Gilson Middle School

2016-2017 Year End Report

At Gilson Middle School, Success is the only option!

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2016-2017 Statistical Summaries
Attendance/Enrollment
Average Daily Membership: 131.80
Average Daily Attendance: 122.65 (93.1%)
Membership on Oct. 1st: 134.00
Membership on Dec 20th: 129.00
Membership on May 18th: 133.00

Special Populations
Special Education: 21
Section 504: 1
ELOP/Gifted & Talented: 8
English Language Learners: 0
Migrant Education Students: 23
Indian Education Students: 27
Homeless Students: 4

MAP Data: Achievement Status and Growth Summary Fall 2015 - Winter 2015

6 Grade
th
6 Math
th
6 Reading
th
6 Language Usage
th
6 Science
th

% Growth 98% 90% 90% 94%

7 Grade
th
7 Math
th
7 Reading
th
7 Language Usage
th
7 Science
th

% Growth 84% 68% 90% 65%

8 Grade
th
8 Math
th
8 Reading
th
8 Language Usage
th
8 Science
th

% Growth 80% 80% 64% 70%

2016-2017 Discipline Data

In-school Suspensions: Out of school Suspensions:
1 day or less = 14 1 day or less = 3
2 days = 0 2 days = 1

Comparisons:
2015-2016 2014-2015
ISS = 37 ISS = 13
OSS = 14 OSS = 1

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 GILSON MIDDLE SCHOOL
2016-17 BUILDING GOALS
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1) Implement MAP testing for every student at GMS three times a year.
Teachers will use data to create and reinforce evidence-informed
instructional practice. To have a minimum of 80% of students improve MAP
scores from the beginning to the end of the school year. We administrated
MAP assessments in the fall, winter and spring for all students. Throughout
the year staff received training their MAP data and became familiar with it
throughout the school year. We were able to track areas of instructional
improvements which will change instruction in the classrooms. Ninety-nine
of students improved in MAP scores from the fall of 2016 to the spring of
2017.
2) Explore and implement curriculum options to enhance student achievement.
The Middle School Curriculum should be challenging, exploratory,
integrative, project-based and relevant to promote active learning. The VCS
curriculum cycle has helped in the development of a curriculum that is tied
to the Alaska standards. Teachers are implementing more hands-on and
project-based lessons that allow the students to grow and be creative.
Technology is used to enhance the curriculum.
3) Achieve 100% staff participation in the Gilson Middle School Wellness
Program. Increase student participation and promote the Gilson MS Student
Wellness Program. This year we partnered with Providence Hospital and
SWAN introduced SQORD Program. Many of the staff and students
participated in the SQORD Program and frequently synced the devises on a
weekly basis. SWAN and the United Way of Valdez helped to sponsor
rewards for students at different milestones throughout the process. Next
year students will be able to earn movie passes, shirts and kayak trips for
logging activity points.
4) Increase parent and community involvement and communication with
Gilson Middle School. This year we made great gains involving the
community into our schools. GMS created social media accounts on
Facebook and Twitter, and used those to share news of what was happening

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 both in the classroom and at school activities. Parents and community
members have shared many positives about the increased communication.
GMS also implemented EdCamps for students which has increased
community partnerships as we bring more local experts into the schools to
work with students on career pathways. The new PowerSchool information
system has allowed teachers to communicate with parents on a weekly basis.
5) Every students academic and personal development will be guided by an
adult advocate. Implement an Advisory class and a building wide Bigs and
Littles program. The Advisory program is working great. Its about
connections and pairing students with caring adults. Its mentorship in
action. GMS is very pleased with the survey monkey results from the year.
This years SCCS Climate results support the changes that we implemented
this year.
6) Encourage all students to be involved with an extra-curricular activity both
school and/or community sponsored. We continue to have large turn outs in
all of our school activities. Currently we offer cross-country running, After
the Bell, student council, basketball, cheer, robotics, volleyball, wrestling,
drama, choir, band, NYO, track and field and Battle of the Books. We have
also celebrated our students in community based activities such as
swimming and rifle club.
7) Increase student awareness of actions that constitute bullying and deliver
bullying-prevention lessons to every student. A reduction in school
discipline by 20%. The MS staff and counselor worked on a bullying
prevention education with all MS classes as well as students on an individual
basis when needed. A group of MS students put an anti-bullying campaign
together. The DARE Program had educational components that touched on
decision making skills that supported bullying prevention. We experienced
a reduction in total discipline of over 60% this school year.

At Gilson Middle School, Success is the only option!

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Gilson Middle School Activities 2016 -2017

Cross Country Running 36 participants

Boys Basketball 17 participants
Girls Basketball - 23 participants
Cheerleading 6 participants
Wrestling 7 participants
Volleyball 29 participants
Native Youth Olympics 16 participants
Track and Field 42 participants
SQORD Club 110 participants
Spelling Bee 15 participants
Student Council 18 participants
FIRST Lego Robotics 10 participants
Drama Musical Elf Jr. 48 participants
Battle of the Books - 14 participants

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GMS Staff Friday Collaborations:

8-26-16 MS Goals 2016-2017, Technology Round Table, PowerSchool

9-2-16 Marzano Evaluation Process
9-9-16 VCS Professional Goals
9-16-16 MAP Testing and PowerSchool data
9-23-16 Advisory Goals / Crisis Plan Review
9-30-16 (SCCS) School Climate Connectedness Survey Results
10-7-16 MAP Data Review
10-14-16 Technology Round Table
10-21-16 Chile Abuse Presentation Tracey Christian
10-23-16 AMP data review
10-28-16 1st quarter successes and review
11-4-16 Student Success / EdCamps Discussion
11-11-16 Map Training with a trainer
11-18-16 MAP Data Review and Student Goals
11-20-16 MAP Individual student goals
12-2-16 EdCamps Review / Student Concerns
12-9-16 Winter Arts Celebration Planning
12-16-16 Staff Reflections / Review of building goals
1-13-17 Youth Court presentation
1-20-17 Curriculum Review and Alignment discussion
1-27-17 MAP Data Review
2-3-17 Review student feedback for Advisory
2-10-17 ALICE / Vaping presentation Officer Baczuk and Discovery
Education
2-17-17 Discovery Education Demo
2-24-17 Advisory/Bigs-Littles Data
3-4-17 EdCamps Student Information
3-10-17 PowerSchool Grades
3-24-17 Budget Discussion with Mr. Nygaard
3-31-17 GMS Health student requirements
4-7-17 Marzano Teacher Elements Discussions with VHS Staff
4-14-17 8th Grade Fly-up information
4-28-17 MAP Student Goals / Test Dates
5-5-17 End of the Year Schedule
51217 PowerSchool Grades

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George H. Gilson Middle School
Post Office Box 398
Valdez, Alaska 99686

(907) 835-2244 Fax (907) 835-2540

GMS Successes collected from teachers and staff:

1. Effectively incorporated a project and activity based curriculum into
both science classes.
2. Students grew in understanding how to use new knowledge to both find
and solve problems.
3. Students quickly grasped concepts of computer science and other
digital tools, such as graphic design, website design, and video
production.
4. Students were given more freedom to choose both activities and how to
present their learning.
5. This freedom resulted in more engagement for students, rather than
behavior problems and complacency.
6. Students were able to work together on several projects, and also
learned how to do so digitally using Google Education tools.
7. Effectively incorporated Google Classroom as a bridge between
activities and communicating with students.
8. Students witnessed the power of social media, as we made contact with
both NASA and the real NCIS.
9. Students were able to routinely show work to parents using digital tools
and social media.
10. Big Program Successes and Advisory
I have so many things that I want to say about Advisory, but I know
youve heard them all. It works. Its a long game. Its about connection.
Its about pairing students with caring adults. Its mentorship in action.
I fully believe that in the years to come this program will continue to
bear even more fruit. Im very pleased with the survey monkey results
from the year. I believe our Climate data will support this.
11. The Climate Survey
Nearly every single student in the building sat the climate survey in a
small group setting. Only students who were absent for an elongated
period of time or were no survey students did not survey. I firmly
believe this will impact our climate data in a positive way.

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 12. Senior Walk
I really want this to become a tradition. I really feel like I can involve
the community and past educators even more. I think it was an
emotional moment for both students and their families.
13. Bigs and Littles
5th grade fly up/parent meeting - 45 parents at the parent meeting
Fly ups and fly downs were insanely successful. Both sets of grades
enjoyed their time together.
The passive post card component was a huge hit. It also really helped
Gianna and I make the matches.
Emailing (instead of postal service) the parent letter I think really
helped foster an open sense of communication with the 5th grade
parents.
14. Husky Cards
I wrote so many Huskies cards. I wrote roughly 3 a week, on Fridays.
It was such a lovely way to end the week.
15. 6th Grade Health
I did 6 weeks of 6th grade health 1st quarter. We focused mainly on sub
stance use/abuse, brain health, and refusal skills.
16. Kids2College
Another successful year! I really want to do this program with 8th
graders next year. I think the curriculum is aimed much more at them.
17. Grade Check-ins (failing/at risk students).
Every Monday and Friday I ran an F list in PowerSchool, and would
immediately follow up with those students. Also I did a lot of phone
calls home over this issue.
18. Students created digital portfolios, documenting their work in order to
share it with others. I introduced new concepts into my reading classes,
which aligned closely to the Common Core practices (i.e. in-depth
poetry units, slow read).
19. I collaborated on several cross-curricular projects within the eighth
grade.
20. I felt the kids did a great job with the yearbook this year. The kids met
the challenge and produced a quality product.
21. 7th grade students successfully kayaked to Old Town and learned local
history along the way.
22. Students read countless books and this year I successfully steered them
toward non-fiction. The response was great.
23. This year the Wax Museum held another evening performance, and the
communitys interest was excellent.
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 24. All grades received bully, self-esteem, mental health, and goal setting
lessons.
25. For the third year we hosted the Invention Fair. The students used
science process and investigation from a science fair to the invention
investigation project. The scientific process was creatively
implemented and students were positively involved. The Invention
Convention was a success.
26. Implementing Discovery Education for the 6th grade science
curriculum. DE proved to be up-to-date, engaging, and user-friendly
for sixth graders.
27. Incorporating ideas from a music educator forum for middle school
band that helped diversify the percussion section and help maintain
interest by creating an instrument rotation.
28. Team teaching with Mrs. Keller--best professional development ever.
29. This was perhaps my most enjoyable year teaching yet. I've been at it
since 1985 -- making the 2016-17 school year my 32nd as professional
educator. Listed below, in no particular order, please find a list of items
I count as successes.
30. I did not send a student to the office this year.
31. Grades were very high.
32. The kayak trip was once again a big hit. Students were exposed to
Valdez in its most natural setting. They learned some history, some
science, and some teamwork.
33. Students consistently volunteered to do extra work.
34. I had numerous conversations with students regarding career goals.
35. EdCamps evolved from promising but chaotic beginnings to
educational events we can be proud of.
36. MAPS scores showed improvement -- and lots of it.
37. Our staff continues to inspire one another to become better, more
professional, and more effective teachers.
38. Students who participated in the Wax Museum learned a good deal
about time management, public speaking, and presentation skills.
39. I feel like I did a better job of doing more projects in my room this
year. Students created timelines, mapped historical sites, and
participated in civic activities.
40. I thought we created a great partnership with the police department with
our arrest to arraignment project that I put together with Mr. Baczuk.
41. I thought that the new poetry unit I did in reading was a success and the
kids seemed to have a good time doing it.

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 42. Elf the Musical, jr. (All GMS actors/actresses were present and healthy
for their roles).
43. Each and every one my lower level language arts students wrote and
turned in a 5 paragraph persuasive essay.
44. Second semester drama class adapted fairy tales in to scripts and made
their own puppets for a puppet show. The class presented their shows
to the kindergarten classes at HHES.
45. Looking at the MAPS data (see attachments) it appears my students did
very well on a nationally normed test. One example: had only 1 student
score in the bottom 20% and 21 in the top 20%.
46. Introduced ALEKS this year to my students. ALEKS is a web based
math learning and assessment tool. Felt like it was a great supplemental
tool for the material we are covering in the textbooks.
47. Didn't send one kid to the office (or even the hallway) all school year.
48. In Tech Explorations all kids had successful launches of rockets and
functioning T-bots and mousetrap cars.
49. Learning how to navigate the MAPS reports.
50. Significant rise in 7th grade MAP scores in Language Arts.
51. Completed 6 classroom novels with 6th and 7th grade.
52. I committed to a wellness plan for the school year and stuck to it.
53. I built relationships with my peers.
54. I was able to create lesson plans that enhanced student learning - check
out the MAP data!
55. I enjoyed coming to school each day; I went home each night and
commented to my husband how wonderful it is to work at GMS. I truly
looked forward to each week of school.
56. Science. I survived and am ready for another year! Thanks for pairing
me up with Ann Norris best idea since sliced bread.
57. I used my planning time wisely, which freed me up to be Mom, Wife,
and Community volunteer during the weekends.
58. I felt I had adequate collaboration time with my colleagues to ask
questions and solve problems regarding student behavior, learning
styles, and grading expectations.
59. I followed VCS curriculum for Grade 6 and have taught almost
everything!
60. Student successes: Students were happy and knew they were loved by
the staff at GMS.
61. Learning happened! Students were well-behaved all the time in Room
157!
62. Students matured and are ready for 7th grade.
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 63. Sewing in Home Ec. was a huge success - all participants made multiple
projects. Some extended their learning beyond school hours with
projects at home.
64. Most students liked most of the book titles that I chose for Reading.
65. Technology worked all the time, which enhanced student
learning. Examples: Discovery Education and PHSchool.com for
Social Studies, PowerSchool, Google Classroom.
66. Students felt they learned a lot in Science - they preferred the Discovery
Education tech-book over a textbook.
67. Academic growth was huge for many of my students. MAPS data confirms
my belief that my students grew with their learning. Many students needed
to have holes filled in that had been neglected or forgotten. My expectation
was that every student tries to their best of ability and I would meet them
at their level and teach what was needed.
68. (L.S.) Another success was the behavior improvement with one of my
students. Fighting, disrespect, and bullying other students was his way for
attention. I met with him before school each day to go over appropriate
behavior and how to interact with peers. He made great gains and behavior
improved immensely.
69. My poetry unit was another success this school year. Many students were
not wanting to learn poetry or thought they were bad at it. I taught and
read them a poem a day for the month of April. A completed poetry book
with a memorized poem was the culminating event. Each student met this
requirement and many begged to keep learning more poetry. (One student
gave me their poetry book to have because they were very proud and didnt
want to lose it when they moved.)
70. 8th SPED student began the year rather despondent and unmotivated
having experienced limited success in math. With hard work and a
willingness to learn, she finished as one of my highest math students
and raised her Map score higher than all but one other student.
71. 6th SPED student successfully led his first IEP meeting. He was able to
reach his behavioral objectives 6 out of 9 weeks this quarter. He was on
the honor roll each semester.
72. 7th SPED is able to write a five paragraph essay using assistive
technologies available through Google apps for Edu including speech
to text. He is able to format his own documents, access these tools
(including using speech to text to do Google searches) and write all
without the assistance of a teacher. At the start of the year he was able
to write only 6 words in the span of 5 minutes. By the end of the year,
he was researching and writing short essays on his own.
73. 7th SPED student successfully completed and participated in the Wax
Museum, taking ownership of many of the aspects involved in the
project with limited assistance.
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 74. 8th SPED student had a growth of 20 points on her math Maps
assessment this spring. While it's my recommendation for her to redo
intermediate math, she has shown with this testing that she has grasped
many of the concepts she'll need to be successful in high school.
75. Several students learned to work together and help each other during
the school year.
76. One student that had behavioral issues last year, made great gains in
self esteem and leadership qualities during team sports and in classes
for this year.
77. Transitioned at least 13 students to the high school this year.
78. 100% of students in my Math Lab -6th grade showed growth on their
MAPs RIT scores.
79. Four out of Five students increased their RIT scores in Reading.
80. In Basic Math three out of five raised their RIT scores.
81. Out of the 25 students in any of my classes all of them raised at least
one RIT score.
82. Out of 16 special needs students in any of my classes all of them
increased their RIT scores in at least one area.
83. Implementing Discovery Education for the 6th grade science
curriculum. DE proved to be up-to-date, engaging, and user-friendly
for sixth graders.
84. Incorporating ideas from a music educator forum for middle school
band that helped diversify the percussion section and help maintain
interest by creating an instrument rotation.
85. Team teaching with Mrs. Keller--best professional development ever.

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