audience is, interestingly, middle school age. While there are some good messages and very relevant topics addressed, the content is VERY explicit and graphic in nature that will be disturbing for younger viewers (heck, I was horribly disturbed myself).  The series depicts high school students engaging in sex, watching pornography, drug and alcohol misuse, rape, bullying, swearing, suicide, and horrifying violence.  My recommendation is to watch it yourself first.  Many parents react strongly to the content, and come away with a firm opinion about whether they feel their child can get past the disturbing content to get to the message.  

Like I said, there are relevant topics portrayed that we deal with in middle school – bullying, cyberbullying, mental health issues, self-harm, suicidal ideation, academic pressures, family dysfunction, substance misuse in the home, struggles with gender and sexual identity, and homelessness.  Having an opportunity to engage in open, honest discussion with your child about such issues is certainly valuable, and parents have identified this as a benefit of watching it with their child.  But the only one who can determine if it is appropriate is you, and I would again strongly recommend to watch it yourself first, even if your child insists, “Everyone is watching it!!”

If you decide to watch it with your child, there are some conversation starters that can be found in the “13 Reasons Why” discussion guide at 13reasonswhy.info  Here are a few to get you started:

• ·       What do you think about what happened in this episode?
• ·       Do you think the characters in the show are behaving in ways that are similar to people you know? How so? How are they different?
• ·       Did parts of the story make you think about how people who are struggling do not show the full picture of what they are dealing with to others?
• ·       What did you learn about “so-and-so character’s” situation from this episode? For example, what did you learn about what happened to Jessica and sexual assault?”
• ·       How does what you have seen change how you view some things that happen in real life?
• ·       Do you think the adults did anything wrong? What could they have done better?

Please keep in mind students’ personal struggles often come to light when triggered by a tragic event, uncomfortable experience, or viewing/hearing a form of media (tv show, film, music, etc.) that touches on sensitive topics.  It’s important for peers, families, and school staff to be on the lookout for warning signs that a student needs support:

• ·       Changes in school performance (e.g. grades, attendance)
• ·       Changes in mood
• ·       Increased disciplinary problems
• ·       Complaints of illness
• ·       Problems experienced at home or family situations (stress, trauma, divorce, substance misuse, poverty, domestic violence)
• ·       Communication from teachers about problems at school
• ·       Withdrawal
• ·       Difficulty dealing with existing mental health concerns

I am including a list of websites for further reference.  We at KRMS are here to assist you and your student. Please feel free to contact us with further questions or concerns! 927-2100

Netflix "13 Reasons Why" Resources

13reasonswhy.info

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

afsp.org

The National Center for Victims of Crime

victimsofcrime.org

Coalition to Support Grieving Students

grievingstudents.org

National Sexual Violence Resource Center

www.nsvrc.org

Flipping a Parent Teacher Conference: What do you think?

For my final tech blog post prior to the summer vacation, I was considering a variety of potential topics.  Should I talk about summer reading?  Should I talk about summer movies?  Should I talk about Global Service Projects for Youth?

Each of these topics was of some interest to me, and then I stumbled upon this article on How to Flip a Parent Teacher Conference.  The author of the article has a pretty amazing idea.

When a school year starts, parents often attend an open house.  This is really a "meet and greet" opportunity. It isn't meant to be an individual parent-teacher exchange.  The teacher doesn't really know the students yet as the open house usually happens very early in the first month of school.

Finally though, along comes the parent-teacher conference time.  Of course, many parent-teacher conferences go smoothly, but this can be a stressful encounter for some.  Some parents might wonder/worry what the teacher is going to say about their child.  Students might wonder/worry what their teacher is going to say about them, and teachers might wonder /worry what parents will ask in regards to their child.  It's a very valuable process, but is it as efficient as it can be?  Could technology make a difference and enhance the long-held tradition of face to face parent-teacher conferences?

If you didn't read the article Flipped Parent-Teacher Conferences from the link above, please read the article here.  Then use this Google Form to offer some suggestions on what questions you might want to see on a form if KRMS decided to try this.

The idea is for you to offer up questions that you, as a parent, might have that don't get answered at a conference because there isn't enough time or you forget to ask.  Teachers could be more prepared with specifics and more meaningful input if they knew exactly what a specific parent was concerned about prior to the actual meeting.  Do you agree?

Use the comment feature of this blog to offer your thoughts on whether you would welcome this type of approach to Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Also, feel free to make any comments you have on Parent-Teacher Conferences in general and/or how technology might make this experience more meaningful to you.


Photo Credit:

URH

URH. "Clipart - School Works." Openclipart.org. N. p., 2018. Web. 3 June 2018.

Community Engagement

The Kearsarge Regional School District is currently working under the 2016-2022 Strategic Plan. I know that's a catchy beginning, but stick with me. One of the goals of the strategic plan, Goal 4 reads as follows:

Goal 4: The KRSD will involve families, businesses, and community organizations to increase student
engagement and personalized learning opportunities.

Increasing communication and partnerships with the greater Kearsarge community provides opportunities
for students to engage in authentic learning outside of the classroom.  A community that is more involved
and aware of the workings of schools is more supportive. Higher levels of student engagement lead to
higher levels of student achievement.

Objectives identified for Goal 4 are:

• Form a district level committee to increase and improve community partnerships
• Collaborate with the communication committee to increase community awareness of school

programs and achievements.

• Inventory community partnerships currently in place and identify areas to develop new community

partnerships.

• Develop new partnerships which increase student engagement and opportunity.
• Create sustainability in all projects through reflection and refinement of offerings to meet student

needs.

We are fortunate that we partner with many areas businesses and community members. Here at the middle school we have a wonderful STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) camp facilitated by KRSD teachers who invite all kinds of guests who work in STEM careers, Hypertherm, WMUR, etc. It is a wonderful enriching summer opportunity for our students and the guests who participate. We also had a terrific career day organized by our Family And Consumer Science - FACS teacher Robin Young. Robin Arranged for fourteen guests to come to school and meet with our eighth graders. Each student was able to see several different presentations, the kids benefitted a great deal. We will continue to maintain these traditions and we are open to more.

One aspect of this Community Engagement Goal is our new district level committee. We have met three times now. We are comprised in this earliest stage of all staff members, and we will be reaching out soon to learn more about how we can meet the needs of parents and families when it comes to helping students k-12 succeed in school. Several, at least half, of the members of the community engagement committee are also parents of students in the district. The committee has elementary, middle, and high school representation. Right now we are reading a book together, Beyond the Bake Sale. All research is clear that community engagement helps students learn and grow more than they will without it. We realize we need to make schools welcoming that's our number one goal. We will need feedback from as many parents as possible.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, ideas, time, to contribute you may do so on the comment section of this blog, email me at pmercier@kearsarge.org, call 927-2100 and ask to speak with me, skywriting, smoke signals. You get the idea. I look forward to working with you.

Our guiding principle based on Beyond the Bake Sale is "to build a vital, trusting, productive community of people who enjoy learning from each other and can work through their differences in the interests of the children." 

Digital Well-Being

Are you addicted to your phone?  To social media?  To Facebook?

Before you respond, you have to read this article about how technology companies are making your experience addicting on purpose and by specific design.  Don't fret though.  Those red notifications that are shown to you intentionally to elicit a response can be overcome.  Here are some tips on how to avoid the addiction traps.

One thing that struck me when I was reading this information was how easy it is for adults to become as addicted as kids.  Adults seem to be able to notice when commercials are trying to convince us to buy products we don't need and when grocery stores place that candy at the checkout line so that kids might ask for it, but we don't apply the same understanding to our phone.

Check out this resource called Truth About Tech:  A Road Map for Kids' Digital Well-Being offered by Common Sense Media.  It is an exceptional article that highlights how technology that captures the attention of our children isn't always what is best for their well-being.  Please, please, please read the Road Map.  It has data that might shock you.  It also has some specific ways that we can act.

Please use the comment feature below to discuss which data point alarmed you and which call to action we can do as a KRMS team.

Works Cited

Filucci, Sierra. “Control Your Phone. Don't Let It Control You.”
Common Sense Media: Ratings, Reviews, and Advice, Common Sense Media,
1 Feb. 2018, www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/control-your-phone-dont-let-it-control-you.

“Kids' Digital Well-Being Is Common Sense | Common Sense Media.”
Common Sense Media: Ratings, Reviews, and Advice, Common Sense Media,
www.commonsensemedia.org/digital-well-being.

“Take Control.” Center for Humane Technology, humanetech.com/take-control/.

Device Free Dinner Challenge

The 8th graders from KRMS were in Washington, D.C. this past week for their annual class trip.  On Thursday night, they experienced a dinner at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  One of the chaperones decided to take action with the constant cell phone use.  She went around to each table and requested that all students place their cell phones in the middle of the table and enjoy the company of their classmates for a few minutes during this meal.  While it only lasted for a few short moments, students did comply with putting their phones down until they finished their meal.  

Could it be as easy as making this simple request to your kids at dinner time?  Probably not.  Don't fret, though, because Common Sense Media has a Family Guide for this challenge.  Common Sense Media links to a resource that has conversation starters, pickles & predicaments, challenging conversations, recipes for conversation shareables and conversation starter shareables.  

The Common Sense Media Family Guide on Device Free Dinners includes links to several articles.  One that I found particularly interesting was about Steve Jobs being a low tech parent despite being a high tech giant.  Another one that was helpful is from The Family Dinner Project and it's called Technology at the Table.  These are some of the questions asked in the article:

• Would you expect someone whose job revolves around technology to limit its use within their own home?  Why or why not?
• Should the same rules that apply to kids apply to parents?  Why or why not?
• Can you think of any reasons why it's sometimes good to take a break from screen time?

I hope that you will find the resources from Common Sense Media on Device Free Dinners helpful and that you will share your own advice on how you manage this in your home.

Check out this video about Device Free Dinners in the News.