EAGLE MOUNTAIN NEWS & NOTES #10
October 20, 2014
EAGLE MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY
Email: bmclain@ems-isd.net
Twitter: @bmacEME
REAL QUICK
What a great Fund-Run we enjoyed on Friday! Thank you very much for your support of our PTA & for sharing in our children’s enthusiasm - don’t they bless us every day with their outlook on life?!
I sincerely enjoyed my meetings with Kinder & first grade teachers last week. Your comments & insights confirmed for me that you support the move to increase our rigor, & I know I will be able to see differences in instruction in your classrooms as our “rigor journey” continues to evolve. Dr. Strike is being kind enough to have the Bloom’s Chart made for each teacher, so you will be receiving those soon. I will start meeting with second-fifth grade teachers tomorrow to discuss your campus goals, our move to increase rigor, etc.
I always enjoy this time with you!
Finally, this morning I want to commend you for your calmness in light of the “Ebola hysteria” felt & perpetuated by some in our district. With the exception of one radical email I received, the vast majority of our parents appear to be educated & reasonable about the Ebola concerns. Thanks for being sensitive to their concerns & for reassuring them that their children are safe at school.
DR. TIM TYSON'S PRESENTATION IS NOW AVAILABLE CLICK BELOW
Important Information for the week:
· Our Eagle Mountain 25 Skill of the week is Rule #7 –Make every effort to be as organized as possible.
· If you would like to attend Formative Assessment training in January, please let me know. It’s great training & would be beneficial to have!
· Goal conferences will be held on Tuesday for grades 2, 3, 4, & 5. Be prepared to discuss your classroom goals for the year & to share with me how you are adding more rigor into your instruction. We will meet in the conference room.
· Our technology committee will meet Tuesday afternoon at 3PM.
· Debbi is heading up a committee to plan for our Veteran’s Day ceremony. Please let Debbi know if you’d like to be on the committee & if you can help.
· Your team leaders should be sharing with you plans for rainy days. Basically,
The K-1 teachers will keep the students in the halls & will escort them out under the awning in the back. 2-5 teachers would keep kids lined up by grade levels in the cafeteria or the front hallway.
· This reminder that all math & science teachers will attend a curriculum training this week. Please sign up in Eduphoria & remember to bring your laptops to the training. You will start at the HDC from 8:30 – 11:30 & then bet at HCTC from 12:30 – 3:30. The grade level & dates are as follows:
Kindergarten – October 20th
Grade 1 – October 21st
Grade 2 – October 22nd
Grade 3 – October 23rd
Grade 4 – October 29th
Grade 5 – October 30th
To reiterate this training is for ALL Math & Science teachers.
· Please note that beginning today the district is beginning to use a new recording tool regarding attendance called The Recording Tool. It will notify the district office the exact time that you record attendance. If you do not take attendance between 9:45 & 10:15, an email notification will be sent to the district office & to me. Obviously, we would prefer not to get those, so your help in ensuring that attendance is taken when it is supposed to will be GREATLY appreciated!
· We have had 28 students enroll in the Drama Club – just FYI!
· Kristin & Rob have been extremely touched by your outpouring of love. They are grateful for the cards, meals, cash, & prayers in their time of need. Thank you for being there for them. Kristin should return to EME next week.
· Lauren McDaniel has decided to stay home with her son & not return this year.
We will miss Lauren although we’re excited that she has the opportunity to stay home with Jude, & we wish her the best.
· We are hoping (& I will be recommending) that Leslie Summerville will get to stay on as our music teacher.
MORE FACTS ABOUT BULLYING
Fact #16 –Bullying can be direct – hitting, pushing, kicking, & general hurtful threatening behaviors & gestures – but it always involves an imbalance of power.
(Craig, Pepler, & Atlas, 2000) The definition of bullying says that negative behaviors need to be repeated & with the intent to do hard. But any negative & hurtful behaviors become bullying when there is an imbalance of power. This happens when a student is being victimized & cannot defend himself or herself.
Fact #17 – Bullying can be indirect – gossip, rumors, & damaging another student’s reputation. Indirect bullying includes getting someone else to bully a victim. (Leckie, 1998, Wheeler, 2004) Indirect bullying can include: Getting another person to assault someone, spreading rumors, getting someone to exclude someone from a group or activity, or cyberbullying by second parties.
Fact #18 – Physical bullying is the most common & most likely to demand a response from adults. (Stewart, 2007) When bullying becomes physical, it comes to the attention of adults. The key to reducing this form of bullying is to intervene long before that happens. Bullying most often is an escalating experience.
Fact #19 – Verbal bullying goes to the core of how we treat each other. (Freedman, 2002) Verbal bullying begins when children & people in general do not treat each other with respect. The key to handling this is for adults to model positive behavior. Verbal bullying includes name-calling, insulting, making racist comments, & constant teasing. We need to talk to children about how they respond & react to their peers by stressing the value of respect.
Fact #20 – Children who use their friendships to bully others are called relational bullies. (Bullock, 2002) We all need to recognize that the use of relationships to manipulate, harm, embarrass, or humiliate another is relational bullying.
TEACHER CHALLENGE – HOW MANY OF THE 21 ITEMS LISTED CAN YOU DO THIS YEAR?
The link at the bottom will explain each one.
Rules:
You will need to prove each item you’ve completed by taking a photo or some other form of evidence.
Not only will your students benefit from all of these, but so will you.
TEACHER PRIZES:
ANYBODY COMPLETES 2 THINGS GETS A SONIC DRINK OF THEIR CHOICE.
ANYBODY COMPLETES 5 THINGS GETS 5 JEANS PASSES
ANYBODY COMPLETES 10 THINGS GETS A FREE LUNCH FROM SONIC
ANYBODY COMPLETES 15 THINGS GETS YOUR DUTY COVERED FOR A WEEK
THE FIRST PERSON TO COMPLETE ALL 21 THINGS GETS AN iPAD MINI FOR THEIR CLASSROOM
THE CHALLENGE STARTS ON OCTOBER 6TH AT 7:40AM
SCAN FOR MY TWITTER PAGE
Engage
WORDS OF THE WEEK
SCAN TO GO TO MY QUIZLET PAGE ON VOCABULARY
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday – Finish goal conferences with Kinder, Drama Club meets at 3PM
Bryan & Kelli need to work on our Campus Improvement Plan today.
Tuesday – Goal setting conferences with grades 2, 3, 4, & 5, Bryan & Kelli to
Administrative luncheon 11:30, Technology committee meeting – 3PM
Wednesday – Picture Retakes, Campus Improvement Committee – 3PM
Thursday – Dads & Donuts for K, 2, & 4, Goal conferences continued for 2-5
During the day & afterschool TELPAS training – 3PM, Kelli will be out today
Friday – Dads & Donuts for 1, 3, & 5, Lisa Simmons will be here during your planning period to provide training on using/maximizing the benefits of I-Station, End of First Nine Weeks, Fund-Run Lunch winners eat with Mr. Mac, Kelli will be out today
NOTEABLE QUOTABLES:
Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.
-Sydney Haris
Fun with Formative Assessment
Listed below are examples of easy to use Formative Assessments in your classroom:
1. Whip Around. Whip Around is often used as a closure activity. Students are asked to make a list of three items related to the lesson, unit, or study. Students individually respond on a piece of paper. After they have listed at least three items, they stand up. The teacher randomly calls on a student to share an item. Students check off any items shared by another student & sit down when all of their ideas have been shared with the group, whether or not they were the one
to share them.
2. Give One to Get One. Give One to Get One works well when students are using their interactive notebooks or class notes. Each student is asked to find a partner with whom he will compare notes. The students take a moment to identify the information they have in common. Each student identifies something he did not record but his partner did. This new information is then recorded in each student’s notebook. In effect, each student gives one & gets one. Pairs can report to the whole class sharing what they learned.
3. North – South – East – West - North-South-East-West provides students the opportunity to reflect on their learning, self-assess, & provide immediate feedback at any time. Students respond to four questions. What do you Need to move forward? What is your next Step? What do you find Worrisome? What Excites you about the topic or concept?
4. Stand and Share Stand and Share is a tool that encourages student conversation about what they are learning. After a learning segment, students respond to 1-2 questions that the teacher has posed. The questions can be written or oral. At the signal, students stand, find a partner, & take turns sharing their responses to the questions. This can be repeated several times during the learning. During the last few minutes of the class, the teacher brings all of the students back together. Students summarize key understandings, & the teacher sorts out misconceptions.
SHOUT OUTS
- Sandy Hunter for her Bloom’s Bulletin board that speaks to Rigor as well as the way she is using it. This was great to see – sorry the pic is a little blurry!
- Lisa Dunn for her engaging lesson & award-winning dramatic acting abilities that she utilized to the fullest last week on a lesson that every student riveted! Oscar worthy & the Relevance was off the charts!
- Drew for the magnificent job he did Mc’ing the Fund Run on Friday – what a motivator! Great job Mr. H!