Team Thomson News & Notes
September 25, 2016
Important Information for You!
Happy Homecoming Week-Go Cards!
Homecoming week is here! We will celebrate Davison Homecoming with a little Spirit Week of our own. As was shared last week in a special flyer that went home with the students last week, the following will days will be:
- Monday: “Super Joggers” ~ Wear your favorite workout wear/jogging suit.
- Tuesday: “Super Sports” ~ Wear your favorite team jersey or sports apparel.
- Wednesday: “Super Hero” ~ Wear your favorite super hero shirt (please no costumes though).
- Thursday: “Super Dreamers” ~ Wear your favorite pair of pajamas.
- Friday: “Super Student” ~ Wear your Teddy Thomson gear, Davison gear, or maroon and gold to celebrate Davison’s Homecoming!
As in years past, Thomson Early 5's and Kindergarten students will be participating in the Homecoming Parade. This is such a fun experience for our students and families and one that they do not forget. I am very sad that I will not be able to participate this year due to my brother's wedding, but thank those of you that can. So far, we have five teachers signed up to walk. Please let me know if you are able to walk in the parade with our kids and families. Remember that all staff members are invited to participate and your family members are welcome to walk with you as well if you are able to participate.
Focus on Learning Targets
As I shared, the elementary principals are doing a book study on learning targets. This week, I'd like to share with your the Nine Action Points. A learning target theory of action embodies the relationship among essential content, effective instruction, and meaningful learning. In other words, what is the curriculum, how do I best teach it, and what will the students learn. The nine action points that follow take this theory of action and provide context for the ideas and suggestions in this book:
- Learning targets are the first principle of meaningful learning and effective teaching.
- Today's lesson should serve a purpose in a longer learning trajectory toward some larger learning goal.
- It's not a learning target unless both the teacher and the student aim for it during today's lesson.
- Every lesson needs a performance of understanding to make the learning target for today's lesson crystal clear.
- Expert teachers partner with their students during a formative learning cycle to make teaching and learning visible and to maximize opportunities to feed students forward.
- Setting and committing to specific, appropriate, and challenging goals lead to increased student achievement and motivation to learn.
- Intentionally developing assessment-capable students is a crucial step toward closing the achievement gap.
- What students are actually doing during today's lesson is both the source of and the yardstick for school improvement efforts.
- Improving the teaching-learning process requires everyone in the school-teachers, students, support staff, and administrators-to have specific learning targets and look-fors.
Lunch/Playground Reteaching
As I shared last week, our students may be in need of a little reteaching in the cafeteria and on the playground. It turns out that they are not always asking their monitor to get up or leave the gym and they are expecting Jim to clean up after them...like as in handing him their garbage to throw away. Outside, they are 'advanced' in their behavior, behaving more like end of the year students, jumping off the top of slides, pushing and playing rough, and other such playground 'mistakes'.
So, on Monday and Tuesday our playground monitors will be coming in at 10:45 a.m. to do some reteaching. While they will lead the lesson review, you will be there to support them and hear exactly what they are asking of the students.
On Monday, the monitors will work with their first classrooms and on Tuesday, they will work with their second classrooms. They will go over the following key points:
In the lunchroom, presented to students while sitting quietly at their tables:
- Come in quietly and either go through the lunch line or go right to your table. If you are getting school lunch, make sure to go through the condiment line.
- Remember to stay seated and raise your hand if you need help opening something or need something.
- You must ask your monitor if you need to get up or go to the bathroom, you don't ask another monitor or Mr. Bass. For safety, your monitor needs to know where you are at and who is not in the gym.
- Clean up after yourself and it is your responsibility to throw your own trash away. While Mr. Bass is here to clean up big spills or messes, he is not here to clean up your trash. Throwing away your own trash properly will help keep our school clean.
- Sometimes it gets too noisy in the cafeteria, so we have these new 'Quiet' signs to let everyone know it has gotten too loud and you need to use a quiet or whisper voice. (You may want to practice: Have the students talk loudly and then hold up the sign for them to quiet down.)
- When lining up to go outside, double check that your area and trash are cleaned up, then line up quietly. Eyes forward, hip and lip.
- When we walk in the hallway to the playground, remember other classes are learning. Just like when you are with your teacher.
Outside on the playground:
- The monitor will walk the students to the pieces of equipment that are causing the most problems.
- If time, they will go over additional pieces.
The following will represent where each monitor will begin reteaching lessons with their students:
- Beginning in the cafeteria, Hillary, Becky, Mickey
- Beginning outside: Nancy, Jessica, Lora, Christine
This will stagger the classes while in the cafeteria, hopefully allowing for the students to pay attention to their monitor more closely. Monitors may want to reteach from closest to the wall so the students aren't looking at other students in the gym. I think I hit all the points that we discussed in our meeting, but if I missed something, please let me know monitors.
Please let me know if anything isn't clear, if you have questions, or concerns.
Data Days & Child Study
This Tuesday and Wednesday, we will hold our first two Data Days of the year. These Data Days will be slightly different as we learn and work through the data and reports that we can get from the STAR Early Literacy Numeracy assessment. If you have any students that were absent during your STAR testing, please be sure they are tested Monday so we have all the data for your PLCs Data Day.
Our first Child Study will be Wednesday, October 12th. If you have any students that you would like to bring to the child study team, please email Maida and I and also include whether this is an academic concern or a behavioral concern. Please be sure all assessments are updated within one week of the Child Study date and also please complete a DRA test on them. If you have any questions, please let me know.
CPI Training-Reminder
Several staff members have been through CPI-Nonviolent Crisis Intervention/Prevention Training. Many people have the false idea that this means that you are being trained and only trained on how to restrain a student or that they will be called on to do so in a crisis. However, the bulk of the time is spent on how to diffuse a potentially serious situation with restrain being the very last thing that you do and no staff member would ever be asked to restrain a student if they were not absolutely ready or comfortable to do so. I would highly recommend this training for any staff member that is interested. Remember that once trained, you do need to attend a refresher training every two years to keep your certification. If you are interested in being trained for the first time or are in need of a refresher, please contact Connie Olejniczak, colenjniczak@davisonschools.org or 591-0913. Please be sure to register for the correct course:
- Initial Training-October 4th & October 11th (MUST ATTEND BOTH DATES) from 4:00-8:00 p.m. in the Middle School Community Room, register by September 27th.
- Refresher Training-October 18th from 4:00-8:00 p.m. in the Middle School Community Room, register by October 11th.
Teacher will receive PD credit for attending. Paraprofessionals will be paid for attending. If you will be attending, please also let me know.
Quotes Worth Reading
" Everyday think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts toward others. I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can ."
-The Dalai Lama
Thomson Elementary
Home of the Thomson Teddies!
And..
Where Kids Come First and Futures Begin!
Website: www.davisonschools.org
Location: 617 East Clark Street, Davison, MI, United States
Phone: 810-591-0911
Celebrations & Announcements
Homecoming staff luncheon Friday!
Important Upcoming Dates:
- September 26th-30th-PLC WEEK & SPIRIT WEEK
- Monday, September 26th-Fire Drill
- Tuesday, September 27th-Data Day
- Wednesday, September 28th-Staff Meeting, 7:35 a.m. (Agenda: Behavior with Amy Chorley); Data Day
- Friday, September 30th-HOMECOMING!
- Week of October 3rd-7th-PLC WEEK
- Monday, October 3rd-PTO Fundraiser Kick-off (please include in your classroom newsletters); Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 p.m. H.S. AMR
- Wednesday, October 5th- Staff Meeting, 7:35 a.m. (Agenda: Unpacking the 5D+ Rubric focus on Purpose); Count Day-Spirit Day
- Thursday, October 6th-Fire Drill; Elementary Principals Meeting; 'Mindfulness' PD, 7:00 p.m. (Let Natalie know if you are planning to attend)
- Friday, October 7th-Thomson Family Outing to Upland Hills Farm