Finn Hill Friday Focus
Week of 2/26
Thought for the Week
Good Things
From Jen
- Thank you to Kiersten and Tania for their mad organizational skills with administering WIDA tests! Your attention to detail and ability to think through pitfalls have made a difference for kids and testing has been smooth sailing!
- Shout out to Tanner for his willingness to take some risks and trust the process with getting his kids to talk more in class and getting them to do the work rather than you! Thanks for the reminder that you can just start trying some stuff out by using what you already have in your classroom!
- Kudos to Kyla and Kim for their collaboration to work on an unsolved problem for a student they share. Their email to the student was strengths-based while setting up clear expectations. Thank you for trying out this approach with the student and his family!
- Kudos to Tessa and Liza for trying out student discussions in your 8th grade ELA classes! You provided enough scaffolding that students felt supported and provided kids an opportunity to feel happy and proud as they reflected after the discussion. I can't wait to see how kids improve their ability to participate in discussions, especially in the Frankenstein unit!
- Shout out to Luke W. for trying a structure to get kids to share with each other in class! He used a "music, pair, share" structure and chose great popular songs with a space theme (ask him which songs he picked!). It was a game changer in terms of engaging more kids actively in discussion about science.
- Kudos to Maria for incorporating an AVID strategy with her Spanish students! Students have been learning that they need repetition to commit learning to long term memory, so they have been collecting signatures as they practice reading sentences with new vocabulary out loud to different adults.
- Shout out to Tricia for all of her recent above and beyond work with AVID! She planned the WWU field trip, is working to recruit 8th graders to continue in AVID as freshmen, and is collaborating with JHS AVID teachers to align programming between the schools.
- Thanks to Sara for meeting with Nyla, Wendy, Stacy, and me to seek to understand the district's reasoning behind their push for algebra for all 8th graders. I appreciate your good questions, willingness to be open-minded, and your advocacy for all math students.
- Shout out to Stacy and the classified staff for another great classified PLC last week! It was inspiring to hear about the energy and ideas you have for supporting all students at Finn Hill.
- Thank you to Kirsten and Jeremy for updating the posters in the Commons. If you haven't seen them yet, they have translated expectations into the most common languages spoken by our students. Thank you for thinking about how all students can access the expectations and meet them successfully.
From Anna
- I wanted to shout out Adell for being on top of the confluence of SPED responsibilities that are happening right now! And for being the solid rock teammate!
- I also want to shout out the entire sped team from our para’s, IA’s and teachers for being amazing and pushing through the slog of late January, Al of February and into transition season!
From Heidi
- Huge Kudos to Kiersten Humble. She is a ROCKSTAR! During WIDA testing she has been in constant contact with me about the students comings and goings from testing and back to class, and sometimes back to testing. I have been so appreciative of her keeping me up to date on the movement of these students. Since Kiersten has been so communicative about those students, I haven't had to be overly concerned about the accuracy of the entered attendance of those WIDA students - but its wonderful to see it all match up. Kiersten, this communication was/is so valued and appreciated. I can't thank you enough. Can I clone you please?
- Thanks to Sandi for noticing our school sign’s light was out and fixing it! What can’t you do?!! 😊
This Week
Monday, February 26
- UW CEL Visit (see Jen's email from Friday for more information), 8:30 am-2:30 pm
Tuesday, February 27
- Jen & Stacy Out-Restorative Social Emotional Learning PLC - Day 2
- Counselors-6th to 7th Grade Registration
Wednesday, February 28
- Counselors-Registration for 6th Grade w/ AG Bell, 11:00-11:45 am
- Staff Meeting, 1:00-2:00 pm, Library (agenda to come)
- Building PL, 2:00-3:20 pm, Library (agenda to come)
Thursday, February 29
- Counselors-Registration for 6th Grade w/ Sandburg, 8:50-9:35 am
- Opening Night-Play Performance, 7:30 pm, Commons
Friday, March 1
- First Friday Treats-sponsored by the math department
- Jen & Stacy at Middle School Job Alike, 9:30-10:30 am, Teams
- Play Performance, 7:30 pm, Commons
Saturday, March 2
- Closing Night-Play Performance, 7:30 pm, Commons
- Drama Strike & Cast Party, 12:00-4:00 pm, Commons
Looking Ahead
Monday, March 4
- Weekly Admin Team Meeting, 1:00-2:30 pm
Wednesday, March 6
- TPW/Specialist Day, 1:00-3:20 pm
Thursday, March 7
- Sundaes for Scholars, 1:30-2:30 pm (more information to come)
Friday, March 8
- LEAP Day (agenda to come)
Tier 1 Tip: Instructional Playbook FEATURE Opportunities to Respond
Think-Pair-Share Variations
Check out a few variations below to mix it up for students:
- Three 3s in a Row: Use a graphic organizer template to outline prompts. Students move about the room to find a partner who can respond to each prompt.
- Confer, Compare, Clarify: This template provides prompts for the individual to engage in collaborative thinking with a partner and generate questions for the larger group.
- For more on opportunities to respond, see the Instructional Playbook EPIIC site.
- See the documents below for templates for each variation.
Lounge Duty
FYI: Mewing
Adell shared an article with Stacy and me about something that is starting to trend on social media. Knowledge is power! 🙃
https://www.parents.com/what-is-mewing-and-why-is-it-taking-over-classrooms-8598847
Jennifer Cleaves
Jennifer is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters