Weekly Staff Letter
November 5th - November 9th
The Power of a Positive Phone Call Home
In this age of caller ID, seeing the number for your child’s school pop up on your phone can cause either panic or dread. Typically, the only reason a school calls a parent is to tell them bad news. But what would happen if our school was in the habit of making a positive phone call home?
Tell Me Something Good:
Imagine how you would feel if all anyone ever did was focus on your negative behaviors and attempt to correct them. Children who struggle with negative behaviors internalize the negative feedback they receive. If poor behavior is the only thing that receives attention, then that negative behavior is likely to continue. The resulting poor self-esteem and lack of motivation become a vicious loop that continues to feed poor behavior. You can begin to turn that tide by sharing positive feedback with parents.
The Anatomy of a Positive Phone Call Home
A positive phone call home doesn’t have to contain over-the-top praise in order to be effective. It only takes a few minutes to do, start to finish, and can reap significant rewards. Just follow this basic formula:
Identify yourself:
Start by telling them who you are. It’s likely they saw the school’s name and/or number on their caller ID, but it never hurts to introduce yourself.
Immediately assure the parent you are not calling for a negative reason:
Most parents’ first reaction will be to assume something is wrong. Tell them straight away that no one is hurt, sick, or in trouble.
Tell them the good news:
This is where you tell them, very specifically, what positive behavior you have noticed in their child. Anything from politeness to kindness to hard work is fair game for your praise.
Resist the temptation to talk about challenges:
Even if you are dealing with negative behavior from this student, this is not the time to address it.
Thank them for their time:
Make the phone call brief and to the point. You want to leave the parent with a positive feeling. Thank them for their time and end the call.
Building Strong Parent-Teacher Relationships
Parents who have never received positive feedback about their child might be astounded to receive such a call. The simple act of a positive phone call can help them to refocus their view of their child in relation to school. It can also help change the dynamic of the school-home connection.
Parents who receive positive feedback from teachers feel they have an ally at school. If they feel the teacher sees the good qualities of their child, they may be more comfortable reaching out to that teacher when they have concerns instead of going straight to your administration. This communication between parent and teacher benefits the student in many ways.
Any time is a good time to make a positive phone call home!
Traveling Iron Cardinal of the Week:
This award is to be passed along from one colleague to the next every Friday. The weekly recipient selects the next recipient and so on. The goal is to select an unsuspecting person outside of your regular contacts and to recognize their contributions to GVHS. (selection ideas...custodians, secretaries, teachers, paras, advisors, counselors, lunch ladies...ect.)
Week at a Glance:
Tuesday, November 5th:
7:30-8:30 - Kiwanis Meeting in the Career Center
9:36 - 9th-grade Class Meeting in Cardinal Hall (Hadley, Lana, Manikam, McLeod, Teter)
Wednesday, November 6th:
Good day to take a quick 5 min and visit a classroom.
Thursday, November 7th:
6:30 - GVHS Fall Play (40 pts for students who attend at least one show on Th, Fr, or Sat. spread the word!)
Friday, November 8th:
6:30 - GVHS Fall Play
Saturday, November 9th:
2:00 - GVHS Fall Play
NEXT WEEK:
Monday, November 11th:
8:00 - District PD @ GVHS
Leadership Team will meet during Lunch on this day.
District PD: November 11th (Assessment Part 1 - Literacy)
I. Measurement Topics and Proficiency Scales
II. Classroom Assessment
III. Reporting and Grading
Learning Targets for November 11th:
LT 1: Understands the advantage of using a Proficiency Scale versus current grading practices.
LT 2: Understand how to create valid, reliable, unidimensional assessments using Proficiency Scales. Understand why behavior and academics have separate Proficiency Scales.
LT 3: Is skilled at generating current summative scores by examining the mounting evidence in Empower and accurately logging the summative score in Empower.
STAFF TO DO: (See top of Weekly Letter)
1. Ask a colleague if they have made their call yet.
Dave's Schedule
Tuesday: At GVHS
Wednesday: 7:30-3:30 District Admin Meeting
Thursday: At GVHS
Friday: At GVHS
Kelly's Schedule
Tuesday: At GVHS (Kiwanis @ GVHS 7:30-8:30)
Wednesday: 7:30-3:30 District Admin Meeting
Thursday: At GVHS
Friday: At GVHS