RNNE Mid-Week Launcher
Goal-oriented and intentional.Intervention.Authentic Team.
Let's remain maladjusted.
Don't Stop Running.
So far, our K, 1st and 2nd graders have been showing the amazing impact their teachers have made in their lives this year!
In Kindergarten:
- 83% of our Rocketeers are at the 50th percentile and above in Math.
- 71% of our Rocketeers are at the 50th percentile and above in Reading.
- Both content areas surpassed their end of year Rocketship Network MAP goals of: 65% at the 50th percentile for K Reading and 70% at the 50th percentile for K Math.
- For the 2014-2015 school year, 69% of Rocketeers were at the 50th percentile in Math and 49% were at the 50th percentile in Reading - check out the huge increase in grade level proficiency!
In 1st grade:
- 52% of our Rocketeers are at the 50th percentile and above in Math.
- 34% of our Rocketeers are at the 50th percentile and above in Reading.
- For the 2014-2015 school year, 38% of Rocketeers were at the 50th percentile in Math and 18% were at the 50th percentile in Reading - check out the huge increase in impact compared to last year!
Be sure to high-five, hug or do both with our K and 1 instructional team when you see them!
All of the aforementioned numbers are what it means to be maladjusted and to place our Rocketeers on a transformational path. Each year, RNNE is becoming instructionally stronger and strong instruction is what is going to move our students onto a life path with more opportunities, freedom and success.
Our first set of 2nd grade results (Reading) will come in later today!
It is critical for us to continue to maintain a strong culture of teaching and learning over the course of the next three weeks. It is imperative for us to ensure that the grade level proficiency earned thus far remains as strong as possible before students enter the summer months where summer slide is more likely to occur. Moreover, for our Rocketeers who have not reached the 50th percentile/grade level proficiency, we especially need to ensure that we are maximizing these remaining weeks to set them up for academic success entering the summer and the 2016-2017 school year.
Recently, a friend of mine shared an article with me highlighting the persistence and passion a 101 year old woman has shown as a runner. Her story highlighted our, along with all schools', need to ensure that we are not simply "finishing" but that we are finishing in a really strong way. She never gave up (and still hasn't) even though she's set records before. She put her all into it and has perfected on her skills - even on days when she does not feel like doing so.
It is not secret that we are in the time of year when exhaustion and fatigue is present, our patience is short and the "end of year" bug is seeping in. However, we cannot afford to give up on our students and families. Let's support each other, keep our north star of a transformational impact and end our year on June 3rd in a strong way!
Please check out Ms. Keeling's story and a video from a race she ran when she was 97!
Love you all always,
Christa
“If you want to draw water you do not dig six one-foot wells. You dig one six-foot well.” - Buddha
Instructional Focus Areas: Make Thinking Visible
To fully understand the thinking process of students - making thinking visible - we need to focus on having students articulate back to us why they've chosen to respond a certain way as well as be sure that we are listening out for key words to alert as to whether an answer is correct or not.
This week, focus on responding to student responses with the simple, yet powerful question "What makes you say that?"
- This wording strikes the right tone with students and invites them to elaborate on and clarify their ideas in a nonthreatening way.
-This statement switches the paradigm of teaching from trying to transmit what is in our heads to our students and toward trying to get what is in students' heads into our own so that we can provide responsive instruction that will advance learning.
*Note: having pre-identified common misconceptions will support these instructional moments in being as responsive as possible for students.
Cultural Focus Areas
Positive Framing - ensure that your tone used with Rocketeers is postive, calm and in-control. Do not yell or degrade a student at anytime.
Positive Framing
**Repeat from last Launcher**
1) parents/families trust us to treat their child with the respect that they all deserve
2) there is nothing that we are seeing from student misbehavior now that we have not seen before and handled with finesse
3) they are children - they are not adults
4) we are always teaching someone else's child
LiveSchool is beginning to skew a high negative and low positive ratio; be sure to use LS to help build a positive culture in your classroom.
Some suggestions that our two rising Assistant Principals (Mrs. Potter and Mr. Frazier) shared with me as suggestions for ensuring a safe and calm atmosphere in order to prevent negative tones (especially during/after a transition when energy levels rise):
- Cool Down Time: build in time to have your class "cool down" silently before and after a transition - silent reading, play soft classical music, etc.
- Positive Narration: intentionally increase your positive narration during via Core Value Rockets, green LiveSchool Points, public shout outs, etc.
Also, use the examples positive framing statements (below) when responding to off task behavior.
Tighter School Culture
- No students standing outside of classrooms as a behavior consequence.
- Only one student sent to the restroom at a time from any space - there has been an increase in student conflicts and incidents at the restroom; only send students in an emergency and prioritize the whole class restroom break times.
- Classroom lights should be on at all times
- Teachers should be in hallways during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal to ensure a zone 0 hallway; car riders should be released from teachers at a zone 0 so that car dismissal staff can have a calm, positive environment in the cafeteria
- No movies or meaningless busy work in classroom - As mentioned above, we are focusing on instructionally strong classrooms for the rest of the school year.
- No classroom "countdowns" to the end of the school year.
Self-Care Tips: Relax and De-Stress
I know that this is stressful time of year. Take a look through some of these ways to
1. Breathe deeply. Actually feel and listen to yourself breathe deeply. I'm committing to doing this more this week.2. Playlist. Create a fun, upbeat playlist to listen to on your commute to school, during your prep and on the way home in the afternoon. For me, two words sum this up: Lemonade. Beyonce.
3. Something that makes you happy. Make a promise to yourself to do something one afternoon this week so that you look forward to doing it throughout the week. For example, make a fun plan for Thursday afternoon and plan to leave school as soon as dismissal is over so that you can re-energize yourself in some sunshine! For me, I'm promising myself to eat on my patio at least once this week while the sun is out and to visit Kirkland's (my favorite store!) another evening.
4. Relaxing Bath. Take a bath each night or a few times this week. Light candles and have a soft playlist going to help you relax.
5. Grace. Give yourself, our Rocketeers and each other unconditional grace.
Real Men Read: Volunteers Still Needed!
We will begin serving breakfast at 7:30am and the male volunteers will be in classrooms reading to and with our Rocketeers from 8:50-9:30.
Upcoming Events
Monday - 5/16
- 2nd Math MAP Testing
Tuesday - 5/17
- 3rd/4th Reading MAP Testing
- Rogers out
- Blackwell out
- 3rd/4th Field Trip
Wednesday - 5/18
- 3rd/4th Math MAP Testing
- Rogers out
Thursday - 5/19
- MAP Make-Up Testing
- Dynasti Hunt, VP of Human Resources - on campus for Brown Bag Lunch
- Thursday Grade Level Team Meetings | 2:30pm
- Art Night - 4-5:30pm
- Thomas leaves @ 1:00pm for Relay
Friday - 5/20
- MAP Make-Up Testing
- Thomas out - Relay
Saturday - 5/21
- RNNE vs. RUA Basketball Game @RNNE
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Monday -5/23
- K/1 Field Trip
Tuesday - 5/24
Wednesday - 5/25
- Field Day
Thursday - 5/26
Begin printing report cards/finalize parent-teacher conference schedules - 2:30
Friday - 5/27
- Real Men Read - 7:30-10:30a: Male volunteers will be spending time reading to/with Rocketeers and completing a post-reading activity with them. You will receive more details from the RMR Planning Team.
*Network staff will be visiting campus throughout the week.
RNNE Assessment + Event Calendars
Be sure to reference this calendar for events that are coming up so that you aren't caught off guard!
Note: Minimum Days for Parent/Teacher Conferences the last three days of school.
Here is the assessment calendar for the year for you to reference. *We are looking at adjusting the STEP assessment window, so will follow up with more details (the adjustment would allow for more weeks of instruction before the window begins versus starting earlier).
The STEP window closes on May 20th/this Friday.