The Gator Tales
The weekly staff newsletter for Glenwood Elementary School
Week of April 29
This week at Glenwood
April 30- May 1- DONUTS FOR MOMS
May 2- Schoology Support Team meeting at Plaza Annex 1-3
May 3- PIRATE DAY
Upcoming Important Dates and Events
May 6 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 8- Orchestra and Chorus Concert 6 pm
May 10- Progress Reports Issued
May 14 and 15 -Grade 5 Reading SOL
May 15- Sweets and Treats
May 16 and 17- Grade 4 Reading SOL
May 20 and 21- Grade 3 Reading SOL
May 22 and 23 -Grade 5 Math
May 27- Memorial Day Schools Closed
May 28 and 29- Grade 4 Math
May 30 and 31- Grade 3 Math
June 4- Grade 5 Science
June 5- Grade 5 History
Grateful Gators!
Mrs. Colombara , Mrs. Hogan, Tina and Tara for helping a student going through a difficult time. Mrs Habib and Mrs. Arnold being super stars with my class! Amanda Agreste
Kudos to Barb Kimpan for organizing, implementing, and championing 2nd grade Passion Projects! Our kids LOVED working on them and we all learned so much! Special thanks to the classes who came out to support us! Michelle Fargo
I would like to thank Samantha Grimes for filling in for me while I was on vacation. She did an awesome job! Thank you to everyone for all the goodies this week. It made me feel very specialJ. Pam Jones
Thank you to everyone who helped us get to Jamestown smoothly! Pam - you made the job too easy. Carol - the last minute breakfasts were a lifesaver. Kassie and Betty - having supplies ready to go were appreciated. Joan - for checking parents in like a rock star. Jenn - the bus loop and pick up assistance were top notch. Everyone - thank you!! Thank you Rebekah, Scott, and Amanda for tweeting out pictures of the Glenwood SCA kindness rocks! The kids were so happy to see their kindness project “go live.” Jen Malit
Happy Birthday!
Donna Brennan. April 29
Shirley Byrd. April 29
Soccio, Tammie . May 4
Montazami, Betty . May 17
Gmiter, Kasadyne May 21
Heinz, Cheryl . May 24
Karpovich, Carol . May 29
Lassiter, Kristle May 30
Hamm, Thelorita . May 31
Responding to Student Misunderstandings
Checking for understanding is not just an opportunity for you to learn what students don’t understand; implemented well, it also becomes an instructional tool from which students can learn. Making checks for understanding a teaching tool begins with high expectations for student responses. If a student gives an inaccurate response, strong teachers seek to uncover the misunderstandings at the root of that response. (Less effective teachers often go on to another student looking for the right answer.) Strong teachers do not accept partially correct answers from students; they tell them what parts are accurate, what parts need to be improved, and why. We have observed that when students give wrong answers, highly effective teachers consistently:
· Question further to see where student understanding breaks down
· Support the student with leading questions to arrive at understanding
· Return to the matter soon to ensure that understanding has improved
At every phase of every lesson, effective teachers seek to determine not just whether students understand, but also how much they understand and the reasons that they do or do not understand. In practice, that means digging deeper with follow-up questions, carefully gleaning student understanding from written work, and closely monitoring group discussions to gauge individual students’ comprehension. Pedagogical research validates these patterns we see in highly effective teachers’ classrooms. The research indicates that checking for understanding might be one of the more powerful tools at a teacher’s disposal. A synthesis of more than 250 studies concluded that checking for student mastery along the way does improve learning. The gains in achievement appear to be quite considerable…amongst the largest ever for educational interventions.
~ From Teaching as Leadership by Steven Farr
Thanks ROFO ES