Diagnostic Grouping Tool

 Teachers,

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

Diagnostic Grouping Tool —

We will be getting a Spreadsheet that we can use to help group our students. It will take the information from the Diagnostic Assessment Spreadsheet and give us the two skills each student needs to work on.  Hopefully, it will be done this weekend and ready to use next week. I appreciate Steve and Michael Eves for all their hard work on this task. We will adjust it to fit your boards you have created. It will also have links to the lessons for each of the skills they will need taught. 

When we start WIN time we are trying to minimize the movement of students into other classrooms. It will be a challenge, but we will do our best as we make our groups. We will have some of the groups work in the Reading Room with the Aides. They will be cleaning desks sanitizing reading materials. I hope to have a better idea about what this will look like on Tuesday or Wednesday before our Data meeting on Thursday. 

Remember our Data meeting is only 40 minutes so the more you have done as a team before Thursday the easier it will be to assign groups and get the lessons ready to teach.

I really appreciate your patience with all the testing we do at the beginning of the year. Somehow we need to simplify this process.The information is great through and very helpful. We will start progress monitoring the 21st. We will have the grouping sheets ready so you know who to monitor and when. We will review Progress Monitoring the week before we start so everyone knows why and how.

Quote I’m pondering —

"Low self-confidence isn't a life sentence. Self-confidence can be learned, practiced, and mastered -- just like any other skill. Once you master it, everything in your life will change for the better." -- Barrie Davenport

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. August 31 - Annette Brinkman Mon. August 31 - Acadience Testing Gr. K-1 Tue. Sept. 1 - Acadience Testing Gr. 2-3 Wed. Sept. 2 - Acadience Testing Gr. 4-5 Fri. Sept. 4 - Egg Drop Kick-Off Video Presentation	Mon. Sept. 7 - Labor Day (No School Tue. Sept. 8 - WIN Time Starts Wed. Sept. 9 - SEP Conferences 4-7pm Thu. Sept. 10 - SEP Conferences 4-7pm
Sept. 14 - Teacher Training Day (out at 1:15) Red Bird Training Sept. 8 - WIN Time Starts

What I’m Reading This Week —

Less Jargon, More Grace: Using Language That Parents Understand

Since we are sending emails home to parents to let them know of everything that is going on, this is an article that might help parents understand what we are saying better.

What I’m exploring On The Line This Week—

Week of Inspirational Math(s)

Youcubed is a math site built by Jo Boaler from Stanford. You can download specific videos, mindset resources and tasks or you can make a week-long play list of your favorite activities. These playlists can be shared so others can use your design. This is one part of the site.

Thank you for all you do for students. I really enjoy working with all of you. I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

Specials, Emergency!

 Teachers,

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

Specials, Emergency! —

Specials start on Monday. Please be at your Specials on time and stay with your class until they are sat down. Once they are sat, please come to the conference room and we will make sure you are able to get into R4R and My Math/Redbird through Schoology. One we are done you will need to pick up your students from specials. Please be on time so the specialists can clean their rooms for the next grade level. Please help them each day this week of specials.

Our first fire drill is on Friday morning. Yeah. I want to review the procedures so everyone is on the same page. Before the fire drill, please talk with your team to decide which yellow dot you will take your class too. There are 5 yellow dots on the West side of the track for each grade level. I will have grade level numbers on them Monday. Each dot is 6 feet apart. Please keep students an arm away from each other the best you can. Walk it through with your students before Friday.

When the bell rings, line up with masks/shields. We will have the fire drill early so it will be in the 80’s and not the 100’s.  Shut your locked inside door, turn off the lights and make sure your students walk in line to the Yellow Dot. It is not a race. Remember to take a minute to listen outside to make sure everything is ok before you walk out the door. If you are a sweeper, please make sure your team knows who has your class.

At the Yellow Dot, take roll to see if there are any students missing. If your class is all there, tell your team leader everyone is accounted for. If there is a student missing from your class and you know where they are, please tell your team leader and they will text it to Kim/Kelly/Annette/Glen so we can check. If there is a missing student and you are not sure where they are, tell your team leader and they will text that to Kim/Kelly/Annette/Glen to check where that student may be.

Please keep your classes calm and at a low roar so we can talk to the student if needed. You should be able to give them directions quickly, if needed. If you would like to have them sit in their line on the grass after you have taken roll, that is fine.

Please wait until A whistle is blown by an Office member. Once the whistle blows, please walk your students back to class. Boom, there it is. 

Even though it is a drill, we want students to know they are safe and they should treat it as an emergency.

Quote I’m pondering —

"She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails." -- Elizabeth Edwards

What’s Going On —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. August 24 - First Day of Specials Mon. August 24 - Training during Specials Tue. August 25 - Acadience New Assessor Training Wed. August 26 - Acadience Assessor Review Fri. August 28 - Fire Drill	Mon. August 24 - Annette Brinkman Mon. August 24 - Acadience Testing Gr. K-1 Tue. August 25 - Acadience Testing Gr. 2-3 Wed. August 26 - Acadience Testing Gr. 4-5 Fri. August 28 - Fire Drill
Sept. 7 - Labor Day (No School) Sept. 8 - WIN Time Starts

What I'm Reading This Week —

The Power of the Positive Phone Call Home

This strategy will end most behaviors and bring parents to your side every time. It is also a great habit to get into at the beginning of the year. A couple a week does the trick.

What I'm Watching This Week—

8 Secrets to Success

A quick 4 minutes of great thoughts and fun, with a little colorful language. I have his book if you want a quick read.

Thank you for all you do for students especially during this unprecedented time. It has been a stressful week because of the spreadsheet experience, but we got through it. I appreciate all of you and your hard work.