Holmes Weekly Update
Week Ending 2/8/19
What's Happening this Week?
Monday: 2/4/19
- Ad Leadership - Christine out of the building PM
- Ed Council 4:00-5:30
Tuesday: 2/5/19
- Service Team Meetings all day
Wednesday: 2/6/19
- Pop-Up PD - Teach Like a Champion Book Study 2:40-3:00
- Staff Meeting 3:00-4:00
Thursday: 2/7/19
- BLT 3:10-4:10
Friday: 2/8/19
- Problem Solving Meetings 8:15-11:00
Saturday: 2/9/19
- Pancake Breakfast 9:00-11:00
This Week's Announcements: Information Item
This week's parent Update: Information Item
Please feel free to copy/paste any portion to include in your weekly/monthly communication.
COACHING CORNER - January Edition
Teach Like a Champion 2.0 Book Club
- Cold Call strategy- use name sticks, pictures, or ClassDojo random caller feature to make sure that all students are accountable for their learning and ready to share
- "What to Do" strategy- giving more visible and observable directions
- Threshold strategy - say "Good Morning. I'm glad you are here!” while shaking student's hands and looking into their faces. Take it one step further and have a student be a greeter. The rest of your class can point to a poster that signals how they want to be greeted.
Want to see a TLaC strategy in action? Looking for some strategies to use to increase student engagement and accountability? Could this be your professional growth goal this month?
Reading Logs
How do reading logs help students? What do teachers use reading logs for at school?
Reading logs are a great resource for data collection for both students and teachers. When students record the titles of books, authors, genre, pages read, and time spent reading, wonderful conversations can take place.
- I noticed that you read a lot of historical fiction books. Can you tell me what you like about this genre?
- I see that you have read mostly fiction texts these past two weeks. Are there any settings, issues, or topics related to your fiction texts that you could learn more about in a non-fiction text?
- I see that you read 5 pages in your fiction book during a 20-minute reading session. Let’s look to see if this is a right-fit book for you. If not, perhaps you could listen to the book or partner read with a friend or family member.
- You have a read a lot of books by author ______________. Another author that is similar in style to this author is _________. Maybe give these books a try.
Interested in learning more about how reading logs can help you confer and plan for small groups? Let Marianne know how she can help!
Staff Strengths- Find, Share, Celebrate!
5th Grade Project Based Learning is underway. Students are researching self-generated challenging questions and creating new solutions to these problems. Stay tuned for public products coming soon.
4th Grade Interpretive Book Clubs. 4th Graders are knee deep into new book clubs. Students have created group norms, and are working to develop evidence-based reasoning to support an interpretation of the author’s message. Heavy Lift! Great work readers!
3rd Grade Reading Stars! The 3rd-grade team focused guided reading instruction on a targeted group of students to increase their reading comprehension. 100% of students met growth expectations!
Kudos to the 1st and 2nd Grade Teachers for using their WTW data to differentiate the curricular resources for their students. Teachers in these grades are now using 95% Group and Foundations to support the needs of their students based on formative data.
Pop-Up PD - Upcoming Events - Information Item
Our talented HolmesHawks have developed some exciting and relevant Pop-Up PD sessions.
Here is our list of upcoming events:
2/6 - Teach Like a Champion Book Study
2/13 - Content Circles - Learn how you can reinforce content through circles.
2/20 - Curricular focus - Problem Based Learning (PBL) - Faith. Michelle and Marianne
3/6 - Teach Like a Champion Book Study
3/13 - Math Workshop Model- Marianne, Brent, Melissa, Jincy
4/3 - Teach Like a Champion Book Study
5/8 - Teach Like a Champion Book Study
Hawks Nest Lesson 6: Habit 5 - Action Item
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XR6Dg-8CnVhgj2jaUEr28QSMLBlJvSmeqyUhU1mbR-c/edit?usp=sharing
Yearbook Sales: Action Item
2 Minute Meditation: Action Item
Here is the link in case you missed it.
Pancake Breakfast - Action Item
ROE Visits Are STILL Coming: Action Item (no new date yet)
- No doorstops! Lock these up and put them away. Any door stops seen will be taken.
- No extension cords or extension strips. We can ONLY use surge protectors. If you have these, put them away.
- No chemicals, aerosols or unlabeled spray bottles of any kinds can be in classrooms.
- There must be a clearance of 24 inches between items stacked and the ceiling. If you have things stacked along the perimeter of your classroom or on cases you will need to find a new home for those items
- No coffee makers, heating plates, microwaves or refrigerators in classrooms.
- No plugin room deodorizers - take these out Tuesday so the smell of them are gone before the inspection
- Nothing can be taped to outside windows
- Door glass must be clear for easy sight into all classrooms
- Nothing on top of uni vents
- All classrooms must have emergency procedures and evacuation routes by your door. If you do not, please see Margaret to get a new copy.
- No Hanging plants
- Nothing hanging from the ceiling by a string
- No curtains
If you have any questions, please see Rodney or Christine
Problem Solving Meetings: Action Item
We meet every other Friday. Our next meeting is Friday 2/22
Ed Hartman will be our sub for these meetings and he will cover your class while we meet and problem solve.
Leader in Me Weekly: Action Item
At our last staff meeting, we discussed promoting a culture of modeling. Please take time to explore the following online module.
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Race in Oak Park: Action Item
Each week, I will highlight a new video or article. Here is this weeks information and food for thought:
THE STORY
Relearning History, Telling New Stories
As a child, New York Times bestselling author Daniel José Olde, was unable to see the world he was experiencing represented in the books he read. As an adult, he creates characters which bring the realities of young people of color to life.
Karyn Parsons, actress, author, founder of Sweet Blackberry, saw disparities between the facts she discovered as an adult and those taught in the history classes of her youth.
How does representation (or a lack thereof) in curricula affect the way children view themselves? How much agency do students deserve in their classroom? Motivated by their own childhood experiences, Daniel and Karyn tell new stories and surface tales of the past to ensure the stories of today are a more accurate illustration of history, truth, and lived experience.
Staff Shout Outs - Action Item
Holmes School Mission
Keeping the End in Mind - This is our end in mind and our plan to get there.
Vision:
Create a positive learning environment for all District 97 students that is equitable, inclusive and focused on the whole child.
Mission:
At Holmes School our mission is to:
establish positive relationships by celebrating differences and embracing diversity
engage students in equitable learning experiences
empower students to be proactive, collaborative leaders
prepare students to be successful lifelong learners and productive citizens