Betsy's Bits
November 24, 2018
In Case You Missed It:
In our Leadership Team meeting last Monday, one of our teacher leaders brought up a saying I used to say a lot my first few years as principal, but had not said in a while. It is extremely important that we ALL stay "in the moment" when we are with our Stallions. Staff should make themselves available to our kids. Everyone should be in hallways monitoring and talking to our students in the morning and during transitions. You can see and head off many issues when you are watching and monitoring the hallways and classrooms. Please refrain from staying at your desk/in the classroom when kids are moving. You set the tone when you are at the door and greeting students.
Another idea came up in our Leadership meeting that I wanted to remind everyone. These are all our kids and all of our responsibility. Please remember to support one another wherever needed. If you see a teacher having a problem or issue, ask if you can help, provide ideas and other options. This is a hard profession. Sometimes it feels or seems easier to just "do it myself", but in order to survive, thrive, improve and GROW we must take time to meet as teams discuss our kids, problem solve, put new strategies into place, and update notes on the radar list. This must be done at least once a month(twice is best) so admin and counselors can support the students and you.
On the same note, students that failed or are struggling with behaviors must have a Personalized Education Plan, PEP, put into place with parents input and support on what will be done differently for their child. This should also be documented on the radar. Please take a look at the guidelines on the Radar.
Behavior:Display a consistent pattern of unsatisfactory behavior that is NOT corrected by a phone call home.
- 2 write ups within mid quarter
- 3 write ups within a quarter
- Highly unusual or concerning behavior that is not typical of their age/peer group (ex: student cries and bangs head against wall when upset, etc.)
- Student engages in a fight
Academic:Consistently fail to meet grade level/ classroom expectations.
- Failing Grades: Student has a 59 or below class average at progress/report card time.
- Student had a final failing grade in the subject the year before.
- Student consistently does not complete assignments (after contacting parents, assigning, working lunch, and study hall.)
- High EOG Scores and Low Grades OR All A's and Score 1 EOGs
Attendance:Excessive Absences & Tardies: Miss 4 or more days in a quarter or are consistently tardy. (They miss 50% or more of the class period 3 or more times in a quarter without appropriately documented reason.)
Other Circumstances: McKinney Vento, Foster Child, etc.
We do not just continue to go on and do the same thing and expect the student to figure it out. We are the adults that must work with the child to help him/her find success. When a PEP is signed put into place, PLEASE put this in the notes along with the date in the Radar spreadsheet so Admin and counselors are aware.
Administrators will begin second round of observations next week which includes everyone. Our goal is to be finished by our winter break. We will be looking for lesson plans that include WICOR, the standard, and how you are differentiating for different learners. Our visitors earlier this month loved the WICOR lesson plan format that we used for the visits because it really had everything needed right there. Everyone should also have the agenda for the day, the standard, and the focus of the lesson through an essential question or I can statement which ties to the standard posted. I want to encourage you go over these items at the beginning of class as routine and focus on the why. A great way to end class is through a reflective writing on learning or questions around the standard or I can statement.
Coming Up:
Mark Your Calendars:
Tuesday: Fall picture retakes (media center), LCS Board Meeting @6pm,
Wednesday: MTSS Training in PLC room (8, 10:20, 11:45, 1:15), McDonald's Spirit Night, Wrestling match?
Thursday: Home basketball vs. Southern MS
Friday: AVID Dance 2:30-7 (kids with tickets/permission can stay after in gym)
Have you checked out AVID Weekly lately?
Articles and lesson posted for November:
- Rewarding kids for good grades may send wrong message
- Children, teens should not be on a paleo or gluten-free diet
- Commentary: Let's move toward cage-free animal research
- What would happen if we didn't have to go to college?
- Sleep study: Discrimination doesn't doze off
- Teens are texting and using social media instead of reading books, researchers say
- We need a statute of limitations on bad tweets
The following article and video are intended to be used with the accompanying text and video synthesis lesson.
Link to video on website: How to use Apple iOS 12 "Screen Time" for parents (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
The following two articles can be used to answer the question, "Is climate change sparking America's record-breaking forest fires?"
- Pro: Climate change clearly is a major culprit in the fires devastating the western U.S.
- Con: Climate change isn't causing California wildfires – blame lies with bad forest management
Articles utilized with this month’s instructional models:
The instructional models accompanying the following article include ELL (English language learner) embedded strategies.
If you want to access these articles and lessons or explore what was posted in September and October:
- Login to MyAVID
- Click on My eLearing (Blue right-hand side)
- Takes you to AVID Canvas dashboard - click on AVID Weekly