Week 11

Great Things We Noticed: 

• The Pot Luck!  Thank you social committee for organizing this each month! 
• The Fall Festival!  
• Stripped field for students to play soccer!  Thank you Karla and Carla!
• Digging in deep to Danielson!
• Carol and Lisa adding new butterflies!
• The State of the District with 6th grader Kylie Turner! 
• Your commitment to your students!  

Focus:

My trip to Massachucetts was an opportunity to visit schools that have adopted the Universal Design for Learning model.  Here is a short overview on the basics of UDL:

The schools I visited were in the Groton Dunstable School District and Katie Novak is the Assistant Superitendent (you may recognize her from the "dentist" video on MTSS):

How do you give your students choice in how they show mastery?

Nuts and Bolts: 

• On Monday the second lane of the parking lot will be roped off.  We are trying to stop parents from cutting through and into the traffic in the drop off lane.  If you park in these spots pull around the traffic circle and enter the parking spaces from the backside.  
• Grades 3-6:  Melanie Maxwell will be here on 11/6 for IAB Hand Scoring Training - The time is 3:00-4:00 - see me if you have any questions. 
• Please email Longi and I as soon as your report cards are done - thank you! 
• Fall STEM Day: 
• We will be having a day of fall centered science, art, ELA, Math, etc.  
• Your grade level team can choose to do activities on Thursday or Friday - Please be aware we will have 11 subs on Thursday due to Instructional Design Day with Innovate Ed. 
• If you choose Halloween - plan with your grade level team how to make Halloween an inclusive, fun and enriching day. Focus on FALL THEMED ACTIVITIES!  
• We will follow our regular schedule (how can you incorporate our theme into WIN time) have a Fall/Pumpkin STEAM Day... Let us know if you have any questions! 
• DUE to the minimum day on Friday - WIN time will be at grade level discretion.  If you can fit the intervention time in to your schedule - please do. 

• GATE Tune Up CoursesWe are excited to be able to offer GATE certified teachers refresher classes on GATE strategies. They are as follow:

• October 14th: GATE Tune Ups Session 1: Depth and Complexity
• January 27th: GATE Tune Ups Session 2: Think Like a Disciplinarian
• February 24th: GATE Tune Ups Session 3: Advanced Thinking Skills
• All classes are held at Alcott in Room K3 from 4-5 PM and teachers can enroll on Sched. For dditional information please contact Deborah Newton at dnewton@rsd.k12.ca.us.
• Girls Who Code Club Mini-Grants - LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO START A CLUB AT HAWTHORNE!! 
• Girls Who Code Clubs are FREE programs for girls to join a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models and use computer science to change the world. When you start a Club, Girls Who Code provides free and flexible curriculum, resources, and a mini-grant of $300 if you have 3+ students enrolled in your Club. All you need is space to host the Club, computers and internet, and an adult who is 18+ to help facilitate the Club. Many Facilitators have NO technical experience and learn to code alongside their Club members.
• When you are ready to start your Club, create an account on Girls Who Code HQ to fill out your Clubs application and indicate your affiliation with Riverside Unified School District to get access to partnership benefits, like additional support and funding opportunities. APPLY TO START A CLUB HERE
• *Please Note: It is important that you indicate our partnership affiliation on the Clubs Application in order to receive partnership benefits!
• If you have any follow up questions please contact Ariana Flewelling, aflewelling@rusdlearns.net, Staff Development Specialist. If you’d like to learn more before starting a club at your campus, please join us October 24th at the district office at 3:45pm for our first Girls Who Code Facilitator meeting of the year.
• I will be out on Monday and Tuesday, my Mom is getting her hip replaced in San Diego.  I appreciate all of you and your support over the past few weeks! 
• Red Ribbon Week will be celebrated October 28-November 1
• M: Socktober Monday - Crazy Socks/Bring Socks 
• T: Team Up Against Drugs - Favorite Sports Team 
• W: Being Drug Free is SUPER - Super Hero Day
• TH: Our Lil’ Pumpkins Say No!  - Orange and Black Day
• F: Hawthorne is Crazy about being Drug Free! : Crazy Hair Day/Spirit Day
• All grade levels should administer their Trimester 1 District Math Assessment during the month of October. The specific dates and assessments can be found on this document. For more information about Elementary Math, such as the Scope & Sequence, Report Card Guidelines, and directions for entering scores into Illuminate, please visit the Elementary Math Google Site.
• Check out all the updates, opportunities, and resources available for RUSD Science teachers by clicking this LINK to the Science Newsletter. For more information, please contact Ashley Fulmer (afulmer@rusd.k12.ca.us)
• 2020 Lois B. Krieger Water Project Grants for Educators Western Municipal Water District is offering educators in western Riverside County the opportunity to apply for grants for water-related projects.  This program helps fund creative classroom projects that further a better understanding of water and the role it plays in the community.  All teachers in Western’s District, both private and public schools in grades K-12 are eligible to apply for the grants.  The deadline to apply is Friday, November 8, 2019.  If you are interested, click the following LINK. 
• Guide for Instructional Direction 2.0 Presentations: 
• November 16
•  6th grade - pages 6-9
• 5th grade - pages 11 and 12
• 3rd grade - pages 13 and 14
• December 9
• 4th grade - pages 15 
• Kindergarten - pages 16-17
• SPED - 18-19
• 2nd grade - pages 20-21
• 1st grade - 22-23
• 11/11/19:  Festival of Lights Coloring Contest Submissions Due. More info.
• Elementary ELA
• Oct. 21-Nov. 6: 3-6 grade ELA IAB: Informational Texts
• Writing PD for all elementary teachers begins on Monday, October 28. The dates and other information can be found here: ELA PD 
• We have put some pieces in place to support staff in an effort to decrease the amount of emails they receive. If they have questions, please have them refer back to these. We are constantly updating as new information or needs arise.
• Elementary ELA Site: bit.ly/RUSDELAElem 
• Elementary ELA/ELD newsletter: bit.ly/RUSDElemELA.  This bit.ly will not change, so staff can bookmark it for ease of use. The latest edition of the newsletter will always be the first slide, the past editions are still there for reference. There are many links (indicated by a “click here” button) within those newsletters that have answers to many questions that we are receiving. 
• Festival of Lights Coloring Contest
• Please encourage students to enter to compete in the Festival of Lights Coloring Contest. Contest winners will receive some holiday goodies and the students and their parents will be invited to sit in the VIP pit for the Switch-On Ceremony (they will have the best seats in the house to see the fireworks)! Submissions due Nov. 11 by 4pm. More info. 

Upcoming Events: 

• 10/28-10/29:  Carrie Out
• 10/28-11/1 - Red Ribbon Week 
• 10/30 - Student of the Month Assemblies
• 10/31 - Instructional Design Day - SLT Team - 8:00 E103
• 11/1 - Minimum Day - Students out 12:05
• 11/4 - American Fidelity in Lounge 
• 11/5 - Leadership Team Meeting - 3:05 E103
• 11/6 - DELAC Meeting
• 11/6 - Lunch on the Lawn 
• 11/6 - Cindy Out PD - 12:00
• 11/7-11/8: Parent Teacher Conference Days - No Students 
• 11/11 - No School 

Week 9

Great Things We Noticed: 

• Mr. Lopez sacrificing himself to the Bee Queen on Monday morning!  Thank you for protecting our families!  
• Playworks games during PE at all grade levels! 
• Bully Awareness books and read alongs!  
• Hard work, deep thinking and collaboration during our Shared Leadership grade level norming sessions!
• Yoga in Ms. Cardenas' class.
• Sign on Mrs. Nichols' door as a reminder for students.

 

Nuts and Bolts: 

• Vendors will begin set up for Fall Festival between 2:00-2:30 
• All grade levels should administer their Trimester 1 District Math Assessment during the month of October. The specific dates and assessments can be found on this document. For more information about Elementary Math, such as the Scope & Sequence, Report Card Guidelines, and directions for entering scores into Illuminate, please visit the Elementary Math Google Site.
• Check out all the updates, opportunities, and resources available for RUSD Science teachers by clicking this LINK to the Science Newsletter. For more information, please contact Ashley Fulmer (afulmer@rusd.k12.ca.us)
• RUSD School Calendars 
• The 2020-21, 2021-22 & 2022-23 School Calendars are on the RUSD Website Calendars
• The Department of Innovation and Learner Engagement will be hosting a Digital Citizenship Family Night which will address some of these parent concerns. This family night will be at Central Middle School on October 17th from 5:30-7:00 pm. Dinner will be served from 5:30-6:00 pm. The family activity and speaker will be from 6-7 pm. Space is limited to 50 families and they can sign up at bit.ly/FamilyDC2019. Here is the flyer with information regarding this event.
• Take your STRENGTHS ASSESSMENT!  You don't have to read the book to learn your strengths! Find the link to the results survey here.
• 2020 Lois B. Krieger Water Project Grants for Educators Western Municipal Water District is offering educators in western Riverside County the opportunity to apply for grants for water-related projects.  This program helps fund creative classroom projects that further a better understanding of water and the role it plays in the community.  All teachers in Western’s District, both private and public schools in grades K-12 are eligible to apply for the grants.  The deadline to apply is Friday, November 8, 2019.  If you are interested, click the following LINK. 
• News from ILE! RUSD is moving to Gmail! 
• We are excited to announce that Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) will be moving its email and calendar platforms from Microsoft Outlook to Gmail and Google Calendar. This change will give all staff and students a uniform email experience with robust features offered by Google. 
• The District will go live with Gmail for all staff during Winter Break. Through this process we are unifying the District’s email addresses into one name. This means after the transition, RUSD staff will no longer need to check @rusd.k12.ca.us email or your @rusdlearns.net emails. When staff returns from Winter Break, @riversideunified.org will be used District-wide for all student and staff accounts.
• As we approach Winter Break, the District will provide many resources and training opportunities to ensure all staff have the support needed for a successful tran sition. 
•  At this point, you do not need to take any action regarding your email or calendar. Please know that through this process, all of your Outlook email and calendar data housed on our internal servers will be transferred to Gmail and Google Calendar. 
•  For more information, please visit the Gmail Transition site. 

• Girls Who Code Club Mini-Grants - LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO START A CLUB AT HAWTHORNE!! 
• Girls Who Code Clubs are FREE programs for girls to join a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models and use computer science to change the world. When you start a Club, Girls Who Code provides free and flexible curriculum, resources, and a mini-grant of $300 if you have 3+ students enrolled in your Club. All you need is space to host the Club, computers and internet, and an adult who is 18+ to help facilitate the Club. Many Facilitators have NO technical experience and learn to code alongside their Club members.
• When you are ready to start your Club, create an account on Girls Who Code HQ to fill out your Clubs application and indicate your affiliation with Riverside Unified School District to get access to partnership benefits, like additional support and funding opportunities. APPLY TO START A CLUB HERE
• *Please Note: It is important that you indicate our partnership affiliation on the Clubs Application in order to receive partnership benefits!
• If you have any follow up questions please contact Ariana Flewelling, aflewelling@rusdlearns.net, Staff Development Specialist. If you’d like to learn more before starting a club at your campus, please join us October 24th at the district office at 3:45pm for our first Girls Who Code Facilitator meeting of the year.
• GATE Tune Up CoursesWe are excited to be able to offer GATE certified teachers refresher classes on GATE strategies. They are as follow:
• October 14th: GATE Tune Ups Session 1: Depth and Complexity
• January 27th: GATE Tune Ups Session 2: Think Like a Disciplinarian
• February 24th: GATE Tune Ups Session 3: Advanced Thinking Skills
• All classes are held at Alcott in Room K3 from 4-5 PM and teachers can enroll on Sched. For dditional information please contact Deborah Newton at dnewton@rsd.k12.ca.us.
• Writing and K-2 Reading Assessment Data Entry Deadline is 10/25. 
• Illuminate Directions/Information
• We are currently working on “anchor papers” to help teachers in scoring the BOY writing assessment. In order to support those teachers that will be scoring before we have all anchor papers ready (We will be collecting more samples in SLT on 10/11) we will be uploading what we have, to the “writing assessment” tab on our site: bit.ly/RUSDELAElem Please let staff know that this task is not yet complete and will be a live document.
• In order to cut down on the amount of emails teachers are receiving in regards to the Writing Assessments, we will be creating a FAQ tab (under Writing Assessments) on the site to address common concerns. This will be a “living” document that will be updated as needed..
• If you need training in Advanced Phonics please see this form and we will contact them in regards to the training.
• Writing/ELD PD Dates

Focus:  Innovation

This week the district put out a challenge for an hour of innovation.  While the time to submit the projects has closed, I still challenge you to do some innovating things in your classroom.  This goes hand in hand with Passion Projects as well as Personalized Learning: Socially Engaged Contributor.  

What is the challenge:  Solve a problem in the community.
Why should you participate?  These problems plague Riverside, as well as other communities around the world.  Let's work together to solve them and create a better life for all humans, plants, and animals.
https://sites.google.com/rusdlearns.net/hourofinnovation/elementary-tk-6
Hawks PL

"Innovation is the process of creating value by applying novel solutions to meaningful problems."

Game of the Week: 

Ants on a Log: 

https://www.playworks.org/game-library/ants-on-a-log-2/ 

HALLOWEEN PARADE UPDATE: 

We will NOT be having the Halloween Parade this year.... 
We will be having a day of fall centered science, art, ELA, Math, etc.  
Please plan with your grade level team how to make Halloween an inclusive, fun and enriching day.  We will follow our regular schedule (how can you incorporate our theme into WIN time) have a Fall/Pumpkin STEAM Day... Let us know if you have any questions!  

Here are some suggestions: 
http://www.mrspicassosartroom.com/2013/11/warm-cool-swirling-leaves.html?m=1
https://www.panickedteacher.com/2014/10/zentangle-pumpkins-terrific-art-strategy.html
http://aschukei.blogspot.com/2014/11/did-someone-say-fall-fall-art-edition.html

https://mathgeekmama.com/best-fall-stem-activities/

https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/activities/halloween-stem-activities/

https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/stem-challenges-halloween

http://www.getcaughtengineering.com/trick-or-treat-with-stem/

https://artprojectsforkids.org/category/view-by-theme/holiday/halloween/

http://frame.bloglovin.com/?post=7126200923&blog=2902638&frame_type=none

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/10-must-try-fall-science-activities-and-stem-challenges-for-kids/

Shout out to Ms. Cardenas and her AWESOME idea of making each classroom a station and rotating students through.  By the end of the STEAM time each SDC students will do 5 activities!  How can you use your grade level team to design a fun and enriching time for our students?  Be prepared to share at our staff meeting!

Upcoming Events: 

• 10/14 - Calibration Walk Through with Mariana Robles (#2) 
• 10/15 - High Impact Teaming - Coaching Session #2 - 3rd and 6th Grade 
• 10/15 - Co Admin Mtg - Longi out 8:30-11:30
• 10/15 - Staff Meeting (Instructional Guide Presentation #1) - E103 - 3:05
• 10/16 - Coffee w/the Principal and ELAC - 8:15-9:15 - MPR
• 10/17 - Great California Shake Out 
• 10/17 - 6th Grade Field Trip 
• 10/17 - Virtual Principals Meeting - Carrie Out 2:30
• 10/18 - Fall Festival - 4:00-7:30
• 10/14-11/15 - Gallup Surveys - 5th and 6th Grade 
• 10/21 - 10/22 - Carrie out UDL/MTSS Trip 
• 10/22 - Team Meeting - 3:05
• 10/24 - School Site Council Meeting 

Birthdays: 

10/13 - Longi Summers - Assistant Principal

10/16 - Katie Tavaglione - 2nd Grade Teacher

Week 8

Great Things We Noticed: 

• 1st grade have constructed, effective PE Time - Basketball, running and Playworks! 
• Ms. Wilbur carefully explaining the rules of four square - full engagement with her students, question in complete sentences, high expectations even during PE discussions! 
• Grade Level Leadership Team working hard on leading in all directions! 
• Student Council Induction.  Thank you Tina Sumerford!
• AVID/PL Share out with mixed teams!
• The Community Walk Through!
• Student of the Month Assemblies!
• Book Fair Grand Parents Day! 

Nuts and Bolts: 

• All grade levels should administer their Trimester 1 District Math Assessment during the month of October. The specific dates and assessments can be found on this document. For more information about Elementary Math, such as the Scope & Sequence, Report Card Guidelines, and directions for entering scores into Illuminate, please visit the Elementary Math Google Site.
• As Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur approach, the California Three Rs Project reminds you that it has teaching guide for public school classrooms written by Dr. Margaret Hill, Teaching About the Jewish High Holidays: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The guide includes a background about the holidays, web resources, and a children’s literature list. You can download the guide here.
• Riverside’s Long Night of Arts and Innovation, Thursday October 10, 5-11pmin downtown Riverside, features over 400 interactive presentations in the arts and sciences. Attending students may also enter to win a math or coloring competition that evening. Click here for more information.
• Art Bark in the Park is a fantastic display of unique and original “Art Pups” created by local artists and will feature over 130 beagle, labs], scottie, husky, and basset hound metal canvases. Event is on display at White Park Oct. 4-10. Be sure to also check out Art Bark Family Day on Sunday, October 6, 1-4pm! More info.
• Our site will be updating to Windows 10 operating system over the next week.  The update may be pushed out to your device.  During the push process a status bar will appear on the screen notifying you your computer is being upgraded.  This bar can be moved out of your way, and the computer will shut down automatically once the upgrade is completed.  
• Smithsonian Science How will be broadcasting live from the Carrie Bow Cay Field Station off the coast of Belize on 10/8 at 11:00 am and 12:30 pm. The broadcasts are 30 minutes long. During this time, Smithsonian marine scientists will introduce students to coral and coral reefs and the ways in which they monitor coral reef ecosystems, their health and how they respond to changes in the environment. Check out this LINK for more details.
• RUSD is excited to offer six lessons to all TK-6th grades with the Riverside Art Museum’s Art-to-Go again this year. Three of the six lessons will be either Math/Art or Science/Art lessons, and the other three are your choice from the subjects offered. All lessons (to take place September through May) must be scheduled as soon as possible but no later than Friday, October 18. Click here to schedule lessons. For more information about Art-to-Go please email art2go@riversideartmuseum.org or call (951) 684-7111 x311.
• Writing Assessment Deadline has been extended until 10/10. Please do not score the assessments until after the norming at SLTs.
• Check out our new ELA/ELD Newsletter: bit.ly/RUSDElemELA
• Check out our new site (in progress): bit.ly/RUSDELAElem (Gateway and Wonders Resources and Writing Materials)
• Updated ELA/ELD PD dates (with SLT site breakdown)
• ELA “Wonders Day #3”: Writing/ELD Dates
• Check out all the updates, opportunities, and resources available for RUSD Science teachers by clicking this LINK to the Science Newsletter. For more information, please contact Ashley Fulmer (afulmer@rusd.k12.ca.us)
• RUSD School Calendars 
• The 2020-21, 2021-22 & 2022-23 School Calendars are on the RUSD Website Calendars
• The Department of Innovation and Learner Engagement will be hosting a Digital Citizenship Family Night which will address some of these parent concerns. This family night will be at Central Middle School on October 17th from 5:30-7:00 pm. Dinner will be served from 5:30-6:00 pm. The family activity and speaker will be from 6-7 pm. Space is limited to 50 families and they can sign up at bit.ly/FamilyDC2019. Here is the flyer with information regarding this event.
• Take your STRENGTHS ASSESSMENT!  You don't have to read the book to learn your strengths! Find the link to the results survey here.
• 2020 Lois B. Krieger Water Project Grants for Educators Western Municipal Water District is offering educators in western Riverside County the opportunity to apply for grants for water-related projects.  This program helps fund creative classroom projects that further a better understanding of water and the role it plays in the community.  All teachers in Western’s District, both private and public schools in grades K-12 are eligible to apply for the grants.  The deadline to apply is Friday, November 8, 2019.  If you are interested, click the following LINK. 
• News from ILE! RUSD is moving to Gmail! 
• We are excited to announce that Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) will be moving its email and calendar platforms from Microsoft Outlook to Gmail and Google Calendar. This change will give all staff and students a uniform email experience with robust features offered by Google. 
• The District will go live with Gmail for all staff during Winter Break. Through this process we are unifying the District’s email addresses into one name. This means after the transition, RUSD staff will no longer need to check @rusd.k12.ca.us email or your @rusdlearns.net emails. When staff returns from Winter Break, @riversideunified.org will be used District-wide for all student and staff accounts.
• As we approach Winter Break, the District will provide many resources and training opportunities to ensure all staff have the support needed for a successful transition. 
•  At this point, you do not need to take any action regarding your email or calendar. Please know that through this process, all of your Outlook email and calendar data housed on our internal servers will be transferred to Gmail and Google Calendar. 
•  For more information, please visit the Gmail Transition site. 

Focus: 

Culturally Relevant and Responsive Teaching: 

Dr. Pedro Noguera is a Distinguished Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences at UCLA.  His research focuses on the ways in which school are influenced by social and economic conditions as well as demographic trends in local, regional, and global contexts. 

In a presentation entitled "Racial Inequality and American Education: Policies, Practices and Politics," Noguera addressed the segregation by race and social class with in the education system.  He asserted, "We cannot separate student's learning needs from their non-academic needs.  The achievement gap is a manifestation of social inequality.  We must invest in children of color: They are the future." 

Noguera speaks of the core value of educator and student relationships and the power of teaching expectation in influencing student performance.  Skilled teachers build students' strengths into confidence and competence.  Noguera has developed 10 practices to promote achievement for all students. 

1. Challenge the normalization of failure.  Race and class should not predict achievement.
2. Stand up and speak out for equity.  Schools must confront the ways in which some students are denied learning opportunities.
3. Embrace immigrant students and their culture. 
4. Provide students with clear guidance on what it takes to succeed, including such things as study skills, "code switching," and seeing models of excellent work.
5. Build partnerships with parents based on shared interests.  Faculties must be trained to communicate respectfully and effectively across race and class differences and work with parents to help reinforce school objectives at home. 
6. Align discipline practices to educational goals.  Be consistent across grade levels on expectations, values, and norms that reconnect students to learning, rather than exclude them from learning.  
7. Rethink remediation and focus on acceleration. Monitor learning and provide access to enriched, rigorous curriculum with needed support and personalized  interventions. 
8. Implement evidence-based practices and evaluate for effectiveness.  Consider such things as peer study groups and assessment, content literacy, and direct instruction.  
9. Build partnerships within the community to address student needs. 
10. Teach to the way that students learn, rather than expecting them to adjust their learning to a rigid, set way of teaching.  Focus on evidence of mastery and performance, viewing the work produced by students as a reflection of the teaching done in the classroom.

Game of the Week: 

Playworks Basketball: 

https://www.playworks.org/game-library/basketball-playworks/ 

HALLOWEEN PARADE UPDATE: 

We will NOT be having the Halloween Parade this year.... 
We will be having a day of fall centered science, art, ELA, Math, etc.  
Please plan with your grade level team how to make Halloween an inclusive, fun and enriching day.  We will follow our regular schedule (how can you incorporate our theme into WIN time) have a Fall/Pumpkin STEAM Day... Let us know if you have any questions!  

Here are some suggestions: 
http://www.mrspicassosartroom.com/2013/11/warm-cool-swirling-leaves.html?m=1
https://www.panickedteacher.com/2014/10/zentangle-pumpkins-terrific-art-strategy.html
http://aschukei.blogspot.com/2014/11/did-someone-say-fall-fall-art-edition.html

https://mathgeekmama.com/best-fall-stem-activities/

https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/activities/halloween-stem-activities/
https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/stem-challenges-halloween
http://www.getcaughtengineering.com/trick-or-treat-with-stem/
https://artprojectsforkids.org/category/view-by-theme/holiday/halloween/
http://frame.bloglovin.com/?post=7126200923&blog=2902638&frame_type=none
https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/10-must-try-fall-science-activities-and-stem-challenges-for-kids/

Upcoming Events: 

• 10/7-10/11 - Miles of Smiles Sealant Clinic
• 10/8 - SLT Round 1 - Bournes 
• 10/8 - AAPAC Meeting - Sierra Middle School 6:00pm
• 10/10 - RUSD Leadership Team Meeting - Longi and Carrie out 2:30
• 10/11 - Hawk Shop 
• 10/15 - High Impact Teaming - Coaching Session #2 - 3rd and 6th Grade 
• 10/15 - Co Admin Mtg - Longi out 8:30-11:30
• 10/15 - Staff Meeting (Instructional Guide Presentation #1) - E103 - 3:05
• 10/16 - Coffee w/the Principal and ELAC - 8:15-9:15 - MPR
• 10/17 - Great California Shake Out 
• 10/17 - 6th Grade Field Trip 
• 10/17 - Virtual Principals Meeting - Carrie Out 2:30
• 10/18 - Fall Festival - 4:00-7:30
• 10/14-11/15 - Gallup Surveys - 5th and 6th Grade 

Birthdays: 

10/7 - Raquel Snackenberg  - 2nd Grade

10/8 - Patty Kaplan - IA RSP

10/13 - Longi Summers - Assistant Principal

10/16 - Katie Tavaglione - 2nd Grade

Last but not Least: 

Steven Ybarra (Principal of Arlington High School) had some really nice things to say about our school... I thought I would share his Friday Thought from last week.  Thank you for all you do!  

Good afternoon,

If you’re anything like me, and I am pretty sure most of you are, you’ve spent the majority of your educational career at the secondary level.  I know there are a few of you out there who have spent some time at elementary schools, but not me.  In fact, I started my career at Central Middle School.  I still remember my first official day.  The principal (Debbie Dauphine…such a wonderfully kind and gentle person, who saw something in me, took a chance and gave me start.  I’ll forever be grateful for her and always remember her name).  She and I were walking down the 100 hallway when we come upon two veteran teachers talking outside of a classroom.  Debbie introduces me as a new teacher and there I stood -- anxious, yet excited to meet my first, bona fide colleagues.  One of them asked me what I teach.  I answered that I will be teaching 7^th grade World History.  And as sure as today is Friday, I’ll never forget her response.  “That’s interesting, because we teach children here.”  I was so embarrassed.  My first interaction with a teacher, as a teacher, and she made feel so insignificant.  I have heard it said before, “you never get a second chance for a first impression.”  Well, you bet she did not leave me with a good first impression.  But you know, whenever I look back on that interaction…she was right.  Granted she could have worked on her delivery a little better.  Maybe less sarcasm and a softer tone, but she was right.  We don’t teach our content or our grade level.  We teach our students…we engage our kids.  In RUSD, that pursuit culminates in our Portrait of a Graduate. 

We are certainly responsible to prepare our students to be college, career and world ready.  And, to help our students acquire the “knowledge, concepts, skills and habits…to exhibit world readiness.”  Today, however, I saw our graduates’ quest to attain said attributes, starts long before we get them.

Friday’s Final Thought is Hawthorne Elementary School Community Walk-Through.

I know it is different and in fact I am not even sure it has been done before, that the topic of the final thought pertains to a different school than the one I am associated.  And at the risk of talking out of school…literally; I’ll try to keep my comments concise while hoping to convey Hawthorne’s connection to us. 

For starters, as one might expect, we are very similar to Hawthorne in a lot of ways.  They have experienced a slight decrease in enrollment as of late (760 students).  They are a Title I school, with 75% of their students identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged.  74% of their students are Latino, 17% white and 6% are African American.  They have two preschool classrooms, 25 TK-6 classroom and five special day classrooms, and they moved to their current location on Irving St. in 2009.  The similarities, however, extend past simply our demographics.

Hawthorne, like us, aligns themselves to RUSD mission and values. 

Hawthorne, like us, has an instructional focus centered around WICOR.  In fact, their goals are connected specifically to WICOR.  So, as I participated in their community walk and visited their classrooms this morning; I did so looking for a connection to us, to our instructional focus and to our Portrait of a Graduate.  After all, it’s easy for us to see the connection to the portrait…Know, Act, Think and Be.  Our daily interactions with our students are so much closer to commencement than our elementary counterparts.  Nonetheless, we certainly benefit from the foundation they are building through the work they are doing today.

Today I saw students engage in peer editing and provide productive, verbal feedback to members of their reading intervention class.  I also saw second graders engage in dialogue about geology and the properties of rocks.  

Today I saw fourth grade students work toward goals they had established, as well as a school-wide culture of leadership and character development, letting their students know it is okay to fail and you can do more when you change your mindset.

Today I saw students immersed in activities that promote inquiry and provide opportunities for students to effectively communicated with one another.  I am talking kindergartens people! Kindergartners in groups, spaced throughout the classroom engaged in conversation about new vocabulary.  One teacher with, I don't know, 20 kinders.... taking turns, acting out the new word, then using it in a sentence, and the teacher rotating from group to group to monitor and assess.  Not to leave out the first graders working in groups, using flashlights and ping pong balls to learn the phases of the moon.  Impressive. 

 Hope. I left Hawthorne filled with hope.  Hope for what is and for what will be. 

And as I walked back to Arlington after the community walk this morning, that same sense of hope carried through the gates.  It was nice to visit Hawthorne and it was even better to be home.  Walking onto our campus, knowing that same commitment to our students, our families and our community that I just witnessed; was being played out in our classrooms.  “Every Student, Every Day.”  You have heard it before, but it certainly rings true.  Because after all, that’s what we do…”We teach children here.”  

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Steven