News You Can Use
Harris ES
“We can’t make children learn, but we can let them learn.” Alison Gopnik
Messages from EH
I hope you are all comfy in your jeans and ready for a great week!
Just a few notes this week...
* Please make sure you are reading this newsletter weekly. It is my primary means of communicating with you. I try to limit the emails I send per week. The Tech Tidbits newsletter will also have important information from our tech gurus (think Google calendar). Information will be on the Harris Training Page also. Please let Jeremy know if you have any eCLASS questions.
* Breakfast in the cafeteria is going well. The cafeteria crew has done a great job with this transition and we appreciate their hard work! 3rd - 5th grade: please remember to use the trashcans in the hall rather than the ones in your classroom for breakfast garbage. We don't want breakfast to be sitting in your classrooms all day. In other cafeteria news, I am sad to report that Jolee Main has resigned from her position as assistant manager. We will miss her!
* We want to welcome Richard Stewart to the ASD team! He will be working with Courtney and Paola. He has subbed at Harris in the past, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Harris TEAM! I think I forgot to mention in the newsletter that Josephine Solome has also joined the ASD team. She has been with us for a couple weeks and is a fabulous addition to the Harris TEAM as well. Please welcome these new staff members.
* Speaking of new staff members, we have posted two positions: one instructional clerk and one intervention teacher (part-time) to support reading and math. I share this in case anyone asks you questions about the positions. It is my hope that the people filling these positions can provide some support most specifically to 1st-3rd grades since the classes are so large in those grades. More information to come.
* You should have received an email from the Gallup organization about the Q12 Engagement Survey. Please take 5 minutes (or less) to complete this 13 or 14 question survey. This provides information about employee engagement, and I look forward to sharing the results with you. This will also be helpful information for myself and the admin. team as we identify our strengths and areas for growth.
* We are working on the agenda for October 10th. While the schedule below is subject to change, I wanted to give you a brief outline of the day so you can plan accordingly...
Whole Group (8-10:15 or so)
Breakfast (we will feed you :)!)
AdvancED Staff Survey (everyone will need their computer)
RBES guidance
AdvancED Self-Assessment (This is required as we complete the district accreditation, so we will divide and conquer)
Break and snacks
Grade Level Collaborative Planning (to include Units of Study) (10:30 - 12:00)
Lunch on your own
Faculty Fun! Stay tuned for details (1-2:30 or so)
Afternoon to work on your own
Looking ahead...
* On a personal note, I need to have some minor oral surgery on October 3rd, so I will be out the 3rd and the 4th. I do hope to be back on the 5th although that is a principal meeting day, so I may be at the ISC. I tell you this only so that you know I won't be in the building; being absent is my least favorite thing, and if I could postpone this I would.
* For those of you wanting to participate in the Math/Science Assessments (there were about 8 of you that expressed an interest in this), the assessments will be administered on October 3rd at 3:45 PM.
* On October 6th the Assessment office will be with us at the faculty meeting and during collaborative planning session to continue our work on rigor and analyzing the standards. * Save the Date for October 15th from 2-4 PM. This will be our "official and formal" 50th celebration. We will be joined by Mr. Wilbanks, Mayor Harris, Dr. Murphy, and Dr. Coleman. We are working on the program, and I hope to have more details to share soon. This is sure to be a celebration of the amazing history of Harris. Please invite former staff to join us!
I know this will be a busy and productive week as we meet with parents. Please let the administrators know if you need one of us to attend any of your conferences.
Thank you for all you do to support the students and parents at HES!
EH
September 26th
CogAT Make-ups
Book Fair this week
September 27th
September 28th
Lunch provided by PTA
September 29th
Lunch provided by PTA
No Collaborative Planning
September 30th
Meaningful Parent - Teacher Conferences (info. from the Marshall Memo 9/19/16) (Originally titled “Parent-Teacher Conferences: Outdated or Underutilized?”)
“For some parents, teacher conferences are more like speed dating than substance,” says Sarah McKibben in this article in Education Update. Attendance at these conferences declines steadily as students move through the grades, from 89 percent in primary grades to 57 percent in high school according to one study, and many parents don’t believe they’re worth the trip. McKibben reports on some ideas for improvement:
• Rebrand. A more inviting name for these perennial meetings is “progress conferences.” This is more positive and doesn’t seem to exclude foster parents and guardians.
• Build relationships and trust up front. Home visits, frequent e-mailing or texting, and partnering around academic issues build the groundwork for face-to-face conferences.
• Finesse the childcare issue. “To pay a babysitter to watch your three younger siblings so a parent can attend a conference is not going to happen,” says Ohio high-school teacher Allison Ricket. She invites parents to bring along other children and provides crayons and paper in an area at the back of her classroom where they can entertain themselves during conferences.
• Accommodate. Some parents need an interpreter (children shouldn’t be asked to translate) and support with disabilities.
• Change the dynamic. It makes a difference if a teacher sits side by side with family members and doesn’t hold a clipboard or pad of paper; open hands suggest an open mind.
• Clarify learning outcomes. Surprisingly, only 7 percent of parents in a National Parent Teacher Association survey in K-8 schools said they were informed of grade-level curriculum expectations in conferences. One idea from the Flamboyan Foundation (called Academic Parent-Teacher Teams) is convening parents to talk as a group about curriculum expectations and teaching ideas three times a year, with parents following their children’s individual progress folders. Parents then have a single one-on-one parent conference once a year.
• Involve students. Progress conferences are much more helpful when students are at the table reporting on their progress, challenges, and goals. Advisory group meetings focus on preparing students to lead parent conferences and lobby their parents to attend.
• Listen. “Parents usually come in having an idea of what they want to talk about, so I like to be open and ready for whatever they need,” says Ricket. Although she has students’ grades and portfolios on hand, she lets parents go first and is careful to empathize with any concerns they have.
“Parent-Teacher Conferences: Outdated or Underutilized?” by Sarah McKibben in Education Update, September 2016 (Vol. 58, #9, p. 1, 4-5), available for purchase at http://bit.ly/2cjKtu4