Pie With The Principal

Teachers,

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

Pie With The Principal —

Monday is Kim’s first Pie with the Principal meeting. It is something the is doing to get to know the community a little better. It is a forum so parents can ask questions and help them understand anything that is happening at our school. It is also a great time to do a little PR with the parents so they feel comfortable to come to talk with her or with you. It also gives Kim an understanding of what the community needs and is thinking about. Kim is also going to initiate Parent Learning Walks throughout the year. This will be a time when a few parents that sign up can walk through the school to see the great learning and teaching that is going omg in this amazing school. She will talk about something to look for in the classrooms that have to do with students. It is a great way for parents to see what their students are doing. Encourage parents to attend the forum on Monday. It will start at 9;30 am in the library. She will have a few of them throughout the year so parents can come and discuss issues and eat a piece of pie.

Quote I’m pondering —

Stop beating yourself down. You DESERVE to feel good about yourself.— Mel Robbins

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. Sep 9 - Pie with Principal 9:30 am (parent meeting) Mon. Sep 9 - Teacher Training (out at 1:15) Tue. Sept. 10 - PTA Meeting 12 Fri. Sep 13 - Tuacahn Assembly 10:30 am Fri. Sep 13 - Staff Luncheon	Tue. Sept. 17 - Picture Day Wed-Thu Sept. 18-19 - Dixie State Students Fri. Sept. 20 - Jog-a-thon Fundraiser Start Fri. SEPT. 20 - Meet the Masters 8:15 am
Sept. 23-27 - Just Say Hello Week

Favorite Article This Week —

What to Do When You Feel Like You're Too Behind to Catch Up

I know it is the beginning of the year and we have a lot to do. This is not only for what to do when you are behind, but it is also for doing things that will help you with any frustration. One of the biggest ones is the first thing. Identify something you can do immediately.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you first grade for being the first one to dive into interventions. All grades have worked to get the groups working. I appreciate all the work first grade has done to make it work with each class to make sure students are getting everything they need. It is wonderful to see how you work together as a team and get things done. I appreciate your willingness to adjust for every need students have. Thank you first grade for your work. Thank you for each one of you and all you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

A Sense of Progress Is in the Air

Teachers,

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 —

Overwhelmed? Do 5 Things.

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.

Revisiting a Previous Post “Planning for Substitutes”

Teachers,

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

Revisiting a Previous Post “Planning for Substitutes” —

I was talking with the Community Council on Wednesday afternoon and we were talking safety and concern came up about how substitutes will know what to do in case of an emergency in a classroom. So I thought about this. I would like for every teacher to put together a Substitute Information page that you can leave out whenever you have a sub. It is a page that will not include daily plans but will include information that a sub might like to know to help run your classroom better. Procedures that are used all the time and are not written into lesson plans. Topics like; procedures during an emergency fire drill or any emergency drill, How do students line up, How you deal with situation in your classroom, procedures for students using chrome books or iPads in the classroom, how you call on students, procedures for specials and PE, and any specific times students go to ELL, Resource, Speech, or other places, How you line up to go to iReady… There are many things that are procedures we see every day that you might like a sub to know when they come to your room. When you put this list together just print it and put it next to your sub plans when you have a sub. If you would send Anita a copy of the Sub Info also she can print it if there is ever an emergency. The biggest piece of information we would like on this page is what to do in an Emergency. Where to go, how to line up, who to they report to, and anything specific they need to know that will help them through an emergency. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”
— John Muir

What’s Happening This Week —

Wednesday, Oct. 24 - 3rd Grade to Symphony

Thursday, Oct. 25 - Reflections Awards 6:00pm

Thursday, Oct. 25 - Jennifer Throndson Observation

Friday, Oct. 26 - Jennifer Throndson Training. 4-5: 7:45, K-1: 10:30, 2-3: 12:30

Friday, Oct. 26 - Red Ribbon Week Assembly

Monday, Oct 29 - Teacher Training Day (out at 12:15, sign up for your training at DSU)

Favorite Article This Week —

A Troubling Side Effect of Praise

A thought about praising students for being smart. Here is an interesting definition of smart in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you First grade for all the work you are putting into your “Power 50”. Thank you for all the work you are doing in putting the lessons together for each of your groups. We appreciate all the data you collected and how you used it to identify all the different needs of students and are moving them fluidly into other groups, as needed. Thank you for taking the time to spend time with all your students to get to know them. You have really taken the time to show your students you care for them. We appreciate your efforts for your students. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work

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.

What Truly Matters

Teachers,

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

What Truly Matters —

SAGE testing has started and we are looking through the scores and they come in and are seeing some great things and some areas we wished were better. So what do we do with these scores? What do we do with any scores w get from our testing? What truly matters in our classrooms and what we do here at Dixie Sun? Is the test the end-all, be-all? No, student learning is what truly matters. Bob told us something during the K-2 training about assessment that stuck with me. 

1. Assessments determine who is proficient. 
2. Assessments show us who needs additional support to get the skill assessed. 
3. 3. Assessments determine which teaching practices get the best results.

The last one is a tough one. But it is also the one that helps students and teachers grow. Which teaching practice got the results we wanted and how to we take that practice from one or more teachers and have it work in other classrooms? If we keep doing the same thing and we are not getting the results, we need to look at our practice and change it a little. What truly matters is what is best for the students in our classroom. How do we improve learning in our classrooms? Assessments help us find out what is needed for students and what is best practice in our classrooms. It is not used for teacher evaluation. There are too many variables in that equation. How we use the data we gather from assessments is what truly matters. What will we do with what we know to help students learn and grow.

Quote I’m pondering —

“The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving." —Gloria Steinem

What I’m watching —

Wait, What? (And other big questions)

Bob Sonju shared a piece of this video with K-2 during their team meetings this week. At least read the short article. It is an amazing video if you want to watch the whole commencement speech.

Favorite Article This Week —

The Pale Blue Dot

Bob also shared an article thing K-2 that talks about how we should think about how we should think in our lives. Read it. Ponder it. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Kindergarten, First, and Second grade. Watching you work in the meeting with Bob was amazing. i can see how your work will benefit the students and how your expectations will take our students to the next level. I loved watching the collaboration, the discussion, and the exchanging of ideas that made the curriculum more understandable for you and it will be more understandable for your students. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for taking the time to learn. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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

Back to the Learning

Teachers,

Here is your New Years dose of “5-Point Friday. 

Back to the Learning—

The next two months are the best months for learning. Students are coming off a two week stretch of relaxation and down time and are primed to start up their brains. They have been in school for 5 months and should know the rules, even though you will have to remind them perhaps for a few days, and they know the procedures of your classrooms. Now hold them to them and teach. Once it hits spring break they start thinking of the end of school and we have about a month and a half to keep them going before they need more entertainment in the lessons. A few reminders about testing. DRA is coming quickly after we start. WIDA testing is also here. Sage will open in March so think about when you want to start your writing testing. We will worry about the rest in April. Remember that testing is a snapshot of your students. It does not define them and it should not define you. It is data to help us know where we need to go next for us and our students. Thank you for all you do. Now teach like the wind... Sorry. I just watched the Three Amigos. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“The point of learning is not just to know things, but to be a different person– more mature, more wise, more self-disciplined, more effective, and more productive in the broadest sense.”

― Grant Wiggins

What I’m watching —

Kid President's Pep Talk to Teachers and Students

We all need a pep talk from the Kid President. Keep on Dancing!

Favorite Article This Week —

Are You Doing Your Own Homework?

Just a thought about homework as we start the new year. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you First Grade. Working with you in your PLC’s has been wonderful. Talking about students and how to work with those that are in need. Our discussions about students, curriculum, and your ideas for lessons have been fun to be a part of. Watching the work you do in the classroom is also a joy to see as your students work through your planned lessons. I appreciate all you do for your students. I know the students do also. Thank you for all you do. 

I am also thankful for everything all teachers are doing to increase the reading skills in your classrooms. After learning about teaching Phonics in the classroom from Sara and seeing and hearing the ideas going around about how to implement it into your classrooms is amazing. I am so excited to see how the DRA scores and Dibels scores improve this year. Thank you teachers for working to help our students be successful readers. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you. Have a wonderful weekend. 

The Little Things

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

The Little Things —
On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 of the Ukrainian Atomic energy power plan in Chernobyl exploded, polluting the surrounding territory and all of Europe with radioactive particles. There are 211 control rods that regulate the reactivity of the core. As a safety measure, there must be 15 rods inserted into the core at all times. Through the 1600 channels carved in the 4 million lbs. of graphite run water that absorbed the intense heat produced by the nuclear fuel rods. The water absorbs the heat, boils, turns to steam and is used to turn turbines, creating power, and then returns as it cools back into water to restart the process. At the time of the explosion the reactor was due for maintenance. The reactor was slowed down and the emergency cooling system was shut down. Kiev requested to keep the reactor up because of extra power was needed. When the reactor was taken off the grid and slowed down, it had slowed to below the allowable limit because the operator wanted to slow it down manually and the cooling system was shut down. The operator "oversteered" the reactor by trying to regulate the "situation" and not the "process". When the engineers tried to bring it back up it was not going up fast enough, but they decided to go on with the experiments. This was the mistake.

Why? Because they violated the safety rules. They possibly violated the rules because they had done it before and since nothing happened, breaking the rules was reinforced. They did not have to worry about the rules and could act freely to finish the needed work. Safety rules are designed so the violator is not blown sky high but might find their life easier, but the likelihood of disaster increases. The violations had become habits and routine. The operators did these things because they had always done these things. They were of the opinion that the safety rules were designed much too narrowly for an experienced team. By the time they had finished their experiment and reduced the flow of water, the reactor was still too low and there were only 6-8 rods left in the core. When they realized they had made a mistake, they started shoving rods back into the core, but the built up heat in the core had bent the tubes and there were two explosions. It is the little things we need to do to keep everything in check. Keep an eye on the process and procedure and don't let a situation change everything. We may not think something is important, but in the big picture, it can be very important? So what the little things we need to keep track of?

Quote I’m pondering —
"The most valuable thing you can do is make a mistake. You can't learn anything from being perfect." Adam Osborne

What I’m watching —
Another Lex Prin Video
One more Lex Prin video. I love the way he says Halloweens and bless your colleague. Keep them coming Lex.

Favorite Article This Week —
Do You Know What Accountability Really Means
This article reminded me the difference between accountability and punishment. Short article, great information. Especially as we look for student accountability in our classrooms.

A Big Thank You —
Thank you First grade. Your idea of inviting parents every month to be a big part of the classroom has been a big success. so many parents come and participate in the activity with their student. We appreciate you inviting parents into our school to make them comfortable here. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.

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