Wildcat News -- It's Our Time
March 9-13, 2020
Principal Corner
I would strongly encourage you to send Spring Break review work and a letter home to parents explaining the importance.
We understand that these final few months come with high pressure and many demands. Please take time over spring break for some genuine self care, you deserve it! We will return on March 23 for a 1/2 PD, 1/2 teacher workday. We will have PD in the morning and begin promptly at 8am with a 2 hour session on a trauma-informed approach to support students with developmental and intellectual disabilities (including students who are also English Learners). The afternoon will be your time to work in your classrooms.
Weekly Updates/ Reminders:
- Please bring your homework packets up to the front office and give to Mrs. Reives each Monday morning to ensure they are placed in the homework binder.
- SRI assessments should be given to students any time you feel the student has moved up a level-- do not wait and do all of these at the end of the quarter. This should be an ongoing process.Make sure that students most current reading level is entered into Tyler prior to the end of the 3rd quarter grading window.
- All 3rd quarter Achievement Series post assessments must be given this week. EVERY student is expected to complete EVERY assessment.
- MAP prep must be occurring daily and DESE resources must be utilized on a consistent basis.
- When calling on the radio for assistance, please be patient.If there is an emergency, please state this when you call on the radio.
- No student should be sent to a buddy room where testing is happening.
- If you have a student who checks in with Mr. Cherry or Mr. Robinson at the end of the day please DO NOT send these students to find them at the end of the day. All students must be escorted and should never be in the hallways alone. These check-ins should happen at the end of the day in the gym.
- Please make sure that we are using the walkie-talkies for Level III offenses, nurse, or buddy room escorts.
- No student will be sent to the office unless brought by an administrator
- Make sure that we are updating our Bulletin Boards on a bi-weekly basis.
- Please ensure that you are putting in for a sub as soon as you are aware of your absence. (Please see Mrs. Reives for Sub phone numbers)
- Attendance must be taken by 9:30 am and then rechecked for any mistakes in the afternoon, failure to meet this deadline will result in a written warning.
Upcoming Dates/ Events:
- 3/9-3/13- PLC Week
- 3/9-3/13- Achievement Series Post-Tests & all Qtr 3 post assessments
- Monday, March 9th, 2020- PST Meeting 7:45 am - 8:45 am (See Cherry's Emails)
- Tuesday, March 10th, 2020- Attendance Committee 8:15 am
- Wednesday, March 11th, 2020- Building PLC
- Thursday, March 12th, 2020- Admin Meeting 8:15 am
- Friday, March 13th, 2020- Quarter 3 Ends
MAP Prep
As we begin the month of March please pay close attention to the following:
- Use Mock MAP data to guide instructional decisions related to planning, skill focus and student groupings
- 3rd - 6th grades focus on skills that will be accessed on MAP, use the DESE provided blueprint to help in this area
- Use daily classroom data/exit tickets to guide tier one core instruction. Ensure that you are providing interventions based on their daily data (Exit tickets, quizzes, classwork, etc)
- Ensure that you maintain evidence that you are utilizing the resources from the DESE site
- Use instructional time wisely and remember that every minute counts. We must make the most out of every minute, providing instruction at all times.
- Ensure you consistently discuss the importance of the MAP assessment and that your students understand where they are academically and where they need to get
Important Instructional Levers and Look For:
- I Can Statements and objectives up daily in classrooms.
- Connective Purpose Statements (What are we learning, because......, What I'm looking for).
- Instruction must be bell to bell.
- Grades 3-6; MAP Prep work with students (ELA and Math)- must have documentation of this happening.
- Writing across all content areas-- ensure that you plan for writing throughout your day.
- Update your Master trackers for 3rd quarter ELA and MATH on a daily basis.
- Checking for Understanding- Continuously check for student understanding in order to modify and inform next steps
- Track Exit tickets Daily. (If you need assistance please ask)-- this must be done consistently and kept up to date.
March Golden Ticket Incentive
- All adults will have golden tickets to reward other classes in the hallway when the ENTIRE class is following hallway expectations.
- Contact Ms. Egli if you need more Golden Tickets put in your mailbox!
- Your class goal is to receive 25 tickets by the end of March!
- Post a tracker outside your door so your class can track how many tickets they have.
- All classes with 25+ tickets at the end of this week get to throw a water ballon at Ms. Egli or Mr. Robinson on Friday, March 27th.
- KEEP HANDING OUT THOSE TICKETS!
Shout Outs!
- Ms. Williams, Coach, and Ms. Smith for adjusting their Friday plans to accommodate basketball teams visiting from the MIAA tournament.
- 2nd grade for putting together engaging science experiments for their kiddos!
- Ms. Tillman and Ms. Wilson - taking 6th graders on two successful field trips
- Ms. Amos- organizing the 6th grade field trip to the Nelson Art Museum
- Ms. Baird and Ms. Mulhern - for covering classrooms at the end of the day Thursday - so appreciated!
Combating Behavior Concerns
Positive Reinforcement: for every "negative" reinforcement or redirection you give a student 4-5 positive reinforcements.
- Have your ROAR tickets ready for students first thing Monday Morning, distribute them like they're skittles along with positive reinforcement for behavior.
- Hallways must remain at level 0 as we continue testing. Please be cautious of this and help model this for our students.
- Please do not see any students to the office, with an adult escort. Mrs. Reives is not able to watch students until administration gets to the office. Students should not be in the hallways at any time without an escort.
- Engage in proactive and engaging community circle activities.
- Review your classroom and school-wide rules and procedures (Wheatley Matrix)
- Use your Tier 1 Behavioral Strategies (Verbal warning, redirection, Class Dojo, safe seat).
- Follow the discipline flow-chart, before using your walkie-talkie.
- Ensure students understand the expectations for a buddy room, this is not just a meaningless break time.
- When students return from the Buddy Room, welcome those students back with open arms and restorative conversations-- this is a crucial component of restorative justice.
- Watch what we say and how we say it in front of students at all times- we are constantly modeling behavior!