The Gator Tales
The weekly staff newsletter for Glenwood Elementary School
No collaboration this week!
Wednesday is adjusted dismissal day
Week of December 18
Monday, December 18- PIRATE DAY
Tuesday, December 19- Staff meeting in Learning Commons to honor Teacher of the Year!
Wednesday- December 20- POLAR EXPRESS DAY (adjusted dismissal)
Thursday, December 21 through Monday January 1- Winter Holidays, schools closed
Important upcoming dates and events
January 2- Back to school
January 5- Citizen of the Month
January 11- First grade gifted testing
January 15- Dr. Martin Luther King Day- Schools Closed
January 16- After School Mandatory PLP- Learning Targets
January 18- Pirate Day!
January 22- Achieve 3000 rep meet with 3-5 during PE in Pirate Room
January 23- Orchestra program 6:30
January 26- End 2nd Grading Period
January 29- Grades Due
January 30- Club pictures/ Grades due
February 5- Report Cards issued
February 19- President's Day- No School
February 20- Gifted Testing for referred students 2-5
February 26- Pirate Day!
February 28- Grades due for progress reports
Grateful Gators!
Thank you to Jen Malit for letting me observe her LA and Math small groups to get ideas for making things run more smoothly. She is ALWAYS willing to help anyone that asks! John McFarland
Kudos to Kayla vanWerkhoven for being so caring and supportive of her students!
Kudos to Diane Dykes for preparing her students so well for my guidance lesson on Mindfulness J Kudos to Tina Repa for being awesome and always having really great ideas! From Tara Pfeifer
Kudos to my grade levels that are always willing to fill me in on what they are doing in class so I can create art lessons that build on core curriculum ideas. Molly Loch
To Kindergarten for their flexibility in scheduling lessons. Barbara Kimpan
Kudos to Carol Karpovich for welcoming my Kindergators into her kitchen during our Community Helpers week. We enjoyed learning about her job, how she helps our school, and the tools she uses. Most of all, we had a great time making pizzas! Thanks again! Sullivan and Salisbury
~kindergarten team: switching our planning time to accommodate all of us J
~MaryKay: I called for help and she was in my classroom to help in minutes. Cleghorn
Amy Doss for 25 fabulous years of teaching!
Jessica Palmer for 5 glorious years of teaching!
Rebekah Goshert for 10 amazing years of teaching. Kelli Medina
Kudos to Kellie Weisenbeck for organizing Skype dates for the entire fourth grade with national meteorologists! The kids were completely engaged and this was an excellent way to wrap up our weather unit! - Alexa Ambrose
A million THANK YOUs to Caroline and Nancy for planning the staff Toys for Tots gift exchange! It was a lot of fun to hear the different stories and to learn about each other. Plus, it helped out the SCA fundraiser! Thank you Barb for hosting it in your room. And thanks to everyone who donated yummy treats to enjoy! I’m so glad to be part of a generous school. Jen Malit
Kudos to the 5th grade teachers who came out to support the 5th graders and also rolled with the changes for our meeting location-- your flexibility and understand and most of all, your support, were a huge part of making things run smoothly. We could not have done this without you. Kudos to Mrs. Altman for setting up and running the 'Let's Meet' interactive site during the 5th grade concert. She was there to support her daughter in chorus, yet also agreed to support the music department's request... how awesome is that?!?!!! Thank you Caroline!!!! Teresa Habib
A large thank you to Miss Santiago and Mrs. Storm for staying and helping me when I was short handed Wednesday during Day care dismissal. You two were life saviors Mr. Matt
Many thanks to our custodial staff for their timeliness and cooperation in getting things ready for our concert season kickoff last night! We love working with you all! From: the music department
Kudos to Miss Vanessa for taking such kind care of all the children in the cafeteria.
Tara Pfeifer you are amazing! You are making a huge difference, and we appreciate your support.
Nancy, keep those math games coming! You are a great resource for us all.
Caroline the virtual field trip to Wyoming was a wonderful learning experience and an awesome way to end our study of American Indians, thanks!
Mary Kay, kudos for always being welcoming and so helpful, glad you are a Gator!
Kudos to all the elves who have made Glenwood look so festive. Diane Dykes
MaryKay is always thinking ahead and often takes care of things before I have even thought to ask! She is always willing to take a look a problems, even when it seems like a lost cause. Your rock MaryKay EMerce
Kudos to Ms. Habib and Mrs. Keatts for a wonderful job on the 5th Grade performance! The students did a magnificent job and sounded great! I the loved the variety of performances from songs, skits, and jokes… Very entertaining! As a parent (and ITS J) I loved the live messages that we could send to our kids during the performance! Caroline Altman
What Great Teachers Do Differently- 17 Things That Matter Most
14. Plandom or Random
One hallmark of great teachers is that in their classrooms, very little happens at random. Great teachers have a plan and purpose for everything they do. If things don’t work out the way they had envisioned, they reflect on what they could have done differently and adjust their plans accordingly.
In contrast, their less effective colleagues seem to move through their days by the roll of the dice. In some ways, it almost seems as if they don’t want to have a plan; they don’t want to take responsibility for what happens. If things don’t work out as well as they had hoped, they look for something or someone else to blame.
Great teachers intentionally arrange, rearrange, alter, and adjust the structures that frame their teaching. Their classroom setup, their instructional approaches, their time management- all are carefully planned to promote a productive learning environment. If two students cannot sit by each other peaceably, they no longer sit by each other. If one student tends to be disruptive, the teacher takes steps to minimize that student’s impact on others in the room. If a class spirals into rowdiness by the end of the day, the schedule of activities makes room for them to let off steam appropriately.
These alterations do not involve a power struggle. They may seem random, but they have a definite underlying intent. There is no advantage to challenging and escalating the events that get in the way of learning. The teacher who needs to prove, over and over, who is in charge of the classroom is wasting precious energy on a losing battle. Great teachers do not try to prove who is in charge in their classrooms; everyone knows.
Todd Whitaker
Schoology is coming!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Jessica Domalewski 12-14
Tina Hood12-14
Virginia Fields12-14
Jessica Palmer12-14
Hilary Truman12-17
Mary Betsy Thorn12-19
Elizabeth Merce12-19
Rebekah, Goshert12-21
Andrea Neal12-25
Jessica Denham12-26
Digital Learning Summer Summit for Teachers
As you begin to make plans for summer 2018, please be aware of the dates for the Digital Learning Summer Summit for Teachers (DLSS). The DLSS consists of 4 days of professional learning available to all school division staff, with most sections targeted for teachers. Information regarding these learning opportunities will be conveyed later in the school year. This will be a great opportunity to support our growth as we move to a one-to-one school.
Jun. 20-21 - Digital Learning Summer Summit
Aug. 13-14 - Digital Learning Summer Summit
20 Observable Characteristics Of Effective Teaching
Below are 20 observable characteristics of effective teaching. Pair this with our characteristics of a highly-effective learning environment, and you’ll have a nice one-two punch to reflect on your craft. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorites to get you started
- Begins class promptly and in a well-organized way.
- Treats students with respect and caring.
- Provides the significance/importance of information to be learned.
- Provides clear explanations. Holds attention and respect of students….practices effective classroom management.
- Uses active, hands-on student learning.
- Varies his/her instructional techniques.
- Provides clear, specific expectations for assignments.
- Provides frequent and immediate feedback to students on their performance.
- Praises student answers and uses probing questions to clarify/elaborate answers.
- Provides many concrete, real-life, practical examples.
- Draws inferences from examples/models….and uses analogies.
- Creates a class environment which is comfortable for students….allows students to speak freely.
- Teaches at an appropriately fast pace, stopping to check student understanding and engagement.
- Communicates at the level of all students in class.
- Has a sense of humor!
- Uses nonverbal behavior, such as gestures, walking around, and eye contact to reinforce his/her comments.
- Presents him/herself in class as “real people.”
- Focuses on the class objective and does not let class get sidetracked.
- Uses feedback from students (and others) to assess and improve teaching.
- Reflects on own teaching to improve it.
~ University of Dayton ~
Thanks ROFO ES