Week 2 - Woo Hoo!

Great Things I Noticed

• Math Talks in 5th grade!  Rigor, deep thinking and students becoming mathematicians!
• "What it looks like, and What it sounds like" with Character Counts and our 4 school rules - I have seen this in SEVERAL classrooms and appreciate the intentional teaching of behavior expectations.
• Mrs. Rubens student's building houses that the "Big Bad Wolf" can't blow down with spaghetti and marshmallows - Rigorous thinking, collaborative conversations, growth mindset and FUN! 
• A reset station in Mrs. Seaton's classroom using character counts  
• AVID one pagers in Mr. Wible's class
• Tawney sharing interesting articles to continue our growth as a staff!  Read them here:  https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-myths-that-persist-about-how-we-learn/  and here: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/reading-writing-rithmetic-and-respect/
• "Figure Me Out"  for parents on Back to School Night
• RED DAY in Kindergarten!  
• Cindy keeping your Principal sane and on task... she is the best! 

 

NUTS and BOLTS

• Clarissa and I will be visiting classrooms this week to talk about discipline procedures and expectations.  We will be visiting 4-6 on Wednesday between 8:30-10:30, 1-3 on Thursday between 10:30-11:30 and any remaining rooms (Kinder, etc.) on Friday between 1:00-2:30.
• Constitution Day is 9/18 - ensure you plan a lesson regarding the Constitution 
• Thank you notes to Best, Best and Krieger were due last WEDNESDAY to Mrs. Simmons.  Please ensure you have completed these with your students and turned them in.  
• SAVE THE DATE:  Saturday, November 4th is the 7th annual Parent Summit at North High School.  This is a great event for staff and parents!
• Family Literacy classes start Monday in our Library
• Please return Walkie Talkie's to their appropriate location after use - they need to remain charged and easy for Yard Supervision to find.
• If you are interested in being our teacher PTA representative, please come see me
• PE minutes are due MONDAY, 9/11 to Debbie Soto
• Students can eat snacks on the bench during morning recess.  They must be seated and they must pick up their trash.
• Please dismiss your classes on time and walk them to their respective gates.  For the older students, you do not have to wait with them. It is my expectation that you walk your students to the gate area, this will help cut down on some behaviors we are already seeing as students leave for the day.
• Lynn Carmen Day, Chief Academic Officer will be visiting on Friday 9/15 - We will be visiting classrooms between 9:30-12:00

Friday Focus:

Character day is September 13 - check this website out for some good ideas! http://character.org/ 

This video was so interesting to me.... Getting students reading and INTERESTED in reading is at the core of what we do.  This elementary school provides incentives for students as they read and complete series of stories.  They do use AR, but I think this could be done without AR.  They key is access to books and complete series of books available to our students.  What do you think?  

Rigor:  What is it? 

This is a great (short) article from Edutopia on the definition of Rigor.  My favorite quote from the article: "Rigor is the result of work that challenges students' thinking in new and interesting ways. It occurs when they are encouraged toward a sophisticated understanding of fundamental ideas and are driven by curiosity to discover what they don't know."   

We will be discussing Rigor at our staff meeting on the 20th - read the rest of the article here:  https://www.edutopia.org/blog/a-new-definition-of-rigor-brian-sztabnik

Upcoming Events:

9/11  Family Literacy classes begins

9/11  100 Mile Club begins

9/11  PTA Fall Fundraiser begins

9/12  Restorative Practice Training (Clarissa Out)

9/13  Discipline Class Meetings 4-6

9/13  Hawthorne Leadership Team Meeting

9/14  Discipline Class Meetings 1-3

9/14  District Leadership Meeting 3:30 (Carrie and Clarissa)

9/15  Lynn Carmen Day Visit 9:30-12:00

9/15  Hawk Shop Open

9/15 Orange Day in Kinder

9/18 Constitution Day

9/19 District Discipline Training (Clarissa and Carrie)

9/20 PTA Breakfast (Carrie out morning)

9/20 Staff Meeting

9/21-9/22  Equity Conference (Leadership Team w/Carrie and Clarissa)

Have a Great Week!