The Lion's Den
Week of November 12, 2018
What's Going On at Christian Park?
November 12 (A) - Lesson Plans due in Google (9:00 am)
November 13 (B)- ELA PLC's
November 14 (C)- Staff Meeting (7:45 am in Media Center)
November 15 (A)- Cub Scouts, Boys Basketball @ CFI 27 (6:15 pm)
November 16 (B)- Blue Friday/Jeans Day
(A,B,C next to date denotes the Related Arts schedule)
News and Notes
NEW INFORMATION
Time is flying like the leaves on the trees! Do you know we have one week until Thanksgiving break and six weeks until Winter Break??? Wow!
This means we need to be very intentional with our instructional time and maximize our work. I am attaching an article to this email that is a GREAT read about the importance of providing intentional, grade level instruction at the Tier I level, regardless of where our students are performing. Bottom line- the research shows that when we provide this to our students, ALL students show higher growth in the skills and standards they are expected to master than those don't get it. Please read it...we will discuss at our staff meeting next week. Be prepared to participate!
The 2017-18 6-5-10 Goal Report has been released. It is below in the Thought Leadership section. This information will be automatically uploaded into SFS for your 2017-18 evaluations. Once this is completed, I will be communicating the remaining steps that need to occur to finalize evaluations.
More than that, I fully expect that this will look A LOT different this year. I know that our student growth will be A LOT better than the previous two years. As we will be moving to ILEARN this year, it will be hard to compare proficiency data. However, I know the instructional heavy lifting, combined with our growth mindset work, will drive student growth through the roof. We will also discuss this more at staff meeting on Wednesday.
Thank you to those that have volunteered to help out at the 2018 IPS Showcase of Schools Saturday, November 10th from 10 am to 2 pm. More information will be coming for you (parking details). Staff- keep those cool pictures of our students engaging in academic and social/emotional learning!!!
Beginning on Monday, each grade level needs to have a representative circle back to the gym to support car rider supervision after dropping students off at the buses. Grade levels will have autonomy on who and how this is done (daily/weekly rotation, etc.). Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!
Math PLC's will be canceled this coming week and will move to every other week. This is due to the work that we have done around the standards and alignment to EveryDay Math. Use the time next week to meet with Ms. McCrocklin (as needed) for MTSS support.
The 1st Grade Canned Food Drive for the Linwood Christian Church Food Pantry ends on Tuesday. Please spread the word and remember- the class with the most cans gets a pizza party!!
The next wave of SafeSchools training is open to everyone. One assignment, Open Enrollment, is due by November 16th. The rest are due at the end of November. Please plan accordingly. Thanks to all for your timely completion of the required courses so far!
REPEAT INFORMATION
Staffing Update- I am interviewing a candidate for the bilingual assistant position. Additionally, i am waiting for quality applicants for the K-2 Instructional Coach and Title I Instructional Assistant positions. If you are interested in being a part of the interviews, please let me know.
Lesson Plan link for the week is below. Click on it and drop in lesson plans. Reminder- you can use the lesson plan template that works for you. Components required include:
- Standard- Identifier is fine, don't need to write it out
- Skill being taught- explicit through the I CAN statement
- Gradual Release- how are you modeling, practicing, and releasing for collaborative/independent practice
- Checks for Understanding- how are you checking every step of the way to ensure students are "getting it"?
The Staff Handbook is still attached below. You are expected to know the information in the handbook. Please make sure you review it carefully. I cannot stress the importance of this, particularly the CPS Reporting Protocols. When in doubt, REPORT!!!
Heavy Lifting!
Continued updates on our BIG ROCKS below:
PBIS-
- Let's make sure to continue pushing ROAR procedures and rules throughout the building, particularly in the hallways. We need to maintain consistency to ensure our students know and respect them. Reinforce heavily with PRIDE Cards to ensure students are receiving more attention to the positive instead of the negative. Remember...we get the behaviors we pay the most attention to!!!
- We also know students will not always make the best choices. When this happens, we have to make sure we avoid engaging in a power struggle. At the end of the day....no one wins when we do. Take a look at the link below regarding avoiding power struggles with our students. We MUST not engage!!!
MTSS-
-Tier 2 conferences are in motion...and students are beginning to get the interventions they need. Continue to collect data to determine if the interventions are being done with fidelity.
Growth Mindset-
- We have to believe that our children are able to grow from their present levels of performance! As talked about above, I am attaching an article to the email for you to read prior to our next meeting. It aligns with our last chapter about our brain as a muscle. Our students are capable of making great growth...if we let them!!!