Weekly RoaR!
Week ending March 6, 2015
Happy Birthday to YOU!
March 9 - Teresa Abrams
Mark your cally!
March 16
- 6:30 PM - PTA Meeting, General Session
- 7:00 PM - 2nd Grade Musical
March 17
- TELPAS Reading Assessment (8:00 - 2nd grade; 10:15 - 3rd & 4th grade)
March 18
- STAAR Training for all Testing Administrators
March 20
- Spring Picture Day
- Celebrate the Arts choir rehearsal at WHS
March 21
- Celebrate the Arts Art Show
March 25
- KC Club, 2:30 to 3:30 PM
March 27
- End of 3rd Quarter
March 30-31
- Writing STAAR
Professional Reading
Anywho. I ran across this article from PDK International. If you are not familiar with the organization, Phi Delta Kappa International is a professional association for educators that aims to grow and connect those in the field of education. They are also the publisher of Kappan magazine, the publication in which this article came from.
The article discusses how the "word-gap" many of our students come to us with, is the cause of the academic achievement gap that we eventually see widen through their time in elementary school. So, what can we do to help narrow the gap and give our at-risk, SPED, and LEP students succeed as their general ed peers? Skim the article when you get a chance. It provides some easy teaching methods, including Purposeful Talk, that aim to help address this need.
Here's the link to the article: http://pdk.sagepub.com/content/96/6/50.full.pdf+html
PLCs & Tier 2 & Surveys
We need you to take the district climate/culture survey during this time. It is a modified version of last year's surveys, but it still contains 91 Likert-style questions. We will get you the Survey Monkey link on Monday, following Spring Break. Please know that these surveys are learning tools for our district and campus administration. We read every comment, good and bad. If you have an issue that you have not already addressed with us and feel that you need to voice it in the survey, please do. We also welcome solutions to any perceived problem. It is expected that all staff: professional and paraprofessional, complete the survey. Thank you for your time and feedback!
On Thursday, March 19, we will have a floating substitute who will come around to each teacher of a Tier 2 student. During this time, you will meet with Duvall, Branch, Feuerbacher, Mesnard, and Spears. We will be able to help you with all of your progress monitoring questions, as well as support you in any way you need. More information to come! Our meetings will last approximately 15 minutes, and they will take place in room 106.
Branch Byte: SeeSaw
Well, she won. I had not heard of the tool. I, of course, began researching its purpose and functionality. It. is. amazing.
It is an app called Seesaw that acts as a "house" for all things digital. A student can upload pictures, videos, links, notes, etc. It can link to several other education apps that teachers may already be using. The company claims that its functionality is so intuitive that kindergartners can upload content by themselves. The students' feeds are private, only accessible by the classroom teacher and those who receive the QR code from the teacher, so parents. Best of all, it's free. (For now.)
Here's more information about Seesaw: http://web.seesaw.me/