ARMS Legend
Excellence Without Boundaries
Excellence in Leading. Teaching.Learning
Improve Student Achievement
Improve the Quality of Instruction
Create a Positive & Supportive Campus Culutre
Principal's Message
February 20, 2017, Week 7 of 4th Six Weeks (7 Weeks, with 2 - 4 day weeks)
BY MAY 2017, AT LEAST 80% OF ALL STAAR EXAMS TAKEN BY ARMS STUDENTS WILL MEET THE PHASE II PASSING STANDARD.
TEAM
GRIT
GROWTH
Observation, Feedback & Coaching- GROUP B (Updates Please Read)
ARMS Face to Face Leadership Goal: 85% Face to Face
ARMS Fall Leadership % Met: 81%
- Spring Semester Face to Face Feedback sessions may vary.
- Spot Feedback via SchoolNet reviewed by teachers.
- Respond to Polish via SchoolNet
ARMS Reminders
ARMS Institute PD Day - 2/20
Review the email from Friday, Feb. 10th - 8:58 pm, ARMS Institute Action Items 2/20
Click here for PDF Agenda
ARMS Has Raise $85 for UNCF
Let's meet our goal of $300 to UNCF. As a reminder, you can make a donation through Oracle, just please let Mrs. Crabtree know so we can add this to our contribution total.
Thank you in advance for thinking of UNCF as a way to also demonstrate support of Random Acts of Kindness Week. The 15th is right around the corner.
ARMS STAAR Night 2/22
ARMS New Information
Operation Excellence: TG2 Spotlight
Spotlight on Mr. Palma: Operation Excellence- Grit & Teaching
Mr Palma has inspired me this year because he is passionate about helping his students get ready for the real world. He consistently hold the students accountable for their actions and also praises and acknowledge when they have improved. Since we have some of the same students at some point we often collaborate on solutions for the students we are having trouble with. I believe that his sincere passion is what make the students admire and look up to him.
Spotlight... Whole Bunch of Rangers :-)...TEAMWORK MAKES THE "DANCE" WORK!!
Ms. Burns writes:
Putting on the Valentine's dance this week has made me so grateful for the amazing community we have at ARMS. There are so many moving parts to these events and the willingness of everyone to assist in any way made the day of the dance a breeze. We had 327 pre-sale tickets collected at the door plus the students that bought tickets at the door. We could not have done this dance without the incredible support of our team.
Thank you to the science team for manning the dance ticket sales at lunch last week and this week. We would not have had the hype surrounding the dance without your daily support!
Thank you to Ms. Martinez and Ms. Zapata for all your help with the fundraiser collection process and always having a smile--even when students paid in dimes and nickels.
Thank you to Ms. Cardenas and the PTO for helping out with the food sales at the dance! Everything ran so incredibly smoothly. We cannot express how much your involvement this year has meant to us!
Thank you to all the teachers who helped set up for the dance during their planning periods and after school--Ms. Romero, Ms. Ward, Mr. George, Ms. Burks, Mr. Smalls, Ms. Jones, Ms. French, and Ms. Roach.
A huge thank you to all of those that worked the dance. The kids loved seeing you and we appreciate you giving your time on a beautiful Friday night-- Ms. A. Miller, Ms. C. Lewis, Ms. Romero, Ms. Remikie, Mr. Cobbins, Ms. Crabtree, Ms. Roach, Ms. French, Ms. Barksdale, Ms. Ward, Ms. Jones, Ms. Husband, Officer Hopkins, and Mrs. Taylor-Glenn.
I want to give a special acknowledge to a few people that went above and beyond taking on positions at the dance that kept them 100% busy the entire night: Ms. Jones and Officer Hopkins for manning the doors, Ms. French for running the food sales, Ms. Crabtree for running the bathroom security, and Ms. Ward for doing absolutely everything from set up to sweeping at the end of the night.
And last but never least, thank you to Mr. Lloyd for prepping the cafeteria for us so early in the day and for all his hard work cleaning up after the dance. You lay the foundation for how wonderful all of our events on campus look!
Each week administrators and instructional coaches will highlight the growth in the instructional practices, creativity, purposeful and meaningful practices that promote student success. It is important that we recognize ALL the Excellence in Teaching we have in all of areas of our academic programs. The highlights are on a rotation and each content/department will be the focus for the week. The rotation will repeat itself throughout the year.
We would like to highlight two Math teachers.
Spotlight on Ms. Jefferson
Jefferson has grown not only in her data but has grown into a great teacher. As a second year teacher she has found a great teaching style that promotes student growth. She fosters a safe learning environment that allows students an opportunity to communicate with each other and the teacher.
Spotlight on Ms.Santos
Santos always seeks out ways to help grow her own teaching style which transfers to great classroom lessons. She has a great tool to help her aggressively monitor her students at all parts of her lesson. She's open to feedback and implements the feedback to help her students continue to grow.
DISD Open Transfer Period Approaching
United Negro College Fund DISD Campaign
Click here for more information.
You may set up a donation via Oracle. ARMS goal is $300. The campaign starts on Feb. 1st to March 31st.
TEA A-F Ratings
ARMS Tardy Data
Be diligent as you are in the hallways monitoring and encouraging all time arrival, through positive narration and lighting quick correction.
Pay attention to:
- students movement, students should not be walking past you two and three times.
- watch student body language (balled up fists, facial expressions, etc).
- listen to their conversations as they pass you. If you feel that something was stated that was questionable, share it with an officer, monitor, or administrator so that it can be determined, if it was indeed a problem or not.
Our diligence when our 1300+ students are traveling and in common areas is always a priority. Thank you in advance for your vigilance, it does not go unnoticed.
Having Students Write Before Diving Into All-Class Discussions
In this Educational Leadership article, Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and Stephen Chiger (Uncommon Schools) describe the following classroom interaction: students read a highly engaging text (the lyrics of “Birmingham Sunday,” a Richard Fariña song about the 1963 church bombing), the teacher asks a well-framed question about the phrase “falcon of death,” and calls on three eager students who share good insights. Other students chime in, and the teacher has the class spend the remaining ten minutes of the class writing independently about the song’s use of figurative language.
“By its design,” say Bambrick-Santoyo and Chiger, “this lesson placed the greatest amount of cognitive work not on the students as a whole, but on two or three students who happen to be both excellent readers and bold speakers. The other students didn’t have to articulate their own interpretations of the text until they’d already heard someone else do so. In effect, the three students who dominated the conversation put the jigsaw puzzle together. The others got to admire the big picture once it was complete, but they didn’t actually place a single piece.”
The problem in this scenario is that because discussion preceded writing, most of the class was able to avoid doing the intellectual heavy lifting, and when students did write, most were recording others’ insights, not their own. In addition, the teacher’s feedback wouldn’t come until hours or days later. In scenarios like this, say Bambrick-Santoyo and Chiger, “Writing becomes a tool for evaluation, not instruction. The reality is that people’s understanding isn’t complete until they can piece their own thoughts together and write them down.”
A better approach, they say, is for the teacher to have students read the text, pose a good question, and then ask all students to respond in writing before an all-class discussion. “This changes the whole experience,” say the authors. “Now every student has a crack at the puzzle, even the ones who wouldn’t normally raise their hands.” And while students are writing, the teacher can:
- Circulate strategically. It’s smart to start with students who get their thoughts on paper the most quickly, giving others time to get into the task.
- Give immediate feedback. Zoom in on a particular facet of the assignment rather than trying to read through everything students are writing.
- Plan feedback. Think in advance about the kinds of thinking students might use and how to respond.
- Keep it short. Whispering a comment or jotting a note can take as little as 15 seconds, making it possible to see more students.
While circulating, the teacher can also gather insights on particularly good thinking and what’s causing confusion. During the all-class discussion that follows, the teacher can focus on those, perhaps having the class compare two students’ responses and debate which was strongest.
Bambrick-Santoyo and Chiger note that many successful writers – Flannery O’Connor, E.M. Forster, Joan Didion, for example – discover what they know and feel as they write. “Our students are no different. Until we see what students can articulate in writing, we don’t know what they comprehend – and on some level, neither do they. To strengthen our students as readers, the place to start is with their writing… Give your students time to write during class, and give them feedback that responds to their craft and their comprehension. Great writing is a communication of great thinking, so strengthen reading and writing in tandem, not in isolation.”
“Until I Write It Down” by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and Stephen Chiger in Educational Leadership, February 2017 (Vol. 74, #5, p. 46-50), available for purchase at http://bit.ly/2kgcsND; the authors can be reached at pbambrick@uncommonschools.org and schiger@uncommonschools.org.
Calendar dates that have been revised- Common Assessment Days, Coffee with Principal
Week of Feb. 13th - 17th
- 4th Six Weeks Common Assessments
- Random Acts of Kindness Week
6 wk IA #4 Science & Electives
Tuesday, February 14
Valentine's Day
6 wk IA #4 6-8 Social Studies
Wednesday, February 15
6 wk IA #4 7 - Writing
Parent Workshop @ 9:30 a.m.
Staff Meeting @ 4:30 p.m. - Library
Thursday, February 16
6 wk IA #4 6-8 Math
Staff Breakfast - Office
Momentous Team Meeting @ 4:30 - Library (Momentous Team member attending)
Friday, February 17
6 wk IA #4 6-8 RLA
Elective POD meeting @ 7:45, Wilson's Room
Love Inspired Bake Off during lunches - teacher's lounge
Core Meeting @ 9:30-11:00 - conference room
Monday, February 20
ARMS Institute - Gap Analysis/Telpas
African American Potluch Luncheon
Tuesday, February 21
Wednesday, February 22
Skyline Feeder Patter Promotional Video
Trailblazer Data Meeting
STAAR Family Night
IA#5 Viewing #1
Thursday, February 23
IA#5 Revision #2
ARMS 360 Leader Dinner & Dialogue @ 4:30 Room 209
Friday, February 24
4th Six Wks ends
Core Meetings @ 9:30 -10:55 - Conference Room
Trailblazer - Alignment Training
Monday, February 27
5th Six Weeks begin
Tuesday, February 28
African American History Program
ARMS - Thank you to our AWESOME Counselor Team!!!
ARMS Recognized in DISD HUB- Lone Star Counseling Award
2017--No One Eats Alone @ ARMS
6th Grade Rangers Get To Know One Another
ARMS Rangers Showcase Low Relief Sculpture Skills!
ARMS In DISD HUB - 8th Grade One Track Luncheon!!
New Ranger: Anali Elise ~ Congrats to Ms. Martinez and Family
Which Ranger will be our African American History Month Door Decorating Winner?
We will announce on Tuesday!!
Thank you our Skyline Raiders Judges ~ Erick Garner & Drajanae Washington
Thank you Ms. Hill for being a Judge
Spot Rotation Schedule (Updated 1.21.17)
Coming Soon Technology Support Doc
ARMS Facility Request Google Doc
This is how all facility requests are to be made moving forward.
ARMS Safety Drill Staff One Pager
The Most Important Work of our Time! Always remember YOUR IMPACT!
Ann Richards Middle School
At Ann Richards MS, our vision is to be a flagship middle school at the hub of the community, nurturing diverse leaders, and empowering intelligent trailblazers.
Email: frataylor@dallasisd.org
Website: www.dallasisd.org/annrichards
Location: Ann Richards Middle School, North Prairie Creek Road, Dallas, TX, United States
Phone: 972 -892-5400