Week of October 17
Hello Shining Stars,
This week is very exciting week in the construction zone. Some of you may have noticed that the new building contractor has started to erect steel. Our new space is really starting to take shape. With the weather changing they slowed down a bit on Thursday but they should be back at it next week adding more steel and framing out the classroom wing. This week we also have a special safety drill. We are participating in the great American Shake out on October 20 at 10:20 with everyone else on the west coast participating. Tell me if you feel it!
Important Announcements of the Week:
•Special Data Conversation on Thursday October 20. On Thursday we will be having an hour long conversation about data and using Common Formative Assessments. The first half hour will be focused on school data at th 20,000 foot level. We will examine SBAC Data, the school report card, enrollment data of the North Region and our school, and also discuss how our DLI program that support students achievement in math and literacy. The second half hour, we will focus on formulating a reasonable plan for using common formative assessments (CFAs) to regularly measure progress in our school in our professional learning communities. We will use the same schedule as our last IIPM Data Meeting. Here is a Google Drive Link to the Data Folder we will be looking at closely if you are interested in previewing the data.
Below is the schedule:
Subs Assigned to Classrooms
Start Time | End Time | Sub #1 | Sub #2 | Sub #3 | Grade |
8:15 am | 9:10 am | Randall (Room 6) | Jones (Room 5) | Flores (Room 13) | 2nd |
9:15am | 10:10am | Bucklew (Room 3) | Hellman (Room 2) | Brougher(Room 4) | Kinder |
10:15am | 11:15am | Piper
(Room 8) |
Reckers (Room 7) | OFFICE | 3rd |
11:45pm | 12:40pm | Skoubo (Room 12) | Barnes (Room 13) | OFFICE until 12:00 | 1st |
12:45pm | 1:40pm | Garcia (Room 16) | Murphy (Room 15) | 4th | |
1:45pm | 2:40ish | Screen (Room 19) | 5th |
•Earth Quake Drill on Thursday October 20 at 10:20 AM: (Evacuation Drill will occur after 60 seconds of “shaking”)
Be sure to review a little about what an earthquake is so students understand it. Here is a set of multimedia resources that can help.
Earthquake Safety Video Series Learn how you can stay safe from shaking in a variety of situations. (YouTube, captions in English, Spanish, and French)
• Fundraiser Awards Assembly is Friday October 21st at 2:00 PM, Please review the behavior expectations for assemblies in class. We will call grades down in an orderly manner beginning at 1:45.
• Student Care Team Referrals – The Student Care Team will be meeting in two weeks, which means student/family referrals to the team are due this Friday. DHS has been great about helping quite a few of our families, pointing them towards resources for a variety of different situations (homelessness, assistance with bills, incarcerated parents, counseling resources, and many others), so please consider referring a student or family in need. Try to get a signature on the 4J Release Form (PDF or DOC) so we will be able to openly discuss the student(s) by name and also so DHS can research the family situation to see what services they would qualify for. If there’s a situation where you can’t get a signature for whatever reason, you can refer “hypothetical” student or family situations. Let me know if you have any questions about potential referrals, but if it’s a situation that’s on your mind, it’s probably a worth referring to the team.
• FREE BOOK: Closing Circles: 50 Activities for Ending the Day in a Positive Way – I placed a copy of Closing Circles: 50 Activities for Ending the Day in a Positive Way in each classroom teacher’s box plus a few others. It’s filled with great ideas for ways to close the end of each school day and it fits very perfectly into the Caring for Kids/Caring School Community curriculum. I received a number of copies from downtown and placed on in each of your boxes! Enjoy!
• $50 – $500 Mini-Grants – Mini-Grants are available for classroom projects, clubs, supplies, and other uses from the Adrienne St. Clair Group at Berkshire Hathaway Realty. The application deadline is Thursday, October 27th. See the linked flyer for information or visit their website to apply.
• Staff School Pictures – With picture day this Thursday, I wanted to ask staff to have your picture taken too so I can get our staff webpage updated. There are quite a few generic Shining Star pictures on there and I would like to update with real photos.
•Synergy Training for Grade Book: Register for a Synergy Grade Book PD. Whether you are brand new to Grade Book or need to hear the details again, this workshop will get you on your way. We will enter assignments and scores (rubric 0-4) that will transfer to the Synergy Report Card. Although Grade Book is easy to use, it can feel daunting at first. It is rare to have someone understand the full process with one session, though you will learn enough to get started. Be ready to step out of your comfort zone and persevere.
- What: Synergy Grade Book professional development
- When: Thursday, October 20, 2016, 4:00 to 5:30 pm
- Where: Parr Room (across for the Ed Center Auditorium)
- Five slots remain. [ Register Here ] You will be prompted to sign in to 4J Google when registering.
ESL/ ELD Educational Resources for Teachers:
The Best Videos Illustrating Qualities Of A Successful Language Learner.
Here are the qualities, along with an example of a video on the list demonstrating perseverance:
An appetite for learning, perseverance
Being willing to take risks
Being willing to make mistakes and learn from them
Wants to help and teach others
Check out this awesome dog video that represents how to persevere in an amazingly fun way. Your students will really enjoy it.
Duolingo’s chatbots help you learn a new language is from TechCrunch.
Latino Students: A Portrait In Numbers is from NPR. This is a great news article on the new 25%.
10 Activities – Using Pictures in Class is from ELT-Connect. I’m adding it to The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons.
The British Council has a number of printable worksheets. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Free ESL/EFL Hand-Outs & Worksheets.
Successful Coteaching: ESL Teachers in Mainstream Classrooms is from TESOL.
Calendar of Upcoming School Meetings and Events:
The Week of October 17:
The Week of October 24:
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Best, Joel Lavin, Director
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