Sunday Shakedown
Weekly Memo for Washington Elementary
Principal Post
1. Drop the nostalgia. One big barrier to connecting with students is our nostalgia for the past, the way we constantly compare our current students with the (better) ones we used to teach. “Do you remember earlier teaching years when parents were more involved and students were less hostile? Do you wish you were in that other school where you taught before — where you had fewer discipline problems and struggled with fewer slackers? Do you pine for last year when you got through all the material with students who behaved pretty well and seemed to enjoy learning? I don’t know any teacher who does not have bouts of nostalgia. But hear me now: you’ve gotta let go of it! This nostalgia interferes with connection to present students. It keeps you from seeing THESE students — their needs and gifts” (52).
2. Tell your own stories. When you share parts of your own personal life with students, they get more comfortable sharing their own, and this is how connections are made. “Try to tell some sort of a personal story about once a week. It doesn’t have to be long. It does not have to be earth shattering. When you get a lot of feedback or stories of their own, you know you have struck gold!” (202).
3. Learn their culture. Students live in a very different world than the one we lived in at their age. “You are, by definition, not ‘one of them.’ You don’t need to and should not be ‘one of them.’ If you want to connect to them, however, they must immediately sense that you value them” (81). Sturtevant urges us to learn about students’ musical tastes, the movies and T.V. shows they’re into, and the slang terms they use. “These actions show you care enough to pay attention to their world, even if it pulls you a bit out of your comfort zone to do so” (86).
4. Keep prying. Keep persisting. Be patient. With students who are slower to warm up, we need to put our egos aside and just keep trying. “Gentle, focused nudging of a reluctant student toward being comfortable enough to open up a bit” is what will ultimately get you there, but don’t rush it: “Be cool! You have time, perhaps all year. The goal is to have a strong relationship as soon as possible, but accept that it may not happen until late in the game” (88-89).
5. Run toward trouble. Connecting with students isn’t just about smiles and funny stories. “Troubled times are the best times for connection,” Sturtevant writes (226). “Be on the lookout for difficult times, blowups, setbacks, failures, hurt, and disappointments,” resolve problems in a constructive, respectful way, and your connection to those students will be stronger.
Thanks, celebration and appreciation:
- Thanks to all for your diligence in teaching Eclipse procedures and for monitoring so closely. It ended up being a great event because you all put the time in to make it so.
- Thank you to Hope Parnell for her dedication to us in Mark's absence. We are interviewing tomorrow. 4th grade devices are due approximately the first week of September.
- Thanks to Kristian for getting our fifth grade interested students prepared to sing at the Mets game on the 30th
- Thanks to all of you who were present for our VIP night. Open house is a big deal to families and I appreciate you welcoming them and spending a bit of quality time letting them get to know our school.
- Great job on our Lockdown Drill-you made it seem seamless!
- Thanks to Sue Bragg who will serve on our Canvas team district wide to help bring GWES in 4th adn 5th grade into the world of Canvas onlline learning.
- Thanks to our Patriot Promise action team for planning a terrific first pep rally.
- Thanks to Sue Trent for preparing for and organizing the RTI meetings
- Thanks to Billy Etter for organizing the scheduling of students on Milo, our new robot for autism. His meet and greet on Friday was a huge success!
Week of August 21, 2017
Read to be Ready walkthrough with Emily Helphinstine and Laura Click (Read to be Ready coach)-not formal, just to gain knowledge of who, what where of literacy
RTI groups begin
Chinese teacher arrives-review plan below.
SST meeting 11:30-12:20 (by invitation)
Universal Screener clinic in conference room-see notes below.
Tuesday:
Shasta at GWES
Wednesday:
Kingsport Mets Game 6:30
Stream planning visit-Andrea Fissel and Wendy Courtney (KCS Stream coordinators) will tour the building and come by at planning time to meet each of you. She may visit about 10 minutes). Shasta willl accompany
Birthdays with the Principals
LCC collaborative
Fire drill at 2:30
Shasta at GWES
Thursday:
Class picture day. Schedule to be sent at a later time.
LCC Collaborative
Friday:
A look ahead:
AED/CPR drill September 5th at 9:00 (Emergency Response Team only)
LCF Math collaborative September 5th, end of unit
4th grade to conservation camp on Wed, Sept 6
Elementary principals' meeting- Heather out 10-1:30
First "Surprise Club Day" September 7th
September 11, behavior team to RTI2 B training at ASC(Monday and Tuesday)-please request subs and time off using non-kcs sponsored
For Your Information:
- Remember our dedication to 2 positive parent contacts a week. This can be note, email, or call. The power of depositing in a parents' emotional bank account is critical to a supportive relationship.
- Laura is ready to begin planning for small groups and check in and check out for tier two students. That means it is time to take the universal screener for behavior. It is attached to this weeks' email and Laura is offering a clinic tomorrow afternoon for any who want here assistance in using it. If you do not need help, please feel free to complete in on your own and send it to her by the end of the week.
- REMINDER!What is your music 911 song? Have you ever had a time when that perfect song changes your mood? Our social committee and I thought it would be fun to make a playlist of those songs that are our music 911 songs. We will play one at every faculty meeting. Please follow this link to list your 911 song.
Professional Musings:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz4pwkANLjvoYnd2MjVhRkotM1U/view?usp=sharing
Innovative Educators of Kingsport City Schools
Are you passionate about education? Do you enjoy learning about and implementing new strategies? Would you like to create a more student-centered learning environment? Then consider joining the Innovative Educators of Kingsport City Schools.
We are looking to grow our network of K-12 teachers like you from across the district to come together for a day of training, go back and implement new practices, then meet up monthly to celebrate and troubleshoot. This is a wonderful opportunity to push yourself to the next level! Here's what you need to do:
1. Watch the short video linked above.
2. Check out the Information and Registration Site.
3. Attend September 30th from 9:00-3:00.
4. Commit to attending as many of the monthly follow-ups as possible.
Just a note for those who joined the cohort last year: You do not need to attend the Saturday session, and you will receive information soon about dates for the monthly follow-ups. If you have any questions after watching the video and reading the information sheet, please contact:
Dr. Stephanie Potter, spotter@k12k.com
Dr. Brian Cinnamon, bcinnamon@k12k.com
Alyson Dowda, adowda@k12k.com
Emily has the following dates scheduled for your planning days. Michelle has already put in for subs. All you need to do is put it in Skyward for KCS sponsored days. See below for your dates:
Chinese program begins this week:
Tuesday-begin schedule below. Although it is assigned by teacher, you may decide that during your center's month you can arrange Ms. Li's instruction in any manner you wish (small group pulling from both math classes two weeks/small group literacy pulled from two literacy classes at same time two weeks, or other options planned by you)
All Fridays that are open are for her to hold small groups during RACE day. We will need to determine which 10-12 children will attend her class each Friday.