Principal’s Blog

Recently, I read a great article from “The Parent Institute” that gives great advice for middle school parents.  Below is an excerpt from their December 2011 issue.

College is years away, but that doesn’t mean your child shouldn’t start thinking abou it and making plans for it now.  Studies show that college graduates are more likely than non-graduates to:

Live healthier, longer lives

Stay Employed

Enjoy their jobs

Change jobs more easily

Earn significantly higher salaries

To help your child begin focusing on his college future:

Talk about his interests.  Whether it’s graphic design or physical fitness, there’s surely a college program geared toward it.  Get them thinking about how they can continue doing what he loves at the university level someday

Encourage him to set goals.  How does your child see themselves in 10 years?  Ask them how they envision getting there.

Widen his horizons.  There are too many careers out there to count, and odds are your child hasn’t heard of many of them.  Go online and research various professions.

The middle school years go by fast and before you know it, your child will be making important decisions!  Get your student excited about the future and show him the many options available to them!

Students come with varied interests, academic levels and experiences. Key Peninsula Middle School has an After Hours program on Tuesdays and Thursdays to open doors to new experiences and support. On Tuesdays, Math Mentoring for 6^th grade and Art Club for all grades meet. Two Waters artists, along with art teacher, Chris Bronstad, offer interesting art instruction in a fun environment.

On Thursdays, staff member Elaine Gilman; assistant principal, Ty Robuck and principal, Jeri Goebel provide Thursday Tutoring for students who need extra help, access to computers and support to complete missing assignments. Thursdays also include the Amigos social club provided by Childrens’ Home Society and ASL (American Sign Language) club led by high school volunteers, Hannah Kopp, and Hunter Smith.

The Peninsula District supports the After Hours program with activity buses to bring students home! If you are interested in these programs, or wish to volunteer, please contact KPMS!! A huge thanks to the staff, community members and high school students who donate hours of fun and education experiences.

There will be a district robotics event on January 20th at the YMCA. All four middle schools (Goodman, Harbor Ridge, Key Peninsula and Kopachuck) will be at the YMCA during the school day for a robotics competition. There will be representatives from the University of Washington and the Navy, who will do a submersible demonstration in the pool.

Good luck to Amy D’Andrea and her competing students!

*EMERGENCY INFORMATION - Thank you for your support during last week’s weather. Although snow is exciting for our students, last week’s weather caused many transportation delays and school closures. We appreciate your support as we took steps to ensure safety for all of our students. In the event that we have additional weather incidents this winter, please verify your primary contact information on the web at: parentportal.psd401.net You may also call our main office at 253-530-4200 to verify your contact information. Currently, emergency messages are delivered to all e-mail addresses and the primary phone number for each student. Emergency information can always be found on the District website at www.psd401.net on www.schoolreport.org and by phone on the School Closure & Emergency Information line at 253-530-1088.

The ASB theme this year is superheroes. Out of the famous cartoon, Incredibles, a huge sign is hanging in the KPMS commons. When students work together, they become superheroes. Mrs. Lubin, Mrs. Lantz and Mr. Robuck addressed about the topic of bullying this past month and teaching students tools to help and avoid having this issue on campus.
Mrs. Nelson has her Cougar Academy creating comics that address school rules and bullying. Below is one example of  their creative work!!

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying happens when someone sends hurtful messages online or by cell phone. It can take many forms, such as writing rude comments, spreading rumors and posting embarrassing pictures.
Your child can discourage cyberbullying by giving personal information (name, e-mail address, cell phone number only to friends. If he/she receives nasty e-mails or text messages, he/she should not respond. Explain that relying just gives the person the satisfaction of having upset her/him. A good thing to do is to log off the computer or turn off the cell phone.
Let your youngster know she/he should tell an adult when cyberbullying occurs. You can report problems to your internet, provider, school authorities, or even the police if cyberbullying continues.

All 6th grade students made their buses on the first day of school. However, the lockers, no matter how many times students practiced on WEB orientation day, gave them anxiety issues. Staff and WEB leaders were in the hallways during passing times and after school to help the new KPMS Cougars open their lockers. This was the smoothest start, I can remember in my seventeen years of education! A huge thanks to the staff who create a warm and welcoming environment for our incoming 6th graders!!! The KPMS open house is on September 22, 6:30-8:00 pm at which parents and guardians can meet teachers! Hope to see you there!!!!

A huge thanks to the Kiwanis for their 10th year of Gear Up!! This organization provides school supplies, clothing and bicycles to K-8 students of need! Thanks also to Payless Shoes, Walgreens and district employees for making sure that students have what they need to be successful.

August 23

School improvement is based on data that comes from sources that inform and influence our continuous improvement process. The different data comes from the following sources

• Student achievement data: MSP results, common mini-assessments, grades.
• Perception data: Parent, staff and student survey data.
• Programs: Staff development, curriculum, instruction.
• Environmental data: Attendance, discipline and demographic data.

In the August trainings and first collaboration Wednesdays, staff will analyze results from the above data, make adjustments in curriculum, programs and school procedures to build on the past to make KPMS even more outstanding.

I am committed to continue school improvement with which KPMS is involved. School improvement must be school year by school year, one child at a time. There are two kinds of schools: improving schools and declining schools. Every staff member is important and the capacity to improve to even better already resides in our school! Teachers are doing the best that they can, given what they know and the conditions in which they find themselves.

All children can learn given enough time and resources. KPMS can control enough of the variables to assure that virtually all students do learn. I look forward to working with the Key Peninsula community to improve our already outstanding school!

Jeri Goebel, Principal