Chancellor News and Notes
September 21, 2015
Happy Fall Ya'll!
It is now officially fall! It may not feel like it, but that's what the calendar says. Those of you who have TEKS related to seasons, good luck! I remember as a first grade teacher always saying with our videos, books, and activities, "this is what fall looks like, just not in Texas," over and over again! Because when they are tested, it's on traditional Northern fall characteristics! A bit unfair to our very concrete-minded younger students! Sorry, little soapbox there, ha! Anyway, hopefully our weather will keep cooling off and we can use those awesome Chancellor jackets or hoodies you may have ordered from Lisa! Enjoy today's newsletter and have a fabulous week!
REMINDERS FOR THIS WEEK:
- Open House is this Thursday! Work with your team and partners to get your slideshows or packets ready, and don't forget to include the slides Lisa sent last week for Title I. Sign-in sheets will be sent out before Thursday/ You will also be talking about the Parent-Teacher-Student Compact, which we will get out to you this week as well.
- We are in the 5th week of school- next week is the 6th week...have you worked on your grades?? I hope so! Grades should be uploaded for progress reports by Monday 8 am, October 5.
- Raptor...please be on time and sign in daily!
- Reinforcing hallway behavior- please help everyone! We are all on the same team, and the goal is Level 0 in the hallways. Give out SHINE awards to classes that are doing a great job! Praise individual students! Model expectations so students know what it looks like! If someone is struggling due to class size or hallway congestion (there are times during the day it gets BAD in the central hall), please HELP them if you can. Classes and teachers all have "off" days, so be there for each other! :)
20 for 20 Grade Level Shine Awards!
You may have noticed the gigantic display in the downstairs hallway, with all grade levels listed at the bottom. We are starting a behavior incentive this week! Every whole class SHINE award given out will be posted here, and when your grade level reaches 20 SHINE awards, you earn 20 minutes FREE CHOICE FRIDAY as a grade level. Extra recess, Go Noodle, gametime- whatever classes choose. So major request to all adults in the building- write some whole class SHINE awards to classes you see doing a fabulous job in the hallway, cafeteria, staircase, in the classroom, or anywhere you notice! Let's help our grade levels earn that free choice! Teachers- remind your class you need to have at least one class SHINE award for your class to participate in the free choice time if your grade level gets to 20! Have to earn it in order to receive the reward! Any questions, feel free to ask me or any STARS committee member on your teams!
Need Laptops or iPads? We have carts full of them! :)
You can check out class sets of laptops or iPads just by emailing Stephanie Bennett in the library to reserve.
Don't forget to turn in box tops! Check your tissue boxes now, as some of the dates may expire!
Parking Warning...
We have received a notice from the Brays Village HOA. There have been a number of complaints from residents, of cars blocking driveways and mailboxes across the street from Chancellor, and residents are not able to exit their driveways at times. Cars have also been parked in areas that are not parking spaces in the parking lot, causing the car rider line to be blocked and slowed down for dismissal. Please also include a note in your sub plans about parking. It is very possible to be ticketed or to be towed, so please be careful where you park!
How do I get my students to become independent and proactive in their learning?
Creating a classroom environment centered on growth and goal setting can be difficult at first, but once established, students become caretakers of their own learning. You are the facilitator, the assistant, and the mentor in the process of their growth. Our ultimate goal is for students to become independent thinkers and responsible global-minded citizens, but we have to lay the groundwork for their development. A book you might enjoy, and is easy to read and use, is The Leader in Me, by Stephen R. Covey and Sean Covey, which focuses on how to transform students into leaders using the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As seen in the graphic below, the idea is to shift paradigms to create opportunities for leadership.
All students have talent, all students are capable, and all students have the capacity to take ownership of their learning. There are two article below that talk about "The Growth Mindset" and using data to help students set goals and take ownership- short reads but well worth it, and you will get some tangible ideas to take to your classroom!
The Leader in Me
Easy read, and great ideas to implement immediately. There is also a blog and a website, and of course Pinterest has a wealth of examples of what teachers and schools have done in using the 7 Habits with students.
Habit 1: Be Proactive!
The most important of the 7 habits! Good for students and adults alike! Basically, you make your own choices, and you control your own actions and emotions.
Leadership Notebooks
Students can take ownership of their own data, and with your help, work toward goals they have set with you, and track their own progress.
Data Walls in the Classroom
I saw some fabulous data walls used in classrooms on Pinterest the other day, and thought I would share this one. It is a classroom math test tracking chart, and the teacher/students track the class average on each test. The goal is to keep growing from test to test. Wouldn't this be an easy way to get your whole class involved in data? Notice the teacher has already laid out space for the entire set of unit tests, and you would assume there's some great conversation on goal-setting and teaching on how to reach goals going on in this classroom! Now that testing has starting in many of your rooms, something to think about- how to make our testing more meaningful to our kids, and how to motivate them to do better?