Cordata Weekly Bulletin
10/22/2018
Happy Monday, Cordata!
Thank you to all of the teaching staff who came together for Friday's learning day. I enjoyed being a part of collaboration to plan ahead for social emotional learning, and then appreciated the depth of our conversation about inquiry. Judging by your artifacts in the OneNote (see a few of the snapshots below), it looks like teams were able to plan for ways to incorporate inquiry and technology into learning in ways that will invite kids to inquire and construct their own understandings!
The week ahead - 10/22 - 10/26
There are no new Zones or School-Wide Expectations lessons on the calendar this week, so it is a week to really focus on Caring School Community lessons! Many of you will be finding time for community building through Buddy Classes as well. Enjoy!
Upcoming Dates
- Nov. 1 - Tentative crazy hair day and all-school dance party (see below for details and an opportunity to have input!)
- Nov. 1 - Popcorn bar in the staff room - Thanks, Sunshine Team!
- Nov. 1 - 1:00-3:00 - 3rd grade SGC meeting
- Nov. 2 - all day parent-teacher conferences (other Thursday afternoons in November are available as well)
- Nov. 6 - Turkey Gravy day in our cafeteria - Gratitude Lunch!
- Nov. 6 - Staff Meeting 2:45-3:45 pm - Dr. Baker visiting to share info and answer questions - Classified staff, please join us if you're able!
- Nov. 8 - afternoon and evening parent-teacher conferences
- Nov. 9 - Veterans Day Assembly
- Nov. 12 - No school for staff or students in observance of Veterans Day
- Nov. 15 - Cordata Family Thanksgiving Potluck - thanks, Sunshine Team!
- Nov. 15 - 1:00-3:00 4th grade SGC meeting
- Nov. 22 - 1:00-3:00 - kindergarten SGC meeting
- Nov. 30 - Family Glow Dance Party in the cafeteria and gym - a family fun event sponsored by our PTA
Other News and Information
- Classroom teachers, thank you for giving Sign-up Genius a try this year! Please continue to check your sign-up page to see if parents are getting signed up. By Wednesday of this week, please give Laura a list of families who you would like to have us call with a reminder to sign-up! We will try to do this calling from the office - it will depend on how many families are not yet signed up.
- In the list of upcoming events above, I tentatively marked Nov. 1 as our Crazy Hair Day, with an all-school hallway dance party near the end of the day, all in celebration of a successful Pumpkin Fun Run fundraiser. What do you think? Yea or Nay? The day after Halloween is often eventful with kids being up late and consuming lots of sugar the night before. Sometimes it's helpful to let this coincide with another fun event to channel energy in a particular direction. But I want to hear from you! Please email me if you have an opinion on the matter!
- Buddy classes, I know you put together some fun plans for the coming weeks! If part of your plan involves being outside on the playground, please be aware of our recess schedule! Connect with our recess supervisors in advance so that they understand what you have planned and can support the kids out at recess accordingly.
- An important note from our bus drivers - Our buses are expected to be pulling away from the bus loop 7 minutes after dismissal time. That means 2:37 on MTW and F. You all have been very cognizant of our staggered dismissals, which allow our youngest riders to get out and lined up first. Please also watch the clock to be sure that kids can be on buses and seated by 2:37! Thank you!
- An update on our buses . . . The Red Bus was formerly also known as Bus 30. This bus has now been changed, and will permanently be Bus 1. It's still the red bus, and the group of riders hasn't changed, but I wanted you to be aware of the change in numbers.
In closing . . .
Building teamwork and collaboration skills through inquiry
Last Friday, our teaching staff read a portion of Comprehension and Collaboration that emphasized how important it is that we teach the collaborative skills that are essential for shared learning through inquiry. As we read on in that book, we'll learn more about strategies for teaching those skills. Another resource for growing our inquiry approach comes from an organization called New Pedagogies for Deep Learning, or NPDL. They have developed a learning progression that aims to help teachers and students assess the growth of teamwork and collaboration skills. Below is just one small part of the learning progression that they have designed and shared with educators. If you're interested in learning more about the collaboration learning progression, or the other ways in which NPDL encourages teachers to assess for student growth, let Analisa or Minh know!
And get ready to learn even MORE about teamwork from some 4th graders who are very self-reflective in their developing teamwork and collaboration skills. They'll be sharing with us at Thursday's assembly.