January 15, 2018
A Communication Tool for the Seven Hills Staff
Changes to EXPO and Call for EXPO Presentations:
Project Submission Link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQ5I-IsE9JbhbiFlbCzopUrGssZcHg-PhY-_38vom9WJVfmw/viewform
Expo is different this year. The projects do not have to solely be based on technology. If you and your students have explored or worked on something interesting and engaging this year, please consider submitting it to Expo! This could be something done whole class, small group, or individual. We would love to have Seven Hills well represented this year with a variety of submissions. There are three different project categories to choose from. Choose whichever you feel would showcase your students and their learning best! This does not have to be a new project. Each of you have been doing AMAZING things this year that could be submitted for application. Also, just because it is called a “project” does not mean that your class had to spend weeks working on it. You could also think outside of the box by including extracurricular or Sharpen the Saw clubs.
Project Categories:
- Presentation (Slides presentation, showcasing a project or product, explanation of an experience, digital application/video/poster, etc.)
- Demonstration (showcasing acquired techniques or learned skills, short plays/speeches, lab experiments, etc.)
- Interactive/Hands-on with the Audience (EKG monitoring station, robotics testing, experiments, etc.)
Video link is a video to show your students: https://sites.google.com/nisdtx.org/expo/for-students?authuser=0
Link is a video for teachers explaining the new Expo: https://sites.google.com/nisdtx.org/expo/for-educators
This is an opportunity for Seven Hills to SHINE! Thank you in advance for your submissions! I look forward to seeing our students' work at EXPO in February!
Be sure to submit your EXPO presentations and projects by Friday, January 19, 2018.
After January 19th, a campus-based Expo committee will review each submission looking for best examples and products of learning from their respective campuses to be showcased at the event. Because there is a maximum number of submissions EXPO can accept from each campus, anticipate a decision about your submission soon after the submission deadline.
For questions, reach out to your campus CTL or Kylie Lloyd.
January Positive Parent Phone Calls:
Celebration Boards, January Writing, MOY Writing Benchmarks:
The information below should have been shared with everyone by ILT and Lighthouse Team Members before the break. I am sharing in an effort to maintain open lines of communication.
In an effort to begin with the end in mind and also be proactive, I wanted to share details about a January writing activity, 3rd grading period celebration boards, and MOY writing benchmarks. Please carefully read the information outlined below, ask clarifying questions, and share with your teams. This information will impact instructional planning for January, so make sure you read, seek to understand, and communicate in a timely manner.
Celebration Boards:
I have enjoyed “window shopping” your celebration boards to see different student celebrations from the second grading period. As we continue to fully implement 4Dx, it is important that students see and be able to articulate the connections between their work, their WIGs, and their celebrations. The celebration boards process has the potential to make a big impact on student ownership of learning! As you wrap up the 3rd grading period, please have students select a piece of work they are proud of, reflect on that work, and add the piece to their “My Celebrations” section of their Leadership Notebook. For the 3rd grading period, we will not display these celebrations on the board. When you remove the 2nd grading period work, make sure it is added to the “My Celebrations” section as well.
So, you may be asking yourself… “Self, if we are not displaying student celebrations, what is being displayed?” In anticipation of being selected as a site visit for Symposium (I have heard this is a STRONG possibility), and our Leadership Day, we would like to display authentic student writing about the 7 Habits.
The deadline for boards to be changed and celebrations from the 2nd and 3rd 9 weeks to be added to Leadership Notebooks is Friday, January 26. (This is moved from January 17).
January Writing:
In preparation for Symposium, our Leadership Day event, and the MOY Writing Benchmark, all students will take a prompt through the writing process to a published piece – Early Childhood there is a prompt for you too. The prompts are specific to each grade level, and can be found in the slideshow linked below. Please read your grade level’s prompt, and share any comments on the slide (and in a different color) about any changes in wording, etc. that you would like to suggest. The topic should not be changed, as these have been selected based on grade level experiences, strengths, etc., and together they will provide a schoolwide reflection on how we use the 7 Habits at 7 Hills. What a powerful leadership walk our guests will have to see comprehensive implementation from student perspectives! Published pieces must be ready to display by Friday, January 26.
MOY Writing Benchmark:
The recommended window for the campus based MOY writing benchmark to be completed is February 5-9. This is after the MOY DRA window and Symposium. Based on feedback from staff, we will use the prompt from the BOY assessment in order to measure growth over time.
Seven Hills is Managing the Whirlwind and Focusing on the Wildly Important!
Leadership Notebooks:
Leadership Notebooks are an opportunity for students to actively engage in Habit 1. The desired outcomes are achievement of WIGs, overall growth and achievement as a leader and learner, collection of exemplar work to showcase the hard work throughout the year, student ownership of learning, and sense of pride and accomplishment.
Please plan for a time to discuss how Leadership Notebooks are a tool to showcase their work, while applying the paradigm of Habit 1. These should represent proactive, not reactive, work. They should reflect pride. Students should be writing in their very best handwriting, coloring in scoreboards neatly, etc. Papers should not be crumpled up, etc. in these books. If divider pages are looking torn or students have doodled on them, they should be replaced. Please take time over the next week to communicate expectations and purpose, as well as clean up student Leadership Notebooks. Leadership Notebooks should be "freshened up" by Friday, January 26.
WIG Chart Note:
- Our hope is that the accountability box on the new WIG chart will help students make connections between their work and their progress. We also hope that students are having frequent conversations about their WIGS. Each time you meet with a student, please initial and date inside the box. The students will be excited to share their thinking and their work!
- 2nd Grade created a half-sheet form for students and teachers to use during accountability talks/WIG sessions. It is pictured below. Thank you 2nd grade for sharing! The question stems are pictured below.
Habit Focus for the Week: Habit 2
Beginning With the End in Mind:
When we Begin with the End in Mind, it reaffirms who you are, puts your goals into perspective/focus, and moves ideas into reality! Do you begin with the end in mind:
When you plan a new year, a new lesson unit, a new day?
At the start of each lesson?
Before you begin a student or parent conference?
When you plan a vacation?
When you enter into an important relationship?
How are your students practicing Habit 2? Are they making connections between their WIGs and Habit 2? What teaching and discussion needs to take place during Habit Huddle to help students make these connections?
Habit Huddle:
Were you able to make your Habit Huddle commitment last week? What is your next commitment going to be? If you were not successful, what is your plan this week for making the commitment?
The decision to have all staff join Habit Huddle was made to help foster relationships and also send the message that the teaching of the 7 Habits was important to all members of the 7 Hills community. Habit Huddle is not a time for students to write in planners, complete morning work, work on Lexia or Imagine Math. It is not a time for teachers to prepare for the day. It is the time designated to explicitly teach the 7 Habits of Happy Kids. It is important for staff without a homeroom class to attend the Habit Huddle in your assigned class every day. If you are unable to make it, you need to communicate that to the homeroom teacher. Homeroom teachers, when planning Habit Huddle lessons, please consider including the partner teacher. They have GREAT ideas to contribute. Also, please know that when independent projects are planned for Habit Huddle, this limits the opportunity for active engagement on the part of the specials teacher joining your classroom and the opportunity for your whole class to build relationships, etc. Independent projects should be carefully considered as a part of Habit Huddle. Ask yourself, "Self, does this project promote the purpose of the Habit Huddle?" The Habit Huddle is such a powerful part of each day, and I appreciate your efforts to make it meaningful and relevant for all students!
Wonder
Precept for the Week: "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney-
WOW! We have had some VERY insightful student reflections about the precept of the week! Don't forget...If your students write reflections about the weekly precept, please place on the counter by the phone for announcements. Students LOVE hearing their work read over the announcements!
Campus and District Announcements and Updates:
Writing Buddies: Have you met with your Writing Buddies? How often are you meeting? Are you providing meaningful feedback to your buddy about their writing? If you have questions about feedback, please talk to Laura and/or Kevyn! Thank you for your support of our 4th grade writers!
Morning Announcements: Based on a suggestion from 2nd grade (Thank you for sharing your ideas 2nd grade!), we will begin morning announcements at 7:55 to allow your classrooms time to begin your morning.
Mission Monograms: Do you have a "Mission Monogram"? The cardboard letter of your last name initial that you were to decorate to represent your personal mission? If yes, but it is not hanging outside your classroom door, please hang. If you need hanging supplies, please let me know. If you do not, please let me know by the end of the week. Thank you for your attention to this.
DH Policy Action Required: At this point, ALL staff members should have read the policy and FAQ documents from Dr. Warren. In the event you have not, they are attached. All staff must read the policy and sign receipt that you have read and understand the policy. I have placed a paper copy of the acknowledgement in your mailboxes. Please complete this action item before you leave for the break. There will be a folder in the “pockets” between Leslie and Hayley’s offices for you to return the form.
Additionally, many of you have familial and social connections to NISD students. These relationships do involve the need to send electronic communication from time to time. You are required to obtain parent permission for this communication. Per the policy, you must provide the parents with a copy of DH local. Per the FAQ page, there is no official form for this at this time, but they did provide a statement to use for the time being. I have attached this for your use. I must receive a copy of the signed consent in my office. Please take care of this over the winter break and have signed consents back in my office when we return from break. I strongly encourage you to consider all possible relationships, and when in doubt ASK if you this should continue or if you need a form.
Latest Edition of the C&I Newsletter: https://www.smore.com/aefhd
New changes to STAAR! ALL students are now allowed to use both a dictionary and thesaurus on both the reading and writing STAAR tests!!! WooHoo! In order to make sure we have enough supplies for testing days, ALL teachers please complete the following form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYFemNFDEpERL4pWW9I9S5zBLW87Vt53GvzKFSfcSzpo0XAw/viewform
Save the Date:
Habit Focus: Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind
Accountability walks begin this week. Leslie, Hayley, and Kim will visit classrooms to check in with students on their WIGs. We are VERY excited about the conversations we will have with students!
- School Holiday
- Grade Level PLCs
- PTA Board Meeting, 6:00 pm
January 17:
- Kim off campus at Principal PLC; Leslie and Hayley out afternoon only
- Math planning
- Wednesday Attire: Staff may wear jeans and the new Navy T-shirt as part of the fundraising incentive
January 18:
- Professional Learning, 3:30 - 4:30 (K-5 ELA will dive into Lexia data, 3-5 math will dive into CBA data to generate class WIGs, plan for spiral review, and create scoreboards
January 19:
- Leader Rally, 7:40 - 8:00 (Speeding 2 Read award presentation; launch 7 Hills READS)
- Make sure your 3rd grading period scoreboards are updated. Also, please review the feedback from the 2nd grading period walks and make the adjustments needed if you have not already done so. (Scoreboard updates were due January 12).
Happy Birthday to You:
Tara Heady 1/15
Coach A Rod 1/17