Hidden Valley Newsletter
Week of 1/4/16
Principal Point to Ponder
Let us reflect on the first half of the year, as well as a look for what is installed for the 2nd half.
When we started off this year, we said that there would be three pillars that would drive what we do here at Hidden Valley? Does anyone know what those were?..........
Let me help you: Student Culture, Staff Culture, and Data Driven Instruction.
1st Half:
Student Culture: We have established a Caught Soaring ticket system that wins "Champ" the eagle , Extraordinary Eagle of the Month selected by students based on the monthly Character Trait, High Fives- Handshakes- and/or Hugs every morning, alternative discipline, Student Referral update, Recess activities, extracurricular activities, writing celebrations, ESL graduations and if I am missing anything I apologize.
Staff Culture: Shout Outs during our weekly staff meetings, Team Player of the Month, Bronze Eagle of the Month, Staff Outings, Staff Holiday Party, Special Area Teams part of the Literacy Planning, Secret Santa, Universal one stop shop for the weekly information (Weekly Bulletin)
DDI: We create Curriculum Maps and Common Assessments prior to teaching, so we have test in hand. Common Assessment Calendar, Data Analysis documents, Data Talks, WIN time, small group instruction, exit tickets, etc...
2nd Half:
Student Culture: We will continue to do the same, only better. It is not an option to have an extraordinary student from your class that the students voted on, it is the expectation. We will continue with the high Fives, Hugs, and handshake's. (the kids love it). We will continue to have Champ visit classes. We will continue to have daily referral reports daily. We will continue to have alternative discipline for students that need to be in school. We will continue to base all decisions with the "students first "mentality.
Staff Culture: We will continue to do all of the above mentioned items, if you have not been a part of it, hop on the train, its not too late.
DDI: We will continue with all of the above with an instructional shift in our practice. All of the above mentioned items are systems. These re things that we have to do as a routine to maximize and plan for instruction. This semester we will focus on Text complexity, close reading, vocabulary, enhancing and working our WIN time, leveraging or 2 TAs per grade level, and setting goals with our students.
We must always take the time to reflect on what we are doing, where we are as a school and individually. We must also remember that this is only the beginning. We need to take what we learned in the first semester, use it as our foundation, and now prepare to build upon it.
It is a pleasure working with such an amazing staff....HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Acknowledgements/Celebrations and Reminders
*Kudos to Mr. Christopher Hayes for creating books and stories for his WIN Time groups that truly enhance the level of engagement for students.
* Kudos to Ms. Shephard and Ms. Lee for working so hard on the Holiday Assembly. We are starting work on the next assembly as soon as we get back from break. Wea re going to rock the next one.
* Kudos to Ms. Banning and Ms. Neville for making the wonderful decorations for the assembly.
* Shout out to Ms. Fleming, as she will be missed. We wish you the best of luck in Chicago.
* Kudos to Mr. Brynildsen, who helped orchestrate a free toy give away on Saturday 12/19. We had over 500 students from the neighborhood get presents. We only had one left (what are the odds of that)
* Special thanks to the Support Service Team that has been working to get presents, fruit, backpacks, etc. out to the students this past week. You are a true example of Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.
* Please make sure that you look at the DIBELS schedule that Ms. Hews has sent out in the email. We are starting Tuesday after the break.
* Please be reminded that ALL teachers have to eat lunch with their kids this week, as we need to re-establish the rules of the cafeteria. Thanks in advance.
* We have a 5th grade Transition to Middle School night on Tuesday to talk about the Magnet process, and other Middle School Issues.
* All LESSON PLANS should be current and posted to the I:// drive by the start of the day on Monday January 4.
* All rooms should be updated with current work and current words as of January 4th.
* When we get back we should be starting to look at and make the needed modifications for the Cycle 4 curriculum Map and Common Assessment. That instruction starts no later than 1/20/16.
What to Expect this Week
Monday 1/4/16 (Day 2)
- Wear your school colors
- All teachers eat lunch with their students this week
Tuesday 1/5/15 (Day 3)
- Tie Tuesday
- 5th grade Parent Meeting (Magnet Schools and Middles School Transition 5-6pm)
- Dibels/TRC see schedule from Hews
Wednesday 1/6/15 (Day 4)
- Dibels/TRC see schedule from Hews
- Good News Club meets
- Staff Meeting - General starting at 3:15 pm
Thursday 1/7/15 (Day 5)
- Dibels/TRC see schedule from Hews
- Grade 4 Field trip
- Girl Scout Meeting afterschool
- All Extraordinary Eagle Forms need to be turned into Lungarini by the end of the day
Friday 1/8/15 (Day 1)
- Wear Jeans and College Shirts
- Extraordinary Eagle of the month Award 1:30 in the cafeteria
- Caught Soaring drawing
- Dibels/TRC see schedule from Hews
ESL Strategy of the Week
ELL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK
Week of January 4
Self-Monitoring Strategies for Close Reading
Teach students to pause and use self-monitoring strategies (re-read, paraphrase, look up words, summarize chunks of text) while doing the first read of a close read.
Instructional Strategy of the Week
Ms. Goss has her students attach their daily exit tickets in their math notebooks for her to track their individual progress and differentiate instruction. This is a great way to hold students accountable during independent work time and assess concept taught! Great job Ms. Goss!