Ram Nation News
Week of September 10, 2018
Vision
#OnANewLevel
I trust you had a great and relaxed weekend sharing with family and friends. I know we are ready for our fourth week in school.
We are #OnANewLevel very strong, with a lot of enthusiasm and positive attitude. We have had a very smooth start of the year. I continue to see great evidence of a positive climate and culture by seeing staff members smiling, shaking hands or giving students high-fives, narrating the positive, and building relationships with students. Also, there is great evidence of planning and preparation to provide students the best instruction possible. Your leadership has made a significant impact on student learning already.
We will need to stay the course and make adjustments to ensure that accelerated learning is taking place. Our focus on improving teaching and learning through the effective implementation of PLCs, progress monitoring through Data Driven Instruction, classroom observations using the TEI rubric and other observation tools, and taking advantage of various professional learning opportunities as well as your collaboration with colleagues will allow us to continuously accelerate improvement.
I am very proud of the work done and grateful that each one of you has embraced the challenge of accelerating transformation for our students who need and deserve the best. Because of our shared beliefs and our implementation, our students will have a bright future with a life of opportunities.
THANK YOU
- All the grade levels who have updated bulletin boards or have displayed student work; I have noticed many appealing and purposeful displays reflecting what is taking place in our classrooms.
- Ms. Perez, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Tucker, and Ms. Woods for their commitment and passion for learning. They attended the workshop led by Paul Bambrick on leading effective weekly data meetings; we look forward to strengthening our own practices based on this learning.
- RLA team for their implementation of the balanced literacy block. We know that this is a big piece of our CIP and directly supports all of our subjects. I have seen great roll out of independent reading and our students are showing their excitement about reading.
Instructional Practices
Aggressively Monitoring
Modeling
Groups
Climate and Culture
Volleyball Team
Raining inside the school
Staff Vs. Students
Collaboration, Learning, and Support
REMINDERS FOR THE FOURTH WEEK OF SCHOOL
- As we work on documenting the progress our students are making, remember our policy regarding failure rates and the various opportunities needed to ensure our students are successful. EIA (Regulation) (TEI 2.2, 4.2, 4.5)
- Continue to be prepared and provide high expectations for our students. Remember, consistency is key and will set up our students for success. (TEI 1.5 and 3.2)
- Greet students with smiles and consistent firmness (TEI 3.3)
- In order to have a solid foundation for our climate and culture, it is critical that we practice and be intentional about one of our core values - Inspiring Relationships. During arrival and transitions, let's ensure we are present in the hallways and be very intentional in narrating the positive while encouraging students to follow WALQ and getting to class on time. (TEI 3.3)
- Be very consistent in the effective implementation of various practices discussed during our TEI orientation and lesson alignment conversations. With regards to Alignment (learning objective), the proficient rating states: Focuses students at the beginning and throughout the lesson, by clearly stating (TEI 2.1)
- What they are learning
- Why it is important
- What mastery looks like
- How to connect it to prior knowledge and their own lives and explaining to students
- Engage learners throughout your lessons. It will support the increase in student achievement and reduce disruptions. While students are more familiar with engagement strategies such as Think Pair Share, we need to ensure that we have taught, modeled, and practiced these skills in order for effective implementation (TEI 2.4 and 3.3).
- Submit lesson plans by Thursday at 6:00 p.m. (TEI 4.2)
DAILY EVENTS
- Education Go Get It Week!!! See flyer sent by counselors for more details.
- Staff is reminded that summer dress code ended Friday, Aug. 31. The district will return to full business attire on Tuesday, Sept. 4. For more information about the district’s dress code, see DH Local.
- Meet with your grade level teams to align your Lesson Plans, continue the analysis of the common assessment, and analyze data profiles for your students.
- 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Testing Meeting - Mrs. Mooty and Ms. Davis
- 4:45 Grade Level Meeting after school - Location shared by Grade Level Administrator
- Progress Reports go home - Ms. Reyes will print and place in your boxes.
- Meet with your grade level teams to align your Lesson Plans, continue the analysis of the common assessment, and analyze data profiles for your students.
- 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - Middle School Campus Activity Coordinator Meeting - Edison Middle School, 2940 Singleton Blvd. - Ms. Baker
- 4:45 - 6:00 After school collaboration with PLCs to complete lesson plans and/or analyze data to solidify tutoring plans.
- Calibration Walks - We will be walking classrooms checking for alignment, exemplars, and aggressively monitoring.
- Meet with your grade level teams to align your Lesson Plans, continue the analysis of the common assessment, and analyze data profiles for your students.
- Fire Drill - Mr. Willis
- 4:30 - 7:30 CILT at Edison MS.
- 4:45 - 6:00 After school collaboration with PLCs to complete lesson plans and/or analyze data to solidify tutoring plans.
Thursday, September 13-
- Department Collaboration PLC - Department Chair and AP/CIC
- 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. - ACE Connection - Meadows Foundation Visit. We will have 30 guests who will be visiting classrooms and collaborating to learn about the impact of our practices in student achievement.
- 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. ACE training at Edison - Culture Team: Deescalation. Counselors and Ms. Davis
- 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Algebra I and 8th Grade RLA Pre-AP Parent Meeting - Ms. Perez and Ms. Vargas
- 6:00 - Lesson Plans Due
- 6:00/7:00 Volleyball Game at Loos Field House Vs. Franklin MS
Friday, September 14 -
- Professional Development Plans (PDPs) Due - Follow instructions from your appraiser.
- Development of the Student Learning Objective (SLO) and submission online using Cornerstone (see below for steps and refer to separate e-mail with more details and attachments)
- Campus Emergency Operations Plan (CEOP) due - Mr. Willis
Saturday, September 15 -
- 11:00 a.m. Cross Country Meet at Jesse Owens Complex - Ms. Rendon
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, September 18
- After School Program Begins
September 21 -
- Compliance Video Deadline
September 24 - September 28-
- District 1st Six Weeks Assessment window
The Educator Collective: The Journal
Keep in your thoughts and prayers!!!
Congratulations!!!
Happy Birthday -
We want to wish you the best and many blessings for the years to come.
9/5 – Iresha Hayes
9/7 - Angelica Saucedo
9/28 – Perla Calderon
9/29 – Carlos Carballo
Rusk Middle School
Email: jcordoba@dallasisd.org
Website: www.dallasisd.org/rusk
Location: 2929 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX, United States
Phone: 972-925-2000
Twitter: @RuskAllTheWayUp