The Lion's Den
Week of October 1, 2018
What's Going On at Christian Park?
October 1 (B)- Lesson Plans due in Google (9:00 am); Monumental Running Club (4:15-5:00 pm)
October 2 (C)- ELA PLC's; Volleyball v. Robert Frost 106 (6:00 pm)
October 3 (A)- Monumental Running Club (4:15-5:00 pm)
October 4 (B)- Math PLC's, Cub Scouts (4:15-5:00 pm)
October 5 (C)- Jean Day/BEGIN FALL BREAK
(A,B,C next to date denotes the Related Arts schedule)
News and Notes
NEW INFORMATION
FALL BREAK IS HERE!!! We wrap our last week of instruction before Fall Break this coming week. Lets make sure we continue to push high expectations and focus on the intentionality of our instruction. This is not the time to let up anywhere....our students are prepared to take advantage of it.
I am VERY PROUD of the work we have done first quarter. I appreciate your willingness to follow me in the vision of our school. Together, NOTHING will stop us. Please feel free to offer me feedback in my work to ensure we are meeting your needs and making the experience for our students the best it can be. I am not immune to the mistake or uh oh....and not afraid to be called out on it. I am growing just like you are....and growth has ups and downs...
Long observations will begin this week. We have a VERY tight window to complete them. They are due in SFS by Friday, October 26th. This only gives us next week and the week after break. The focus will be on Teacher Directed Instruction.
Information about the PRIDE Bash will be coming out by Monday evening. I am meeting with the PBIS Team Monday morning to finalize details. Simplicity is key...we don't have to spend a bunch of money for our students to enjoy themselves! Students can get in with 20 PRIDE Cards.
Friday will be a fundraiser for our PRIDE Store. Students will be allowed to pay $1 to wear jeans. We will use those funds to purchase items for the store. This information will go home via flyer and ConnectED on Monday.
Volleyball is home this week against Robert Frost 106. Game time is 6:00 pm. Come out and support our Lions!
REPEAT INFORMATION
Lesson Plan link for the week is below. Click on it and drop in lesson plans. Reminder- you can use the lesson plan template that works for you. Components required include:
- Standard- Identifier is fine, don't need to write it out
- Skill being taught- explicit through the I CAN statement
- Gradual Release- how are you modeling, practicing, and releasing for collaborative/independent practice
- Checks for Understanding- how are you checking every step of the way to ensure students are "getting it"?
The Staff Handbook is still attached below. You are expected to know the information in the handbook. Please make sure you review it carefully. I cannot stress the importance of this, particularly the CPS Reporting Protocols. When in doubt, REPORT!!!
You should have received an email from SafeSchools outlining the training you need to complete this school year. Due date for all trainings is Oct. 1.
Heavy Lifting!
Continued updates on our BIG ROCKS below:
- PBIS- Continue to focus on the positive. These few weeks leading to break can allow us to fall into the negative mindset trap....that we focus more on the negative than the positive. Remember, only a handful of students receive the most of your attention when we process behavior this way. Take the time this week to see the GREAT things that are going on...and reinforce the heck out of students with PRIDE Cards. We get the behaviors we pay the most attention to....
- MTSS- As we close quarter 1, we continue to look at Tier 1 instructional practices. Our focus will continue to be on planning instruction aligned to the standards. In ELA, this means we teach the skill through the text, not teach the story. Tasks need to be aligned directly to the skill being taught. And the I CAN statement needs to reflect this. In Math, we will continue to ensure we are teaching the standard as it is intended. We will be bringing in the district math team to assist us in this work. Bottom line.....TD Instruction will be grade level standard driven and rigorous!!!!!
- Growth Mindset- Our work this first quarter has not been easy....I understand that change is a challenge. I know I have pushed your thinking about a number of things and have asked you to trust me in the direction of our building. All of this is not possible unless we ALL have a growth mindset in our work. Each day I strive to be a better principal to you and our students...and I know some days are successes and some days are fails. And this is OK! If we are afraid to fail, we will never grow! I want each of you to understand there is 0 judgement on our part if you are willing to expose yourself professionally and recognize your strengths and areas of opportunity. All of us have expressed a desire to grow...so don't step back when the growth gets sticky. Instead...push ahead!!!