SOAR Report
Week of September 26, 2016
Wendell Phillips Vision
WHERE AND WHEN TO BE THERE!!!!
Monday, September 26
Lesson Plans due via Google Drive (9:00 am)
Grade 4 Math PLC
Grade 6 ELA PLC
Tuesday, September 27
Grade 4 ELA PLC
Grade 5 Math PLC
Grade K, 1 ELA PLC
Grade 2 Math PLC
Mass Insight Visit (1:00-3:00 pm)
Wednesday, September 28
Grade K/1 Math PLC's
Grade 2 ELA PLC
Grade 3 ELA PLC
Thursday, September 29
Grade 3 Math PLC
Grade 5 ELA PLC
Friday, September 30
Cardinal Cash Bash
Last Day of School- FALL BREAK Begins
GOALS DUE INTO SFS BY 5:00 PM
NEWS & NOTES
Our vision should be known by all. In breaking this down, our learning environment will be:
- Positive- set the tone in our classrooms by building relationships and reinforcing positive behavior
- Engaging- instruction will be interactive and driven by student needs. This means intentional planning through posted I CAN statements aligned to daily lessons.
- Rigorous- Our instruction needs to be challenging and aligned to standards. Deconstructing standards into skills and teaching how to apply the skills is the end game. Critical thinkers are the desired outcome.
Shout outs for the week:
- THANK YOU for holding it down while I was out with the birth of my daughter!!! When I came back Thursday, things were moving right along!
- THANK YOU to Ms. Duhon and Ms. Emery for their support of 3rd and 6th grade!!! They have stepped in as needed and covered for classes while teachers in these respective grade levels have been out without substitutes.
- I am seeing some very specific data walls in classrooms that tell me where you are. I also see some that are telling me where your class is going....keep it up!!!
- Teacher tables and stations were looking good during our first week of full implementation of guided reading. Like the use of technology to drive the posting of student groups and guide rotations.
Positive climates in the building begin with us. We set the expectations for our students daily...and it is our job to set those expectations HIGH. As we close out the first quarter of the school year, think about what has worked with your classroom management plan and what can be improved upon. When we return from Fall Break, our students will not have seen us for 17 days...so therefore, we must re-teach our expectations explicitly. Plan to do this the first few days back to school....and make sure your expectations are clear and tight! Please see Ms. Fosnow or I for any support you need in this area.
Engaging instruction is driven by urgency in our teaching. Every minute counts, especially for the students we serve. We have completed one quarter of instruction...and the time has flown by. In thinking about Quarter 2, how are we going to stress the importance of what we teach? How will this be conveyed to our students? I am attaching an article in the DIY section below that discusses this topic.
RIGOR in lessons is crucial to student success....but you knew that, right?? As we have discussed previously, RIGOR has many components. Critical/Higher Order thinking is one of these components, and this means our lessons have to match the intent of the standards and skills we teach. The Indiana College and Career Ready Standards are designed for students to think through real world problems and apply skills learned to solve these problems. Therefore, we have to teach them how to think, not memorize. I am including an article below in the DIY section about Metacognition...or the process of thinking about thinking. As you design instruction moving forward, how are we teaching students how to think?
The Report Card window opens on Monday, September 26th and closes on Friday, September 30th. All final grades are entered into ESchool. Please reference the email sent on Wednesday, September 21st @ 10:07 pm for guidance on this process. If you have any issues, please contact IT at 3600.
Mass Insight, our partner in the Transformation Zone Turnaround Model, will be at school on Tuesday, September 27th from 1:00-3:00 pm to learn more about our work at Wendell Phillips. We will be walking through classrooms and during this time, so I expect them to see the great things we have been working on.
Dismissal is continuing to improve...but please note that you are to be at your assigned bus until they pull away from the school. I am noticing individuals dropping off students, then walking back toward the building or dropping off items in vehicles. You must remain at your post until the students have left campus. Conversations between staff members should be limited to interactions with students and ensuring everyone is where they need to be.