Week of October 31st

I hope that you all enjoyed time with your families over the 4 day weekend and had the opportunity to relax.  It is hard to believe that we are already moving into November!
Last Wednesday-Friday I attended the AWSA (Association of Wisconsin School Administrators) Convention in LaCrosse.  I was thinking back to my first AWSA Convention and how I went there seeking so may ideas/solutions from what other schools were doing.  This year I found myself on the opposite end...I was telling about how our school has implemented great practices! From a formal networking session with elementary principals and informal networking 1:1 conversations I had, here were the issues that other principals were seeking input on:

• How to schedule an intervention block for RTI
• How to plan for intervention
• Progress monitoring tools for reading/math
• How to start a data wall?
• Research based reading intervention programs
• Research based math intervention programs
• How to move all staff into teaching with Daily 5/Cafe

Look at that list and how many of them we are doing well!  Seriously, the only thing we don't have is a research based math intervention program.  As I shared with principals what we are doing I felt like I was coming from the school of superstars!  In fact, during one conversation a principal said, "you must have really great staff."  My reply--"They are the best!" I think my favorite moment was in Todd Whitaker's session when he asked for a show of hands for "How many of you have several teachers that spend a lot of time at their desk?"  Almost every hand in the room went up (my hand was down).  He looked my way when he said, "now how many of you without your hands up are lying?"  Not me!!  I know I've said it before, but I just can't say it enough times, our kids are so lucky to have you!

Events this week:
Tuesday: Tech Tuesday (in Ms. Abegglen's room) afterschool
2:00 5th Grade Student WKCE Meeting in Media Center
2:25 3rd Grade Student WKCE Meeting in Media Center
Wednesday: WKCE Testing for 3-5th grades until approximately 10:15. Please be quiet in the hallways
Thursday: WKCE Testing for 3-5th grades until approximately 10:15. Please be quiet in the hallways
2:00 K-5 assembly in gym "Giving Back with Ronald McDonald" (I would recommend filling out planners before going to the assembly)
6:00 Rock River Reading Council Daily 5/Cafe focus at Prairie View
Friday: WKCE Testing for 3-5th grades until approximately 10:15. Please be quiet in the hallways
 12:00 Leadership Team Meeting in D.O. Conference Room

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
*Next Monday, November 7th is the last day of 1st quarter. PowerSchool grades will be due by 7:30 Wednesday morning (11/9).
*Our first art show is next week, Tuesday, November 8th 4:00-6:00. We will be looking for anyone willing to help after school to set up in the commons.  
*One of the phenomenal speakers I heard at the AWSA Convention was Marcia Tate, who has written numerous books on brain based strategies to engage students.  She is also known as "The Dendrite Lady" because she has written a series of books on practices that "Don't Grow Dendrites." You can find my notes from her session at http://bit.ly/marciatatenotes  I am making it my goal to include more of her brain-based strategies in our future professional learning meetings.  You can also learn more from her here.  This youtube video is about an online class to take with her, but she includes some of her strategies within this video.

Monday Memo - Week of October 24

CC License shared by KTVee

Here are some great things I noticed last week:
**2nd graders counting by 3's along with a fun song on youtube.  Seriously, how can you not enjoy counting by 3's with that funny penguin?  The "Have Fun Teaching Channel" that created this has many other youtube clips for math, grammar, letters, etc.  I always loved using the School Rock videos, but I could see kids pulling these up at home to show their parents and keep practicing. 
**A parent newsletter that included a list of "conversation starters" to give parents specific questions to ask about what they learned. Every parent knows that if you ask a child, "What did you do today?" the answer is usually "nothing" or "we had recess." If you give questions and the answers for parents, it will help them get their children talking about their day. Ex: What is another name for 43? (4 tens, 3 ones)
**5K has started Daily 5 in their classrooms and is going VERY WELL!!  It is great to hear about their independence and stamina already!
**I have been hearing so many great comments from staff already reading the Hal Urban book (Lessons from the Classroom).  Now that I finally finished Ron Clark's book, I can catch up and join in the conversation.  We have a lot going on in the next month, but maybe we can have a before school or lunch conversation to talk about the book in early December? For now, I'd encourage you to share your thoughts on what you're reading in Urban's book at http://bit.ly/dodgelandbookstudy This is a google doc that you should all be able to access. 

Events this week:
*Monday - Wear red for Red Ribbon Week
-4th graders are taking the WKCE Language Arts test right away in the morning. Please be silent in the hallways (they should be done by 8:45). 
-I will be involved in 8/10th grade WKCE testing taking place during their regularly scheduled English classes throughout the day on Monday/Tuesday, so I may seem to be MIA.
*Tuesday - Wear the color of your favorite fruit/vegetable for Red Ribbon Week
-4th graders are taking the WKCE Writing/Social Studies tests in the morning, Please be silent in the hallways (they test until 10:00 Tuesday).
-Flu Shot clinic after school
*Wednesday - Wear your favorite team shirts/colors for Red Ribbon Week
-12:30-2:30 Fall Festival--please take pictures and add them to the shared drive (elementary/Fall Festival)
-I will be leaving at 9AM for the AWSA Convention in LaCrosse. 

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
**By vote, the Tech Tuesday will be moved to Tuesday, November 1st (due to the Flu Shot clinic).  I will actually be talking to MS/HS staff about the WKCE testing, so I will miss it.
**I'm sure most of you know this already, but it's "WKCE season" for me. The WKCE lasts a few days for students/teachers, but it's about a month of a LOT of work for me.  This means I will not be in classrooms as much as I would like to.  I'm just letting you know since I always feel guilty during this time of the year.

Friday Focus - October 21

"What really makes the difference between two schools? What matters most in the classroom? Effective educators understand the answer to these questions; indeed, they know that the real issue is not what is the variable, but who. Great teachers know who is the variable in the classroom: They are." 

~Todd Whitaker

In Todd Whitaker's webinar on What Great Teachers Do Differently, he brought up the classic classroom situation of giving an assignment/test to your class and the students do poorly on it.  What do you do?  Whitaker says that the best teachers blame themselves.  You can only control yourself.  This situation can and does happen to all of us as educators.  The variable that separates teachers is the response...the worst teachers blame the students. 

After hearing Whitaker's webinar I had to pull out his book to reread (I've reread his Great Teachers and Great Principals books a few times each now!). 

Whitaker states that great teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control---their own performance.  Other teachers wait for something else to change.  Great teachers look to themselves for the answers.  

As I reflect on the webinar/book on What Great Teachers Do Differently and our conversations last week for Data Days, I know that we have some of the greatest teachers that he could write about!  I was amazed by the conversations last week that resulted in:

• Cafe Menu strategies to focus on with at-risk readers
• Problem solving on scheduling for students in need of additional reading intervention
• Ideas of how to try to fit in reading groups and 1:1 conferring.
• A way to prevent the need for so much time to be spent on writing conferring-using writing mini-lessons to make a chart of Writing Expectations for their grade level.  (This will be like a "No Excuses" List--if a student brings a paper for revision that has an error on the list the teacher will not confer/revise with them).
• Ideas to manage the paperwork of reading groups/conferring.
• Using math chapter pre-tests to create WIN intervention groups and for having students make their own goals for growth.

Look at that amazing list that came out of collaborative conversations focused on what WE can do for our students.  I honestly have no idea what each of you have said/done when your class did poorly on an assignment or a test, but based on the work I see happening, I would be willing to bet that it would not just be putting a long list of F's into PowerSchool--it would be reflecting on how the lesson could be retaught in a different way with the focus on student learning.

I also see how this variable, "how the teacher responds," applies to classroom management. Just this week one of our classes behaved poorly for a guest teacher.  Did the teacher spend her time complaining about her kids? Nope. She focused on what she could do about it. She spent her lunch period calling parents the next day, asked that the students each write the guest teacher an apology letter and then went even a step further to create an I-Chart with the class on what to do if there's a guest teacher. Brilliant!

I truly appreciate your hard work and dedication to our students and I am always inspired by how you rise to the challenge of providing the best for all of our students.
 


 

Monday Memo - Week of October 17-21

Celebrations from our Data Days:

• 5K Math Benchmark (# Identification) found that 60% of students are already Proficient or Advanced--of where they should be at the end of the year!
• 1st Grade Reading-67% of students are Proficient/Advanced on the Benchmark assessment!
• 2nd Grade Reading-69% of students are Proficient/Advanced on the Benchmark assessment!
• 3rd Grade SRI: 43% Proficient or Advanced (this is based on where they should be at the end of the year)
• 3rd Grade Reading - 81% of students are Proficient/Advanced on the Benchmark assessment!
• 3rd Grade SMI: 35% of students are Proficient/Advanced on the SMI
• 4th Grade SRI: 50% of students are Proficient/Advanced
• 4th Grade: 67% Proficient/Advanced on Benchmark
• 4th Grade: 51% Proficient/Advanced on SMI
• 5th Grade: 81% Proficient/Advanced on SRI (at the start of school last year, this same group of students started the year with 57% P/A on the SRI 
• 6th Grade: 62% Proficient/Advanced on SRI 

*Please note that the Proficiency levels for SRI/SMI assessments are for where 

students should be at the END of this year--that makes this news even more exciting!!!

It was great to see such incredible results and we are only in the beginning of the year.  This just shows our hard work from last year paying off already!!

Events this Week:
Monday: P/T Conferences 4-7:30
Tuesday: 7:35 WKCE Mtg for 3-5th grade (and any other teachers involved in testing) in the D.O. Conference Room
3:05 Art Show Fundraiser meeting--anyone is welcome to join and share ideas you may have.
-Last HOME game for our 5th graders on the Trojan Jr. Football team
Wednesday: Elementary Professional Learning Meeting--the google doc for the agenda is HERE  Feel free to add to it if you would like. We will be talking about 
Friday-Staff Social Lunch
Saturday-PTO Craft Fair/Bake Sale --great opportunity for holiday shopping!!! 
Future events to make sure are on your calendar:
*Wednesday, October 26 Fall Festival
*Thursday, November 3 Elementary Assembly for "Giving Back with Ronald McDonald" presentation.  He's previously come to get kids excited about reading, but this year the focus is on service and giving back to others which fits perfectly with our character focus in November (and is a great break in the afternoon for 3-5th graders that are WKCE testing in the morning).

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
*Our next Tech Tuesday is schedules for Tuesday, October 25th which is also the flu shot clinic.  Would you prefer that I reschedule Tech Tuesday to November 1st?  Please vote on the blog (most of you get this in your email, so make sure to go to http://johnsonmemo.blogspot.com to vote if you were planning on attending Tech Tuesday).
*The Leadership Team met for the first time last Friday.  LT members are: C. Abegglen, P. Bartlett, J. Huelsman, S. O'Toole, P. Prinsen, and J. Ratajzcak

We only had time to talk about how the P.D. conversations/beliefs process went on October 7. Overall, it was great feedback on learning what is happening across grade levels/disciplines and to get rid of the "what did the lower grade level do last year?" that always seems to come up.

Friday Focus - October 14th

CC License shared by David Thiel

"Believe that every child can learn, regardless of ethnicity, learning disabilities, emotional or behavior problems, or the economic situation of the family." ~Ron Clark

I'm almost finished reading Ron Clark's new book, The End of Molasses Classes: 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers. I'm sure that many of you have heard of Ron Clark, because he's the author of the Essential 55 and was featured on Oprah several years ago. Or maybe you saw the movie "The Ron Clark Story" in which Matthew Perry played him as a teacher in an inner-city Harlem school. He is well known for working with disadvantaged students to get them engaged in school and become as successful as their (nondisadvantaged) peers.

#38 in this book is: "Believe that every child can learn, regardless of ethnicity, learning disabilities, emotional or behavior problems, or the economic situation of the family."

Clark describes his experience of teaching "George" how to read in the 5th grade (after getting over the disbelief that he couldn't read at this grade level). He came up with alternative methods and was patient and persistant with George until he made great progress and became a "decent" student. Several years later after George graduated and served in the Navy he came back and told Mr. Clark's students, "Work really hard to be the individual that Mr. Clark sees in you. Even if you don't see it in yourself, sometimes adults just know us a little better than we do."

I can personally relate to this section of his book due to my experiences growing up. I grew up in a very dysfuntional home that is similiar to some of our most challenging students that, at times, don't seem to have much of a future. When I share details of my past, people are often surprised and ask how I got to where I am now. I have often pondered that same question, because my sibblings were not as lucky as I. But as I reflect, I also know that my sibblings did not ever seem to have any positive school experiences....but I did. Despite moving around (because we were constantly being evicted) and attending 13 different schools, I was fortunate enough to have some great teachers along the way that saw my potential. I will never forget:
*One of my 3rd grade teachers (I don't even recall her name because I went to 5 schools that year) that came to my house after I had been absent for several days to bring my schoolwork to me--thinking back, she knew my home situation and was probably just making sure I was safe.
*Mrs. McDevitt, my 5th grade teacher, who never punished me for not having my homework done (because I was babysitting my 3 younger sibblings), but let me come into her classroom early to get it done. I never needed help, just a quiet place to do it without one of the little ones coloring on it.
*Mr. Johnson, my 7th grade math teacher who pushed me to move into 8th Grade Algebra early when I never thought I was capable of it. (I will also never forget when my name was drawn in assembly for a reading contest and I got to shave half of his beard off!)
*Mrs. Staudt, my High School English Teacher who gave me extra time to complete my assignments when she knew that I was up late, because I had worked until midnight at McDonald's for three nights in a row.

I have debated whether or not to share this with you, because of how personal it is, but still felt compelled to do so. If it were not for great teachers like you, I would not be where I am today. If we as adults don't see the potential in every child and truely believe that every child can learn, then how can we expect them to have hope and see the potential in themselves? We have to look at them and see what we want them to become.

Monday Memo - Week of October 10th

Here are some great things I noticed last week:
**Mrs. Prinsen blends into classes during Daily 5/Cafe time so well...she is still meeting her student's IEP needs while conferring with them on their reading and writing!
**Mrs. Zastrow changed how students are using the planner. It is no longer used just to communicate homework, but a tool for students to reflect on the lesson objective in each subject and write what they learned.  What a great way to give parents information about what their children are learning each day!
**Mrs. Peterson had her class reviewing science terms in a fun game that not only had the class in teams, but with each student's turn to answer, they also got to shoot a basket in the classroom.  What a great way to incorporate students' interest and physical activity!
**Mrs. Abegglen found a creative way to draw students' attention to new books added to the classroom library (even I had to go and see what was NEW!)

*Just a few weeks ago I began using a google form to track data when I'm in classrooms.  One of the pieces of information I've been tracking is the level of student engagement that I observe in the classroom.  When I pull up the summary of my walkthoughs, look at the results for student engagement when I've been in classrooms:
That is AWESOME!!! I really wish I would have data from previous years on student engagement, because I truly believe from my observations over the years that students are more interested and engaged with the Daily 5 framework for reading/writing. They have a sense of urgency and know what they need to do to become great readers and writers. Most importantly, students have choice in what they are reading/writing and they love it...even our most reluctant/struggling readers/writers!  (By the way, if you'd like to know more about what I track in my classroom walkthroughs, you can read about it on my profession blog. I've maintained this blog for a few years now and kind of kept a secret, but since I want to model reflection for you all, I'm going to "put myself out there" and share it with you.  It has been a great way for me to get feedback from other educators/administrators.  You don't have to read it, but if you're interested, go to http://principalj.blogspot.com/ )

Events this Week:
Monday: Data Day 8:00-11:30 for 2nd grade (includes Mrs. Madsen, Mrs. Bartlett, Mr. Reinke, Mrs. Patey and Mrs. Cleary)  12:00-3:30 for 5K (includes Mrs. Madsen, Mr. Reinke, Mrs. Patey and Mrs. Cleary)
Tuesday: Data Day 8:00-11:30 for 1st grade (includes Mrs. Bartlett, Mrs. Madsen, Mr. Reinke, Mrs. Patey) 12:00-3:30 3rd Grade (includes Mrs. Bartlett, Mrs. Madsen, Mr. Reinke, Mrs. Patey, Mrs. Cleary)
Wednesday: Data Day 8:00-11:30 for 4th Grade (includes Mr. Lange, Mrs. Huelsman, Mrs. Cleary) 12:00-3:30 5th Grade (includes Mr. Lange, Mrs. Huelsman, Mrs. Cleary)
Thursday: Fire Safety for 5K/5th Grades (the fire trucks will be out by the playground and the 5K wing)
Parent/Teacher Conferences and the Book Fair 4:00-7:30 PM 
Friday: Child Development Screening Day all day (you may see new families with little ones walking to Mrs. McLeod's room)
Leadership Team meeting at 12:00 in the D.O. Conference Room

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
**Please let me know if you are using Reading A-Z, because the subscription will be expiring soon.
**Just a reminder to send home positive postcards home when you have the chance.  These can be put in the box in the District Office to be mailed home. I haven't communicated with teachers for the ones I've sent, but think I probably should so you know if I send home for your students--when I do, I will jut put a copy of it in your mailbox so you know. 
**The calendar originally had our Dodgeland Pride Assemblies scheduled for 8:05 AM (because last year there was no special at this time). This isn't the case anymore and it interrupts several literacy blocks so the assemblies will be scheduled for 2:00.  It's a ways off, but I just wanted to give you advance notice.  

Friday Focus - October 7

"Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.  They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting their eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted." ~Garrison Keillor

The best part of my job is getting to spend time in classrooms and observe students across a variety of settings.  One commonality I notice amongst all of our students across grade levels and school settings (be it their classroom, special or lunch room) is that they crave attention, guidance, and adult approval.  Our students need you.  They rely on you for instruction, compassion, and consistency.  Although it may not always be readily apparent, your students like it when you take control.  Your students know that good teachers control their classrooms, and they understand and appreciate the boundaries you set.  Effective teachers establish a set of clear, though limited, expectations with consequences that are consistently and fairly meted out.  Teachers who are well organized tend to have the most disciplined classes.  The structure of the classroom prevents a lot of off-task behavior, and students know what to expect from day to day.  When an organized teacher tells a student to keep their desk neat and organized, he/she is more likely to be able to do this, because it has been modeled by the teacher.

As you continue to build students' independence (with the Daily 5) you are also helping them to develop ownership for their learning and have self-discipline.  I see students thriving when they are made aware of their learning progress and involved in developing their learning goals, especially when the parents are also on the same page.  Effective teachers take the time to model reflection and have students reflect on their learning using the same lesson objective/goals that the teacher did.
In addition, despite the many standards and vast curriculum within each subject, the great teachers find time to integrate lessons on citizenship/good character and are always modeling the necessary skills for students to be good friends and show kindness toward others.

You have a difficult job, but the most important job.  The life lessons you teach our students will last a lifetime!  Thank you for sharing your passion for learning with our students while teaching them relevant lessons about life.  Our students are always watching us and learning from us within the walls of our classrooms and beyond.  Therefore, be firm, be fair, be consistent, and use good judgement.  Teach your students what you know, but also who you are.

Monday Memo - Week of Oct. 3-7



Image from Jen Farr

Here are some of the great things I noticed last week:
*2nd Grade started WIN groups.
*Mrs. Stampfl's students modeled the right/wrong way to clean up word work materials (you would think 5th graders would be "too cool" for this, but they loved it just as much as our younger students do!).
*Mr. Reinke's WIN group was practicing math while doing physical activities (since most of his WIN kiddos have a hard time sitting still).
*Mrs. O'Toole did a PHENONEMAL job leading the entire elementary in the Flash Mob!  I'm sorry that I didn't get to see the real performance, but I heard from several people that it was AWESOME!  Thank you to Mrs. O'Toole for coming up with the flash mob and to Mrs. Kuhn for teaching it in the P.E. classes. 

Events this Week:
Monday - Mentors Meeting 3:05 in Media Center (just mentors, not probationary teachers0
Tuesday - Start of the book fair for library classes. Classroom teachers please come in sometime before Friday to complete your wish list.
Thursday - Feel free to show your Dodgeland Pride today since you'll be dressing professionally on Friday for P/T Conferences.
Friday - 8:00-12:00 P/T Conferences
              12:30-3:00 Staff Development (Common Beliefs on Literacy K-12)

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
*If you took any pictures of any Homecoming events, please share them with me so I can add them to the web page.
*I heard some mixed reactions to the classroom contest for book donations in regards to wearing the alien costume.  We will change the incentive so that the winning class will have a visit by me to their classroom dressed as an alien to read to their class.  If you want to add an extra incentive from yourself for your class, feel free to do so. I'm hoping this will bring in additional books to our classroom libraries.  We will run this contest until Friday, October 14th.  Please count books brought to your room.
*Here's a quick reminder of "Do's and Don'ts" for Parent Teacher Conferences.  Please let me know if you want me to be involved in a conference--my schedule is booking up. 
*Data Days are next week already--if you have not completed all of your Benchmark Assessments, please let me know so I can help you out by teaching during Daily 5 so you can pull your students.