Friday Focus
May 20, 2016
Inquiry Showcase @ Hotel Mead
Last night was our culminating event for our action research course in the district. Over 20 WRPS teachers, including five Howe staff members, presented their findings to over 50 guests at the Hotel Mead.
Teacher researchers had 40 minutes to share their results from their action research. This approach to professional learning involves crafting a driving question, developing a plan of action, organizing data, and analyzing the results.
Several community leaders, including WRPS board members and district administrators, learned about the teachers' explorations in their classrooms. This was a great opportunity to advocate for our students and our important work.
This course was run out of UW-Madison and heavily subsidized by friends of public education, along with the Spotlight School grant. Teachers earned three free credits or DEUs for conducting classroom research, which included attending one class per month.
A number of teachers expressed interest in taking this course again next year. The professors from UW-Madison and district leaders are discussing this possibility. Questions and inquiries can be direct to Kathi Stebbins. Congratulations to all of our researchers!
Best,
Matt
Spring Writing Assessment
A few classrooms in grades 3-5 have started the writing assessment process. Thank you for taking the time in your busy schedule to administer and score it. Click here to enter the results in our common spreadsheet. If we can complete this by the end of the May, that would be great.
School Visit
We had two guest educators from Milwaukee visit Howe yesterday for a tour of the building. They were most impressed with the authentic literacy practices they observed and the calm environment. Very affirming to get this kind of feedback and praise - kudos to you all!
Student-Led Conferences
I had an inquiry from Scholastic Teacher magazine about speaking with an intermediate teacher and their use of digital portfolios for student-led conferences. If you want to share your story and process, let me know. I will put you in touch with them.
Makerspace Relocation
Jean has elected to take Room 155 next year, currently our makerspace. The equipment and supplies for the makerspace are easy to relocate to another part of the building. If you have ideas or suggestions for what is possible, let me know before the school year is out.
Know Your Howe Staff
Ker Thao is our ELL aide at Howe. He also serves as a noon aide here. Did you know that:
- he has three children?
- his wife works for Wood County?
- he enjoys playing volleyball in his spare time?
Event Information
Read Out/Book Fair
When?
Friday, May 27, 2016, 12:00 PM
Where?
Howe Elementary School, 8th Street North, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, United States
Howe Elementary School
"A Community of Learners"
Email: matthew.renwick@wrps.net
Website: http://www.wrps.org/schools/howe/index.cfm
Location: 221 8th Street North, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, United States
Phone: 715-424-6772
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/howeelementaryschool
Twitter: @HoweElementary