1.8.18 Weekly Post

Weekly Blog Updates:

Please be sure to review the following sections of 

the blog this week;

         ~Weekly Post below

         ~ Instructional Support Section

         ~Instructional Coaches Section

         ~Mindfulness Section

         ~PBIS/SOAR Section - this weeks station rotation                schedule is posted there

         ~Assessment Section

Principal Message:

~Welcome back Staff! 

As the 2018 New Year kicks off with a cold, wintry Storm, it’s a great indication of how much warmth is needed to weather the challenges ahead. 

I’m hopeful that our school faculty and families will outlast the storm - we will survive the Storm! 

Together, we survived the DTSDE review the week before the winter break! 

The feedback and  recommendations from the state review team are aligned with many of the SCEP goals. 

The recommendations are posted in the schools’ google drive.  

Please review these recommendations. The administrative team will work closely with the SBPT to create and implement the procedures and instructional practices that have been recommended for improvement.

I look forward to collaborating with school staff, families and community agencies to improve our school community,  resources and overall students’ performance.

I would like to share my appreciation of the daily support you have provided your students in acquiring the skills, and core knowledge they need. I’m encouraging you to keep planning for rigorous teaching, engaging activities, reading and learning new strategies on how to best meet the needs of your students. Planing for sustained and continuous growth is imperative. Please be sure your weekly plans are visible, the administrative team will be in throughout the week to check your lesson plans and give you timely feedback on your plans.

Have a great week,

Principal Carla Roberts 

Important upcoming Dates:

~January 12th -  10:00 to 11:00 - Wild Wings Assembly for Third Grade Students

~January 9th and 10th - SOAR Station Rotation #2 

   (ALL K - 6 Students must attend each rotation - see schedule posted in the PBIS/SOAR 

   section to the right)

~January 15th - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day   All facilities are closed

~January 26th - SOAR Month Event at 2:30 in the Cafe

~Black History Month Celebration TBA  

~February 16th - SOAR Event - School - Wide Winter Carnival

Classroom Teachers:

~As stated in the building committee minutes this week, we are asking you to please follow 

the procedure below when exiting the building. 

    "How can we ensure that students follow SOAR expectations when exiting the building (specifically staying on the right side of the stairs)"?

As stated by Mrs. Roberts, "Teachers should reinforce the SOAR expectations with their class.  Teachers are expected to monitor their students.  All students and adults go down the stairs on the right side and come up on the right side.  The only change would occur during a fire drill leaving the building.  If it continues to be a problem, please see an administrator". 

Also, please remember that students cannot ride the elevator. The only time a student can be in the elevator is if they have a medical reason and the documentation is filed in our school nurses office. If a student has a medical reason and we have the appropriate documentation filed with our school nurse, they must be accompanied by a staff member while using the elevator.

~Please review the updated assessment information to the right under the "Assessment Information" section.

Welcome back staff,
We hope your had a restful and enjoyable break. 

ALL Classroom Teachers:
Please be sure you have your weekly lesson plans placed on your desk and they are visible.  Admin will periodically review your plans and give your feedback.
As we begin our short week back from our week off, please spend some time to review our PBIS/SOAR classroom and school - wide behavior expectations.  

Please be sure to refer to your school - wide SOAR Handbook that you received at the beginning of the school year.  An electronic copy has been posted under the PBIS/SOAR section of this blog. 

It is imperative that you teach the SOAR expectations included in the handbook.  As we discussed previously, there are suggested lessons noted in the handbook for each expectation. 

Please note when and what SOAR lessons you intend to teach in your weekly plans (this week and next week).  

K - 6 Classrooms Teachers ONLY;
Currently, we are working on the Jan. Station Rotation Schedule. We will send you a copy of that schedule via email.   The rotations will be scheduled during the week of 1.8.17. It is our expectation that you take your class to each station rotation listed. This is not an option.

All Staff;
Thank you for all of your support during our Annual Review. We were very pleased with the feedback we received. We look forward to working together with all of you as we put a plan in place, as we begin to work towards the recommendations that we received. Mrs. Roberts shared the results at our staff breakfast.  She will also provide more feedback to you in the near future.

Have a great week back!

                                                          

Hello,

As we enter our last week before the break please be mindful of monitoring student behavior and reminding students of the SOAR expectations in the classroom, lunchroom, hallways and bathrooms.  Please celebrate student appropriate SOAR behavior with our monthly SOAR bucks, positive praise and a phone call/note home

Dates:  

~December 2oth - Due date for December SOAR sheet for K - 5 students

Hello Staff,

We would like to thank the teachers who have submitted artifacts for our upcoming review. Your support is greatly appreciated.  Please take a moment to review the information below and the updates that have been added this week in the following sections to the right;

    Instructional Coaches Corner

    PBIS/SOAR

    Mindfulness Corner

    Technology Corner

~As we walk through the halls and visit classrooms, we are noticing all the ways you are engaging your students with some holiday cheer.  Take a peek at some highlights from three classrooms on the third floor.

     

       

                                                            

~Dates

Last of school before the holiday recess - Friday, December 22nd

~Math

Two Useful Articles About the Math Classroom

“Designing Shifts—Aligned Interventions in the Math Classroom”

Avoid common pitfalls when it comes to supporting students with unfinished math learning.

“Four Best Practices for the Math Classroom”

A math teacher shares lessons learned and alternative strategies he has discovered during his teaching career.

Webinar: Upgrading Differentiation in the Elementary Grades Join Jessica Hockett, coauthor of the new ASCD book Differentiation in the Elementary Grades: Strategies to Engage and Equip All Learners, to explore five commonly adopted practices in elementary classrooms that can impede or prevent true differentiation. In this informative webinar, attendees will gain insights about each of these practices and learn principles and strategies for "upgrading" to more sophisticated applications of differentiation. This session will integrate concrete examples that are applicable to K–5 settings. Upgrading Differentiation in the Elementary Grades Thursday, December 7, 2017, 3:00 p.m. eastern time Presented by Jessica Hockett Register Now © Copyright 2017 ASCD 1703 N. Beauregard St. | Alexandria, VA 22311-1714 USA |  http://www.ascd.org/ | 1-800-933-ASCD (2723)

SOAR Shining Star Staff 

Congratulations to Ms. Tipton and Mr. Pulley for being chosen 

as the SOAR Staff member of the month.

 When you see them, take a moment to thank each of them for all they do to help make School No. 16 a better place to be.

Melissa Tipton

Ms. Tipton is a second grade teacher.  She likes peanut butter and her favorite color is green.

Chad Pulley

Mr. Pulley is a teaching assistant here at School NO. 16 in Mrs. Blanchard's class.  He likes to eat pizza and his favorite color is blue.

~Staff,

Thank you for your participation at our most recent Superintendent's Conference Day on Friday. We will continue to focus on working towards the schools goals and our new initiatives this year. Please take an opportunity to review our school's goals in the 2017 -18 School SCEP by Clicking Here.

I would like to send a special thank you to our secretarial staff, assistant principals, and all of our presenters for creating a learning environment that provided staff with information, that will support our continued efforts to improve our practices at School No.16.

Hop aboard, don't miss the train, its leaving the station!

Choo, Choo,

Carla Roberts

________________________________________________________________________________

~Please visit the new "Instructional Coach" Corner posted to the right. In this section you we will provide you articles, strategies and tips for you to use.

~Take a peek at the Technology Corner. I posted information that is timely and relevant on the importance of formative assessments in the classroom. There are plenty of tech tools to check for understanding and fix learning problems in real time (as well as reflect on which teaching approaches are working and which aren’t). Some of the suggestions; we spoke about in our meeting at our Superintendent's Conference Day last week.

Look for the link "Tech Tools to Check for Understanding in Real Time" to the right.