ISS Communicator 9/14 - 9/18

CiTi BOCES Weekly Outreach

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The purpose of this weekly newsletter is to provide professional development,

support, resources, information, connections and best practices to foster adult

learning and student achievement. You will find offerings from

Instructional Support Services, Distance Learning and Model Schools Teams.
***These offerings are available to all educators in NYS unless otherwise stated in the description.***

Up coming PD...

Online professional development offered by
CiTi BOCES ISS and Model Schools
Register in MLP for CTLE Credits

Book Study: Relationship, Responsibility, and Regulation: Trauma-Invested Practices for Fostering Resilient Learners

Thursday, Sep. 17th, 2:30-3:30pm

This is an online event.

Educators have a unique opportunity to influence students' learning, attitudes, and futures. This book will invigorate your practice and equip you to empower all students no matter their histories. In the much anticipated sequel to Fostering Resilient Learners, Souers provides a resource filled with specific examples, language, and interventions to be a trauma-invested entity. Over the course of 4 sessions we will read, process, and set intentions based on our learning. Together let's explore what this resource has to offer:


  • Explain how to create a culture of safety in which everyone feels valued, important, and capable of learning.
  • Describe the four areas of need-emotional, relational, physical, and control-that drive student behaviors and show how to meet these needs with interventions framed around the new three Rs.
  • Illustrate trauma-invested practices in action through real scenarios that identify students' unmet needs, examine the situation from five stakeholder perspectives, and suggest interventions to support students and their families.
  • Offer opportunities to challenge your beliefs and develop deeper and different ways of thinking about your role in your students' lives.


Registration Link:

https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=12396&I=3546928

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Mid-Week Mindfulness

Wednesday, Sep. 23rd, 7:15-8am

This is an online event.

Each time I ask educators what emotion is most present, the most common answers are "overwhelmed" and "anxious". I then think of Parker Palmer's words - "We teach who we are" and know that now more than ever, we must build into our schedule the habit of mindfulness and self-care. Our ability to maintain steady ground, presence, and calm in the face of uncertainty will have significant impact on our students and be a strong factor in keeping burnout at bay for ourselves. This weekly offering will focus on creating space for sharing together, building community and engaging in mindfulness practices that will sometimes be guided and sometimes be simple moments of silence and then dialogue.


See other dates and registration links in MyLearningPlan


Registration for September 23rd.

Embedding the SEL Signature Practices Into Your Instruction

Thursday, Oct. 1st, 4-5pm

This is an online event.

From the SEL Signature Practices Playbook, "Dr. Richard Davidson, a neuro-scientist at the University of Wisconsin, speaks about "every behavioral intervention being a biological intervention.” A student's repeated experiences in school can be a powerful influence for the rewiring of the neural pathways necessary for habits to be built and sustained. Having routines and rituals in our classrooms and school communities is beneficial for every child, and absolutely essential for some." Three main categories of practices, when implemented consistently, can create the necessary conditions for growth and learning with all Five SEL Competencies. This is foundational to culturally responsive teaching and collaboration. In this session we will explore:

  • WELCOMING ROUTINES & RITUALS
  • ENGAGING PEDAGOGY
  • OPTIMISTIC CLOSURE



Register here in MLP

Culturally Relevant Teaching - 3 Part Series

Tuesday, Oct. 6th, 4-5:30pm

This is an online event.

Culturally relevant teaching combines knowledge of the influence of the socio-cultural context in education, mindful reflection on your own and other cultures, and a commitment to teaching for social justice. It is important for educators to use curriculum and teaching strategies that reflect the needs and interests of all children and to present world as truthfully and completely as they can. It is also essential that educators understand how the socio-cultural context of the school and the learners mediate learning and teaching.


Through this series, participants will:

  • Deepen self-understanding of one's own cultural autobiography and how that has shaped one's teaching practice.
  • Explain how social structures of race, class, gender, (dis)ability, and sexuality work to create relations that privilege some and deny opportunity to others.
  • Develop mindfulness practices that promote self-reflection, awareness and social emotional learning.
  • Describe culturally relevant teaching in terms of teacher characteristics, teaching strategies, and assumptions about teaching, learning, and knowing.
  • Develop curriculum and teaching strategies that challenge unjust social structures and allow all children to learn and grow into citizens who will be actively involved in this democracy



Register for this 3 part series taking place on 10/6th, 13th & 20th.

Mindful Self-Compassion - Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength and Thrive! (Book Study)

"When we are mindful of our struggles, and respond to ourselves with compassion, kindness and support in times of difficulty, things start to change" say the authors, Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer. We can learn to embrace our lives despite imperfections inside and out and we can cultivate the strength to thrive. Much research points to the importance of self-compassion to well-being. It seems we need it now more than ever! This 6 month self exploration will use The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer as the focus of this book study. It will be structured using Zoom and a Facebook Social Learning Group. Each week a new chapter/focus will be explored. There will be an opening Zoom meeting and then a monthly meeting throughout the book study.


**Please note: participants will need to purchase the book on their own for this book study.**


Begins October 8th 4:00 - 5:00 pm Zoom.Please see MLP for all Zoom dates.

Register in MLP

Online Instructional Resources - Recorded Webinars

Including but not limitied to: Google Classsroom, G-Suite, Zoom, EdPuzzle, Book Creator and more!

Instructional Resources

The Hybrid Teacher Survival Guide

The practical guide is designed to help teachers understand the hybrid model of teaching and to share tools and best practices that have been effective in both a traditional classroom and online.

This guide also includes:


  • hyperlinks to EdTech Tool Box Tutorials
  • a list of "what I wish I knew before I started hybrid teaching"
  • sample hybrid schedules that are kid-friendly
  • hyperlinks to virtual platforms for conferencing and meeting
  • suggested norms and expectations for virtual classrooms
  • icons/badges to increase student engagement
  • Administrators' Appendix
  • and more....

Download this survival guide to support you with the range of teaching realities you will be facing this school year.

Kate's Think Tank Thursdays are Open!

Join me for office hours! Kate will be available for check-in's or planning sessions via Zoom! Looking for some key ideas to build in SEL throughout your structured time with students? Let me help you navigate what resources and strategies will suit you and your student's needs. Need help with a specific student or SEL activity? Need to reflect on a lesson or brainstorm ideas to pull SEL into the mix? Then let's chat! We're all in this together!


Join me on Thursdays from 7:30-8:30 for an open Think Tank session! Put a reminder in your calendar with the Zoom link below. If you prefer a one-on-one appointment just send me an email and we will work around your schedule!

Use the link below, no appointment necessary, join when and however long you need to connect.

https://zoom.us/j/286549711

Your Daily Break: Archived Newsletters to Support Your SEL Needs

Liane Benedict and Kate Ginney offer a bi-weekly newsletter to bring you the latest mindfulness-based SEL activities and strategies K-12. Check out our archived newsletters and be sure to subscribe to our free virtual resource! Liane and Kate are here to support your learning environment's SEL needs--we're just an email away.

ONLINE: Effective Literacy Leadership for K-6 Principals

This professional learning series will be a year-long, region-wide collaborative for K-6 principals, facilitated by instructional leaders from multiple BOCES. Participants may not be able to attend all sessions. We will keep track of attendance but invite you to join us for as many as you can. Grounded in the science of reading framework, this professional learning opportunity will provide information, direction and support for K-6 principals who are seeking a school-wide approach to lift the overall reading performance of their students. Join others from around the region to: Discuss implementation of evidence based reading practices Examine the principal's role in leading literacy instruction Consider steps you can take to improve reading achievement Explore ways to monitor your building's progress toward its goals Consider the programs, materials, assessments, and professional development that will support your work Outcomes: Understand the various components to improve literacy outcomes based on the science of reading Engage in collegial dialogue to build capacity to lead evidence based literacy practices in your school Make evidence based decisions and take actionable steps regarding literacy curriculum, instruction, intervention, and assessments


Click to register: https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=15882&I=3577209

The Science of Reading- Recorded Webinar Series for Paraprofessionals

The Instructional Support Services Team

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