Monclova Primary
Weekly Bulletin
Events for Week of February 15 - February 21
HEALTHY HEART WEEK
Monday, February 15
President's Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, February 16
2 Hour Delay - See shared agenda
Wednesday, February 17
Character Wheel Assembly
Staff Volleyball - 3:45 pm in the gym
Thursday, February 18
Staff Meeting - 7:45 am
Fire Drill - 10:30 am
Friday, February 19
Spirit of Giving Spaghetti Dinner - 4:30 - 8:00 pm - AWHS
Announcements
Thank you:
Staff for making Friday a fun day for students and incorporating some creative Valentine activities into learning.
Reminders:
We will celebrate Healthy Heart Week this week with a special event each day. Your jeans donation can be given to Fay. Checks made out to the American Heart Association.
Tuesday - Fruit in the lounge (Thank you Al Peake & Sons for the fruit)
Wednesday - 80s Themed Fitness day (bring out your best 80s gear); Volleyball after school in the gym
Thursday - Build a healthy parfait during staff meeting
Friday - Salad bar for lunch, sign up to bring a topping
BGSU Teacher match night has been moved to Wednesday, March 2 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at Waterville.
Make sure to get your most updated RtI plans turned in when completed. Plans should include any new/updated goals, winter benchmark data and/or new time frames.
From the Transportation Department:
As spring rapidly approaches, this is a reminder to complete and send field trip request forms to the transportation office in a timely manner. The earlier you send these forms to us, the easier it is for us to schedule and make bus driver assignments for these trips. Delays in receiving such forms can make it difficult for us to fill all trips as requested.
The 16/17 calendar was approved at the Board meeting on Feb. 9. The calendar has been added to the AW website.
Words of Wisdom and Action..................
We all know kids love to talk and they can learn a great deal working with partners and in small groups. Here are some quick and easy ideas to kids learning by talking with one another.
From We Are Teachers - by Elizabeth Mulvahill
5 Fun Alternatives to Think-Pair-Share
All learners need time to process new ideas and information. They especially need time to verbally make sense of and articulate their learning with a community of learners who are also engaged in the same experience and journey.
In other words, kids need to talk!!
Problem is, sometimes it’s hard to stay on subject without a little guidance. That’s why structured discussions really work best with children, regardless of their maturity level.
These five techniques (and a little purposeful planning) go beyond the traditional Turn and Talk/Think-Pair-Share to give students an opportunity to deepen their understanding while practicing their verbal skills.
1. Think-Pair-Share x 2
This technique is great for collaborating and generating many ideas on a topic. Note: Make sure students have paper and pencil handy.
Arrange students into pairs (teacher or student choice).
Pose a question that has many possible answers. For example, what are some ways our school can become more “green”?
Pause for “think time.”
Partners do traditional think-pair-share, brainstorming as many ideas as they can in a set amount of time and writing their answers down on a piece of paper.
After allotted time, each pair then finds another pair to share answers with. As first team reads their answers aloud, the second team adds new ideas to their list or puts a check mark next to items they also thought of. Second team then shares answers that were missing from first team’s list.
2. Mingle, Pair, Share
A great activity to get kids up and moving and encourage them to interact with all of their classmates .
Students mix around the room silently as music plays in the background.
When the music stops, each student finds a partner closest to them (no running across the room to find your best friend!) and puts their hand together with their partner’s in a high five.
When all students have found a partner, teacher poses a question and allows for “think time” For example “Give three examples of an insect” or “Name five prime numbers.”
One teacher’s go, one partner shares and the other listens.
Partners switch roles.
After both partners have had a chance to speak (teacher will have to monitor this, based on the depth of the question), music starts again, students mingle, when music stops they find a new partner, teacher poses new question, etc.
Repeat for each question.
3. Sticky-Note Storm
This activity is great for brainstorming, review and thinking outside the box. It’s also a great way for students to teach and learn from one another. It works best when kids are seated in small table groups. Note: Have a supply of sticky notes available for each table.
Teacher poses a question, sets a time limit and gives students a moment to think before writing. For example, “In two minutes, how many math problems can you write down that have the solution 23?” Or “In 45 seconds, write down as many adjectives as you can.”
Each student writes down as many answers as they can think of—one idea per sticky note—and sticks it to the center of the table.
The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible and cover the table with sticky notes! At the end of each round, students review one another’s ideas.
4. Sage and Scribe
In this activity, one student plays the role of teacher and the other the attentive student. Explaining concepts clearly is a difficult skill that requires a lot of practice, and recording information helps students build note-taking skills.
Students work in pairs. One student is the Sage (speaker) and one is the Scribe (silent writer).
Pose a question and allow a few moments for Sages to think. For example: “Explain how the water cycle works.”
When teacher says “Go,” the Sage explains the process clearly to the Scribe.
Scribe records Sage’s thinking on paper.
When time is up, Sage and Scribe switch roles with a new question.
5. Inside-Outside Circle or Parallel Lines
Arrange students into pairs (teacher or student choice).
Have one partner from each pair move and form a circle with students facing outward. This will be the inside circle.
Remaining students find and face their partners, forming outside circle.
Pose a question and indicate what role each partner will play. For instance, “What are three things a mammal needs to survive? Inside partner will talk, outside partner will listen.”
Have students pause for “think time,” then cue them to share.
Next, partners switch roles—outside partner talks, inside partner listens.
After that, outside circle rotates clockwise and each student ends up with a new partner.
Repeat process with new question.
Variation: Parallel Lines
Students stand in two straight lines facing one another. One line rotates to the right or left for each new question. When a student in the rotating line reaches the end, he or she loops around to the other end.
Same question/think/answer process as above.