Message from the Principal

February was a busy month... 

Our students readied themselves for their Student Led Conferences, they heard messaging that supported being good digital citizens, as well as hearing reminders about lockdown and sheltering in place drills to continue to support student safety awareness. Furthermore, all students prepared for the 2017/2018 school year by going to Catalina Foothills High School and learning about their elective and core classes and our current students signed up for their 7th and 8th grade electives right here at OGMS.  

Finally, the month closes with my announced retirement and the appointment of Mark Rubin-Toles to the principalship for the 17/18 SY.  You can expect my continued dedication to your student(s) and the OGMS staff and community as I finish my contract out strong, just as I expect our students to finish their year strong.  Appointing Mr. Rubin-Toles as principal truly allows for a smooth transition for next year as we partner and continue with the planning that is already underway for the school year ahead. 

Speaking of next year, please make sure you have gone online and registered for the upcoming school year.  Simply go onto the OGMS website and click on the "Register for School" button to input your child’s information.  Ask your child if he/she has turned in his/her upcoming 7^th or 8^th grade elective form for band, choir, or art. Registrations allow us to hire and plan for the upcoming school year, and elective forms help us know how many sections we will have for each of our elective options. 

We are excited about all the hard work our students have been doing to ready themselves for Student-Led Conferences on March 16th and 17th.  They have developed well-organized presentations and have practiced giving it in an effective and engaging way.   Below are questions that may support you while you listen to your child share his/her work.  At the end of the SLC we will ask you to complete a quick survey letting us know how your child did and how the process went.

During the conference, we will be asking you to look at your child's introduction, how they reflected and explained pieces of their work, how they concluded their presentation, as well as what their body language and voice conveyed as they presented what we hope will be a variety of portfolio pieces.  The work your student is doing is continually evolving in this area.

Below are questions that can support you in facilitating a rich experience for your child:

Pre-Presentation Questions:

• How did you generate a plan to present to me today?
• How did you prepare for this presentation?

After the child shares the piece:

• What would you say that you learned from this piece?
• What would you do differently next time?
• How would you alter your work where you got a 2 to a 3? 4?
• If you were the teacher, what comments would you have given your assignment?
• How does this work reflect your growth/effort/goals over time?
• What ideas might you have that add to the comments your teacher has on this assignment?

Concluding Questions:

• What would you do differently to improve your work or portfolio that you shared? Why?
• If you had to share your strongest piece and weakest piece, what would you take away from that?

See the mock SLC presentation by clicking on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJWrA4_hdgg .  

Thank you for helping us to provide our students with an authentic way to build their skills in self-evaluation, goal setting, organization and communication. We look forward to seeing on the 16^th or 17^th. 

Please know if you want to discuss your child with his/her teacher, this is always an option.  Simply email, phone, or contact his/her counselor to support a meeting or a conversation. 

SLC PRESENTATION Rubric 

Goal:  Students will be able to develop a well-organized and thoughtful SLC presentation, then deliver the presentation in an effective and engaging way.

Portfolio Pieces	Portfolio pieces needed but not included	Portfolio pieces show accomplishments, but aren’t tied to specific claims	Portfolio pieces provide evidence for claims that are made	Portfolio pieces completely and clearly support insightful claims that are made about learning and lead to further goals
Body Language and Voice	Avoids eye contact, monotone voice and stiff gestures, choppy delivery, ill at ease	Occasional eye contact, over or underdone expressions & gestures, some noticeable pauses, somewhat uncomfortable	Consistent eye contact, gestures and expression appropriate, speaks without distracting pauses, poised but not completely comfortable, confident volume and expression	Sustained eye contact with audience, natural gestures and expression, clear and well-paced voice, confident and natural volume and expression, poised and comfortable, smooth delivery
Goals	Student sets goals that don’t meet SMART goal criteria	Student sets goals that don’t always match student needs	Student sets appropriate SMART goals	Student sets SMART goals that are insightful and show a high level of self awareness
Overall	Minimally effective SLC presentation	Somewhat effective SLC presentation	Effective SLC presentation	Highly effective SLC presentation