The Tiger Times
Week of December 11 through December 15
Hello Tiger Family!
and happy Saturday! I did it! I hit my Saturday delivery goal!
Thank you sending in the Saturday Eyes of the Tigers today! It made me smile BIG reading them and I know it will you, too. Each of you is so kind and thoughtful and giving to each other!
Thank you for choosing to be kind and thoughtful and giving. #circleofinfluenceBIGtime #toogootowatchonce #outofthemouthsofbabes
Especially on the crazy days, I'm blessed and blissed to be your principal,
Shelley
Last Week at TES!
Important Dates
Monday
Wear red with your jeans!
Team Blitzen - 2nd, 3rd, 4th and PK
3rd Grade Gift of Time
Tuesday
Wear green with your jeans!
5th Grade PLC
CEC 3:30 in Learning Commons
Wednesday
Wear blue and silver with your jeans!
4th Grade PLC
Action Teams 3:30 in Learning Commons
Thursday
Wear cheetah with your jeans!
8:15 Timberline Holiday Show - 5th, 2nd, Kinder
9:00 Timberline Holiday Show - 4th, 3rd, 1st
12-3 Monolingual PLC K-2
3rd PLC
Friday
Wear your ugly Christmas sweater. Ugliest one wins a gift certificate!
8:30 - 9:15 CTMS Holiday Choir and Band Performance for 4th and 5th Grade
12-3 Monolingual PLC 3-5th
2nd Grade Gift of Time
6-9 Lighthouse Parents' Night Out
Saturday
9-12 Timberline Santa Shop and Pancake Breakfast
Coming Up
Monday, Dec. 18th - 5th grade Gift of Time
Tuesday, Dec. 19th - 1st grade Gift of Time
Tuesday, Dec. 20th - 4th grade Gift of Time
Staff that are not classroom teachers their Gift of Time day separately!
December 20th - Schoolwide Sing-a-long @8:15
December 20th - Class parties (schedule out Monday)
December 21st - 2nd Sharpen the Saw Day and Early Release @ 11:45
Happy Birthday!! We're Glad You Were Born!!
Tuesday - Maria Reyes
Thursday - Jeyleen Diaz
Timberline's Big Three
Conscious Discipline and The Big Three
This is long, I know, but if you're struggling with how to solve specific behavior challenges, or want to evaluate your practice to make it even stronger, there are some excellent reframing resources inlcluded in this week's Big Three!
In sifting through Eduphoria articles, research periodicals, blogs and Twitter, I found a university research study titled:
IMPACT OF A DISCIPLINE MODEL ON TEACHER EFFICACY AND BURNOUT: PERSPECTIVES FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS IN MICHIGAN
It immediately caught my eye because, during your career as an educator, you will see this headline and immediately identify with it. Some of you can identify with it now. So I kept reading. The definition used in the study for classroom management is the first opportunity to reflect on your practice. Stop here and think about how you would define classroom management.
Classroom management can be defined in many ways, but for the purposes of this study, the definition is “actions taken by the teacher to establish order, engage students, or elicit their cooperation” (Emmer & Stough, 2001, p. 103).
How does this definition align with yours? The verbs alone caused me to read more.
"Classroom management can be a significant struggle for teachers. With issues such as impulsivity, disrespect, and even violence, classroom disruptions can challenge even the most experienced teachers. Often times, teachers learn how to manage behaviors on-the-job and have had little instruction regarding classroom management before entering the profession. As Mary Clement (2010), professor of teacher education stated, “one can hardly be considered a highly qualified teacher without a mastery of sound best-practice strategies for managing classroom time, space, and student behavior” (p. 41). Clement (2010) noted several techniques that teachers are sometimes taught while in their preparation programs such as: experience is the only way to learn about managing a classroom, be stern and not smile until midway through the school year, and make examples out of students who seem to be revered by their peers to ensure compliance. Traditional techniques such as these typically rely on firm rules and consequences as well as a reliance on fear of punishment for successful management of behavior in students.
Todd Whitaker, author of What Great Teachers Do Differently: 17 Things that Matter Most asserted, “We do want to establish a businesslike and professional tone from the first day of class, but if we don’t smile until Thanksgiving, there’s a chance that our students never will” (2012, p. 21). Additionally, this type of structure for classroom management can sometimes fail to meet the needs of all students in the classroom. Some of the most challenging behaviors can be presented by the same students repeatedly without progress toward gains in regulation of behaviors. When students struggle with respecting the structures of the classroom and productive interactions with others, they can have difficulty with learning, struggle with commitment to their school, and flounder in overall socialization (Lopes, Mestre, Guil, Kremenitzer, & Salovey, 2012). Since management of behaviors can impact academic achievement, emotional regulation, and social skills, emphasis on helping teachers with these challenges is imperative (Lopes et al., 2012)."
I went back to the table of contents to see the model of discipline being studied only to find that it was Conscious Discipline! This model has been shown to be effective in schools even with the most challenging students. (Hoffman et al., 2009). It's also a way of slow thinking about discipline that we supported this summer.
Below you will find several resources to refresh you on some of the basic principles of Conscious Discipline. You'll find that CD is highly aligned to the beliefs we hold as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School.
Eye of the Tiger!
Thank you Kimberly for ribbon-wrapping all of the school supplies for the Ellen Giveaway...I know that was a lot of work. And thank you Yolanda and Maria for holding down the office! -Shelley
Robert, thank you for hosting our Christmas party. It was so much fun for everyone!! -The Staff
Yesenia, LaLa and Camille for a rousing and nail-biting ornament exchange! :D -Shelley
Sloan and Chloe- I LOVE WATCHING DANCE CLUB! You both are so amazing with the kids!
Thanks for letting McCall jump in as well! For a minute it felt like she was still a Tiger! -Melissa
My 4th grade team- kudos for being willing to be vulnerable with each other and share the workload. -Diana
Cinthia- thank you for being a guest teacher on Wednesday and helping Dance Club with their moves. I appreciate you always :) -Chloe
Britt, Haley and Kari- thank you for spending a little extra time helping look at applications! I value your feedback! -Melissa
Britt, thanks for teaching in Ms, Laessig's class for extended PLC Monday! - Shelley and Jade
Daniela & Irene: Thank you for your help with this month's LPAC. I appreciate you both so much! -Jade
Ariel, I appreciate your help and flexibility when I am in need. -Jade
Stuart, thank you for always stepping in during my technology crisis moments. I always feel better when you are around. Thanks for always being a listening ear to me also. ~Audra
Maggie- Thanks for jumping in and taking care of business! I truly appreciate you! -Melissa
Audra, thank you for supporting our teachers in providing such AWESOME coding opportunities for our Tigers! - Shelley
5th grade team- thanks to everyone for really helping be prepared for the week EVERY week. Win-win materials, science materials, coffee, snacks, etc. Each of you is the ! And thank you for the birthday treat!-Gaby
Sunshine Committee! Great job at planning the Christmas party! Thank you so much! -Shelley, Nicole and Jade
Kayla - Thank you for planning Camp Thurman field trip! -Valeska
To the Sunshine comittee for the delicious treats at the Holiday party and for all of you that contributed and were able to be there. We had a blast! -Camille
Maria, thanks for being you! I appreciate your communication, your happy smiles and hugs. ~Audra
Thanks, Rocío, for the coffee. That was very sweet and it made my whole week! :) ~ Paula
Torres - Thank you for always helping with translating during Spanish week! -Valeska
Thank you classroom teachers for all of the data you’ve collected through progress monitoring, and for also taking the time to input the data into DMAC. I know it is time-consuming, but we are definitely seeing the impact your work is having when we sit to discuss the progress our tiered students are making. Thank you, thank you, thank you! -Irene
Thank you first grade for helping my long term sub get settled and being there for her this past week. First grade rocks! -Cristina
To Cristina for sharing their beautiful baby with us - Charlotte.
Yolanda, Kimberly, and Maria-always being willing to drop other work and take care of our urgent needs. -Diana
Kim, thanks for helping/creating the data form. -Jade
To Audra for being a rockstar with Hour of Code this past week on top of the many, many, many other things going on at the Commons.-Camille
Shelley- for taking the time to connect with kids and spending time sharing your math expertise and passion. -Diana
Nuts and Bolts is our "virtual faculty meeting". Please read all information carefully and reach out if you have any questions or need clarification.
For student safety, it is critical that Specials, the office, substitutes and administrators know if students are attending an after school club. Please send this information to Kimberly so that she can include this in the "How My Child Gets Home" document. Please cc Britt when you do this so that the Specials team is aware and update your sub info so they are as well. Equally important, if you are the sponsor of a club, please email Kimberly a copy of how students get home after your club (cc: Jade, Nicole and me). Sometimes when situations arise, staff has already left and we need this information to help locate students.
Remember to have an administrator review any flyers that are to be sent out prior to copies being made. This is the same procedure used in years past.
Our regular Tiger U/CLT schedule will resume following the winter break. I will share the updated Monday calendar rotation with you before the break.
When coming in from recess, please visually sweep the playground for coats, jackets, etc. Taking this moment helps our families that can't afford to replace coats that are lost.
"Principal Points" is an email sent each Friday from the district that contains information for principals to share with parents, staff or both. I've just been including it as a part of our Nuts and Bolts but thought it would be helpful if it was in its own section. I wanted you to be able to distinguish between things that reference us specifically vs. things that are shared with all district employees. Hope this is helpful!
Elementary Science Mid-Year Assessments: As a reminder, this is the first year we will be administering a mid-year science assessment for first and second grades. The window for the assessment is Dec 11-20.
The first-grade assessment is on Google Slides and may be administered electronically or on paper. The second-grade assessment is housed in the Nearpod District Library. Both assessment results will be reported via a Google form. Details may be found at the following links:
Instructions for 1st Grade Science MOY Assessment
Instructions for 2nd Grade Science MOY Assessment
School Board Recognition Month: January is School Board Recognition Month, a great time to focus on the crucial role an elected board of trustees plays in our communities and schools! Our theme this year is "Helping Kids Soar to Success." Our campuses have always done a great job in expressing appreciation through notes and posters. You may deliver and decorate the board room with these mementos on Friday, January 19, and Monday, January 22. The School Board Meeting is January 22. Let's show our board how much they are appreciated! (We'll discuss in CLT what our contribution will be. If you have a suggestion or idea, be sure to share it with you team lead!)
Click here for the virtual staff meeting sign in sheet
Ways and Where the Tigers Tell Our Timberline Story
Email: firstname.lastname@gcisd.net
Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Domain/2032
Location: 3220 Timberline Drive, Grapevine, TX, United States
Phone: 817-251-5770
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TESleads/
Twitter: @TimberlineNews