Friday Focus
Friday, August 23, 2019
Week at a Glance: August 26th-30th
T: NWEA TESTING
W: NWEA TESTING
Th: NWEA TESTING; NAES Open House 6:00-7:30 PM
F: NWEA TESTING
FALL DATA TEAM MEETING DATES
9/6 Grade 2, 8:00-11:00 AM & Grade 3, 12:00-3:00 PM
9/9 Grade 5, 8:00-11:00 AM & Grade 1, 12:00-3:00 PM
Plan, Practice, & Prepare
Evacuation/Fire Drill - 3 per year (September, October, & May)
Bus Evacuation Drill - 1 per year (October)
Severe Weather/Shelter In Place Drill - 1 per year (March)
Law Enforcement Drill - 1 per year (Spring)
Shout Out!
Luke, thank you for stopping by during the students' lunch to lend a hand. Coritta and Barbara, thank you for your proactive feedback to help streamline how our kinders prepare for lunch. Kudos to Sarah for immediately implementing Respect Talk, by having your Small Astros address each other by name. What a major GAME CHANGER as it helps cultivate a climate of respect! COOL BEANS Grade 3 for submitting your minutes for this week's Grade Level Meeting! And KUDOS to Audra for capturing one of our newest team members, Jesse in the photo above in action!
Just A Thought...
"Isn't that why we are here?! We're a team." by Iesha Bradley, Health Clerk
As we continue to reflect on our, "Why" I'd like to share a few things that I learned about some of our students this week. We have a 5th grade student who knows he is intelligent. Yet he comes to school with a fear that no one likes him and that he will always be made fun of. When asked what he cares about, he said he cares about everything and everybody. We have a 4th grade student who has not seen her biological parents in a year, has spent time in foster care, and is now living with her Aunt and Uncle. All she wants at this moment is to see her parents who she misses very much. We have a 1st grade student with three siblings, but due to her father's struggle with substance abuse, each sibling is living with a different relative. We have a 3rd grade student who currently as a tumor that cannot be removed thus compromising her ability to see efficiently.
So again I ask, "What is your "Why?" As Principal McCaskill once said to her fellow administrative colleagues, "If your "Why" does not make you cry, it is not strong enough."
Example of Student Choice of the "Magic Triad" Grade 2
Example of Student Choice of the "Magic Triad" Grade 4
- Builds Trust
- Promotes a sense of belonging
- Encourages students
- Shows that teachers care and are interested
- Meets the basic self-esteem needs
- Provides a sense of safety
- Reduces discipline problems
- Strengthens relationships
- Creates a willingness to cooperate and participate
- Keeps the teacher in contact with every student
"Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A word of optimism and hope. A 'you can do it' when things are tough." ~ Richard DeVos
It is essential for all Tall Astros, to greet their class upon entry of their classroom utilizing the "Magic Triad."
Items of Interest
- Lesson plans are due the Friday before the preceding week. For example, lesson plans for the week of September 2nd are due by the close of the business day Friday, August 30th. Lesson plans are to be submitted every two weeks. Anyone that is being evaluated by Mrs. Tandcredi, please submit your lesson plans to her attention. All other lesson plans are to be submitted to Mrs. Spears-Etherly.
- If you elect to submit lesson plans as a department, please note that you are still responsible as an individual to ensure that all components as articulated by ESD #159 are met.
- Please take care to create and submit Emergency Lesson Plans for five (5) consecutive days by the close of the business day Friday, November 1, 2019.
- A lesson plan template and a PowerPoint regarding the inclusion of learning objectives will be provided. Please review for your professional preparation.
- This year ESD #159 will be focusing on enhancing instructional rigor, with an emphasis on DOK 3 and 4. As you develop your questions, please take care to plan and share examples of DOK 3 and 4 types of questions within the body of your submitted lesson plans. It is through advanced planning and timely feedback we are able to sharpen our professional saws.
- The first step in creating a new dialogue with students is to develop a creed; a set of fundamental beliefs. Creeds build a common language for the school and instill a sense of pride and honor in students. A creed can set the tone for the school as well as the classroom. A creed simply states the goals and what will be done to accomplish those goals.
- If you have not done so already, please facilitate the creation of a class creed for grades K-5. The class creed should be recited daily to make the biggest impact and students should be able to recite from memory.
- Once your class creed has been created, it should be posted in the classroom in an area that is accessible to all students for inspiration and motivation to cement their commitment to excellence!
Grade Level Chair and Weekly Meetings
- As a friendly reminder, please take care to share the day of the week for your weekly Grade Level Meetings as well as the identification of your Grade Level Team Leader. A request to send invites to Mrs. Tancredi and Mrs. Spears-Etherly will be made at a later date.
What Do I Believe
- The template for "What Do I Believe" (WDIB) will be provided electronically as well as cardstock for printing. Please share your belief statement via email. Upon review please print your WDIB statement and post outside on the window next to your door.
Schedules & Open House
- Please take care to share and post your schedule by Tuesday, September 3rd.
- Please take care to provide a copy of your, "Welcome Letter/Packet" as well as any other materials that will be distributed during Open House next week. As a friendly reminder, K-2 will attend Open House from 6:00-7:00 PM, and 3-5 will attend Open House from 6:30-7:30. All Staff will meet and greet families in the Gym from 6:30-7:00 PM.