Thursday Thriller
March 7th
Shout out to Stephanie B for taking the lead on conference logistics! Stephanie also cleaned up room 209 for our incoming WWOnline teacher(more on that in the TT) and for decorating up the office.
Thank you to, Janelle, for stepping in and translating with parent meetings this week! There have been lots of little things here and there that Janelle has taken off admin plates that have made a difference.
Our office team Stephanie, Jazmin and Janelle are pretty AWESOME!
Custodians- Brandon, Marco and Billy- THANK YOU for the set up and take down of furniture!!! Also, for keeping our school looking great!!!
NUTS-n-BOLTS
1. Several parents commented on the two gym set up for arena conferences. Checking in with several of you and the report was conferences went well. Would love to hear some of your highlights.
2. March Madness for Garrison begins next week-Please, please, please look over the communication Nicole sent in regards to the events happening this next week. We kick off Monday with Freshmen 101. Then Wa Hi and Sea Tech tours and field trip all for 8th graders later in the week. Details and logistics have been organized by Nicole, Nicole and Steve. Huge SHOUT OUT ago the three of them!
3. Coming soon, there will be a kiosk available for students to check in when they require clinic services. If a student requests to visit the clinic, they must sign out similar to how they would for a bathroom break or to get a drink of water. Of course, if a student appears visibly unwell or in pain, they should bypass the check-in process and either be escorted by another student to the office or have Ruben called. Upon arrival, students will sign in and take a seat in one of the four clinic chairs, which are clearly visible. While we always aim to provide necessary care to students, we acknowledge that some may try to manipulate the system. This necessitates occasional changes to our procedures. Additionally, each time a student visits the clinic, the nurse must fill out a detailed entry, even if the student only requires minor assistance such as a sip of water or a mint. With potentially up to 30 visits in a day, this can be demanding. Thus, the implementation of the new system.
1. Sign out on the clinic for (Conor, can we add CLINIC to the student drop down menu if it’s not already there?) Thanks!
2. Students will come to the office and sign in at the kiosk
3. Students will wait sitting on one of the clinic chairs to be seen.
4. iReady Updates:
1. To earn a Blizzard students need to complete 20 lessons in ELA or 20 lessons in math. No other combination of 20; 10 in one and 10 in the other NOPE. 20 in one content. January 29 to whenever they get 20. There is no deadline for this. Well, June 14th of course😂
2. Headphones needs to be used
3. iReady bell -the Old Spice whistle- students need to transition immediately. This is more on the teacher than the student. Set a timer for yourself maybe two minutes before Old Spice comes on so students have the opportunity for the full amount of time.
4. If you would like to see how other teachers transition into iReady or what other classrooms look during this time, let a GC member, Nicole or Kim know so we can find coverage for you to go see other colleagues. Our iReady time should look the same in every single classroom.
A) Old Spice whistle- transition
B) Students have headphones on
C) Zero talking
D) Securely Up
E) Teacher is handing out praise with candy, coin, pat on the back, etc
F) GC members will check in when there are subs so iReady goes smoothly.
5. On the same thread of academic importance, Jami E brought up some great points regarding GPA. On the half day this month, one of the classroom activities will be to focus on GPA and the importance of it especially as students move into high school.
6. March 27th two different staff meeting times before school and after collaboration. We will have a reflection activity, look at data and an exit slip for input. Calendar invites will be sent.
7. On May 13, we have our Student Success Night. You have the flexibility to organize activities as you see fit. For instance, the science department could have students guide their parents through a brief activity and then explain how they document their findings in their lab notebooks. Encouraging students to showcase what they've learned to their families will likely increase participation. This is an opportunity to celebrate the progress and achievements of our students! You'll have one hour for planning and 2.5 hours for the evening event, which runs from 6:00 to 7:30. This accounts for the remaining 3.5 hours of building-directed time. It's worth noting that this is the same evening we welcome incoming 6th-grade families.
8. Regarding the 3/4 of the Year Check-in, Stephanie will coordinate meeting times with Nicole and Kim. Similar to the fall observations, please check our calendar and schedule a convenient time. During these meetings, we'll review various aspects, including classroom data trackers, iReady progress, classroom exclusions, successes, and areas for improvement for the upcoming year. If you require a day with a substitute teacher, please inform Kim via email, specifying who will need the substitute, and we'll make the necessary arrangements. Our aim is to complete these meetings before Spring Break. Ahead of the meetings, we'll share your iReady data for review, and we'll try our best to do the same with classroom exclusion information. We will only capture Jan-present date for the referrals data. If you haven't already done so, please share your classroom data trackers with us.
9. This Saturday Beth will be taking her 8th grade Social Studies students to the Regional History day at EWU! Best of luck!
10.Spring Sports and Millennials start on Monday, the 11th. It's crucial for students to maintain their iReady lessons, grades, attendance, discipline, and punctuality. Holding students accountable requires collaboration from all of us. Once we have the complete list of coaches we'll request that you directly email them if a student is falling behind on their iReady lessons. The list of athletes will be on the HUB. Chad H, Janelle, and Jazmin will handle grade checks, absences, tardiness, and discipline matters. As the Athletic Director, Chad H will serve as the primary point of contact for any questions. He'll also send out a staff email containing the list of coaches for spring sports and Millennials.
11. Hannah Slominski is the WWOnline teacher that will have a place here at Garrison up in room 209. Hannah will be the caseload manager for MS students here and at Pioneer. Students will be taking WWOnline courses will be housed in room 117. Students log in and work on the assignments Hannah assigns. We are pretty excited to be able to offer this to students. The goal is to begin early next week.
SOMETHING to PONDER
Challenge this week- Following up on the heels of Erin Jones-engaging students in their learning and Hattie's research on teacher clarity, I'm challenging each of you to post instead of the learning target but the why and the how of your lesson. You may find yourself with a little treat. :D An example might be:
Explain to students "Today, we are going to learn about finding the percent of a number. Why this is important is because it will help you compare prices and save money with discounts and coupons! I'll know if you learned this by answering the question and showing your work on how you or your family saved money by figuring out the percent off of a new iPhone 15." (Clearly...you will write a better explanation LOL)
85-Teacher clarity will accelerate learning. Click on 85 to view the extent of the change. Are you sharing and reviewing learning objectives? Are you clearly stating, "Today's focus is..." and specifying how I will assess your understanding? Be transparent. This doesn't need to be lengthy; just clarify why and how I can confirm students have grasped it.
64-Success criteria - Provide a clear response or feedback to the query, "How will I know they learned it?"
Establishing the purpose of your lesson and informing students upfront about how their learning will be evaluated will produce results. We must be transparent and explicit. Most of us appreciate knowing the agenda, the purpose of having a speaker, and how it relates to us. If adults expect this, why shouldn't students? Hope you find a gold nugget and valuable insight in today's Something to Ponder.
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WISE WORDS
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." – William Arthur Ward
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CHatGPT FUN
This caught my eye in a newsletter I receive:
Tracy Chapman's Incredible Performance at The Grammy's. Here's How It Happened
After months of discussions and planning, Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs finally got together in an L.A. studio to rehearse "Fast Car" just five days before the awards. It was the first time they had met... The result? “The performance was breathtaking and radiated pure happiness from both artists." CLICK HERE to watch it.
I love this song and wanted to know what was written in the article. However, I didn't really want to read the article so I copied the article link in ChatGPT and said, "Summarize this article in two paragraphs."
Here is what I got:
The linked article delves into the backstory of Tracy Chapman's iconic song "Fast Car" and its unexpected journey to success, including its notable absence from the Grammy Awards. Chapman's song, released in 1988, resonated deeply with audiences worldwide with its poignant lyrics and soulful melody. Despite its immense popularity and critical acclaim, "Fast Car" was notably absent from the Grammy Awards due to a technicality in the submission process. Chapman's team missed the deadline for submitting the song for consideration, leading to its exclusion from the nominations.
Nevertheless, "Fast Car" became a cultural phenomenon, capturing the hearts of listeners and solidifying Chapman's status as a musical icon. Its timeless message about hope, struggle, and resilience continues to resonate with audiences decades after its release. The article highlights the enduring impact of "Fast Car" and reflects on its significance within Chapman's body of work. Despite the song's Grammy snub, its legacy endures as a testament to Chapman's artistry and the power of music to transcend boundaries and connect people across generations.
If you haven't played around with ChatGPT you need to! Grocery lists, data charts, letters to parents; all pretty cool stuff!
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I am headed to Spokane tomorrow to see this little guy. :D We are all coming home on Sunday. All Jack's test-MRI, ultra-sound of the brain, spinal tap, x-rays, blood work, swabs of eyes all negative and normal. Madi and John have a consult with Children's in Seattle to see if he is good to go or do we need to worry about anything else. Conflicting messages from different doctors. With that being said, Jack was cared for with his best interests in mind. Madi and John just need to be home, take a breather and be a little family. :D
THANK YOU so much for your care, outreach, kind words, hugs; you take care of me. 💙
