Gabilan Elementary School
October 18-29, 2021
Safe Routes to School: Walk/Bike to School Programs (LCAP Goal 2/4)
The past two Wednesdays, Gabilan has launched our Walking School Bus with the county health department! Parents have met the program leads at Liberty Chapel and walked with our students to school. Characters in costumes, snacks and information on safe walks to school have been provided. It has been well received!
Counselor’s Corner (LCAP Goal 2)
We are so fortunate here at Gabilan to have Jeannine Hunter! She has been going into classrooms and teaching lessons on bullying prevention! They have been so successful and well received that parents have even shared with us that their child has come home sharing about the lessons!
Reminder: COVID-19 Prescreening (LCAP Goal 5)
Staff please remember to complete your COVID-19 prescreening survey each morning in Frontline. If you answer YES to any of the questions, please text Abbie immediately so that we can determine next steps. It is imperative that we all only attend work when we are healthy in order and not spread sickness unnecessarily. Your efforts with completing this each morning are highly appreciated!
Employee of the Month (LCAP Goal 5)
At the board meeting this week, we were fortunate to be able to recognize two wonderful Gabilan Employees!
My first wonderful Gabilan employee that I would like to recognize is Rosa Canchola. Rosa is the bright smile that you walk into when you open the door as soon as you get to Gabilan. Her positive energy is infectious to students, staff and families. She is always willing to lend a helping hand and encourages others to do the same. Rosa is always the first one to attempt to assist others and has a can do attitude. She is proactive and works to solve problems before they even start. Her kind heart always ensures that staff, students and families feel taken care of. She is always available for all of our stakeholders and does everything in her power to assist them. She is an incredibly hard worker and wants nothing more than to see the kids get everything they need to succeed. She is creative, innovative and is great at sharing new ideas! Our school is lucky to have her on our team! Congratulations, Rosa!
I would also like to recognize Pablo Padilla! Pablo is an amazingly strong veteran teacher. His strength is his coach-like teaching style that gears students into believing that they can accomplish anything. Pablo is known for taking the “tough” kiddos and turning them around to becoming responsible. He has been instrumental in our PLC process at our site as he always is on track to continue to improve both his own practices and Gabilan’s as a whole. He has continually motivated other teachers by being both a great listening ear and problem solver for all staff. He is innovative and truly cares about the well-being of not only all students, but also everyone on staff. He is instrumental in making Gabilan even better each year as he always seems to radiate what is best for our students! Pablo is truly a teacher that makes an impact! We are so fortunate to have had him as part of the Gabilan family for so many years! Congratulations, Pablo!
PTO Meeting (LCAP Goal 4)
This week Alma, Jeannine, Julybeht, Luz, Claudia and myself met with our PTO. We are excited to see the work that they are taking on and the collaboration we have! It is so exciting that our PTO is so active now!
ENSURE INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE (LCAP Goal 2)
As continued from the past week’s bulletin, we will be sharing more of the segment from the book Leading the Rebound by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Dominique Smith and John Hattie.
{“Classroom instruction shouldn’t look the same as it did in 2019. The digital competencies gained by students and teachers should remain sharp, and the best of these practices should become a part of the instructional flow of learning in the regular classroom. The danger, however, is that the return to school will devolved to a business-as-usual mindset. The relief from the resumption of face-to-face teaching can lull educators into a false sense of security. The temptation to fall back to old patterns is strong. In truth, thins weren’t always instructionally satisfactory pre-pandemic….
Observations of classroom instruction are more complex when students are working across platforms. It should be expected that during any given observation, you might see some students working virtually with others or independently, while others are in direct contact with the teacher, and others are working off-line without the teacher. The dynamic and fluid nature of instruction means that a lesson is likely to encompass a number of instructional moves.} ….
COLLABORATING WITH PEERS:
Peer collaboration and discussion is a linchpin of student learning. In particular, discussion, with an effect size of .82, speeds learning. However, this is more than just putting desks or screens together and hoping they’ll talk about something. The task design itself is crucial and should promote student collective efficacy and intellectual independence. As we noted in Rebound, we recommend a goal that 50% of the instructional minutes, averaged each week, should be devoted to students collaborating and interacting with their peers. Not 50% consecutive minutes, but a goal that ensures that there is a lot more talk in the classrooms. They also may need to be taught specific skills to contribute to groups and to build confidence to not only engage with the group but believe that the group can arrive at better learning than any individual (including them).
Look for and Listen fors in PEER COLLABORATION:
• Discussion:
- Students have opportunities to engage in discussion in the live session.
- The discussion is aligned with the academic learning in the session.
• Routines:
- The collaboration routine is familiar to students. If the routine is newer to students, it is accompanied with explicit instructions and modeling of the routine.
- The collaboration routine used is developmentally appropriate.
• Statement of Goals:
- The demonstration includes a statement of the goal for the lesson.
- The teacher names the skill, concept or strategy being demonstrated.
• Monitoring:
- Student thinking is observed and monitored by the teacher.
- The teacher provides affirmations and redirection when needed.
- The teacher and students provide feedback to one another about the collaboration.
• Task Design:
- The task or problem is designed to promote intellectual interdependence.
- The task is designed so that students use interpersonal skills and communication to successfully collaborate.
• Links to Learning:
- Students set goals before collaborative task and monitor their success after the task.
- Students are asked to draw conclusions and make connections to new or prior knowledge.
MORE TO COME IN OUR STAFF MEETING AND NEXT BULLETIN…
RED RIBBON WEEK ACTIVITIES
October 25-29, 2021
Bi-Weekly Calendar
Gabilan Elementary School
Website: https://gab.soledadusd.org/
Location: 330 Walker Drive, Soledad, CA, USA
Phone: (831) 678-6440
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GabilanSoledadUSD/