Bulldog Weekly Update
March 13 - 17
Monday Motivation
– Aung San Suu Kyi
Notes from the Principal's Desk
What a busy but productive seven days it has been! This week, all teams got together on early release Wednesday to look at the district rubric for high quality teaching and instruction. Our school's focus is on rubric items 3, 9, and 11. The purpose of this week's exercise was to "calibrate our understanding and insights into instructional practices, especially those believed to promote student engagement, using indicators on the DESE Walk-Through Rubric." Indicators 3, 9, and 11 focus on Maximizing Learning Time for All Students, Instructional Design: Teacher Designed Tasks and Questions and Instructional Design: Students Make Their Thinking Reasonable and Visible, respectively.
After a discussion of the indicators, teams watched a teaching clip and calibrated their evaluation of the teacher's effectiveness across the criteria for "sustaining", "providing" or "developing" practice. Teachers were then asked to provide justification for the scores their team assigned for indicators 3, 9, and 11 as well as provide feedback around the next steps that teacher could focus on.
This exercise was a simulation of the Walk-Throughs with district personnel that have occurred at Butler this year. Although we are slated for another Walk-Through toward the end of March, our engagements around these indicators are not intended to occur in a vacuum. Student engagement is a critical factor in academic success. Engagement also impacts students' behavior and shapes their opinions about school as a place that is useful, supportive and, above all, worthy of their time.
If you want to look back at our work from Wednesday, take more time to review the rubric , or just do a deep-dive on the BMS specific student engagement tool Turn and Engage.
EL Students Prepare for Presentations
EL Students Read Aloud Co-Authored Script About Natural Disasters Around the World
5th Graders Support Each Other's Narrative Writing
5th Graders Support Each Other's Narrative Writing
5th Grade Showcase Pros and Cons of Critical Issues
Knowledge Bowl Continues Next Week -- Try to Make it to the Next Event!
BMS HIdden Figures
We want to take this week to highlight Melinda Goodick. Mrs. Goodick will be leaving Butler School at the end of this month as she moves on to retirement. Melinda has been an educator for over 30 years and has dedicated her life to supporting the educational needs of English Language Learners. In our building, Melinda has worked with a range of ESL students, from new comers, to L1, 2, 3, and 4.
Of particular note is the number of years Mrs. Goodick and Mrs. Coffey, who transitioned to a new district position on Friday, 3/10, have worked together in our building: a total of 18 years! For a number of those years, Mrs. Goodick and Mrs. Coffey alone comprised our EL Department at BMS. Outside of teaching, Mrs. Goodick is a jewelry maker. You may have seen one of the many beautifully designed necklaces she wears. She also enjoys a little singing and a lot of reading. Retirement will offer opportunities for many new hobbies to develop, and even some time to travel to new destinations.
Although Mrs. Coffey and Mrs. Goodick were both recognized at Wednesday's PD, Melinda's last day won't be until the end of March. In the interim, she will be working closely with Ms. Marte, Mrs. Ramos, and Mrs. Theng, as well as other staff in the building to ensure a seamless transition and continued focus on supporting the educational needs of our current EL population. Thank you Mrs. Goddick for your efforts and service to the Butler Community.
Butler Spotlight
Thank you for all you do for the Butler Community!
Ms. A and Mrs. Colon Teach 7th and 8th Grade Students to differentiate between conduction, convection and radiation
Students differentiating between conduction, convection and radiation
After School: Students use Honey Colored Glass Beads to Make Hoops
Ms. Andrews Teaches Self-Portrait Using Planes and Proportions
DON'T FORGET! Make Sure You Plan for Spirit Week and Let Your Students Know!
Aspects of Japanese Culture Flourishing at BMS
It's no surprise that many students' interests are steeped in Japanese culture. Japan has produced some of the most popular video games and gaming systems in the world. Delectable Japanese food such as ramen, sushi, or roasted seaweed can be found almost every day in our cafeteria. So many of our students are obsessed with anime--the books, movies, cartoons, and tv series. Our students wear clothing with Japanese print and they adorn shoes or jewelry with Japanese characters. Some students are taking cues from Japanese makeup artists and fashion icons which we then see trending in our hallways. Many others are taking language class with Ms. Glasser after school, where they are learning to speak, read and write in Japanese. As of late, if you ask students where they want to go to college, you might even hear about plans to study abroad in Tokyo.
The latest in exposure to Japanese culture happened with Ms. Andrews in the after school's fiber arts program. Read below...
This week, students in our Fiber Artists after-school program led by Ms. Andrews, learned about the ancient origins of tie-dye - indigo dyeing with Japanese shibori methods! Artists studied the history of shibori; folded, tied, and bound a piece of white cotton to create areas of resist; prepared the fabric and learned a bit of the chemistry involved in dye; and finally dyed their fabric in a vat of indigo. They were excited to watch as their piece turned from yellow-green to indigo blue once exposed to oxygen and to reveal the pattern they created!
Week at a Glance
- Operations Huddle
- Culture and Climate Meeting after school
Tuesday 3/14
- SST
- Content CPT
Wednesday 3/15
- Admin CPT - SEL
- Progress Reports Need to be Complete
- TeachPoint Evidence is Due
- Restorative Justice After School
Thursday 3/16
- Boast Your Alma Mater with your Favorite College Gear
- Last Day of After School for Session II
- Butler Pride -- Wear Butler's Colors (Red, Black & White)
- Curriculum & Instruction Meeting
- SEL DAY at BMS
On the Horizon...
3/20 Progress Reports Are Due Home (WINDOW CLOSES 3/15)
3/20 Wednesday Restorative Justice Training
3/20 & 3/21 - Casna Visit
3/22 Wednesday RAMADAN Begins
3/22 Admin CPT - Inclusive Classroom presentation DESE
3/22 ILT Meets After School
3/23 Parent-Teacher Conferences
3/27 JEDI Field Trip
3/30 Casna Visit
3/31 Student Assembly Special Presentation
3/31 CPAC EL FAMILY NIGHT after school
Next Month is National Poetry Month
While March is known as a National Reading Month, April is centered on Poetry. In this video below, Jason Reynold's discusses how we might approach poetry with our students and ways to provide them with another platform for self-expression.
ILT Updates
Next Team meeting - 3/22 (Ch. 5 &6)
Check in with your grade-level team representatives for more information. Meetings take place every other Wednesday. ILT content is shared by grade representatives on the team at Grade Level CPTs. What happens in ILT drives what will happen in CPT!
ILT REPS:
Brett Sullivan -- 5th
Cheryl Ferris -- 6th
Alie Cabrera -- 6th
Peter Francis -- 7th
Jen Fraser -- 8th
Christina Pappalardo -- 8th
Vannak Theng -- EL
Krista St. Louis - Special Education
Lori Casey - SEL
SEL
Please see Lori Casey for any updates. NEXT SEL is 3/17/23
Culture and Climate
Check in with your grade level team representatives for more information. A calendar of upcoming dates will be forthcoming!
NEXT MEETINGS ARE AFTER SCHOOL MONDAY:
- 3/13 after school
March Staff Birthdays
Don't Forget to say " Happy Birthday"
- Vannak Theng 3/3
- Hong Man 3/8
- Maria Lagou 3/13
- Melinda Goodick 3/16
- Ambar Vargas Marte 3/20
- Mara Picanco 3/26
- Kristin Capezio 3/28
Butler Community
Email: jmoody@lowell.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/Domain/10
Location: 1140 Gorham Street, Lowell, MA, USA
Phone: 978-937-8973
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lpsdbutler/