RNNE Team and Family Launcher
Goal-oriented and intentional.Intervention.Authentic Team.
Let's remain maladjusted.
“If you want to draw water you do not dig six one-foot wells. You dig one six-foot well.” - Buddha
[Focus Area] Student Misconceptions: Drawing Water = Digging Deeper
Preparing for lesson execution this week:
- Identify a rigorous focus question to target during independent practice.
- Write out on your teacher version of the plans 2-3 common student misconceptions.
- Write out 2-3 teacher prompts and/or break it down questions to have ready to execute when you hear the misconception revealed.
The implications for not being prepared to address student misconceptions:
- Teachers not effectively targeting and thusly not effectively supporting the student towards mastery.
- Teacher trying hard to find the "right" thing to say to help the student, which ends up taking up a lot of class time and could possibly lead to more confusion for the student and also...
- ...other students becoming off task if the teacher is trying to rectify the misconception whole group.
Resources to help with this:
- Break It Down Teacher Prompt Card
- STEP Prompting Guide - some common misconceptions + teacher prompts provided
- K Common Core Math Flip Books - some common misconceptions provided
- 1st Common Core Math Flip Books -some common misconceptions provided
- 2nd Common Core Math Flip Books - some common misconceptions provided
- 3rd Common Core Math Flip Books - some common misconceptions provided
- 4th Common Core Math Flip Books - some common misconceptions provided
Targeted Teaching Time
Cultural Focus Areas
When we sweat the small stuff, we drastically cut down on the big stuff happening.
As a natural ebb and flow of the year, there have been components of our student culture that has diminished and is increasingly becoming loose each week. This is normal, but it is up to us to refocus and re-tighten our culture to protect it against apathy and looseness. If we allow our culture to dwindle each week, the last few weeks of school could very well become the most chaotic and disruptive weeks of school for us.
You have all poured in countless hours to ensure that your individual classroom culture as well as our collective school culture is solid. Let's continue to keep that foundation strong for your own classroom and for our overall campus as we march towards a strong close to our year.
Areas to tighten as a campus:
- Dress Code - let's tighten up on ensuring that shirts are always tucked in.
- Hallway Transitions - transitions have become loud and the talking is increasingly leading to peer to peer conflict. Reinforce HALLS and hold high expectations for how you want students to travel while respecting classes that are engaged in learning. Create incentives for your cohorts, use positive narration, "Do It Again" is effective at any time of year.
- Bathroom Usage - this has started to increase again. All students should be encouraged to use the restroom during class restroom breaks. For emergencies only, students should be allowed to go only during independent work and with a pass only. There have been several students out of class each day traveling the hallway without a Bathroom or Hall Pass. If you need a replacement pass, please reach out to April so that we can rectify this ASAP.
- Peer to Peer Tracking - enforce 100% peer to peer tracking in the classroom at all times when a student is sharing out. Don't allow students to opt out of any learning time. We are too close to our end of year goals for any opt out to take place.
Self-Care Tips: Relax and De-Stress
I know that this is stressful time of year. Take a look through some of these ways to
1. Breathe deeply. Actually feel and listen to yourself breathe deeply. I'm committing to doing this more this week.2. Playlist. Create a fun, upbeat playlist to listen to on your commute to school, during your prep and on the way home in the afternoon. For me, two words sum this up: Lemonade. Beyonce.
3. Something that makes you happy. Make a promise to yourself to do something one afternoon this week so that you look forward to doing it throughout the week. For example, make a fun plan for Thursday afternoon and plan to leave school as soon as dismissal is over so that you can re-energize yourself in some sunshine! For me, I'm promising myself to eat on my patio at least once this week while the sun is out and to visit Kirkland's (my favorite store!) another evening.
4. Relaxing Bath. Take a bath each night or a few times this week. Light candles and have a soft playlist going to help you relax.
5. Grace. Give yourself, our Rocketeers and each other unconditional grace.
Shout Outs: Data Analysis!
Ms. Bing - student-facing reflection tracker
Mr. Frazier - student facing reflection tracker
Ms. Linehan - exit ticket data tracker
Mr. Frazier - exit ticket data tracker (for "bubble" students)
Mrs. Potter - visual class tracker (check out her velcro to make it time efficient for her to update)
Mrs. Johnson - exit ticket visual tracker + word problem visual tracker
Mr. Summitt - daily data analysis of "bubble" students
Shout Outs: Instructional
Ms. Arnold strategically called on students who needed more "at bats"/practice with reading accuracy during her We Do using "Control the Game". When I pulled up her STEP data during the observation, 80% of the students that she called on all scored Below Target for reading accuracy on the last STEP cycle assessment. That's data-driven instruction in action!! This ensures that this time is purposeful and that students are receiving wraparound support with their STEP bottomlines throughout the instructional block and not just during guided reading and workstations.
Ms. Young has created an urgent, yet calm environment in her classroom by having clear, concrete procedures to transition from the desk to the carpet. This has increased the amount of instructional time because her transitions are structured and calm.
Mrs. Johnson is killin' the game with stamping enduring understanding for students by consistently following up with questions like "how do you know?" "why is that the correct answer?" after a student responds.
Shout Outs: Student Work!
Check out the awesome student work and growth shout outs that Ms. Linehan sent to Caity and I this week!
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Thursday PD: OFF PD This Week
Upcoming Events - Next Week
Monday
Whole School Launch
Tuesday
Events: K/1 Launch; Lesson Plans due to Coach by EoD
Visitors: James Robinson - conducting RNNE Campus Walkthrough
Wednesday
Events: 2nd Grade Launch; Leadership Team Reviews Lesson Plans; Thomas out at RUA conducting Campus Walkthrough
Visitors:
Thursday
Events: K/1 Launch; Thursday PD - OFF
Visitors:
Friday
Events: 3rd and 4th Grade TN Ready Pep Rally Landing - 3rd and 4th Grade ONLY; K-2 dismissal from classrooms (PBIS rewards for Core Value Rocket competitions that have been LONG overdue; each grade level (K-2) will receive a reward to enjoy in their classrooms during the Landing time).
Visitors:
RNNE Full Campus Walkthrough
It is a more in-depth walkthrough than what former walkthroughs may have been.
Your coaches will also use this same walkthrough reflection as a guide to their observations - classroom and hallways - this week.
Below, is a snippet of the walkthrough form.
Amazing job well done to Mrs. Potter and the Father/Daughter Dance Planning Committee for an incredible FAMILY experience at our second Father-Daughter Dance this past Friday!
Real Men Read: Volunteers Still Needed!
We will begin serving breakfast at 7:30am and the male volunteers will be in classrooms reading to and with our Rocketeers from 8:50-9:30.
RNNE Assessment + Event Calendars
Be sure to reference this calendar for events that are coming up so that you aren't caught off guard!
Note: Minimum Days for Parent/Teacher Conferences the last three days of school.
Here is the assessment calendar for the year for you to reference. *We are looking at adjusting the STEP assessment window, so will follow up with more details (the adjustment would allow for more weeks of instruction before the window begins versus starting earlier).
The STEP window opens today (April 25th) closes on May 20th.
Thomas Transition
I will be informing parents and families this week.
As a high-level recap of my transition:
- I will be here until the end of the school year as usual.
- I will be working with Jaclyn, school leaders and you all to help identify the next principal for RNNE.
- MY MAIN PRIORITY: We are still focused on closing out our academic year in a STRONG way just as we have always been since the beginning of the year. Our finish to the end of this year will determine the opening of the next academic year for RNNE. Let's look ahead at ensuring that our Rocketeers receive tight instruction for the remainder of this school year so that they and our school leaders can hit the ground running with academic growth next year. We win the game in the fourth quarter. We are, now, in the bottom of the fourth quarter. Let's bring this home and transform the lives our Rocketeers and their families!
- I have accepted the offer to be KIPP Nashville's 2016 Fisher Fellow which means that I will spend the next year at the University of Chicago, residencies at elementary schools throughout the country as well as locally and receive direct coaching all leading to the school design and planning of a new KIPP Nashville elementary school that will open in 2017.
- You will ALL always, always, always have a secured, special place in my heart. I cannot thank you enough for the beautiful impact you have each made in my life and on this journey. I'll love each you always! I'm still going to be your cheerleader and I've prayed for amazing favor and blessings to be granted to RNNE for next year as well as for years to come. RNNE is a beautiful place because of each of you.