Bridges Weekly Reflections
September 26th
Dear Team,
Of course, we find ourselves working collaboratively with other groups in the district that support us and also contribute to our success:
- PLHS guidance department. I so much appreciate the work of the guidance department at PLHS. Nate Gutshall, dept chair, and the rest of the guidance counselors have so expertly shaped what the Bridges experience is like to their students. Their consistent work here over the past years have definitely paid off!
- STRIVE. I had the privilege this past week of meeting with the STRIVE mentors for the year. I told them that STRIVE and our partnership with PL Rotary is one of the most important partnerships of our school. The lunches they provide from The Pointe, attendance incentives for students and scholarships they provide is without a doubt crucial for our school. I so much appreciate the leadership of Dr. Cindy Shepard, Max Moser and Manny Perez as STRIVE co-chairs.
- PLHS and district administration. Thanks to their efforts and support we have a staff that are available to fulfill our district mission to educate all learners to be contributing and productive members of our ever changing global society.
The year is off and running!!! Im excited to report our adventures for year eight!!
#WeArePLSAS
#Bridges1617
Warm regards,
Dave
Week at a Glance
- BSAT @ 730am
- Parent Intake Interview
- JUMP DAY Staff Meeting @ 730am
Tuesday
- Brown @ DSC admin meeting (am)
- BILT team meeting @ 3pm
Wednesday
- Army Recruiters @ Lunch
Thursday
- BILT team meeting @ 730am
- BILT SCIP presentation @ DSC @ 3pm
Friday
- Launch of JUMP DAY
- MAP data Friday morning coffee and PD with Maggie and Jill
Teacher Corner: Alexius Sereafus, English & Science
I started my second year as teacher with some trepidation. Last year, my first, was very challenging in the beginning as I struggled to get everything arranged, everything prepared and in its place. But even with preparation and planning, there was still the human element. Managing students took up a great deal of my time and effort in the early days of last year, when I felt like I spent two minutes calming, correcting, and cajoling for every minute of instruction. It was tiring, and I found myself trying to get properly psyched up to face more of the same in the early weeks of this year.
Then the year launched, and I found out the difference between being a first year teacher and a second year teacher. Students were more engaged, more helpful. They weren’t inclined to fight me over small things, were less disruptive and calmed down more readily when asked. They were more willing to speak out in my class, and old students even pushed new students to pay attention. My first few weeks of this year were as calm as my fourth quarter last year.
I’ve heard other teachers, my friends, my husband, my colleagues, refer to this phenomenon as “The Second Year Effect”. It has everything to do with trust, and nowhere is it more important than with at-risk students. Many students come to us with a string of shaky relationships with adults and authority figures in their wake. Many don’t really trust teachers because they haven’t had good experiences - schools have been a place of academic obstacles and power struggles. Many are resistant to authority figures in general, with a sense that these are people who are just here to boss them around or scold them. Because of this, many at-risk kids are reluctant to trust a new adult in their life, wary that it may be someone who will judge them, embarrass them, or leave them when they need help. A new teacher is a new face, an unknown quantity, a stranger in the classroom, and may not be worth the risk of forging a connection with. But as soon as you come back that second year? You become reliable, someone who can be trusted to be there and be supportive. You represent stability and tolerance. You go from being a stranger to being a friend.
Students are glad to see their teachers come back, and it’s a difference you can feel.
This week @ Bridges
I had the distinct pleasure of attending Ms. Olson's Com III class upon invitiation to watch her students presentations of 'What Inspires Me'. It was totally awesome. Simply outstanding! The courage, strength, grace and articulation of inspiration was . . . . .moving. I consider it a Top 10 career experience.
End of the Day
Com I students busy writing
Plato On Line Learning Lab
Projects class hard at work
Governement Students
MAP testing underway to support our SCIP
MAP testing underway to support our SCIP
From the student support team: Erik Elsberry, county therapist
Hello Bridges Community,
I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Bridges staff before school started to discuss how mental health can show up in the school. Staff sparked some insightful and engaging dialogue; so much so that I had some material left to cover (which is a good problem to have.) Below, I’ll outline the topics we discussed, as well as some of the concepts we did not get to.
· Connect Program referral process
· Educational vs. mental health diagnoses
· Complexity of potential causes behind commonly seen behaviors
· Chronological vs. developmental age
· Attachment
What we didn’t get to:
· Trauma and toxic stress
· Reactions to trauma
· Interventions – things to consider as an important adult in a traumatized child’s life
· Self care
References for more information:
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/
Happy Autumn!
Erik Elsberry, MA, LMFT
Therapist
Scott County Mental Health Center
952.496.8751
On a personal note: My oldest daughter, Kayla, celebrated her 18th birthday this weekend!
PD Points
Bridges PD Focus
- Promoting and sustaining critical literacy skills - Year 2
- Future Ready/Innovation Teaching & Learning - Year 2
- Characteristics of an at-risk student - Infusing this year
Below are dates for Friday morning PD sessions this quarter. CEU's and delicious coffee will be provided in sessions that support our building PD plan as well as the work you are doing in your classes. These are not mandatory, but attendance is encouraged!
Reading Plan
Sep 30 - MAP Data Review - Jill & Maggie facilitating
Oct 28 (Jump Day) - Mentorship Interventions, McKenzie Madsen facilitating (tentative)
Nov 10 (Early Release) - Map data session - Jill facilitating
Innovation
Oct 14 - PBL Come and Share: What is happening, where is planning at, what are questions/frustrations
At-risk characteristics and traits
Sep 16 - Dave (done!!)
Jump Day
- Sep 20 - Learning Team - Dave (done!!)