BARBER BULLETIN
Creating Joyful Leaders and Learners Week of September 3-7
EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT (Shared by Dr. Sheley)
At the beginning of the school year the rationale for classroom routines needs to be explained. Routines need to be modeled and practiced until they become clearly established. The time spent on learning routines is a good investment. A few hours at the beginning of the school year will yield tremendous benefits at the end of the school year, when every minute counts.
If at the beginning of the day, a minute or two is wasted when the students enter the class, the teacher waits two minutes while three students look for their workbooks, and another minute is lost while a student sharpens a pencil, that lost instructional time adds up. Ten minutes wasted in the morning and five minutes wasted after lunch does not seem like much. However, when added up day after day, the results are astounding. In a typical week that fifteen minutes equals an hour and fifteen minutes. Over the course of an average school year it adds up to about 230 hours of precious instructional time. In many classrooms the number is much greater than a mere fifteen minutes per day.
Organizational routines ensure students are prepared to learn. These routines should be taught and practiced during the first few days of school. Students need to learn to organize their study materials. It is one less distraction from academic learning and it saves wasted time looking for things. Being organized means things have a specific place and students are able to locate them quickly.
Just as students need to be organized so do teachers. Materials should always be placed in the same location. When a teacher spends time looking for the teacher edition, writing assignments on the board in class, or searching for a form, valuable instructional time is lost.
Class should begin immediately after the bell rings. When students enter the classroom, a Do Now assignment, homework and other assignments should be written in the same place on the board every day. Students should be expected to enter the classroom quietly, sit down at their desks, and begin to complete an activity designed to reinforce a previously taught skill.
The teacher should not begin class by taking role; rather, the effective teacher should look to make sure that all students are actively engaged. When everyone is working on the assigned task the teacher should then complete administrative tasks such as taking role and completing the lunch count.
Pencil sharpening is a huge waste of class time. Instead of allowing students to sharpen pencils during class time, there should be a container of sharpened pencils in an easily accessible location. If the pencil breaks, students can quickly exchange their pencil for another sharpened pencil. ● Establish eye contact with students to help to maintain attention. ● Each directive should be provided using short, simple sentences. ● Sentences should not be phrased in the negative. Instead of saying, "Don't go outside," say, "Stay inside.” ● Gestures, pantomimes, pictures, and samples can help get the point across. ● Speak slowly and clearly but in an adult manner. ● It may be necessary to repeat directions several times
Instructional routines ensure that lessons move along smoothly at a steady pace. One area where time is often lost occurs when a student gives an incorrect response. Often when someone responds with an incorrect answer, it is not unusual for a teacher to work with the student until they understand or gives the correct response. The rest of the group simply sits and/or becomes distracted. This wastes a great deal of instructional time. Corrective feedback should be given to the entire group. It is better for the teacher to stop and say, “My turn,” and then provide the correct response; or explain the concept to the entire group. Next, the teacher should ask for a group response to the original question or problem. Finally, the teacher should ask for individual responses, including the student who made the original incorrect response.
Circulation is a key component to effective classroom management: Teachers should continually walk around the classroom. Circulating around the classroom helps to decrease off-task behavior during instructional and independent work times. While many teachers believe they do not need to monitor students closely as long as the class appears to be quiet and the students seem to be working it is not usual for 70% of the class to be off-task during independent work time.
Inappropriate behavior such as whispering to a neighbor, passing notes, teasing, and arguing are often ignored. These behaviors interfere with the student’s own learning and the learning of other students, as well as disrupt the teacher’s delivery of the lesson. The posting of clearly stated rules and consequences along with teacher consistency lead to a well-managed classroom.
Rewards and consequences need to be clearly established and followed through every time. Table points or a peer rewards program tend to keep all students on task. Discipline for individual students should be quiet and private. Disciplinary conversation should not be held across the room. No one should argue with students. This takes up valuable class time, and there is no winner.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO ACCESS THIS LINK AND ADD A CLASSROOM MGMT STRATEGY YOU USE IN THE CLASSROOM. We can all learn from one another! Thank you in advance for sharing!
BENEFITS DIVISION OF HUMAN RESOURCES
The Benefits Division of Human Resources is currently transitioning our area and we have assigned a dedicated Benefits Representative for each work location. I will be serving as the Benefits Representative for your location and I look forward to helping you and your employees with insurance benefits and retirement questions/concerns, changes in family status, requests for Family and Medical Leave (FMLA), open enrollment, and more.
For your convenience, most transactions can now be completed electronically or via district mail. Monica will be serving as our first point of contact and email is usually the quickest way to get in touch with her. Her contact information is:
Email: mhenders@richland2.org
Phone: 803-738-3272 Fax: 803-782-6723
Interoffice Mail: Monica Henderson, HR-1st Floor / DO at R2i2
She looks forward to working with each of you and thank you in advance for your patience as we transition the Benefits Division of Human Resources and march towards our district's goal of being the PREMIER school district, period.
Our Media Center needs books for our young readers!
If you have any books geared towards little readers, we would love to add them to our collection. You can bring the books to the Media Center or Cami Bruns can pick them up from your room. Thank you in advance!
SOCIAL DUES
It's time to turn in social committee money. This year all certified staff members are asked to pay $25 and non-certified staff members $15. You can bring the money to Betsy Jackson's classroom (E-2) or put it in a sealed envelope with your name on it and place it in her box. Feel free to write a check made payable to Pontiac Elementary Social Committee. We would like to have all money collected by October 1st.
This is a long standing tradition committed to taking care and supporting each other in times of need as well as helping to build community and relationships with each other.
You never know what may be thrown your way in life and I think many of our faculty and staff members can attest that a meal, card, flowers or note can be so uplifting and helpful during times of need.
A few things worth highlighting:
* This is not a "party" account and all money is spent fairly and equally for all in need. (you never know when and if you will be the one in need)
* The social "committee" is now a part of the environmental action team. Those listed as members will help make decisions about special events that may need monetary support from our school social dues.
* PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: Let one of us know if you have a team member that needs support in any way- we cannot address needs if we don't know about them.
ALSO- VERY IMPORTANT: Please understand that there are individuals who may not want needs made public or addressed and we will respect their wishes. We just don't want to leave anyone out of support if they would like it.
OUR WEEK TOGETHER:
Tuesday:
PTO Fall Fundraiser kicks off
Public release of state testing scores
Classroom administrative walk throughs begin
Wednesday:
3:30pm Parrot Prep Academy for our 1st/2nd year teachers
Thursday:
Flu shots available through Nurse Larck's office
Grade level collaboration meetings
8:15am Administrators participating in DATA ERA 5 meeting
3:15pm ESOL Cluster Teachers book study
6:30pm PTO meeting
Friday:
Please ensure you have made positive phone calls to each of your students' families and logged this in PowerSchool.
Have you sent your grade level's recommendations to invite a parent to SIC/PTO?
FALL PICTURES