Thursday Thriller
April 25, 2024
Whoop!! Whoop!!
Thank you for helping to make Secretaries' Day special for Stephanie, Jazmin and Janelle! Keeping all things big and small afloat is greatly appreciated!
Christy, Jami and Nancy's Advisory classes celebrated Earth Day by cleaning up Garrison!
Nuts-n-Bolts
1. Shout out to the 6th grade science teachers, Kitchen Crew and Nicole D! They had to work their magic to make the field trip work this Friday! Transportation snafu but all is good!
2. Counselors are checking in with 8th grade students who have one or more F's. A Parent Square was sent home to communicate the paperwork their child should be bringing home. The goal is to have all 8th grade students participate in Recognition and the activity day.
3. You may be receiving multiple 'eval' alerts from both Nicole and I. Part of the work on our end is we have to 'close' out the observations so that they will 'show up' on the summative eval.
4. CERTIFICATED Staff~ Nicole and I have secured roving subs for May 15th and May 22nd. These are 30 minute time slots to meet with your evaluator to go over the data you bring to show evidence of meeting your student growth goals. We will send out further details and communication. For now, please sign up for a time slot on this Google Doc. :D This is the schedule for the 22nd please plan accordingly.
5. CLASSIFIED Staff~ Tomorrow, we will send out a Google doc for you to sign up for a time to meet with your evaluator.
6. Nicole and I walked classrooms with our Districts UDL Consultant, KC Knudson, Christy Krutulis and Barb Casey. We observed some great things in Nate and Kim's first period co-taught class, Robin and Nate F's 2nd period co taught math class and Agnes' 3rd period class which is not co-taught but has students who have IEPs. Fun to see! Nicole and I were then off to PD at the District Office (I'm telling you this in case you sent an email and we have not yet responded. It may be tomorrow, but we will get back to you).
Highlights for Classroom Visits
Kim and Nate C working in tandem. While one take's attendance the other checks in with students to see how they are doing. Today, Nate started class showing that it's not always Kim they are equal partners in this co-taught model.
Nate F and Robin~ students from RISE, the Behavior room, resource and gen Ed all mixed together all engaged. You could not tell who was who. KC and Christy had no idea that for a couple of students they had only a few gen Ed classes. There were small groups as well as the whole group within the period. This is how it is supposed to look; students shouldn't be identified by labels. What if all of us were identified with labels we didn't ask for? I say 'unwanted' labels because I don't think students want their labels either. Pretty cool to see students all different levels engaged in 7th grade math.
Agnes -Today was the RGV (roots grammar vocab) test. Agnes displayed the timer for 23 mins. Students were engaged the ENTIRE time! KC had asked me what I noticed. I replied, "The growth that some of these students have made at persevering through this weekly test." That was huge growth. "Why do you think students are engaged in this assessment for the full 23 mins?" Both Nicole and I responded with a couple of ideas: 1) Routine. Students who have executive functioning challenges -majority of middle schoolers -thrive on predictability, structure and routine. They study and use these words all week, they know the test is at the end of the week, students know how it is corrected and the points they can earn. This is also a time Agnes goes around coaching, praising and helping students; building relationships through the work.
Thank you to Kim, Nate, Nate, Robin and Agnes for sharing your classrooms with us!
7. I am working on summarizing the responses from the Teacher/PLC/Feedback survey. Once I have the summary of each question, results will be sent out.
Classified staff~ one person responded to the survey. The link was in the TT on both April 11th and and April 18th. It would be great if you could share some feedback. Here is the link one more time.
Sayings/Quotes that Ignite Moments of Reflection
The collective school experience is critical to the development of the child. Pockets of isolated excellence do not result in equitable outcomes for all children.
Something to Ponder
As we approach SBA Testing, finalize end-of-year plans, transition 8th graders to 9th, welcome 5th graders and their families to 6th grade, and begin thinking about the upcoming year, uncertainty may linger. Will the master schedule change? Will I have a new PLC team, again? Will my curriculum remain the same?
These are all variables that could potentially shift. However, amidst these changes, one constant remains—you. 😊 Regardless of the content you teach, the classroom you're in or the students you engage with, it's your core values, expectations, and individuality that elevate "good" teachers to greatness. It takes time, dedication, and a steadfast belief in the potential of every student to learn.
Dave Stuart, Jr. shares insights in his recent blog post, summarizing three key attributes of great teachers.He takes the three key drives from Jim Collins' book "Good to Great" and applies them to teaching. I have a copy of "Good to Great" if anyone wants to borrow it (I think I just heard a collective, "Are you *$%@# kidding me?! This time of year? :D ).
Let's embrace the opportunities for growth and transformation ahead, confident in our ability to make a positive impact on our students' lives. If you look for the gold nugget, you will find it.
- Superior results
- Distinctive impact
- Lasting endurance
