Wilson Ranger Post
November 28, 2016
So Thankful!
We hope you enjoy your much deserved and needed break. We also hope you know how valuable each of your are to the Wilson Family. You give tirelessly of your time, energy and talents. You can always be counted on to go above and beyond for your learners. What a blessing it is to work at a place with such talented educators who go above and beyond. No one may ever know exactly all you do for your kids, but all you do will surely make a lasting impact!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Chris and Mary
Helping all learners belong
In thinking about how to help all of our learners feel like they belong in the classroom, a question was posed...
How do we reintegrate kids into the classroom?
How are we planning for them to be there rather than to be gone?
Here are a couple of thoughts...
- Assign a buddy for learners who are out. As soon as the learner comes back in the room, have the buddy greet him/her and catch them up.
- Have the group plan for the learner even if they are gone...get an extra sheet of paper, extra pencil, needed supplies so that when he/she returns they can easily integrate into the group.
How do you successfully manage this transition? Comment below if you have a thought to share.
Rise and Shine Shout Out!
Also, great job Nurse Jill for organizing the Diabetes Awareness Information and working with Ms. Moore on the "Turkey Trot" during PE today!
Here's a note from Nurse Jill:
Thank you to 3D/Ms. Roberts for letting me sneak in a special presentation about Diabetes during Rise and Shine! Also a big thanks to specials teachers for helping get bands passed out to all the students after the Turkey Trot. And, thank you teachers for sending out emails for your students to wear blue. I really appreciate your help! I was very thankful to be given an opportunity to recognize diabetes awareness month and to honor Jacob in his last year here at Wilson. I thank you from the bottom of my heart! If you have students who did not receive a blue band and ask you about it after the break, I have a lot left. I have also placed one in each of your boxes.
So many of you go above and beyond and it's what makes Wilson such a great place to be!
Don't forget to sign up for Wilson PD for Nov. 28th
Creative and Divergent Thinking
Location: GTI room
Blended Learning: A "Stockingful" of Ideas
Location: PLC room
Location: CHall Meeting Room
What’s New in Information Literacy!
Location: Library
Applications for H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards due Dec. 4
If you know of a teacher, principal, district, school board or early childhood facility who has been nominated for an H-E-B Excellence in Education Award, encourage them to apply before the deadline at midnight on Dec. 4. Nominees can apply online at www.heb.com/education.
Last year, the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards awarded more than $800,000 in cash prizes, gift cards and grants. Since its inception in 2002, the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards program has awarded over $8.5 million to Texas educators, schools and districts.
For additional updates, follow the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards program on Facebook at facebook.com/HEBExcellenceinEducationAwards.
About the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards:
H-E-B launched the Excellence in Education Awards program in cooperation with the Texas Association of School Administrators in 2002 as a positive way to support public education in Texas. It has become the largest monetary program for educators in the state, spotlighting best practices and celebrating the passion and creativity of Texas educators.
H-E-B asks customers, Partners (employees) and community members to nominate teachers, principals, districts, early childhood facilities and school boards in Texas. Each nominee is sent an invitation to complete an application online and is asked about their professional experiences, educational philosophies and achievements both in and out of the classroom.
A team of judges reviews the applications, narrowing the field to semi-finalists. From that pool, five regional judging panels comprised of former winners, administrators, and university and community leaders not affiliated with H-E-B select 40 teacher and principal finalists. Finalists and their schools receive a cash prize of $1,000 to $2,500, depending on category.
Three separate panels select eight school districts and five early childhood facilities as finalists, awarding $2,500 to $5,000 in cash prizes. Up to five school boards may also be recognized, and awarded $5,000 towards the district they serve. Additionally, one or more school boards may receive a special judge’s award totaling up to $25,000. Site visits are conducted to determine winners.
Teacher and principal finalists are invited to Austin, May 6, 2017 to compete on a statewide level for larger cash prizes totaling more than $400,000. A statewide panel of judges, not affiliated with H-E-B, conducts a personal interview with each finalist to select winners.
Eight winners — two principals and six teachers — will be announced along with two school districts, one large and one small, a public school board and an Early Childhood Facility, at a celebratory dinner on May 7, 2017.
Each winning principal—one elementary school and one high school—will each receive $10,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools. The winning large school district will receive a $100,000 cash prize and the winning small school district will receive $50,000. The winning Early Childhood Facility will receive $25,000 and a school board could be awarded up to $25,000.
The six winning teachers will include one elementary and one secondary teacher in each of three categories:
The Rising Star Award — honors exceptionally promising teachers with less than 10 years of experience. These winners will each receive a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their schools.
The Leadership Award — honors teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom. These winners will each receive a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their schools.
The Lifetime Achievement Award — salutes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. These teachers will each receive $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools.
Wilson Educator Quick Links
Make sure to bookmark it for quick access!!!
Science Updates from Linda Cook
Dana Center Science Training- Dec. 6
The District be replicating the highlights of last year's Dana Center training for science teachers on Dec. 6th after school. See the link below. Last year a science vertical team from Wilson recieved this training. This training will be at Wilson this year. Please send a rep from your team.
https://coppell.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=8291
Dec. 13th - Elementary Science Content Specialists will meet to share what we learned at CAST, continue our focus on rigor in the science classroom, and prepare for our January work on identifying High Priority Learning Standards.
Science Updates from the Texas Education AgencyTEA is still accepting public feedback on the proposed streamlined science TEKS. In January, the TEKS Streamlining Committee will review public comments and will make further changes to the TEKS. A new public comment time will follow the next revisions. The projected date for approval of the streamlined TEKS is the April State Board of Education meeting, with implementation in the 2017-2018 school year.
Hosts for Student Teachers Needed
Please email Chris if you're interested. Here are some of the openings.
EC-6- 4th grade
EC-6- 3rd grade
EC-6- Bilingual 3rd grade
Science or SS- 4th or 5th grade
EC-6 1st, 2nd, or 3rd
EC-6 ESL KG, 1st or 2nd
PE
EC- 6
EC- 6 Bilingual
Elementary Art
Wilson TAIS Assessment
For your planning, data will be due at the following times...
- Jan 27th
- March 24th
- May 26th
Remember...
Math-
- (K-5th) give same assessment; once a learner scores 90 or above you do not need to give them the assessment again; don't give as a grade or re-teach
Reading-
- (K-2) - DRA reading level; don't have to give a DRA each time
- (3rd-5th) new assessment each time; have all learners take each time; the assessment can be used as a grade
- (K-4) team decides on a writing sample you will grade with the rubric
- (4th) - include editing
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness from Nurse Jill
National Handwashing Awareness Week
December 4th-10th is National Handwashing Awareness Week. In honor of this week, I am planning to work with specials teachers during PLC time for each grade level from December 1st-8th to review proper handwashing technique! I plan to do a small re-cap during the December 9th Rise and Shine assembly. Please continue encouraging your kids to wash their hands as much as possible, especially after using the bathroom. And if a bathroom is not available to them to wash their hands, please have your learners use hand sanitizer. Thank you!
Cleaning your Rooms
We have had a lot of sickness lately at Wilson! Yikes! I am going to recommend that each day you wipe down your tables, door knobs, and other common areas with Clorox wipes if you have them. Especially during flu season. If you don’t have wipes, maybe you could ask for donations. If we work with housekeeping to keep things as clean as possible, maybe it will cut back on some of the sickness here at Wilson! Thank you ALL for your help to keep our kids healthy!