Words of Wisdom from Mr. Gates Settle

A nice email from Mr. Gates Settle (Principal of Daviess County Middle School) to remind the staff how to get through the "Grind" of the school year.



Every now and then, we ALL need to take the time to take a personal inventory of what we have, what we get to do and where we get to do it and be thankful that we get to come to work in such a GREAT school in the profession we have all CHOSEN !

Having said all that, here are a few reminders for daily operations ;

1. When students have gotten on your last nerve, take a deep breath and remember that these are 12, 13, 14 years old and they need to see appropriate behavior modeled. Try your best not to lose your temper and also avoid arguments since they are difficult to win and end up being a power struggle.

2. If disciplinary action must be used, make sure to follow procedures and ALWAYS contact parents

3. Monitor, monitor, monitor. Watch them like hawks in your classes, in hallways, and don’t ever leave them unsupervised or send them to unsupervised areas. Pop into restrooms throughout that day and on plannings.

4. Don’t take things for granted with parents and don’t assume they know or that their kids will tell them.

5. Resist the temptation to have “easy” days. We don’t have the extra time nor do we want kids unengaged since this can also lead to discipline issues

6. Listen to “student talk” and stay on top of potential problems between students and be proactive in handling situations ..



Most of all, try to stay positive with students while providing them with what they need so they will have a productive middle school experience. We all know it gets by very fast and before we know it, we will getting ready for our summer break. As this year goes by, I continue to be impressed with the work ethic and professionalism of all of our staff so keep up the GREAT work that that everyone is so accustomed to at DCMS !!