Cordata Weekly Bulletin
12/10/2018
Good morning, Cordata!
This Friday, we're setting time aside for a school-wide buddy event! As we head off to winter break, this is a way to help our students feel connected to our community. Carissa will be sending you some information about big buddies helping little buddies create friendship bracelets. This grew from an idea that sprouted in kindergarten last year, and we saw how much it meant to those students to have a visible sign of their connection to their class community.
Buddy classes will meet from 8:45-9:25 on Friday morning (although teachers, you can certainly schedule for longer if you choose). We'd like to get all of the adults possible to join in with a buddy class! I'll post the buddy classes in the staff room - adults, sign your name next to the buddy-pair that you will join so we can spread ourselves out.
A few snapshots of fun and learning around Cordata last week (clockwise from top left):
- preK kiddos matching numbers
- 5th graders buddying up on an integrated science/literacy/art project
- 1st graders on their airplane flight to the Middle East to learn about holidays around the world
- A 4th grade wintry art display
- 4th graders showing off a recent sewing project
- 2nd graders exploring strategies for adding tens
The week ahead - 12/10 - 12/14
As you saw in the email Alexa sent last week on behalf of the Behavior Data Team, the team is asking that we take this week and the week following winter break to reteach and practice expected behaviors in the hallway. This includes walking, using a level 0 or 1 voice, and enjoying student work in the hallways with eyes but not hands. Please take some time to reteach and reinforce. Folders with behavior expectations lessons and posters can be found on the intranet, in the Positive Behavior Supports folder. Just click here.
In addition, you may want to continue the work recommended last week:
These weeks before a big holiday break are a good time to revisit self-regulation strategies. On our SEL calendar, I recommend that everyone (whether you are using Positive Discipline, Caring School Community, or a blend) use the called Exploring Tools for Calming, pp 113-117 in Zones of Regulation. The SEL calendar gives a little more detail (linked in the title above), as well as a related lesson that can be found in EVO. (EVO is the website that you use when you complete the DESSA assessment, and is also a treasure trove of SEL lessons.)
Upcoming Dates
- Dec. 10 - January 11 - Reteach and practice expected hallway behaviors
- Dec. 17 - January 1 - WINTER BREAK! See you back at school on January 2!
- Jan. 7 - 2:45-3:45 - Firm and Kind committee meeting
- Jan. 8 - 2:45-3:45 - Staff meeting in the library
- Jan. 15 - 2:45 - 4:00 - SECOND Tech Integration session for all Cordata cert staff
- Jan. 21 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - no school for staff or students
- Jan. 24 - 2:00-3:00 - Cert staff PD and collaboration time
- Jan. 28 - 2:45-3:45 - Firm and Kind committee (this is a change from previously published Jan. 21)
- Jan. 29 - Teacher work day between semesters - no school for students or classified staff
- Feb. 5 - 2:45-3:45 - Staff meeting in the library
- Feb. 11 - 2:45-3:45 - Firm and Kind committee meeting (This is a change from previously published Feb. 4)
- Feb. 14 - 2:00-3:00 - Cert staff PD and collaboration time
- March 19 - 2:45-4:00 - THIRD Tech Integration session for all Cordata cert staff
- April 23 - 2:45-2:00 - FOURTH Tech Integration session for all Cordata cert staff
Other News and Information
I'd like to challenge every adult to notice and support our students' and teachers' efforts to reteach and practice expected hallway behavior! When you see individuals or a whole class meeting the expectations, give them some specific feedback. Instead of "great job," try . . .
- Wow, you're staying so quiet in the hallways, the other classes can really focus on learning when you are so quiet.
- Thanks for walking, it helps our hallways feel really safe!
- . . . or something like that.
Teachers, maybe you'll want to set a goal for your class after receiving a certain number of compliments?!
- Classified staff and certificated specialists, don't forget to stop by the staff room and sign up for the buddy-class pair that you'll join for our school-wide buddy event this Friday morning!
- At our staff meeting last week, I shared that I am considering possible locations for Promise K. With 11 young Cordata students already on our Promise K list, it is quite likely that we will be hosting a class at Cordata again this year. One possible location is our computer lab, which means that we will replace our desktop computers with laptops on carts. (This was scheduled to happen at the end of this school year, but this would move the change forward to January.) This plan has pros and cons . . . many that I'm thinking of, and some that I may not yet be aware of. If you have ideas, questions, or concerns, please share them with me. You may email me, or join me on Wednesday morning in the computer lab to discuss. I will also plan to stay after our Improv collaboration time on Thursday, in case you prefer an after school conversation time.
In closing . . .
Keep being amazing!!