The Bullock Brief
October 16-20
Our Values
- encourage all Bengals to develop a passion for success: a strong work ethic, love of learning and healthy interpersonal relationships.
- enlighten parents about the vital role in a child's education and the community on ways they can contribute to the overall success of our school and their children.
- empower our students to love and respect themselves and others.
- engage our students in leadership roles and rigorous curriculum.
Duty Schedule
B week for duty [schedule link].
Habit 7 Schedule
Monday, Oct 16 - B day
Tuesday, Oct 17 - C day
Wednesday, Oct 18 - D day
Thursday, Oct 19 - E day
Friday, Oct 20 - F day
Monday, Oct 23 - A day
Tuesday, Oct 24 - B day* (PM only K 11:55, 2nd 1:00, 5th 1:45)
Wednesday, Oct 25 - B day* (PM only 1st 11:55, 4th 1:00, 3rd 1:45)
Thursday, Oct 26 - C day* (PM only 1st 11:55, 4th 1:00, 3rd 1:45)
Friday, Oct 27 - 1/2 day/C day* (AM only 5th 8:15, 2nd 9:30, K 10:50)
* This schedule is subject to change based on our testing schedule. Stay tuned.
New News
Action Team meetings: Action team meetings on October 16th starting at 3:00pm. Action team chairs will be sending the agenda. Please provide a copy of the Action Planning sheets. The Lighthouse Team
Staffing Changes: Bullock family, I am sad to announce that we will be losing two wonderful members of the Bullock team this month. Rachel Carter will be pursuing an opportunity to work from home and keep baby Ben with her, while Francis will be retiring after many years of dedicated service. We will certainly miss these lovely ladies, but wish them the best in the new exciting chapters of their lives.
We are thrilled that Jordan Chaney will be taking over in Ms. Carter's 3rd grade classroom starting on October 23rd.
EC questions: We will have a new addition to the EC team in the near future. As the EC team navigates the recent changes in their department, while managing a challenging case load, please funnel questions in regards to EC services, scheduling, and any new referrals through me. Thank you for your help.
AVID: The AVID district meeting will be held at Bullock on November 29 from 3:30-4:30.
Cadets: We have the pleasure of having a wonderful group of prospective educators from Southern Lee High School visiting our school Oct. 16-20th. Their visits will be from approx. 8:10 am until 9:10 am each day this week. Ms. Perrell has contacted the teachers who will have a cadet visit directly.
Leave a Legacy : The PTO Leave a Legacy details are here. Nominees should be located here. We are missing many classroom nominees. The nominees will be narrowed on Monday, October 16th and school-wide voting will begin.
Volunteer Forms: All volunteers who are alone with a child should fill out an Authority to Release giving permission to conduct a background check. Some of our field trips require parents to take students in groups on their own and others stay with the group. To keep things consistent, please have all chaperones fill out an Authority to Release to chaperone a field trip.
Boys Restroom: Please closely monitor the boys restroom on Goal Drive (3rd/4th/5th). The boys are not using the facilities in an appropriate manner. Please report any misuse of the facilities to administration.
Jean Friday: EBA dues can be paid at anytime throughout the year. Please remember that jeans are only allowed on Friday ONLY if you have paid your dues. Once paid, jeans can be worn with a BTB or college shirt.
mClass (K-3 only): K-3 teachers please take a look at the mClass tips shared by our MLT, Holly Sirls. The newsletter was shared via email and the link is reshared here for your convenience. You can also register for the progress monitoring webinar shared by Dr. Chappell if you would like further information. Link here.
AR clarification: Mr. DuLany sent an email about deleting tests under the 80%. It was a tip to ensure we are monitoring student progress and keeping our expectations high. That strategy does not work well in younger grade classrooms. The spirit behind that suggestion is to make sure students are not taking low-level tests to accrue points without reading texts in their ZPD. Please manage that process however you see fit to encourage students to read challenging text with accountability. Kuddos to Mr. DuLany for all his hard work monitoring AR goals and keeping us all on track to accomplish our goals. He is doing a phenomenal job.
Instructional Tips
Same tip as last week, please make sure you find time to read. This research has important implications on our practice.
This week I am sharing an excellent article about the science of forgetting. Why Students Forget and What You Can Do About It. "Ebbinghaus pioneered landmark research in the field of retention and learning, observing what he called the forgetting curve, a measure of how much we forget over time. In his experiments, he discovered that without any reinforcement or connections to prior knowledge, information is quickly forgotten—roughly 56 percent in one hour, 66 percent after a day, and 75 percent after six days."
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Behavior Management
- Looking for a simple ideas to handle disrespect in your classroom? Check out this tip from Michael Linson.
Reminders
[IMPORTANT] Open enrollment: All employees need to go through the open enrollment process by October 31st. Details are here.
Accelerated Reader and Reading: Accelerated Reader is a school-wide program and an expectation at B.T. Bullock. Please make time for our students to work toward their reading goals on Accelerated Reader.
Young Authors: The Young Authors's competition is an excellent way to integrate writing into your classroom. Details are located here. All entries due November 9th. If you have questions, please see Charlene Schlott.
RtI: Please make sure the RtI spreadsheets are updated. You can work together on this during your kid talks in PLCs.
Resources: The Wonders instructional digital masters can be found here.
Radar screen: Student concerns? Submit names on the radar screen.
PLC Corner
B.T. Bullock Framework for Instruction PLC Topics 2017-18
- October - Essential questions
Finding time is always a challenge in every educator's busy day. Use your PLC time to complete some of those "must do" requirements. Always lead with the"why" and include kid talks. Structure your PLCs around these requirements to help you move toward your goals.
Week 1: Data day including data entry
Week 2: Item analysis/focus discussion (this is a great place to consider those 4 DuFour's questions)
Week 3: Goal setting and accountability (again, consider DuFour's 4)
Week 4: Vertical alignment
Leader in Me
Don't forget to vote on your Leader of the Week and to send them to the office to celebrate at 2:00 on Friday.
Leader in Me description here.
Events
Should be complete...check it off your list
- Leave a Legacy names - Oct. 9th end of day
- Send home Leave a Legacy letter - Oct. 9th
To do/events this week
- Wear jeans to start your week off right - Oct. 16th
- Leave a Legacy nominee narrowed - Oct. 16th
- K-2 RtI (if needed) - Oct. 17th at 2:45
- Joys of Reading (registered attendees) - Oct. 17th at 2:45
- R2A test (4th) - Oct. 18th
- Career day K-2 - Oct. 20th
Looking ahead
- Safe Schools modules - Oct. 17th
- Plan class Spelling Bee - Oct. 30th and Dec. 2nd
- Quarterlies - Week of Oct. 23rd
- Red Ribbon Week - Oct. 23-27th (O'Shaughnessy sending details soon)
- Engineer lunch (during regular lunch time our picnic benches behind K) - Oct. 26th
- End of Q1 - Oct. 26th
- Fall Festival - Oct. 26th
- Early dismissal - Oct. 27th
- Grade cards due - Nov. 1st
- NC Check-in - Nov. 2nd
- AR celebration - Nov. 3rd