Shell Knob School District #78

Ask a SKS student what they do on a late start Monday and they will tell you, "sleep in!"  Most students believe this is what everyone does, including the teachers.  Actually, this could not be further from the truth.  Late start Mondays are for SKS teachers to work on required professional development, meet together and discuss positives, negatives, brainstorm new ideas and receive training in specific areas of concentration.  Teachers also set various goals, plan activities and discuss long range planning. Once a month, the teachers that teach math meet with a professor from MSU to learn new teaching ideas.  Middle school teachers are going through a book study together and elementary teachers are working on curriculum input and data analysis.  All teachers work on Leader in Me lessons and each teacher must present a cooperative learning lesson to everyone.  Once in a while, teachers take about 20 minutes to Sharpen the Saw; an effort to take care of oneself.  Last week the teachers played a couple of rounds of gaga ball! Competition was fierce and this was an exciting way to get Monday started. So, while late start Mondays are a good time for students to catch up on a little extra sleep, teachers can only dream about it.