The Gator Tales
The weekly staff newsletter for Glenwood Elementary School
Week of May 6
Teacher Appreciation Week!
We appreciate our Teachers!!!!
Tuesday May 7- PTA Coffee and Donuts
May 8- National School Nurse Day
Wednesday May 8- Olive Garden Luncheon for all in intermediate teacher lounge during lunches
Friday- May 10- PTA Desert Cart
This week at Glenwood
May 6 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 8- Orchestra and Chorus Concert 6 pm
May 10- Progress Reports Issued
Upcoming Important Dates and Events
May 14 and 15 -Grade 5 Reading SOL
May 15- Sweets and Treats
May 16 and 17- Grade 4 Reading SOL
May 17- Final PTA Bingo Night 6:30-7:30
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
May 31- Final day for library book checkout
May 31- PTA Spring Carnival 6-8 PM
June 4- Grade 5 Science
June 5- Grade 5 History
June 7- All library books due
June 11- Final day for Specialists
June 12- Field Day
Field Day 2019
This year, each grade level will plan their own activities and schedules. Some activities could be sports related, but others could be based on what the grade levels feel their students will want to do. The PE staff is available to help with your grade level sports needs, as well as any equipment that may be needed. You may also invite your parents to visit and assist.
Administration is going to provide FreezePops for all students.
The time frame is below.
Grades 3-5- 8:30 am to 11:00 am
Grades PK-2- 12:00 -2:20 pm
Grateful Gators!
I would like to thank Danica and my amazing Pre-K team for throwing me a surprise baby shower!!! Thank you to all who attended and for all my baby boy’s amazing gifts and my cloud advice! It is TRULY appreciated! With much love, Jennifer Hernandez
Kudos to Michelle Fargo for arranging our visitors from the Ready, Set, Grow program. Kudos to Dina Dreistadt for helping me through all of my Schoology woes. Kudos to Kathleen Slinde for organizing the SPCA visits throughout the year. Thanks to the whole second grade team for keeping me going and putting a smile on my face when things get crazy! Andrea Neal
Kudos for Mr. Cake and Ms. Silvey and Mr.Matt for the coffee cart. What a great innovative way to encourage your students to talk to others. Rymer and Cleghorn.
Kudos to Allison Harder and Mrs Salty for helping our class recognize and make something special for one of our own military students who are relocating. I am sure they will feel so special and loved thanks to your help. Tara and Suzanne thank you for the constant support and encouragement with my student. Mrs Rosa, for always being sweet and spreading joy with your kindness and smile! Kudos to Mrs Fields and Mrs Storm, for checking on and being there for my students when they need help. You both go above and beyond to help my students have the best day they can, even when they come in late and miss breakfast. You both assist to make sure nothing hinders their learning! We are lucky to have you! Mrs Hogan and Tara, proving extra hugs and love to our student who is missing that at home lately.
You both are appreciated! Amanda Agreste
Kudos to Nancy, Pam, Tara, Tammy, Tina, and Jessica for all your help with SRT data collection this week. We had 8 SRT meetings and your interventions have made a huge difference for our students! Your patience, dedication, and focus on the students does not go unnoticed! Thanks team! Mrs. Haws
My kids had a blast completing practice SOL items Kahoot!-style thanks to Brittany! What an engaging way to get some required practice in during these busy weeks! Jen Malit
Kudos to Tammie and Caroline for the wonderful Makerspace experience, we all had fun! Grace and Jenn, your making time to check on some challenged Gators and words of wisdom are much appreciated. Kathleen Baltazar, your introduction to Gimkit, and a sneak peek at your future 3rd graders, was the perfect end to our first week back after spring break, thanks for sharing. Susan Arnold, your positive attitude and patience helped my students earn a 5 this week, and for that I am thankful. Michelle Fargo, thanks for keeping us straight and on the path to June 14th! Diane Dykes
Happy Birthday!
Montazami, Betty . May 17
Gmiter, Kasadyne May 21
Heinz, Cheryl . May 24
Karpovich, Carol . May 29
Lassiter, Kristle May 30
Hamm, Thelorita . May 31
way to go Dina for hosting a Formative Twitter Chat! Glenwood Proud!
The wonder of our students!
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