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8th-graders learn to ROCKmath
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Please click on the photo to see a slideshow of images
from this event. |
The founders of ROCKmath brought their lively teaching methods to James Madison Middle School March 17.
Dance Dance Transversal and Emoji Math were just two of the active, hands-on methods led by Adam Dovico and Valerie Camille Jones. The pair came to JMMS after a video created by teacher Josh Ipock and some of his 8th-grade students won a nation-wide contest sponsored by ROCKmath.
"ROCKmath opened the eyes of my students to see math in new, exciting and invigorating ways," Ipock said. "ROCKmath not only benefited the 8th grade students, but it helped me, along with other colleagues, to learn differentiation strategies within the classroom.
"We as math teachers often get stuck in a 'drill and kill' mode," he said. "But due to diverse learning styles within our classrooms, we must differentiate our method of delivery of concepts. ROCKmath motivated me to take risks as a teacher and challenge myself to teach using different strategies in order to impact student learning."
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By Wendy Watts
District PBIS Coach & KSI Coordinator
I was intrigued when I heard about Rock Math from my 8th grade son and saw the video that his class (with the support of Mr. Ipock) had created to win the contest that brought Rock Math to Madisonville. So, I took the opportunity to observe the Rock Math founders, Adam Dovico and Valerie Camille Jones, in action at JMMS to see what all the excitement was about. Initially, I was a passive observer enjoying energetic, hands-on teaching, but much to my surprise, I quickly found myself completing a PBIS classroom observation. Below are the results of my impromptu observation.
One of the first things I noticed was Mr. Dovico's and Ms. Jones' high rate of positive acknowledgement. Both teachers continually acknowledged students for their correct answers, attempts, and following directives. The next thing that caught my attention were the multiple opportunities for students to respond. Because students were frequently responding to questions and involved in the hands on instruction, they were actively engaged.
Procedures & Routines
for each activity were clearly communicated to students with clarification as needed. In addition, both teachers frequently moved about the room, actively supervising students as they provided instruction and checked student understanding of the activities.
Since I was observing Mr. Dovico and Ms. Jones, I did not assess the posting of the SWE's and classroom rules or the environment, but if I had, all areas would have received a +.
After observing Rock Math, it reinforced that there is a magic solution to significantly reducing classroom misbehavior and increasing academic engaged time and we have the formula! My questions for you are the following: What type of acknowledgement system do you use in the classroom? Do you have and teach classroom procedures? Are students actively engaged with multiple opportunities to respond? Do you have a plan to actively supervise students in the classroom? Does your classroom have classroom rules and expectations? How do you teach behavior to your students?
To help answer these questions and provide ideas, I've included a link to Tier 1 Classroom Best Practices.
In addition, there is a link to Mr. Dovico's webpage, which is filled with fun ideas and resources.
Following the Rock Math lesson, I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Dovico and shared that I secretly completed an observation. His response . . . How did we do? We always love feedback so we can get better!
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't celebrate that fact that there are some Rocking Teachers in Hopkins County Schools! Many of the classrooms I observe during my site visits are implementing all of the Tier 1 Strategies noted with exciting and engaging instruction. As a parent of students in the district, I say Thank You!
For More Information:
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Game Changer: BSMS Beta Club
The #TeamHopkins Game Changer Award / Clubs for Community was presented to the Browning Springs Middle School Beta Club at the March 20 Board of Education meeting.
Members of the Browning Springs Middle School Beta Club rang bells for the Salvation Army in December. They volunteered at Breaking Bread and collected cans for the projected, participated in a Math-a-Thon to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Hospital in February. The students are now working to raise funds for leukemia patients through the Pennies for Patients program. Advisors are Kacey Evans, Laura Marks and Charlene Nevitt.
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State Champions!
South Hopkins Middle School Dance Cats led the Pledge of Allegiance at the Board of Education meeting March 20. The team was also honored for repeating as KDCO State Champions.
The team won the KDCO State Championship in Middle School Small Hip Hop and placed 4th in Pom. The team advanced to state after winning its divisions at the KDCO Region 2 Championship, and also won WKAC and Valentine Classic for the 7th year in a row. The team is coached by Whitney Perdue.
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HCCHS AFJROTC gives back
Hopkins County Central High School Air Force Junior ROTC cadets returned March 25 from a two-day curriculum-in-action trip to Huntsville, AL, where they toured a rocket center and showed their appreciation to community war veterans.
The cadets spent Friday at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center learning about the U.S. space program. They experienced zero gravity, g-forces, and tested their ability to fit in a space shuttle and climb the mountains of Mars.
Saturday, the cadets visited the Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial. They began the day with a brief ceremony placing a rose on the wall of the memorial and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. They also received a tour by the memorial historian.
Before returning to Madisonville, the cadets honored the veterans by cleaning the black granite benches and markers around the memorial.
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District Talent Shows
Hopkins County Schools' Talent Show Series 2017 District Competition will be held in April at Glema Mahr Center for the Arts.
The Elementary School Performance will be April 25, at 6 p.m. The Middle & High School Performance will be April 27 at 6 p.m. The event is sponsored by Madisonville Community College Lions Club. Admission is $5, or $3 with an eyeglasses donation. Soft drinks and pizza by the slide will be available before the show and during intermission. (Cash or check only).
The Talent Show Series is a project of Hopkins County Schools Office of Gifted & Talented Services
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MNHHS Greenhouse opens April 10
Opening day of the Madisonville North Hopkins High School Greenhouse will be Monday April 10. The community is welcome to visit and purchase plants from the greenhouse weekdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Plants for sale include vegetables, herbs, beddi
ng annual flowers and plants, large and small mixed planters, hanging flowering baskets, and ferns. Madisonville North Hopkins FFA invites the community to come out and support the local agricultural department by purchasing your plants grown and maintained by students. All proceeds go toward the agricultural department at Madisonville North Hopkins to provide future opportunities for students to learn real world skills in a hands-on environment.
The greenhouse is located behind the school just past the tennis courts. For more information, contact Alaina Lancaster at [email protected] or 270-825-6017 ext. 2049
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Breathe Residency Program
Light of Chance Inc. partnered with Murray State University last fall to launch the Breathe Residency Program at Browning Springs Middle School. The initiative sends professional teaching artists to schools to engage and empower students through the arts.
After achieving success with the after-school program, Light of Chance created a school residency to bring Breathe into classrooms to provide a non-traditional creative outlet, while learning. The program educates and fosters artistic expression, leadership, and social skills through music, dance, creative writing and visual arts. Breathe is a constructive creative outlet that encourages teamwork; it also teaches communication and problem solving skills, which are essential in students becoming responsible citizens in their schools and communities. The residency program has two areas of focus: classrooms and at-risk youth.
Three education majors from Murray worked alongside Light of Chance staff to bring Breathe to students at Browning Springs as a part of a leadership project.
"The Light of Chance/Browning Springs/Murray State partnership is a perfect example of how institutions with complementary goals can collaborate for the benefit of students," said Dr. Susan Edington, 2 + 2 Educational Coordinator and Assistant Professor at Murray State University. "We are combining our resources, our time, and our expertise to provide middle school students with the opportunity to develop their artistic talents and creativity, using academic standards as the foundation."
She adds, "With such current emphasis on the academic content standards, music, art, drama often become an 'afterthought' in today's curriculum focus. This collaborative effort ... promotes the arts as a viable way to comprehend and enhance the academic content."
BSMS Principal Jason Clark said, "We want to allow the creativity and talents of our students to shine. Working with Breathe and MCC [Murray] students provides our Bears with a unique experience to express their artistry, and have fun while doing so.
The 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who took part in the program displayed their work in a showcase March 24 at the school.
For more information, visit lightofchance.org.
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ESPN Motivation
ESPN anchor Michael Eaves visited South Hopkins Middle School March 28. He spoke to the 8th-grade careers class, as well as the boys and girls basketball teams. He talked about setting achievable goals and ways to reach them. He also motivated the students, telling them that if they work together to get scores back to Distinguished, he will give SHMS a shout-out on Sports Center! Eaves is a graduate of South Hopkins High School. He also visited West Broadway Elementary during his time in Hopkins County.
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Showing Appreciation
Madisonville First Assembly of God church hosted a dinner to show appreciation for the Hopkins County Family Resource & Youth Services Centers. FRYSC coordinators received gifts for themselves and their programs. The night ended with four programs receiving monetary donations up to $1,500. One school staff will receive a catered buffet lunch.
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Upcoming Events
March 30
Parent Teacher Conferences (Middle Schools), 3:30-5:45 p.m.
April 3-7
Spring Break
April 17
Board of Education meeting, 5:30 p.m.
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HCCHS teachers give presentation on PLCs
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Hopkins County Central High School teachers Sarah Tyson, Sarah Sowders, and Zachary Hibbs traveled to Frankfort to help the Novice Reduction team with a project on implementing effective professional learning communities. Their expertise and professionalism was very impressive and they represented Hopkins County Central and Hopkins County very well, according to Linda Rains, novice reduction state coordinator. Their video segments on implementing effective PLC's will be featured on the Novice Reduction webpages in early April.
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Graduation dates set
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Hopkins County Board of Education has set the following 2016-2017 graduation dates:
Hopkins County Academy
Monday, May 15;
Hopkins County Central High School
Tuesday, May 16;
Madisonville North Hopkins High School
Wednesday, May 17.
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Fifth-graders from Pride Elementary participated in a Living History Museum March 14-15. Parents were invited to see the exhibit the evening of March 14, and other students were allowed to go through it on March 15 to learn about a variety of historical people. Click the photo to view additional images from the event.
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State Geographic Bee Semifinalist
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Browning Springs Middle School 6th-grader Ryerson Brower has been named a National Geographic State Bee Semifinalist by the National Geographic Society. He is eligible to compete in the 2017 Kentucky National Geographic State Bee March 31 at Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green.
This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, which is now in its 29th year. School Bees were held in schools with 4th- through 8th-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society has invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the State Bees.
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Kentucky Shakespeare presented "We the People" at Jesse Stuart Elementary March 24 with funding from the Delta Dental Making Smiles Happen Arts in Education Grant. Fourth and 5th-graders attended the presentation. While in Hopkins County, Kentucky Shakespeare also gave presentations on Kentucky history at Earlington and West Broadway Elementary schools.
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HCEF grant applications available
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Applications are now being accepted for the 2017 Hopkins County Education Foundation Mini-Grant.
Applications are due Friday, April 14, 2017. Applications may be scanned and emailed to Jennifer Luttrell, sent to the Board of Education Central Office via interoffice mail, or mailed to 320 S. Seminary St., Madisonville, KY 42431.
Please click HERE for the application.
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If you plan to retire at the end of this year, you are encouraged to complete your paperwork ahead of time. This is a busy time for both KRS and KTRS retirement systems, and the sooner the paperwork is submitted the better. Please contact Payroll at Central Office to schedule a time for them to complete the employer portion of the retirement paperwork.
Cindy Clark-Classified Payroll-KRS
Janice Gillispie-Certified Payroll-KTRS
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Quick Links
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Website
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