Lamar Middle School

Lamar Middle School
House of Champions

Thursday, March 11, 2010

2010-2011 Student Planner/Agenda Suggestions

Please review pages two through ten of the student planner. You may provide additions, deletions and/or changes in language as sited in the planner. You may also support or disagree with any posts. It would be most helpful if you would refer to the page or heading that the change would involve. All suggestions need to be provided by 5:00 pm Friday, March 26.

33 comments:

  1. I think we should make all pages solid purple and white type for a strong message.

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  2. Yes even Mr. Dwyer has this figured out.

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  3. that confirmation code stuff was silly. I"m blind already and trying to put that information into the system made my eyesight worse.

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  4. I think the sections on Dress Code and Cell phones should be on purple paper or background block with white text so those two sections (pp.6-7) stand out the most since those are the ones most violated by students.

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  5. I think we need to limit the rules to 4-5 that we can truly enforce.

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  6. Can the rules page be printed on the inside of the front cover to make it more visible, or on paper that is thicker/more durable and will last longer?

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  7. I would like to suggest a compromise to the solid paper suggestion. Put a purple border on those pages. It will help to make it easier to locate. I think that a solid background with white text may not print as well as we would would want it too.

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  8. We need to put back some rules that are no longer present. One of my concerns is the hair rake rule only says that the student can not leave it in their hair. It needs to include not having it out in class (playing with it). I have a student who diligently went through the rules when and pointed out the rule when I asked him to put the hair rake away. We need to address hair care and make up in class. This would take away any room for doubt.

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  9. There was a time when we prohibited the use of permanent markers by students. We need to do this again. I have seen an increase in students writing on walls, desk, restrooms, etc... Many students are bringing the permanent markers as their only writing tool. (Note- What a lovely aroma to sniff while taking notes.)

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  10. I agree with LC. Maybe fewer rules will be better. The district rules have their consequences let's use them. Maybe we can be more successful enforcing a handful.

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  11. After having the staff review the general misconduct section, I looked at the AISD code of conduct. It looks like our general miscondut part of the planner was taken from the code of conduct and then chopped up. I would either use the code of conduct in the planner or say "refer to the code of conduct". Then I would have the staff hash out what rules are important to us and how we want them reinforced and put that in the planner.

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  12. Also, I thought the school colors were purple, black and gray but the planner says only purple and gray.

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  13. whether its the code of conduct or the dress code, keep it simple and consistant

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  14. I agree with Amy. For example, let's worry about the length of shorts and not whether or not they are frayed on the bottom. Many girls buy their shorts that way. As long as they don't have holes in them and they are mid thigh, lets not make an issue of it. We can keep the dress code simple without compromising it.

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  15. We also need to make students aware that when a teacher asks you to do something, the expectation is that they do it. For example, Rachel's hair rake issue was not a dress code issue as much as it was an insubordination issue. There is no way to put every single rule in the planner, so insubordination is going to happen and it needs to be dealt with.

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  16. I like Rachel's comment about the pages having a purple border instead of doing purple paper for ease in readablility.

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  17. Anything we can do to emphasize the dress code and electronic devices section would be a good idea. Purple and white as colors sound good to me.

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  18. The school colors are Purple and Gray. The Hip Hop Gangsta Culture influenced the adding of the Black color to the colors. You will find Purple and Gray included in the fight song as well. If you notice, you will see Black added to college colors as well. Don't like it. It takes away from the school's history.

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  19. As far as the planner and code page? The behavior codes will not work until we all decide to implement, follow the codes and apply them to all students consistently and not just a select few. I am not sure what needs to be changed, because we never do what we say we want to do or hold the students accountable.

    Will come back with specifics later. It took an hour plus to finally get posted.

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  20. The 6th grade team met and discussed the most important rules that we should consistently reinforce for next year. The consensus we came up with is that the Code of Conduct addresses most of the issues we face, and we should follow it with consistent consequences for breaking the Code of Conduct. In regard to drawing student attention to the school rules / dress code, I think that giving the pages a purple and gray border would be most appropriate. In addition, I think that the rules that we are constantly broken here should be written in purple, but emphasis should be put on the fact that ALL guidelines in the Code of Conduct should be followed at all times.

    I am aware that the Code of Conduct does not address ALL of the issues we deal with, so I propose that those issues should be identified and outlined as an addendum to the Code of Conduct.

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  21. We know that parents nor students read the planner. Would it be possible to send information through School Messenger Service and explain why we need support for the Dress and Behavioral Code at the beginning of the year?

    Would it be possible to frequently send reminders home through School Messenger when we see a lapse in adherence to the dress code and behavior expectations?

    I think purple edges to those pages might be an option as well. Just thinking out loud........

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  22. Please get rid of gum as a school rule and leave it up to individual teachers. We have been fighting a losing battle over this for years and many teachers not only do not enforce the rule, they chew gum themselves. It is out of control in ALL grade levels. If I were to give out detention for chewing gum, between kids in my classes and kids in the halls, I would be holding detention on a daily basis. We only hurt ourselves as disciplinarians to have a rule that we do not enforce across the board. We do not want to put ourselves in a position where the students look at all the rules and decide which ones to follow because not all rules are enforced.

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  23. I hate to get rid of the gum rule. There are only a few teachers who will not enforce the rule. The reason I say that is otherwise, I would have the gum stuck on my books, thrown on the floor, thrown in my plants, etc. I have not had as much of this in 2009.

    I like to chew gum from time to time as well, but, I choose to support what we as a faculty have decided is a need.

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  24. I don't think gum is that much of an issue. Dress code and code of conduct are more of a concern.

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  25. maybe the first page of the planner could have bullets listing basic rules and dress code issues (since the kids & their parents don't seem to read the planner or the code of conduct even though they sign a statement saying they did so.)with a blurb stating "see details on pages X through XX."

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  26. The gum is an issue. I'll bet the gym teachers can tell you how many times it is on the floor of the gym. It is an issue when kids purposely put it inside a book that costs 50-68 dollars. It is an issue when I have had to help girls get it out of their hair when someone throws it at their head. It is an issue when it is thrown around the room and lands on the floor, the window seals, ceiling, etc. I do not police their mouths, but students know that I will ask them to put it out when I catch them and they always comply.

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  27. So, if the specific item is not in the planner, have we lost the right as teachers to direct students not to have/do that item/behavior on our campus or in our classrooms? Is it not insubordination if a student refuses to put away a "whatever" when instructed by a teacher? It looks like a clear safety/learning environment issue to me, but as a teacher have I lost the right to determine what is to be tolerated? I have lost that right if the administration does not back me, whether it is in the planner or not. We all have to be on the same page.

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  28. If we are not going to adhere to the rules that are in the planner, then why put the rules in?

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