Hello parents and guardians.

It's April and hopefully we are coming to the end of the wet weather season. Baseball season has started, the flowers are blooming, and we are pushing towards the end of the school year. Near the end of the month we will begin our state testing. We will be preparing all of this month and all students will be ready to go on the first day of testing, which is May 1st. We were super excited to have six graders from Santa Teresa, Taylor, Anderson, and Baldwin students visit Bernal Intermediate School on April 7th. The visiting students received tours from Bernal leadership students, met school administration and support staff, hung out at break with current Bernal students, participated in a Spirit rally, played musical chairs, and sang songs. It was a wonderful day. It was a great way for next year’s students to get an early look at life as a Bernal Intermediate School Student. Don't forget Friday, April 14th is the end of the grading period. Monday, April 17th is the beginning of spring break. I hope you all find a relaxing and enjoyable week of sunshine and relaxation that week.

One final note, this year’s promotion ceremony is June 8th, 5 pm at Oak Grove High School. Start making your family plans!

Before leaving you I would like to take a moment to celebrate two of our school’s finest teachers. These two have received acknowledgement and recognition in a recent district office celebration I'm sure you are happy to celebrate them as I am as well. Have a great month and take care of yourself and others.

AVENEIR GUEVARRA – 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher. Winner of the Vision Award for Community Involvement

Aveneir has strong pride in his community ties, specifically for his Filipino-American and his family's Latin-American ties. At Bernal, he is involved with the Latino Student Club, Filipino Student Club, and the Hispanic Parent Group. He is also very familiar with the local history of the Native American ancestors that inhabited the land that Bernal and the surrounding community rest on today. I even heard he might have been out selling Girl Scout cookies on Super Bowl Sunday. Who does that?! Only a great dad that's invested in making a better community.

ALLISON CRAWFORD – Instructional Coach. Winner of the Vision Award for Innovative Spirit.

Allison epitomizes what an innovative spirit should be. As a math teacher, you always walked into her room and witnessed students making meaning from math, not just "doing" math. From number talks, to Algebra tiles, to group projects to friendly competition, Allison strived to make math real and meaningful in every way for her students. Now as Bernal's Instructional Coach, she continues to keep this model at the forefront of everything she does. From helping the PBIS team come up with more innovative ways to motivate students, to mentoring young math teachers, Allison truly maintains a spirit of innovation. We are lucky to have her at Bernal. More importantly, so are the students and staff!

You will find all upcoming district and school events!

In our continued efforts to maintain safety in our schools, students recently participated in our annual Run, Hide, Defend drill here at Bernal. The drill came after students were provided lessons that involve a protocol for responding during an emergency situation and practice opportunities to build barricades. The instruction that students received focused on three options (Run, Hide, Defend) that students and teachers have in the event of an active shooter emergency. The Run, Hide, Defend protocol is recommended by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, the International Chiefs of Police, the Santa Clara County Police, and others.

Preparing our students for real and present dangers (including fire and earthquake) is part of a fundamental education in the 21st century. Different times, different circumstances, and different dangers require that we prepare students in different ways. It can be difficult to contemplate something bad happening in our schools, but through responsible planning and training, we are able to respond to a crisis in order to better protect ourselves and those around us. Safety depends on our ability, our determination, and our commitment to make emergency preparedness a top priority. During the drill on 3/27, students were overwhelmingly successful in the drill and knew what to do in case of a RHD emergency, which indicated that our annual drills are better preparing them for a worst case scenario that hopefully never comes to pass.

We encourage you to engage in discussions with your child about school and community safety in an effort to be prepared to act in the event of an emergency. To learn more about the shift from "Code Red" training to "Run Hide Defend" training, Santa Clara County Police chiefs have put together a video describing the purpose and rationale behind the drill.

*Warning: due to the very nature and purpose of the RHD drill, this video contains a stimulation of a weapon being used and is not appropriate for small children to view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOpwpW54CmE

Understanding Growth Mindset:

• Developing a Growth Mindset: Watch Carol Dweck speak about the power of yet versus the tyranny of now and her research on growth mindset. (Stanford Alumni, 2014)
  
• Stanford University’s Carol Dweck on the Growth Mindset and Education: Read an interview transcript for an introduction to Carol S. Dweck’s work and thinking, including her research into mindsets and the concept of "fixed mindset" versus "growth mindset." (OneDublin.org, 2012)
  
• Recognizing and Overcoming False Growth Mindset: Clarify some common misconceptions about growth mindset. "Growth Mindset: Clearing Up Some Common Confusions" from KQED's MindShift is another good read. (Edutopia, 2016)
  
• Carol Dweck Talks Growth Mindset: Understand how having high expectations of students and providing effective support can be a winning combination. (Edutopia, 2014)
  
• 5-Minute Film Festival: 5 Videos to Explore Growth Mindset: Watch this carefully curated playlist for an introduction to growth mindset; there's something here for every audience, including the excellent animation below. (Edutopia, 2016)
  
• Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills that Promote Long-Term Learning: Read a report summarizing the research on non-academic factors like growth mindset, grit, and self-efficacy that allow students to work harder and smarter over time. (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2014)

Strategies for Addressing Mindsets:

• Harnessing the Power of Productive Struggle: Learn how to create opportunities for students to have productive experiences with struggle. (Edutopia, 2016)
  
• Encouraging Students to Persist Through Challenges: Watch a video from a second grade classroom, and notice the targeted strategies used by the teacher to normalize struggle within the learning process and encourage students to reflect on their thinking processes. (Teaching Channel, 2015)
  
• Growth Mindset: A Driving Philosophy, Not Just a Tool: Explore five growth-mindset practices that can help educators and schools pursue a growth orientation. (Edutopia, 2014)
  
• The Biggest Lie Students Tell Me (and How to Turn It Around): Try four strategies to help shape the discussion in response to a student who says, "I can’t do this." (Edutopia, 2013)
  
• Positive Brains are Smarter Brains: Discover how students can exert control over influences on their emotional outlook in order to take a more positive approach to learning. (Edutopia, 2015)
  
• The Mindset Kit: Take a free online course to learn more about learning mindsets and activities and strategies to help students develop them. (Stanford University's PERTS)
  
• Growing Your Mind: Share a video with students to help them understand how struggle can help grow the brain. (Khan Academy, 2014)

Growth Mindset Within Math:

• How to Remove Obstacles to Learning Math: Discover what the research says about learning mindsets when it comes to math, and learn about several instructional shifts that may help. (KQED’s MindShift, 2015)
  
• The Common Experience of Math Trauma: Read a review of Jo Boaler’s book Mathematical Mindsets. (Annie Murphy Paul, 2015)
  
• Research Shows How Children Can Enjoy and Succeed in Math: Review ways to reduce math anxiety by teaching math as a learning subject rather than as a performance subject. (Stanford, 2015).
  
• Growth Mindset and the Common Core Math Standards: Discover how growth mindset aligns with the Common Core standards for math. (Edutopia, 2013)
  
• Growth Mindset and Math: In this short course (75 minutes) from Stanford’s PERTS, learn more about practices that promote growth mindset within the context of a math class. (PERTS’ Mindset Kit)
  
• Growth Mindset From YouCubed: Find resources to address beliefs about mathematics, including a free downloadable poster that you can post in the classroom: "Positive Norms to Encourage in Math Class." (YouCubed)
  

Giving Better Student Feedback:

• Embracing Failure: Building a Growth Mindset Through the Arts: Learn how educators at New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico teach students how to integrate critical feedback. (Edutopia, 2016)
  
• Nurturing Intrinsic Motivation and Growth Mindset in Writing: Review tips from a high school English instructor about how to conduct better conferences with students; take a look at specific examples of process praise and feedback that can encourage autonomy, purpose, and choice. (Edutopia, 2014)
  
• Praising the Process: Watch this video of a writing workshop from a first grade classroom to see how to use process praise to encourage a growth mindset. (Teaching Channel, 2015)
  
• Using Praise to Enhance Student Resilience and Learning Outcomes: Explore Do’s and Don’ts, FAQs, and other information about how to use feedback to alter student mindsets. (American Psychological Association)
  
• The Secret to Raising Smart Kids: Read an article authored by growth-mindset researcher Carol Dweck about research into growth mindset, and learn how to give valuable feedback by focusing on the specific process a child used to accomplish something; at the end of the article, there are several useful examples of effective praise. (Scientific American, 2015)
  

5-Minute Film Festival: 5 Videos to Explore Growth Mindset

Spanish: http://www.sccoe.org/supoffice/Pages/Support-for-Undocumented-Students-esp.aspx

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