Food for Thought
Principal's Weekly Communication -Week of February 15
PBIS
Our PBIS Team has completed the following tasks set forth from the beginning of the year checklist shared with staff:
- Develop a purpose statement
- Establish a monthly PBIS Leadership team and meet schedule for the school year
- Define Staff vs Administrator managed behaviors (Define them)
- Develop behavior Matrix
We are currently working on:
- Developing PBIS Flowchart
- Developing plans and procedures for encouraging and discouraging behaviors.
Updates from our District PBIS Team: The District team organized for reps at each building to attend a Universal Tier 1 training. Marny and Guy will be attending for our building. The team is also working on a district wide implementation plan for the 2016-2017 school year.
School Improvement Planning Through Rising Star
Our focus of differentiation will be on three tiers of an assignment.
Prerequisite
- Figure out ways to further scaffold the task within the standard so that students who may struggle with the task can be successful. Double check to make sure that you have not watered down the task.
Target
- Figure out ways to scaffold the task within the standard so that students at or near grade level can be successful with the task.
Enhanced
- Think about the most advanced student you have. Design an activity within the standard that would stretch this student.
Friday afternoon teams will:
Become familiar with the unit (UofS website) ENCORE: Be familiar with upcoming unit for ONE grade level
Make note of repeated standards throughout unit from week to week (priority standard)
Choose an identified standard to differentiate
Choose a student task that focuses on that standard (as opposed to a teacher task)
Gather resources: CCSS flip charts; Genre flip chart; Journey’s teacher manual; Traits writing manual
Refer to the Planning a Tiered Activity chart
Brainstorm ideas and write differentiated plans for at least one
Outcome: one task is differentiated into the three tiers
March 8-grade level teams share out proposed plans for differentiated tasks at staff meeting
- April 5-grade level teams share out how the implemented task went
- Learning Environment: CL8 The school culture supports teachers in practicing effective and responsive instruction to meet individual student needs.
Educator Quality: ID13 Instructional teams meet for blocks of time sufficient to develop and refine units of instruction and review student learning data.
Teaching and Learning: IIB04 Teachers differentiate instruction based on assessment results to provide support for some students and enhance learning opportunities for others.
How Do I Fit It All In During Literacy Time?
Many of you have said you were not sure how to fit everything into Literacy? I encourage all of you to review this plan and reflect on your current literacy plan to see how this aligns to what you are doing. Jenni A. is willing to collaborate with you to help support you through this to make it a reality if you are identifying this as a need.
Formative Assessment Ideas to help with Differentiated Instruction
As we differentiate for our learners, many of you have been asking for quick, easy formative assessment ideas. These two links provide some great examples:
formative assessment ideas with tech
- I love that my team is always willing to share ideas and encourage me to try new things, especially technology. Nixon
- I would like to thank Husmann for supporting the first of what we hope to be annual "Mystery Nights". Monica for Mission Control and all of the suspects; Anita Wolfe, Joy Burney, Kristin Ziemba, Mike Belmonte, Guy Sromek, Lynn Casey, Jill Gabel and especially Sandy Kinahan, for agreeing to have her Guilty picture posted at the event and all over social media! Thank you for all of the support and for motivating the students!
Monica and Guy ROCK for letting me change my room to an Alternative Seating Classroom!! Thanks so much! ~ Kerri Tilton
Mike, Richard, and Luis ROCK for building my bookshelves and doing hard labor to change my classroom! ~ Kerri Tilton
My teammates (Jill, Jen, and Katie) ROCK for their support with the change of my classroom!! ~ Kerri Tilton
Tina Serra ROCKS for letting me use a library table and chairs in my classroom!
! ~ Kerri Tilton
Marilyn Perry ROCKS for helping me organize and label the new classroom!! ~ Kerri Tilton
Tina Serra rocks for all of the extra time and effortshe put into setting up the Mystery Night. The students and their parents don't always recognize the hard work it takes to put on an event like this. Thank you!!! ^_^ Lisa
Jenny Massie and Kerri Tilton rock for opening up their classrooms for other teachers to observe & learn!
Jenni Atkinson
2/15
- No School!
2/16
- 5th grade band
- Book Fair
- BOE Mtg
- Chess Club
- After School Boy's Basketball
2/17
- Chorus
- Monica @CORE all day (Principal Mtg)
- Book Fair day/night
2/18
- PPS Mtg
- Recycle
- Book Fair
- After School Basketball
- Sign Language Club
2/19
- Rebecca Caudill Book Club
- 5th grade band
- K rehearsal
- After school basketball
- Girl Scouts