NORTH NEWS Weekly Update
Staff News for the Week of January 13th
Staff Meeting: January 13th at 2:40 p.m.
Department Meeting: January 20th at 2:40 p.m.
Jeans for a Cure Week!
Support Relay and our Community & Service Team!
$3/day or $10/week
Those that paid in advance are good to go!
Checks can be made out to ACS.
Thanks!
Pam, Jonathan, and Community & Service Students
NWEA Winter Testing Dates UDPATED
Week One: January 13th - 17th: READING
Week Two: January 20th - 24th: MATH/SCIENCE
Week Three (3 days): January 27th - 29th: LANGUAGE USAGE
The testing window will close on Friday, January, 31st at 3:00 pm. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to make sure that all students have been tested in their specific subject.
WACKY WEDNESDAYS
January 22nd - College/Jersey Day
January 29th - Hat Day
NRMS Guest Teacher Folders
- 1-day lesson plan
- 3 - day lesson plan
- Class Lists
- Seating Charts
- Emergency Information
- Etc.
*If you already have a Guest Teacher Binder, please attach your new folder to the cover of it. For emergency purposes and for the ease of our guest teachers, it's important that we have consistency.
COACHES CONNECTION
Strategy Steal #1
What?
Flippity is a web tool that allows you to quickly turn Google Spreadsheets into Flashcards, Quiz Shows, Scavenger Hunts, and a Random Name Picker.
Why?
My favorite use of this tool is its Random Name Picker. If you attended the 2-hour Formative Assessment session that Lisa Abramowski and I presented, you saw us use Flippity and know that randomly calling on students can be a useful formative assessment. Additionally, Flippity makes it very easy to randomly group your students, and you can make quick edits to the groupings if you see a group that makes you say, "Oh, no. That combo of kids is NOT going to work."
How?
To see all of the possibilities Flippity has to offer, go to https://flippity.net/.
To try out the Random Name Picker, follow the directions at https://flippity.net/RandomNamePicker.htm.
Reach out if you need help!
Let everyone know your thoughts if you try it.
IF YOU MISSED IT: CLASSROOM LEARNING LABS
We are very excited to announce that Classroom Learning Labs will be returning to the middle schools in January! In Classroom Learning Labs, small groups of teachers are invited to visit a colleague's classroom and observe as the host teacher uses best practices and quality instruction with his/her students. A Pre-Brief Conversation prior to the observation and Debrief Conversation afterward are also built into the framework of a Classroom Learning Lab. In this way, teachers experience in-depth, professional growth within a collaborative learning community.
Here's what teachers have to say about Classroom Learning Labs:
- "I love watching other teachers teach. I reflect on how I teach and how or what I can change."
- "It's REAL TEACHING, not just a theory or the latest and greatest from a textbook. It's teaching in practice and learning from one another in a safe environment."
- "It's great to watch teaching and learning; the total process was valuable. It helped to understand what the purpose of the lesson was and see how successfully it went."
Watch for more information and sign-ups to become available prior to the holiday break!
Posting Grades and Homework - SKYWARD AND SCHOOLOGY
Just a few reminders:
- Please make sure that you are posting your grades on a weekly basis (or more) in your SKYWARD GRADEBOOK.
- The expectation is that all staff members post homework/quizzes/tests and/or daily information on your SCHOOLOGY CALENDAR.
Thank you for your attention to this important process!