Thursday Thriller
October 28th, 2021
SHOUT OUT to Stephanie, Yajara, Alicia and Sara!! They kept us afloat in the office and did an A M A Z I N G job!!!
THANK YOU!! Our office will kick EVEN MORE a** when Ashley returns in November because we will be fully staffed FINALLY! BOOM!!
Spent some time in Mike's Robotics class. SO COOL!!!!
NUTS-n-BOLTS
1. Bus Evacuation drills tomorrow, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29th. This will add 10 mins to our morning bus drop off times. Please keep that in mind when taking first period attendance.
2. When nearing the end of the class period, students should not be gathered around the doorway of classrooms. They should be seated until the bell rings. Gathering around the door only leads to problems and there are valuable class minutes that are lost if students are packing up early and gathering around the door. Thank you.
3. Optional costumes tomorrow for students and staff. :D Students should not have full face coverings on nor accessories such as brooms, weaponry, etc.
4. Goals should be uploaded into eVal by Saturday, October 30th.
5. CEE Survey is still open until tomorrow evening.
6. Chapter 3 in Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity and the short (4:17) video. As you know, when students do their homework and engage in the lesson you have prepared, good conversations and learning will happen. There is no difference with adults. PLEASE read and watch the video.
7. Within our SEL program, individual students have individual plans. Sometimes students' behaviors and reactions make us stop, reflect and wonder if everything is okay. Carina is working closely with both Chad and Katie to come up with plans so our SEL students can be successful. I have learned that all the unexpected behaviors can't be cured/fixed at the same time; small steps to replace unexpected/inappropriate behaviors. There will be plan sent out to specific teachers regarding specific students. From there, we will communicate out who and why so as a staff we can help support the different interventions for each student.
Something to Ponder
Engaging in class is a sign of belonging. As this article points out, engaging students is critical for achievement. The GC team is preparing some strategies/ideas to help engage our students during class. This is a reality for us all; a majority of our students struggle to engage with one another in meaningful academic settings, class discussions, partner work and even turning and talking with one another. Therefore, what can we do? The GC team will present some ideas next Wednesday. In the mean time, think about your classes, students you work with; do you hear from every student everyday in class?
Also, what YOU do MATTERS! You have fatigue. You are feeling tired like it should be the end of November or December and probably counting the days, "When is it winter break ?" This is reality! Here is research to validate compassion fatigue and teacher resilience.
Hope you find a gold nugget in the reading.
The survey also found 81% of teachers said an emphasis on social-emotional well-being has a positive effect on engagement in their classrooms. Belongingness, levels of resilience, and perceived levels of emotional support are just a few of the factors often included in SEL practices.
Increasing opportunities for student engagement may also reengage students whose participation dropped off during remote learning, as well as help with attendance rates.
Remote learning did help highlight the importance of developing the skill of self-directed learning, but the absence of a teacher directing the learning process or providing students with a constant stream of feedback had a negative impact on some students' perceptions of their self-efficacy as learners, according to the report.
Quote
Me: "Isella, how did you do on your spelling test?"
Isella: "I only got one right."
Me: (In my head thinking...what the hell?! You studied?!) "Oh, darn it. Next time."
Isella: "Well, one is better than zero."
Little Humor
Maybe there's a a bulk deal on Amazon?! :)
Calendar of Dates
Friday, October 29th *GC Meeting in Agnes' room @ 7:30AM
* Bus evacuation drill for morning riders add 10 mins to the time
you normally take attendance first period
*eVal Goals due
*CEE Survey closes
Wednesday, November 3rd *Wednesday Collaboration 2:45-3:45 one full hour
Friday, November 5th * Early dismissal for students at 12:40, We All Belong in the library 1:00-2:20
