Week 21

Great Things I Noticed:

• A Special Ed team that handles IEP's with skill and grace - thank you for your hard work and support you provide for our students!
• Marcia working hard over the years to develop and support a solid 3-6 AVID program!
• Expanding AVID to K-2!
• Writing and student collaboration across all grade levels and content areas! 
• FOSS expanding and all grade levels trained and ready to implement! 
• Doree's TRRFCC window!
• Mr. Hara's Team working with their students on likes and dislikes!  
• Mr. Carrasco's students summarizing, questioning, clarifying and predicting!
• Kristi Forsythe's skills in developing engaging and educational digital resources!

 

 

 

Nuts and Bolts:

• I have not heard from the Art Float group regarding our schedule for the week - 4-6th grade teachers expect 3 thrity minute sessions during the week.  I will get this information to you ASAP!
• Progress reports go home 2/2
• Data meetings 2/6 and 2/7. Schedule will be put out next week. 
• Kerri Valenzula (Arlington High School) will be shadowing Clarissa and Me for the semester.  She is working towards her Admin. Credential... introduce yourself if you see her on campus!
• 2/2 Dibels scan date
• 100 day of school 2/9 - fliers go home Monday 
• Coffee with principal 2/14  - Grade Level Showcase - email us if your grade level is interested in showcasing student work or grade level content!
• Reminder:  Lunches from home/parents will now be dropped off in the office.  Parents will no longer have access to campus to drop off lunches.  If students are expecting a lunch, send them to the office
• Please begin checking the working order of your Chromebooks - State Testing is coming and we wand all computers in working order before we begin.
• Registration is open for the CUE Conference.  I would be willing to pay for registration only, no hotel.  You will find more information here:  http://spring.cue.org/
• If you are interested in taking the AVID Foundations Training in Riverside - please register ASAP on the PD Hub.

Weekly Focus:

This week I found information that I hope will support or expand on your FOSS training! We are all familiar with the age old KWL charts.  In this Teaching Channel video you will see the use of a 

KLEWS chart.  

KLEWS stands for:

What do we KNOW?

What are we LEARNING?

What is our EVIDENCE?

What are we WONDERING?

What SCIENCE vocabulary should we remember? 

Check out this video on Teachingchannel.org for information on how KLEWS was implemented with 3rd graders studying germination.  While watching the video, consider how this can support our FOSS implementation and how, science can impact our ELA instruction.  Is is possible to replace some of the ELA time with FOSS?  How do the ELA standards and the NGSS standards relate?  Studies have shown that ELA scores go up when students are exposed to more science (experiment based) instruciton.  Why do you think this happens and how can you use science to impact the learning of your students?  

Upcoming Events:

Remember, to see full details check the Hawthorne Staff Calendar on Outlook.

• 1/29-2/2 Art Float Week (Grade 4-6, Cafeteria)
• 1/29 IEP Meetings 9:00-1:00
• 1/29 7th Grade Registration Meeting (6th Grade Teachers) 3:00
• 1/30 PL Training (All Day)
• 2/1  Principals Meeting (All Day)
• 2/2 SST Marathon Day
• 2/2 Jump Rope For Heart Assemblies
• Grades K-3 1:40
• Grades 4-6 2:15
• 2/5 SLT Day (Leadership Team - Bournes Technology Center) 8:00
• 2/6 and 2/7 Data Meetings
• 2/8 Principals Taskforce (Carrie out 8-10:30)
• 2/9 100th Day of School Celebration
• 2/9 Site Visit by Kiersten Reno-Frausto (Director Elementary Education)

Week 20

Great Things I Noticed:

• Foss Training!  I cannot wait to see these Foss kits used and reused in all of our classrooms!  
• Art ALL OVER THE SCHOOL!  
• Barnett's Kinders moving into their AWESOME new room! 
• Suzanne Armas earning her NAP SACC certification - the only preschool in RUSD!
• Community Circles around the campus!
• Our AWESOME office staff - this week got a little crazy and we could not do what we do without their help - THANK YOU!

 

Nuts and Bolts:

• Art Floats:  The RAM and RUSD are collaborating to create and Art Float Event.  Our 4-6th grade students will be painting 8 floats that will be released in Fairmont Park.  The Floats will arrive the week of 1/29-2/1 - a schedule will be going out this week.  Please be flexible with your schedules during this week.  
• Find out more about the event here.
• We will be using the stage to paint the floats.
• Preschool - 3 will be getting coloring sheets to complete.  
• Jump Rope for Heart is coming.... 
• Foss Training continues on Monday (6th grade) and Tuesday (3rd and 4th)  
• Please remind students that tag games or touch football is not allowed during lunches
• We are celebrating the 100th day of school!  We are organizing a school wide event - more information to follow
• FREE BOOKS for Read Across America - find out more here !

Weekly Focus:

Blended Learning is the practice of using digital resources to support direct instruction and meet the learning needs of all students.  Check out this video of a 4/5 math classroom in Ontario, Canada.  Many of use blended learning models during your instructional day... the next video review some management tips for a blended learning classroom.

Upcoming Events:

Remember to check the Staff Calendar on Outlook for more detailed information:

1/22 and 1/23 Foss Training

1/22 and 1/23 All Day IEP's

1/24 Leadership Team Meeting

1/25 School Site Council Meeting

1/26 AVID Winter Conference (Carrie out all day)

1/26 CAASP Training 1:30 (Clarissa and Carrie)

1/26 Student of the Month Assemblies

1/29 All Day IEP's

1/30 Personalized Learning Training (Carrie with Team)

2/1 Principals Meeting (All Day)

2/2 Jump Rope for Hearts Assemblies 

Week 19

"We must remember that intelligence is not enough.  Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of education."  Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Great Things I Noticed:

• Returning from break ready to go!
• Trust, collaboration and common commitments at our Team Meeting - Common commitments that have lead to structured collaborative conversations in every classroom!
• Perfect attendance on Wednesday:  Nichols, Schnackenberg, Harris, Lantz, OK
• The fantastic science fair projects!
• Pizza with the Principals!

 

  

Nuts and Bolts:

• If you haven't already, please take some time to reteach and remind students of behavior expectations and classroom rules.
• Clarification:  Each letter in our "Hawthorne Elementary School" attendance contest represents one day of perfect attendance.  Do not post if you have not achieved perfect attendance.
• Thank you for those of you commiting to AVID Summer Institute - please understand it is difficult to get refunds for cancellations.  

• The Great Kindness Challenge (GKC) Week:
• January 22-26, 2018 
• The GKC is a national program that promotes kindness at our child care centers and schools from prekindergarten through twelfth grade. It is a positive and proactive anti-bullying initiative that educators can use to empower and encourage students to create a culture of kindness plus it’s free and easy to implement. This program is also aligned with the CDE’s efforts to meet the social and emotional needs of the whole child as well as ensure a safe haven for all of our students. 
• For more information, visit the GKC website at www.greatkindnesschallenge.org. 
• K-6 ELA/ELD Writing Assessments 
• The Writing Assessment sequence for 2017-2018 is: 
• 1st Trimester: Informative/Explanatory (completed) 
• 2nd Trimester: Opinion/Argument 
• 3rd Trimester: Narrative 
• It is recommended that results of each trimester writing assessment follow Cycle of Inquiry to analyze results and plan meaningful instructional responses.

Focus of the Week:

I recently read an article titled "5 Powerful Questions Teachers Can Ask Students".  These questions are simple, straightforward and thoughtful. When we provide our students the proper amount of think time, these questions can help students engage in deep rigourous thinking.

Consider including them in your lessons this week:
1.  What do you think?
2.  Why do you think that?
3.  How do you know this?
4.  Can you tell me more?
5.  What questions do you still have?

Remember to provide the think time appropriate for your grade level and content area.  These questions can be used as sentence frames and are easy enough for students to use in thier collaborative conversations.

Upcoming Events:

Remember, for the full calendar of events check the staff calendar on Outlook or the calendar on our website.  

• 1/16 - Discipline Assemblies
• 1-3 8:50
• 4-6 9:30
• TK/K 10:40
• 1/16 - Character Counts Meeting 3:00
• 1/17 - Staff Meeting - ELPAC
• 1/18 - Principals Meeting (Carrie out 8-1)
• 1/18 - District Leadership Meeting (Carrie and Clarissa out at 3:00)
• 1/19 - Arlington Cluster Meeting (Carrie out 7:30-9)
• 1/19 - 1/23 Foss Training