Thursday Thriller

October 22, 2020

SHOUT OUT to BRENT!!!  He is like clock work when it comes to cleaning!  Each and every day, no less than 3x per day, does he come into the office and wipe down every door handle and cleaning surfaces.  THANK YOU, BRENT!!!

NUTS-n-BOLTS

1.    Angie, Steve and Cesar are working behind the scenes with schedules for our paras.  Beginning Monday, almost all of our paras have been bumped up to 7 hours per day!!!  They will be working with both students with IEPS and students identified for Title I and LAP support.  Some of the same identified students were teachers' list of concerns.  Steve is working mostly with special education and Angie with Title I/LAP.  Both may be reaching out to you, to let you know there has been a support change due to needs in other classrooms. 

2.  Looking forward to MULLET Friday!!!  Hope you participate.  We all need a good belly laugh every once in a while. :D

3.  Thank you for scheduling your 'formal' observation cycle, both Comprehensive and Focused peeps!! Please remember for the PRE observation come prepared to share:

        a.  What is it you want students to learn (what is that learning target)?

        b.  How will you know students learned it (what will your evidence be)?

        c.  How will you respond if they don't get it?

POST observation:

       a. Share evidence that students either got it or didn't get it.

       b.  What was/is the plan to reteach for those that didn't get it?

4.  Grading Timeline

        a. Monday, November 9th Skyward grading enabled

         b. Friday, November 13th, End of 1st Qrt

        c.  Wednesday, November 18th, grade confirmation to ASHLEY, Kim as back up.  

        d. Friday November 20th, Report cards issued

Being in the office last year, I was privy to overhear conversations of Sherry begging and pleading for teachers to get their grades in.  There will not be any begging nor pleading from Ashley or me.  The deadlines are what they are.  Ashley and I are in a training tomorrow regarding grades with the ESD.  Let me know if you have questions.

5.  The first week of November, not sure of the exact date, will be a materials pick up.  It will not be extensive like our tech and first round of materials pick up were.  If there are materials that you think your students will need for the month of November and into December, let me know.  We do not have the people power to put all the materials together so if it is something specific to your class, come see me because you may have to help handout the supplies.   Jami is working with Pioneer and WA HI so we are all doing similar, LOW KEY, materials pick up. 

6.  Staff Meeting on Thursday at 3:00 via Zoom

7.  Unity Day virtually!!!  I didn't get around to all of you but here are three people I caught!  Babett, Shannon and Amber :D

SOMETHING to PONDER

Our Student Services Team met today.  The reoccurring theme and common denominator in all the students who were brought up was, "lack of engagement."  During DL 2.0 lack of student engagement for some, not all of course and not even the majority, but for a percentage of our students not being in school is an unsurmountable hurdle.  I'd like you to take this pocket of students and put them to the side for the moment (these are the students who are not showing up even after phone call, email, texts and multiple home visits).  I'm not discarding them.  Sometimes this pocket of students clouds our view to the point we can't see beyond to those students that are with us and mostly engaged me included! 

What do these 5 words have in common?  What do they mean to you?

Student engagement is beyond critical at this time.  It's all we have in DL 2.0, right?  How are we engaging students?  How do we measure student engagement? Yes, the strategies needed are different BUT I will argue that the 5 words listed above matter whether you are in school or DL.  

When you look at that list, which words describe you?  Which one of those words...only one...could you work at?

This is the full article The Five Key Beliefs:  More than Band-aids.  By no means am I saying having students physically in class and DL are the same.  I'm wondering what similarities there are and what strategies are interchangeable between the two settings.

Little Humor

I'm a true crime podcast junkie.  I also really like to read murder mysteries.  Patricia Cornwell books are my FAVORITE!  Maybe because she is BADASS and I would love to be as smart and cunning as she is.  :D  I digress.

 Anyway, this is the MORBID podcast.  Each week they do a 'Listener Tales.'  This is when listeners write in and share their own paranormal or brush with scary stuff; all in a fun, light hearted way.  This week's Listener Tales is from Jon Allen.  He is hilarious in his writing!!!  I laugh out loud.  NOW to warn you THERE IS CUSSING in this podcast.

Anyway, it's a good chuckle.  It is about 30 mins long.  Hope you find enjoyment from it. :D