Pow Wow Principals Press
August 18, 2017
***iReady Assessments***
**RtI will begin the second week of September, after we've had time to create groups based on the iReady data. **
Mark your calendars for the iReady windows for this year:
Student Sign-On Updates
We have some great news for you regarding student passwords for our youngest kids. Keep in mind that this only affects their Passwords, not their User Names…the User Names stay the same.
This will greatly reduce the time it takes to get these youngest kids logged into computers. The Pre-K and K kids will all have the same, simple password.1st and 2nd grade passwords will be only their student id number, no more initials are used. This will streamline their login and it will prepare the kids for the next password phase (grades 3 -12) which require the initials. So what’s changing exactly?
- All Pre-K and K students will all have a password of “123”
- Example – John Smith
- User Name = smithj
- Password = 123
- All 1st and 2nd grade passwords will be their 6 digit student id.
- Example – Jane Rogers (student id # 180226)
- User Name = rogersj
- Password = 180226
PBIS in the Cafeteria
Step 1: Check area, clean up, and prepare to leave
Step 2: Dispose of trash (Staff will come around with garbage can)
Step 3: Line-Up with teacher
Please go over the VIBE expectations in the cafeteria and what these three steps should look like.
Fire Drills
Thank you for a great first fire drill! To remedy some "traffic jams" at the exits to building 2, let's have the younger students stay on the right, the older kids stay on the left, and use both doors.
The same will apply when lining up outside the school: the younger students stay on the right, the older kids stay on the left.
Students should be taught to evacuate the building quickly and quietly. All interior doors must be closed. Classroom bathroom doors should remain open. There should be nothing covering the glass on the classroom door. Blinds are to remain open.
Is there a student in your class who you feel would benefit from having a mentor this year? If so, please send that information to Rachel Moree so they can be set up right away!
Updates from Mr. McLaughlin
Teachers and staff: be on the lookout for Little Indians that might benefit from intensive social groups training/ interventions. I would like to start meeting with these impacted students who need training on their interpersonal skills, anger management, and overall coping skills. Please email me your candidates so I can interview and evaluate.
Thanks for all of your support!
Open House
Our Open House is being held on August 31st from 6:00 -- 8:00. Parents will be able to visit classrooms from 6:00 -- 7:00 and then catch a couple "shorts" {short movies} in the cafeteria. PTA will be selling popcorn & slushies during the movie night and we would like to encourage our parents to join! Please remind your students to bring blankets and/or pillows to snuggle up with during the movie portion. We would like all teachers to remain in their classrooms until 7:00 and then join us in the cafeteria for movie time.
Our #VBEVIP is Ms. Karen! Enjoy your VIP parking spot this week! Keep making those nominations on Twitter!
Updates from Ms. Van Brimmer
Vocabulary: Our Vocabulary routine is getting off to a strong start. We have seen lots of evidence of students using the IDEA graphic organizer in their ISNs under the visualize section. As you move forward with planning your vocabulary instruction, you might find this routine from Dr. Marzano helpful to continue "playing" with your words and giving explicit vocab instruction. Please note that you should not do all of the bulleted activities. Just choose one per category.
Step 1: Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term
- Tell a story that uses the term
- Video or computer images
- Current events
- Build on experiences
Step 2: Students restate the description or explanation in their own words.
- Students write this in the D section of their ISN.
Step 3: Students construct a nonlinguistic representation of the therm.
- Draw the object.
- Draw an example
- Draw a symbol for abstract terms.
- Dramatize the term.
Step 4: Plan activities that help students add to their knowledge of the term. {Determine if these activities will be given before, during or after the reading/learning.}
- Make associations.
- Identify relationships.
- Classify terms on the word wall.
- Elaborate on the word in the "E' section of IDEA graphic organizer.
Step 5: Discuss terms with the other students.
- Accountable talk
- Share nonlinguistic representations {pictures, drawings, etc}
- Share new understandings and questions.
- Use the words in discussions.
Step 6: Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with and review the terms.
- Free play time -- Jeopardy, Pictionary, Win, Lose, or Draw, Scrabble, etc.
Updates from Sue Fred
Choosing a Good-Fit Book
Richard Arlington stated that the most current research indicates that an independent-level or Good-Fit book for children is one they can read with 99% accuracy. Finding that Good-Fit book should include a purpose for reading. Is it to find a good story to read or to support a project they are working on or a book to read just for fun? What is the child interested in? Rats, snakes, horses? Are they able to comprehend the text and are they able to read all the words? These are skills needed to find an independent Good-Fit book.
It is helpful as teachers to conference with students and direct and guide them in how to choose a Good- Fit book. It takes practices and intention. Having a variety of Good-Fit books is vital for creating independent readers. Once you have this in place, students spend less time book shopping and off task behavior. Our at-risk students are great book shoppers but our goal is to encourage reading the whole time. Providing a classroom library or setting up individual book boxes allows students choice. Book boxes can be magazine boxes, zippered plastic bags, baskets from the Dollar Store or even cereal boxes. Kiddos love having their own book box that should be filled with 4-10 good-fit books that they can choose and read independently. These opportunities are wonderful while engaging in Watcha Reading Wednesdays.
Updates from Elaine Ragley
Charting a Flight Plan for Change...Empowering Students to Use Math and Think Mathematically.
According to the National Research Council, "Education is even more critical today, in the face of economic, environmental, and social challenges" (NRC, 2012) To be successful, average citizens must be able to process and make decisions based on vast amounts of information. They must be able to think mathematically, access information provided in a variety of new and visual ways, including graphs, tables, grids, and charts.
The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe ways in which developing student practitioners of the discipline of mathematics increasingly ought to engage with the subject matter as they grow in mathematical maturity and expertise throughout the elementary, middle and high school years. —Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, page eight
Mathematical Practice #1
What it means?
· Understand the problem, find a way to attack it, and work until it is solved.
· Allowing students to struggle through tough problems by using prior knowledge and to think " Does my plan make sense?"
What does it look like?
· Give Students tasks that challenge them.
· Give the opportunities to struggle and work through to find the solution.
· Allow time for students to process their thinking and achieve AHA moments
Math will become a process not just about getting the right answer.
Lead your students with questions – NOT with telling them the answers.
Mathematical Routines
Beginning of Lesson
· Number Talk – short daily conversations aimed at building number sense. (3-4 minutes)
· Spiral Review – 4-square (10 minutes) We will discuss at next weeks grade level meeting.
· Lesson – using the VBE in the ISN, including vocabulary, manipulatives, creating anchor charts, making real world connections, demonstrations of learning (formative assessments)
"The only way to Learn Mathematics is to DO Mathematics." - Paul Halmos
Updates from Sharon Keeley
Matter Matters!
The district science vertical plan shows that in quarter one every grade level is covering the practice of science standards and matter standards. Our ELA and Science unit plans should include scientific literacy, demonstrations (engage/activating strategy), and hands on science labs. Students should be conducting hands-on or problem-solving activities or experiments designed to help them explore the topic and make connections to related concepts, often within groups or teams. There should be at least one hands on science lab each week. If you need ideas for labs or want to know about availability of materials from the STEM Lab or even use of the STEM Lab please don't hesitate to email me.
Example of how standards build upon each other through the grade levels.
Properties of matter and changes in matter standards
K – Sort objects by observable properties such as size, shape, color, temperature, weight, texture
1st - add sink or float property
2nd - add attraction and repulsion of magnets property, states of matter, measuring and comparing temperature and volume
3rd - add hardness property, measuring and comparing mass
4th - add odor and taste property, water in each state, law of conservation, changes in materials
5th - add mass and volume property, investigating dissolving materials, speed up and slow down dissolving, mixtures of solids, scientific theory of atoms, physical and chemical changes
STEMscopes
STEMscopes is available on your classlink. This is the tier one curriculum that we will be using for science this year. It has great ELA links and connections too. K-3 has student journals that have been delivered to classrooms already. Once you access STEMscopes the best place to start is with the Scopes tab at the top of the page. Next you will be able to narrow it down by your grade level or topic. Once you click on a standard it will pull up the entire lesson for that standard including set up videos for teachers to better explain the labs, writing assessments, text for the standard etc.
"Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I Learn." - Benjamin Franklin
Updates from Julie Green
Attention Teachers New to iReady!!! Please join District Title I Resource Teachers, Julie Green and Krista Sadlers, in computer lab #1 from 8:15-8:45 a.m. on Thursday, August 24th AND Friday, August 25th to learn the Basics of iReady! During this hands-on training participants will leave with all of the tools they need to tackle the iReady dashboard and diagnostic reports. We are looking forward to meeting and working with you!