Bulldog Weekly Update
March 27-31
Monday Motivation
“We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat, activist, and former First Lady of the United States
Notes from the Principal's Desk
Is it just me or did the windows shake on Friday? Last week swept by faster than a fighter jet. There's one thing that can be said for sure: we really showed up for our kids. And you know what? They really showed up and showed out for us. Take some time to look through this week's newsletter. Our team had an absolute blast with Spirit Week. From Crazy Hair to Twinning to packing a purple punch and we hosted our first dance on Friday; Spirit Week was imagined in so many creative ways across the building.
We also wrapped up an important, albeit short food drive. The school's NJ Honor Society collected over 100 boxes of cereal. Thank you to everyone who donated this week. NJHS Students were proud of the donations and grateful to bring in critical resources for those in need.
Also, in case you did not see it, we are running a Pizza Kit fundraiser through Little Caesar's for field trips this year. This will go on until April 10th. Pizza kits can be purchased online and there are prizes for those who sell the most. Please share with family and friends to support our school: www.pizzakit.com
As we turn the corner on the last week in March, we need to take stock of what is still very much on the agenda. Among a range of upcoming events and responsibilities, we know that MCAS is on the horizon. Our preparation for MCAS occurs year-round. In the best of conditions, it doesn't feel like preparation for an exam--but rather, a culminating effort linked to our constant attention to developing students' skills within the content standards. While students' academic growth is one area in which we are primarily concerned, we are also heavily invested in students' social, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. Students cannot do their best if they don't feel their best. In conferences with students over their MOY iReady outcomes, a high percentage attributed fluctuations in performance to things that were happening around them: their family was moving, they did not feel acclimated to the school (its systems, routines and norms), they were having a tough time with their parents, they could not identify having any friends in their grade or were in conflict with a peer who was in the same class, and some even had deaths or loss in the family.
Students' emotional lives are complex. While our strategic efforts in WIN and CORE classes may seem very focused right now on setting students up for success on this standardized test (running drills, providing online practice, teaching test-taking strategies, helping students to familiarize with the available tools, etc.) we must also be hyper-vigilant about their emotional needs: https://educationnorthwest.org/resources/what-research-says-supporting-social-and-emotional-well-being-students.
As we near the first MCAS window, it might make sense to convene with your team and decide in which block to start incorporating a 2-3 minutes quiet, meditative practice. Several weeks ago, we asked what habits you might be keen to teach students in the 21 days leading up to the testing window. One effort might be to teach students Box Breathing: https://youtu.be/tEmt1Znux58 (2.5 min). Box Breathing helps to center students, asking them to breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale slowly--over another 4 seconds. It's measured and controlled, not rushed.
Sometimes, students' anxiety is not externally bound but based on their own, internal preoccupations. Students may feel their thoughts wind up around the "unknowns." These unknowns can be anywhere from: what kind of environment will I enter when I go home today to who will I sit with in the cafeteria? In terms of habit, something that we can do as teachers is to foster predictability through classroom routines. Predictability in the operational routines of the classroom can help bring calm to students, and support the sense that they are in control.
Outside of express teaching, environmental factors can have a significant impact on students' sense of preparedness to perform on major tasks. Anything you do introduce now should be done with regularity, on a standard schedule, and in a way that makes explicit connections for students. The Box Breathing exercise, for example, is something that might serve students until the end of the school year, not just in April and May. And, when Box Breathing loses it's novelty, there is an endless assortment of options to defer to from fiver finger breathing to belly breathing to nasal-mouth breathing to visualization breathing. What's important is that students are stopping, getting into bodily alignment, tracking their thoughts, and given a minute or two to reset before adjusting their sights to the mountain ahead.
Spirit Week: Mismatch Day
Spirit Week: Crazy Hair
Spirit Week: Twin Day
5th Grade in Magic Chemistry Unit Discusses Erosion w/ Experiment
5th Grade in Magic Chemistry Unit Discusses Erosion w/ Experiment
5th Grade in Magic Chemistry Unit Discusses Erosion w/ Experiment
Building Inclusive Classroom In Service
Spirit Week: Purple Day
That's a Wrap: Knowledge bowl ended this week
Students taking charge and organize their first dance
Friday Night Dance
Friday Night Dance
NJHS Collected over 100 boxes of cereal in kick off community service project
NJHS Collected over 100 boxes of cereal in kick off community service project
NJHS Collected over 100 boxes of cereal in kick off community service project
Butler Spotlight- Melinda Goodick
Thank you Mrs. Goodick for your many years of service to our students!
Butler Run Club Back on Track Beginning Friday at 3:05 | See Mrs. Gueirrero
Student v. Staff Knowledge Bowl @ Butler | See Mr. King
Tuesday, March 28th from 3:15-5 pm.
Week at a Glance
- Operations Huddle
- JEDI/TRIO Field Trip
Tuesday 3/28
- SST
- Content CPT
- F&P Testing for Q4
Wednesday 3/29
- Admin CPT - MCAS Training
Thursday 3/30
- Casna Coaching Visit
- Boast Your Alma Mater with your Favorite College Gear
- ELPAC Family Night
- Butler Pride -- Wear Butler's Colors (Red, Black & White)
- Mykee Fowlin Presentation
On the Horizon...
4/7 Good Friday (School Closed)
MCAS DATES:
5/6 ELA APRIL 4th and 5th
7/8 ELA April 11th and 12th
5/6 MATH MAY 9th and 10th
7/8 MATH 16th and 17th
5 SCI & 8 SCI MAY 23 and 24
EOY iREADY WINDOW OPENS 5/30
ILT Updates
Next Team meeting -
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.
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:
- 3/27 after school
Date: Friday, April 14th
Time: 4:30-6:30
Cost: $11 per player
Thank You for Recognizing and Honoring Women's Contributions in March
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
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/