Lovett Notes
A Newsletter for Lovett Staff
Coming up this week!
TELPAS Window All Week
Monday March 20
Lovett Spirit Night at Russo's NY Pizzeria
Tuesday March 21
4:00 pm Report Card Grades are Due
Wednesday March 22
3:20 pm Student Council Meeting; Library
3:30 pm Mandatory STAAR in-service for teachers and monitors involved in March STAAR Testing; Lounge
Thursday March 23
8:00 am General PTO Meeting; Cafeteria
9:00 am Magnet Tour
9:30-2:00 pm Band Field Trip to Waltrip High School
3:30 pm SDMC Meeting; Data Room
Friday March 24
Report Cards Go Home
8:00-10:00 am Spring & Class Pictures; MPR
Saturday March 25
10:00 am Art Car Build Day!!!
Maintaining A Positive Learning Enviornment through the end of the year
Today starts the last 48 days of school. We start the school year focused, excited and thinking about just how we are going to make our classrooms the best place for learning for all students. It is critical that as educators, we reflect and ensure that we have the same focus in the last quarter of the school year. I love the work of Randy Sprick and Champs Classroom Management Strategies. Here are a few tips:
1. Clarify and teach expectations(like a coach): this needs to be ongoing, constant and consistent. As soon as you start to ease up on your expectations it gives students room to make repeated behavior errors. This should be done everyday!
2. Use your classroom rules and your positive expectations: If the rules and expectations are just for show hanging on the wall, your students will already know this by now and will not follow them.
3. Use positive feedback and attention strategically to improve student behavior.
4. Consider group based incentives for particularly tough classes to manage(consider whole class points or team competitions) If you have particular misbehaviors that are consistent, consider targeting your points to those behaviors.
Regardless of your approach, the key is to know that the end of the school year will bring different challenges from the beginning. It is important to be just as diligent with your classroom management as you were on day one. This will help keep your students focused and create a positive learning environment through the last day of school
EMBRACE The Whole Child!
E-emotional social skills(teach self-regulation)
M-measure it(measure learning with formative assessments)
B-build cognitive capacity with high expectations
R-relationships(build..will you be an ally or adversary?)
A-attitudes built(build gratitude, hope & mindset)
C-cultural responsiveness(listen&empathize)
E-engagement(relevance of activity)
The above just reminds us that to be the best teacher to our students, there are many things about our learners that we must consider and EMBRACE!