Mondays Matter
Bay Shore MS's Practitioner's Guide on What Matters Most!
We Believe...
Week of September 28, 2015
10/2 - Interim Reports Due
Monday Message
Consider
Dear MS Family,
I've witnessed what I believed was the impossible - my daughter wants to do more schoolwork! I'm sure this will sound familiar to many of you - each night, I prepare for the never ending homework battle. Mentally, I get myself ready for the fight that will inevitably end with me being frustrated at the hours spent getting my little ones to finish their assignments. But this year - it's a little different. The battles are not that long. My daughter wants to put in a little extra effort.
What's changed?
Her teacher!
I have not been able to put my finger on exactly what it is about this teacher that she has connected with. I can not yet tell you why she's asked to type the paragraph that she was asked to write, or why she takes her time to make her circles just right around the groups that she has to form as she learns about the relationship between multiplication and division - but it's there. She wants to Aim High!
We all know this - but it's worth repeating. The power that we have as classroom teachers is immeasurable.
Consider
Is anybody happier
Because you passed their way?
Does anyone remember
That you spoke to them today?
This day is almost over,
And toiling time is through;
Is there anyone to utter now,
A friendly word for you?
Can you say tonight in passing,
With the day that slipped so fast,
That you helped a single person,
Of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing,
Over what you did or said?
Does one whose hopes were fading
Now with courage look ahead?
Did you wast the day, or lose it?
Was it well or poorly spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness,
Or a scar of discontent
- Author Unknown
Learning Targets
Learning Target Rubric
http://elschools.org/sites/default/files/Learning%20target%20rubric_EL_110812_1.pdf
*Look for the responses in next week's Mondays Matter
Growth Mindset
Grow Your Mindset...
1. Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can't change very much.
2. You can learn new things, but you can't really change how intelligent you are.
3. No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit.
4. You can always substantially change how intelligent you are.
How about these?
1. You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that.
2. No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially.
3. You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can't really be changed.
4. You can always change basic things about the kind of person you are.
To see the answers - scroll to the bottom of this newsletter.
Can you find this classroom?
Tech Tips
Plickers
An added bonus comes when the technology makes our lives as educators a little bit easier. One of those tools is Plickers (https://plickers.com/). We shared this tool at a faculty meeting last year, but its power makes it one of the must use tools of the year.
Plickers is a powerfully simple tool that lets a teacher collect real time data on what the students know and understand. Want more information on how easy and practical it is to use Plickers - talk with Brad Obloj! He's made Plickers a part of his classroom experience and the children love it.
Calendar
Upcoming Events
10/6
Faculty Meeting
2:40pm
Grow Your Mindset (responses)
First set of questions -
Questions 1 and 2 are the fixed-mindset questions. Questions 3 and 4 reflect the growth mindset. Which mindset do you agree with more? You can be a mixture, but most people lean toward one or the other... It's not only your abilities; it's your personal qualities too.Second set of questions -
Here, questions 1 and 3 are the fixed-mindset questions and questions 2 and 4 reflect the growth mindset. Did it differ from your intelligence mindset? It can. Your "intelligence mindset" comes into play when situations involve mental ability. Your "personality mindset" comes into play when situations involve your personal qualities. The fixed mindset makes you concerned with how you'll be judged; the growth mindset makes you concerned with improving.
The message is: You CAN change your mindset.
Pages 45-54 have some questions and answers about growing your mindset. Dweck shares a personal letter she received about the impact of a changed mindset. The questions are ones that I had and you probably do too.