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Harmony Staff Information

~140 total staff members
60 Licensed / 17 Instructional Specialists
17 Teaching Assistants (19 SPED, 1 technology, 3 resource, 2 library)
5 Secretaries (3 house / 2 main office)
6 Admin (1 principal, 2 assistant principals, and 3 grade level deans)
4 School Counselors, 1 School Social Worker, 1 School Psychologist, 1 SRO, 1 SSO, 1 RN
This allows us to have the structure for three “mini schools” of ~375 students (we call them Houses) with a secretary, counselor, and dean.
Estimated 1,120 students next year

2/2/2024

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Harmony Mission��(To create and maintain a positive and safe school learning environment where all students are empowered to make meaningful contributions to the world)

School Commitments to Move Towards Deeper Learning
People	Collaborate consistently with colleagues, communicate effectively with parents, and embrace the middle school child.
Safety & Wellness	Maintain physical and mental healthy heart practices and be pro-active to all issues related to personal and school safety.
Student Engagement	Create authentic, challenging lessons with high level Bloom’s / purposeful questioning techniques to maintain daily excitement.
Self-Improvement	Whatever your strengths and weaknesses, improve them and help others who ask to do the same.
Creators and Innovators	…Be innovative by problem solving, taking risks, exploring, and using critical thinking.

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Harmony Focus Areas

Instruction

Climate

Safety

Student Empowerment

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Topics for Tonight

Balance (in all things)
Communication (to help the students)
Support (our partnership to help get your kids prepared for high school)
Structure of 6^th Grade

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We Want Balance

THINKING

EMOTION

INSTRUCTION CLIMATE

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Climate Expectations

Key Questions:

How is my child being treated by staff and students?

What activities does the school have for my child to make positive connections with others?

Key ideas in positive school “climates”
Focus on KIDS Work closely with the PTA and parents Believing that problems are temporary Being positive and NOT negative Being open to feedback Encourage health and wellness initiatives (staff Boot Camp, yoga, clubs, walking, healthy food, daily activity, mental health awareness, Fit Five, etc.) Know all student’s names Maintain consistent and timely two-way communication Provide opportunities for a variety of staff and student activities

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#1 Way to Build Climate?�(We will know all 1,120 students’ names)

…with our annual “Name Game”
In 2014-2015 – we missed ZERO
In 2015-2016 – we missed ZERO
In 2016-2017 – we missed ZERO
In 2017-2018 – we missed ZERO
In 2018-2019 – we missed ZERO
In 2019-2020 – we missed ZERO
in 2022-2023 – we missed ZERO
in 2023-2024 – we missed ZERO
in 2024-2025 – we missed ZERO

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Communication is Essential

#1 - Smore (Blackboard newsletters) – Weekly by Fridays
Harmony Website
Connect Ed (Blackboard emails) – periodical and short or specific updates
“Schoolinks” - counselor updates
Teacher Communication - emails, newsletters, and periodic updates
Schoology (work) and ParentVUE (grades)
Daily individual email exchanges with school staff and home

2/2/2024

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(Past) Clubs / Activities

Chess
FCA
German Club
Harmony Hikes
Mad Science Club
Musical (Guys and Dolls)
Musical (Music Man)
Odyssey of the Mind (OM)
Sign Language
Debate
Fishing

Outdoor Club
Ping Pong
Cornhole
Running Club
Sports (Misc.)
Student Council (SCA)
Yearbook
Baking
Young Entrepreneurs
Sewing

2/2/2024

Cooking
French Club
Kindness Club
Humanities
Craft
Coding
Kickball
Paper Football
Jazz Band
Movie Making
And MORE (we have 50 this year)

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Schools and Teachers Impact Two Areas

REASON / ANALYSIS / DECISION MAKING

EMOTION / MOTIVATION

LIMBIC SYSTEM

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Instructional Expectations

Key Questions:

How is my child being motivated for sustained inquiry into learning?

What is the school doing to help my child share what he or she is doing outside the classroom?

How is my child being engaged in the learning process?

How Does Harmony Promote Academic Excellence?
Harmony is a PBL “Wall to Wall” School with purposeful lessons We teach kids to reflect and critique their learning We allow for student voice and choice to promote higher interest We expect teachers to design lessons and activities that are authentic We monitor the effectiveness of teacher feedback to students We promote technology tools being used to support higher order thinking skills We hire teachers who are promoting enthusiasm for learning in the lesson We hire and train teachers to maintain a balance between rigor and climate We have quarterly programs to recognize students We use class structures that help facilitate student collaboration

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How can we get kids to think deeper?

Upper Level Bloom’s Questions:

What questions are being asked to get my child to evaluate, create, and analyze?

What is the school doing to help my child move towards Deeper Learning?

What are the key things to remember?

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Surface Learning vs. Deeper Learning

Why does it work?

How did I learn?

How can I apply this?

Recalling information

Memorizing

What’s my grade?

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Harmony Focus

Instruction

Climate

Safety

Student Empowerment

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Special Education Programs

Eric McGrady

We have a variety of programs to serve all students at HRM
Licensed and classified staff
Programs ID, ED, Autism
Structure and support (SC and TT)
August orientation w/ Case Manager
Teacher communication

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Safety Expectations

Key Questions:

How is the school helping my child be prepared for an emergency?

What is the school doing to be pro-active on issues of safety and security?

What Safety Practices Does Harmony Have?
Drills (11 fire drills, 4 lock down drills, 1 tornado drill , 1 earthquake drill , and 1 emergency drill); SIX “scenario” practices with kids Mental Health Awareness Parent Workshops, Kindness Challenge, You Matter Club, Grit, Internet Safety Anti-Bullying procedures for all staff, students, and parents Staff Supervision and Visibility expectation Staff trained on (Run, Hide, Fight) / Students (See Something, Say Something) Daily presence of School Resource Officer (SRO) and School Security Officer (SSO) Almost 70 security cameras throughout the building “Raptor” visitor check in Any other LCPS protocols for safety

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Middle School Structure

Mr. Jacobson, 6^th Grade Dean

Dean / School Counselor / Secretary

Academic Support

Behavior Support
Communication
Grade Level Management
Leadership
Supervision

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Deans and the “House” Concept Helps Kids

Administrative Team (Dean, Secretary, School Counselor)

A “school within a school”

Leadership and Management on a smaller more manageable scale (400 instead of 1,200)

Provides support in all academic and behavior areas

Safety and Student Connections are Priority

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Teacher Collaboration and Student Connections�

Teachers collaborate in one main group: CLTs

CLTs are Content Level Teams

Advisory (Hive Time) helps kids connect. We place each student on a team by alphabet (A-G, H-O, P-Z)

Coordinate and communicate expectations and procedures and make adjustments as needed

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School Counselor – Dr. Bryan Pecoraro

My Role – To provide academic, career and social/emotional support to all students. At the beginning of the school year, I meet with each student, individually, to connect with them and to assess their needs.
All Counselors - provide counseling and mental health support - Examples of supports include individual counseling, small group counseling, classroom presentations, check-ins and collaboration with parents and staff.
School Wide - Our Unified Mental Health Team (UMHT) is comprised of our school counselors, social worker, psychologist, school assistant specialist (SAS), school nurse and administration. The UMHT collaborates on providing the most appropriate services to our students. The team also supports Advisory and develops and implements Mix It Up Day, Wellness Week, and other initiatives throughout the year.
Our strategy (passion) - is to make connections with our students and offer support when and how it is needed. We also want to teach students the skills to be independent and resilient.

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Sample Student Schedule

2/2/2024

Block	A Day (~90 min each)	B Day (~90 min each)
1	Language Arts	Language Arts
2	Comp App or Art (semester)	Math
3	US History (to 1877)	Science (Earth Science)
4	Health and PE	Resource (or Spectrum) and Music (45 each)

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6^th Grade Schedule Choices�

Music - Band Instrument or Strings or Chorus or Guitar (Music Lab)

Math - Math 6 or Math 7 (Foundations of Algebra)

Honors or Academic classes (Language Arts, Social Studies, Science)

Art (semester), and Computer Applications (semester)

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Math Progression�

Grade 6	Grade 7	Grade 8	Grade 9
Math 6	Math 7 (Foundations of Algebra)	Pre-Algebra (Math 8)	Algebra I
Math 7 (Foundations of Algebra)	Pre-Algebra (Math 8)	Algebra I	Geometry

In mathematics, the skills required to be successful are more sequential and developmental than in other courses.

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Honors versus Academic�Kristen Hepner

Academic – integrated program of reading and writing skills, activities, and applications designed to develop clear and effective written and oral communication…

Honors – an extension of the academic program emphasizing the appreciation and analysis of challenging literature, astute communications, and activities requiring high levels of critical and creative thinking.

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In order to select courses that reflect the goal of a balanced academic and extracurricular workload, students and parents should consider the following:

What are my grades in the subject over the past few years?
What information do my standardized test scores provide for me about my special skills and interests?
How much of a time commitment will each course require?
What are the recommendations of my parents, teachers, and counselors who know me?
Am I involved in numerous outside activities that will limit the amount of time I have for schoolwork?
Do I like the subject?
Glamorous or practical?

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Timeline�(Eric Stewart, principal)

December (All elementary students visited and toured Harmony)
Jan to Mar (Finalize course selections and discuss with 5^th grade counselor)
March 11 (Parent Orientation)
March to April (Principal, Counselor, and Dean will visit every elementary school – in person)
April / May (All course changes must be made through the counselor). By then we will have allocated our staff positions and because of that, after this date NO course changes may take place.
July (Schools Tours – TBD – check website in June)
August 18 – 6th Grade Schedule Give Away and Student Orientation (between 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM - three groups)

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Things We Need Help with

Be involved – PTA or volunteer helper or Board members
Lunch the first day (and Acct Info)
Locker Helpers needed (first two mornings)
School Supplies (list to be posted in May)
Preserve “Instructional Time” - limiting early dismissals, late arrivals, and deliveries
Help us “develop” the kids’ independence

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Balance

Instruction

Climate

Safety

Student Empowerment

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THANKS FOR ATTENDING

Thanks for listening to us tonight. If you have any questions, please use these emails to make contact: Stay in touch.
Eric Stewart (Principal) eric.stewart@lcps.org
Kristen Hepner (Assistant Principal – Testing and Assessments) kristen.hepner@lcps.org
Eric McGrady (Assistant Principal – Special Education) eric.mcgrady@lcps.org
Dr. Bryan Pecoraro (School Counselor) bryan.pecoraro@lcps.org
Jeff Jacobson (6^th Grade Dean) jeff.jacobson@lcps.org

2/2/2024