The Weekly Armadillo
Monday, March 27, 2017
"The Best School in Town"
Vision
To create an exceptional learning environment that produces remarkable students who are prepared to be successful and equipped to compete in a global society.
Mission
To prepare all students to achieve the highest standard of intellectual, physical and social growth.
W. T. White Feeder Mission
We will cultivate a premier learning community to foster globally responsive citizens.
Therefore, we are committed to:
Providing access to an equitable and high quality education
Promoting citizens who contribute to the common good
Supporting our students academically, socially, and emotionally
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Wilt or Grow
There is no such thing as status quo.
You either wilt or grow.
Read and grow from the information below.
Reflection Item
Truth or Myth? Text dependent reading improves a students ability to comprehend text. Read the excerpt below for more details.
Excerpt III: Text Prep by Doug Buehl
Educational Leadership
February 2017 | Volume 74 | Number 5
Literacy in Every Classroom Pages 60-65
Frontloading can address gaps in academic knowledge so students are prepared to read complex texts.
Spark the Conversation
One of the most valuable scaffolding resources students have is one another. Collaborative conversations are rich ways to pool available background knowledge on a topic. How you start these conversations is key.
Thought-provoking statements. Proposing thought-provoking statements gets the conversation rolling and disseminates background knowledge. For example, in a culinary arts class, the statement "organic foods are healthier than nonorganic foods" will likely lead to lively conversation. For this prompt, students create a T-chart and jot down at least two reasons for "yes" and two reasons for "no." Next, students elaborate on their two lists with partners or in groups and later in whole-group sharing. Student conversations could surface a number of relevant background-knowledge hits. Some students may interject comments about the use of pesticides or antibiotics, genetically modified foods, food-borne pathogens, cost and availability, controversies over organic labeling, and so forth.
Arguable statements that cannot be categorically resolved are especially intriguing conversation starters. Students must use the texts to locate evidence that does or does not support the statement. They must decide whether the evidence is sufficient and reliable, and determine the extent to which future inquiry and research can contribute to understanding this issue.
Prediction and anticipation guides. In a variation of thought-provoking frontloading, prediction and anticipation guides present four to six arguable statements. In Figure 1, students respond to statements about a unit on digestion.
Figure 1. What does the evidence say? Place a check in the "Truth" column if you predict the statement can be supported by scientific evidence. Place a check in the "Myth" column if you predict the statement is not supported by scientific evidence. Share with your partner your reasons for checking "Truth" or "Myth" and any evidence behind your choice.
Truth Myth
_____ _____ The "average" American overeats on Thanksgiving.
_____ _____ Overeating every once in a while is relatively harmless, as long as you compensate by eating less afterward.
_____ _____ A person may feel sleepy after a heavy Thanksgiving meal because turkey contains a chemical that makes one drowsy.
_____ _____ A stomach can expand to hold an average of about six cups of food during a single meal.
_____ _____ If you eat too much, your stomach could burst.
_____ _____ A big meal can trigger a heart attack.
Notice that each statement is written as an argument—a conclusion, generalization, explanation, or interpretation. None is a straightforward statement of fact (even the 4th statement, which looks factual, is a generalization and needs qualification). Merely asking students to respond to fact statements encourages a dynamic of "do you know this piece of information," which can lead to skimming the text for answers rather than careful reading to locate evidence. Also notice that students' personal opinions are not solicited.
After individual deliberations, students meet with partners or in groups to share which statements might be supported by the research. When they read the text, students annotate it by numbering places where the author talks about each statement.
Afterward, students return to their partners or groups to negotiate which statements can be confirmed by the evidence, which should be rewritten to be consistent with the evidence, and which have conflicting evidence and cannot be confirmed or rejected. The whole class then "argues" each statement citing evidence from the text.
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Hey! Look us over, we are the BEST!!
Nathan Adams Armadillos always beat the rest.
We're spectacular people with wonderful spirit
Who never let you down!
Nathan Adams, best in town!
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Noise-O-Meter
Congratulations, J. Mata
Congratulations, A. Moore
STEM Fair winner. Ashley earned an honorable mention in the district-wide science fair. G-o-o-d J-o-b! Good job! Good job!
Thanks to all of you for showing out the Armadillo way!
KUDOS TO MS. JOHNSON AND ALL OTHERS INVOLVED FOR THEIR HARD WORK IN PREPARING FOR A SMOOTH STAAR ADMINISTRATION! G-O-O-D J-O-B! Good job! Good job!
Kudos to Mrs. Gourdarzi and the PTA for getting Memory Sticks for all the TAG students that needed them for their TAG projects! They love learning how to make Word documents and Power Points anywhere they have access to a PC.
Kudos for the call out and the fliers to get parents to help us with afternoon pickup in the front. It is GREATLY appreciated!!
Kudos to Ms. Jones for standing her ground on parking lot duty.
Kudos to Ms. Silvio for her interactive STAAR review in the hallway!
Kudos to Mrs. James for returning the stray armadillos.
Kudos to Mrs. Emad for having a positive attitude and smile.
Kudos to Mrs. Rhoads for all the Speeding to Read help.
Kudos to Mrs. Agbebaku – Being a team-player!
Kudos to Mrs. Mullaley – Her warm reminders.
Kudos to Mrs. Bricker – Her generosity and thoughtfulness.
Kudos to Ms. Blake – Always being positive and giving everyone a smile.
Kudos to Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. James, Mrs. Copeland, Mrs. Mc Adams, and Mrs. Salazar for helping me with my injury.
Kudos to everyone who input Speeding to Read results before leaving for spring break, especially Nurse McAdams for helping out to get 2A & 2E results entered!
Kudos to Ms. Johnson for her endless support it's greatly appreciated!
Kudos to Mr. Lugo, Ms. Spears, Ms. Stinnett, Mrs. Wolpert, Ms. Hall and Mrs. Velasco for attending the Math Job-a-like at Herbert Marcus.
Kudos to Mrs. Emad for attending the Math training at Cabell.
Kudos to Kindergarten team for attending the Math Job-a-like training at Withers.
Kudos to Mrs. Gibson for quenching the coaches thirst when we really needed it most.
Kudos to Ms. Moore for going above and beyond by extending her dyslexia lessons outside of the classroom and also allowing her students to share their favorite part of the story.
Kudos to Coach Crowder and Mr. Mason for working together in the gym to calm down a student and still support all of the other students at the same time. You
all were amazing!
Kudos to Ms. Jones for always having a smile while securing the parking lot. You are appreciated!
Kudos to Miss Spears for keeping me informed on ARD meetings during my absence.
Kudos to our wonderful subs at Nathan Adams.
Kudos to Mrs. Copeland for finding several resources and activities for upcoming TEKS.
Kudos to Mrs. Moore and Ms. Meeker for their support with my students.
Kudos to our A-Team for the many hats they wear each day.
Kudos to all staff for pouring into our students so diligently.
Kudos to Mrs. Rhoads for passing along GLL information to my team!
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3/28 STAAR: 4th Writing; 5th Math
3/29 STAAR: 5th Reading
3/29 GLL Meeting
3/29 Media Specialist Feeder Meeting (2:00 @ Cabell)
3/30 Author Visit for 4th and 5th (see Rhoads for specific time)
4/1 PTA Flea and Craft Market (7:00-1:00)
4/1 WT White Street Fair (11:00-3:00)
4/3 Prek Enrollment Begins
4/3 Preschool Story Time (library @ 10:00)
4/3 Faculty Meeting (library 3:15-4:30)
4/4 PTA General Meeting/ Student of the Month/ PreK Performance (6:00)
4/5 PTA Casual Dress Day $1.00
4/5 Hall Party (sponsored by 5th grade)
4/5 SST/RtI Progress Monitoring Meetings (grade level)
4/7 Luna - CNA Training @ 1:30 Buckner Bldg.
4/11 Parent University (auditorium @ 8:30-10:00 with counselor)
4/12 Luna - Feeder Principal Meeting 11:30-6:00
4/13 Monthly Fire Drill
4/14 NO SCHOOL (inclement weather day holiday for all students and staff)
4/17 NO SCHOOL (inclement weather day holiday for all students and staff)
4/17 TEI Student Experience Survey Begins
4/18 CIC Monthly Meeting @ Bush 8:00-2:00
4/19 Luna - District-wide Principal Meeting 1:00-5:00
4/19 SST/ RtI Progress Monitoring Meetings (grade level)
4/20 Family Reading Night 5:30-7:30
4/21 Coffee with the Principal (library @ 8:15)
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Created by Adrian Luna, Principal
Nathan Adams Elementary School
Dallas Independent School District
Email: aluna@dallasisd.org
Website: www.dallasisd.org/nathanadams
Location: 12600 Welch Road, Dallas, TX 75244
Phone: 972-794-2600