Thunderbird Times
December 4 - 10th
Power of Hope
We instill Hope in our students.
If we take a step back and consider the amount of time our student's parents convey the message of "I believe in you..." , we might be unpleasantly surprised on how often they do not hear these words or receive this message. It is our job to inspire our students. If we do not take this responsibility, then who will??
When we inspire Hope, we instill motivation, we give them the power to believe in themselves; once students believe in themselves and that they can succeed, then they are much more willing to try. Sometimes educators get frustrated and ask themselves, 'Why won't the students even try?' - the answer may be because they've had years of hopelessness and when you have felt overwhelming defeat time and time again, the urge 'to try' is hard to find. We must find it for out students, give Hope back, and the students will thrive.
The power of how we make the students feel is significant. Give Hope to our students and they will shine.
Onward!
The Process
Moving students towards mastery is difficult. Teach students, guide them, setup stations and learning opportunities, motivate, assess, analyze, intervene, reteach, assess, and repeat ....
But if we focus on the process, and do it well, the results will come.
Above quote - Eric Thomas
Small Group Binder Documentation
Small Group Binder Documentation
UIL on Saturday
13th Week in Review
We have completed 13 Weeks of School!! Our students are thriving and we have created a momentum that will carry us to the end of the semester if we continue working on the process and moving forward!!
We had our campus Spelling Bees! 4 & 5th Grade, 2nd & 3rd, and Pk - 1st Grade! The events were great, and the students were VERY excited to share how they did! Students had pride in their work.
We scheduled our ACP testing dates, see below for specific dates.
Parents expressed their appreciation for the change of student culture during Coffee wit the Principal. Parents have stated they have seen a change in the campus, students discussing what they learned at school, and students feeling eager to come back to campus the next day. Lets continue this momentum forward!
Parents were also excited about the upcoming carnival and more parent volunteers signed up.
Our students attended UIL Competition on Saturday!!
Our first Saturday School session started on December 2nd.
Dallas ISD's Climate Survey has started; you should receive a link in your email.
10 more Instructional Days; keep moving forward!!
Teacher Shout Outs!!
Thank you to Adams, Arnal, Cruz, and Brown for going above and beyond in small group implementation and documentation!! Please see below for more details!
Thank you to Ortega!! She took our students to UIL this Saturday and they had a wonderful opportunity and experience!
Thank you for every teacher that is supporting our students in Saturday School! Saturday school started on Dec 2!
Thank you Padilla!! While observing her classroom last week, she has trained students to transition between stations in a very organized and time efficient manner! Those kids are prepared!
Thank you to the Teaches who helped setup, run, and prepare our 4th and 5th grade Spelling Bee!
Thank you Mrs. Quintero, Runnels, Dena, Lopez, cafeteria staff, and others who helped setup for our Friday Cookout!!
15 Day Focus
No Workbook Wednesdays:
at minimum, we will have hands on experiences, authentic learning, and high powered questioning in classrooms on Wednesdays. No textbook driven questioning and instruction.
Small Group Instruction:
Teachers should have pre-planned groupings, learning activities, and TEKS for small group instruction. This will also be documented in the binder so when the Leadership Team enters a classroom after small groups have ended, we can still see evidence of implementation.
Lesson Planning:
On Monday, as a campus, we created 'look-fors' during and after instructional planning. Planning should not be geared towards 'page 37, questions 1 through 5'. Instructional planning is intentionally designing lessons and activities to move students forward towards mastery. Lesson implementation should show evidence, clarity, and engagement that were discussed during planning.
TEKS Understanding:
The most challenging TEKS for students should be diagrammed and studied by the teacher so that we lessons can be scaffolded to increase student achievement on those standards.
High Level Questioning:
In pairing up with releasing textbook type instruction, High Level questioning should accompany the instructional planning in preparing lessons. Questioning should be leveraged with Depth of Knowledge and high impact cognitive demand. Resources: Hattie's Barometer of Influence, Costa's Level of Questioning, etc.
Upcoming Events
December 5: MLK Semifinals
December 8: Winter Carnival, 4 - 7pm!! Please let ALL your parents know
December 9: Robotics Tournament, Dallas Mayor's Race, DISCOVER Dallas ISD
December 11 -15: Book Fair
December 15: Insight Global Gift donation and celebration
Saturday School: Dec 2, 9, 16
December 18: ACP; 4th ELA & 5th Science
December 19: ACP; K-5 Math
December 20: ACP; K-5 Reading
December 22: Winter Break Begins
PLCs Dec 4 - Dec 8 will focus on:
Interventions
(please come prepared to discuss During School & After School Interventions; Small Group Interventions, After School Tutoring, & bring your Small Group Binder)
In coming to a close, we have been focusing on Instructional Planning and Small Group instruction these past few weeks. Recently, Small Group Binders were reviewed and several teachers stood out as having their logs completed, organized, and showed how students have been progressing. These Teachers will receive parking spaces as recognition for their efforts!
Principal and Assistant Principal Parking spaces from Dec 5 to Dec 11: Cruz & Brown
Principal and Assistant Principal Parking spaces from Dec 12 to Dec 18: Adams & Arnal
Thank you to Cruz, Brown, Adams, and Arnal for taking this initiative 100% forward!
We are the on the path to be Premier Campus in Dallas ISD!!
- Chavez Learning Center will increase academic achievement by increasing the percentage of students earning 'Meeting Grade Level" in all subjects.
- Chavez Learning Center will increase the campus Culture and Climate by improving its relationships, morale, and positive interactions between staff, parents, and students.
- Chavez Learning Center will work continually to improve and deliver high quality instruction to all students.