Week of December 7
Hi Everyone,
The Viaje Musicale was such a great performance. The students and staff involved were filled with a tremendous pride and school spirit. As I watched both evening events my heart warmed with all the families, staff, and community who came to attend. Dr. Balderas told me he was very impressed with the kids on Thursday night. Mr. Adee does such a masterful job with his students. His time and effort brings so much to our school. We are very fortunate to have him work with our students. Thank you Mr. Adee for bringing us together in such a beautiful performance.
What is coming up? The Calendar
December 7 (M)
8:35, Joel in classroom observation.
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principal’s Meeting (Ed Center)
December 8 (Tu)
9:00-10:30, 4J Immersion Taskforce Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-4:45, PLT Meeting – Focus on Dual Language Instruction
6:00-8:00, Spaghetti and Safety – A Parent Group Meeting- A Parent Traffic Safety and Information Night- A community event focused on safety.
December 9 (W)
8:30-1:00, Migrant Education Monitoring Visit
1:45-2:45, PLC Wednesday Collaboration Time
December 10 (Th)
Kinder and 1st Grade Peer Observations through out the day. Teachers entering classrooms of other teachers: Main focus looking for sheltering strategies in the classroom.
1:30-2:30, Joel out of the building.
Equity Team Meeting- All attend who have interest. CFEE and Taking It Up Trained staff are also highly encouraged to attend. (Library)
December 11 (F)
11:00-12:00, Joel at Truancy Pilot Attendance Meeting
Fire Drill (Weather Permitting) Time not announced.
6:00-8:00, Noche de Peliculas (Cafeteria)
December 14 (M)
Regular Day
December 15 (Tu)
8:00-11:00, Superintendent Balderas visiting our school and observing classrooms.
December 16 (W)
1:45-2:45, PLC Planning Time with Grade Level Teams
8:45-11:00, Salmon Release Field Trip, 4th and 1st grade buddies activity.
December 17 (Th)
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting (Room 7)
December 18 (F)
8:00-9:00, Joel at Principal PLC breakfast in Springfield
January 4 (M)
District Furlough Day- No work/no pay day (all employees)
January 5 (T)
(5.5 hours)AIMS4S3 Training for All Staff (Library)
Prep time for teachers in the PM.
January 6 (W)
1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting (Room 9, All classified including Yasmin)
January 7 (Th)
Equity Team Meeting- All attend who have interest. CFEE and Taking It Up Trained staff are also highly encouraged to attend. (Library)
January 8 (F)
Peer Observation for Grades 2 and 3. Grade 2 in the AM, Grade 3 in PM.
January 11 (M)
2:30-5:00, Joel at Principal’s Meeting, (Ed Center)
January 12 (Tu)
9:00-10:30, Joel @ Immersion Principal Task Force Meeting (Mozart Room)
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting (Conference Room)
January 13 (W)
1:45-2:45, Teacher PLC Time in the Library.
January 14 (Th)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting
January 15 (F)
2:45-3:45, TLT Meeting
What is happening?
• Family Resource Center Shoes for Camino Kids Project– We have all the shoes (50 pairs) in. Alicia will be fitting the the children on Tuesday. She needs to fit them on the children because it’s been a while since they were ordered and kids grow! If the shoes do not fit Alicia will have to submit a reorder form to Shoes That Fit by the 18th. The office will be calling students from classrooms on Tuesday through out the day. Please expect them to leave for 5 to ten minutes. Alicia has provided us with a list. Please let me know if you have any questions.
• MCCBD 2016 Classroom Reading Challenge!– Teachers! Multicultural Kids wants to help you build your classroom library with diverse, inclusive and multicultural books! Here’s how to get a free book through Multicultural Children’s Book Day on January 27th. You can also win a Skype author visit with a children’s book author! They will draw a winner from the teachers who signed up. This year the Skype author visit is with (to be announced).
• When Grit isn’t Enough – Here is an article which hit deep for me. Much work in our district and across the nation has focused on changing student thinking from a fixed to a growth mindset. I myself have read Carol Dweck’s work and studied Angela Duckworth. Somehow, parts of it did not sit well with me. This article adequately describes some of the shortfalls of growth mindset thinking. It is worth the read. Tyrone Howard, the associate dean of UCLA delivered this powerful presentation.
• District Title 1 Newsletter – Here is the latest district level Title 1 Newsletter that went out to Title 1 Coordinators and principals. As usual, this month’s newsletter is mostly coordinator specific information and tasks, but there is a nice video titled Dear Teacher: Heartfelt Advice for Teachers from Students. The video features kids with a formal diagnosis, such as autism, Asperger’s, ADHD, learning disabilities, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder — along those who just need to move while learning – and how they find it challenging to shine in a traditional classroom. They wanted to share with educators how their brain works and offer simple ways teachers can help.
• Christmas at School – Please have a balanced approach to putting up Christmas items around the building. I was reminded how this would feel to students, families and staff who do not celebrate the holiday. While staff do have a certain level of academic freedom in what they teach, we do want to balance that with being inclusive. Adding multiple decorations for Hannukah, Kwaanza, and Eid al-Fitr, and Winter Solstice make a big difference for students of different backgrounds. Please be mindful in your class activities and displays as we enter the holiday season.
• Math and Science Lesson Videos from Seven Countries – In this article, educators Douglas Lyons and Andrew Niblock recommend the videos on the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) website. These classroom videos from seven countries show how the same subject matter is taught in dramatically different ways in other countries – and get teachers thinking about unconsciously held cultural assumptions about teaching and learning. The videos show seventh- and eight-grade math and science lessons in Australia, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. To access the videos, go to the TIMSS website (free registration), click on the subject, then the country, and then choose one of the lessons.
That is all for the week.
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