The Lion's Den
Week of November 19, 26, 2018
What's Going On at Christian Park?
November 19 (B)- Lesson Plans due in Google (9:00 am)
November 20 (C)- Christian Park Spirit Wear/Jeans, Boys Basketball v. Thomas Gregg 15 (6:15 pm)
November 26 (A)- Lesson Plans due in Google (9:00 am)
November 27 (B)- ELA PLC's
November 28 (C)- Family Game Night (5:30-7:00 pm)
November 29 (A)- Math PLC's, Cub Scouts, Boys Basketball @ Ralph Waldo Emerson (6:15 pm)
November 30 (B)- Blue Friday/Jeans Day
(A,B,C next to date denotes the Related Arts schedule)
News and Notes
NEW INFORMATION
Thanksgiving is here! And...we already have had an inclement weather day....yikes! I will not be sending a Lion's Den again until November 29th. I have a feeling I will be in a turkey coma, followed by Clark Griswold-like Christmas house preparation...and will not be able to communicate. :) If anything big needs to be communicated, I will send a separate email.
Take time over Thanksgiving to focus on what we are thankful for! I don't do this enough...always thinking about what I don't have or what I want. This week should be about what we do have..enjoy it with family and friends!
On Monday the 19th, Nick and Kathy from the IPS Math Department will be out to do paired walkthroughs with admins and Ms. McCrocklin. These are NOT evaluative....but a pulse check in our full implementation of EveryDay Math and alignment to our goal of ensuring we are teaching the standards accordingly.
If you are planning any Thanksgiving activities, please limit these to the end of the day. You may use your MTSS time for this. Integration within instructional blocks is fine, but we need to make sure we keep our focus!
When we return from Thanksgiving Break, the window for mini observations will open. These will be completed between November 29th and December 7th. This is the last observation of the semester.
Artifacts are due into SFS by Friday, December 7th. You must have pieces of evidence for six indicators in Domains 1 and 4.
I am making a recommendation for hire for our Instructional Assistant position. Due to changes in funding at the state level, we will only be able to hire one instructional assistant. I am checking references for our K-2 Instructional Coach. I am hoping we can have both on board soon!
The next wave of SafeSchools training is open to everyone. One assignment, Open Enrollment, is due by November 16th. The rest are due at the end of November. Please plan accordingly. Thanks to all for your timely completion of the required courses so far!
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!!!
Heavy Lifting!
Continued updates on our BIG ROCKS below:
PBIS-
- Positive reinforcement is the key to implementing PBIS with fidelity and ensuring that we are paying more attention to the positive then the negative. And....we get the behaviors we pay the most attention to! However, we also need to make sure we are providing appropriate corrective behaviors. As we have discussed, the goal of correcting misbehavior is to use the lightest response possible to change the behavior. Are we?
- Correcting misbehavior is more than calling home, losing recess, or calling admin. It is about teaching the behavior you want to see happen. Be careful...you go too far and you will lose the relationship with the student. Click here to see some resources for effective corrective responses you can use. We will not be taking recess EVERY day from students. You are going to lose them and Indiana law states that students must have physical activity daily (click here)
MTSS-
-Reflect back to our conversations around the article shared at our staff meeting on Wednesday. Our students, regardless of their present level of performance, will show growth if we provide them with opportunities to interact with grade level skills. The research shows it!!!! Our bottom line is this...our students will show at least a years growth!!! The metrics
Growth Mindset-
- See above...the article takes the two (MTSS and Growth Mindset) and makes them fit perfectly together. As we think about this work, how are WE ensuring that we believe our students can grow!!!