Zitzman Elementary 411
Game On
What's Happening This Week:
All Week ZE Food Drive, Scholastic Book Fair, & ELA Evaluate
Tuesday: No Letter Day. Tiger returns to her Den. Dr. Sladek @ ZE. Grandparents Day #1 (A-K) 1:00-3:00pm. Good News Club 3:40pm. Girls on the Run 3:50pm. MMD Meeting @ 4:00pm. PTO Meeting @ 6:00pm.
Wednesday: C Day. Custodial/Maintenance Appreciation Day! Dr. Sladek @ CE. Pancakes with Parents @ 7:30am. Elementary Admin Council at 1:00pm.
Thursday: No Letter Day. PTO Scenty Fundraiser begins. Dr. Sladek @ ZE. Grandparents Day #2 (L-Z) 1:00-3:00pm. Girls on the Run 3:50pm.
Friday: D Day. Dr. Sladek @ CE.
Saturday: Girls on the Run Race Day 7:00am! Sports Dinner Auction 5:00pm.
PLC Leader in Me Reflection
Nov. 13- No PLC
Nov. 20- No PLC
Nov. 27 PLC Focus = Lead Measures for Reading & Positive Pop-Ins
Questions to think about.........
- What do we want our students to learn? (Essential Standards)
- How will we know if they have learned it? (Team-Developed Common assessments)
- What will we do if they don't learn? (Systematic Interventions)
- What will we do if they already know it? (Extended Learning)
Pick List Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ox3s6u-u36rN-01EMaFK-WANPTblAGvh/view?usp=sharing
Student Reading WIG Sheet Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r_YbCcl63_EfjAtsqDr0Jrein2lrP-uJ/view?usp=sharing
Leader In Me: The CLIP CHART...dunn dunn dunnn.
OK so the beginning of this article was a conversation about the Clip Chart and the culture that comes with in the classroom. I ALWAYS have conflicting reason and opinion when it comes to the infamous 'Clip Chart' conversation sooo I left that part of the conversation out haha! (If you want to read the whole article click on the link below!)
https://limweekly.org/to-clip-or-not-to-clip-that-is-the-question/
The part I found to be informative, motivating and a self check was this list below - Are these things happening in your classroom? Can you allow this paradigm shift?
Sean: So what can a teacher do to create an empowered classroom?
Lynne: Here are some ideas using key practices from the Leader in Me process:
- Build a class mission statement. Have students collaboratively answer questions like, “What do we want our class to feel like, sound like, and look like?” From that discussion, the class can build a class mission statement together. A mission statement inspires the class, provides focus, and gives direction when faced with choices.
- Develop a common language. Build on the class mission statement with the common language of the 7 Habits to engage students in community-building, self-regulation, and teamwork. Encourage students to use the language as they work throughout their day.
- Engage and inspire students to be leaders. Come to a common understanding through discussion about what it means to be a leader. Help students see that true leaders choose to lead their own life (lead self), and help others realize their own potential (lead others). Develop short phrases that can be used by the teacher and the students—phrases that encourage, highlight, or redirect.
- Develop Win-Win Agreements rather than classroom rules. Decide as a class how we want to be treated and how we will treat others versus being given a set of rules. Giving students a voice fosters a collaborative learning environment.
- Create routines. Teach students how to conduct themselves in the morning, what they should do during transitions, how to care for classroom materials, and so forth. The First 8 Days content is a good resource. It can be found here.
- Develop leadership roles. Give everyone a voice and responsibilities, and, when possible, align roles with individual needs. For someone like Sam, a leadership role like office messenger could have given him an opportunity to move around or take a needed break, while still contributing. (Check out this Leader in Me Weekly article about leadership roles here)
- Affirm students’ worth and potential. Look for and recognize individual strengths. Give students an opportunity to use their strengths to contribute to the class. When students find their voice, they inspire others to find theirs. Win-Win!
- Go deeper with the 7 Habits. Teach the paradigms and highly effective practices of the 7 Habits. The 7 Habits give students the social-emotional skills needed to self-regulate and socially mature over time. Practices such as “pause and respond based on principles and desired results,” “focus on your Circle of Control,” and “define outcomes before you act” emphasize internal motivation (self-management skills) versus external motivation (behavior charts).
- Take time to highlight individual strengths publicly and privately. Sometimes a teacher’s recognition of a job well done will be the only positive thing a student hears the entire day.
- Set class goals. Encourage teamwork by working toward class goals together. Ensure students understand how achieving individual academic goals contributes to personal and collective growth.
- Master and utilize Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. When conflicts do arise, listen to students’ perspectives first, read nonverbal cues, ask students for suggestions to remedy the situation, and thank them for working with you (Seek First to Understand). Then, and only then, share your thoughts (Then to Be Understood).
All of these elements combine to create a leadership classroom where everyone has a sense of belonging and contributes to the purpose and mission of the class—both collaboratively created.
My father always taught that we manage things but we lead people. So what if we shifted our paradigm from “Classroom Management” to “Classroom Leadership”?
Lynne has given us some ideas on how to make this shift. I know it’s not as easy as it sounds, but from my experience visiting classrooms around the world, creating a culture where students are internally motivated and empowered to behave well is a better approach to creating a great learning environment in your class than external motivators.
Attendance
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1brP7DWriClz-kdlYAF0W1BPZZMobTgdwMOh1VUPUP94/edit?usp=sharing
Here is another approach. We have identified the students UNDER 90% at attendance. We will be monitoring their attendance DAILY and will also note the steps we have taken to bring attendance to their attention as well as supporting their needs:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cvkqd1npUampG4Q9faoiF8wEWqxye5ub0Tope3bhodM/edit?usp=sharing
Counselor's Corner
Week of 11/12 - 2nd week (2nd, 3rd, 5th)
Mon - Regular lesson schedule
Tues - Grandparents day - no lessons (will be made up on Tuesday 11/27)
Wed - Regular lesson schedule
Thurs - Grandparents day - no lessons (will be made up on Thursday 11/29)
Fri - Regular lesson schedule
We are working on coping skills this month.
Ask your students to demonstrate a coping skill!
Due to the numerous events and holiday this month, the weeks of 11/19 and 11/26 will be make-up weeks.
11/19 - Make-ups from conference
Anding 9:30
Bielicke 2:20
Bruns 2:55
11/20 - Holycross 2:20
11/27 - Schmidt 2:20
11/28 - Dunn 9:30 (1/2 day make-up)
11/29 - Collier 1:30
Short 2:20
Titter 2:55Shout Out to the Armstrong Family: CONGRATULATIONS
We are so happy for you, Tiger! What a blessing it is to be surrounded by so many loved ones. We hope you have enjoyed your time off and focused on Habit #7. We are excited for you to return to your den!