Colt Round Up
March 24, 2019
"I have learned that, although I am a good teacher, I am a much better student, and I was blessed to learn valuable lessons from my students on a daily basis. They taught me the importance of teaching to a student - and not to a test." - Erin Gruwell
click for info about Erin Gruwell, the Freedom Writers and their Foundation
With Appreciation:
- Tremendous gratitude for Mary, Karla, Holly and Darren who work tirelessly to support our students through intervention in reading and math during the day and after school. Bravo!
- Hooray for Pam S...she's managing registration, an onslaught of POs and now routing. She's amazing! :)
- Our 5th grade team finished their first year of AVID implementation with a successful site visit last week. 4th grade has officially come on board the AVID train! Can't want to continue rolling this out next year!
Math Talk Demos
Lori Fury will be back on campus on 4/2 to do math talk demos/models in classrooms. Click here to sign up for a date/time and to give her a sense of what topic would be best for your class! Feedback from her first visit was very positive. If 4/2 just doesn't work for you, contact Lori directly to set up a time that does work for you!
Lunch provided on Tuesday
We have another vendor visiting our campus next week...I promise this won't happen next year! However, Logan Ahlf will be visiting on Tuesday March 26th. He is representing AXA Advisors, a provider of the 403(b) in Western Placer Unified School District. He will be available as an educational resource to help answer any questions about:
Cal-STRS or Cal-PERS
403(b) or 457
Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
College Saving Strategies
Insurance and Estate Planning
Logan will be here during lunch with sandwiches, so feel free to stop by to grab a snack and/or to have a brief discussion.
If you would like, you can use the following link to schedule an individual meeting with Logan: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=16534069
Things that make you go "hmmm...."...
Quick Reminders
- Our routing is complete at LCES. The District Assignment Fair for Certificated Staff will be held on Tuesday, 4/9 starting at 3:15 pm in the TBMS Multipurpose Room.
- Our staff picture will be taken on Monday at 2:15 pm - probably in the breezeway between music & science. All certificated staff should join us and we invite all of our classified staff to join us too, if your schedule allows!
- Grades 3-5 - come learn about the updates with SBAC/CAST testing on Monday OR Tuesday (you chose) from 1:45-2:15 / 2:45-3:15 in Annie's classroom
- The last day to submit PO requests is Fri., 4/5 - see Pam if you have any questions!
- In the past, we've hosted an after school "volunteer appreciation event." This year, our goal is to host it before school as a breakfast - stay tuned!
PBIS Update
New ticket pads are in! Find one if your box on Monday, along with a list of what we are focusing on for the rest of the school year. Here is a summary for you:
March 18-29: Be Respectful
April 1-26: Be a Problem Solver
April 29-May 10: Be Responsible
May 13-June 7: Be Safe
I've gotten 3 cardboard backings back so far...I have two more special thank you gifts for those who give away all their tickets!
Now that Tri 2 is done, Kristen and I are ready to support teams honoring students with 0 referrals. Let us know your plans so we can work with kiddos who do not participate!
Growth Mindset, AVID, and Character Development Corner
Being Talked At vs. Being Talked With
When we work to engage students in content conversation, in feedback conversations, or just in general discussion, it's easy for teachers to be the experts, but part of our role is to help students discover their own learning and make meaning of their learning and life's moments with our support. I know I'm guilty of over-talking OFTEN and it's something I'm working on. Here are a couple of websites with some great questions - maybe you'll find a question or two to add to your repertoire:
- 9 Open Ended Questions (samples: what do you wish they knew about you? how do you feel it went? is there anything else?)
- from TeachStone: an e-book, webinar, and infographic to get you thinking about open ended questions
- from resonsiveclassroom.org: tips for crafting open ended questions
- from MSU - a list of open ended response questions that connect to Blooms
- from AVID - open ended questions that connect to Costa's Levels of Thinking
LCES Library of Class Readalouds in the staff room
- we'll be building up bookshelf that you can borrow from - we'll add another book each week or so
- check out this spreadsheet - let's keep it up to date with the library options and resources you can access that support the readaloud/book use in class.
- you are encouraged to borrow books to share with your class. Feel free to add your own books and resources too! Be sure to return items promptly so others can use them.
- Someone left this book in my box recently - thank you! This week, we feature:
iReady data Checkin
Gate Duty
Thanks to everyone who has been able to help out with this volunteer duty - it's much appreciated. Some of you cannot help out due to other responsibilities - and that's okay too!
I think that anyone who does this duty will tell you it's a great way to start your day! Big thanks to the staff who have helped out to make this happen!
Upcoming Meetings/Activities
If you find that you can't access the Master Calendar, let Pam or Jen know. We are double checking that all staff has access, but unfortunately, it's a clunky part of Google, and access is a very manual process which means that Jen makes mistakes sometimes! Trying to fix it, though!
Where is Jen This Week?
March 25-29
- on campus all week!
Where is Kristen This Week?
I'll be doing some Ed Tech things at odd times this week so my schedule is a bit messy:
M: DO until 10:00, LCES and TBES and LHS the rest of the day
T - Th: DO and TBES until 10:30 then LCES and back to TBES the rest of the day
F: LCES first thing, Ed Tech from 10:15 - 11:30 at COES, LCES until 12:15, TBES the rest of the afternoon.
It's a Great Day to be a Colt!
The mission of the Lincoln Crossing Elementary School team is to prepare our students with the skills, knowledge and attitudes to become lifelong learners and responsible, contributing members of society.