Staff Bulletin
November 8, 2019
Keith Purpose
Keith Beliefs
Dragons believe...
...in welcoming and trusting one another;
...in learning beyond the school day and for the future;
...in empowering every member of our community to be helpful, respectful, and kind;
...learning is engaging, purposeful, and fun.
Upcoming Events
Week of Nov. 11
9:15-10 (3, 4, 5)
10:15-11 (K, 1, 2)
Nov. 15
Nov. 22
Keith Announcements
Thank you for all that you do!
Parent Teacher Conference Setup - Both in Skyward and Google Doc
Keith Team Drive Conference Scheduler
***Conference Window for Parents to Sign Up***
Open: 11/18/19 Closed: 12/6/19
***Teacher Pre-Conference Window***
Open: 11/4/19 Teachers will have the option to begin pre-scheduling
***Online Schedule Open for Teachers to Add Families***
Open: 12/6/19 to 12/11/19
Adopt - A - Family for the Holidays
Diversity Week
A Diversity Week assembly from Vincent York’s Jazzistry. Jazzistry is an educational program that uses live performance to teach children and adults the story of jazz and its role in American history and culture.
Jazzistry Assembly. Monday, November 11th:
9:15-10 (3, 4, 5)
10:15-11 (K, 1, 2)
*Morning announcements from Keith students that center around this years MLK Day theme
“Be the Change You Wish to See in the World”.
*As we move into Diversity Week and beyond, we would like to let you know that we have begun to compile grade level writing ideas on Google Drive that are meant to serve as writing prompts for students to write a response on how a photo can inspire them to “Be the Change”.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dNUsla6HUuHUuUxfe6hm1r83y8MXi7rClX1QL-_GxM8/edit
Grade level representatives will collect prompts in January, and this writing activity could be done during Diversity Week or anytime leading up to the MLK event in January.
Keith Committee Work
Leadership Team Update
Math Committee
The next Math Committee Meeting is Nov. 19. in Michelle Gasparotto's Classroom.
In the next week, grade level math committee reps will be bringing to block ONE large concept for your grade levels to focus on this semester. The committee is working vertically across grade levels to identify a key concept or skill that students must be secure in for the start of the following school year. In block, we are asking that your team identify tools you will be using to intentionally continue to teach and assess these critical skills.
School Improvement Team
The next School Improvement Team Meeting is at 8:00 am in Krista's classroom on November 12.
Social Emotional Learning Team
The next SEL Team meeting will be in Kelly Powers' classroom at 8am on 11/19.
SEL team wants to give you a tidbit about Conscious Discipline. The website has so much information! But don’t let it overwhelm you. If you would like to borrow Matt’s book, please let him know. Conscious Discipline has really changed his teaching.
Start here: https://consciousdiscipline.com/methodology/school-family/
“Creating the School family will help you systematically create the positive school climate that is integral to academic success. Administrators and teachers alike will learn how to transform school culture using twelve classroom structures essential for creating inclusive, compassionate, bully-free learning environments. This fundamental shift in education and classroom management will help you step into a world where intrinsic motivation, helpfulness and connection govern your classroom.”
ELA Committee
The next ELA Committee Meeting is Nashella's room at 7:45am on November 19th. Everyone is welcome to attend!
- Phonics kits are being ordered for second grade, hopefully in December. They should arrive before the end of the year. Teachers are welcome to use them right away if they would like, but will not be required to until next fall.
- There is some new thinking about Guided Reading and small group reading instruction, which is a better fit with our new curriculum. If you would like more information, Michelle and Lori will be offering some workshops on this topic in December. In the meantime, there is some information about small group instruction in your Calkins kit. The book “Guide to the Reading Workshop” has a chapter about small group instruction, which is the plan we will be looking at. For upper el, the information starts on page 69. For lower el, the information starts on page 103.
- Some good videos are available to watch lessons in action on vimeo.com/tcrwp
Professional Learning Information
How Rich is Your Classroom Discourse?
Self-Checking Discourse Quality
A few questions may help you self-assess the quality of discourse in your class:
- Is the emphasis on giving the right answers rather than processes and strategies?
- Do the verbal interactions follow the teacher-dominated initiation-response-evaluation pattern?
- Is discourse carried by the voices of a few where the others are reluctant to contribute?
- Do you often provide opportunities for students to lead the discourse?
- Do you model and insist wait-time be used as a key component of dialogue?
- Do you send non-verbal signals to students based on your perception of their ability to give a quick or correct response?
- Does your lack of comfort with content lead you to pose more close-ended questions?
When you create a classroom culture rife with intellectually safe spaces and emphases on processes of strategic thinking versus production of right answers, you invite instructional episodes of rich discourse. Student-led discourse is a powerful way to let students take ownership of their own learning.
Social Studies Committee Update from Lauren
Hi! We had a social studies committee meeting after school today. Here are some of the items we discussed:
* We looked at the standards that are tested on the MSTEP and how the students performed as a district on those standards. It was very interesting to see the strengths and weaknesses. I have the document broken down by standards if anyone is interested in seeing it.
*One teacher mentioned that she had analyzed the questions on the MSTEP and found that a lot of the questions relied heavily on vocabulary, reading, and analyzing charts and maps.
*We are continuing to look at ways to blend ELA and social studies.
*Fourth and fifth grades at various schools are participating in the social studies pilot. We have piloted two chapters from one publisher and we will be piloting two chapters from another publisher. The plan is to make a recommendation by January or February.
*For anyone interested in project based learning, Andrea gave us a sheet with three different websites to use as resources. I have the paper, and I am happy to share. 😊
Have a great evening!
Lauren
Additional Announcements
Professional Learning
2019-2020 Professional Learning Dates
Tuesday, 9/17: 2:00-4:00 District PD - Keith Media Center KALPA# 1016620
Thursday, 10/10: 7:45-8:45 Staff Meeting Media Center KALPA# 1022013
Thursday, 10/31: 1:30-4:00 Building PD Media Center KALPA# 1022700
Tuesday, 11/5: OPTIONAL Spice It Up! - Register for KALPA!
Friday, 11/22: 2:00-4:00 District PD Location TBD
Tuesday, 11/26: 7:45-8:45 Staff Meeting Media Center
Wednesday, 12/4: 1:30-4:00 Building PD Media Center
Thursday, 1/9: 7:45-8:45 Staff Meeting Media Center
Wednesday, 1/29: 2:00-4:00 District PD Location TBD
Thursday, 2/6: 7:45-8:45 Staff Meeting Media Center
Tuesday, 3/3: 1:30-4:00 Building PD Media Center
Thursday, 3/12: 7:45-8:45 Staff Meeting Media Center
Wednesday, 3/18: 2:00-4:00 District PD Location TBD
Thursday, 4/16: 7:45-8:45 Staff Meeting Media Center
Friday, 4/24: 1:30-4:00 Building PD Media Center
Thursday, 5/14: 7:45-8:45 Staff Meeting Media Center
Parking Lot Duty Schedule
Job Responsibilities for Parking Lot Duty
Gym Door - Taking dragon pick up cards from parents who walk up to the door
MC - Announces names in the gym
Supervisor in Gym - Helps keep kids quiet for MC to announce
Supervisor in Gym - Helps keep kids quiet for MC to announce
Hallway near gym doors and main entrance - helps flow of traffic between gym and students going to bus
Outside Dragon Pickup - Help Bob and supervise students and flow of traffic
Outside Dragon Pickup - Help Bob and supervise students and flow of traffic
Parking Duty Schedule
Staff Birthdays!
November Birthdays!
Julie Palermo - Nov. 8
Charissa Baibak - Nov. 13
Michelle Pasquinzo - Nov. 26
Keith Elementary School
Email: MarciAugenstein@wlcsd.org
Website: http://wlcsd.org/schools/elementary/keith/
Location: West Bloomfield Township, MI, United States
Phone: 248-956-3700
Twitter: @MarciAugenstein