http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=7143
Greetings Amazing Howard Staff,
Fourteen items of note for this week:
• Number Talks Follow-Up – Thank you, teachers, for continuing to learn and implement Number Talks with your students. I know it’s a lot of work on top of already learning LearnZillion (along with the new science, reading, and writing curriculums the past three years), but you all are amazing and Gretta has commented on how strong a staff we have here at Howard! A few items of note from last week’s Number Talks training:
• Number Talks Cliff Notes: The green 4J Number Talks 101 Notebook is a nice Readers Digest version of the big fat Number Talks book, but here are some pages from the big book to take note of:
⁃ K-2 Number Talks Overarching Goals – Page 25
⁃ K-2 Possible Focus – Page 67
⁃ K-2 Rekenreks Uses – Page 82
⁃ 3-5 Number Talks Overarching Goals – Page 230
⁃ 3-5 Highlights importance of developing strong foundations before moving into Number Talks that focus on computation with larger numbers – Page 230 & Page 182
⁃ Question/Answer Area – Page 368
⁃ General Prep for Number Talks – Page 16• How to Access Online Video Clips: If you would like to access all the clips at once, follow these instructions:
1. Go to http://mathsolutions.com/myvideos and click the Create New Account button at the bottom of the Log In form.
2. Create an account, even if you have created one with Math Solutions bookstore. You will receive a confirmation email when your account has been created.
3. Once your account has been created, you will be taken to the Product Registration page. Click Register on the product you would like to access (in this case, Number Talks: Whole Number Computation).
4. Enter key code NTWNC and click or tap the Submit Key Code button.
5. Click or tap the Complete Registration button.
6. To access videos at any time, visit your account page.Page XXVII shows the video clips by chapter. Page 337 of the book has comments from the author on each of the videos, which are more for teacher prep than student viewing. At 3-5 Number Talks per week, the progress students make will start to shine through over time. Maybe not during Number talks right away, but students also make connections in whole group math time. And remember that Gretta is available to come out to meet with folks to provide any support or assistance you might need.
• Safety Week, Oct. 30 – Nov. 2 – Not this week, but the following week will be our annual Safety Week, which is a good way to bring awareness to staff, students, and families about the various safety procedures right at the start of the year. Usually I like to do this in September, but I also like to hold Safety Week when two months overlap within the same week, so we can take care of the monthly fire drill requirement all in the same week. The schedule for Safety Week will be:
• Monday, Oct. 30 – Fire Drill, 1:30
• Tuesday, Oct. 31 – Room Clear, time decided by teachers
• Wednesday, Nov. 1 – Classroom lesson on ALICE.
• Thursday, Nov. 2 – ALICE Lockdown Evacuation Drill, 9:00
• Friday, Nov. 3 – Earthquake/Fire Drill, 8:30All of these drills are listed in the “Emergency Procedures Manual” the rainbow tabbed spiral notebook that should be hanging in every classroom. The manual has not been updated to explicitly mention ALICE, but ALICE tenants are present in the Lockdown and Evacuation procedures. I won’t be making any announcement before the drills, so it’s okay for staff to prep your students before they take place.
MONDAY – Fire/Earthquake Drill: For the Earthquake Drill, teach students to “Drop, Cover, Hold” meaning drop to the ground (so you don’t fall over), cover yourself by going under a desk (to protect yourself from falling objects, and hold onto the desk legs (so you stay under cover and don’t get bounced out). There are many resource on The Great Oregon Shake Out website, where you teach students about Drop, Cover, Hold and earthquake preparedness. See the linked Evacuation Map & Lines for where classes should line up for the Fire Drill following the Earthquake Drill.
TUESDAY – Room Clear: Room Clear Drills will happen at a time determined by classroom teachers and in cooperation with another classroom where students would go in the event of real room clear. Students should know the designated classroom they would room clear to in the event of an actual emergency since in many cases the teacher would need to remain in the classroom while the rest of the students leave on their own.
WEDNESDAY – Classroom lesson on ALICE: Linked here is the Student ALICE PowerPoint presentation (and a PDF version with notes) that classroom teachers will use to teach the safety drills this day. After going through the PowerPoint, teacher will read the book I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared (let me know if you do not have a copy of the book) with the Sticky Note guiding questions that go with the book.
THURSDAY – ALICE Lockdown Evacuation Drill: For this drill I will press the office lockdown button (dropping curtains, locking exterior doors, and closing [not locking] hallway doors to each wing) and will announce the following:
Attention students, staff and visitors: This is a LOCKDOWN: EVACUATE DRILL, this is a LOCKDOWN: EVACUATE DRILL. Repeat, this is a NOT A REAL EMERGENCY. THIS IS A DRILL. We are pretending there is a dangerous person (or intruder) in the building on the other side of the building from your classroom. We are pretending there is a dangerous person (or intruder) in the building on the other side of the building from your classroom. WE ARE IN A LOCKDOWN: EVACUATE DRILL.
Teachers will then direct students to evacuate the building to the nearest location along the perimeter of the school grounds. In a real emergency classes would run, but for the drill classes should walk. Classes will stop at the edge of the property and wait for my all-clear announcement. In a real emergency, students and staff would evacuate well past the edge of the property, and keep going until you can’t see the school.
FRIDAY – Fire Drill: Same as last month, which went quite smoothly, and same as the evacuation portion of Monday’s drill.
Please let me know if you do not have a manual or if you have any questions.
• Staff ALICE Refresher Thursday – I’ll hold an optional refresher training for staff on Thursday, October 26th at 2:30 in the Conference Room for anyone who wants to review how to teach the ALICE Student Lesson and to also answer any questions staff may have regarding the drill or safety procedures.
• Visitor Sign-In and Identification – A general safety reminder, if you ever see a parent, volunteer, or even a district employee without a 4J badge or visitor sticker, please send them back to the office to sign-in at the Visitor Sign-In Computer Station. The exception to this rule is during arrival in the mornings when many parents walk students to the class, the preschool arrival starting around 9:00, and during school special events when it becomes logistically unworkable for so many visitors to sign in at one time.
• Hour of Code, Dec. 4-10 – As a Technology Immersion school, coding activities are a great activity for students to do all year long, but particularly during the first week of December during Computer Science Education Week. The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science during Computer Science Education Week, intended to demystify “code”, to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science.How do you participate in the Hour of Code? Start planning here by reviewing their how-to guide.
• Job Postings – With Amber sadly leaving us and Mellissa going on a half-time parental leave, we currently have a posting for a 2nd grade job-share with Mellissa (mornings and all-day Wednesdays) and a 4th grade job-share with Carla (afternoons M-F). Both Amber and Mellissa will continue teaching until we have people hired, but spread the word about these positions and feel free to recruit anyone good who’d make good additions to Team Howard!
• Field Trip and Other “Fees” – 4J has clarified/modified a policy that students may not be excluded from field trips or other educational activities for failure to pay any sort of fees, which falls under access to Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The main part of this rule I want to highlight is that we cannot use the term “fee” when asking for money to pay for field trips or other activities. We can still ask for money, but we need to instead ask for a donation, a subsidy, or (my favorite) a contribution. Let me know if you have any questions on this.
• Read&Write Assistance – I wanted to remind teachers Kelly Moriarty (wilson_ke@4j.lane.edu) is available to come out and work with teachers who want to start using Read&Write for Goolge Chrome, whether on iPads or laptops. She’s already come out to work with a few teachers, but she can come when you are trying it with students or can meet with you outside of student hours.
• REPEAT: Howard Staff Social: Movie Night! – It’s not too late to buy your tickets for A Nightmare on Elm Street this Sunday at 2:00 if you’re reading this in time, but if you’re reading this later you can still get your tickets for the Saturday Night, 9:30 showing of the grisly horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! And if grindhouse cinema is not your thing, join us for $1 margaritas at Applebee’s before the movie!
• REPEAT: Music & Dance Assembly with Los Arribeños – Jill has again arranged for a group of musicians and dancers from Mexico to perform for us this Friday, with a K-2 assembly 8:10-8:35 and a 3-5 assembly 8:45-9;10. See the linked Assembly Map and Directions for details.
• REPEAT: PRIDE Awards, Perseverance, Wednesday – The first PRIDE Awards is this Wednesday at lunch. Teachers should choose 2-4 students who have demonstrated Perseverance and a “Never Quit” attitude and behavior. Be sure to get certificate to me before Wednesday so I can sign them and get them organized. Also be sure to send invitations home to families so they can attend.
• REPEAT: Halloween Costume Parade – The annual Howard Costume Parade will be at 8:10 on Tuesday, October 31st. Linked here is the Costume Parade Route & Directions. Upstairs Buddy Classrooms will join their downstairs Buddy Classrooms at 8:05. At 8:10 Suzy’s class will lead the “Parade Train” from Blue-Wing to Green-Wing to Yellow-Wing. After classes complete their parade loop, they will re-enter their classroom or stand along the edges of the commons area to watch the parade. Families may watch from the courtyards or commons areas (or join the parade). Classroom parties may be held at the teacher’s discretion. Students who do not celebrate Halloween are invited to participate in a fun acting in the Learning Center. Bryan will also offer a fun alternate activity 1:30-2:00 in the afternoon for any classes holding class parties at the end of the day.
• When Students Are Traumatized, Teachers Are Too – Trauma in students’ lives takes an emotional and physical toll on teachers as well. See this Edutopia article where experts weigh in on the best ways to cope, which include talking it out with colleagues, building coping strategies (whether it’s deep breaths or drinking coffee), and establish some coming home rituals.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
October 22 (SU)
2:00, Howard Staff Social – A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984 (Cinemark 17)October 23 (M)
2:30-3:30, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room)October 24 (T)
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30-3:30 IPBS Meeting (Mellissa’s Room, Room 23)October 25 (W)
11:00-1:00, PRIDE Awards at Lunch (Cafeteria)
2:30-3:30, Student Care Team Meeting (Conference Room)October 26 (H)
2:30-3:30, Optional ALICE Staff Refresher Training (Conference Room)October 27 (F)
OSEA Site Visit
8:10-8:35, K-2 Music and Dance Assembly (Gym)
8:45-9:10, 3-5 Music and Dance Assembly (Gym)
11:00-1:00, Birthday Lunches with the Principal (Community Room)October 28 (SA)
9:30, Howard Staff Social – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974 (Cinemark 17) – With $1 margs before!October 30 (M)
Safety Week
1:30, Earthquake/Fire DrillOctober 31 (T)
Safety Week: Room Clear Drills
8:10, Halloween Costume Parade
2:15, Staff Costume Photo! (Story Cove)November 1 (W)
Safety Week: ALICE Drill Student Lesson
PBIS Monthly Theme – Appreciations
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
Ewok Appreciation Day
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Meeting (Facilities)
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)November 2 (H)
9:00-9:15, ALICE Evacuation Drill
9:15-4:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Stephanie Cannon subbing)November 3 (F)
8:30, Fire Drill
See you at Elm Street!
Allan
Fidget spinners are a fad that’s thankfully fading, but check out this fidget spinner in space! From The Kids Should See This.