What is the Difference?

Teachers,

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

What is the Difference? —

I went to a new doctor yesterday and after my check-up we go to talking about stuff. I was his last appointment of the day. We talked about places and people, then he asked what I did. After I told him I was a teacher he went on about how important teachers are. He felt that teachers make a difference in every person's life. Every person has a teacher they related to, remembered, and made a difference in their life. He went on about how his profession just keeps people comfortable and moves them along in life, but do not make the impact teachers do. He has always felt we need more support and pay. I just wanted to relate that to you. Teachers do make a difference. You make a difference in each student’s life. You control what students can and cannot do. You matter in each child’s life. You are the difference. Thank you. Happy Valentine’s Day

Quote I’m pondering —

“Gardening is not outcome-oriented. A successful harvest is not the end of a gardener's existence, but only a phase of it. As any gardener knows, the vitality of a garden does not end with a harvest. It simply takes another form. Gardens do not ‘die’ in the winter but quietly prepare for another season.”

― James P. Carse, Finite and Infinite Games

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. Feb 17 - President’s Day  Feb 18-21 - White Ribbon Week Feb 19-20 - Dixie College Students Practicum	Feb 24-25 - Kinder SEP’s (No School) Feb 42-27 - SEP Week Feb 24-27 - Book Fair
March 16-20 - Spring Break

Favorite Video This Week —

What Teachers Make

What do teachers make? A Difference. 3 minutes of truth and enjoyment about teachers. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Kelli, Annette, and Julie. To keep Kim and me on track is quite a job, but to work with the students and parents to keep the school going is almost superhuman like. It is true that the administration comes and goes, but the secretaries are the ones that keep the school moving in the right direction. Thank you for all you do for the students, teachers, staff, parents, and for Kim and I. You are amazing and deserve to hear it more than once in a while. Thank you for all your help. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

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

I Had A Vision

Teachers,

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

I Had A Vision —

I have been thinking about Interventions quite a bit and thinking of where it is going has become more and more clear. I am seeing the interventions changing over time and as more students fill their gaps teachers will be remediating their Tier 1 content while aides fill in gaps. Over the next few years, I am hoping it will look like this throughout the year. At the beginning of the year we assess student needs in literacy and start our intervention groups. After a month or two, the intervention groups will get smaller and end up being a couple groups that can be managed by the Aides. If there are only now or two groups the other aides can help with remediation of Tier 1 concepts. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? As soon as the interventions taught reach where the grade level should be in their Tier 1 lessons, it becomes Tier 1 and the aides can help with differentiation. That is the dream. That is the vision. I want to Intervene aides out of their intervention jobs and have them help remediate Tier 1. There will always be 10-15% that will need an intervention, but that is a better issue than 50%+ in interventions. You are all amazing. Thank you for all you are doing with the interventions.

Quote I’m pondering —

I think that the most proud moments I’ve had in my career are after failures, when you kind of learn that the sun also rises and the world keeps spinning when you fail and when you succeed. -- Christen Press 

What’s Happening —

This Coming Week	In Two Weeks
Mon. Sept. 30 - Service Dog Training Wed. Oct. 2 - Walk to School Day Wed. Oct. 2 - Parent Learning Walk 9:30 am Wed. Oct. 2 - TAT Second Grade 8:00 am Fri. Oct. 4 - PTA Jog-a-Thon Fri. Oct. 4 - Reflections Starts	Mon. Oct. 7 - Pie With The Principal 9:30 am Tue. Oct. 8 - Jog-a-Thon Money Due Tue. Oct. 8 - PTA Meeting 12:00 pm Wed. Oct. 2 - TAT Second Grade 8:00 am
	Oct. 17-18 - Fall Break  Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week

Favorite Article This Week —

Reading Aloud to Kids and Why Lessons Need Purposes

Interesting article that Timothy Shanahan wrote. Everything we do with students should be

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Third Grade. Thank you for all you have done with interventions. I appreciate how well you work together as a team. Talking every day, keeping in touch with students, and helping each other. Thank you for all you do to help some of your students that need a little extra. Taking into account some of the baggage they come with and giving them a little extra support. Thank you for building relationships with the students. Thank you for all you do for kids. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work.

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.

Happy New Year

Teachers,

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

Happy New Year—

Another year is here? Is it just me or do the years get faster and faster? Maybe it is just me. I was reading an article this last week about New Years Resolutions. It talked about how we make new year resolutions and within a couple months we have given up on them or decided it was not worth keeping because the goals were too hard in the first place. The author suggested that instead of resolutions and goals that we are in the habit of not keeping that we create a theme that we follow throughout the year to guide us. Every decision we make will go through the theme to see if it matches. If it does, run with it, if it doesn’t, change it or don’t do it. The theme we have as a school its to improve literacy. Every decision will be made through the lens of literacy and how it will improve our school. So what theme will you have as a teacher? What will your theme be at home for the year? What will your personal theme be? 

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 This Week —

Tue., Jan. 8 - School Board Meeting

Favorite Article This Week —

Oprah Winfrey starts every meeting with these same 3 sentences

These are three questions we should be asking when we meet as teams and as a school. If we can answer them honestly it will make our teaching and students more successful.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you to everyone that participated in the PBIS retraining morning. I appreciate the teachers that presented and how well you did letting the students know how to act in the school. I thought they have done well so far, but the reminder will be good to get them started in the new year. Thank you for the presentations. I also want to thank the teachers and aides that walked around with the students to remind them how to walk in the halls and how to act in a presentation. It is so fantastic how well you all do at the things you do, if that makes sense. You are all amazing and so important to this school, the students, and this community. Thank you for all you have done. Thank you.

One extra thank you goes to Lauren and all her help she has given us. She has been a huge help to Lisa and to Kindergarten. Thank you, Lauren, for all you have done for us. 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.

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.

Find the Purpose

Teachers,

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

Find the Purpose —

When we are planning for our lessons each day, how purposeful are we in the outcome we want from that lesson? There is a lot to get through in one year so we need to make sure everything we teach has a purpose and an outcome. This is why we have GVCs and Learning Targets. If the outcome is not ending in a GVC’s then why are we teaching it? And if we need to teach it, why is it not a GVC? Every school needs to purposeful in their lessons, but in the drive-by teaching we do in our school, we need to be more focused on the outcomes and purposeful in our delivery. More is not better, more is more. Less and deeper is more of what we need. How will this apply to our students’ lives? How will it create opportunities for them and a drive for them to want to keep learning. We will never be able to teach them everything, but if we engage them in learning and create a love of learning, they will keep learning themselves and they will learn everything they need to know. And if they need to know something we did not teach them, they will know how to find it and be able to learn it for themselves. Be purposeful in every lesson. Know your outcome and scaffold the learning so it builds to the next learning opportunity. 

Quote I’m pondering —

“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work. And the belief that things will grow out of the activity itself and that you will, through work, bump into other possibilities and kick open other doors that you would never have dreamt of if you were just sitting around looking for a great ‘art idea’.”

-Chuck Close, American artist who achieved fame as a photorealist through massive-scale portraits

What I’m watching —

How our friendship survives our opposing politics

We live in a world with differing opinions. How do we teach our students to listen and learn from different opinions. This TED talk is a good example with good stories about how we can respect other ideas without ruining relationships. Not to show to students, but something to think about. 

Favorite Article This Week —

The 1 Word to Delete from Your Vocabulary if You Want to Succeed

I need to work on deleting this word from my vocabulary. It really does hold me back from what I could really do.

A Big Thank You —

Thank you Jana, Cindy, Kathy, Cristin, and Lisa. You have taken and tested students on a variety of different tests that give us the data that we need to help our students. Now after you have started your LLI groups we mention how we might change things up a little and what we got from you was, “whatever you need.” We sure appreciate you great attitudes about doing what is needed to help each of the students at Dixie Sun grow. We sure appreciate all you do behind the scenes and all the little things you do that make such a big difference. Clubs, library, GT, lunch duty, kindergarten lunch duty, and everything else you do at the drop of a hat. Thank you. We appreciate all of you. Thank you for all you do. Thank you. 

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

The Improvement Plan

Teachers,

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

The Improvement Plan  —

Our grade has dropped from a C to a D as a school. What does that mean? It means we need to help our students go deeper and build their successes. As Kim and I reflected on last year we found a few  hints we needed to adjust to make students more successful. The first hung we needed to do was find time for interventions. With our schedule it is not easy to find that time in our limited day, so the thought came to build in a club time for all students to participate in. This gives students intervention time as well as an extension for every student sometime throughout the year. The next thought we had was we needed to change up our English strand classes. This would take extra help moving students into a couple different classes as well as changing schedules around. This is still a work in progress, but the idea is that it will give everyone an opportunity to learn and it would mix the classes up in a way that every student succeeds. Scheduling has been an interesting challenge, but in he end it should provide great results. The third idea that came up was that Shelly needed help with the science. 30 minutes a week with every student does not build science mastery, or even come close. So we thought that science needed to be more prevalent in the classroom in the form of informational ready, which everyone is doing anyway. Adding more science practice, background knowledge, and science vocabulary in the classroom will help students be more successful in understanding the world around them. And the last idea was one that came as we read through what you wanted as teachers in the survey last year. More PD for Phonics, Language, reading comprehension, and writing. So we called in the big guns, Jennifer and Sara. Actually everything we reflected on came from thoughts teachers had as we talked about how to make our school a better, more successful learning environment. One last piece that we think will help us providing snacks and Tan’s Treats for our students. These programs will give food where it is needed for our students. I don’t like to say that we are teaching to any teat. What we are trying to do is make our school a more successful place for students to be successful in, especially as they leave us. We want them to be ready for everything life will throw at them. Education is a game changer for many students. Anything we can do to up their game is a bonus. If you have any ideas or thoughts about this plan, please let us know. We are always up for ways to make our school better.  

Quote I’m pondering —

“Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, ‘What else could this mean?’”

― Shannon L. Alder

What I’m watching —

Imogen Heap's Mi.Mu gloves will "change the way we make music"

I love Imogene Heap’s music. When I saw a video about Imogene using gloves to make music I had to learn more. This, to me, is what our students are going to be doing in the future. Creating something to make life better, or more fun. I also wonder how this might change how we teacher or how students might learn…with a pair of gloves.

Favorite Article This Week —

Why Multilingual People Have Healthier, More Engaged Brains

This is our students. They have strong brains. 

A Big Thank You —

Thank you. It has been a busy year so far and as we get deeper into the year I see how amazing the teachers and staff are at Dixie Sun. Working with many different staffs over the years it has been hard to get some engaged in trainings. There has been many times when the teachers would not get up and engage in the activity we were involved in. Not so here. We realize that if we expect our students to be engaged, we should also. When we are learning, we need to be learning. I appreciate the support you give whomever is teaching the PD. We get comments from everyone that comes to teach us that our teachers are engaged and wanting to learn. I just want you to know that you are amazing teachers. Thank you for all you do. Thank you. 

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

Addendum: I was reminded that another part of the plan was to add Mindset to our learning in the classroom. Teaching students and teachers about a growth mindset helps each understand more about how the brain works. It also builds persistence and that it is ok to make mistakes. Growth Mindset can increase learning in everyone because of their outlook on learning.

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 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.