Mr. Menchen's KUDO'S
It’s time for that weekly pat on the back that we call KUDO’S. For those not familiar with KUDO’S please let me explain. Each week as I make my rounds through the building I see a lot of incredible things taking place at Conkwright Middle School and KUDO’S is a way for me to show my appreciation and give people a pat on the back for a job well done. I will try to send an edition of KUDO’S every Friday through email so be sure to check your emails of Friday!! It’s hard to believe but this is Volume 7 for KUDO’S.
Before we get started with this round of KUDO’S I would like to share some very encouraging words from John Wooden, the former UCLA basketball coach who passed away this summer. Wooden is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches (teachers) in history.
You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.
If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
We can certainly take a lot from those words. Now on with the show…………
We have several new faces in the building this year. They have been working very hard getting ready for the school year. They are an impressive group and I really look forward to working with them. Please also be willing to lend a helping hand when they need it. KUDO’S TO YOU AMY BACK, SARAH FUGATE, VALERIE HAIRSTON, JULIE MURRAY, BRANDI CAUDILL, BRIANNA HIBBARD, TARA CRUSE AND TRAVIS MARCUM!! WELCOME TO CONKWRIGHT!!!
The grocery list of things done ‘behind the scenes’ that must be done in order to get the school ready is too large to list here. We have a group of dedicated people who do a fantastic job of getting those things done. If you see them during the day make sure to thank them for all they have done to get us ready for the school year. KUDO’S TO YOU KATHY JARMAN, SHERI THIRY, SUSAN NEIN, BECCA FREEMAN, RICK FEE AND T HARRINGTON FOR GETTING CONKWRIGHT READY FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR.
There is a show on the Food Network show called Dinner Impossible. In the show a chef and his small army of associates have to prepare meals for large groups of people in less than ideal settings. I really don’t know what the big deal is about the show because our Cafeteria Staff does the same thing EVERY DAY. Jean and her crew are the BEST!! They prepare meals for 550+ students two times a day. Talk about Dinner Impossible. KUDO’S TO YOU JEAN PATTON AND YOUR STAFF FOR THE JOB YOU DO.
We have many students and families that use the wide variety of services available in the FRYSC. Eva Miller has done a wonderful job of servicing the needs of those families to help them and their students be ready for the school year. KUDO’S TO YOU EVA FOR ALL THE VALUABLE SERVICES THAT YOU PROVIDE!!
Our Girls Basketball, Football, and Dance Teams have been working hard for several weeks now for their upcoming seasons. They have been practicing and working hard during some of the hottest days this summer getting themselves ready. Please make some time in your schedules to come to their games and competitions because I know the students would appreciate your support. KUDO’S AND GOOD LUCK TO TINA CORNELIUS AND THE DANCE TEAM, TONY MANN AND THE FOOTBALL TEAM AND STEVE ANDERSON AND THE GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM!!
I would like to give the final KUDO today to Mr. Earlywine. Since officially taking over on July 1st he has been VERY busy getting Conkwright Middle School prepared for the 2010-2011 school year. I know that he is very excited to be here and has high expectations for this school. KUDO’S TO YOU MR. EARLYWINE FOR YOUR HARD WORK IN GETTING CONKWRIGHT READY FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR!!
Well that’s all I have for this week. Thank you to everyone for getting the school year off to such a good start. Have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you next week for KUDO’S!
KUDO’S
Volume 7 3RD Edition
It’s time for that weekly pat on the back that we call KUDO’S. Before we get started with this round of KUDO’S I would like to share a joke with you that Ken Howard shared with me this week.
A
burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around,
looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said, 'Jesus knows you're
here.' He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and
froze. When he heard nothing more,
after a bit, he shook his head and continued. Just as he pulled the stereo
out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard 'Jesus is
watching you.'
Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source
of the voice.
Finally, in the
corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. 'Did
you say that?' he hissed at the parrot.
'Yep',
the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'I'm just trying to warn you that he is
watching you.'The burglar relaxed. 'Warn me,
huh? Who in the world are you ?' 'Moses,' replied the bird.
'Moses?'
the burglar laughed. 'What kind of people would name a bird Moses?'
'The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus.'
That gave me a pretty good chuckle and I hope that it gave you one also. Now on with the show…………
Mr. Earlywine received an email from a parent earlier this week. The email said the following: “I just wanted to take a minute to compliment Shery Thiry. She is always so helpful anytime that I have had to call out to the office. I know lots of times you all don’t hear the positive, so I wanted to make sure to do this. I had to call her this morning about a name badge and as usual she went beyond what she had to do. I don’t feel like I am burden when I have to call and ask her a question. I appreciate her time and positive attitude so much!” Another good example of building positive relationships for Conkwright Middle School!! KUDO’S TO YOU SHERI THIRY!!
At the Staff meeting this week we began to discuss how our school could present the suicide prevention information to our students. Needless to say this is delicate subject matter to discuss with middle school students. Cindy Whiteside put together a Powerpoint presentation that I saw being used in a couple of classrooms and I thought it was OUTSTANDING. If you have not yet discussed the suicide prevention information with your students I highly recommend you use Cindy’s Powerpoint presentation. KUDO’S TO YOU CINDY WHITESIDE!!
I visited Jackie Woolum’s classroom as she was discussing the suicide prevention Powerpoint with her students. Jackie did a good job of supplementing the Powerpoint with a series of thought provoking questions for the students and providing honest answers when students had questions. While I did not stay for the entire class I feel confident those students left that discussion with a better understanding about the issue of suicide and suicide prevention. KUDO’S TO YOU JACKIE WOOLUM!!
During a classroom Walkthrough in Sarah Fugate’s room I noticed her I Can Statement written on the board in the front of the room. We all know the importance of good I Can Statements and the positive effect they can have on a lesson. What caught my attention was the message written above the I Can Statement that says “Why am I learning this? So…” and then the I Can Statement follows. It caught my attention so I know the students in the classroom notice it. KUDO’S TO YOU SARAH FUGATE!!
We have adopted a motto this year of “It’s all about the task” and what we are asking the students to do. Along with that we want the students to know why we are doing this ‘task’ and how they know if their work is distinguished or proficient. I was in Susan Mitmesser’s class yesterday and just below her I Can Statement she had those 2 questions written on the board. As part of the intro to the lesson Susan asked these questions to the students and she made sure they understood why they were doing it and how they would know if their work was proficient/distinguished. That’s the stuff we’re looking for!! KUDO’S TO YOU SUSAN MITMESSER!!
The Pride Team has a bulletin board up with their Student’s of the Week on it. How good must those students feel to walk by the hallway and see that poster of them on the wall? How many students are thinking, “I’m going to work harder so I can get my picture on that poster.” I hope that the Pride Team will continue to recognize the outstanding students all year long. KUDO’S TO YOU ALISHA TOWNSEND, TRACEY KINDRED, DANIELLE WARD, TINA CORNELIUS, KEN HOWARD AND SARAH FUGATE!!
Before I wrap things up for this week I would like to ask everyone to keep the following members of the Conkwright family in your thoughts and prayers: Mr. Earlywine as he deals with the death of a family member, and Kathy Jarman as she is awaiting the arrival of her first grandchild. I would also like to ask that you keep the family and friends of Mykal Barnes in your thoughts and prayers as well.
KUDO’S
Volume 7 4th Edition
It’s time for that weekly pat on the back that we call KUDO’S. This round of KUDO’s is coming to you live from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I have spent the past hour or so with some of the Academy Cadets and I feel very, very safe!!! Before I pass out this weeks KUDO’s I’d like to share with you some thoughts from a light hearted book called A Guy Goes into a Gym: A Humorous Dose of Misguided Makeovers.
A police car pulls up in front of an old couple’s house, and the ninety year old husband gets out. The polite policeman explained that the elderly gentlemen was lost in the park and couldn’t find his way home. “Oh, Morris,” said his wife. “You’ve been going to that park for over thirty years! How could you get lost?” Leaning close to his wife, so the policeman couldn’t hear, Morris whispered, “I wasn’t lost. I was just too tired to walk home.”
A frog telephones a psychic hotline and is told, “You are going to meet a beautiful young girls who will want to know everything about you.”
“Great,” says the frog. “Will I meet her at a party?”
“No, not so great,” said the psychic, “You’ll meet her in biology class.”
I hope that you enjoyed those two thoughts. Now on with the show…………
The Red Team is not only raising expectations in the classrooms but in the hallways as well. I have witnessed them lining their students up and making sure they are quite and well behaved, especially as they are awaiting to go into the cafeteria. KUDO’S TO YOU SUSAN MITMESSER, JULIE MURRAY, MIKE ANDERSON, MARY CHUGG, VALERIE HAIRSTON AND CINDY WHITESIDE FOR RAISING EXPECTATIONS IN ALL AREAS!!
The Explore Test is quickly approaching and several of our 8th grade teachers have stepped up and began offering Explore Test practice sessions before the start of school. There must be 60-70 kids taking advantage of these practice sessions for this test that will be so important to their academic futures. KUDO’S TO YOU MELISSA RATLIFF, STACEY MCKENZIE, AND MELINDA GIFFORD!!
Mr. Earlywine badly needed a new desk for his office. He ordered his new desk from Office Depot and it arrived tightly packed in its nice little rectangular shaped box holding the 1012 pieces needed to put it together. Mr. Earlywine started the project but was unable to finish it before it was time to leave. In steps Ken “Tool Time” Howard (not to be confused with Bob the Builder) and secretly put together Mr. Earlywine’s furniture. Ken was probably here until 9:00pm putting the stuff together. Ken always seems willing to go above and beyond. KUDO’S TO YOU KEN HOWARD!!
We need to offer CONGRATULATIONS to Kathy Jarman on the birth of her first grandchild. Everyone seems to be doing Ok and are hoping to be able to gome home on Thursday. KUDO’S AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU KATHY JARMAN!!
Have you seen the two pieces of art sitting on the easels at the front entrance? They are fabulous!! We always seem to have some incredibly artistic students in this school and it takes a great teacher to bring that talent out. Teresa Carson does a great job of recognizing the talent and getting the students to express it. KUDO’S TO YOU TERESA CARSON!!
Before I wrap things up for this week I would like to ask everyone to come out and support the Girl’s Basketball team and the Football team as they both play home games next week. Girls basketball plays Tuesday vs Madison Middle and the Football team plays Thursday vs Caudill. If you attend you will probably also get to see the Cheerleaders and Dance Team perform. What a great way to show your students that you are interested in their lives and build those positive relationships. Like the saying goes, “They won’t care how much you know until, they know how much you care.”
Well that’s all I have for this week. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and we’ll see you next week for KUDO’S!
KUDO’S
Volume 7 6 th Edition
It’s time for that weekly pat on the back that we call KUDO’S. But first here are a few lines from the book: Teachers: Jokes, Quotes and Anecdotes by Patrick Reagan.
“A good education is the next best thing to a pushy mother.” Charles Schulz
“The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.” A.B. Alcott
“When I was in school, one of my teachers was crazy about me. I once heard her tell another teacher, “I wish he was my kid for one day.” Milton Berle
“One week I had four high school students mistakenly call me “Mom.” Sometimes when they need help on a project they call out “Mom” instead of “Miss.” They are mortified when they call me Mom-everyone laughs, they get embarrassed, and I give them extra credit.” Cindy Maguire, High School Teacher
I hope that you enjoyed those. Now on with the show…………
This will be an unusual KUDO’S in that it will be a short edition as I have only 1 KUDO to give this week. I just figured that after our meeting with Mr. Earlywine the other day coupled with the announcement that Conkwright received the Winchester Sun Reader’s Choice Award as the Most Community Involved Middle School that everyone deserved a KUDO for a job well done! And when I say everyone I mean EVERYONE!! It takes an entire building full of people doing a variety of different things to make Conkwright Middle School successful. Soooo….KUDO’S TO THE ENTIRE CONKWRIGHT MIDDLE SCHOOL STAFF AND COMMUNITY ON A JOB WELL DONE!!
That being said, we need to be pleased with our accomplishments but not entirely satisfied. We MUST continue to push ourselves and our students to reach our maximum potential and make Conkwright Middle School a top 20 middle school in the state of Kentucky. WE CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!
Well that’s all I have for this week. I told you it was an usual edition of KUDO’S for this week!! Have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you next week for KUDO’S!
KUDO’S
Volume 7 8th Edition
It’s time for that weekly pat on the back that we call KUDO’S. Before we get started here are some anonymous quotes from the book, Live and Learn and Pass It On. These quotes are great because regardless of how much we know, it is never enough. School is always in session and life challenges us to excel at enthusiastic and inspiring teachers. I hope you enjoy these…
“I’ve learned that you can’t hide a piece of broccoli in your glass of milk.” Age 7
“I’ve learned that most of the things I worry about never happen.”
Age 64
“I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so no one will believe it.” Age 39
“I’ve learned that every great achievement was once considered impossible.” Age 29
“I’ve learned that if you spread the peas out on your plate, it looks like you ate more.” Age 6
“I’ve learned that couples without children always know how you should raise your children.” Age 29
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.” Age 68
On with the show…
Each year Susan Mitmesser has her 7th grade Language Arts classes read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. In addition to reading the book the students will do a variety of tasks related to the content of the book. In the book one of the characters gives a very descriptive dialogue of a sunset. Recently, Mrs. Mitmesser’s students were given the task of using descriptive writing to come up with their own description of sunsets. Their work is on display in the Red Team hallway. Stop by and take a look, you will be impressed. KUDO’S TO YOU SUSAN MITMESSER!!
I was in Mark Baumgardner’s class the other day and the students were using the “clickers” to solve equations. The technology of the clickers is great and it is being used in several classrooms. The use of technology was impressive. But what was more impressive was Mark helping students work their way through a problem that they did not understand. He used input from the students to help come up with a method for the students to use to solve similar problems in the future. Watching the students go through that process was very exciting. By the time I left the room, I felt confident that those students would know how to solve similar problems in the future. KUDO’S TO YOU MARK BAUMGARDNER!!
Rick Fee does so much to help keep Conkwright running smoothly. He is quick to respond to our requests. Whether it’s fixing lockers or replacing a pencil sharpener, Rick is always willing to help. We couldn’t do our jobs if Rick was not good at doing his job. KUDO’S TO YOU RICK FEE!!
Ms. Torline and her 6th grade Band students had their first public performance last night. I was not able to hear the entire performance but I did hear a portion of it. The students have made great strides in their abilities and are improving on a daily basis. KUDO’S TO YOU TRISH TORLINE!!
Creating an inviting and friendly environment for the students is very important. There are a variety of ways that we can do that. The Red Team has a Halloween themed bulletin board that creates that environment. The poems written on each teacher’s tombstone are very funny. You should stop by and read them. KUDO’S TO YOU CINDY WHITESIDE, VALERIE HAIRSTON, JULIE MURRAY, MARY CHUGG, MIKE ANDERSON, AND SUSAN MITMESSER!!
Attendance figures for the second month of school were recently released and here are Conkwright’s numbers:
6th Grade: 95.83% 7th Grade: 96.14% 8th Grade: 95.26%
Overall: 95.76%
Not as good as last month’s numbers. Please make to remind students about the importance of being at school EVERY DAY and that it is critical to their success.
Well, that’s all that I have for right now. I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and we will see you next week for KUDO’S.