Eagle News
1/13/14 - A Newsletter for the Haynes Bridge Staff
Dates to Remember
1/13-Monday
1/14-Tuesday
- Leadership
- PTA Board Meeting
1/15-Wednesday
- Share IT
- Grade Level Meetings
- Basketball @ Autrey Mill
1/16-Thursday
- SS Meeting
- Report Cards go Home
- CPR Training (Support Staff)
1/17-Friday
- PTA Hospitality Breakfast
- Honor Roll/EAGLE Awards Assembly
- Basketball @ Taylor Road
1/20-Monday
- Holiday
1/21-Tuesday
- Mystery Lesson PD
1/22-Wednesday
- Georgia Writing Test (8th); Practice Writing Assessment (6th and 7th); Alternate daily schedule
- Public Detention-Hilpertshauser/Evans
- Basketball @ Holcomb
1/23-Thursday
- Science Department Meeting
1/24-Friday
- 30 Year Celebration/Pep Rally
- Basketball @ Rivertrail
1/25-Saturday
- FCS Technology Competition
Principal's Points
TKES-By this time, all TKES assessed staff should have had a pre-conference, 2 walk-throughs, and a formative assessment. If you have not had any of these, please contact your assigned administrator. It is now time for your mid-year conferences. Your conference will take place before the end of January. You will be receiving an appointment from your assigned administrator.
For your conference, please be prepared for the following:
- Evidence of your progress towards your SMART goal
- Standards 5 and 6-Your assessment plan and how you use data to drive instruction-Please bring evidence
- Discussion of any leadership/committee/club/extramural positions that you hold at our school, the NELC, and/or the district
*Please make sure your online presence is up-to-date*
PKES-It is now time for the mid-year confernece for all PKES assessed staff. Your conference will take place before the end of February. You will be receiving an appointment from your assigned administrator.
For your conference, please be prepared for the following:
- Evidence of your progress towards your SMART goal
- Discussion of any leadership/committee/club/extramural positions that you hold at our school, the NELC, and/or the district
Weekly Team Time Assignments
Team Time is designated to reinforce skills they are currently learning in their academic classes and to provide students with the skills necessary to be successful in middle school.
Monday-Math Challenge: Students will solve a word problem on Equations and identify the errors in the initial solution provided.
Tuesday-Character Education Writing Prompt: Students will practice and improve their writing skills by responding to a writing prompt centered on our upcoming MLK Jr. Holiday.
Wednesday-D.E.A.R., which stands for Drop Everything and Read. Students will read a book they have checked out from the media center and participate in the "arrive at 25" program managed by our media center.
Thursday-Study and Organizational Skills: Students will improve their ability to study effectively and remain organized throughout the school year. This week's topic is work organization, and students will identify disorganization in and brainstorm solutions to help overcome this challenge.
Friday-Friday Finish: During this time students will have the opportunity to complete their missing or incomplete assignments to improve their academic class averages.
To view the specific assignments for next week's team time click the link below:
Assessment Corner
Middle Grades Writing Assessment- January 22
8th Grade will take the Georgia Writing Assessment. 6th and 7th grade students will complete a mock writing assessment. The entire school will be on a revised schedule.
STAR Testing- January 27-February 7
The STAR test will be administered through the Language Arts and Math classes. The schedule will be emailed to the staff and has been updated on the computer lab calendar. We will have data conversations at our grade level meetings about the assessment results after the final day of testing. More information will be provided at a later date.
CRCT Diagnostic Assessment (Checkpoint)- February 17-24
The CRCT Diagnostic Assessment will be administered to all grades in Reading, Language Arts, Math, and Science. The assessments will all be administered online. The tentative schedule is a follows:
Reading- February 17th and 18th
ELA- February 19th and 20th
Math- February 24th and 25th
Science- February 26th and 27th
Media/Technology Support
Effective January 20, 2014 the county will unveil their new format for the district webpage. When this happens (assuming they will make their date), most of the links on our webpage will no longer work. This is because the web address will change and our webpage will still point to the old web address. I can begin to fix this on January 21, however I will be in training that day. Once I do have the links, fixed, I will let you know. In the interim, just type fultonschools.org in our address bar and access things like webmail, CASE etc. from there.
Professional Development
Why Education Matters- A Global Perspective
Education is a basic human right and a significant factor in the development of children, communities, and countries. Opening classroom doors to all children, especially girls, will help break the intergenerational chains of poverty because education is intrinsically linked to all development goals, such as supporting gender empowerment, improving child health and maternal health, reducing hunger, fighting the spread of HIV and diseases of poverty, spurring economic growth, and building peace. -Results.org
“Education is power” is a common expression. Education is a key factor in the future welfare of children, and research shows that a good education reduces social and economic disparity in society. In addition, knowledge broadens our horizon, gives us a better understanding of how the world works, and teaches us how to train our skills to think rationally while learning how to problem-solve. Education does not only give children higher self-esteem, but it is also a ladder to climb out of poverty. –World Childhood Foundation
"Education is perhaps the most powerful tool for reducing poverty, improving health, promoting healthier economies, and providing peaceful and productive opportunities for young people around the world." -Global Campaign for Education
Why Education Matters- A Local Perspective
- Without education there is not evolution or progress. –Melissa Carballo
- Education gives people the freedom of choice and opportunity. –Shawn Keim
- To educate our future leaders. –Nancy Robinson
- To better the entire community. –Bridgette Rixman
- To give people the ability to successfully function in the world. –Carol Stuhltrager
- Raises students to become global citizens. -Cathy Riley
What we as educators do everyday matters in ways that we can never fully grasp or appreciate- the effects of our efforts create the history of tomorrow. You matter. What you do every day matters.
Upcoming PD
01/21/13- 7:30 AM Room 84- " Mystery Lesson"
Keep watching for more opportunities to be posted soon!
Useful Resources
An incredible blog about reading in the classroom- tons of ideas and strategies! http://mmsreading.edublogs.org/
Some tips on time management for teachers: http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/2008/07/time-management-for-teachers.html
A time management tip from Diane Stephenson, and its effectiveness is vouched for by Dani-Sue Boldus: “If you take your laptop home to work on school things, do not take the power cord home. When the battery dies, you have done more than enough for the day, and it’s time to stop working.”
Extra Help
Teaching students diagnosed with ADHD? See below for a thought-provoking perspective on working with them from the article “Ferrari Engines, Bicycle Brakes” by Edward Hallowell. Educational Leadership, October 2012. Read the entire article at http://www.ascd.org.
After an initial diagnosis Mr. Hallowell explains to students "... you have an awesome brain."
"Your brain is very powerful. It's like a Ferrari—a race car. You have the power to win races and become a champion."
"However," I continue, "you do have one problem. You have bicycle brakes. Your brakes just aren't strong enough to control your powerful brain, so you can't slow down or stop when you need to. Your mind goes off wherever it wants to go, instead of staying on track. But not to worry! I'm a brake specialist, and if you work with me, we can strengthen your brakes."
Which is true. Treating ADHD is all about strengthening brakes. For individuals with ADHD, the inhibitory systems in the brain don't work well enough to control all the power the brain possesses. The brain can't inhibit incoming stimuli (hence the individual is distractible) or outgoing impulses (hence the individual is impulsive and hyperactive).
But consider also that each of those negative symptoms can lead to a corresponding positive one. The flip side of distractibility is curiosity, a valuable quality indeed. The flip side of impulsivity is creativity, a hugely valuable asset. You can't be creative if you aren't somewhat disinhibited. And the flip side of hyperactivity is a quality that, at my age, I'm grateful to have. It's called energy.
As a brake specialist, I can help these children strengthen their brakes. But what can you as a teacher do?
Above all, embrace the strength-based model. Make sure you and the student understand ADHD in the same way: race car brain, bicycle brakes. Then, when that student is disruptive you can simply say, "Joey, your brakes are failing you now." This sets a limit, but it does so in a nonshaming way—especially if Joey has already accepted you, the teacher, as someone who is going to be part of the team devoted to helping him strengthen his brakes.
I hope this has been helpful. If you have specific student concerns or successful interventions you'd like to share, please email Jeanne Schultz or stop by room 4.