Raccoon Review
A Weekly Communication Tool for Rice Elementary Staff
Campus Goals
- Ensuring ALL students are in attendance.
- Cultivating a climate that welcomes students and parents.
- Creating opportunities for students to use and increase critical thinking and decision-making skills.
- Moving from Parent Involvement to Parent Engagement.
Our Campus Top 5....Be a Champion for those around you….
Top 5:
We exist to serve our students and families and create a safe and secure environment….it is not about us.
Our systems need to adjust to meet the changing needs. If they don’t know it, or haven’t been taught it...then this becomes our job to teach them.
We don’t play the blame game...focus on the future and what we can do to impact and add value to the students. How can we get better each day!
Safety is both physical and emotional.
Safety committee will examine our campus security. It takes all of us being observant and not compromising systems.
Morning Meetings and teaching the SEL lessons is a campus wide expectation. This time is going to be the absolute best part of your students and your day!!!
Clear is Kind
Always leave people better than what you found them.
95% of complaints and disagreements are because people don’t feel heard or valued. Just listen!
Set clear student expectations and follow up when expectations are not met...this is a descriptor of a highly successful classroom.
Colleagues-communicate if disagreements arise and don’t turn it into gossip. GO to the source. If it isn’t about you stay out of it and don’t spread it.
High Expectations for ALL...all the time. We don’t have the luxury of down time.
Ourselves:
Continuous learning...Raccoon TRACKS, Leadership Teams, and grade level meetings are required attendance. The district offers many learning opportunities.
Show me a school where teachers are learning and I will show you a school where students are learning. ~Debbie Meir
Students:
If we design our instruction for the average learner, we are designing instruction for no one. -Todd Rose, End of Average
It will be hard...and it should be hard. Tears are ok, if followed by a plan of support. Lowering expectations or work will not make it all ok...it just postpones the struggle.
Research has proven that poverty and IQ can be impacted by effective teaching. Great classroom Instruction mitigates the effects of poverty.
Do the little things the right way
Communicate...communicate...communicate. Ahead of time, right after the event, as you would want to be communicated about your own child.
Pause...Breath...Think
Be prepared for instruction every day!!
Cherish and love the job you have.
You are blessed to serve and have the opportunity to shape our future.
Mind you words ...they have power over people. Power to build up and power to destroy.
Be a Champion for those around you...
Walk through Focus for November
Anchor Stations
- Tiered
- Meaningful Work
- Accountability Systems
ELA:
Independent Reading
- # of books = longer Stamina
Small Group
- Variety of groups to meet student needs
Week at a Glance: November 11th-15th
Monday
8:00 – Grab and Go Breakfast (Lounge)
8:30 – 11:30 Team Planning (Content Leader's share locations)
11:30 – 12:30 Team Lunch
12:30 – 1:30 Breakout – Totally 80's (All staff join)
- Meet in the Gym at 12:30
1:30 – 3:30 Leadership Team Meeting (Paras see below for assignments)
- Safety-PLC
- Rice Way-Raccoon Den
- RtI & Instruction-Stem Lab
- Culture within the Community-Marler's room
- Guerrero-Library for Read Aloud Project
- White-1st
- Seal-2nd
- Luna-Kinder
- Green-3rd
- Blanco-4th
Tuesday-Black Day
**K/1st/2nd ELA PLC
7:45-11:00-Harvard/Raise Your Hand Texas Site visit (see below for information)
11:00-PTO Meeting
Angela @ Counselor's Meeting
Wednesday-Red Day
3rd/4th Math PLC
Teresa Carroll on campus
3:30-Bil Team Meeting
Thursday-White Day
1st/2nd Math PLC
Mayra Torres on Campus
Friday-Black Day
**3rd/4th ELA PLC
Poser Method Friday
2:00 & 2:30- Rice Way Pep Rally
Staff Updates
Harvard/Raise Your Hand Texas Visit
We will have some very special visitors with us on Tuesday. We will meet in the Stem Lab at 8:00 and then move to Instructional Rounds at 8:15. Please continue with instruction. Monday, please take some extra time and clean and organize any areas that need TLC in your classroom and hallways. We want our best to shine!!!!!!
Attendance
The attendance information has been clarified. There is a small window for attendance. TEA states that attendance is taken at one designated time (9:00 for us). There are limits set that is can't be too early of after this time. We have to live within the limits set outside of us. So when the bell sounds that is the official attendance time. Earlier I said that it could be taken at arrival and I was incorrect. It has to be taken at the official attendance time.