WHB Weekly Wonderings
Volume 1 * Issue 16 * November 4, 2019
Look for the light bulb moments!
Pushing into stations will give you increased opportunities to hear and see your students' light bulb moments when they make connections from what has been taught at the carpet/teacher table and what they are doing in stations.
How are your kiddos stretched?
- What higher-order thinking skills are incorporated into stations?
- How are students asked to create or evaluate in stations?
- How are student classifying objects and using graphic organizers?
This is NOT worksheets. Worksheets don't grow dendrites.
See further down in the bulletin for more information.
Iron Sharps Iron
taken from this website
Celebrations:
Staff Shout Outs from the Drops in the Bucket Last Week:
Jeanne Sline says,
Tell someone that you work with what an awesome job that they are doing.
Mrs. Sline (from McCoy)
Thank you for being awesome! I was so glad when you returned! It's great to see your smiling face every day
Patterson and Cannon (from Helm)
Thank y'all for coming to help in the car rider line after your bus duty! We appreciate it very much!
Staff Members of the Month
Patti Crow
- I know things have been stressful and overwhelming, but at the end of the day, I always see her leaving with a smile. You're doing wonderful things for these students, my friend! Keep your chin up and keep crushing it!
- You're doing a great job! Thank you for going the extra mile for our students.
- Mrs. Crow is using key instructional practices in her classroom. I see growth in her and her students each time I visit her classroom.
Support Staff
Amanda Calder
- Her heart and love for "everyone" shows! She is a very compassionate person who will celebrate with you and cry with you. She is doing an excellent job with the students.
- Thanks for always having such a positive attitude and working so hard to make our class great.
- She is always busy looking for ways to support students and keeps a smile on her face.
Dr. Elaine Thomas
- Thank you for helping serve my students during lunch.
- Thank you for all you do. You keep me grounded.
- Thank you so much for all the help and wisdom that you provide to us in HS.
Drops in the Bucket
Complete the form below as often as you desire to fill someone's bucket. The entries, or drops, made will be featured in the following week's bulletin each week.
WHB Attendance
For the week of Oct 28th
1st place with 96.2%% was PK3 AM! (Again! Congrats.)
2nd place with 95.9% was HS Back cluster. (Also, again!)
3rd place with 95.7% was PK4. (Ha ha! Also, again!)
4th place with 94.9% was HS Front cluster.
5th place with 94% was PK3 PM.
Our lowest percent was over 3.5% higher than last week! Way to go!!!
Ms. Gutierrez's class had perfect attendance for the week! That is fabulous!!!
New Information:
Student of Character Nominations
Thanks!
Student Folders & Notes
As our leadership team members are contacting parents regarding growing numbers of absences (especially focusing on the unexcused absences) parents are reporting they are sending notes regarding absences in the folders. Please submit any notes regarding attendance/absences to Ms. Penny so that she can code the absences accordingly.
If you are aware of absences please also share that info with Ms. Penny. You can screen shot Remind messages and email them to her.
Thanks!
T-TESS Tid Bits
This week's focus, as shared Friday . . .
Purpose
T-TESS was developed as an appraisal process that engages teachers in a cycle of continuous improvement. T-TESS seeks to:
Create a shared understanding and common language across campus and district to describe effective pedagogy
Increase the frequency and quality of collaborative and coaching conversations between teachers and their appraisers
Strengthen habits of reflection, self-assessment, and adjustment on the part of teachers
Strategically sequence development opportunities for teachers
When considering student growth within T-TESS, the intended purpose is the same. Student growth also seeks to provide feedback to teachers and their appraisers that captures where teachers are in their practice in order to pinpoint strengths and areas for development.
For student growth to be a valuable tool in continuous improvement, educators should keep the following in mind:
Although it’s called student growth, it is really about teacher growth
Student growth is not the end in itself – the key to a meaningful experience with student growth measures is the ability to translate the student growth outcomes into feedback on pedagogical practices
In contrast to an observation, which captures impact in a snapshot of time, student growth captures impact over an entire course
Honest assessment of pedagogy, sincere reflection on the approach to planning, and a commitment to adjustment are the best ways to improve student growth
Ratings are less important than the process of professional growth
2. The T-TESS rubric for Activities (1.4) under the column of Proficient reads:
Questions that encourage all students to engage in complex, higher- order thinking.
Instructional groups based on the needs of all students.
All students understanding their individual roles within instructional groups.
Activities, resources, technology and instructional materials that are all aligned to instructional purposes.
Translation to the Pre-K classroom:
- Teacher plans for and "pushes in" to stations to conduct small groups and provide individualized instruction (instructional groups)
- Instructional activities are purposefully planned (What is the purpose/objective?)
- Activities, resources, technology & materials are aligned to the Pre-K guidelines and purposefully planned to coordinate with themes (Look at the outcomes and strategies in each domain of the Pre-K guidelines)
- Use of differentiated activities and materials (also meets Dimension 2.4 Differentiate)
- Teacher models all activities so that all students know how to appropriately and independently use with self or cooperatively (individual roles)
- Higher order thinking questioning and "serve and return" communication used during interactions
Student Growth Opportunities: Intervention & Tutorials
This is correct especially if we are not using EVERY opportunity to support their growth. Hence we have 15-20 minutes of daily intervention time built into the master schedule. Tutoring is also to be occurring two mornings per week during breakfast time as discussed in August.
Your lower-performing students are to be students you are supporting and teaching during these specific times of the day. Also remember, you must document when you're seeing them, what skills are of focus, and what their progress is.
If students are not demonstrating progress by December, you will need to start the SST process. Do NOT wait until March to decide to begin the SST process when you already know they are struggling now. Also, at SST we'll be asking for your documentation to show the frequency and duration of support previously provided.
Staff Development
NOV 5:
- The Head Start Square Panda training has been canceled by Square Panda. We will have to try to reschedule.
NOV 12:
- Mark your calendar for this date and the following tentative times for a roll out session regarding Learning Dynamics. **Coverage will be provided for these times
- 8:15 - 9:45 Head Start Front cluster
- 10:00 - 11:30 PK4 cluster
- 12:30 - 1:45 PK3 cluster
- 2:00 - 3:30 Head Start Back cluster
As the Weather Changes . . .
Also note, if there is precipitation falling (drizzle, rain, sleet, etc), students cannot go outside for recess. (Also please keep them under then covered areas when walking to gym/cafeteria.
We are in an older building, thus the heating/AC are not easily switched over to meet the varying daily temperatures. If I call them to turn on the heat, we will have heat the rest of the season until we switch to air again. In looking at the forecast for next week, we're going to be back up to 70 degrees. So, do you want the heat turned on now, or wait a while longer and we'll bundle up on the really cold days? I can ask them to hopefully turn up the thermostat, but not yet switch on the furnace. Would that be an okay compromise?
Upcoming PLC Focus
Week of 11/4: Student work analysis *Bring in student work from week of 10/28
Week of 11/11: Data *Bring report card data.
(Thank you to our TAs for inputting all of the first six week's data into our spreadsheet! You rock.) Through this process, we were able to uncover and are looking to resolve some issues regarding incorrect data on report cards and data not posting to report cards.
- Have list of students that know # of letters as follows: 0-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-26 for:
- Upper case letters. (Target 1)
- Lower case letters (Target 2)
- Sounds (Target 3)
- EXAMPLE TEMPLATE (MAKE A COPY before entering data, if you so choose to use it)
- We will be using our data analysis protocol
Week of 11/18: Planning
- Know your target skills and their preplanned objectives (Letters, Read Aloud, & Math)
- We will discuss your ideas for We Do|Carpet time (guided practice) and You Do|Stations (independent practice)
Week of 12/2: Planning:
- Know your target skills and their preplanned objectives (Letters, Read Aloud, & Math)
- We will discuss your ideas for We Do|Carpet time (guided practice) and You Do|Stations (independent practice)
- Determine specific student checkpoint for analysis
Week of 12/9: Student Work Analysis
Week of 12/16: No AM PLCs
Curriculum Supports
This week's weekly poem:
One, Two, Bucket My Shoe (a classic)
This week include this poem/song in your message to parents. Encourage students to read or sing this text every night this week. They can find the high frequency words "my," "a," and "the" throughout the text.
Suggested ideas:
Monday, parent and student read the words like a poem together (choral reading).
Tuesday, family members sing the song together (choral singing).
Wednesday, student echo reads after the parent.
Thursday, student reads aloud while parent whisper reads.
Friday, student reads and claps when stating a high frequency word (we | see).
Saturday, parent asks student to identify the color word.
Sunday, student draws a picture of what the text means to them.
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Literacy Focus: M, W, F mornings (7:30 - 8:00am)
Math and Science Focus: T & Th Mornings (7:30-8:00am)
Morning Focus Songs . . .
We need your ideas!
2nd six weeks: Cannon's cluster
3rd six weeks: Henderson-Reid's cluster
4th six weeks: Helm's cluster
5th six weeks: Gutierrez's cluster
6th six weeks: Pena's cluster
You may send these via email to the entire staff. Be sure I'm on the email so that I can add to the bulletin. To be sure the links make it to the bulletin, please be sure I have the link BEFORE lunch on Friday.
REPEATED INFORMATION:
ABC Boot Camp Continues
Computer and STEAM Labs
Also, they made a schedule for each teacher to take a turn for prepping the STEAM lab. Here is that schedule for you to reference.
Thanks a million to our SALT members for taking care of these tasks!
Upcoming Events
Jot this down:
Lounge duty this week: Helm & Noreiga
Announcements will be done in Ms. Sims' classroom this week.
- PK3 AM 7:30am - 11:15am; early release 11:15am
- PK3 PM 11:30am - 3:15pm; **AM & PM alternate early release dates (specific dates TBD)
- PK4 & HS: 8:14am - 3:45pm; early release 12:30pm
11/2:
Daylight Savings Time (fall back)
11/5:
SALT @ 4:15pm
11/6:
College Day: college shirt with jeans; College of Focus: Texas A&M / STEAM careers
Faculty Meeting @ 4:15pm in library
11/7:
Dr. Kines: Student Dental Checks
Head Start parent nutrition session
PTO Meeting @ 6:00pm; Head Start classes performing
PTO Sock Hop @ 5:30pm in gym; $5 per student (with max 2 escorts)
11/8:
HS Fall Conferences begin
Dr. Vasani: HS physicals
HS Health Advisory Meeting, 12-1pm
11/11:
Veterans' Day
Grades due and posted by 8am
Excellence Foundation 2019-2020 shirt with jeans
11/13:
Cluster Meetings, 4:15pm
11/14:
ARDs
HS Parent Nutrition session
11/15:
Second Six Weeks Awards Assemblies