ASFMSasfms.net/asfmsinthenews/PDFs/ASFMSRecognition2008.pdf · all ASFMS students have arrived and ... Peer Mediation Students helping other peers resolve disputes. Program Coordinators:

ASFMS

2008 Accomplishments

Walking the Talk Together

One of the Largest Middle School

in the State of RI

1,300+ Students 6th – 8th!

“High Performing”

Too!!!

Teacher Evaluations:

• Never mind that our small administrative staff

evaluated such a large staff, an accomplishment

in itself, but…

Teacher performance was aligned to the Goals of

the School Improvement Team!

Way to go EVERYONE!!!

The Bus Duty Squad Survived!

Thanks to…Kim Sturdahl, Keri Potvin, Kevin Seekell,Tim Vesey, Rekha Sara, Diane Kowal, Rachel Houlihan, Cate Wallace, Judy Coutu, and Janet Bliss

all ASFMS students have arrived and departed school safely, some with

breakfast in their tummies and bruises on their faces and knees.

6th Grade Joined Us!!!

Our school is a

much better place

with you here!

Cohesive School-wide Literacy

Block

6/4/2010 6

Keep up the Reading!!!

Accomplishments of the

Literacy Action Team

Mary Lou Bettez, Sandy Clunan, Cynthia Ballard, Tao Albrecht, Bob Jordan, Susan Murphy, Shawn Henderson,

and Tracey Whitehead

Literacy Walks - Staff Participates

• Jackie Ricci

• Augusto Gomes

• Kevin Seekell

• Tim Vesey

• Stacey Sousa

• Keri Potvin

• Paula Mercurio

• Kristine Pinto

• Liz Tattrie

• Anthony Ferro

• Kathy Tefft

• Tony Costa

• Constance Tundis

• Linda Grandchamp

• Patricia Lindley

• Wendy Bettez

• Nikki Pekrul

Literacy Team

Accomplishments• Development of Literacy Action Plans 07-08 and 08-09

• Writing of Professional Development Plans for 07-08 and 08-09

• Participation in Literacy Walk Self-Study Process

• Collaboration in writing 4 Literacy Walk Reports

• Facilitation of professional development at faculty meetings

• Organization / facilitation of April 8th PD Day

Thank You

• We cannot thank the faculty enough for their

willingness to open their classrooms and

craft to the Literacy Walk Process. Many

teachers have stepped forward to participate

in the work. They have individually and

collectively reflected upon best practice in

hopes of helping ASFMS move from

“GOOD TO GREAT”.

Paula Mercurio and Cynthia Ballard

Thank you for opening your

classrooms to be videotaped for

staff analysis and critique.

Personalization Action Team

“Academic success and personal growth increase

markedly when young adolescents’ affective needs

are met.”

NMSA (2003)

Personalization

Accomplishments• Development of Action Plans 07-08 and 08-09

• Writing of Professional Development Plans 07-08 and 08-09

• Alignment of potential goals with ASFMS Mission Statement

• Creation of a survey/needs assessment

• Sharing of the data with staff

Accomplishments (continued)

• Facilitation of a faculty meeting

• Led staff in a card sort activity to determine goals of advisory

• Analysis of staff feedback to determine priority areas-Advocacy, Community, and Skills

• Creation of Plan for Summer Work

• Organization of Advisory Committee

• Committed to planning PD day in Fall of 08

Personalization Action Team

Members• Judy Almy-Coutu

• Jen Asay

• Charlie Blanchette

• Meg Bernardi

• Cheryl Fram

• Paula Mercurio

• Abby Paon

• Rekha Saran

• Tracey Whitehead

Numeracy Action Team

Kevin Seekell

Roger Desaulniers

Cara Banspach

Jen Labrie

Anthony Ferro

Jessica Capaldi

Numeracy Action Team

Accomplishments

• Numeracy Action Plan

• Numeracy PD Plans

• Math skills – games and activities

program

Family Action TeamCourtney Chauvette

Gina Gateman

Rebecca Horton

Michael Almeida

Ted Mitchell

Tim Vesey

Jackie Ricci

Family Action Team

Accomplishments

• Established ASFMS Family Engagement Policy

• Developed list of effective means of school-home communication

• RIPIN Professional Development

• Assessed School-wide Communication

– National PTA Schools of Excellence Criteria

ULSS Accomplishments:

• RTI

• State Alignment

• Circles Program

• URI Collaboration

ULSS Accomplishments

Continued:

• Designed program to identify students with attentional

and organizational issues (Fall Pilot Program)

• Teacher Assistant Professional Development Programs

• Collaboration with Family Enrichment Program.

• Increased integrative occupational and

language services in self-contained classes

Alternate Assessments

• Training and completion

• Laurie Masterson, Kelly Kramer,

Kim Vernava, and Kathy

Mouradjian

• Yeah!

Laurie Masterson…need we say

more?

But, if you need to know:

A student who couldn’t walk in

elementary school now can do

so with the aid of a walker!

Another student who couldn’t

read can now do so…reading

200 or more words without

error!

Kelly Kramer

Is still alive and

made it through

the year!!!

Gina Gateman-ULSS Coordinator

For taking on the world of lawyers, advocates, and more and coming out on top…way to go Gina!

UDL Study Participants

• Cara Banspach and Jen Kilduff

• Annie Printer and Sue Smith

• Jackie Ricci and Emily Muzzy

UDL strategies guarantee ALL students

access and opportunity to rigorous

instruction.

Universal Design for Learning

(UDL) Study

Teams of teachers from

ASFMS were recruited to

participate in a statewide

study sponsored by RIC and

RIDE.

Accomplishments of UDL Teams

• Participation in professional development

and training in January 2008

• Collaboration to design units of study,

lessons, and tasks around UDL principles

• Videotaped lessons (Cara and Jen)

Feinstein After School Academy

6 Week Programs

Fall 07

Spring 08

100 students in each

Connections Program

With a staff of 12 volunteers from

the senior class of CHS, the school

social worker, school psychologist,

and intern conducted the program

involving 8 ASFMS students in

group counseling and team-

building activities out of Project

Adventure

N.Y.P.U.M

Positive Reinforcement at

Work!

Thank you Mr. Ferro, Dr.

Turchetta, & Jen Cole

Peer Mediation

Students helping

other peers resolve

disputes.

Program Coordinators:

Meg Bernardi, Shawn

Henderson, and Sue Davis

S.T.E.P.• Parenting training

• Career classes for students

• Study skills for students

Nice job Sue Davis, Dr. Lou, Felix Sarubbi, Nikki Pekrul, Abby Paon, Trish Dorchies, Kim Vernava, and more…

GYMhappy Program

A coalition of support staff, self-contained,

resource, resource, and team teachers

created GYMhappy:

8th grade student model/mentors with

self-contained, intensive resource, and

other students from grades 6 and 7.

Activities included basketball, football,

soccer, kickball, and dodgeball.

THANK YOU FELIX!

Baseball

CONGRATULATIONS!

Division Champions

Three Years in a Row!!!

Thanks to Coach Howman!

Wrestling Team

CONGRATULATIONS!

Division Champions

State Runner-up

Nice job Tim!

Boys’ Basketball Team

CONGRATULATIONS!

Division Champions

Final Four

Way to go Dennis!

School Newspaper

Linda Middleton and

the Panther Team

published, The

Panther Print.

Students Against Vandalism

Everywhere (S.A.V.E.)

Mr. Blanchette - Advisor of the Year

SAVE - Website of the Year

ASFMS SAVE Program - Middle School of the Year

(by Youth Crime Watch of America)

SAVE Group Goes to Miami

SAVE Cleans Up ASFMS

Pride of Place:

SAVE is planting a

garden in the front of

our school.

NJHS

A tremendous amount of work

organizing the recognition honor

roll achievement and citizenship.

Cate Wallace and Kathy Tefft

The Robotics Club Wins Awards

First Lego League: 1st Place, Creative

Presentation Award

TSA: 3rd place in Web Page Design,

3rd place in the Robotics Competition

Robotics Park: Most Likely to be

patented award, Innovative Design

Award

ASFMS Yearbook

Thank You:

Maria Boulmetis

Student Council Advisors

A wonderful job promoting student

government, school spirit, and

community service.

Jen Pietros, Kim Vernava, Anne Marie

Printer, and Brian Skalski

Portfolio Breakfasts & Student

Led Conferences

6/4/2010 46

Family engagement

increased this year!

6/4/2010 47

Mustang Team’s Recycling

Program

Making our

school green!

Mustang Team Charity

6/4/2010 48

The Mustangs raised $750 for the families and children of RI

And.. $2,085 to the Fogarty Fund!

Penny Wars for Adopt-a-Family

The Evolution and

Velocity Team raised

hundreds of dollars for

Adopt-a-Family charity.

Faculty Donates to Making Strides

As a faculty we raised

approximately $4,000 for

the Making Strides In

Breast Cancer Walk.

This is the 5th year Mrs.

Norris-Karten has taken

charge of this fundraiser,

each year raising more

than the previous year.

Student Council Raised Money

• Make-a-Wish

• Special Olympics

• Pennies for Leukemia

• Organized a Food Drive

Family Fundraisers

• Evolution Team @ Charlie’s

• Panthers Team @ Applebee’s

• Blizzard Team @ Applebee’s

• Fusion Team @ Pizzeria Uno

The Ben Karten Scholarship

Our Faculty Donated $1,900 to the Ben Karten Scholarship Fund!

– Thanks from VNK

(We’ll miss you, Vicki!)

Cate Wallace got ENGAGED!!!

6/4/2010 54

The Wedding Bells will Ring in February!

New Moms and Dads

• Rachel Houlihan

• Jen Lawrence

• Jen Graham

• Lolita Alves

• Maria Dunphy

• Justin Howman

Tying the Knot

Rebecca Horton and

Shawn Henderson

are getting married

this Summer!!!

Kim Sturdahl

ABOVE AND BEYOND!

ENOUGH SAID

Principal Coffee Hour

Dr. Almeida had coffee

with many parents and

people in the

community, giving

tours, and walking the

talk with them!

New School Website!

School Website/Pages

• Webmaster-Ted Mitchell

• Great job teams, departments,

and individual teachers!

• Thanks for keeping the school

community informed.

FMS and You Listserve

Thank You

Mary Lou for

maintaining

this ALL

YEAR!!!

Evolution Team Teachers

Attended a Team Building

Conference at Jenks Middle School

Exchange City - 7th Grade

Thanks to the PTSA

and fundraising by

Exchange City, most of

our 7th graders are

participating in this

economic role-play.

New Class: Media Skills

Mrs. Horlborgen

teaches students

web design,

presentation

software, and more…

Our Successful Media Center• Media Center Visits- 10,921 individual visits

• Circulation Statistics- 13,749 books checked out

• Book Collection- 3,880 books were added to the collection

• New Equipment– 5 multimedia projectors and 5 laptops

– 4 carts for the new equipment

– 4 computers and workstations for online catalog searching

Best Buy Grant

Authored by Ted Mitchell, edited

by the Educational Jargon

Expert, Tracey Whitehead

$10,000 Grant =

5 Laptops/Projectors on carts

Digital Cameras, and other

electronic goodies for us.

Social Studies Thematic

Curriculum

• Created Grade-Span Essential Questions

(6th – 8th Grade)

• Created Common Assessments

• Created an online curriculum database of

lesson and teacher resources

Thanks to the Social Studies

Department Team

An incredible amount of work and collective insight!

Thank You:

Paula Mercurio, Anne Marie Printer, Jo-Ann Silva, Bob

Jordan, Courtney Chauvette, Charlie Blanchette, Mike

Bettez, Lou Turchetta, Judy Almy-Coutu, Gail Deware,

Louise Martella, Tao Albrecht, Justin Howman, and Ted

Mitchell

Civil War Re-enactors (6th Grade)

Special thanks to

Jo-Ann Silva and

Anne Marie Printer

for orchestrating the

whole thing!

Unified Arts• A collective voice in our school

• Building leadership capacity within the

group

• Creating short and long-term goals

• Respecting each-other's programs and

how we contribute to our school and

community.

Analysis of NECAP Data

• Special thanks to our data

geeks…Mary Lou Bettez and Kevin

Seekell!

• Thank you to all teams for their work

analyzing NECAP data!

National Board Certification

Congratulations

Ted Mitchell!

ADMINISTRATIVE HELP

FRED ANDERSON

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Jen Cole

School Psychologist Intern• Family Enrichment Program

• Circles Program

• NYPUM Program

• District Strategic Planning Comm.

• RTI

• ADHD Study

• Behavior Management Programs

• AND MUCH MORE…

A TRUE ASSET TO US ALL!

Long Term Substitutes

• Shannon Fay

• Jen Lemieux

• Scott Tennet

• Jen Xynellis

Teacher Mentors

• Susan Murphy

• Laurie Masterson

• Ted Mitchell

Showcase

• Kristen St. Sauveur - Great job!

• Thanks to Brian Skalski and staff

who assisted at the performances.

Friday Morning Meeting Team

Kim Sturdahl, Dr. Lou Turchetta, Felix

Sarubbi, Linda Darcy, Sue Davis, Jen

Cole, Trish Dorchies, Cheryl Fram, Sara

Cronin, Gina Gateman, Officer Burlingame,

Fred Anderson, Gus Gomes, Mike

Almeida, and Tracey Whitehead

Music Concerts

• 6 successful shows

• Thanks Kristen, Dan, and Tony

• Job well done!

Music Department

• Added a third teacher to our department.

• Integrated recording technology into the classroom for individual assessments and ensemble rehearsals.

• Created a keyboard lab and utilized a guitar curriculum for our students.

• Had 57 students march in the Memorial day parade in Coventry.

• Placed students from chorus and band in All-State

Student/Teacher Support Team

Many thanks for their hours of work helping their colleagues plan interventions to better meet the needs of diverse learners.

Kim Vernava, Annie Printer, Jen Lawrence, Helene Scola, Cheryl Fram, Dr. Lou Turchetta, Rachel Houlihan, Kerri Powell, Linda Grandchamp, Tracey Whitehead,

and Gus Gomes.

Report Card Committee

Revision of progress report, report card, Honor Roll Criteria, and NJHS Criteria.

Thank you for all your hard work!

• Sandy Clunan, Mike Bettez, Jen Pietros, Kathy Tefft, Trish Dorchies,

Cate Wallace, Ted Mitchell, Kevin Seekell, Tony Costa,

Jason Martin, Mary Lou Bettez, Keri Potvin, Mike Almeida,

and Tracey Whitehead

Curriculum Coordinators

Kevin Seekell

Mary Lou Bettez

Ted Mitchell

Gina Gateman

Abby Paon

Tony Costa!

Outstanding Job!

Vanna Donoyan

Congratulations on getting your

doctoral dissertation proposal

accepted!

Good Luck!

Building Representatives

Mike Bettez and Sandy Clunan…

Thank you for a successful year

advocating for faculty!

Courtney Chauvette

Achieved tenure!

Congratulations!

(Still waiting to be recalled!)

Liz Clafin

Chaired and organized the

PTSA Reflection Program.

Thank you!

Teacher Assistant Training

• Kevin Cleveland

• Stacey Sousa

• Gina Gateman

• Tina Kanaczet

• Jennifer Cole

ASFMS

Teacher of the Year

Cynthia Ballard!

Congratulations!

Retiring Teachers

Best Wishes in your new adventures…

• Gail Deware

• Vicky Norris-Karten

• Karen McIntosh

• Linda Darcy

• Carolyn Colaluca

Growth as a PLC

• Establishment of…

• Student Expectations

• Teacher Expectations

• Administrator Expectations

• PLC Norms