Redwood Middle School

Happy Monday Redwood Families!

 

I'm hopeful that you had a lovely weekend.  Did you brave the chilly Saturday morning weather to watch the parade in Los Gatos?  I love the small town feel of the event and was so happy that rain did not dampen the spirits of those who participated or of the community members that came to cheer on the fun.  The Redwood marching band and color guard did an amazing job and proudly represented our school.  I've included a photo in the event that you stayed tucked in your warm bed rather than making your way downtown.

 

I would like to give a "shout out" to Colin Yi who recently won the Saratoga Loves Poetry Contest.  I've included a picture of our resident poet proudly holding his certificate.  Speaking of poetry...is there anything more poetic than a School Site Council meeting?  Take a moment and close your eyes.  Envision a moment of joyful bliss that you have experienced in your lifetime.  That palpable sensation of alignment with the world.  An ephemeral state only found at the apex of happiness.  Now open your eyes and realize whatever vision quest you just experienced pales in comparison to our last meeting, that you missed, mind you.  John Keats would have most likely changed the title of his poem, Ode to a Grecian Urn to Ode to a Site Council Meeting if he had the pleasure of being in attendance.  He put it best, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all" -little did we know that "data" was the truth to which he was referring to all those years ago!  Clearly now you understand the consequences of your actions.  Eighteenth Century Romantic poets would have swooned during our goal setting session.  Isabel Oh, who was crowned Site Council President during this illustrious event would have been considered a muse by the aforementioned poets.  I've included a photo of the signing ceremony, yet please note that she was asked to remove the tiara.  I am mindful that the human body has a capacity for envy and jealousy and the tiara would take it a bit too far, even for me.

 

In educationally related news, you may recall that one of our district initiatives is the implementation of MTSS, Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports.  One facet of this multi-faceted approach is reviewing our own practices to determine the level of fidelity of implementation.  To this end, the staff met and reviewed a series of evaluatory components called the FIA, Fidelity Integrity Assessment (yet another acronym) and provided scale scores.  The scores not only provided the needed data, it spurred amazing conversation about current practices.  It was a hoot, so a photo is a must!

Poetically yours, 
Steve