Here is your weekly dose of “5-Point Friday.
A Sense of Progress Is in the Air—
I read an article about setting ideals and goals. Ideals is where we want to be. Ideals change for students every year and sometimes throughout the year. They change for us as teachers as we see new ways to teach. As we When we set our goals as a teacher or class it is more important to measure ourselves against where we have been and not the ideal. If we measure ourselves or students on the ideal there will always be a gap. This does not make anyone happy. Closing the gap takes time, sometimes it takes a lot of time. Years. And years. But if we measure ourselves or students against where they were in the beginning,everyone experiences satisfaction and happiness and we will all be ready for the next step to get us closer to the ideal. Reaching goals brings happiness and confidence. We should review the progress we are making regularly to see if we need to adjust or keep on the path. Reviewing keeps us appreciate the little things that lead up to the goals. Students need these little things to help them see where they are in the path to the goal. Focusing on the gain and progress will create a positive feeling and memory that leads to a positive past. We have negative memories with different subjects in school because we were focusing on the ideal not the gains we were making. When we are always in the gap and not seeing gains we do not feel the joy of accomplishment. We put all this effort into getting to the ideal but it doesn’t seem to get closer. Measuring gains helps us see what we have accomplished and pushes us forward to achieve the next goal that will get us to the ideal. Having students measure where they are and seeing that they are improving and getting closer to the goals we help them set helps motivate students to do better. Not every student will seem motivated, but that is the 10-15% of students. That leaves 85-90% that will be motivated. Those are great percentages. Goals we set in class are the learning targets we shoot for over a course of time based on learning outcomes in our daily lessons. These should be specific and measurable. Students need to know what they are shooting for in small chunks. A road map. This is where we are going (ideal, GVC) and the way we get there is by taking this route (learning targets) on these streets (daily learning outcomes). Every step of the way we measure and celebrate moving to the next goal. We all need hope. Hope is a by product of confidence, which is a by product of past success. The more we all succeed the more hope we have and the greater our outlook on life is. The end of year tests are not the ideal or goal we are shooting for. It is the learning and growth from year to year for the students. Progress is we want to see in ourselves and the ones we teach. I sense the progress happening in our school.
Quote I’m pondering —
The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire, the size of your dream and how you handle disappointment along the way. -- Robert Kiyosaki
What’s Happening —
| Mon. April 29 - TAT 3rd Grade 8:15 Tues. April 30 - Choir Concert 2:30 Wed., May 1 - PLC 8:15 Thu., May 2 - Mini Color Run for Boxtops Fri., May 3 - Last School Store 10:00am Fri., May 3 - Retirement Party 1:30-4:00 | Mon. May 6 - TAT 4th Grade 8:15 Mon. May 6 - Dibels 9-12 Mon. May 6 - Assembly 9:30 Mon. May 6 - Kinder Program Tues. May 7 - Dibels 9-12 Tues. May 7 - Bike Assembly 2:45 Tues. May 7 - Kinder Program Wed., May 8 - Bike to School 8-9 Wed., May 8 - Kinder Program Fri., May 10 - Last Day Take Home Library Fri. May 10 - Bus Ride Karaoke 1:30 |
| April 29-May 3 - Lunch Workers: Marchant and 2 from Ping/Fuchs | May 6-May 10 - Lunch Workers: Sorry, I didn’t have the list with me. |
Favorite Article This Week —
This time of year I usually feel a little overwhelmed with testing and my kids getting all their final assignments done. Simplicity is important in times like these.
A Big Thank You —
Thank you for 5th grade for your help with knowing what we need to do at the end of the year. As you sat down with us you really helped us understand what we need to do and what is coming up. Thank you for brainstorming with us to make sure we have all the awards ready. We appreciate your willingness to help and guide us through the rest of this year. Thank you for giving us ideas that will make next year run smoothly for everyone. We appreciate everyone for helping us. Fifth grade, you have helped us get ready for the end of year assembly. That will be a big one. Thank you for all your hard work with the 5th-grade students. They are amazing and I am sure they will do you proud as they go to Lava Ridge. Thank you for all you have done for the school. Thank you.
I appreciate all of you and your hard work.
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