the RAHH
March 23 - 27, 2015
In Case You Missed It...
Summer School Enrollment
Our Summer School Enrollment push continues. In CANVAS, please visit the ElemJobAlike Page, and under the Files tab, please select the Summer School 2015 folder. Within you will find a pdf that informs of summer school current enrollment counts by summer school site. Many sites are doing well, and some could use some additional support. As this is all our students, please continue to support and encourage enrollment.
In a discussion with Dr. Jungmann late last week, Bret & I were encouraged to take on the mindset that we extending to you: Especially for our students that our not where they need to be academically, we need to set the expectation that attending and participating in summer school is the norm. We appreciate the recognition that an additional 20 days of summer instruction can be powerful to a student, and appreciate the personal contacts that are being made by you and your teachers to get our most needful students enrolled.
Website: https://springfieldpublicschools.instructure.com/courses/178543/files/folder/Summer+School+2015
Update from Bret
This week, many of you received your ELP student list from Jennifer Coffman which provided you the names of students who qualified for ELP but were NOT enrolled in summer school. I challenge you to have someone in your building (teacher, counselor, self) make contact with the family and encourage enrollment in summer school.
After receiving input regarding the Guided Reading Instructional Configuration, Brian revised the directions as well as a small amount of wording on component 5, #2. The revised GRIC can be found on the Elementary Job Alike Canvas page under files, guided reading clearinghouse at this link: https://springfieldpublicschools.instructure.com/files/28008093/download?download_frd=1 Please let Brian know if you have questions regarding the directions or revisions.
Reminder for the EOY guided reading/fluent reader fidelity checks:
· Starting Thursday, March 19th, you may begin EOY guided reading fidelity checks for K-2 classrooms. Our expectation is these checks be completed by Friday, May 8th.
· On Thursday, April 2nd and Thursday, April 3rd (repeated sessions) we will provide a 2 hour training regarding the use of the Fluent Reader IC. Please sign up for one of these trainings within MUNIS self-service. Title principals are welcome to bring literacy coaches if they desire (please have him/her sign up through MUNIS). Here is the date, time, and location concerning these trainings:
o Thursday, April 2nd from 1:00 – 3:00 at Tefft.
o Friday, April 3rd from 9:00 – 11:00 at Tefft.
· Starting Monday, April 6th, you may begin your EOY fluent reader fidelity checks for 3-5 classrooms. Our expectation is these checks be completed by Friday, May 8th.
I Wish... from J
I was recently turned onto a book, that by the title, sounded rather morbid and sad. The book was title The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bonnie Ware (2012). Bonnie spent many years caring for those who had reached their exit point from this world, and she questioned them about regrets and anything they would do differently. Interestingly, she found five recurring common themes. Here are their "I wish..." statements:
*I wish that I'd let myself be happier (they realized to late that happiness is a choice)
*I wish I'd stayed closer to my family/ stayed in touch with my friends (too often they failed to give the time & effort loved ones deserved)
*I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings (too frequently they did not speak up for themselves or others who didn't have a voice to do so)
*I wish I hadn't worked so hard toward the things that mattered least (too much time spent making a living over building a life
*I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me (they realized they hadn't found & connected themselves to their purpose)
There are many learning and leadership lessons in these statements. It may be worth a few minutes of your time to reflect on where you are with your wish statements. I appreciate the guiding words of Gary Keller: "Make sure every day you do what matters most. When you know what matters most, everything makes sense. When you don't know what matters most, anything makes sense."