Bobcat Bulletin
Week of October 14, 2019
This Week's Events
- Devon at PD all day in Lansing
Tuesday 10/15
- Devon at PD all day in Lansing
- MTSS Meeting 10:00am
Wednesday 10/16
- ET in Hartnett 3:50 - 5:35
Thursday 10/17
- First Grade AM Field Trip to Maybury
Friday 10/18
- K-3 Kindness Assembly 9:15am
- 4-5 Kindness Assembly 10:00am
Next Week's Events
Tuesday 10/22
- MTSS Meeting 10:00am
- Devon at 1:15 Meeting at S.Springs
- Lighthouse Meeting 3:50pm
Wednesday 10/23
Thursday 10/24
- K-3 ROAR Assembly 9:15am
- 4-5 ROAR Assembly 10:00am
Friday 10/25
- PTA Trunk or Treat - 6:00pm
Looking Ahead
October
- Meeting to review growth plan - Link below to sign up if you have not done so yet
October 30
- Fire Drill 3:05pm using NaviGate
October 31
- Halloween Parade
November 5
- PD Day
November 6
- Picture Retake Day
November 7
- Barnes & Noble Night
Growth Plan Meeting
Social-Emotional Learning Opportunity
Please check out this great opportunity called Growing Up 2020: Walk in the Park or Social Jungle? New Ways to Manage Unfriendly Behavior and Prevent Bullying by Kids Empowered. If you are interested in attending (I'm REALLY thinking about going myself), please let me know and we might be able to cover the registration fee for you. It's on a Saturday, so no sub is needed. Click the following link for more information: https://survivingthesocialjungle.com/
Bridges in Mathematics
Bridges Math Learning Center has an implementation tab that contains links to a variety of blog topics. They have a great blog on strategies to assess the four elements of fluency: accuracy, efficiency, flexibility, and appropriate strategy selection without using timed testing. You will have to login to the Bridges site to access the content. Once there click on the implementation tab!
Lesson Plans for Observations
Thank you to everyone for sharing with me your daily/weekly schedules. Now that we are well under way and you are filling in those boxes with your lessons, something to think about is the importance of planning ahead and for what you are planning. Research shows that there is a strong correlation between the level of planning and student outcomes. This is going to be particularly important this year as we are learning the new resources.
Thank you to everyone for sharing with me your daily/weekly schedules. We will have to be especially intentional about our planning this year as we all learn new materials. We need to be sure we are thinking about learning targets, success criteria, instructional strategies, questioning, student talk, performance task, and assessments because they might be different than what we have done in the past. Not only that, your TG (teacher's guide) may not address these things at all, or well, so we have to think about those things even if the TG doesn't mention them. I want you to know I understand the learning curve! It's huge.
So some of what I'm seeing is this: Teachers teaching directly from the Math or F/P teacher's guide, and no personal written lesson plan. In that case, it's actually a good thing that you're teaching from the TG. It means you're working hard to learn new materials and to implement a District curriculum resource. This is PCC! Yay you! However, remember the state requires (House Bill 1249) that I check to ensure lesson plans are being written and that a standard appears on the plan.
So this is what I need you to do: If you're teaching directly from a teacher's guide, whatever subject, please write on your lesson plans "TG p. (whatever), and then continue to list standard, learning target, performance task, and any assessment or differentiation plans you may have. Principals are looking to see what the intended learning is and how you and your students will determine if they met the target. Many of you post all the above on the board, and I photograph that in the classroom, but I need to see your lesson plans to ensure you're writing lesson plans in advance. A blank plan book, or no plan is going to be unacceptable. I will take a photo of your plan book when I'm in your classroom. You don't need to do anything else, or send me anything, unless you're using an online Planbook, in which case just share the Planbook with me or I can take a picture of the screen.
Updated Procedures about Fundraising
In January 2017 our administrative procedures were updated regarding Fundraising. Language about Online Fundraising was included in that procedure. The language in that procedure prohibits asking for or securing funds from the general public for school purposes. This includes (but is not limited to) services such as DonorsChoose.org, GoFundMe.com, and Amazon Wishlists. Asking your Winchester families for suggested supplies is still perfectly okay. This part of the procedure is specific to asking for supplies or money online.
Please see the specific language below:
Online Fundraising
No employee shall create, post, or sponsor any online fundraiser seeking to secure or generate funds from the public for school purposes, purchases for school, or utilizing the school district’s name, logo or likeness, without prior written consent from the Superintendent, or designee. If permission to create, post, or sponsor an online fundraiser is provided by the Superintendent, or designee, any property secured or purchased through such fundraising activities shall become the property of the District and not the employee. This procedure applies, but is not limited to, online fundraising services such as DonorsChoose.org, Kickstarter.com, GoFundMe.com, CrowdRise.com, and similar sites.
If you currently have something posted on one of the services listed above, or one that may be considered online fundraising, we ask that it be taken down immediately. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.
Money Collected from Students
At the last Board Meeting the annual fiscal audit was presented. One recommendation the accounting office wants to reenforce is that any cash and/or checks collected in the classrooms be turned into the building office daily. Any cash or checks that remain in the building overnight should be secured in the locked safes available in each building. Under no circumstances should money be collected from the students and then taken home by staff. Neither should payments be made from the cash collected.
What does this mean for Amerman? Nothing new :) We will continue with the same procedure that has been in place. When you are collecting money from your students for any reason, please let Beth know and she will put an envelope in your box in the morning. That envelope will contain a class list and deposit slip. Please make sure that envelope is returned to the office by 4:00pm. We will lock up the money safely and the empty envelope will magically appear back in your box in the morning.
Extended Time
Our next ET will be Wednesday, October 16th in Mr. Hartnett's room. We will cover the following topics:
- EpiPen
- NaviGate
- LIM website
- K-3 F&P Word Study
- 4-5 Bridges next unit overview and workplace
- Humanities - Building a cohesive humanities unit
As a follow up from last week's meeting for NaviGate Prepared. There should now be a shortcut on your laptop to access NaviGate.
- Please make sure you can find the shortcut
- Please make sure you can login to the online version or the mobile app (if you choose) and check out the flipcharts and the crisis team. If you can't login, please let me know.
LC Corner - Curriculum, Literacy & Learning...oh my!
BEST PRACTICE STRATEGY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM - SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION
Turning our attention to a strategy that is a best practice across all subject areas, this is just a little refresher on the value of small group instruction, and tips to consider when planning for small groups and documenting the work of your small groups. We all know that student engagement can be increased when groups are smaller. We also know that it can be more manageable to differentiate and give individualized instruction in smaller groups. So whether you are bringing a small group together in your classroom for a guided reading group, a strategy group, a math focus group or even a social studies refresher group there are a few options to keep in mind to make this time productive for you and your students.
There is a lot of research out there about the effectiveness of small groups and how best to organize your students. (If interested John Hattie and others have written quite a bit about what is effective for students. John Hattie and Small Groups) Sometimes though, it is helpful to get ideas from those walking in our shoes. The ideas that follow come from a teacher of 30+ years, Kari Yates. You can check out her blog and site for further ideas. Small Group Instruction - Simply Inspired Teaching
Begin with the end in mind. Instead of asking ourselves, “What can the other children do while I work with small groups?” we will ask ourselves, “How can small groups help all students become engaged learners, readers, writers, mathematicians?” When we flip the question, it becomes clear what we’ll be doing during small group instruction; we’ll be helping them develop strategies, agency, and joy on the path to independence.
Downsize. When it comes to small group work, less is usually more.
Small means small. The effectiveness of small group work is diminished with every extra student we add. So, it’s essential to keep small groups small. Groups of 3-4 are ideal. Groups of 5-6 can work beautifully if the needs are very similar.
Shorter might be better. Shorter more frequent and focused interactions are often better than lengthy sessions.
Schedule for EQUITY not EQUALITY. When it comes to small group frequency and length – one size definitely does not fit all. We need to let go of the notion that meeting with every child every day for an equal amount of time is some kind of sign of a being a super teacher.
Push yourself beyond the level. Knowing instructional reading levels is important, but is simply not enough to plan for meaningful instruction.
Regroup. Keeping your groups flexible and fluid means that group make-up and purpose will change frequently throughout the year, sometimes even from day-to-day.
Narrow your focus. All students have many needs. All texts present many possible teaching points. But in order for small group work to be most effective, try to focus on ONE teaching point/strategy at a time. One. Clean. Clear. Focused.
Keep refining your small group practices. We all come to the small group table with different levels of experience and expertise. What matters most is that we keep reflecting on this powerful practice and growing alongside our students – one small but meaningful step at a time.
Need some tips for tracking, planning, and documenting small group time? See if any of these FREE forms from teacherspayteachers might help. Small Group Documentation Forms. As we continue to get to know our new curriculum resources and materials and combine that with our knowledge of best practices and what students need, we will only see more and more students succeed.
What greater joy can a teacher feel than to witness a child’s success?
― Michelle L. Graham
link to Social and Emotional Learning
October is National Bullying Prevention Month.
An idea for an activity/conversation/class meeting that you might do with your students that ties into the social and emotional learning core competencies of:
- Social Awareness
- Relationship Skills
Talking Brings Us Together
Help your students know that they are not alone by having a dialogue about classroom challenges. Educators can lead a conversation about fears or challenges they faced in school, and encourage students to discuss what fears or challenges they face.
Now that I've been observed...how do I upload and label evidence into pivot again?
1. Upload, name, and code evidence to a specific indicator.
2. To check where you have evidence by indicator.
Dismissal Duty
Week of 10/14
- Bus - Borchard
- Loop - Babich, Vertrees, Beson, Long
Week of 10/21
- Bus - Henderson
- Loop - McMaster, McMaster, Pavlich, Wells
Random Useless Facts
In San Francisco it is illegal to dry your car with used underwear.
- In California and Tennessee shooting animals from your car is illegal, unless that animal is a whale.
- In New Jersey you are not allowed to frown at a police officer.
- In Missouri it is now illegal to honk the horn of someone else’s car.
- The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
- In ancient Greece women didn’t start counting their age until their wedding day, rather than the actual day they were born. They believed the wedding date was the real start of a woman’s life. (Hey, I don’t make ‘em up, I just type the stuff in…)