Secondary 7-12 Focus on Instruction
November 2019
Focus on the High School
Instructional staff at the high school continue to work above and beyond to prepare students for life. Many teachers are stepping up to sponsor extra curriculars in a massive effort to give every single student in our school an opportunity and a place to belong. We know that engagement is tied closely to retention, and staff at Westwood High School collectively want to see every student walk across the stage.
The English department is preparing for EOC retakes in December and have been hard at work looking at the data and identifying high-impact areas of instruction. Teachers all over the school are looking to upcoming semester exams and planning accordingly.
The Biology department has valiantly agreed to participate in a Texas Lesson Study. These hardworking ladies will be coming together over the next couple months to work with myself and Brooke Kinsman from Region VII to plan, practice, and revise a research- and needs-based lesson that will ultimately be submitted to TEA for publication. There is currently only one other published biology lesson in Texas Gateway, so this is a huge contribution. If you don't know what Texas Lesson Study is, check out this page from Region VII, and certainly everyone needs to look at the lessons that have already been posted in your grade and content! I am personally very excited about the potential of this program and am very proud of Mrs. Bishop, Mrs. Moreland, and Mrs. May for contributing to it.
Focus on the Junior High
The English department has been working closely together. We attended a training for the new curriculum and everyone is now on the same page. They will no doubt continue to hone their understanding and skills together. Learning something new is never easy, and is especially difficult when we've got classrooms of students to manage in the foreground.
IC Corner
On the way there, be mindful of a few upcoming testing dates:
- RenSTAR middle-of-year testing window is December 2-13. Please be sure to get the kids to try their best on this one, this is where we start to be able to see growth.
- English I EOC Retest is December 10
- English II EOC Retest is December 12
- Semester exams will take place December 16-19. I highly suggest going ahead and starting to craft those and do some mindful backwards planning.
STEMscopes
F.I.T.T.
CommonLit.org
Haley Avery
Email: hbavery@westwoodisd.net
Website: www.westwoodisd.net
Location: HS Rm 151, JH Rm 209
Phone: (903) 480-0336
Twitter: @haleybavery