South Middle School
Staff Weekly Newsletter: February 3 - February 7
Week at a Glance
- Annual IEP for DR (Room 1, 7:40 a.m.)
- 3 Years Eligibility for KP (Room 4, 7:45 a.m.)
- AVID WICOR Walk-Through (GPHS, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.)
- Schedule Committee Meeting #3 (Barret's Office, 3:15 - 4:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, February 4
- Annual IEP for KR (Room 1, 7:40 a.m.)
- D7 MS Math Meeting (District Office, 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.)
- MS Admin Meeting (District Office, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.)
Wednesday, February 5
- QUICK Staff Meeting (SMS Library, 8:00 - 8:30 a.m.)
- Brain Bowl @ SMS (SMS Library, 10:00 a.m.)
Thursday, February 6
- 3 Year Eligibility for IEP for J R-L(Room 1, 7:40 a.m.)
- Parent Advisory Council (District Office, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.)
Friday, February 7
- Initial Eligibility for AJ (Room 1, 7:40 a.m.)
- SIOP Training #2 (SOESD, All day)
- February Dance! (SMS Gym, 5:00 - 6:45 p.m.)
Supervision Schedule
Supervision Schedule (8:10 - 8:25 a.m.) - 15 minutes a day as assigned.
Team 1:
6th Grade Hall: Blank
T @ 7th/8th Grade Hall: Ransom
8th Grade Hall: Petty
Large Gym: Bigelow/Baertschiger
Parking Lot AM: Lingo
Parking Lot PM & Buses PM: Pieper & Hanson
Daily Supervision Schedule:
Parking Lot/Exit AM: Aguilera, Huerta & Admin
Parking Lot/Exit PM: Aguilera, Kindrick & Admin
Cafeteria AM: Miller/McCarty & Hopkins/Karbowski
Bus PM (3:09 - 3:25): Hopkins/Karbowski, Admin & Team Teacher
Staff Shout-Out
Kregg Scarcello & Andrew Owen
Thanks to Kregg for leading us in a reading activity that he links to Focused Notes (especially Phase 2). And also a big thanks to Andrew for challenging us with our WICOR Challenges this past week. A lot of great things happening in classrooms!
Weekly Article
Staff,
What would your students say if we asked them these questions? How does this affect our lesson planning?
Enjoy!
Questions to Ask Students During a Classroom Visit
In this article in Principal, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey (San Diego State University and Health Sciences High & Middle College) and Olivia Amador (Chula Vista Elementary School District) suggest visiting classrooms every day and quietly asking a sampling of students these questions:
- What are you learning today?
- Why are you learning that?
- How will you know whether you’ve learned it?
Fisher, Frey, and Amador say that if 90 percent of students have good answers to these questions, the school has a high level of instructional clarity. “Simply put,” they say, “when students know what they’re supposed to learn,, why they are learning it, and how they will know whether they have learned it, they are more likely to demonstrate mastery.” Here are their thoughts on each of the questions:
The first is different from asking, What are you working on today? which focuses on the task or the assignment. Better to ask about learning intentions which, if the teacher has been clear, should be on the tip of every student’s tongue. They might say:
- We are learning about the impact of the setting on a character.
- We are learning about the rotation of the sun and moon.
- We are learning about persuasive techniques used in advertising.
Another advantage of asking about learning intention is that it’s easier for an observer to see if the instructional task is at the appropriate level of rigor. “An amazing lesson for third graders at first-grade standards,” say Fisher, Frey, and Amador, “produces fourth graders who are ready for the second grade.”
Answers to the second question – why students are learning something – are a good way of assessing engagement and perceived relevance. A stellar response from a student might be, We are learning more about syllables today because they help us read big words, and reading bigger words lets us read new books and understand what we’re reading.
The third question is about benchmarks for mastery, which are often a secret locked in the teacher’s mind. “Success criteria provide students with clear, specific, and attainable goals,” say Fisher, Frey, and Amador, “and can spark motivation in some of the most reluctant learners. When teachers articulate success criteria, they are more likely to enlist students in their own learning.”
What students say in response to these three questions can provide exceptionally helpful feedback to teachers after classroom visits. There’s no better gauge of instructional clarity than what individual students say when they’re questioned one on one. This feedback to teachers, say Fisher, Frey, and Amador, can bring about marked changes in learning intentions, rationales, and success criteria, which are the foundation for good choices of pedagogy and materials.
“Clear Benefits” by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Olivia Amador in Principal, January/ February 2020 (Vol. 99, #3, pp. 42-43), https://www.naesp.org/principal; Fisher can be reached at dfisher@mail.sdsu.edu, Frey at nfrey@mail.sdsu.edu.
The Function of Education
We Welcome YOU!
January Students of the Month
February Birthdays!
- Janna Reid - February 4th
- Shelly Bigelow - February 6th
- Kregg Scarcello - February 7th
- Morgan Rastellini - February 11th
- Scott Gottula - February 13th
- Kyle Blank - February 13th
- Dave McCarty - February 17th
- Alison Hopkins - February 24th
- Ronnie Kindrick - February 24th
- Billy Miller - February 25th
- Wesley Kriz - February 26th
- Casey Petty - February 28th