Road Runner Country
Week of October 22, 2018
A TWO-WAY DUAL LANGUAGE CAMPUS!
MISSION STATEMENT
Transforming mind-set through scholarship, character and self discipline. Equipping our scholars with the knowledge and skills to become academically successful and socially responsible Middle schoolers.
VISION STATEMENT
To Become the Highest Performing Elementary School in DISD!
CLINTON'S KEY ACTIONS:
- Key Action #1:Increase student achievement using the Data Driven Instruction Framework
Key Action #2:Improve the quality of instruction by focusing on building teacher’s content knowledge and curriculum alignment
- Key Action #3:Continue to build a positive culture that sustains and drives excellence by focusing on the development of strong teams, positive behavioral expectations of scholars and professional accountability
WEEK-AT-A-GLANCE
October 22
Monday
- BIC 7:45- 8:00
- 3rd-5th PLC/Interim Assessments
- Socio-Economic Due (CRC)
- CAR Tutoring Meeting
- Tutoring/After School Programs
- Red Ribbon Week
- C.I.L.T. Meeting 3:15-4:00
October 23
~Tuesday
- BIC 7:45- 8:00
- Tutoring/After School Programs
- K-2 PLC Meeting
- Red Ribbon Week
October 24
~Wednesday
- BIC 7:45- 8:00
- Red Ribbon Week
- Pre K-5 Grade Level Meetings
- Writing on Wednesdays (W.O.W.)
- Tutoring/After School Programs
- College Paraphernalia Day
- Professional Development 3:15-4:00
- Lesson Plans Due by 5:00
October 25
~Thursday
- BIC 7:45- 8:00
- Red Ribbon Week
- Tutoring/After School Programs
October 26
~Friday
- Fall Carnival
- Red Ribbon Week
- Donuts with Dad (Kindergarten)
UPCOMING DATES & REMINDERS
- October 23-SWAG Training
- October 24-Assistant Principal's Meeting Edison
- October 25 Socio Economic Forms Due
- October 26-Fall Carnival @Russell
- October 29-Reading CA2
- October 30-Math CA2
- October 31-5th Science & 4th Writing CA2
- November 3--Discover Dallas ISD
- November 5-30--Preview Night Window
STAFF BIRTHDAYS
Please join me in wishing a Happy Birthday to our following team members:
October 2018
- Patricia Gonzales~3
- Breana Meek~4
- Elaine Glenn~10
- Mayra Falcon~30
- Noel Rubio~30
Protecting Instructional Time
Classroom Management: Creating More Instruction Time
By: Janelle Cox
Class time is precious, and every second that is wasted by interruptions or disciplining a student is time that should be spent on student learning. Every year, it may seem like there is more and more on your plate and less time to do it in. This is probably because of the ever-changing curriculum, the demands of classroom management, and standardized testing. Luckily, with a little juggling, classroom management, and planning, you can maximize your class time and create more time for instruction. Here’s how.
Classroom Management: Eliminate Unnecessary Routines
As a teacher, you’ve probably created a routine for just about everything. While routines are a necessary part of the school day, they all don’t have to be. Take a closer look at how much time each routine is taking to complete. If you’re spending 10 minutes having students write down their homework and another 10 minutes taking attendance, you can easily gain 20 extra minutes of instruction time by simply eliminating these routines. All you have to do to gain those ten minutes back is have students write down their homework at the same time as they are packing up to leave. As for taking attendance, all you have to do is create an attendance chart, where the students fill it in versus taking the time to do it yourself. With a few simple tweaks, you can streamline your routines, and eliminate the unnecessary ones, to create more instruction time.
Streamline Bathroom Breaks
Elementary school teachers utilize a lot of time (sometimes up to 15 minutes at a time) with bathroom breaks. We all know that students have to use the bathroom during the day, and if you factor in two classroom bathroom breaks a day, that could mean an extra 30 minutes of instructional time lost. If you’re one of the lucky classrooms that has a bathroom in it, then you’ll find gaining these extra minutes will be a piece of cake. All you have to do is create a procedure where students get up and go to the bathroom quietly on their own. However, if you don’t have a bathroom in your classroom, then you’ll have to try and create the same procedure for students to go on their own outside of the classroom. You’ll need to point out that going to the bathroom on their own is a privilege and it can get revoked at any time. If they abuse your bathroom policy, then they’ll have deal with the consequences.
Try Grouping Students Together
There’s nothing like sitting through 20 different class presentations to make you feel like your day is dragging on. If you’re looking for another way to gain more class time for instruction, then try and group students together for as many lessons and activities as you can. Not only will it benefit you (give you more class time), but it will also benefit the students. As you may already know, collaborative learning has many benefits, such as developing students’ oral communications skills, higher-level thinking skills, and increased retention, to name a few. Try having students learn together in a condensed amount of time so they can reap all of the wonderful benefits.
Stop Waiting for Students
Lastly, stop waiting for students to all finish before going on to something different. When you do this, you are wasting a lot of time. Try setting a timer to an average amount of time that the students should all be able to complete the assignment in. This will not only save you time, but it will force the students to think a little quicker. Make sure that you tell students that it’s OK if they are still working when the timer goes off, because you don’t want any child feeling anxious to rush. However, you will find that the majority of the students will have the assignment done by the time the timer goes off.
Creating more instruction time means that students will spend more time learning and less time doing things that are unnecessary. Eliminate pointless routines, streamline bathroom breaks, try the flipped classroom method, allow students to work together and stop waiting for students. Once you do these things, you’ll see a lot more time has opened up for instruction and learning.
Mindful Moments
Leadership Quote of the Week
~John Maxwell
Road Runner Country
Email: gbennett@dallasisd.org
Website: www.dallasisd.org
Location: 3031 South Beckley Avenue, Dallas, TX, USA
Phone: (972)925-8300