AD Connect
3-5-18
Happy Sheet
Field Trips
Several of you have wondered and perhaps others without voicing it, what is going on with field trip approval. First, know that we want you to understand that we are trying to all be on the same page as Area Directors. Furthermore, we want children to participate in field trips with a clear academic focus. Please let me know if you have any questions. Below is a list of field trips that have been approved this year.
Kindergarten
Klyde Warren Park/Reunion Tower
Sci-Tech/Celebration Park
Environmental Waste/Garland Fire Dept/Pet Adoption/Gale Fields Rec Center
First Grade
Dallas Farmers Market/Klyde Warren Park
Yesterland Tree Farm
Dallas Arboretum
Dallas World Aquarium
Second Grade
Old Red Museum
Frontiers of Flight Museum
Ft. Worth Museum of Science
Third Grade
South Garland High School Play
Museum of International Cultures
Perot Museum
Lakeview Centennial Planetarium
Fourth Grade
Symphony CCC
Ft. Worth Museum of Science
John Bunker Sands Wetlands Center
Heard Museum
Fifth Grade
Dallas Heritage Village
UTA Arlington Planetarium
Pine Cove/Sky Ranch
Absences
Leveraging the Best
Rewiring the Brain
This time of year can be stressful so think about ways to promote positivity. Stress can sometimes lead to complaining. I recently read that people complain at least once per minute during any given conversation. The scary part is that according to Bradberry's article, How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity, " Repeated complaining rewires your brain to make future complaining more likely. Over time, you find it’s easier to be negative than to be positive, regardless of what’s happening around you. Complaining becomes your default behavior, and.....damages other areas of your brain as well." One way to alleviate stress is to rewire our brains. Put Bradberry’s advice to use and you will reap the benefits of positive thinking. Click here to read his article.
STAAR Readiness Plans
Thank you all for submitting your STAAR readiness plans. I was so impressed with your intentionality and creativity, I thought it would be a good idea to share a few ideas with all of you. Sometimes it’s the simple plans that lead to the greatest outputs. Here are a few practices that stood out:
Reorganize after school duties to maximize STAAR grade level tutoring
For Tier I students, move beyond basic skills during intervention and small group work; plan stations that provide students with STAAR level rigor
Utilize Friday intervention block to engage students in interactive, game oriented STAAR practice activities
Wednesday tutoring is provided schoolwide and transportation is provided for bus riders
Extended Day is every Tuesday/Thursday and students are provided snacks through Student Nutrition
Teachers will have mini mock bi-weekly assessments in place to check for mastery and provide information for reteach
Two iTime teachers will push into the classroom to support 4th grade writing
Suspend PLCs for K-2 so teachers can push in to support 3-5 grade instruction
Begin computer tutorials before school to work on targeted areas based on teacher input through a shared spreadsheet. Learning paths include Khan Academy, Istation, Flocabulary, and Think Through Math are used. Assignments in Khan Academy and Flocabulary are given a grade and students may not move on until the activity is mastered with a 70%.
Using Parent Feedback to Improve
What's Going On
March 3-You Matter to Garland ISD Paraprofessional Conference
March 5- Area Meeting
March 8-Nomination window closes for Student Heroes Award
March 9-No formal observations
March 12-16- Spring Break
March 22- Team GISD
March 30- Student/Staff Holiday
March 31-Last day for Dimension U
Do Somebody Say Vacation ?
Tuesday: Campus Visits
Wednesday: CIA and AD meetings
Thursday: Campus Visits
Friday: Campus Visits