Thursday, March 3, 2022

Photos from the Field

I tried taking a picture but it just wasn't good enough so Maraya took a selfie with her group.  If you were wondering, that is a cow's heart that will be dissected tomorrow in Stephanie's class.

Juliet and team in robotics

Sanding, hammering, power tools students were busy in shop!

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.    We will have our new secretary starting on Tuesday.  Rubi Lopez Sanchez!! She was a Garrison Trooper herself.  We are pretty excited to have a full secretarial staff. :D

2.    Monday, March 7th- 8th grade students will be participating in Freshmen 101.  Steve is the lead on this.  THANK YOU to him!  He has worked behind the scenes on logistics.  8th grade students will remain in their first period class to attend FR. 101.  Again, Steve is the lead and has classes covered and logistics taken care of.

3.    March 15th our 8th graders take their field trip to WA HI.  Remember this was the field trip that was planned for Jan. 14th but was canceled.  We have the permission slips from that field trip which we will use so we do not need field trip requests (this was noted in January).  Terri, Mike Bertram and Stephanie are the leads on this field trip.

    a. 8th grade students will report to 1st period.  Attendance taken
    b. 8th graders will then be called down by GST class which also coincides with the bus they ride.  They will place their backpack in Bertram's  extra classroom (there is a system planned so this runs smoothly.)
    c.  Students who are not attending will be in the library supervised by subs.
    d.  Stephanie, Mike and Terri have the logistics' and will communicate out to you.

4.    Conferences next week.  Our interpreters on Thursday have lunch from 11:30-12:15.  If you have Spanish speaking conferences during this time, they need to be rescheduled.  Please ask Armida or Yaneth for assistance.  If you are adjusting your conference times due to unforeseeable circumstances, SEE KIM.

5.    Our new bathroom procedures will be implemented on Monday. Carina made a video that explains the procedures and WHY we have new ones.  SHOW IN GST TOMORROW, FRIDAY, March 4th.

6.    GC will gather together next week, take the input for the Jamboards, discussion and sharing out from yesterday's staff meeting to solidify the CC.  Once this is done, we will make a video, posters whatever needs to be made so communication is consistent and systematic.

7.    If you have any announcements for our GMS Family Newsletter, please send those ASAP.  This will be sent to families on Tuesday afternoon.

8.    We have tentatively put June 16th on the calendar for our in person 8th grade recognition.  WA HI Commons -the new and approved Commons will be our location.  The gyms at WA HI were unavailable.  Carina and I will need guidance as this will be our first time doing the 8th grade recognition.  8th grade students will tentatively go to the YMCA on Wednesday the 15th.  8th graders do not come to school on Friday nor Monday's half day (I would really like to know how many students will show up on Monday the 20th LOL).

Something to Ponder

Engaging students within your lessons is still something many of you have inquired about; different strategies and technique especially with spring right round the corner. 

 I listened to an interview with  Marcus Luther, a current high school English teacher on  Cult of Pedagogy.  He talks about how his gallery walks offer affirmative feedback from student to student, 'bell to bell' teaching and aligning his core beliefs within his everyday teaching.  

While bell to bell offers a sense of urgency, does the urgency and how you teach align with your core values as a person?  His goal is to create a classroom space that is in alignment with his core values.  Sometimes I notice a chasm growing between the values I present to students and the actual way time is spent in our classroom.  Prioritizing our values of generosity and community as a classroom meant investing the time to make those priorities a reality. 

When Marcus does the gallery walk activity with his students, it is only affirming feedback.  Here are his examples:

I thought this was one idea teachers in any content could use. This is the right time of the year for classes that have been together because the community of your students has already been formed. 

I hope you find a gold nugget in either listening to the podcast or looking at the written steps of how Marcus Luther implements this process.

Quote

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success." - Alexander Graham Bell

Little Humor

Playing a good song on my Jammy Pack let's me see myself like this:

AWESOME

However, the reality is more like this:

Dance

Calendar of Events

Friday, March 4                        Happy Birthday, Sean!  Garrison Swag day!

Saturday, March 5                    Happy Birthday, Christy!

Monday, March 7                    GC @ 7:30 in Agnes' Rm, Happy BDAY Armida & Caleb!
                                                SPIRIT DAY-THROWBACK DAY

Tuesday, March 8                    WIDA Testing PLEASE READ AGNES' EMAIL 1st-3rd periods
                                                        Conferences 4:00-7:30PM
                                                    SPIRIT DAY -CELEBRITY DAY

Wednesday, March 9                Collaboration after school, SPIRIT DAY -JERSEY DAY

Thursday, March 10th            Conferences 8:15-3:30

  Friday, March 11th