Team Talk
The Road to Distinctions September 28, 2015
Kudos
Kudos to Ms. Cameron our Community Liaison, Ms. Cameron has been hard at work lining our campus up with volunteers and partnerships. To date here are some of the opportunities she has facilitated:
Mayors Rising Star Council
Glam University Partnership
World Vision Teacher Resource
Teen School Board
Back to school uniform/supply drive
PTSA/SBDM
Youth Revive
Roosevelt Alumni
And the list goes on. When you see her around the building thank her for her service and efforts.
Kudos are also in order for Ms. Dill who represented our school along with one of our scholars this week at the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Ms. Dill is currently working in concert with Mr. Dehorney on a Project Based Learning component using a robot for medical purposes in our Health Science Academy. If you would like to know more about the project, contact Mr. Dehorney or Ms. Dill.
"I Am Roosevelt, The Power of One"
When we have visitors in our building observing classes what type of feedback would you like to hear from them? If it is:
1. Every classroom provides a relevant, and meaningful, and connected curriculum with equitable levels of rigor every day.
2. Every classroom creates a learning experience that requires scholar engagement, communication with others, and active learning every day.
3. All end of unit assessments reflect multiple levels of cognitive demand and be used formatively to improve teaching and learning.
4. Every teacher actively participated in a collaborative, interdependent learning community for the purpose of improving scholar achievement.
This is the feedback that I envision hearing. What is yours?
Goal Setting Conference
Goal setting conferences started Monday September 21, 2015. There were some who did not make their meeting time or had to be re-scheduled. Monday September 28, 2015 will be the last day to have a goal setting conference done. Please refer to an email that Ms. Morris sent out on Friday September 19, 2015. If you missed your scheduled time, please contact Ms. Cazarez for a reschedule.
Please bring the following to your conferences:
Hard copy of SLO
SLO Rubric
Assessment given for SLO
SLO's are to to be uploaded in schoolnet by the end of business Monday September 28, 2015. They will scored by Thursday, October 1st.
ACT School Day
Good first instruction is still expected to go on as well as the conducting of spot observations. You must plan accordingly.
The exam will begin at approximately 9:30 and last until 2:30. We will transition without bells until the exam is complete.
Don't be This Guy
Engage scholars in accountable talk that will allow them to play a critical part of their own learning. This just does not happen by chance. Our Key action 1 (Improve the quality of instruction through purposeful planning) plays an important part in the facilitation process. When planning have scripted questions in which all levels of learners may gain entry into the lesson. Determine where scholars may have difficulty while learning a concept and plan for the misconceptions that may arise.
Plan ahead and think about the needs of your students. We know students have various strengths and challenges. We gather this information by collecting informal and formal data to inform our instruction. As we plan ahead, we must consider how to use their strengths to address their challenges. For example, students who don’t seem to be interested in reading often require material that focuses on their interests.
Model what you want students to do. Before we can hold students accountable, we must provide explicit instruction using “I do, we do and you do” model. Model for student with one focus in mind. Give them the necessary guided practice until they are able to navigate their way independently.
Monitor the amount of talking you do. Students need time to articulate their thoughts. Therefore, it is important that we provide directions and then give students time to work through them. They may work through them by writing, talking, or creating a product.
Give student opportunities to take responsibility for maintaining their classroom. Establishing routines that help students maintain their classroom is essential to creating a learning community. Many teachers spend a great deal of time staying after school or coming in early to clean up after students. But with routines and time they can maintain an organized, learning environment.
Teach students to ask questions to acquire information. Students spend a great deal of time answering questions. They need more time creating questions and discussing answers with their peers. “Ask three before me” is a great routine to implement to get students to move toward greater independence. It requires students to speak to or try three strategies to solve a problem before coming to the teacher.
Spirit Day
This Friday October 2, 2015 will be spirit day. You may wear jeans along with FDR paraphernalia. In order to wear jeans, you must wear a college or FDR shirt.
I am very proud of our senior class officers who ran the pep rally without adults having to intervene. This means we are molding productive citizens. Thanks to Ms. Dean for facilitating our senior leaders through out the process.
DDI Process
We will begin conducting our Data Driven Instruction meetings by content next week. All interim assessments will need to be scored using All in Learning and the data pulled for studying by Tuesday. We will begin our first meeting by Wednesday October 7, 2015.
The four questions below will be part of the process.
Each PLC has four questions at the heart of it.
1. What do scholars need to know and be able to do?
2. How do we know when they get it?
3. What do we do when they don't get it?
4. What will we do for the ones who get it?
Compliance Videos Extended Deadline
Mustang Family,
Every year, we are tasked with the mandatory compliance videos. I am sending you the info in advance, for those of you that would like to use the time before school starts to get them completed. Below is the information you will need.
For the new staff members, your credentials may not let you log into the system yet, so just wait until you have complete access, probably sometime after August 5, but try anyways. We all have a deadline (usually the end of October) to get the compliance training completed, however the district has not set it yet. Remember to print a copy of the certificate upon completing for each session for yourself, and submit one to the main office to Ms. Jones, before the deadline (Deadline is October 31, 2015).
You must LOG IN at the region 10 site with your credentials. All training courses are free. If you are prompted to pay, do not do so! Again, some staff members may not have access just yet on the Region 10 site. You may be prompted to create an account.
Click here —> COMPLIANCE LINK
Or Visit: www.region10.org (Log in)
Scroll down
Click on Compliance Trainings link
Here's the list of the trainings:
Blood borne Pathogens (2.0 CPE) (English and Spanish)
Diabetes Overview (1.0 CPE) (English and Spanish)
Let's Talk About It: Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, and Other Maltreatment of Children (1.0 CPE)
Texas Educators' Code of Ethics (1.0 CPE)
Legal Issues: FERPA and Copyright Law (1.0 CPE)
Legal Issues: Section 504 (1.0 CPE)
Legal Issues: Sexual Harassment (1.0 CPE)
Bullying Prevention for School Administrators, Teachers and Staff (2.0 CPE)
Suicide Prevention: Don't Keep It a Secret (2.0 CPE)
What You Need to Know About Concussions (2.0 CPE) (mandatory for PE coaches and optional for teachers)
This information initially went out in July, I have signed off on only 5 staff members certificates thus far. The deadline for this is October 13, 2015.
Vision Setting Values
Perseverance, bell to bell to instruction, proactive vs. reactive, systemic structures. What does it all mean?
Through systemic structures and being proactive we will be able to persevere through tough times while educating our scholars.
Commitment:
Purposeful planning, pride, respect, responsibility, active involvement. What does it all mean?
Through purposeful planning and active involvement, we will instill in our scholars pride, respect, and responsibility.
Development of craft:
Seeking PD, Initiative vs. Mandate, collaborative nature, continuous improvement. What does it all mean?
As professionals, we need to seek out PD to enhance our craft and interact with one another in a collaborative nature.
Mustang Academy
According to policy, 3 days belongs to the principal, and two days belong to the students for tutoring. Tuesday and Thursday are the days outlined for tutoring on our campus. These are the days you must be available for students to attend tutoring. I have elected to host Mustang academy every first Monday allowing you more time for your self. The hours for Mustang academy will be from 4:30-6:00 p.m.