FRIDAY FOCUS
Week of November 25th-29th
Week at a Glance
T:
W: FALL BREAK BEGINS - NO SCHOOL
Th: THANKSGIVING - NO SCHOOL
F: FALL BREAK - NO SCHOOL (School Resumes December 2nd)
Happy Thanksgiving
I wish you all safe travels, be it near or far. Take great care of yourselves Tall Astros and may the upcoming Holiday Season be met with joy.
Sincerely,
Shahran
A Lesson On Text Features!
Great job Verlinda!
All In the Family
- Black Friday Shopping
- Make a Blessing Jar
- Visit an Antique Mall (I hear that the Antique Mall of Crown Point is worth a visit!)
- Eat Pumpkin Pancakes
- Run or Walk a 5K
Family Reading Night Shout Out!
Teacher's Corner by Jill Michalek
Meet…..Ms. Rockett
IT’S A BOY! Or IT’S A GIRL! That part is still unknown but what we do know it that our Ms. Rockett is having a baby!!! Just past her first trimester and feeling much better, Audra is set to make 3 year old (and seriously cute) Dominic a big brother come the beginning of June. Interestingly enough Dominic was also expected in the beginning of June but decided to show up in April. (How sad for Audra if she had to miss testing season!)
Audra is a Richton Park native but attended school in the “other” district. She graduated from Bradley and went on to earn her Reading Specialist degree from Olivet. Her first year of teaching was at Speed in Chicago Heights. She taught high school but quickly decided she preferred to be taller than her students.
Audra has been at Neil Armstrong for 12ish years. (I wonder what is says about us all that no one can remember how long we’ve been here?)
When not working, Audra is a crafter. Her latest venture involves crocheting edges on fleece blankets. Stop by her room to see an example of her talent! Audre purchased a Silhouette machine and loves coming up with ways to use that as well.
During the summer, Audra loves to take vacations with her family. Since Dominic joined the family trips are closer to home but a favorite destination in Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. She laughs that the fact they have free pop all throughout the park is a huge draw for her husband, Marshe.
Some of you might now know that Marshe is a wrestler! Those that have been here a while were lucky enough to get to see him in action when he performed at Neil Armstrong. Audra admits to being more of a Marshe fan than an actual wrestling fan. While Audra stops just short of labeling a cult she admits that people who go to wrestling shows really, really love wrestling. Wrestling has allowed Marshe to travel with an upcoming trip to Mexico in the works and a possible visit to Japan. The downside for Audra is that means Marshe is gone a lot. The upside is that many of the wrestling community are now “family.”(On a personal note I have to tell you that a couple of times Marshe has graciously sent autographed photographs to some of my students who are wrestling fans. The looks on those kids’ faces were priceless!)
Speaking of priceless, one thing Audra would make sure to take from her house in case of a fire (besides the obvious child and pets…) is her Precious Moments collection. The collection is a combination of figures that belonged to both her grandmother and her mother whom Audra lost at only 21 years of age.
November is Audra’s favorite month not only because it is her birthday but also because Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. She will host Marshe’s large family and she will make sweet potatoes even though she is the only one who eats them.
Lately, the best 30 minutes of the day for Audra is right after Dominic goes to bed. Marshe is typically at the gym so Audra can watch her favorite sitcoms (Friends) and eat all things Oreo!
Lastly, when asked if there is a motto she lives by Audra responded (after I reminded her that a motto is not the same as swearing…) “it is what it is!” That must explain her always cheerful, can do attitude!
Congratulations on your new baby and don’t you think Jill Rockett had a nice ring? Just a thought.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
KUDOS
- Increible (awesome in Spanish) Nate for greeting your students in not one, not two, but THREE languages when utilizing the Magic Triad this week! 3A were greeted with either a Hello, Hola, or Osiyo as they entered their room immediately after Rise to Shine. Now, this is an example of providing a world class education. We don't know where the road will take our Small Astros, but considering how multicultural and multilingual are world is becoming, they will have an enhanced start at life!
- Thank you Shawnaclarice for reaching out to one our Coaches to problem solve that would allow us to work more efficiently.
GRADE BOOK: As a friendly reminder, please take care to update your grade book on a weekly basis. Thank you.
5 ESSENTIAL SURVEY: The 5E Survey is officially for parents is officially open!!! Please post via your electronic communication venue and encourage at least 75% participation for each classroom. I thank you for your enthusiastic support :)
http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/
Laminator: We ask for the cooperation of ALL when using the laminator. Please refrain from turning on the laminator and walking away for any extended period of time. It takes a total 15-20 minutes to turn on the laminator, wait on the heating element to arrive at the needed temperature, and laminate your project. Keeping the laminator on for extended periods of time creates unnecessary wear and tear, not to mention it releases a most unpleasant odor. Your cooperation in this regard is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
HOME-SCHOOL COMMUNICATION: Good two-way communication between families and schools is necessary for student success. Research shows that the more families and teachers share relevant information with each other about a student, the better equipped both will be to help that student achieve academically. Opportunities for two-way communication include:
- Parent conferences
- Parent-teacher organizations
- Weekly or monthly folders of student work sent home for parent review and comment
- Phone calls
- E-mail or similar electronic communication venues such as Class Dojo and Remind
Effective Communication Strategies Involve:
- Initiation: Teachers should initiate contact as soon as they know which students will be in their classroom for the school year. Contact can occur by means of an introductory phone call or a letter to the home introducing yourself to the parents and establishing expectations.
- Timeliness: Adults should make contact soon after a problem has been identified, so a timely solution can be found. Waiting too long can create new problems, possibly through the frustration of those involved.
- Consistency and frequency: Families want frequent, ongoing feedback about how their children are performing with homework.
- Follow-through: Families and teachers each want to see that the other will actually do what they say they will do.
- Clarity and usefulness of communication: Families and teachers should have the information they need to help students, in a form and language that makes sense to them.
As you reflect on your practices also reflect and assess your active levels of home-school communication. Are you engaging in acts that builds teacher-family relationships? When your families receives updates (academic and/or behavioral) would they be surprised? When was the last time you personally reached out to share good news? Have you included your families class celebrations for academic success?
CIA: The following is an update from Dr. Adams.
- Math Assessments Pilot: Grades 3-8 will participate in the pilot program. We will implement a Grade-Level Assessment aligned to CC State Standards. Students will complete a placement assessment on Dec. 4, during the Math Block. The grade-level assessment contains standards and grade appropriate content. As part of the Pilot Program, subsequent assessments will include a 2nd, 3rd and 4th administration used to gauge progress of students on grade-level standards/mastery. The intervals will occur approximately 4 weeks (with 20 days) of instruction in between each test administration. Functionality training is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 25 from 1:45 - 3:15 at DO. Please bring your Chromebooks with you. You are expected to bring your Assistant Principal or Dean and Lead Teacher (representing 3rd, 4th or 5th grade - PALATRICE WILL REPRESENT 3RD-5TH GRADE, Thank you Palatrice - Mrs. Etherly).
1st Administration timeline - Dec. 4,
2nd Administration timeline - Jan. 15,
3rd Administration timeline - Feb. 13 and
4th Administration timeline - March 18
- Action Plans are under development by ILT for ELA and Math. Feedback from all teachers have been garnered through grade-level meetings and/or individual planning sessions. Drafts of the Action Plans will be sent for your final review and input. Please take a few minutes to review and provide input on items that you have occurring and/or need additional support in your building. (I WILL MEET WITH OUR SCHOOL SIP TEAM FOR COLLABORATION PURPOSES TO ENSURE NEEDED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT - MRS. ETHERLY)
- Assessment data is being collected on Informational Text. You will notice in the Action Plans that Assessments should be completed in Wonders, Study Island and Reading A-Z. An analysis will be conducted that identifies any progress being made towards mastery of Informational Texts in all schools.
- For the month of December, in-house Professional Development will focus on Struggling Readers, Technology and Reading A-Z. (Tall Astros, this is a friendly reminder to sign up! - MRS. ETHERLY)
- Professional Development Requests: ALL professional development requests (Request to Attend Conference/Workshop Forms) will be monitored for adherence to the 4-week window. If that timeline is not followed, those requests will be returned as denied. Please do your due diligence in only submitting requests that meet that timeline criteria, as well as alignment to goal areas. (TALL ASTROS, please take care to comply as your initial request from me will be denied - Mrs. Ethelry)