Monday Memo - Week of February 27

Great Things I Noticed Last Week:
*4th grade started using the 7 problem solving steps process (shared in the data days meetings).  It takes quite a bit of time to teach the process (and quite a bit of paper to use one sheet for each problem), but it's slowing students down to problem solve and be more independent with the process.
*Students writing social studies terms in their own words instead of just copying the definitions. 
*Students recommending books to read during check-in/reflection time.
*A lot of hard work put into making the Jump-a-Thon another fun success! Thank you to everyone on the committee and especially to Mr. Klueger, Mr. Lange and Mr. Reinke for letting the kids dress you up and to Mrs. Landaal and Mr. Mane for getting pied.  The kids loved it!


Events this Week: READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK!
Each morning's announcements will have a Dr. Seuss trivia question just for fun.
Monday: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:00-7:30
     -I will also have a middle school assistant principal from another district with me today just to see what elementary life is like (I wrote this a couple weeks ago, but had the wrong date). She'll be with me for walkthroughs and everything else I do.
 Tuesday:  Wear Red, White and Blue
  Amanda Adamski's Tech Tuesday after school for Google Docs help
Wednesday: Crazy Socks Day
     -Health benefits meeting after school
     -Mrs. Cleary and I will both be in OshKosh for an RTI conference
Thursday: Pajama Day
     -District PLC Meeting day (these are occurring either before/after school based on what your group decides)
     -Please consider joining in the fun for the Family Read-In Night at 6:00 PM.  Bring your children with and enjoy!
Friday: Hat Day for Dr. Seuss's Birthday

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
* If you have developed a conferring/pensieve form please add it to the shared drive for others to possibly use. No one has to use the same form, but it helps to see what others have developed already. Go to (Shared: Elementary: CAFE)
*The PTO wants to know if they can sell mechanical pencils in the school store. Please let me know if you do NOT allow your students to use them in your classroom. They don't want to sell something that can't be used.
*Here's a helpful chart from last week's Daily 5/Cafe tip of the week to take what you're seeing in a student's reading to their goal/strategy: From Assessment to Conferring
*Last week I read the article Why Great Teachers Are Also Learners and thought of all of you and how dedicated you are to learning.  As I read each point in this article, I pictured many classrooms that I've seen this occurring in and also see the impact it has on our students---they are also excited about reading and learning!
*Last Thursday's fire drill was NOT planned, but fortunately turned out just to be a technical issue that caused it. There were some that said "we just had a drill" and didn't get moving right away. If you haven't already done so, please remind your students that we practice fire drills so that we can exit the building quickly/safely if there were to be a real fire.  For those of you that exit to the front of the building, please go across the round-about and to the parking lot in the future.