McAllister Minutes
Week of: December 3 - December 7
McAllister Minutes
It is bound to be a busy first week of December! We start the week off with MAP testing and cap the week with a Friendsmas Party - Please make plans to attend, you don't want to miss this time outside of school with staff (Information Contained Below). This week ahead students will have an opportunity to show just how much they have grown this year with regards to MAP - Please ensure that we respect the testing environment when moving throughout the halls to give every student the same opportunity to show what they know.
Below I have listed a few updates and reminders to activities planned for the weeks ahead:
- Monday. December 3 - Monday. December 10 - MAP Testing (Click Here for Schedule)
- Tuesday, December 4 - Leadership Meeting - PL Room
- Friday, December 7 - Friendsmas Party (Staff Holiday Party) - 6:30 (See memo below)
- Thursday, December 13 - Friday, December 14 - Drama Club Performance - 6pm
- Friday, December 21 - Last Day of School - (Share memo below with parents)
With an intentional focus of consistency on being curious & crazy for kids you will ALWAYS find a culture that is student focused!
Have a WONDERful Week!
Lesson Plans & Gradebooks
Lesson Plans
Each week, the administrative team holds a weekly PLC. As the instructional leaders of the school, our PLC will always have an instructional focus. As you know, we have made a commitment this year to improve lesson planning and meeting the needs of ALL levels of learners through appropriate instructional strategies, planning and assessment. With this comes a commitment to review lesson plans and provide feedback. Moving forward, we will choose a grade level, resource area, or specials area each week to review and communicate this at least one week in advance. Next week (12/10), Resource Areas lesson plans will be reviewed by the full administrative team, including our ILT. Lesson plans are submitted to the teacher specific Google folder. Nothing is hidden, nothing is secret. Clearly, this isn’t a “gotcha” since you are being told which plans are being reviewed. But, much like anything, if you aren’t regularly practicing the skill, that will become evident when it is intensely reviewed. The expectation is that every content/course is preparing, submitting, and using lesson plans weekly. Some of you write unit plans - GREAT! These still should be reviewed and put into a weekly plan. Much like a monthly budget, if you prepare it and look at it just once in a month, you will never be (financially) on the best track.
Gradebooks
Gradebooks, first and foremost, are a form of communication. Communication is an area in which we should always strive for improvement. And, some of you are really needing to improve your use of PowerSchool gradebook as an effective form of communication. Every teacher should be in his/her gradebook EVERY week at least once, making sure grades that are recorded are up-to-date. If you stop and think about the gradebook being a form of communication, it makes sense that it could be considered as a tool to improve student achievement and progress. As the principal, and as the instructional leader here, I have a strong expectation that all gradebooks accurately and effectively communicate a student's progress.
Lesson Plans and Gradebooks – “The Connection”
You plan your instruction, and you plan your assessments. Assessment results are then recorded in the gradebook in PowerSchool. If your gradebook isn’t being updated regularly/properly, it is probably because you aren’t planning regularly/properly. If the PS gradebook is going to be an effective form of communication, then you must use it efficiently and effectively. This includes reporting grades in a timely manner. How, exactly, are stakeholders to use the grades (communication) to positively impact the student achievement? Right? How are stakeholders going to help us support the work in classrooms and our school if student achievement is either not being reported or being reported late? So, I am adding gradebook reviews to our weekly lesson plan reviews - when we review your lesson plans we will also review your gradebooks.
If there is something more about our expectations regarding lesson planning and grading that you believe should be better communicated by me, please let me know.
If you need help with lesson planning, your gradebook, or communication, ask me, please. Or, maybe you just want to talk about some point in this information- that is fine, too. If I am not a good go-to for you, how about your grade chair, ILT or supervising AP? Let's work together to make sure the foundational elements of our instruction are solid.
We do so much very well, and for that I am always thankful. I can truthfully say that there is not a day that I am not thankful that I am at MES with such talented educators. Thank you, all, for your commitment to excellence and success. And, for your commitment to being better.
Happy Birthday to You!
- 12/6 - Rachel Lofton
- 12/9 - Angie Molpus
- 12/12 - Sara Kornegay
- 12/15 - Eric Bartley
- 12/15 - Emily Dixon
- 12/17 - Linda Smith
- 12/19 - Mary Waters
- 12/26 - Chritina Howley
- 12/26 - Kimberly Smith
- 12/26 - Krista Bingman
- 12/30 - Holly Patselas
Making Moves at McAllister
- From 3rd Grade Team to Ms. Werking - Thanks for jumping in and letting us learn from you and your readers! You rock!
7 Mindsets
McAllister Elementary School
Email: cmiller@bryan.k12.ga.us
Website: https://mes.bryan.k12.ga.us/
Location: 224 Veterans Memorial Parkway, Richmond Hill, GA, United States
Phone: 912-851-4040
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/McAllisterElementaryRH
Twitter: @McAllister_ES