Micro Elementary School Newsletter
October 22nd, 2018
Great Week!
Clubs on Friday were amazing! At the bottom of the newsletter, I included a few pictures from Friday. I did not get pictures from every club but I visited each club. The smiles on faces and the excitement that was in the was contagious. Friday was proof of why voice and choice matter so much in education. Keep up the outstanding work. I believe we are doing great things this year!
Go Micro!
TJ
Micro Headlines
- Staff: There are members of our staff who have requested voluntary shared leave. If you are interested in donating any time to them, please see Mrs. Creech.
- Security Reminders: We want to make sure we are sending students with key fobs or we are making arrangements for them to be met them at doors. We want to avoid students being locked out of the building. Also, while traveling from the main building to and from the 4th/5th grade building, we want students using the door at the end of the 2nd/3rd grade hallway instead of the front entrance.
- Red Ribbon Week:
Tuesday, Oct 23: Wear Red… To show your support for Red Ribbon Week
Wednesday, October 24:Turn Your Back on Drugs...Wear your shirt backwards
Thursday, October 25: Our school Chooses to be Drug Free….Wear your Micro Spirit Wear
Friday, October 26: Follow Your Dreams, Don’t do Drugs….Wear pajamas to school (Must follow school dress code)
Monday, October 29: Hats Off to Drugs...Wear your favorite hat
Tuesday, October 30: Sock it to Drugs…...Wear mismatched or crazy socks
Wednesday, October 31: We are all Superheroes, not Zeros….Dress like your favorite Superhero (NO MASKS)
- The No Charge Cafeteria meals will end on October 31, 2018.
If you are interested in having your name shared with parents who are looking for an out of school tutor, please let me know so I can add you to a list that we will share with parents.
- NC Beautiful $1,000 Grant Opportunity through November 30th: www.ncbeautiful.org,
Hold on to your Dreams!
Liam
And the Best Lead Actor Award Goes to.....
www.sumdog.com
Sumdog provides engaging adaptive learning for K-8 math.Their powerful learning engine adapts questions for each individual. It's aligned to the Common Core and key state standards. Meanwhile, their engaging activities are designed to motivate all students to learn. (copied from Sumdog website with some minor changes).
Overall class scores for competitions are the average number of correct answers out of the students in that class. At least 10 students from the class must have played in order to get an average score.
The first year I used this learning tool for math, my students competed in 2 local competitions and won 1st place both times. This year with my 3rd graders, I am trying national competitions to engage them more. We are currently competing in our 3rd national competition. Our first competition we placed 83 out of 1340 classes across the U.S. Our second competition we placed 129th out of 1116 classes. Our last completed competition ended on Oct. 18 and we finished 28th out of 1839. We are currently competing against 1488 classes and we are 4th at the close of our school day with students.
Students are given a diagnostic assessment the first time they log on. Next students are asked questions on their level, if they get the answer correct, they are able to "play" the game, if they miss the question, the program asks them another question. This process continues during the the games. Students are able to compete with their classmates, students across the country or a robot. Students BEG to play Sumdog and are very engaged in the process. I try to do it in the classroom daily for 20 minutes before doing our math lesson. Students often beg to stay in for recess so they can play Sumdog.
Important Dates
October 24th: Vertical Planning Wednesday
October 25th: Secret Society of Readers Meeting
October 25th: Love of Reading Night
October 26th: Character Assembly
October 29th: First Quarter Report Cards
November 1st: Regular Workday
November 8th: Order out and Duty Free Day
November 8th: Make-up Pictures
November 12th: Veteran's Day Pictures
November 14th: 2nd Quarter Progress Report
November 15th: Fall PBL Publish Night
November 20th: Club Meeting Day
November 21st: Thanksgiving Holiday
Character Traits
October Character Trait: Perseverance – Working hard and not giving up
Responsibility – Being accountable for your own actions
Micro Staff Social Contract
Make the community feel welcome
Treat others with respect
Demonstrate Teamwork
Communicate Effectively *new*
Be accountable, open-minded, positive, and supportive
Micro Elementary Staff will support our social contract by intervening with the gentle question, "Are you okay?" and provide peers with an appropriate level of space.
Reminders and Links
- Micro Elementary Crisis Plan
- Nominate a co-worker for JCPS Employee of the Month
- "I Can" statements
- Report Card Screencast
- Report Card Feedback Form
- Report Card Talking Points
- Roadmap to Personalized Learning '18-19
- JCPS Strategic Plan
- Navigating the District Calendar Tip Sheet
- Buck Institute Project Based Learning Database