Moral Focus Spotlight

The Moral Focus virtue for the month of March is encouragement. The 3-5 wing focuses on caring. The article, Building Community in the Classroom, contains some strategies that you can implement within your classroom to assist your students with showing care towards others, however, I believe that you are one of your students’ greatest model of this virtue. Of course, words are important but often, actions are more powerful. In fact, I think students learn more when we do not talk about it. We don’t show care towards others for praise, we treat them kindly because that is how we treat people. So, my profound idea for teaching our students to be caring individuals: Just. Show. Care.

Please click on the title to read the entire article.

Grade Level Meetings

See below for the grade level meeting agenda for March 1. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to add anything prior to the meeting.

Agenda

1.   Continue to analyze Interim 3

a.  We will determine how to expose students to the questions since we are NOT administering interim 3.

2.   Team planning

a.  Share resources, best practices, and/or questions/concerns

Classroom Framework

Don’t forget that we will be focusing on Classroom Culture this week. Please schedule your observation.   

Continue to collect your evidence and/or begin to think about if you want me to observe your instruction for the following competencies for the month of February.

Week of March 7: Planning

Week of March 14: Teaching

Week of March 21: Assessing

Important Dates

Please view the right-side of the blog for important dates in

This Week

Tuesday, March 1

·        Staff meeting

Wednesday, March 2:

·        Marks’ CDV presentation

Curb-side-Davis

Lunch Duty

3^rd-Moody

4^th- Wagner

5^th- Ryan

The highlighted name is the person responsible for staying in the gym if we are short on parent volunteers, no matter the grade. Please do not leave until Jorvonna enters the gym to ensure that a staff member is supervising the students at all times. Thanks!

 

Grade Level Meetings

See below for the grade level meeting agenda for February 23. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to add anything prior to the meeting.

Agenda

1.   Analyze Interim 3

a.  We will determine how to expose students to the questions since we are NOT administering interim 3.

2.   Pass out updated math pacing guide

a.  To reflect no interim week.

3.   Team planning

a.  Share resources, best practices, and/or questions/concerns

O3s

All Full Lesson Observations are done!!!

I look forward to meeting with you this week to discuss them and your goals. Also, don’t forget to bring your Assessing evidence to your O3 too.

Classroom Framework Evidence

Don’t forget that we will be focusing on Assessing this week. During grade level meetings, we cover the first two indicators (Implementing Assessment Strategy and Analyze Data), so please make sure that I have your evidence:

·       Completed Class Grid Report for both math and ELA

·       All small group/workshop activities and/or worksheets

Additionally, you will need to bring evidence to your O3 for the indicator of Actionable Feedback. Please look over the descriptions for each rating and let me know if you have any questions about the expectation of evidence needed.    

Continue to collect your evidence and/or begin to think about if you want me to observe your instruction for the following competencies for the month of February.

Week of February 29: Classroom Culture

Week of March 7: Planning

Week of March 14: Teaching

Week of March 21: Assessing

Accommodation Logs

Please bring your accommodation logs to your O3, if you haven’t yet.

This Week

Tuesday, February 23

·        IAT meeting

Wednesday, February 24:

·        Groover’s CDV presentation

Thursday, February 25:

·        Davis’ flag bearers

Friday, February 26:

·        Reading Month Kick-off with author Maria Dismondy visit

Curb-side-Moody

Lunch Duty

3^rd-Groover

4^th- McGinn

5^th- Gyulveszi

The highlighted name is the person responsible for staying in the gym if we are short on parent volunteers, no matter the grade. Please do not leave until Jorvonna enters the gym to ensure that a staff member is supervising the students at all times. Thanks!

Full Lesson Observations

There are no O3s this week because of full lesson observations!

Don’t forget that I will be focusing on the competencies of Classroom Culture and Teaching. We will discuss your full lesson observation and goals at your O3 next week.

Classroom Framework Evidence

Don’t forget that we will be focusing on Assessing next week. During grade level meetings, we cover the first two indicators (Implementing Assessment Strategy and Analyze Data), so please make sure that I have your evidence:

·       Completed Class Grid Report for both math and ELA

·       All small group/workshop activities and/or worksheets

Additionally, you will need to bring evidence to your O3 for the indicator of Actionable Feedback. Please look over the descriptions for each rating and let me know if you have any questions about the expectation of evidence needed.    

Continue to collect your evidence and/or begin to think about if you want me to observe your instruction for the following competencies for the month of February.

Week of February 29: Classroom Culture

Week of March 7: Planning

Week of March 14: Teaching

Week of March 21: Assessing

Grade Level Meetings

I am looking forward to analyzing math common assessment data during your grade level meetings this week to continuing working on our wing based goal. We will use this information to drive instruction within your classroom to meet the individual needs of students with flexible grouping.

Please bring the following items:

·        Print off a class set of math Interim 2 “Student Reports”

·        Print off one Class Grid Repor

·        Any math resources, including your Math Expressions RtI books

Agenda

1.   Analyze Math Interim 2 data

a.  Identify each standards assessed and all students who scored a 2.0 or lower on each standard

b.  Share resources/RtI books to address these standards

c.   Create flexible grouping/small group plan

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to add anything prior to the meeting.

Accommodation Logs

Please bring your accommodation logs to your O3, if you didn’t last week.

This Week

Monday, February 15

·        No School-President’s day

Tuesday, February 16:

·        Staff meeting (change from original schedule)

·        Moody’s flag bearers

Thursday, February 18:

·        McGinn’s flag bearers

Friday, February 19:

·        $1 Jean day

Curb-side-Marks

Lunch Duty

3^rd-Marks

4^th- Davis

5^th- Brown

The highlighted name is the person responsible for staying in the gym if we are short on parent volunteers, no matter the grade. Please do not leave until Jorvonna enters the gym to ensure that a staff member is supervising the students at all times. Thanks!

Grade Level Meetings

I am looking forward to analyzing various common assessment data during your grade level meetings this week to continuing working on our wing based goal. We will use this information to drive instruction within your classroom to meet the individual needs of students with flexible grouping.

Please bring the following items:

·        Bring Interim 1 reading data analysis (class grid report)

·        Print off a class set of reading Interim 2 “Student Reports”

·        Print off one Class Grid Report

·        Any reading resources

Agenda

1.   Analyze Reading Interim 2 data

a.  Identify each standards assessed and all students who scored a 2.0 or lower on each standard

b.  Share resources to address these standards

c.   Create flexible grouping/small group plan

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to add anything prior to the meeting.

Full Lesson Observation

The second round of full lesson observations will begin the week of February 15. During your O3 this week, you will schedule your full lesson observation and goal setting O3. I will be focusing on the competencies of Classroom Culture and Teaching during your full lesson observation

Classroom Framework Evidence

Don’t forget that we will be focusing on Planning this week.

Please bring your January 18, January 25, February 1, and February 8 lesson plans to your O3s this week for a rating.    

Continue to collect your evidence and/or begin to think about if you want me to observe your instruction for the following competencies for the month of February.

Week of February 15: Teaching

Week of February 22: Assessing

O3s

Please bring your accommodation logs to your O3.

This Week

Tuesday, February 9:

·        PLC meeting (change from original schedule)

Wednesday, February 10:

·        Count day

Thursday, February 11:

·        3-5 Hall Awards-Resilience

Friday, February 12:

·        No School-Staff PD

Curb-side-Groover

Lunch Duty

3^rd-Moody

4^th- Wagner

5^th- Ryan

The highlighted name is the person responsible for staying in the gym if we are short on parent volunteers, no matter the grade. Please do not leave until Jorvonna enters the gym to ensure that a staff member is supervising the students at all times. Thanks!

Moral Focus Spotlight

The Moral Focus virtue for February is courage and the 3-5 wing focuses on resilience. Resilience is defined as utilizing personal strength to face difficult situations, trusting in the ability to overcome them. NHA provides two descriptors: viewing problems as opportunities to learn and grow and choosing to be positive in spite of challenges or disappointment. I found an article titled, 28 Ways to Build Persistent and Confident Students that provides a list of strategies that teachers can use to help students develop into resilience learners. The ones that resonated with me were:

1.    Start a unit of study by activating prior knowledge. Students who can connect new learning with previous knowledge will be far more likely to persist in facing learning challenges than those students for whom each concept in the material is unfamiliar.

2.    Offer plenty of rubrics, models, samples, and demonstrations so that students know when they are on the right track.

3.    Have students set reasonable goals and work to achieve them. When students work to achieve a personal goal, they have a vested interest in working.

4.    When you see students struggling with an assignment, use one of the most powerful questions in your teacher’s toolbox: ask, “How can I help you?”

5.    Teach your students that their work does not always have to be perfect to be acceptable. Sometimes “good enough” is really good enough.

6.    Offer a variety of different activities to review material. At the end of each class, when you provide a quick review of the day’s lesson, use a variety of different activities that appeal to the various learning styles among your students.

7.    Work with your students to focus on their strengths. Once they know what they are doing right, what individual study techniques work well for them, then students will be able to use those techniques and strengths to work quickly and efficiently.

Please click on http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/10348-28-ways-to-build-persistent-confident-students to read the other 21 strategies that might fit your teaching style. Remember it’s important to model our Moral Focus virtues and provide students with opportunities to explore them.  

 

 

Classroom Culture Observation

Don’t forget that we will be focusing on Classroom Culture this week.

Please look over the descriptions for each rating and let me know if you have any questions about the expectation of evidence needed. Please schedule your observation.    

Continue to collect your evidence and/or begin to think about if you want me to observe your instruction for the following competencies for the month of February.

Week of February 8: Planning

Week of February 15: Teaching

Week of February 22: Assessing

Grade Level Meetings

See below for the grade level meeting agenda. Per your feedback, I have allotted time for you to plan and share resources this week. J

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to add anything prior to the meeting.

Agenda

1.   Check-in: interim 2 scoring status

2.   Set date to analyze interim 2 results

3.   Team Planning

a.  Share resources

 

Important Dates

Please view the right side of the blog to view the important dates in

 

 

This Week

Monday, February 1:

·        College Shirt day

Tuesday, February 2:

·        SLT meeting (change from original schedule)

·        Brown’s MF virtue presentation

Thursday, February 5:

·        Marks’ flag bearers

Friday, February 5:

·        Conti’s flag bearers

Curb-side-Conti

Lunch Duty

3^rd-Groover

4^th- McGinn

5^th- Gyulveszi

The highlighted name is the person responsible for staying in the gym if we are short on parent volunteers, no matter the grade. Please do not leave until Jorvonna enters the gym to ensure that a staff member is supervising the students at all times. Thanks!