The Lion's Den
Week of September 10, 2018
What's Going On at Christian Park?
September 10 (C)- Lesson Plans due in Google (9:00 am); Monumental Running Club (4:15-5:00 pm)
September 11 (A)- ELA PLC's; Volleyball @ George Buck 94 (6:00 pm)
September 12 (B)- Staff PD Meeting (7:45-8:45 am); Math PLC's; Monumental Running Club (4:15-5:00 pm)
September 13 (C)- Cub Scouts (4:15-5:00 pm)
September 14 (A)- College Team/Jeans Day; Personal/School/Standardized Measure Goals Due in SFS
(A,B,C next to date denotes the Related Arts schedule)
News and Notes
NEW INFORMATION
Full steam (and week) ahead!! We are into week number six and need to be pushing ahead accordingly. We have analyzed the data (NWEA, TRC, Math Pre/Post Tests) and know where our baselines are. Now is the time to be establishing goals for our students, communicating these goals, and making it visual (data folders, charts, etc.). We need to know where we need to go....in small chunks. Where do we want students by mid-year?
We (admins and coaches) across the district have been engaged in some powerful professional development around instruction. This PD aligns with our dive into Tier 1 instruction, particularly in the following areas:
- ELA- standard/skill, text complexity, questioning, teacher v. student lift
- Math- standard/skill, activity matching the intent of the standard, questioning, teacher v. student lift
We will begin to discuss this in PLC's this week as part of the Quarter 1 PD Snapshot shared with you. Please bring the text and questions you will be using during your TDR block the following week to our ELA PLC; please bring the standard/skill you are focusing on for Everyday Math to our Math PLC.
Mini observations will continue and conclude this week. You will receive your feedback from the mini first via SFS. We will then schedule meetings with you between September 17-September 28 to review observations and finalize your goals in SFS. Reminder of the goals needed in SFS:
- Standardized Measure (data trackers)
- Personal Goal
- School Goal
The school goal is out for vote by the Leadership Team and will be sent out this weekend.
Speaking of Leadership Team- we met this past Wednesday morning to discuss several BOY topics. These included:
- School Improvement Plan (SIP)
- Title I Funding
- Staffing
- By-Laws
We had some good conversation and will be meeting to update our School Improvement Plan. Once this is complete, we will be sharing this with everyone at the October Staff Meeting.
Our staff meeting on Wednesday morning will start promptly at 7:45 am in the Media Center. The agenda is below.
I would like to tentatively welcome Mr. Joe Dancy to the Lion Family. He is in the hiring process as we speak and I am hopeful he will be able to join us soon (hence the "tentatively". He is coming onboard as our Behavior Adjustment Facilitator and has a vision aligned with ours. Please make him feel welcome!
REPEAT INFORMATION
Lesson Plan link for the week is below. Click on it and drop in lesson plans. Reminder- you can use the lesson plan template that works for you. Components required include:
- Standard- Identifier is fine, don't need to write it out
- Skill being taught- explicit through the I CAN statement
- Gradual Release- how are you modeling, practicing, and releasing for collaborative/independent practice
- Checks for Understanding- how are you checking every step of the way to ensure students are "getting it"?
The Staff Handbook is still attached below. You are expected to know the information in the handbook. Please make sure you review it carefully. I cannot stress the importance of this, particularly the CPS Reporting Protocols. When in doubt, REPORT!!!
You should have received an email from SafeSchools outlining the training you need to complete this school year. Due date for all trainings is Oct. 1.
Heavy Lifting!
Continued updates on our BIG ROCKS below:
- PBIS- Slight delay on the PRIDE Store launch. That one's on me. In lieu of a survey, I will purchase items for the store and get it ready to go by mid next week. Continue handing out the PRIDE Cards daily for students that are following the rules and procedures. Finally, make sure we are consistent in our practices.
- MTSS- Our deep dive into Tier 1 instruction starts this week. As discussed above, we will begin looking at the planning of our Tier 1 instruction and determine if it aligns with what the standards are asking us to teach. In order for Tier 1 to be effective, we have to teach our students how to think at the level of the standard!
- Growth Mindset- Ch. 2 of the Growth Mindset coach "Everyone Can Learn!" is about getting everyone on the same page about growth mindset. Anna will be sharing more information about this at our Staff Meeting Wednesday. Also- be prepared to share about the student you chose to "Champion".