Wilson Ranger Post
August 29, 2016
Digital Citizenship - One Week Left :)
As part of CISD’s digital citizenship expectation, all learners in grades K-12 are expected to take part in an overview of digital literacy within the first two weeks of school.
Big ideas:
all K-5 learners districtwide are expected to take part in 2 experiences-- a Digital Literacy and K-5 RUP (Responsible Use Policy) presentation.
an Educator’s Guide has been provided for your use...located here: https://tackk.com/jyf1vj
FYI for planning purposes...this lesson should take about 1/2 hour.
T-TESS Goals
Several of you asked about goal setting.
You will set your goals in Eduphoria AWARE.
Login to Eduphoria, click on AWARE. In the My Evaluations tab you will see a document titled "2016 T-TESS Teacher Self-Assessment and Goal Setting." (See screenshot below.)
First you will discuss your data analysis and then you will fill in your personal goal (#1) and team goal (#2).
Please look over the documents and talk to your team and/or appraiser if you have questions.
Pop and Post (Great Expectations)
Here's how Pop and Posts work!
Over the next month, during a conference period of your choice, "pop" into another educator's classroom. Take 4 sticky notes with you.
Sticky note 1: Write an "I like..." for the educator and "post" it on his/her desk.
Sticky note 2: Write an "I wonder..." or the educator and "post" it on his/her desk.
Sticky note 3: Write a great idea that you want to steal/remember and keep it for yourself.
Sticky note 4: Write an "I like..." about the educator's practice and "post" it on Mr. Nester's door.
Pop and Post away!!!
Personal Days
Here's the process to get personal days approved...
- Email Chris, Mary and Michelle the date you want to be off for a personal day.
- Michelle will email back letting us know how many are scheduled to be absent that day already.
- If there are less than 2 out, you make take the personal day.
- Please do not enter days in subfinder until you have emailed for approval.
The moral of the story is...Plan early for discretionary leave :)
Regarding your AC...
We are having a large number of units shutting down on high room temps. I have sent techs out to see what is going on and almost all are the result of lamps being put on the sensors. This causes the units to shut down and requires we manually go into the system to restart them.
Please ask your staff to remove the heat source from the sensors so the units will operate normally and not shut down due to high space temp.
From Nurse Jill
Also, per the district it is a requirement to have a set of gloves in the classroom. The best place is to have them inside the medical alert folder. This is where the subs are assuming they will be at every school. If they run out or have to use them, please see Nurse Jill to get another pair.
Wilson PLC Extended Planning Time
We will start with norms and goals. Please make sure you bring team data from last year and your T-TESS rubric as you might need it when setting a team goal.
If you are new to Wilson and want to find out how our PLCs work at Wilson, please join our Schoology course by using this access code: 8KPF8-S7BDD
Social Studies Update
Red and Black Grant Applications
The grant application submission window is September 12, 2016 – October 17, 2016 at 4:30PM.
All applications must be submitted through the google form HERE. As a reminder, the signature page must be submitted (preferably by scanning and emailing it to aarthur@coppellisdef.com) after completing the google form.
Invention Services Update
Global Collaboration Day Info from Regina Owens
The Global Education Conference Network Launches Its Second Annual Celebration
Students, teachers, and organizations will join together online to celebrate and demonstrate global collaboration on September 15, 2016. On Global Collaboration Day, educators and professionals from around the world will host connective projects and events and invite public participation. This event is brought to you by VIF International Education, Google for Education, iEARN-USA and Edmodo.
The primary goals of this 24-hour, worldwide event are to:
- demonstrate the power of global connectivity in classrooms, schools, institutions of informal learning and universities around the world
- introduce others to the collaborative tools, resources and projects that are available to educators today
- to focus attention on the need for developing globally competent students and teachers throughout the world
Classrooms, schools, and organizations will design and host engaging online activities for others to join. Events will range from mystery location calls to professional development events to interviews with experts. All events will be collated in an online calendar viewable in participants’ individual time zones. Participants will be connected on Twitter via the hashtag #globaled16.
An optional new activity this year will be the Great Global Project Challenge. Between now and October 1, 2016, global educators will design collaborative projects using a variety of platforms in which other students and teachers may participate during the course of the 2016-2017 school year. The objective is to create and present as many globally connective projects for students and educators as possible. The final deadline for submissions into our project directory is October 1, but participants are also encouraged to do an introductory activity for their project on Global Collaboration Day as well.
Global Collaboration Day is a project of the Global Education Conference Network, a free online virtual conference that takes place every November during International Education Week. GCD, along with Global Education Day at ISTE and Global Leadership Week, are events designed to connect educators and keep global conversations going year round.
For more information about Global Collaboration Day, please visit our main web site. A digital flyer is also available for distribution.
ESL: Content and Language Objective Info
ESL: English as a Second Language By Jennifer Himmel
As educators are working to ensure their learning environments are safe and full of new exciting learning, please be sure to check your classrooms for not only the content objectives but the language objectives that are key to ensuring content can be accessed for all English Language Learners. What is a language objective?
Language objectives are lesson objectives that specifically outline the type of language that students will need to learn and use in order to accomplish the goals of the lesson. Quality language objectives complement the content knowledge and skills identified in content area standards and address the aspects of academic language that will be developed or reinforced during the teaching of grade-level content concepts (Echevarria & Short, 2010).
These objectives involve the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), but they can also include:
- the language functions related to the topic of the lesson (e.g., justify, hypothesize)
- vocabulary essential to a student being able to fully participate in the lesson (e.g., axis, locate, graph)
- language learning strategies to aid in comprehension (e.g, questioning, making predictions).
Below are examples of language objectives for different content areas and grade levels. They come from the Common Core State Standards for Math and English Language Arts (2012) and state standards in New York and California.
3rd grade Science, States of MatterContent Area StandardContent ObjectiveLanguage ObjectiveStudents know that matter has three forms: solid, liquid, and gas.Students will be able to distinguish between liquids, solids, and gases and provide an example of each.Students will be able to orally describe characteristics of liquids, solids, and gases to a partner. 4th grade Math, Two-Dimensional FiguresContent Area StandardContent ObjectiveLanguage ObjectiveDraw and identify lines and angles, and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.Students will be able to classify triangles based on their angles.Students will be able to read descriptions of triangles and their angles. 7th Social Studies, Colonial CommunitiesContent Area StandardContent ObjectiveLanguage ObjectiveStudents will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live.Students will be able show how geographic features have affected colonial life by creating a map.Students will be able to summarize in writing how geography impacted colonial life.
Science Update from Linda Cook
Argument-Driven Inquiry is an innovative approach to laboratory instruction based on current research about how people learn science. Argument Driven Inquiry engages students in the practices of science and use the core ideas and concepts to make sense of natural phenomena. This instructional approach also provides an opportunity for students to read, write, and speak in the context of science.
All 4th grade science teachers will be trained in Argument-Driven Inquiry on October 6th. Penny and Laurie will provide subs for this all day training. In the weeks following the training, fourth grade teachers will be piloting some Argument-Driven Inquiryelementary lab investigations.
All 5th grade science teachers will be trained in Argument-Driven Inquiry on March 2nd. These teachers will be piloting additional upper elementary lab investigations. Again, Laurie and Penny will provide funding for subs.
Mathematics from Mary Kemper
Also, don't forget to check out this video regarding the universal screener for math and next steps in the math RtI process.
Dot Day is Coming
This year, Wilson Elementary will be participating in International Dot Day, September 15ish, but we will be celebrating in the library all week! When your class comes to the library during the week of September 12 – 16, in addition to checking out books, there will be a creative dot activity for the learners to complete. I’m still making plans, but be ready to get creative and collaborate.
What is Dot Day? Created by Peter H. Reynolds, author of The Dot, it is a day to celebrate creativity and to collaborate across the globe. In the past 5.1 million people in 129 countries have participated. I’’ve registered Wilson to join the fun. Here’s a link: International Dot Day.
Watch your email for specific plans.
Wilson Sunshine
Not only does Sunshine support Wilson faculty and staff with showers and remembrances, but they also provide fun things like the KONA ICE truck during PD week! Thanks, Sunshine!!!
Great Expectations - Self-Discipline Resources
Next week’s life principle is self-discipline. There are some great lessons and suggested fables to read next week. Here is the link.
http://www.greatexpectations.org/self-discipline
Self-discipline poems to use in class next week