GRE Staff Newsletter
For the Week of January 14, 2019
Dear Team,
Last weekend I was wishing for snow and it looks like we finally have it! I hope you enjoyed the fluffy white stuff outdoors-we sure did. This past week, the school was buzzing with our first full five day week of 2019. The hard work continued as did the goal setting. Ginna and I met and had a lengthy planning meeting to map out what needs to happen between now and the end of the school year. I feel we have a great plan not only for the rest of this year but as we look forward to next school year. It may seem early, but conversations about next school year are beginning already.
This past Tuesday we worked in teams to look at Writing about Reading. Since we were divided into two groups, we wanted to share the information each group received. Our K-1 teachers met with Ginna. She shared the following document to guide their group discussion. Our 2-4 teachers reviewed the OST rubrics and discussed some surprising ideas such as:
Opinion Writing Rubric Whoa's and Wow's
-The ability for the kids to use evidence
-Paraphrasing and restating things in a different way (this can be modeled through shared writing and read alouds to practice how to paraphrase and restate)
-Transition words and sentence structure are extremely important
Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric Whoa's and Wow's
-Use quotations and definitions
Need:
-Explore what is meant by "grade level" vocabulary (we don't have resources for this currently)
Next, this group looked at examples of student writing to get an idea of what the benchmark looks like. We all agreed that even as adults we might not be able to earn the top score:) That being said, it allowed us to have great discussion and teachers left with an example of each genre of writing. This week, Ginna and I will be traveling to some other elementary's to take a look at their writing and classroom instruction. We will be sure to share any great ideas we see!
Here's to a great week!
Kate
News to Share
1. OTES reminders: For those of you that are on a full OTES cycle, you must complete your Professional Growth Plan by January 15th. I would suggest that you consider the items we talked about during your post conference to identify your two goals for your work this year. You may also want to review the 2020 reflection tool, found here, to include in your goals. I will begin my second half of the year walkthroughs this week. If I show up with a laptop, that is your cue that I'm completing your walkthrough. Look for an email this week to schedule your formal observation for round 2. As a reminder, if there is something specific you would like me to see, feel free to email me.
2. Just a reminder that our new copier installation date is scheduled for this Thursday, January 17th. As we transition to new copiers, I'm sure we will need to work together to make sure we don't go crazy.
3. Thank you to Casandra Nigl and Ginna Crawford who will represent GRE at the annual Wizards game! We owe you ladies big time!
4. February conferences are on the 21st and will be here before we know it. All Elementary's will be asking our teachers to fill out this letter for each family, indicating whether or not you feel like a conference is needed. We understand that this round of conferences may require more than 20 minutes per family. Please use your professional opinion to plan for the appropriate time for each conference. PTO will once again be hosting dinner from 5:20-6:00 PM.
5. We have a PAC meeting this Tuesday. Please share any questions or concerns with your PAC team member prior to Tuesday.
Each Child, Our Future
Week at a Glance
Monday, Jan. 14- A Day
Tuesday, Jan. 15- B Day; PAC Meeting 3:50
Wednesday, Jan. 16- C Day; Happy Birthday Jen!; Yoga at 4:15
Thursday, Jan. 17- D Day; Happy Birthday Brandi!; STEM/Literacy Night @ 6:00
Friday, Jan. 18- A Day; CPI Meeting at 8:00 with Bryant
Upcoming Important Dates:
Jan. 18-Feb. 1 Yearbook Sale
January 21 NO SCHOOL: MLK Day