November 26, 2018
A Communication Tool for the Seven Hills Staff
PTA Breakfast With Santa:
Seven Hills Elementary School is hosting our annual Breakfast with Santa event on Saturday, December 1 from 9-10:30 a.m. at our campus. Thanks to Shears of Steele Salon, NISD cosmetology students will be offering FREE haircuts and/or a braiding bar at the event. The Shears of Steele Salon is located at NISD’s James M. Steele Accelerated High School and provides high school students with an opportunity for first-hand experiences to become licensed cosmetologists after a four-year plan of student. The Salon is open for business every Tuesday from 1:15 to 6:30 p.m. We are excited to host NISD’s cosmetology students at our school for this business partnership. If your child would like a free haircut or style, please stop by our Breakfast with Santa on December 1.
Please help communicate this to your parents. It has been posted on the campus FB Page and will be sent in a parent S'more on Monday.
Trust is the Foundation of Empowerment:
"Trust between you and your students and between your students and their peers sets the stage for empowerment. Trust is created by a deliberate focus on our credibility and the 13 Behaviors of High Trust, both of which have been proven to be predictive of trust in an organization. Trust affects our ability to do everything else in the classroom."
Each of us can better ourselves and our practices with each of the 13 trust behaviors. This is the final week to review the 13 trust behaviors. So far we have reviewed:
- Talk Straight
- Demonstrate Respect
- Right Wrongs
- Create Transparency
- Show Loyalty
- Deliver Results
- Get Better - this is probably my favorite trust behavior!
Trust Behavior 8: Confront Reality: Take issues head on, even the "undiscussibles." Address the tough stuff directly. Confront any issues before they turn into major problems. Confront the reality, not the person. Be courageous. Don't bury your head in the sand or leave it for someone else to address.
You can make this visible to students and peers by:
- Speaking up when there is an issue that needs to be addressed.
- Practicing other trust behaviors such as Talk Straight and Show Loyalty when confronting issues.
Confront Reality Talking Stems:
- "Let's get real."
- "What are you not saying that needs to be said?"
- "I don'r think we are talking about what needs to be talked about, which is..."
- "What are the facts in the situation?
- "When you do this, the impact on me is..."
- "When you do this, the impact on the class/team/school is..."
Trust Behavior 9: Clarify Expectations: Disclose and reveal expectations. Discuss them. Validate them. Don't assume that expectations are clear or shared.
You can make this behavior visible to peers and students by:
- Cocreating objectives, goals, and expectations.
- Checking for understanding.
Clarify Expectations Talking Stems:
- "What exactly will we accomplish? By when?"
- "What are our criteria for success?"
- "What do we care most about?"
- "What resources will we need to accomplish this?"
- "How and when will we follow up?"
- "What do you see as our next steps?"
- "What have you understood from this conversation?"
Trust Behavior 10: Practice Accountability: Hold yourself accountable first; hold others accountable second. Take responsibility for results. Don't avoid or shirk responsibility. Don't blame others or point fingers when things go wrong.
You can make this behavior visible to peers and students by:
- Asking them ahead of time to hold you accountable to what you've said you would do.
- Posting your progress toward a goal publicly, as in the 4Dx process! Are your goals, trackers, and scoreboards posted for students to see?
Practice Accountability Talking Stems:
- "Here's what I've done..."
- "I am responsible for..."
- "How will we hold ourselves accountable for this?"
- "What are the consequences for not delivering?"
- "How and when will we track progress?"
- "Fault me, not the team."
Trust Behavior 11: Listen First: Listen before you speak. Understand. Diagnose. Listen with your ears, your eyes, and your heart. Find out what the most important behaviors are to the people you are working with. Don't assume you know what matters most to others. Don't presume you have all the answers...or all the questions...
You can make this behavior visible to peers and students by:
- Listening before talking. This prevents acting on assumptions that could be incorrect.
- Practicing empathic listening. This is especially important when emotions are high.
Listen First Talking Stems:
- "What I heard you say was..."
- "Let me make sure I understand what you are trying to say..."
- "Is there anything you'd add to what you have said?"
- "You feel ________ about ______."
Trust Behavior 12: Keep Commitments: Say what you are going to do, then do what you say you are going to do. Make commitments carefully, including implicit commitments, and keep them at all costs. Make keeping commitments a symbol of your honor. Don't break confidences.
You can make this behavior visible to peers and students by:
- Keeping your commitments at all costs.
- Practicing other trust behaviors such as Create Transparency, Deliver Results, Clarify expectations, and Practice Accountability.
Keep Commitments Talking Stems:
- "I commit to..."
- "You can count on me to..."
- "I am willing to make this new commitment. Let's figure out where it fits with the other things I am already committed to."
Trust Behavior 13: Extend Trust: Demonstrate a propensity to trust. Extend trust abundantly to those who have earned your trust. Extend trust conditionally to those who are earning your trust. Don't withhold trust because there is risk involved. While the other behaviors help you become a more trusted teacher, extending trust trust helps you become a more trusting leader of your classroom.
You can make this behavior visible to peers and students by:
- Trusting others - even those who seem untrustworthy of you. When you extend trust to people, you empower them. You give them an opportunity to practice proactivity, responsibility, putting first things first, and working well with others. It's not without risk, and it is worth it!
- Building a positive culture where each person;s worth and potential is highly valued and visible. Consider your class/team/school rules and routines; do they communicate an assumption of distrust or do they empower others to practice responsibility?
Extend Trust Talking Stems:
- "I believe in you."
- "I know you can do this."
- "Your track record gives me confidence."
- "You have my support."
- "You can talk to me about this at any time."
My challenge to you this week is this...choose at least one of these behaviors to practice...be intentional when practicing. Trust behaviors 9 - 12 directly impact/influence our PLC Learning Cycle and your Team WIGS...How will you practice these behaviors this week in planning, PLCs, working individually on your Team WIG? Trust behavior 13 has significant implications for your classroom culture. Does your culture communicate distrust or empowerment? On Friday, reflect on your efforts. What do you notice about yourself and the level of trust with students, peers, and in your class after focusing on these trust behaviors?
Maintaining a High Functioning Whirlwind & Focusing on the Wildly Important:
Phonics and Vocabulary Instruction: What have your teams committed to do based on your new learning from the last 2 weeks? This week in ILT, the staff meeting, and in PLCs, your teams will continue to discuss components of phonics, vocabulary instruction, and how to integrate it all across disciplines. This will be the focus of instructional rounds on Friday.
#7HillsLEADS...A Challenge:
Last Week's #7HillsLEADS Twitter Challenge Winner is....
Amy Davis
The challenge continues this week...Are you sharing your story?
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 4...Think Win-Win to Balance Courage and Consideration
Habit Huddle Connection:
3rd Grading Period Habit Huddle Partner Assignments:
Staff 7x7 Week 4:
Are you being intentional in your efforts on the 7x7? Are you holding your partner accountable to the work each week? Are you noticing a change in behaviors? Are you forming highly effective habits? If so, WOOT WOOT! If not, this is the start of week 4...you're in charge of you...start with day one tasks...plan you your week!
Looking at Day 2 of Week 4, Covey continue to remind us that quadrant 2 is the quadrant of effectiveness. Your challenge on day 2 is to monitor how you are spending your time. Are you using your time well? Are you putting first things first? What do you need to change?
Habit 4 Connection:
Win-Win is a frame of mind and heart that seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. It's based on the paradigm that there is plenty for everybody - that one person's success is not achieved at the expense of others.
When you think win-win, you:
- Have an abundance mentality
- Balance courage and consideration
- Consider other people's wins as well as your own
- Create win-win agreements
For a great connection and more detail on balancing courage and consideration, check out this blog post:
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-7-habits-think-win-win/
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 for this week are in mailboxes.
Campus and District Announcements and Updates:
Reminder to let Lighthouse Team know what service project your grade level has chosen. https://goo.gl/forms/Q9hfGZfBhwg4VKfM2
- 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:
NOTE: This is a week where the PLC and Staff Meeting have been flipped due to Kim and Tanya being at NISL.
- ILT Meeting, 3:30
- 7 Habits Families, 5:30 - 7:30
Tuesday, November 27:
- Kindergarten MegaLabs with Rebecca
- Staff Meeting, 3:30 Dr. Warren Attends
Wednesday, November 28:
- Meredith will NOT be on campus for planning and coaching support this week
- Kim and Tanya off campus at NISL
Thursday, November 29:
- Kim and Tanya off campus at NISL
- Grade Level PLCs
Friday, November 30:
- Sharpen the Saw Clubs Round 2
- Instructional Rounds with ILT, 8:45 - 11:00, looking at skills block, phonics, and vocabulary instruction
- End of November text levels need to be determined. Must be updated in Google Doc by Monday, December 3.
7 Hills Hosting Campus Visitors:
- Wednesday, December 5 is a mini Symposium visit with TLIM from 8:30 - 10:30
- Friday, December 7 Seven Hills hosts Elementary Learning Teams in the afternoon we will be asking teachers to change when they teach literacy on this day for classroom visits.
Happy Birthday to You:
Please Share This Information With Parents:
Free Haircuts and Breakfast With Santa:
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.