Thursday Thriller September 28, 2023

 Thursday Thriller

September 28, 2023

This truly made my heart happy!  Each of you needs to know the difference you make DAILY in students' lives.

It has been a hard week for discipline; literally has kicked our admin a**es.  It is a small percentage that takes up a majority of time.  These kids need the support!  However, put that aside and remember all the good!!!  Individually you make a difference.  Collectively we are MOVING MOUNTAINS!!!!

  

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.    There have been questions in regards to not being able to give P/F grades as well as how to modify grade level standards with students who may have an IEP, 504 or ML learners.  This is about growing our skills and leaning on your PLT. I made a short video.  This does not happen over night; taking small steps towards classrooms where modifications and extensions are second nature, PLT teams lean heavily on each other to brainstorm ideas, decide what proficiency looks like and how to work interdependently. 

2.  We are seeking solutions and ideas as to possible times to meet with students involved in various clubs.  Please take a minute and share your ideas here.

3.  Unity Day is right around the corner!  Jen, Brian, Steve, Yaneth, Nicole and I are planning some activities to celebrate the importance of diversity and above all how to be kind humans.  If you would like to order a T-shirt, please order here.

4. Next Friday, October 6th is our Fall Professional Day. This is the tentative agenda.

5. November 9th 2:30-3:15 WA HIs ROTC will be performing for our us in honor of Veteran's Day

SOMETHING to PONDER

The more often we repeat it, the better we ill remember it; repeated information will eventually be stored in your long-term memory.  Repeat everything AT LEAST THREE TIMES to store it in your long-term memory.  -Courtesy Google Search

It's no wonder then we had two incidents in which students had to be talked to in regards to, "You can't joke about that."  "They were laughing too!  How was I supposed to know?"  I had only mentioned this once on GNN.

I will continue to speak about this on GNN.  Students, at this age, truly believe that if the person they are joking about is laughing then surely it's okay EVEN when they have crossed the line with race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.  We have to work together and repeat this message, talk to students and explain that they can not cross the line.  

This is an activity on AMLE "Just Joking" -Helping Students Understand When Teasing Hurts

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I spoke to Jon Cassetto, Juvenile Justice Center, Court Services Manager in regards to a couple of our students.  I had also asked about clothing specific to gang attire.  He validated that there is a definite uptick of gang attire; baggy pants, white t-shirts, baggy Dickie pants, etc. While we can't jump to the conclusion that just because a student is wearing this type of clothing, we can certainly be more aware and watchful.  This article Recognizing Gang Affiliation in the Middle School Classroom is about how to recognize the signs of gang affiliation and how to HELP and SUPPORT these students.  

Our collective support, tough love, consistency with rules, expectations and routines IS going to pay dividends for our students.

Hope you find a gold nugget.

QUOTE

 “Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” -Vince Lombardi

And while the pronoun “we” is vital to the functionality of the team, it is the individual commitment that makes it truly move forward and soar. Without each person acting as a dedicated “I,” the collective “we” won’t happen. Therefore, it is critical that each interdisciplinary team member understands and acts upon his or her role in the “playbook (PLT).” It is vital that each team member asks key questions about teaming throughout the school year—not just when the game begins. And that kind of inquiry benefits not only students, it benefits teachers, too.

Key Questions:

• What does it take to be an effective member of an interdisciplinary team?
• Do you know your own strengths and challenges as a team member?
• How well do you know the strengths of your individual team members and how those strengths complement each other?

SENSE of HUMOR

If you're going to write about me, can you at least spell my name right. If you have never watched Breakfast Club, where have you been?  LOL

Thursday Thriller

 Thursday Thriller

September 21, 2022

Shout Outs!!

Yaz, Agnes, Steve, Nicole, Itsel  (counseling intern), Michelle, Babett and Janelle helped make our Family Informational Meeting Night a success!  THANK YOU!!

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.  Most students have completed their iReady Diagnostic assessments in reading and math.  Below are some data points to look at.  Yes, these are standards that students have yet to see or master.  AND this is why proficiency in these content areas must be all of us working together; proficiency matters in all content areas which will then pay huge dividends for our ELA and MATH contents. 

Questions to ponder:

1.  How are you reading and writing daily in your classes?
2.  Have you considered a quick exit ticket on a sticky note where students have to write their answers? 

READING

MATH

2.    Student store opens tomorrow.  We believe we caught the racketeers. It won't be the last time students try and scam others out of their coins.  Regardless, MOST students have EARNED their coins and are pretty excited for tomorrow.  Our goal is to learn from this first student store so each Friday it gets better and better. 

3.  We are looking at para schedules, which classes they support and where the highest needs are.  Paras will be in classes to support students with IEPS, ML and 504s. Paras are NOT BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT SUPPORT.  Paras NEED to be working in SMALL GROUPS scaffolding the grade level content. 

4. Please take a look at these two slides on para support and grading for students with IEPs.  I am looking at the classes where paras have been placed.  We have done some shifting of students.  If a para educator is in a class that does not have MLs or Students with IEPs we will most likely switch this para out to a class that has higher needs.  Some classes have less than 20 students with only 1 IEP.  This would be a class we take the para support and place them elsewhere.  

5.  Mr. Gardea, Christy Krutulis, Barb Casey, and Julie Perron will be visible and present in schools throughout the district. Twice a month the admin from Pioneer and District colleagues will be walking classrooms.  The goal is to 'normalize' classroom visits.  These classroom visits are NOT 'gotchas.'  We are learning together! AND District level staff need to see what's going on in classrooms. We (admin and district staff) are finding pockets of excellence.  Also, if there are strategies that would help us here at Garrison then let's learn about them.  Teaching is ongoing.  If we want our students to grow and learn, we must also be willing to roll up our sleeves and learn too. 

6. REFUSAL to WORK is NOT a referral. Please fill out this spreadsheet instead.  ALSO, you are all doing a GREAT job with the Referral form!!! THANK YOU!!!

7.  This chart represents where our referrals are coming from throughout the building. What are your thoughts?

8.  Nicole and I have reached out to to WWPD for support on what gang affiliation clothing should not be allowed.  In addition, for WWPD to come speak to staff in regards to noticings, look fors and general questions in regards to gangs and other helpful information. 

Something to Ponder

A majority of people do not like attending staff meetings for a multitude of reasons.  The number one reason is most are boring, non-engaging and yes, an email or memo would have been a better use of time. Yet, we still have to attend.

As Nicole and I prepare for 'meetings' or staff PD, we do try to make the time engaging so that you are in the driver seat of your learning not complacent to sit and get.

When you think about your classroom, would you say your lessons are where students are participating, investing or driving?  Is there any connection to the level of engagement to the chart above where most of the referrals are coming from the classroom?  ****There are always outliers. Some students regardless of the environment may be disruptive. Not every lesson is on point. These are disclaimers that are valid!!

Something to ponder. Hope you have an 'AHA' moment that leads to a gold nugget.   Here is the full article on Reimaging student engagement as a continuum of learning behaviors. 

Quote

Bulletin board in our school! Have you seen where it's at?

Calendar of Events

Please refer to the Garrison Gazette from here forward. :D

Thursday Thriller September 15, 2023

 Thursday Thriller

September 14, 2023

Photos from the Field

Fun to see students in a different light.  Thank you, staff, for making a difference. This is what it is all about. :D

Book Club with Jami and Sydney

Cross Country Runners

7th Grade Girls Volleyball

8th Grade Football

Nuts-n-Bolts

1. A HUGE SHOUT OUT to NICOLE D!! Her planning, attention to detail and organizational skills are what making tomorrow possible!

2.    Please read THOROUGHLY the agenda.  When we don't, students miss out. 

3.  Next week is our first full week of school and a pretty normal schedule!!  Tuesday will be iReady ELA in Advisory. Wednesday will be iReady Math.  I can not stress enough how important it is to 'row-in-the-same' direction when it comes to the Personal Pathways lessons.  Here are the iReady Staff Collective Commitments:

       -ALL Staff is using Securely
       -ALL Students are using school issued headphones
       -ALL Staff is walking around monitoring

4.  Family Informational Night -Tuesday the 19th from 5:30-7:30.  Families will have the option to attend 4 workshops:  Skyward and Google Classroom, Securely/Parent Square, High School & Beyond and Discipline system at Garrison.  We will end the night with
 Q & A.  Parents have asked for information in all of these areas.  Crossing our fingers it will be a success.

5.  Library tomorrow at 12:55.

6.  Your vigilance with phones and air pods is paying off!  Students see Tobi at the door and they put their devices away immediately!  If you allow devices, you need to CHECK to make sure they are put away.  Girls with long hair-yep check them.  I found a couple wearing air pods after they were allowed in class. Overall, you guys are doing great!

7.  You are receiving invites to attend IEP meetings.  Garrison has had a long standing tradition of teachers showing up for students! It's AWESOME!  Rarely is there an IEP with only one teacher present; usually there are multiple staff members.  While parents may not say anything, they do appreciate it.  Let's keep the tradition going!

8. Refusal to Work is open for business. Assigning a student this means they have screwed around, not tried, etc. even with reminders

9. HUB -BOOKMARK IT

10.  Nicole and I have enjoyed doing our classroom walk throughs.  We will continue next week. Beginning the first week of October we will be setting up formal observations for Comprehensive staff.  In addition, we will be 'logging' our walk throughs in eval. 

11.  NO GNN tomorrow.  FOCUS ON THE AGENDA and SLIDES with students 

Something to Ponder

 When you think of student engagement, what do you picture?  There are different ways teachers engage students in their learning.  When you think of 'passive' engagement, what do you think about? Is it compliance? Are students invested in what is being taught?  Don't get me wrong.  I know students are not going to be 100% engaged in every lesson.

You work hard to plan your lessons!  That is your cognitive input.  Now, it's the students' time to do the heavy lifting.  

Here are two slides to ponder. What's the gold nugget for you?

Little Humor

Can't wait to hear future generations give their children advice like-

"Son, if something sounds too Gucci to be trill it's probably cap, deadass."  😅 @adamthealright

CALENDAR of EVENTS

Friday, September 15 Dismissal at 12:25, Library all staff @ 12:55

Sunday, September 17th   HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jami Eggart!!

Tuesday, September 19th   Parent Night at 5:30, Nicole and Kim at MS Principals 1:00-3:30

Wednesday, September 20th  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Agnes!!!,  STEM Club @ 7:45

Thursday, September 21st   NJHS at 8:15 in Jami's room

 Thursday Thriller

September 7, 2023

Photos from the Field

Mirk giving instructions to 6th grade students.  His set up is pretty cool when he demonstrates! If you get a chance, check it out!

6th Grade students in STEM class working together to build a pipeline

Emery talked to me and shared which book he was reading in Mr. Johnson's class.

Our own Stephanie presented at the Board meeting Tuesday night on Goal 2. Great job, Stephanie!!!

Nuts-n-Bolts 

1. Something for you to be aware of:

Here are two pieces of info that DOH sent to me to pass on. You may already be aware of these.

One is about a product called "Heat not Burn". They look like this:

More info here: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/heated-tobacco-products/index.html The second is about a vape product called a "highlighter" that looks like...you guessed it...a highlighter.

We (Lobbyists) are working to arrange a meeting with DOH and PAVe (Parents Against Vaping and e-cigs) and will continue to relay to legislators/policy makers our concerns about student vaping from a health standpoint and for the disruption it causes schools.

PAVe: https://www.parentsagainstvaping.org/

2.    Nicole and I will often ask for your feedback.  Feedback is important so we can repeat successes, find our blind spots and change up something that was ineffective.  For example, we sent out the First Day of School survey to 40 staff members and have received 10 responses even with reminders. Your input matters.  Would you settle for 10 out 40 in your classroom? 

3.  GMS HUB -we will keep adding to it.  PLEASE BOOKMARK this especially the electronic referral form. 

4. iReady Diagnostic in ELA will begin on Monday in ELA classes.  During ADVISORY  next week please have students do iREADY MATH BOTH DAYS.  Quick reminders:  a) Please have Securely up and running, b) Students must use school issued headphones.  Do you have enough?  c) Walk around and monitor what students are doing. Thank you!

*The week of September  18th we will finished with ELA diagnostic so ELA iReady TUESDAYS and MATH iReady WEDNESDAYS will be in place.

5.    September 19th is a Family Information Night focused on Skyward, Google Classroom and High School and Beyond for 8th grade students.  The vision is to have Keith Ross run a 20 min session on Securely-showing parents how teachers use it and answer questions they may have and the positives on ChatGpt.  A second session will be on Skyward -what do parents need to know?  Finally a session on Google Classroom -what to look for as a parent.   Fourth session on HSB for parents of 8th grade students. Are these the right topics to present or what are your thoughts?  Next month we will  have Hidden in Plain Sight which will cover vaping.

It would be great to have the sessions in both English and Spanish.  Any takers?  You could team up and be green sheeted?  Let me know

6. Picture Day on Thursday the 14th. Picture packets will be in your mailbox tomorrow.  Please hand them out at the end of SEVENTH PERIOD on MONDAY, Sept. 11th

7.  Students behaved today with many guest teachers in the building.  Crossing my fingers your classroom reports will tell the same story.  THANKYOU for reinforcing your classroom expectations. Definitely paid off today!

8.  Meet Jacqueline Ramirez!  She is a student at EWU finishing up her degree in Social Work.  Jacqueline grew up in WW.  She was Pioneer '49 but we still really like her. :D  Jacqueline will be here on Thursdays and Fridays doing her internship. 

Little Humor

When admin are a little rummy at the end of the day why not eat a Laffy Taffy and read the jokes on the wrapper to each other?  "What did one eye say to the other eye? Something stinks between us." 😆

Something to Ponder

Attending PD today what resonated with both Nicole and me was, "sitting with your students while you teach."  Sitting eye level and being 'in the trenches with students.'  As secondary teachers, we think of managing the room while teaching. While we don't disagree with this statement, it's also important to be at eye level and face-to-face with the kids;   Here is a quick article on the benefits of sitting with your students.  Maybe give it a go in one class period. 

Calendar of Events

Friday, September 8            SEL/PBIS Team meeting @ 7:30 in Kim's office . It's FRI YAY!!! Picture packets in mailboxes. DO NOT SEND HOME..yet. Schedule is coming

Monday, September 11        iReady ELA Diagnostic in ELA classes, Picture Packets go home during 7th period

Tuesday, September 12        Nicole and Kim gone to Ad Council 8:15-10:30, iReady MATH during Advisory

Wednesday, September 13     iReady MATH during Advisory, Wednesday collaboration 2:30-3:45, Cross Country Meet at Fort Walla Walla

Thursday, September 14th      Picture day

Friday, September 15th        Early Dismissal at 12:25, Staff meet in library from 1:00-2:20