Roberts Middle School
Happy New Year 2018
Dear Roberts,
Welcome to 2018. A new year gives us an opportunity to create new resolutions, but it's very rare we'll keep our resolutions for the whole year. According to U.S. News, approximately 80% of resolutions fail by the second week of February, so the odds are against us. How can we keep our resolutions? What does the word resolution even mean? Resolution means a firm decision to do or not to do something. When you resolve something, you cut off any possibility of breaking your commitment.
Julius Caesar taught us resolve through his one major decision when fighting Celts on their island 2000 years ago. Celts were immensely skillful & formidable warriors, but Caesar was resolved in his commitment to take the island. He ordered his men to burn the very ships they came in. With the ships burnt, there was no option but to fight their way through the heart of enemy territory. With that one move, Caesar sent a strong message to both his own men and the enemy. He did not intend to sail away from the island without conquering the land.
Roberts, what ships do you need to burn? If we know that small group instruction works, why do we go back to old teaching habits? Now that we have the data from our December Benchmark, we need to be committed to see the necessary progress in each and every student. Please know that we need to utilize every minute of classroom time for instruction, because time is not on our side. Yes, we are responsible for ensuring that progress is evident in each and every child.
Thank you for being amazing teachers who care. I hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends.
Welcome to 2018,
Jorly
Getting All the Proof That You Need - 5 Ways to Make Evidence Gathering Part of Our School Culture
1. Don’t be afraid of data. Using data as evidence for decisions can be intimidating. The first key is for all of us to make sure that the conversations are about the data and not about the person. Another key is to break the data down, digging into it to find meaning that you can use.
2. Consider student performance data from a variety of sources. Use multiple sources of data to validate a pattern of need. The more data sources that suggest a particular need among students, the more confident teachers can be about moving forward with instructional changes to fulfill that need. If you have no evidence, how can you make a decision?
3. Look for gaps in student learning. Formative assessments can help you find out where the gaps in the data are. Often, gaps stare at us all year because we do not look at data in different ways. See how many different ways you can use your formative data to help inform instruction. Knowing where the gaps are is one thing - doing something to close the gaps is another.
4. Use data to communicate with other teachers across grade levels. Make sure to share identified strengths and weaknesses. It is important for teachers to communicate with each other regarding student progress and needed supports.
5. Use data every day—it doesn’t have to be formal! Teachers often think student performance data is something extra, removed from the day-to-day classroom experience. Teachers should be collecting data all the time—through everything including exit tickets and in-class spot checks. Data evidence isn’t just the STAAR, it’s all the little things that can inform your instructional decisions throughout the year. Data evidence should be a daily occurrence in every classroom.
In Our Thoughts, Prayers, & Love
- Mitzi will be having gallbladder surgery
- Shelby's house was damaged due to a fire over the break
Sunday
- Susie Nguyen’s Birthday
Monday
- Student Holiday/Campus PD
Tuesday
- Due: Gradebook Verification Packet and Gradebooks REVERIFIED
- Writing PLC
- 5th Reading PLC
- 6th Reading PLC
- 5th SS PLC
- 6th SS PLC
- 5th Math PLC
- 6th Math PLC
Wednesday
- 5th Science PLC
- 6th Science PLC
- 5th Grade Math CA Collaboration
- 6th Grade Math CA Collaboration
- 6th Grade Science CA Collaboration
Thursday
- Report Cards go Home
- ELAR CA Collaboration - 6th Grade
- ELAR CA Collaboration - 5th Grade
- Science CA Collaboration - 5th Grade
- Connect PLC - 5th Grade
- Connect PLC - 6th Grade
Friday
- Jennifer Sauceda's Birthday
Sunday
- Debbie Mckelvey’s Birthday