My Teacher Forever (revisited)

Teachers,

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

My Teacher Forever —

I was participating in a #youmatter chat on twitter and a comment came up that interested me. It was from Justine Tarte from St. Louis Missouri. He said "Highly effective teachers don't just have students for one year; they have students who view them as 'their' teacher for life...". I thought about this for a moment and it is true. The teachers I remember that I consider "my" teachers are the ones that really had an impact on me. Mrs. Durbin my kindergarten teacher took time with me and helped be start out to be a pretty good reader. My third grade teacher Mrs. Fanning really helped me understand math and we had some great waffle parties. Sixth grade was Mr. Neighbor and he pushed me to do better. I wasn't fond of him because he was mean, but he was "my" teacher because he pushed and I grew. I had others but the one teacher I call “my teacher” was Mr. Frieberg. High school music teacher. I had him for 3 years and my friends and I got to know him pretty well. He took time to explain life to us. He scolded us when we were making bad choices. He praised us when we were doing well. He took time to find out who we were and we found out who he was. He took time. I don't remember most of my teachers. I would have to look back to see what they even looked like. So who are "your" teachers? Who made an impact on you? And what are you doing to make an impact on your students so they will consider you "their" teacher after they leave? What a badge of love to get from a student. My teacher forever. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” ― Kurt Vonnegut

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Feb. 3-7 - Family Life Week Mon. Feb 3 - Teacher Training Day, our at 1:15 - meet at Crimson View Elem. @ 2pm.  Wed. Feb 5 - Dudes and Donuts 8-9 am Thu. Feb 6 - AES Culture Night 5:30-7 Fri. Feb 7 - Divas and Donuts 8-9 am	Mon. Feb 10 - PTSA Mtg 12:15 pm Fri. Feb 14 - Science Fair Assemblies
Feb 17 - President’s Day Feb 24-28 SEP Week  Online Scheduler is up for you to make changes as needed. Feb 10 parents can start setting appointments.

Favorite Article This Week —

8 Leadership Lessons from a Symphony Conductor

My dad was a music teacher. I always loved watching him conduct his orchestras and bands. We are conductors in our classrooms. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you to our Chinese Language teachers. I am always amazed when I come into your rooms, or even just stand outside your rooms and see the work you do. All the activity and engagement students do in your rooms. I am amazed at how well students speak, read, and write in Chinese. I hear parents talk about how they love that their student speaks and writes so well. I then think about all the work you put into your lessons and activities to help your students learn. That you for all you do for the students. To give them this opportunity and help them know they can accomplish hard things. Thank you for making our school amazing because you are here. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

Bonus Video

“This is incredible. Time to take another vacation from my excuses…”

This man is Blind. Inspiration for the new year. Anything is possible for us and for all our students.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

How Do I Learn?

Teachers,

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

How Do I Learn?—

One of the most important things we can teach students is how to learn. They should know that what we are doing is beneficial to them and, the most important thing, that they can learn it. Some students come to us with a fixed mindset and tell us they can’t do something. Some come to us and act as if it is not important to them. Everything we do is important to students and we just need to show them or convince them that what we have will help them grow. How do we do this? Relationships is the first way. Students learn to trust what we are teaching them is important because they know we will not lead them astray. We show them they can do things that are hard and make it through. They also need to know they can fail and life will still be ok. Students also learn how to learn when they track their own learning. Giving them a goal to work towards and then have them track their learning on the journey to that goal. Students want to learn. Look at all the things they do outside of school. They are searching to learn something new. The lessons we teach will open their worlds and provide more opportunities for them to learn and grow. We just need to teach them how to learn.

Quote I’m pondering —

Every day of our lives, we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference.

— Mignon McLaughlin 

What’s Happening Next Week —

Tuesday, Sept. 11 - Grade Level training for all Kindergarten 8:30-11:30 (K)

Tuesday, Sept. 11 - Grade Level training for all First Grade 12:30-3:30 (1st)

Wednesday, Sept. 12 - Grade Level training for all Second and Third grade. 8:30-3:30

Wednesday, Sept. 12 - Worldwide Warrior Student Leadership Training Thursday, Sept. 13 - Grade Level training for all Fourth Grade 8:30-11:30 (4)

Thursday, Sept 13 - Grade Level training for all Fifth Grade 12:30-3:30 (1st)

Monday, Sept. 17 - Power Hour-10(Power 50) Starts

Thursday, Sept. 20-21 - Jennifer Throndsen Observations and Training

Thursday, Sept. 20 - Literacy Night 6:00 - 7:30pm

Favorite Podcast This Week —

Thoughts for Teachers: What is Your Label?

Three important ideas to remember as we start this year.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you kindergarten for all thou have done to prepare for your first couple weeks of school. Starting a new schedule and figuring out how OEK and English Classes will work has been a long process, but with the team working together it is working. Thank you for all you do for the students and making sure they come first. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

Control

Teachers,

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

Control  —

At our Behavior Management training this week I read a saying that reminded me of what we need to remember as teachers. Pat Cross said, “If it weren’t for students impeding our progress in our race to the end of the term, we could certainly be sure of covering the material. The question, however, is not whether we, as teachers, can get t the end of the text of the end of the term, but whether our students are with us on that journey.” We control what happens in our classrooms. We control the environment and how engaging our lessons are. We control how we act and react to what students do each do. We control how we perceive the actions of others. We control us. We cannot control students. We do not control student behavior. If we try to we will end up in a  fight-or-flight situation for the student and the teacher. When a student misbehaves, we need to remember it is not a threat to us. We need to address the situation with the student and move on. We need to remember to answer the question, What is best for the student? Forcing the student to do something is trying to control them. We need to find a way to change their behavior by thinking it as a puzzle that needs to be solved, but not a threat to be removed. One of the reasons Kim challenged each of us to take on a child in our class is to alleviate some of these behavior issues. If we build a relationship with our students they will work with us. If we demand and control, they will end up worse then they already are. Let’s make their days better for being here. If we create excitement for them being here, they will do more of what we ask. Thank you for all you do. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What I am Watching —

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

This is a great video explaining what these are. We all need a Growth Mindset. It makes life less stressful.

Favorite Article This Week —

Fair Isn’t Always Equal – 3 Grading Malpractices

Grading is always a tough thing to do. That was the first major conundrum I ran into my first year of teaching. I am not a fan of grading elementary students. Labels an wait until high school.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you teachers and staff that helped during the Open House. We are in need of students at our school and We sure appreciate taking some time to walk around with the few parents that did come and help show off how wonderful our school is. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule and help promote our school. We appreciate your dedication and help. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Missed Opportunities

Teachers,

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

Missed Opportunities  —

I have done a little teaching in a couple classrooms over the last couple of weeks and I recorded myself. It is hard to watch myself teach and look at all the missed opportunities. Annette Brinkman taught about missed opportunities in the classroom and how they can help us see the things we could be doing in our classroom to help students. A couple of the missed opportunities I saw in my recordings were stating and restating the Objective in my lessons. I did it in one, but not in another. I also need to Keep checking on each student to see their successes and where they need help. The little things in our lessons can turn into missed opportunities for students to learn and succeed. I have handed out a couple cell phone tripods to record yourselves teach. If you have not done so, please do and take a few minutes and set it up. No one else needs to see it. If you have questions about a missed opportunity in your video, ask Alma, myself, or Kim. We are always willing to coach and help you improve. If you would like to use a tripod to record yourself with your phone, ask and I will loan you one. Recording yourself should be used as an opportunity to see what you are doing and to find those misses opportunities that will help you be the best teacher you can be. You are an amazing family of teachers in an amazing school with the best students. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“Behavior change is the only real apology.” – Mel Robbins

What I am Watching —

LEARN HOW TO FOLD A WORLD-RECORD-SETTING PAPER AIRPLANE

Just in case you wanted to know. A pretty cool math measurement experiment.

Favorite Article This Week —

We Must Maslow Before We Bloom

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Bloom's Taxonomy are important in education. Maslow must come first so we can Bloom.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you for all you did at Literacy Night for parents and students. As I walk around I was able to see the parent lessons going well and the fun activities for students were fun. Thank you for taking the time and teaching the parents that came to the literacy night. Thank you for taking the time to help with parents. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Teachers,

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

How Long Until I Am Finished Teaching?  —

This is a hard time of year. We are starting into testing for the older grades and the students are getting antsy because of the warm weather. Do not give up on the students. Do not let them get to you. They need everything we can give them. In my first year of teaching I learned that we stop teaching students once the end of year test is given and start doing activities to make it until the end of the year. They did not tell me this specifically, but through conversations, I learned this. So my first year went in that way. End of year testing, then activities. It was when I sat down with my principal a couple years later that we started to discuss the end of the year. So when is the last day we stop teaching students? Are there days we should not teach students and just put on a movie or take up a day by just having an activity or game day? We should be teaching every day when the students. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, there should be learning going on. We can’t give up the precious time we have with our students. We give tests all year long. We have the expectation that they will take the tests and that they will see the results so we all know what we need to work on next. The end of the year should be the same. Give the data to the students when we have it and show them what they need to work on. We have so much to get through. Use the time we have throughout the year until the last day we can teach and provide learning activities for students. I understand the last week of school is tough. Provide learning activities that students can learn from. Putting them on a computer at letting them go is not learning. Accountability should be held for each activity.

Quote I’m pondering —

When You allow the environment to control your psychology, you are not going to win.” – Tony Robbins

What I am ReWatching —

Simon Sinek - Start With Why

I taught a little this week in one of the classrooms and the one thing I could have done a lot better was to start with the why. Why do students need this? And it needs to be a great answer, not something they do not really believe they need.

Favorite Article This Week —

Research shows detrimental effects of laptop use in classrooms

How do we use our laptops in the classroom? This is an interesting article about things we need to be careful of. Tech is great, but not the end-all-be-all.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, Jana, for all you do. Every Club day, Jana waits at the end of the hall to make sure her students are with her and ready to go before she takes them out to the Library. Every club day she stands at the corner and reminds students to walk and helps them if they need help. Every day Jana walks around the Big Toy on the playground during lunch to make sure all students are safe. Everyday Jana takes care of the library and makes sure everything is running as smoothly as it can. Thank you, Jana, for all you do for our students. Thank you, Jana, for all you do for the school. Thank you for all you do Thank you.

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

What did I learn this week?

Teachers,

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

What did I learn this week?  —

This is a question everyone should ask. What did I learn this week? If we haven’t learned something, we need to start learning something each week, or each day. This week I learned that instead of just having a student apologize when they hurt someone, but to do a little extra for that person can make a big difference than I ever thought it would. I also learned that when a student starts to add compliments as their punishment, they realize they can make others happy, and they are a little happier. I have seen student smile more than I have all year when they tell me the compliments they give each day. I learned that giving students technology an not having a purpose and an accountability piece to the tech activity gives stuns a license to either do nothing or do something they would rather do on the computer. I learned that Phonemic Awareness and Phonics can determine if s student will read well in third grade. I also learned that reading comprehension is not base on answering questions, but how students use strategies like Monitoring their own comprehension, generating questions, using mental imagery, summarizing, using graphic organizers, and answering questions as they read. If students use these strategies and understand the words they are reading using PA, Phonics, background knowledge, and vocabulary, they will comprehend text. That was just a piece of what I learned, and I want to know more about each of these things. What I you learn this week?

Quote I’m pondering —

“It is better to know how to learn than to know.”  — Dr. Seuss

What I am Watching —

60-Second Strategy: 7-Minute Writes

I used to see 5-minute writing in some classrooms where the students wrote for 5 minutes and did not stop. It was not graded, it was just for students to write. This is better. 

Favorite Article(s) This Week —

The Gap Between The Science On Kids And Reading, And How It Is Taught

An interesting article about how important phonics and phonemic awareness is for reading. Interesting thoughts.

Reading Rockets - Reading resources for teaching reading. You may need to dig, but there is a lot here.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you, teachers, for all your hard work with the students. We were at this Literacy Academy and as we went over all our Dibels data and Core Phonics data, we found the improvement in the scores to be amazing. The work you are doing with the students is showing. I know that many of you have mentioned that you are seeing the difference in your classrooms. It is wonderful how you will take a learning strategy and implement it because you know it will help students. When Jennifer an Sara bring us strategies and show us how it will make our students successful, I love that we see them being used in your classrooms. It is also great to see in these meetings we go to that we are going things in our school that research is telling Gus we should be doing. That is all because of you. You are where the rubber hits the road. Your classrooms are where the learning and success happens. Thank you for all you do for students. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Student Education Planning

Teachers,

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

Student Education Planning  —

Meeting with parents to discuss how students are doing should be an amazing time for everyone. Providing parents with great things that their students are doing and showing their progress helps students and parents see what is happening at school and with their education. There has  to be good in every parent meeting. That being said, parents also want to know if there are issues they need to address to help their child be the best they can be. Showing parents data will help them understand what their student is working on and where they should end up. They also need to know what we are doing to help their student improve with their academics and behaviors. One thing we need to be careful about is holding back with parents. If there is something the student needs or needs to change, parents want to know. We do not need to be mean, but parents do not like to be surprised when they are told great things about their student and soon after the meeting the student is not doing so well. Show them the data, tell them what we are doing to help their student, and let them know what they can do. Be specific with what parents need to do. Some parents don’t know how to help their child run at home and might need to be shown. Make these meetings as positive as possible. And always end on a good note. This is one of 3-4 times some parents are in our school and we want them to know their student matters to us. They also need to know we are doing everything possible to make their student the best learner and the best person ever. That is all we parents want. To know that our children are progressing and will make it in the world.

Quote I’m pondering —

'As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.'" — Marianne Williamson

What I am Watching —

Easy DIY projects for kid engineers

These are some pretty amazing projects and ideas for extensions or even problem solving.

Another Favorite Article This Week —

Always Err on the Side of Positive

The power of being positive is always in our best interest.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Heather for all you do. Tis the season for IEP’s and it is hard for you to get them all scheduled when there are so many that need to be scheduled. For being a first year resource teacher, you are doing an amazing job. There is so much that needs to be done in your job and you have shown that you will do most anything to help students and be flexible for teachers. We appreciate your hard work. Thank you for all you do for the students. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Oops, Your Reflection is Showing

Teachers,

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

Oops, Your Reflection is Showing  —

One of the other topics Trisha talked about in our training was reflection in the classroom. One suggestion she gave to us is to have teachers reflect own their individual classroom engagement. What is the best way to do this? Video. Don’t freak out. Let me explain. She mentioned that each of the teachers in our present day has a video camera with them every day. It is your phone. All teachers need to do is set it up and video them teaching. No one else in the world needs to see it. No one else needs to hear it. But just watching ourselves will not give us the information we need to make us better teachers. We need to watch with intent to learn. No one else needs to see it…ever. So this is my suggestion. I purchased some wonderful tripods that hold phones. I also have a paper that goes with the tripod for reflection on the video. All a teacher needs to do is set it up in a corner of the room to video the class during a whole group lesson. I would even suggest putting gate camera in a couple different places over a couple days to get good data to reflect on. Then the teacher watched 15 minutes of the video (or a couple videos) and collect information on the paper. Look for opportunities to respond for students. The teacher asks questions and  during the reflection tallies each time a student responds. If the whole class responds with whiteboards or thumbs or chorally, a C is entered for whole class. Then the teacher looks for positive or corrective interactions. Positive interactions are comments or actions with students that are doing what they need to be doing. Corrective interactions are getting students back on task with a positive or firm correction. The last is how many distractions are there that take the instruction off course. From this information collected, a teacher can reflect on how students are reacting and acting when the teacher is teaching. If coaching is needed or wanted, the teacher contacts Alma, Glen, or Kim and we support, offer strategies or resources, and coach the teacher to increase student success in the classroom. This is an optional strategy to help teachers see what we just can’t always see. If the teacher is perfect, this will only show that in the video. If they are not, it gives them an opportunity to get better at teaching and increasing the success in the classroom. I thought back at how many times I had myself videotaped and the reflection process I went through with my coach. This is an opportunity to collect data on how students work in the classroom. If you are interested, please let me know and without question I will hand a tripod and reflection paper to you and will even take a few minutes to explain the paper to you. Make peace with reflection.

Quote I’m pondering —

“Whatever you’re doing, don’t give a voice to things you’re not able to change.” – Vince Vaughn

What I’m Watching —

This Is Water

This video was shown to the Tech Endorsement class on Tuesday by Tony. David Foster Wallace gave a commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. These are a few excerpts from it.

Favorite Article This Week —

Teaching Adding Decimals:What If You Gave The Answer First

A blog article about teaching decimals with an interesting idea that goes against how we were taught to teach. How do we scaffold to help students understand. This is a lesson that provides the scaffolding to get students thinking.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Kindergarten for all the opportunities you take to learn more. Thank you for being positive about teaching when you have half the time to teach your students. Only being able to teach each class twice a week is not an easy prospect when you have so many Standards to teach. Thank you for taking the time and asking the hard questions to make sure you understand what is expected. Thank you for taking care of our little ones and creating a great introduction to Dual Immersion learning at our school. Thank you for your time and efforts. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

STOIC

Teachers,

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

STOIC —

The training Kim and I went to the last couple days was an amazing reminder how important classroom management is to student learning. It provides a safe, civil, and productive school. The trainer, Trish, gave us amazing ideas that we will talk about in small doses and then do a full training on it the beginning of next year. We know that you do many of the things she talked to us about. The great things we learned were clarifications of ideas and information we have been using for years. We just need to tighten up on a few things. This includes  The first idea I want to share with you is stoic. It is an acronym for Structure, Teach, Observe, Interact, and Correct.

The first two are what we what we talked about the most.Teaching students how to behave responsibly in the classroom. So here are a few questions I want you to think about and if you say no to any of these questions, reteach your class. It is a great time of year to reteach the procedures and get them in the right way to learn. 

• Have you created lessons on expectations and explicitly taught them for classroom activities and transitions?
• Have you created lessons on expectations and explicitly taught them for classroom routines and policies?
• Have you provided teaching and reteaching as needed?

The part she stressed is creating lessons. Are they explicitly taught and expectations explained and practiced. The other part is Structure. Organizing the classroom for success. The thought I want to leave with you is the story Trish told about most high schools that have a rule about not wearing hoodies on their heads during school. But in the school store they sell hoodies. The lesson here is that if we are giving students the tools to break the rules, we are part of the problem. So the structure needs to be looked at and changed. One area we are addressing is playing tag during lunch recess. We take away tag and don’t put something in its place that provides the running and playing students need, they start getting in trouble play fighting, or playing tag again. So we need to change the structure. We are looking into adding some organized games during lunch recess to give students options to play and run. We hope to have these in place in the coming weeks. That is one area we needed a change. Look in your classroom and look for areas, times, or procedures where the most misbehaving happens. How can the structure be changed to avoid these behaviors? We are doing the same thing in the in all areas in the school. I will write about Structure and the rest of the STOIC framework in other 5 Points.

Quote I’m pondering —

“We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are.” —Anaïs Nin

What I’m Watching —

The Fastest Way to De-Fog Your Windshield

I love science. This is a good refresher course on the water cycle and condensation. I watched this a couple days ago and I am going to try this over the next couple days.

Favorite Article This Week —

Op-ed: Escaping the provocative self

I found this interesting and yet very informative. I need to look at situations this way. Especially when my kids are not happy with me.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Kirby for all you do. The care you put into this building and grounds to make it beautiful and safe makes you so important to our school. Thank you for helping everyone at lunch to open milk, open tacos and frozen juice. To clean up after all the students each day. Keeping our floors clean and shiny. Keeping your eye on all the little things that keep us safe. I appreciate your humor and putting up with all the crazy things we all do. We appreciate your helpers Jack and Nick as they take care of us at night. We appreciate their help and support as we do evening activities. We appreciate all you do, Kirby. We also appreciate Jack and Nick. Thank you for all you do to make our school a better place to be. Thank you.

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

Instructional Focus

Teachers,

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

Instructional Focus  —

One of the questions we asked at the training was about what our Instructional focus was at Dixie Sun. At our training this last week we learned from Patti Montgomery that this is an important part of our school is to have an Instructional Focus and to remind teachers of it often. What is the focus of our improvement in our school this year that has to do with Instruction. 

As Kim, Alma, and I looked at our needs in the school, and after having discussions with Jennifer, Sara, Patti, and Annette, we came up with three that we think need tightening up on. They are Engagement, Lesson Planning, and Explicit Instruction. At the training on Monday only ½ knew these. That is our fault. We should have been discussing this more with you. These are the three we will be talking about asking about as we come to PLC’s. We will be asking how your planning is and are you making sure you have the Explicit Instruction spelled out in your plans. As we come into your classrooms and see the great things happening, we will be looking at students to see their engagement levels in the activities they are doing. We should be able to ask your students what they are learning and they should know the objective and why they are working on this activity. We understand that there will be 10-20% of your class that might not know because they are learning to learn, but as engagement, and explicit instruction increases, most students should know why they are working on each activity and where they are headed.

I think one of the teachers put it well in a PLC this week, they said that “we are doing most parts of explicit instruction, lesson planning, and we are getting better at engagement, we just needed to be reminded which parts we were missing so we can improve.” I agree. We just need to be reminded of the parts and make sure we have them all included in our classrooms. You are amazing teachers. One of our goals for the rest of the year is to remind you of our objectives (Instructional Focus) to make sure you know what we are concentrating on. It is not subject based, it is Instructional based. We appreciate all you do.

Quote I’m pondering —

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

What I’m Watching —

Teach Teachers How To Create Magic

Don’t get stuck on the music part of the video and listen to the overall message he is saying. Create magic in your classroom. 

Favorite Article This Week —

Why Student Data Should Be Students’ Data

What should we do with all this data we are collecting on students?

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Julie, Jaime, Elena, Diana, and Teryn for helping in our training on Monday. As we talked with the teams throughout the school the one comment was made throughout was that they got to see teachers that used these strategies and skills in their classrooms. They also mentioned there needed to be more time. I appreciate that you were willing to take the time, from short notice, and share one amazing thing you do in your classroom. We have so many strategies and skills that are being used in our building that we can learn from. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for being the amazing teachers you are. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Progress Reports?

Teachers,

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

Progress Reports?  —

At Community Council meeting today there was a concern that was brought up and I want you to think about how we can address it. A parent wanted to know how we as a school can communicate with parents better the things we are doing at school and the progress their students are making. The suggestion was brought up to use powerschool and input all the tests and assignments we do. I mentioned that we are looking at progress in skills and not just numbers on a test. My philosophy in elementary school is that when we test we are not just looking at how many problems students are missing, but which problems they are missing and why they are missing them. So 7/10 does not always mean they are proficient because they earned the 70%, but that they master the 7 and now it is the 3 we need to look at to help in that area. Observations are also a little hard to input into Powerschool. Numbers do not always tell the full story. But the concern is a good one. How do we let parents know between SEP conferences how students are doing? If there is a concern with a specific concept that parents could help with at home, do they know what it is and how they can address it at home? There are some great things happening in our school in this area. What can you do as a teacher that does not take a lot of extra time, but will give the parents some information about how their student is doing, especially if they were told their student is struggling during an SEP? Communication is important. How do we keep the parents in the loop throughout the year? It does not have to be daily, or even weekly.  Talk about this in your teams and discuss some ideas.

Quote I’m pondering —

“Encouragement is oxygen to the soul.” — George M. Adams

What I’m Watching —

YouTube Channels for Elementary Students

These are some good resources for math videos. I am not saying hand them over to your students and let them go, but there are some great videos here to show or to embed in Powerschool Learning. Make sure you watch them first if you use them with students.

Favorite Article This Week —

The Secret of Effective Feedback

This has an interesting thought about what we are expecting when we assign work. What we do with that work can turn it from an assessment of what the child can do to how we can help the student be a better learner. Interesting article. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Fourth grade teachers. for all you do. I appreciate the work you do in your PLC as you work through what is best for students. I appreciate the work Diana does with engagement, getting the students up and moving, discussion with each other, and being excited when you do it. I appreciate the hard work Kristen puts in as she works with her team to form a plan that will carry through the year. Changing what is needed as she learns what needs to be changed. And I appreciate the ideas and tenacity Derrell has to be a teacher everyday after deciding one day to see what this teaching thing is all about. Thank you for being a strong team. Thank you for being willing learners and amazing teachers. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Good Intentions

Teachers,

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

Good Intentions —

As I sat in the Principal’s Literacy class today, the presenter said something that really struck a chord with me. She said that everything we do in our schools needs to be intentional. We are given children for 6.5 hours and we need to use every moment to help them succeed. If we are not intentional with our instruction, our lessons, and our attitude, it is not helping students. Every lesson should be planned out ahead of time with objectives, structure, and sequence to maximize the learning with each student. Students deserve to more than best intentions from teachers, the deserve to have teachers that are intentional in their teaching. I found that interesting and true. We have very little time in our day. Everything we do with students should be intentional to help them succeed in learning.

Quote I’m pondering —

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves.” 

–Ender Wiggin in Enders Game

What I’m Watching —

Kindergarten Assessments at the Beginning of the Year- thank you Politicians....

The fun we have with computers and kindergarten students. I understand that some of the older grades have issues like this also. Enjoy.

Favorite Article This Week —

 Stop telling kids you’re bad at math. You are spreading math anxiety ‘like a virus.’

One of the things adults need to understand is that sometimes we help children with their anxiety and fears. This also goes for more than math.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Heather for all you do. You have come to our wonderful school with high expectations and an amazing attitude and have picked up the job and ran with it. Everything we have asked of you, you have done. You have cared for the students. You have taken it upon yourself to be out at lunch recess with stickers so you can learn student names. You have done amazing and we just want to thank you for all you do for our school and for the students. Thank you for being with us. Thank you.

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

Checking In, Checking Out

Teachers,

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

Checking In, Checking Out  —

One of the ideas Kim and I wanted to work on this year were student discipline issues we have seen at our school. We don’t have serious issue, but we have some that get under teachers skin and sometimes ends up that the teacher needs a time out, or that the student needs someone to talk with.One of the new ideas we have heard about and are putting into effect this year is the Check-in, Check-out program. We have started small and are adding a few more students here and there. Some of the students really have made serious improvements, and some we are still working with. Let me explain what it is and how it works.

A student comes to my office in the morning before school, or right after school starts. Kim or I sit with them and see how they are doing, getting a feeling of how their day might be, and give them a minute to tell me something they want to get out. It is a time for us to build a relationship with them and they have a chance to be listened to, one on one. Then we talk about the “Check In” sheet. There are four things we talk about, “Listening to the teacher”, “Being on task”, “Appropriate talk with others”, and “Completing their work”. They have a chance to get a 2 (amazing, but not perfect), a 1 (part to most of the time), or a 0 (less than part of the time or nothing) during the morning, afternoon, specials, and during clubs. They set a goal of how many 2’s they will get that day. It might be 1, it might be 10. Theory set the goal. They take the Check In Sheet to their first teacher and they go on with their day. At the end of the class the teacher circles the numbers, gives a short explanation why they got the numbers they did, signs the paper, and they take it to the next class. At the end of the day, they “Check Out” with Kim or I by coming to the office before school is over and sharing with us how their day went. We discuss the 0’sand 1’s and celebrate the 2’s. We make a plan about what they will do to get 2’s in class and we send them home. After we have talked with their parents about the Check In sheet, the note goes home for the parents to sign and the student brings it back the next day when they get in their new Check In sheet. This paper is not a punishment. Even when they get 0’s it is not a punishment, it is a way to find out why they are getting 0’s and 1’s in class. It also helps us with patterns in their behaviors. 

If they are sent to the office because of a serious behavior problem, there will be a punishment of some kind. I personally like picking up trash and cleaning up our school during lunch. Then I can talk with them while we are cleaning the school up.

What we need from teachers is consistency in asking for the papers, taking a minute to talk with the students and don’t just circle numbers and push them out the door. We also need you to make sure they get to the office either before school or right after the bell. Some students in the upper grades can be sent after iReady time also. And the hard part is making sure you get the papers each day in the afternoon and send them to the office before school ends. It gets crazy with snack and other distractions as school ends, so if they are sent before the bell rings we can get them all and send them home. You can even send them before Clubs if you like. Please help us with this. Right now we have about 7 students, but we are hoping to have a few more and give Check in sheets to other people in our school. This gives students someone to talk with for a minutes twice a day along with the attention you give them as a teacher.  Thank you for all you do. We hope this program will help change a few of the behaviors that can distract a class and make your classroom a wonderful learning environment with few intentional distractions. From students.

Quote I’m pondering —

“Stick your neck out…it’s a lot more fun than sitting at home and watching other people do it.” 

– Sir Richard Branson

Favorite Video This Week —

Step your Steps

The Fitbit challenge has come to this! Red Mountain sent this out to all the principals. Enjoy the humor about our Fitbit Challenge.

Favorite Article This Week —

Training teachers in phonics should be prioritised, says thinktank

Ya. We know. We see the gaps and are starting to fill them with PD and a great Phonics program. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you First Grade. Thank you for taking the learning you have gotten and putting it into your classrooms the next day. Thank you fro working with your groups of students and never giving up on any of them. Working with the students that need a little extra and building them up and giving them a reason to learn. No stone unturned, no student left behind. Thank you for your passion. Thank you for your ideas. Thank you for telling us what you need to get to the next step. Thank you for all you do. You are appreciated. Thank you.

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

Time to Recharge

Teachers,

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

Time to Recharge  —

We do have many breaks as we go through the school year, but as a teacher it was always great to use it as a time to recharge. I hope that you are doing something fun and taking time to be with your loved ones, or at least talk with them. Get your mind off school for a little bit so when you come back you are fully charged and ready to go. Balance is always a difficult thing to maintain and manage as a teacher. There is so much to do and yet we need time to get our balance of home and school into focus. Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you Monday morning!

Quote I’m pondering —

“The only true voyage would be not to travel through a hundred different lands with the same pair of eyes, but to see the same land through a hundred different pairs of eyes.” 

–Marcel Proust

What I’m Reading —

Stop Stealing Dreams

This is a book in PDF form. It is a manifesto from Seth Godin about school. If you are looking to be a pirate and want a different look at different thoughts about teaching. This is a good start. Pick a few headings and read a little. Maybe you agree, maybe you don't. It has some interesting thoughts here. Seth wrote the book “Purple Cow” which is an interesting book about how to stand out from everyone and be remarkable.

Favorite Article This Week —

The Power of the Positive Office Referral

As we start using our new Check-In-Check-Out System in the office, I thought this might be a great article to keep in mind when and why you send students to the office.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you for all you do. There is so much going on in our school and I see everyone working hard to help their students improve and be successful. I talk with students as they walk around the track and I always ask how school is going for them and what they are learning. I don’t any students tell me they hate school and are not learning anything. They love school and they love their teachers. They love you. Thank you for making them feel loved. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful 4 day weekend.