Thursday Thriller
December 12, 2024
Finding Joy! A principal from across the state shared that instead of labeling her calendar with "Walk Throughs" or "Classroom Visits," she uses "Finding Joy Walks." I gave it a try, and it really shifted my perspective and outlook. Here are a few joyful moments that made me laugh and smile. :D
Jami checking in with her science students.
The group of boys who played soccer whenever they could, even with volleyball nets set up.
Beth was dancing in the hallways to the music.Jayden is working on constructing his robot designed to pick up and grasp objects. He and his partner first programmed it on the computer before starting the build.
Students in Bertram's class made ornaments from the 3D printer and added lights.
In the words of Jacob, "I love snacks and books so why wouldn't I want to come to book club?"
🎤Drop
Making Gingerbread Houses this Morning!
NUTS-n-BOLTS
1. As the semester wraps up and grades are posted, it's important to communicate with families if a student is failing your class—whether through a progress report, email, or Parent Square. Yes, parents have access to Skyward to check grades. Yes, students are given daily reminders and opportunities. Yes, I understand your reasons for feeling frustrated about additional communication. But even as adults, with fully developed frontal lobes, we still forget work-related tasks like reading emails, signing payroll. Grace goes a long way. Please be sure to notify families before posting the final grade. If you have any questions, feel free to come see me.
One more thing about grades—if a student is failing because they haven’t turned in a signed syllabus from August or September, that’s a tough situation. From the outside, 1) What standard does this fall under? 2) Are we punishing the student because the parent didn’t sign it? Please make sure you’re putting me in a position to defend you.
2. ASB is planning the activity afternoon on the 20th. They are working with their ASB advisors, Nicole M and Yaneth, to plan a fun afternoon! We’ve been recruiting volunteers to help with setup, cleanup, and running stations. While we may not have enough volunteers for every station, we’ll keep trying to gather more.
3. January 6th-James Layman from AWSP/AWSL-Association of Washington Student Leaders will be on campus for the day. We plan to run an assembly schedule. The purpose of James' visit is to reset after semester one and circle back with the foundations of Unity of Day; why is being a kind human so important.
4. NJHS students will be delivering gently used and new books to our WWCCF students next week on the 17th. The goal is to donate 100 books. If you’re looking to clear some space on your bookshelves and make room for new books, this is the perfect time to donate! :D
5. We have a new CIS (Communities in School) Coordinator beginning on January 6th. Fifth time's a charm! Jennifer Hernandez is currently the CIS Coordinator at Gibb Elementary in M-F, native of Walla Walla and related to an awesome staff member! Jennifer is Yaneth's sister and we are confident that the two of them pairing up will bring great things and stability to the CIS position at Garrison.
6. Monday, December 16th-Nicole and I will be at principal PD from 7:30-10:00. Counselors will be in the building.
7. While the holidays bring joy to many students and staff, we must also acknowledge that they can be stressful for various reasons. Our students experience the same stress. When our own stress and exhaustion mix with the stress of students, it can lead to challenging behaviors. If you need a break, please let Steve, Nicole, Nicole, or me know. If you just need 5-10 minutes to reset, we’re here to help. We’d much rather you take a breather than struggle through a meltdown with students. Grace is a beautiful thing.
8. Nicole and I met with the custodians today. Our goal is to meet with them once a month to find out what is going well and what needs some attention.
-It makes a big difference for the custodians if you have students pick up the floor and put their chairs up. This allows them to avoid spending extra time on these tasks before they can start vacuuming. I’ve also informed the night custodians that if chairs aren’t put up and there are items like pencils, pens, or glue sticks on the floor, your room will be skipped.
-10 minutes into 2nd period-PUT YOUR BAB GARBAGE CANS IN THE HALLWAY
- Marco Sierra cleans the 7th and 6th hallways
- Billy Yaw cleans 8th and library
- Billy and Marco divide up 115-118, shop, art and music
- Brandon takes care of all work orders, lunches, cleaning all over the school that is needed
- If you work late, please let the custodian know so they can clean while you work. Otherwise, they may skip your room or return later if time allows.
Something to PonderThis week's "Something to Ponder" ties in perfectly with #3—reinforcing our school and classroom expectations.
Dave Stuart, Jr. discusses his "Woodenization" methods and how they help boost student effort. He draws inspiration from the legendary coach John Wooden, who would teach his players the proper way to put on their socks and shoes.
"As you might imagine, at first, the players were probably wondering what their coach was doing. Why start the season talking about socks and shoes? These were some of the best high school players in the country, already experienced in getting ready for basketball, and yet this legendary coach spent over 30 minutes explaining the details of socks and sneakers.
Then, with a twinkle in his eye, Coach Wooden would stand up and explain. If our socks have wrinkles or our shoes aren't tied properly, we could get blisters. And if we get blisters, we might have to miss practice. Missing practice means we won’t be as prepared for the game, and if we’re not prepared, we won’t perform our best. All because we didn’t pay attention to how we put on our socks and shoes."
Dave Stuart applies this same philosophy in his classroom as a practicing high school English teacher.
Student Testimonial
These are a few time time stamps of the video. Here is the link to Dave Stuart's article and blog.
8:10 minute video he explains why Woodenization is so important and how it will benefit students and empower you!
2:10 DS explains Coach Wooden's socks and shoes. Learning conucive behaviors need to be taught rather than assumed by the student.
2:51 What this does is normalize not knowing; everyone is being taught
4:54 DS explains the "Smallies" name on paper, how to turn in work, how to enter the classroom and "Biggies" as note taking, reading independently, etc.
6:00 "Smallies" are taught for 5 mins and then reinforced 100% of the time-modeling, reteaching, feedback, lots of repetition and practice.
SO MANY GOLD NUGGETS!!! I’m confident you’ll walk away with more than one key takeaway, just as I did.
