Saturday Scoop
For Information and Inspiration
Our Collective Work
Consistent Curriculum Implementation In All Classrooms
Meaningful Feedback to Students and Teachers
Social Emotional Learning
Weekly Message
At the DeMartino household, we are deep into the work of college applications and senior year wrap ups. I'm getting to attend many of Mason's "lasts". He had his last water polo match, his last baseball fruit sale (honestly, thank goodness), and his last homecoming. It is a fun time for reflection as he begins this new chapter of his life. As I traveled around the school this week, I noticed many things that are not exactly firsts for students, but they will definitely be those building blocks that make up the positive memories for then when they, like Mason, are experiencing their "lasts". Chris Rosenquist has a sign on his door reminding students how to agree and disagree in math. What a great way to help them learn the conversational arts. First grade is helping students to make their reading lives public by advertising their great reading habits and middle school organized a fantastic night for students exploring Raleigh Hills as an option. I am so thankful that I get to come to work every day with such dedicated educators who are building these foundations for students. Thank you for all you do each day!
Our wellness challenge is off to a great start, and it's not too late to get in on the fun! Go ahead and get started following the instructions in last week's s'more. I realized I jumped the gun and asked people to send their points before the end of the week. No worries though because Kirk did something really smart! He just shared back the link to his copy of the Wellness Tracker. If you'd like to do that, I can see all your points right on the doc. Thanks to everyone who is participating. I can't believe all the points that are racking up, but even better are the reports I've gotten about how good this is making people feel. Join us, win prizes and feel great in the month of November!
Warm regards,
Jennifer and Lindsay
Data Teams Schedule
- IRLA or other year long data
- laptop
November 19th - 4th, 1st, 5th
November 20th - 2nd, Kinder, 3rd
November 22nd - MS
Student Engagement Article
One thing we know about developing brains is that they need frequent, intentional opportunities to process their learning. This super quick article lays out 3 ways to engage the whole class during lessons. Just in case you don't have time to read it, I'll share the strategies:
- Chalkboard (Whiteboard) Splash - rather than posing a question and calling on one of the few students who raise their hands, pose a prompt and allow ALL students to write their ideas on a whiteboard or an area of your big whiteboard.
- Appointment Agendas - Spend a quick few minutes creating "clock partners" so students always have new partner to talk to when you sense a need for students to process what they've just learned.
- Pause, star, rank - at the end of a lesson or a unit, ask the students to look over their notes or think back to what they've learned and star (or list) the most important topics. Then they can rank the 3 most important and share out their top concept with a clock partner.
The article goes more in depth about helping you plan the prompts and gives specific directions for each. Read it to learn more!
PE Minutes Recording Week
THIS IS THE WEEK TO RECORD ON THE SPREADSHEET!
Record the total number of physical activity brainboost minutes students in your class participated in each day from November 18th to 22nd in this spreadsheet. The physical activity must last at least 2 minutes in length to count towards the total. It would be helpful if you record time to the nearest minute (even if the number of minutes is 0). If you are absent, please record an A. Examples of physical activity are: BSD Brainboost website videos and Go Noodle Videos, teacher- or student-led physical activity such as yoga, dance or exercises. Running around the track or field also counts.
If you have not already done so, please view the required 15 minute video.
Action Items All in One Place
- turn in yourTitle IA Compacts and sign in sheets from conferences to Yvett
- record your brainboost and activity minutes this week on the PE spreadsheet (linked above)
- be sure you've done your self-assessment and goal in pivot - we're still missing a few!
- please turn make your new attendance calls and turn blue sheets into Lindsay
- get ready for data teams by looking over IRLA data