My Mission Call

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

My Mission Call—

Baruti Kafele (@PrincipalKafele), a presenter at the Title 1 Conference, asked some important questions that I want to relate to you. 

• “What do you do that demands school-wide excellence?”
• "What is my purpose for being in this school and does it drive what I do and say?”
• "What is my educator mission? What is the thing that I want to accomplish and will stop at nothing to get it done?”
• “ Do I treat my teaching/leadership as a job or a mission?”
• “Am I being intentional?”

These are tough questions to answer. This takes a lot of thought and reflection. The easy answer would be to educate children. But what are the answers to these questions?

Some of these students have more on their plates than we will ever understand. Education takes a back seat to their issues at times. Relationships with students are important. They need to know they matter. that is my mission. That is what I want to improve on and make sure students understand. They matter.

So what are your answers to these questions? I am still working on my answers. When I find them I am sure they will evolve and change. Reflection on them will take time. Take some time and reflect on these questions, then make your answers your mission. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“It’s lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most time- and energy-consuming… The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals.” - Tim Ferris

What I’m watching —

Road Tripping with Kids

This is similar to road tripping with Administrators. Everyone has been a part of this somehow. Enjoy. 

Favorite Article This Week —

Splat!

This math-based website has free lessons that make students problem solve the answers under the splat on the page. These are great for collaborative centers for students to find the answers and explain their thinking. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Shelly, Alma, Anita, Inez, and Amanda for helping at school while Kim and I are learning how to make our school better. We have information to bring back and help our school be the best ever. We have ideas the share and programs to suggest and for you to look at. We cannot do this without amazing people that help lead the school while we are home. Thank you. We also appreciate every teacher for all you do. We know that while we are gone the students will be cared for and taken care of like they always are. Thank you for being the best teachers. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. It will be wonderful to be back in the school. Learning. Have a great weekend.

What Would Your Keynote be?

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

What Would Your Keynote be? —

I was at a conference a couple years ago and the keynote speaker was amazing. She taught about bringing the best out in students. She talked about how we as teachers are the ones that help students realize who they can be. Families bring the support and provide direction, but we give students the skills and the learning to make their dreams come true. So thinking about that, I want you to do a little reflection.what part of what you do would you teach to others? You do not have to be better than anyone else, you just need to be good at what you do. What is it that you do that helps students? Think about it. Write a presentation about it. Six slides in a PowerPoint. How would you teach others? How would you explain it? You are all amazing teachers and you need to share what you do with others. So what would your keynote be about? I dare you to write one, even if you never present it to anyone except your team, or yourself. Write one. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” -John Dewey, 1915

What I’m watching —

The Hunt for the Wilderpeople

This is an actual movie. The link will take you to the trailer. The reason I like this movie is that it shows that when a child has not hope they just keep doing things wrong until someone actually cares and gives them the hope they are seeking. It is also a pretty funny movie. I hope you take a chance and check it out. It is at Redbox. 

Favorite Article This Week —

Confession: I Like Worksheets

This article perked my interest. I am not a fan of worksheets so I had to check this one out.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you for all you do. I love walking through the school and seeing conferences go on. Helping parents see their students progress, and sometimes helping them see their students in a new light. Thank you for taking the time to talk up the students, to make them the focus, to share the good about each student, and help the parents see what they can do to help. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful 3 day weekend. Enjoy President’s Day.

What are Your Intentions

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

What are Your Intentions —

I have been talking to my son about dating these last few weeks and we talked about his intentions for dating. Is he looking for a girlfriend or is it to get out and have some fun with friends, or to find what he is looking for when the thought of marriage comes up in 10 years... It was a great discussion we had. Then I thought about teaching. An intentional teacher makes  every moment count in the classroom. Creating lessons that use learning targets from end to beginning. Creating common formative assessments and working backwards. Teaching beyond the subject. use the opportunity to integrate something extra into every lesson that adds to the learning. A life lesson. Science or social studies into a language or math lesson. Building and using learning targets and GVC's to guide what our lessons are going to look like so we know what the learning will look like. That is what makes our teaching intentional. When there is intention, there will be lessons learned and successes to be celebrated. I know that you put a lot of thought into your lessons and teaching. There are amazing lessons going on all day long. Making each lesson a piece of the puzzle that will end up in a masterpiece of learning in the end helps every student maximize their potential. Being intentional in our teaching helps each student maximize their potential. Students deserve every lesson to be intentional. Every lesson should fit into the puzzle. As I watch our fifth graders get ready to show-what-they-know I know they will show how they have progressed through their years at Dixie Sun. They are the masterpieces we have helped build. They show our intentions. Celebrations are coming, I can feel it.

Quote I’m pondering —

“What is learned out of necessity is inevitably more powerful than the learning that comes easily.” -Malcolm Gladwell

What I’m watching —

Text Talk Time

I was at a training this year and as I was looking through the videos I have kept to watch again, I found this one and watched it again. Great lessons and amazing questions to get students thinking and talking. It is a fifth grade class, but great questions work for most grade levels. 

Favorite WebsiteThis Week —

Google Forms Basics in 7 Steps

This is an easy way to make a quick test, survey, ask opinions, or give students a chance to be a part of decision making. This is a quick tech training. East to do, easy to use, and it gets information put together quickly in beautiful graphs. Enjoy.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Amanda. Thank you for working with our students that need a little guidance and help in social areas. Thank you for all you do with Safety Patrol. Thank you for being here at our school to help with issues we are not always prepared to work with. Thank you for being our counselor. Thank you. 

Thank you Fifth Grade. Interviewing for a position is not an easy thing to do, especially when there are great candidates. Not as great as #freakingpaul, but Daryl  is a great fit and will do well in Fifth Grade. Paul will be taking his amazing teaching to another school where he will shine. Thank you Fifth grade for all you have done with your students. Thank you for all you do. Thank you Paul. Take luck and care for it.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful weekend.

PBIS Safety Video

This our fourth installment this year of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Video series for Dixie Sun. In this video we discuss being safe at school. Safety at school is very important so students feel safe and secure at school. A few things we discuss are;

• Everybody needs to be happy.
• Don't wrestle at school
• No hitting
• No Play Fighting
• No Kissing
• No pushing and Kicking others
• No tackling
• Wait your turn on the slides
• Play fighting
• Do not call names cause we want others to feel happy
• Everyone wants to feel safe
• Emotions
• Emotions mean you are being moved
• Vocabulary lesson (emovere)
• Tell people how you feel
• I feel  ____ when you _____. Next time will you please _____. Thank you.
• You need to mean it when you are sorry. 
• I am sorry. I  _____. I was wrong because ______. The next time I will _____. Please forgive me.
• Everyone has a right to feel safe.

And Now A Thought About Fluency

Teachers,

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday. 

And Now A Thought About Fluency —

Kim and I have been going to a Literacy Training. There was a part of the training that was an ah-ha moment for me. I read about Fluency and how important it is leading up to comprehension. Fluency is only how fast a text is read out loud, but it also includes accuracy and prosody. Students should read as fast as they talk. There is a WPM guide that tells us how fast that should be according to grade level, but a generally it should be as fast as a student talks. Faster than that, they are just reading as fast as they can and comprehension suffers. Accuracy brings in words, vocabulary and context and provides meaning to words students recognize as well as context to the text. If words are missed or misread, the meaning of the story could get lost. Prosody is the way stories are read. The voice fluctuation, the raising and lowering of the voice, sounding like the voices that are speaking the words on the page, and reading not only the words, but the punctuation. Storytelling. Put all these things together and we get fluency. Without each of these things, comprehension goes down. Now to the ah-ha moment. As we learned about all this, we thought about how we read books with students and listen to them stumble over words, help correct them if they say a words or sentence wrong, and in the end have them tell us what they read. If the student is reading a book they are not fluent in and are struggling reading words and do not know the vocabulary, should we expect them to understand what they read each time? They need to work on comprehension, but fluency is a big part of being able to understand the meaning of a text. So what do we do? If they do not comprehend what has been read, is the fluency getting in the way? Would choral reading help them understand better as they listen and read? Just a thought. If a student does not comprehend what is going on in a story, it might be because of their fluency. I know you are all working on amazing things with your students. This was just an moment of clarity for me. You just happen to be on the reading end of my thoughts. Thank you for bearing with me.

Quote I’m pondering —

“I not only use all the brains I have, but all the brains I can borrow.” -Woodrow Wilson

What I’m watching —

Decorah Eagle Camera

I have been watching this pair of eagles for about 5 years. They build their nest in January and February. Mom lays 2-3 eggs the middle of February, about 3-4 days apart and the two share their time siting on the eggs. Good lesson on sharing. Both boy and girl sits on the eggs. About the middle of March they hatch and we get to watch the parents feed fish and rabbits and other yummy foods to their young. Then about the middle of May the little ones start to stretch their wings and by the last day of school they are off and the nest is empty until January. And it is all live. They do have saved videos in two hour segments that they post so you can see what happens at night, or when something special happens you can refer back to it. Amazing.

Favorite Article This Week —

Dad’s Special Lunch Bag Drawings Help ‘Shy’ Son

These are some of the most amazing drawings, and they are on lunch bags. This is an amazing, talented dad. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Alma. Seriously you have done amazing things with our school. The coaching that happens when you put your magic touch and persistence on a situation. I have learned a lot from you. You have taught us all amazing things. It does take willingness and hard work on the part of the people you work with, but the fruits of your labors are evident and priceless for our school and the students. Thank you for all your hard work. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful weekend.