Here are some of the great things I noticed last week:
*Mrs. Kroon's class was working together to sort the books in their classroom library--what a great way for students to take ownership of the classroom library and know what books are there!
*Students with special needs participating in the regular classrooms much more than in previous years.
*Reading stamina is increasing (I saw one class as high as 16) so teachers are able to start meeting with students. *Students are excited about how much they read during read to self time.
*An at-risk student from Mrs. Peterson's class stopped me in the hallway to tell me that he was on page 47 of a chapter book (I don't think he's ever read a chapter book before)!
*Mrs. Petersen used a student's book request for her read-aloud--you wouldn't believe how excited those boys were that she was reading a non-fiction book about different types of cars!
*Mrs. Harnisch started highlighting in her lesson plans each time she used the SMARTBoard as a way to reflect on how/when she is using it--great idea!
Events this week:
*Monday - Probationary Teachers Meeting at 3:05 in the Media Center
*Tuesday - Send home Walkathon information
- Benchmark Assessment training for 3rd grade teachers after school
*Wednesday - Tiffany Thompson presentation to 5K-5th grades in the HS gym at 8:20. The staff presentation is after school at 3:05.
*Thursday - No Office Day (see below...I'm hoping 4k-2nd grades will keep me busy!)
- Benchmark Assessment training for 1/2nd grade teachers after school
*Friday - Staff social lunch...the winning vote was for Hors D'oeuvres so I'll have an assortment in the lounge. Please enjoy each others' company in the art room for lunch.
"Nuts and Bolts" Notes:
*No Office Day (in 4K-2nd grades) - I plan to set aside days in my calendar throughout the year to spend immersed in classes/grade levels throughout the day. I am really excited about this! I will be in the classrooms from students’ arrival through the end of the day; planning to spend time in the rooms during academic times and to visit specials with your classes. I am happy to sit and observe, but reeeeally what I would love to do is join in the fun. Please put me to work! Need someone to facilitate a small group? Want to team up to teach a topic? Would you like to have someone work 1:1 with a student? Want me to help prepare something on the SMARTBoard? These are all ways I’d be happy to help. Please send me an email to let me know--my calendar is WIDE open!! If there is work/planning I need to complete before that day, kindly let me know a day or two in advance.*The SRI/SMI tests should be ready to go by Tuesday--Jenny will be sending you an email with the directions. Students will be accessing them differently this year. Please also send home a note the day before or have students write it in their planners. Our parent survey last year included feedback that parents would like to know ahead of time when their students are going to be testing.
*Please complete the safety survey that will be sent out by Tracey Scheffler this week...this is part of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant.
*Mark your calendars for the Rock River Reading Council Meeting on Thursday, November 3rd. This meeting will be held at Prairie View Elementary in Beaver Dam with the focus on: "Revisit and Refine Our Work with the Daily 5 and CAFE." If you would like to attend this (it is optional) the time is 4:45 for social/sharing, 5:15 for dinner, 5:45 for the meeting and 6:15 for guest speakers. I'll share more information once I receive it.
*I am continuing to add links to the Forms/Resources tab of my blog as I think of ones to add. I just added the SMART resources Christina shared. I will also be creating a page of Daily 5/Cafe Resources. Please let me know if you think of anything I should add. We have a lot on the shared file, however, these can be accessed from home!
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