WHS 9th Grade Center News 2021-22
Week of March 28th - April 1st
Mustang 9 News
Can you believe that we are in the last 9 weeks of school?! This school year has flown by. As the end of the year approaches, we all know our scholars take 3 exams as 9th graders. English I and English II is up first. The English I team has been working very hard to prepare our scholars for success on April 5th. They have provided acceleration, intervention, and now review to ensure our students are ready. Our goal is to have students pass their exams the first time so that when they transition over to the mail campus they only have 2 exams to focus on. With that being said, it is important that we are doing the following:
- Use your data to drive instruction. Don't only focus on exams for data, but use the Do Nows, Exit Tickets, and student work to inform your instruction.
- Utilize Lead4ward resources when planning.
- Differentiate instruction. As we know, our students learn differently and would benefit tremendously from differentiated instruction.
- Create small groups for instructional purposes. Small groups and differentiation go hand-in-hand.
- Focus on mastery and not coverage of content. Yes, there is a Scope and Sequence that we must follow, but what is most important is that our students are mastering the content that we are teaching.
- Monitor student work. Don't just give scholars independent practice and then go sit at your desk. Walk around the classroom (take laps). Look at what students are doing. Monitor for specific things. Provide instant feedback. This is aggressive monitoring. Take a look at the video included in this newsletter.
You will see administrators and district personnel walking your classrooms to see all the great things that are happening in your classes. When anyone enters the room please make sure that you just keep on giving excellent instruction and we will do our best not to be a major distraction.
It is important that we continue with the implementation of our SpringWay Systems and Routines and everything we have learned during EPLT sessions. Instruction is our priority and we are charged with giving our scholars our best everyday.
EOC Testing
- English I - April 5th
- English II - April 7th
- Scholars must bring their Chromebooks for testing
Congratulations
Talk about dedication
Home Access Center
Enforcing School Expectations
- Students shouldn't be allowed out of class the first 15 minutes or last 15 minutes of class (use your professional judgment)
- Check student transition passes. Some students may be taking advantage of the situation and using the pass when they shouldn't. Please check their passes. they have been issued and are color coded by period.
- If students are allowed out of class they must have an official pass.
- See something, say something. If you overhear students talking about something that could cause a disruption of the learning process please let an administrator know immediately. You all are our first line of defense when it comes to intervening before issues arise.
- When students are tardy to class please mark them tardy. If they are tardy to your class often please have a conversation with them about your expectations around attendance and contact their parents.
- Celebrate our students that are doing the right thing by making positive phone calls home or just giving kudos to them in class. A little bit goes a long way.
SpringWay Systems and Routines
- Threshold - Greeting students and welcoming them into your classroom, providing positive feedback to scholars that are on task, and directing scholars that are in the hallway.
- Strong Start - Establishing a routine for scholars once they enter the classroom to ensure that instructional time is maximized.
- Do Now - 5-7 minute activity reviewing previously taught information. Scholars should be able to complete this on their own. Within the 5-7 minutes the teacher should review the Do Now with students.
- Cold Call - Teachers cold call on students to ensure 100% engagement in lessons. Students are called on randomly. This isn't used as a tool to "catch" students who aren't paying attention, but as a tool to ensure all students are engaged in the learning.
- Exit Tickets - A quick measure of the learning objective at the end of class. This is a piece of data that the teacher collects to determine if scholars are mastering the content or if re-teaching needs to happen.
- Board Configurations - A teaching tool that can be used by students to know what they should expect to learn during class and helpful to help keep the teacher on track during his/her lesson delivery. Teachers should practice "closing to open" to ensure their board configurations are up to date. "Closing to open" is when the teacher updates his/her board configuration at the end of each day in preparation for the next day.
Problem of Practice
As principals walked classrooms last week that had a rubric that we created and they were observing to look for glows and grows. We received TONS of great feedback. Students are engaged, students have Chromebooks, teachers know their content, evidence of planning, and teachers have great relationships with students.
Our grow is simple - we have a lot of missed opportunities during instruction. These missed opportunities happen specifically when it comes to checking for understanding. Teachers are Cold Calling students, but it tends to be the same students. Also, students are given the opportunities to turn and talk with their shoulder partners or other classmates. As we move forward with this school year we will focus on what has been identified as our grows. Overall, the feedback was good and it aligned with what we already know.
Fourth 9 Weeks Instructional Focus: T-TESS Instruction Dimension 2.4
The Proficient teacher will be able to:
- Adapts lessons to address individual needs of all students.
- Regularly monitors the quality of student participation and performance.
- Provides differentiated instructional methods and content to ensure students have the opportunity to master what is being taught.
- Recognizes when students become confused or disengaged and responds to student learning or social/emotional needs.
Important Dates
- EPLT - Testing preparation
- Campus TEA Visit - March 29th
- Job Fair at Wunsche - March 31st
- National Assistant Principal Week - April 4th - 8th
- English I EOC Exam - April 5th
- English II EOC Exam - April 7th
- CyberSecurity Training - April 15, 2022
- Lesson plan submissions - Remember lesson plans are to be submitted each week on Thursday to the lesson plan folder via Google Drive.
Strive
Aggressive Monitoring
Learning Passport
Teacher Checklist
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sEFMyJMUErWvNBTMx2HAGObNtBu0jC3aqTkr9nbQbxo/edit#gid=0
We are here to help!
Mrs. Parker
9th Grade Center Principal
Mrs. Robinson
Mrs. Parker's Administrative Assistant
Mr. Hobbs
(A-K)
Darla Fuente
Mr. Hobbs' & Ms. Rose Administrative Assistant
Kimberly Rose
Counselor (A-K)
Ms. Malveaux
(L-K)
Ricci Scurlock
Ms. Malveaux's & Mrs. Francis Administrative Assistant
Brandy Francis
Counselor (L-Z)