November 5, 2018
A Communication Tool for the Seven Hills Staff
Maintaining a High Functioning Whirlwind:
Great discussions after last week's staff meeting regarding scoreboards, and I can't wait for teams to continue those discussions this week in PLCs. I encourage everyone to watch the Leader in Me Weekly Videos about Scoreboards if you haven't already.
- Video: https://theleaderinmeonline.org/content/tlim/en/Videos.html?playerid=1885156945001&videoid=5841596502001&objectid=1441
- Newsletter with Tips and Activities: https://limweekly.org/take_the_scoreboard_test/
What adjustments will your team make to scoreboards based on your own reflections? What about the feedback from other teams? I know most teams were not able to make it to their second set of boards on Thursday. We will pick up on Tuesday during PLCs. Tanya, Molly, and I will also walk boards this week to offer feedback.
In order to commit 20% of our attention and effort to the Wildly Important, we have to maintain a high functioning whirlwind. We really need to use this grading period to make sure our student and teacher WIGs are rockin' along and our scoreboards are passing the test. A couple of questions for you to consider:
- Is your teacher WIG posted and are you modeling with a tracker and scoreboard? This can be personal, professional related to T-TESS, professional related to SLOs, or professional related to team WIGs.
- How is LEAD Time going? Are students putting first things first and working on lead measures? Does your team need to reflect on LEAD Time and refine routines and procedures?
- Do students have accountability partners? Do you have routines in place for students to meet with their partners consistently? How often do students meet with you about their WIG and Lead Measures?
For a few reminders about each discipline and examples, you can review the slide show from our August PD:
- https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nJAxTdzUt-2DbNy_bpVz5E08bqMpDQzcElvnoXmnNb4/edit?usp=sharing
As you set second grading period student WIGs this week, please keep the tips and ideas presented last week in mind.
From Last Week's S'more:
Student WIGS:
As we bring the 2nd grading period to a close, it is time to assess and determine whether or not students have met their WIGs for the 2nd grading period. It is time to celebrate and reevaluate!
- Celebrating public victories with students is important! Take time to celebrate as a class, with individual students or send students to the office to celebrate? Need ideas? Think back to our Aligning Academics training...the opportunity to take the impossible shot, conga lines, dance party, etc. I have party hats, prizes, and confetti! Don't forget about the Celebration Station...you can take your whole class down to celebrate and take pictures!
- Remember, when students meet WIGs they should be moved to the "My Celebrations" section of the Leadership Notebook.
- Teachers will update the Student Achievement Google Doc with whether or not students met their WIGs and October text levels. This will be due November 7.
- What will student WIGs be for the 3rd grading period? If you are struggling with setting student WIGs or determining the highest leverage Lead Measures, please let me know. I want and am happy to help you! 3-5 grades...check out the "shopping list" in the Leader in Me Weekly" linked below...there are some great ideas for reading skills that might bring clarity!
Star Leader and Leadership Assemblies This Week:
Make sure all parents have been notified that their child is receiving a Star Leader Award on Thursday, November 8.
Complete Google Form for awards by Tuesday, November 6: https://goo.gl/forms/fEkherFArZ80vkwe2
Leadership Assembly and Star Leader Awards:
- Each homeroom will give out ONE Star Leader Award recognizing a student who has exemplified the qualities of a leader for the grading period.
- Parents of the students receiving the awards, will be sent a formal invitation in the mail and personal phone call inviting them to the awards ceremony. Paper invitations and envelopes in mailboxes Monday morning. These need to be turned in to the office no later than Friday, September 27 so they can be sent in the mail.
- Complete the Star Leader award using the link below so that the award certificate can be created for each student before Friday’s assembly. If you are new this year and need an example of what the award should include, the display case houses the Star Leader awards from the 6th 6 weeks grading period last year. LINK HERE
- This is “College Colors Day” for students and staff. Students and staff are encouraged to wear their favorite college t-shirt or colors of their favorite college. We are practicing Habit 2. We set goals for our future, such as going to college. These celebration days are a recognition of our hard work toward achieving our goals. Gig’em!
- The schedule for our first Leadership Assembly is 8:00 - 8:30 K-2 and 8:30 - 9:00 3-5. Specials and 5th Grade will switch conference periods on October 5.
Habit Huddle Classroom Awards:
- Each homeroom has established a classroom culture and family over the last 5 weeks. Celebrations are an important part of continuing to foster this family and culture, while also filling emotional bank accounts. To honor the work and success from the grading period, each homeroom will have classroom celebrations during Habit Huddle on Leadership Assembly days.
- The traditional awards (A honor roll, A/B honor roll, perfect attendance, etc.) will be recognized during this time.
- Each grade level team must be consistent in what awards are given during class Habit Huddle awards assemblies.
- The following Spirit Sticks are available for awards and can be found in the “drawer box” behind the front desk:
- Perfect Attendance
- A Honor Roll
- A-B Honor Roll
- Citizenship/Leadership:
- There are tags for specific habits that could be used for citizenship as well.
- Each student will need a ring to get started with. We will place rings in baggies and place them in teach mailboxes next week.
- There are “brag tags” left over too. These are available on a first come first served basis. We will not reorder these.
- Should the drawer for a specific Spirit Stick be empty. There is not need to panic or be angry. Or be frustrated. Simply ask, and we will refill. If you take the last Spirit Stick, you might pay it forward and let someone know so that we can get the drawer refilled before causing anyone any undue stress.
- Please only take what you need. We will reorder if we run out.
The following will be sent to parents in a S'more. We will post this on the campus FB page and website as well. Please share with your parents so that they are informed:
"In order to honor the greatness in our Seven Hills Leaders, we offer classroom and grade level Leadership Awards Assemblies. We honor students for attendance, honor roll, citizenship, and other grade level or classroom recognitions each grading period. These celebrations will happen in the classroom during Habit Huddle on designated grading period Leadership Assembly days. Students will receive "Spirit Sticks" awards for their individual accomplishments. Following Habit Huddle, we will host grade level Leadership Assemblies, one for K-2 grades and another for 3 -5 grades. During these assemblies, one student from each homeroom class will be awarded the distinction of Star Leader. This award recognizes students who consistently demonstrate leadership qualities and use the 7 Habits to be a Star Leader. Parents of these students will be notified in advance so that they can make plans to attend the assembly. At the end of the year, we will have an awards assembly to honor students for the year of hard work, perseverance, and leadership. This assembly will include recognition of honor roll, attendance, etc. for the entire school year. Students and staff are encouraged to wear college colors (either a college t-shirt or the colors of their favorite colleges) to Leadership Assemblies, because we are beginning with the end in mind (Habit 2). We set goals for future success and see these celebrations as recognition of hard work to achieve our goals. We are excited about these opportunities to recognize the greatness in our Star Leaders!"
#7HillsLEADS...A Challenge:
Last Week's #7HillsLEADS Twitter Challenge Winner is....
Carie Wells
The challenge continues this week...
Each week, we will be monitoring Twitter to see who is tweeting and which tweets capture our GREATNESS! We are looking for instructional greatness...student greatness...team greatness...school greatness...community greatness...habit greatness...you get the idea...GREATNESS! When you tweet, make sure you use the campus hashtag, #7HillsLEADS and if appropriate tag @TheLeaderinMe , and/or me n your tweets.
Weekly winners will receive a traveling trophy (it lights up...so fun!) AND a treat. At the end of November, the staff member with the most tweets will receive a prize!
Habit Focus of the Week: Habit 2
Habit Huddle Connection:
3rd Grading Period Habit Huddle Partner Assignments:
Staff 7x7 Week 2:
Looking at Day 1 of Week 2, Covey reminds us..."The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Fitting quote for a week where we are focused on beginning with the end in mind!
- A designated time each week for you and your accountability partner to meet.
- The 7x7 Contract white book, the 7 Habits App, or a copy of the pages from week 2 of the contract (in Kim's office).
- The 7 Habits practice cards or the 7 Habits App
- The 7x7 Protocol: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S6zNMh-tXO0McEQJA22YE48dDh-YC11agvx0uPHA1RU/edit?usp=sharing
- 7x7 Accountability Form (in mailboxes last week)
- Commitment to engaging in the tasks in the contract each week.
Habit 2 Connection:
"Habit 2 is based on imagination--the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. It's about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself." - 7 Habits Book
When you practice Habit 2, you:
Define outcomes before you act
Create and live by a personal mission statement
Set long-term and short-term goals
One of the best ways to incorporate Habit 2 into your life is to develop a Personal Mission Statement. It focuses on what you want to be and do. It is your plan for success. It reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in focus, and moves your ideas into the real world. Your mission statement makes you the leader of your own life. You create your own destiny and secure the future you envision. Have you created your mission statement? Have you created your Mission Monogram and posted it outside your classroom door?
Habit Family Challenges:
This cycle of habits, we will offer opportunities for families to learn more about each habit each week. Families who complete the challenges will receive recognition on the boards in the cafeteria. Activities will be in mailboxes by the end of the day on Monday. If you have green packets from last week, please turn them in to the office.
From The Assistant Principal:
Habit 5 Seek First to Understand:
Do you see me?
Do you care that I'm here?
Am I enough for you, or do you need me to be better in some way?
Can I tell that I'm special to you by the way you look at me?
These questions underline how critical our relationships are for cultivating a deep sense of connection. As an educator, I also immediately see how foundational these questions are to creating a sense of safety and connection in the classroom. The degree to which our students feel truly seen influences their well-being and academic engagement.
To help our students answer these four questions, we must be fully present and available for them. As teachers, the greatest gift we can offer our students is our presence and our ability to see and accept them as they are. But how can we best provide our students with the gifts of our presence and vision? One of the most powerful ways teachers can cultivate important "habits of mind," such as awareness, attention, flexibility, and intentionality, is to develop a personal mindfulness practice (Roeser et al., 2012).Try to see yourself in your students, your colleagues, or the parents of your students. Put yourself in their shoes. This practice can help you gain perspective and increases compassion, altruism, and social behavior—essential qualities for a thriving school community. For example, if a student acts up, try to first remember what it was like for you when you were an adolescent.
Positive Office Referrals:
In effort to promote positivity among our students, there are positive office referral forms in the basket by Tanya’s office. Please fill it out and we will call the student’s parents.
From the CIT:
Spelling Bee tryouts on are Tuesday, November 6th during Lead Time. On Tuesday morning, Molly will provide the 3-5 teachers with the 20 words that will be tested.
Assessments this week:
Kinder
11/5-11/7 KScience.3.Properties of Matter
1st Grade
11/1- 11/5 1Math.2. Modules 1-3
2nd Grade
11/1-11/5 2Math.2.Modules 1-3
3rd Grade
11/1-11/5 3Math.3.Modules 1-3
11/5-11/9 3 ELA.1.CBA
4th Grade
None
5th Grade
None
Upcoming Assessments:
5th Grade
11/12-11/14 5Science.3Force/Energy CBA
From the Librarian:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18dRnrcUvsZjwSiXTF90xSAk3M7HsZUb5d6Ykv-wGWW0/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the Library Schedule for this week.
Thank you all so much for your support during the Character Pumpkin Patch. We had 54 entries and all of them had a lot of heart put into their creation. Each student had the opportunity to choose a book to keep. I had over 70 for them to choose from. They were thrilled!
Campus and District Announcements and Updates:
- Please remember to check ride changes every day in the google folder. We add changes until 2:45 when the bell rings.
Save the Date:
- LHT Meeting, 3:30
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Tuesday, November 6:
- Grade Level PLCs
- Star Leader Awards Due in Google Form
- Tanya off campus am only for AP Meeting
Wednesday, November 7:
- Meredith on campus for planning and coaching support
- Student Achievement Google Doc Updated with 2nd Grading Period WIG achievement and October Text Levels
- Fire Drill
Thursday, November 8:
- Star Leader Awards (K-2 8:00 - 1st will go first due to MegaLabs, 3-5 8:30 - 5th will go first due to field trip)
- College Colors Day for students and staff (staff may wear jeans with college colors)
- 5th Grade Field Trip
- 1st Grade MegaLabs with Rebecca Maddox
- Professional Learning/Staff Meeting, 3:30
- Kindergarten MegaLabs
Friday, November 9:
- Veteran's Day Program 8:00 am (We will run a Sharpen the Saw Day Specials Schedule Today) - Staff wear red, white, and blue
- 3rd Grading Period WIGs need to be set
Happy Birthday to You:
Melissa Simpson 11/6
Please Share This Information With Parents:
Check Out the Latest Edition of the Campus Newsletter:
Reindeer Romp:
It’s time for the 11th annual Reindeer Romp! Join the fun as we get a great workout while raising money for your school. PRICE INCREASE ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5 AT MIDNIGHT!