Grant Gazette
October 28, 2016
Warm Hugs Project
At the end of the day on Monday, Oct. 31, some 4th grade girls will deliver an empty box to your classroom.
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, we will kick off the event at Morning Meeting. A flyer is being created by the students and we will get it translated into Spanish and make copies.
Each Tuesday and Friday, the girls will pick up your boxes and bring them to the office, empty them, and return the box to you.
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, we will bring all of the donated items to the Morning Meeting, explain where they are going and announce how many items we collected.
I will deliver the donations to the Salvation Army and Bright Horizons on the afternoon of November 22.
Veteran's Day Posters!
November 14 is WSC Day
Red Ribbon Run
Great stats
Thanks for being a part of Grant!
APL Tip of the Week
APL tells us to give the task to everyone, then allow 3-5 seconds for students to retrieve it. Do you know how long 3-5 seconds is? It's WAY LONGER than we think it is!
Next time you ask students a question, see if you can count "3 Mississippis" before you call on a student. Those silent pauses seem long to the teacher, but they're valuable to students who need more time to process the question before forming an answer!
An even better idea is to videotape yourself teaching! Using a video, you can actually clock how much wait time you give your students.
Yes, the first time you watch the video, you'll cringe. "Does my hair really look like that?" or "I'm never wearing that outfit again" or "Did Billy just roll his eyes when I gave those directions?!?!"
But after you get over that "I hate watching myself on video" moment, you will pick up some really good ideas!
Kindergarten Lunch
Mr. Berryman, what if you ate grapes out of a hot dog bun? Would you put ketchup on the grapes?
Mr. Berryman, why do they call it a tater tot?
Mr. Berryman, do you know what corn comes from? Corn! (Impossible to argue with that!)
Daum: Mr. Berryman, guess where I went yesterday!
Me: Mmmm....Mexico?
Daum: No, Mr. Berryman, I went out of town!
Me: Well, Daum, technically, Mexico IS out of town, you know.
I either totally stunned him or he lost interest in the conversation because he was silent for at least 10 seconds or so--before moving on to his Walker, Texas Ranger Halloween costume.
Monday's PD
I especially liked the discussion on Dweck's idea of a "fixed mindset" (I'll never be good at math) or a "growth mindset" (The harder I work at something, the better I can be at it!)
(page 17-18).
Along these same lines is the Power of Yet, which reminds us about the difference between "I can't do this!" and "I can't do this....yet!"
I included a couple more examples in the pictures below. Click on one of them to see a larger version. You can also see a great example of The Power of Yet outside of Lori Coffin's classroom!
If you Google, "The Power of Yet", you will find a 12-minute video from Carol Dweck herself. I watched the first couple of minutes and decided that Carol Dweck is a WAY better writer and thinker than she is a presenter. If you are able to make it through that video completely, please let me know and I'll pick your brain for a synopsis.
Instead, the SECOND video I found on my Google search was the Sesame Street video I included below. Much more snappy and peppy and would be good for your students to see, too!
Video of the Week
Tragically, less than two months after she gave this talk, Dr. Pierson died at her home in Houston, Texas. She was just 61 years old.
Here's What's Happening:
Friday, Oct. 28--Troy at Montesori from 10-12
3:15--Fundraiser Delivery
4:10 Club at Big Red--I might bring my daughter, so keep the off-color stories to a minimum, Cronin!
3:00--Boxes delivered to your classrooms for Warm Hugs clothing
Tuesday, Nov. 1--Troy at Board Retreat in the morning
3:30--Staff meeting to discuss Title I application *subject to change!
6:00--Prime Time
7:30--PTO meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 2--Troy at APL training in Wakefield
Grade Level PLC day
Thursday, Nov. 3--Troy at APL training in Wakefield
Friday, Nov. 4--Troy at Montessori from 10-12pm