Texan News
#wearepatneff
Sept. 16, 2016
Instructional Focus
Whew...did you all survive our first Early Release?
If you're new to Northside, hopefully you realized how fast the day flew by and what you might need to tweak for next time. This is one of the days where students think they don't need to learn or do any work because it's not a "regular" day, but they also need to be reminded that their teachers will continue to teach them awesome things as long as they are here at school. : )
I know some of you have been feeling like these days are going too fast, and I agree. It feels like I'm constantly on the move and trying to check things off my "To Do" list, but end up adding to my "To Do" list. So, before we get to that point of feeling "burnt out," let's see what we can do to help you not reach that point by looking at some tips from Nathan Lang in his article, "Preventing Teacher Burnout-Part 1".
His first part talks about seeing the impact and knowing you are making a difference. How do we do this, so we can see immediate impact? Mr. Lang addresses 3 C's-clubs, creations and contracts.
Clubs give teachers the opportunity to have a voice and the students a chance to have fun, be excited and choose their activities. Some examples of clubs we currently have are the Garden Club, Art Club, Robotics, StuCo, and NJHS. But, you can always create your own club, and it doesn't have to be after school. One thing you can do is survey your advisory students and see what their interests are. Then, pick a day to have a different club each week or so, based on their interests. The goal is to help you make an impact, as well as help your students make an impact.
Creations are simply having project-based learning in your lessons. They don't have to always be major projects, and they don't always have to take a long time. You want your students to create the project based on the lesson you taught, so you can see if they understood and are able to transfer their knowledge. This will definitely create a fun and energetic classroom and will give you the chance to feel rejuvenated.
When Mr. Lang talks about contracts, he's actually talking about "brag contracts," where the teacher, student and parent can celebrate the student's success, whether it's small or big, school related, or non-school related. You can brag in various ways: Twitter, calls home, notes home, emails, Remind messages, etc. And, it's an agreement between the parent, student and teacher that the three of you will brag as much as possible. Think of the impact you'll have on the student and his/her family, as well as yourself because you will feel a sense of pride. The main thing to remember is that the contract is genuine and that happens frequently.
Teacher burnout usually happens when you don't feel like you accomplished anything that day with your students. Or, you had a long day because things didn't go as planned, and you ended up feeling emotionally drained. But, if you can find ways to remind yourself why you chose this profession like the 3 C's, then your emotions that guide your life will hopefully be happy, positive and energetic.
*P.S. Don't forget to answer Question 1 (Q1) on our slow ed chat. Search #neffedchat to find the question and answer it in a tweet, using the A1 format and hashtagging #neffedchat in your answer. You have until 9/25 to answer the first question because Q2 will post on 9/26.
Have a great weekend!
: ) Yvonne
FOCUS FOR THE WEEK
Twitter focus: Perseverance in action. Don't forget to hashtag #wearepatneff
Mrs. Correa's Calendar
9/19 2:00 pm Admin. Staffing
9/21 8:00 a.m. Mtg. w/CO ISTs (conf. room)
9/22 Principals' Mtg. (all day)
NEFF STRONG
Dates to Remember
9/19 Professional Dress
iPad Trng. 4:15-5:15 pm
9/20 Business Casual
Twitter Tuesday: Remember, you can wear jeans w/Neff shirt if you tweet today (see weekly Twitter focus above).
iPad Trng. 4:15-5:15 pm
Title I Parent Mtg. @ 5:30 pm
#nisdedchat @ 8 pm
9/21 Jeans w/Neff shirt
iPad Trng. 4:15-5:15 pm
Fball vs. Bernal (7th-H/8th-A)
**Teachers who go to the fball games can wear appropriate shorts to the game only.**
9/22 Business Casual
iPad Trng. 4:15-5:15 pm
Vball vs. Bernal (7th-H/8th-A)
9/23 Jeans w/Neff shirt, high school shirt, or college shirt
7:30 a.m. ELL Parent Coffee
iPad Trng. 4:15-5:15 pm
Next Week:
9/26 Online Trainings need to be completed
9/27 TT: Dept. Mtgs.
9/28 Fball vs. Luna
9/29 Vball vs. Luna
9/30 Principal's Coffee 7:45 a.m.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
9/18 Dyandra Cabrera
9/23 Anita Macaya
MVPs
- Thank you to Ms. San Roman for our successful RTI staffings this past Tuesday. It was great to hear the positive feedback and to hear teachers sharing strategies to help our students succeed. Great job!
- Thank you to Ms. Gray for helping us understand our goal setting for TTESS and for easing some of our anxieties. : )
Game Plan
- Please check daily attendance for your class periods every day because that helps us determine who will truly need a warning notice, and it gives you the opportunity to fix any errors you might have.
- Make sure to write passes for students when sending them to the restroom, nurse, counselors, office, etc.
Celebration Teams
Correa: 1st place w/84 pts.
Sanchez: 3rd place w/45 pts.
Gray: 2nd place w/79 pts.
Flores: 5th place w/34 pts.
Shooby: 4th place w/44 pts.
Words of Inspiration
The Benefits of Positivity and the Cost of Negativity
11 Benefits of Being Positive:
1. Positive people live longer. In a study of nuns, those that regularly expressed positive emotions lived an average of 10 years longer than those who didn’t (Snowdon, 2001).
2. Positive work environments outperform negative work environments (Goleman, 2011).
3. Positive, optimistic salespeople sell more than pessimistic salespeople (Seligman, 2006).
4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure (Institute of HeartMath, 2012).
5. Marriages are much more likely to succeed when the couple experiences a 5-to-1 ratio of positive to negative interactions, whereas when the ratio approaches 1-to-1, marriages are more likely to end in divorce (Gottman, 1999).
6. Positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges, and adversity.”
7. Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture, which helps them identify solutions, whereas negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems (Fredrickson, 2009).
8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter the negative effects of stress. For example, you can’t be thankful and stressed at the same time.
9. Positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation help athletes perform at a higher level (Institute of HeartMath, 2012).
10. Positive people have more friends, which is a key factor of happiness and longevity (Putnam, 2000).
11. Positive and popular leaders are more likely to garner the support of others and receive pay raises and promotions and achieve greater success in the workplace.
The Cost of Negativity:
1. Ninety percent of doctor visits are stress related, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. A study found that negative employees can scare off every customer they speak with—for good (Rath, 2004).
3. At work, too many negative interactions compared to positive interactions can decrease the productivity of a team, according to Barbara Fredrickson’s research at the University of Michigan.
4. Negativity affects the morale, performance, and productivity of our teams.
5. One negative person can create a miserable office environment for everyone else.
6. Robert Cross’s research at the University of Virginia demonstrates that 90 percent of anxiety at work is created by 5 percent of one’s network—the people who sap energy.
7. Negative emotions are associated with decreased life span and longevity.
8. Negative emotions increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
9. Negativity is associated with greater stress, less energy, and more pain.
10. Negative people have fewer friends.
Excerpt From The Positive Dog
borrowed from www.jongordon.com