Bulldog Weekly Update
January 9 - 13, 2023
Monday Motivation
- Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Notes from the Principal's Desk
Toward the end of January, the iReady window opens. Between the data from our IA and iReady, we will be in a prime position to make strategic instructional adjustments during our WIN, Skills, and CORE classes. These adjustments will be designed to address standards-based gaps before the official MCAS assessment launches--the first is ELA, starting on April 11th, 2023. That said, our students may feel fatigued. They may be tired. They need positive reinforcement and encouragement, and they need to know why assessments are essential, and how we use the data to gauge their growth, our effectiveness as a school, and individually, our success as teachers in the classroom. We need to know how we can help students capitalize on learning and teach them everything they need to be fully prepared for next year... with vacation weeks and holidays; we have about 5 months left to do it.
Don't abandon those New Year's resolutions just yet. The pace and mounting responsibilities may seem like a lot (and they are), but we are in this together. The worst thing you can do is to be unforgiving to yourself and others. For example, the IA is a brand-new pilot for our school. Moreover, students take it on a platform with very little exposure. Expect snags, expect snafus--do not expect perfection. It's new for us and new for students and while we have done what we can to prepare, we need to respect the process and understand that, as with anything in its "first run" stage, unforeseen hurdles may arise. Lucky for us, we've been on track since September and are becoming pros at sprinting over barriers. With each round, we will likely work out all the kinks in the chain... WE GOT THIS!
Chinese New Year Starts January 22, 2023: Year of the Rabbit
6th Grade Helps Students Keep a Positive Outlook on the New Year
December Students of The Month Have Been Added to the Library Showcase
Girls Basketball Plays Against the Wang. Great job, team!
Boys Basketball is Elevates Players Physical Fitness with Extensive Practice
Check Out Students' 3D Art Projects in the Library for One More Week!
The Drawbacks of Authenticity at Work
Our ability to compartmentalize, establish and follow different expectations and norms for different settings, people, places and events, is, for many, as natural as breathing air. It is only more recently, in the last 20 years, that workplaces have changed policies that better recognize the need for people to bring part of their identities to work. The correlate between contentment and productivity at work is strong. The connection between conformity and contentment is not. As with any factor contributing to contentment, there's always a threshold. And, when you have or do something in excess, it can have an adverse effect. Sometimes more is good--and sometimes more is too much.
The Daily Coach describes the fine line between being your authentic self and being responsible for what you say and do at work. The wrong approach can have unintended consequences...
Authentic:
• Expressing our stream of consciousness
• Articulating how we really feel at a particularly emotional moment
• Consistently acting on impulse with our words and behaviors
Responsible:
• Taking some extra time to think carefully about what we say
• Filtering emotions to more effectively serve our teams
• Considering thoughtful solutions to problems that may go against our instincts
"...it's important that we understand that our impulses aren't always right — and when emotions are running high, we can't always say or do what we may feel at the moment. Irreparable damage to our teams and ultimately our careers by being the wrong type of "authentic." It's paramount for us to instead be responsible."
Teaching is an innately human endeavor. Perhaps more than any other profession, teaching and leading are extensions of our true self. As we work collectively to build a culture in which we can all excel, sometimes we need to self-assess. Is my sarcasm communicating as humor? Does my body language or facial expressions express to candidly what my words do not? Do I eat up too much class time sharing my internal monologue or details about my life and experiences that are not wholly relevant to the lesson? The takeaway here is that authenticity and responsible engagement are not mutually exclusive. We need to be who we are but not at the expense of trust, collegiality, and productivity.
Our Courageous Conversations training on Wednesday will help to equip us with language we can use to frame our thinking, and to better engage with one another around difficult topics... including when we have something to communicate that may strike a chord with a colleague.
Week at a Glance
- 5th Grade Interim Assessment | ELA (Teachers please assign/schedule test and let us know of any concerns before Monday test time)
- F&P Testing for Q3 Leveled Literacy Intervention starts
- Climate and Culture After School
Tuesday, 1/3
- SST
- 5th Grade Interim Assessment | MATH
- Content CPT -- Complete this link https://forms.gle/U14qjRy12W7bAiZGA as an AA/EL and Grade Level Team
Wednesday 1/11
- HALF DAY -- 12:50p
- NO WIN
- Whole School PD 1-4
Thursday 1/12
- Admin Team Mtg.
- 6th Grade Interim Assessment | ELA
- College Day Wear
- 6th Grade Interim Assessment | MATH
- Butler Day - Wear your butler gear
On The Horizon...
- 1/16 Dr. MLK JR. Holiday (How will you help keep his legacy alive? Do you plan to talk to students?)
- 1/17 AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM SESSION 2 Begins Tuesday | ILT MEETING 3:00
- 1/24 All School Vertical PD (After School 3-5)
- 1/30 iREADY Mid-Year Benchmark Window Opens
ILT Updates
Next Team meeting - 1/17/23 TUESDAY
Check in with your grade-level team representatives for more information. Meetings take place every other Wednesday. ILT content is shared by grade representatives on the team at Grade Level CPTs. What happens in ILT drives what will happen in CPT!
ILT REPS:
Brett Sullivan -- 5th
Cheryl Ferris -- 6th
Alie Cabrera -- 6th
Peter Francis -- 7th
Jen Fraser -- 8th
Christina Pappalardo -- 8th
Vannak Theng -- EL
Krista St. Louis - Special Education
SEL
Please see Lori Casey for any updates. NO SEL in January.
Culture and Climate
Check in with your grade level team representatives for more information. A calendar of upcoming dates will be forthcoming!
NEXT MEETINGS ARE AFTER SCHOOL MONDAY:
- January 9th
- January 23rd
January Staff Birthdays
Don't Forget to say " Happy Birthday"
Alejandra Cabrera 1/15
Lori Dunkerly 1/23
Butler Community
Email: jmoody@lowell.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/Domain/10
Location: 1140 Gorham Street, Lowell, MA, USA
Phone: 978-937-8973
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lpsdbutler/