Trantwood Times
"For the Love of Learning!"
Congratulations! Gina Howes, Teacher Assistant of the Year!
I Make a Difference
An Attitude of Gratitude Rocks!
~Kudos to All of Trantwood for helping me get through a tough time with my Grandmother passing. Melissa Moore
~Kudos to Aaron Woodard for always helping me out in a time of need. Melissa Moore
~Kudos to Mr. Woodard for taking the time to form a relationship and work with one of my more challenging students daily! Claire Johnson
~I would like to thank Bessie for always having a smile and positive attitude. She makes me laugh daily and answers my numerous questions. All of the children adore her and her patience is endless. Thanks for being you! Kristen Swimley
~Thank-you Mrs. Iman for taking care of our little ones bumps and bruises. Your "magic" ice always does the trick! Kristen Swimely~KUDOS to Mrs, Metzger & Mrs. Lewis for having hired such wonderful school staff at every level; I've never worked anywhere where so many SMILES are shared every day!! Cecelia Soscia
~Kudos to All of the administrative staff, especially Michelle, who helped support me so much earlier in the week! Cecelia Soscia
~ Kudos to Mr. Quilter last week when he had to sub for me in the ECSC room on a fairly challenging day.Cecelia Soscia
~ Kudos to Leeanne Bolin who comes to our room every day to lend an extra experienced hand & to Elise & Pam who manage their PM class so while she is out. Cecelia Soscia
~Kudos to Kista & Rachel who always support me, especially this past week, & share their expertise & grace daily to our ECSC students & parents. Cecelia Soscia~Thank you Karen Lewis for sitting in my room for 30 minutes (silently) with a student this week. You not only gave up your time to handle the situation but you also realized that my lunch break was much needed! – Melinda Pezzella
~To Catie, Christina, Barb, and Lisa for being such great team members during a challenging situation. KL
~Thank you Sarah and Berkley for all of the time and support you have given to help one of our Cardinals. KL
~Ashley, thank you for reaching out to collaborate with our ECSE team to share strategies for helping our rising Kindergartners! KL
~Aaron and Casey, thanks for always lending a hand and being such great role models for our students. KL
~Your empathy for advocacy for a student in need this week was truly impressive Courtney and Bessie. KL
~Thank you Melinda for the opportunity to play sight word hopscotch with some outstanding first grade hosts. Way to put a strategy into practice to bring excitement to your classroom. KL
~High praises to each and everyone of you #TeamTrantwood for doing all you can daily to keep our kids safe and for remaining calm when the world is pretty stressed. You are amazing! LAM
~Kudos to Karen Lewis, Lisa Lee, Barb Iman, Catie Bartczak, & Christina Corradi for the sensitivity you showed a student in distress. He is so lucky to have you in his life! LAM
~Kudos to Aaron Woodard for the doing the right thing. LAM
~Kudos to Carolyne McCoy for ensuring Progress Reports are sent home without any issues. LAM
~Kudos Michele Flynn and Meredith Moore for continuing to ensure the office runs smoothly these last few weeks. We will all do a happy dance when we see Amanda on Monday! LAM
March 5 - 9, 2018, National School Breakfast Week
Monday, March 5
- Citizen of the Month, cafeteria, 2:15 pm
- Mad Science Club
- Tutoring, 3:00 - 4:15
Tuesday, March 6
- Happy Birthday Vivi Kappas!
- TLLT Quarterly Planning
- Peer Tutoring, 3:00 - 3:45
- SCA, 3:00- 3:45
- ILT, collab room, 3:15 - 4:15
- PTA Board Meeting, 6:30
Wednesday, March 7
- STEM Club, 3:00 - 4:15
- Art Club,3:00 4:15
- Chess Club, 3:00 - 4:15
Thursday, March 8
- Happy Birthday Hannah Phelps!
- STEM Club, 3 - 4:15
Friday, March 9
- Fire Safety Program, cafeteria, 8:45 - 9:30
March 12 - 16, 2018
Monday, March 12
- Happy Birthday Lauren Beach!
- Green Ambassador meeting during Morning Meeting
- Mad Science
- Tutoring
- MOCA Art Reception
Tuesday, March 13
- KLOTB am
- Temple & Tombs dress rehearsal, cafeteria, 2 pm
- Peer Tutoring, 3:00 - 3:45
- PAC, 3:15 - 4:15
- PTA General Meeting & Fine Arts Night, cafeteria, 6:30
Wednesday, March 14
- Happy Birthday Katie Schatti!
- Blood Drive, cafeteria, 1 - 7 pm
- LAM OTB pm
- Recorder Club, 3:00 - 4:15
- STEM, 3 - 4:15
Thursday, March 15
- LAM OTB
- Fire Drill practice
- STEM 3 - 4:15
- Green Cardinals, 3 - 4:15
Friday, March 16
- LAM OTB
- Terri Hawley, OTB, pm
Future Planning
- March 4 - Schoology Survey deadline (see email Jan. 30, 2018)
- April 2 - 6 Spring Break
- Jun. 20-21 - Digital Learning Summer Summit
- Aug. 13-14 - Digital Learning Summer Summit
Schoology
Thank you in advance for your time in this important next step with Schoology implementation. Please complete the Schoology Overview course and the questions, no later than March 4.
To access Schoology and this course, please do the following:
1. Access Schoology at https://vbschools.schoology.com/ . If you are on the school division network, you will be logged into Schoology. If you are not on the school division network, you will be asked for your user name and network password. If you are using a Chromebook on the network you will need to enter your user name and password.
2. Click on Courses at the top of the screen.
3. Click on Join and enter this access code: KKZQT-8MHND
You should now be in the Schoology Overview course for your school.
Let us know when done by writing the time on your WISE timesheet. We are giving one hour toward the make up hours when completing this.
NEW INFORMATION IN SYNERGY TEACHERVUE DATE - Important for all teachers!
This new access will provide general education teachers important information regarding the unique needs of students with whom they work. To access this information, a teacher will click on a student’s picture to generate a list of options, which will include the most current finalized 504 Plan or Special Education IEP and/or BIP. To view the documents in their entirety, teachers will click on the document to view, and it will open in pdf form.
Teachers will be notified of this new access by the Section 504 and Special Education coordinators in your building. Thank you for your continued support. Should you have any questions, please contact Tania Sotomayor, director of compliance and special education services, for IEP and/or BIP information, at 263-2400 or via email at tania.sotomayor@vbschools.com or Adrian Day, director of student services, for Section 504 information, at 263-1980 or via email at Adrian.Day@vbschools.com.
Using Morning Meeting to Problem Solve Student Behavior and Issues
As we head into the long homestretch before Spring Break, ensure you are maximizing the power of your morning meeting. Take a look at this blog post from "Reflection & Resources with TarheelState Teacher" for a simple way to have students problem-solve behavioral issues during morning meeting.
Utilizing morning meeting as a platform for solving classroom behavior problems and issues continues to be one of my TOP reasons for maintaining a morning meeting structure in my classroom. Today I'm sharing the simple process that I use to improve poor student behavior in the context of our classroom environment.
I'm talking about a lifesaver (like the flotation device kind) for those times when it seems that the class in general is falling apart.
...
When I drop morning meetings as a routine, behavioral issues are soon to follow.
The moment I realized that students truly needed our "beginning of the year" dialogue to continue all~year~long, I dedicated myself to figuring out how to continue these important conversations.
,,,
Based on students behavior and needs, you will have times when you need to step away from your “theme-based” morning meeting plans in order to address classroom issues.
Examples of Typical Classroom Issues that Pop Up:
- too many students are blurting out, making it hard for others to learn
- students are saving seats in the cafeteria
- during independent work time, some students are chatting off-topic, goofing off, and/or not having a high level of focused, on-task time
- students are arguing about rules for games at recess and bringing the drama back into the classroom
- during group work, students are excluding, being rude, or taking over
and countless others that I’m sure you can think of!
How do we use morning meetings to improve on these behavioral issues?
First, I choose a student leader to guide the discussion. I find that strategically choosing a student who would benefit from having a leadership role focused on behavior and allowing them to lead the meetings for a few weeks is extremely beneficial as I try to correct behaviors. If my students are overall behaving appropriately, I may choose to allow a different student to be the leader each time I go through this reflection process. Students sit in a circle during this time so that they can see one another and look at the speaker.
I provide my student leader with question stems to help them guide the discussion. (I wrote these on an index card at first and also post them in the classroom by our meeting space.) Here's a typical student-led dialogue:
“As a classroom community, we are working on: walking down the hall silently and in a straight line.”
"How did we do yesterday?"
Students raise their hand and the leader calls on them. I step back from the conversation, but early on, I make sure to model how to encourage students to elaborate on their answers. I often chime in, "Rebecca, make sure they tell you WHY they think we did a good job yesterday." Elaboration is key in this process. You really want specific examples of how they did or did not do well on their goal so that the whole class hears what worked and what needs to change.
It truly is that simple and the power is in having STUDENTS verbalize how things are going.
Often, the culprits speak up and admit they need to improve. Students who are frustrated get an appropriate outlet for airing their frustrations, and while this may not immediately change their classmates' behaviors, I do think it helps them deal with the stress of a less than perfect learning environment.
I love this reflective routine and have needed to use it regularly with some groups of students. If you have a lengthier block of time for morning meeting or your students show you that they need consistent reflection in order to make improvements, you may find it beneficial to implement this strategy daily.
I encourage you to choose no more than two goals to focus on as a class. If possible, stick with the one that is most detrimental to your classroom environment until that issue improves.
At some point, I will ask students if they feel that we are ready to move on from the goal we are working on. I remind them that we can always come back to it later in the year if needed.
To read the full blog, visit
http://www.tarheelstateteacher.com/2015/10/community-meeting-as-structure-for.html
In our thoughts and prayers...
~Melissa Moore on the recent passing of her grandmother
Lines and designs!
Grade 5 Student Lead Conferences...second one of the year!
Guess what Mr. Cassidy wants to be when he grows up?
Some great resources spotted at the Joy Ambassadors fair.
Mrs. Martinette inspiring great smiles!
LouAnne Metzger, Principal
Email: louanne.metzger@vbschools.com
Website: http://www.trantwoodes.vbschools.com/
Location: 2344 Inlynnview Road, Virginia Beach, VA, United States
Phone: 757-648-4000
Twitter: @LouAnneMetzger