Friday Focus - Happy Spring Break!!!

Solitude, reflection, and silence replenish

our energies and open our minds.

 

Be sure students have time alone

to explore their own thoughts,

make their own connections,

and create their own ideas.

 

Then give them the opportunity

to exchange their reflections with each other

and with adults.

"I don't retreat from the world to escape, but to return stronger." ~Robert Frost

Thank you to everyone for your continued dedication and focus on learning during this last week of the quarter.  I can recall the last year that we had a spring break having numerous discipline issues arise, but I think that since you have all kept focus, so have the students. Excitement is in the air as everyone anticipates the Spring Break to rest, rejuvenate and have some fun!  While other professions may be jealous of teachers getting spring break off, I recognize and appreciate that many of you also use some of this time to catch up and "sharpen the saw."

Did you know that while quiet reflection is an individual process, it also has the ability to strengthen community ties? I recently read somewhere (and wrote it down, but neglected to include the source), "people often return from quiet reflection or solitude with a renewed appreciation for the people around them."

How fortunate our students are to have you as a great model for learning, because you are continuously learning and reflecting on your own as professionals and modeling that for your students. No doubt, our students will also return with a renewed appreciation  for their school community.

Reflection prompt for your journals....what are you doing to "sharpen the saw" over break? 
I'll share my plans with you:
*Reflect on my personal/professional goals from the start of the year
*Read the book Mindset (here's the blog post I read that inspired me to get this book)
*Read/learn more about Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
*Spend some time learning a couple of web 2.0 tools I've seen others raving about on twitter that I want to know how to use (scoop.it, Instapaper and dropbox -please let me know if you already use any of these and can help!)
*Catch up and planning for 4th quarter (what things have I slacked on and need to step it up, like getting the End of Year Picnic plans going and bringing back our American Treasures theme to the forefront)
*Spend time relaxing, playing at LegoLand in Chicago, enjoying my family and seeing what my house looks like in the daylight!

Monday Memo - Week of March 26

Great Things I Noticed Last Week: 
*A social studies chapter was reviewed in a fun/engaging way for students: playing "baseball" on the SMARTBoard with review questions in groups.
*Student contributions into the weekly class newsletter --1 explained what "blah and spicy" words were and the other wrote about what they learned about magnets in science. What a great way to grab parents' attention and have student ownership in sharing their learning. 
*3rd graders got to experience a chemistry lab in the high school led by high school students (yes, there were even explosions!)

*The student principals with me on Wednesday commented that they couldn't believe the 5K students could focus like that for Daily 5 to read and write.  They also said that from going to all the rooms, that almost every student was using a quiet voice and working hard.

*I enjoyed reading what some of you shared last Friday in the Share a Positive Google Doc please continue to add to it so we can celebrate together!

Events this Week:

Monday - Board Meeting (some of our 5th graders will be presenting about Jump Rope for Heart)

Tuesday - Fundraiser Kick-Off Assembly in the Elementary Gym at 2:15--this should only be about 15 mts. Please make sure students bring their fundraiser packets home with them. 

Wednesday - 1-5th Grades Vision Screening in the Elementary Gym all day

Thursday - 1-5th Grades Vision Screening in the Elementary Gym all day

          DEAN Health Assessments in D.O. in the morning (by scheduled appointments only)

          Evening-HS Art Chili Cookoff

It's hard to believe this the end of 3rd Quarter already! The original schedule said that grades are due Thursday morning.  I will wait and print them Tuesday, April 10 at 7:00 in the morning (which means everything from you is due in PowerSchool by 7:00 am April 10th).  Let me know if you have any questions.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

*Looking for Tech Projects in Your Class - So many of you do really interesting lessons using technology in your classrooms, and I'd like to feature those activities/practices for a presentation I've been asked to do this summer for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards summer leadership conference (The secret is out that Dodgeland has great things going on, including technology!).  I'd love to show off the cool projects you do.  So invite me to stop by your classroom or send me pictures with what you and your students are doing with technology being used for creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication (the 4 Cs of 21st century skills).  What I hope to do in my presentation is to change the minds of those school board members who have the mindset of, "We didn't have computers when I was a kid, so we don't need them now. All our school had was one broken green crayon and used paper from the bank, and we liked it."  
Just sharing a few articles I read this week:

*Article from Todd Whitaker on that typical student question of "Why do I have to know this?" 
*Check for Understanding - many quick 5 minute strategies to include in your lessons for student closure/summarizing learning
*Think-Pair-Share Variations 

Friday Focus - March 23

“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” -Voltaire

 Life is NOT a shipwreck, but it definitely presents challenges. Sometimes, when it is too hard to concentrate, when the kids don’t behave as you’d like, when a lesson doesn’t go as planned, or when the work piles up and time slips away, it can be difficult to find our singing voice. When we have ”these days” it is important that we take time to celebrate the successes in our school. It doesn’t mean we ignore the problems, but we can certainly use “the positives” to energize our efforts to address the challenges.

Challenge for the Week: Pick at least 1 positive thing that has happened in your classroom this week and write about it in your reflection journal or even better---share it with all staff HERE.   It will be good to "hear the singing"…even if we aren’t in lifeboats!
Have a great weekend! :)

Monday Memo - Week of March 19th

Great Things I Noticed Last Week:
*Tribes activity of students collaborating to come up with for solutions to a student problem that each group (tribe) identified (ex: arguing in 4 square or saving seats at lunch)
*Fun new class attention getter: Teacher-"Read to rock?" Students-"Ready to roll!"
*2nd graders (with learning disabilities) practicing math facts in partners and keep track of each others' facts that were correct and incorrect. Jim Wright calls this peer delivered intervention.
*5th grade students gave biography presentations using google docs presentations instead of using powerpoint. What I found very powerful was that when I asked how many of them accessed their google presentation at home, almost every student raised their hand!
*When I was reviewing grade level meeting notes I noticed that one grade level was not only listing their current academic focus area, but also listed the common core state standard. What a great way to become familiar with them...using them in your grade level meeting discussions.
 
Events this Week:
Monday- 5th grade field trip
Wednesday- in the afternoon I'll have the 2 essays winners with me to be student principals in the afternoon. I plan to have them join me for classroom walkthroughs.
                  -3:05 Cross-Grade level meetings in place of our elementary prof. learning meeting

Friday - National Childrens' Theater presentation of Men In Plaid: The Kilowatt Connection.  12:40 for K-2 grades/1:30 for 3-5th grades.  You can find the teacher guide and classroom activities here if you're interested.



"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
*Just in case you missed last week's Daily 5/Cafe Tip of the Week, I found this FAQ interesting: How can I keep my one-on-one conferences brief?
*Gail and Joan ("The Sisters") tweeted the link to this website this weekend that they have found to be helpful for listing books by focus subjects.

*Here's a great video clip Mrs. Patey found on the Power of Word Choice (if you share with your students there is one short shot of someone smoking):

Image from Langwitches

Friday Focus - March 16

Image from Chris Radburn

The snow has finally melted, the sun has come out and we will be approaching Spring Break (a much-needed reprieve) soon.  I know this can be a challenging time for us, as both students and staff get spring fever.  We have been working hard for 6 1/2 months and  we're getting closer to the last quarter of the school year. 

Now is when we must do our best work.  The cliche of "it's not how you start, but how you finish" and the "school year is like a marathon" are so true!  We must finish strong and carry out our momentum until Spring Break and then back at it again until the end of the school year.  Keep in mind that the more you stray from your classroom routine/schedule, the more crazy your students will get.  If you keep focused, they will follow your lead.

Feeling like Spring Fever is getting the best of you? Here are a few quick reads to help you:
10 Ways Happy People Choose Happiness
20 Teacher Tips for Beating Fatigue
10 Ways to be a Great Teacher

Monday Memo - Week of March 12

Great Things I Noticed Last Week:
*4K students were "skywriting" their letters together while each student got to write the letter on the board. This not only gave a lot of repetition for how to form the letters, but it also had them all actively engaged while only one at a time went to the board.
*During check-in/reflection time, 5K students were talking about their individual goals for writing and what they could have done better if they didn't reach their goal (I never would have thought 5K students could have these conversations!)
*When 2nd graders were given a choice for which math board to choose in a SMARTBoard game, they chose the hardest one (because they wanted to be challenged!)
*4th graders writing fictional stories, but they had to include a "lesson" to learn since they have been learning about the Author's Message during Daily 5.

Events This Week: March Madness Week (college promotion)
Monday - Probationary Teachers Meeting 3:05
Wednesday - Early Release (No morning recess); Staff Development in PM
Friday - Staff Social Lunch (5th/Mane/Breselow)


"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
Surprisingly, I can't think of anything, other than this interesting blog post on a teacher's opinion on Why You Shouldn't Grade Homework.

Friday Focus - March 9

Image from The Art of Education

This week one of the blog posts in my google reader was on mediocrity in teaching (you can read it here).  When I read this I thought of how this may be the case in some schools, but certainly not in our elementary school.  Everyday I see the great things that our teachers are doing to continue their own professional learning to improve instruction and student learning:

• teachers having reflective conversations with myself or their colleagues
• teachers observing other classrooms to gain new ideas
• teachers getting feedback from others that have been in their classrooms
• teachers reflecting on their practice by watching themselves on video
• teachers seeking out new strategies to try when they see their students are not getting or having behavior issues
• teachers sharing ideas with each other in grade level/PLC meetings
• teachers seeking/sharing ideas with teachers in their professional learning network outside of our school (via DART connections and Twitter)
• teachers asking colleauges how students from their WIN group are progressing in the classroom 
• teachers trying new strategies they just read about or saw in a YouTube video clip (like this one here... when I found this clip this week I knew immediately that a few of our teachers had seen this, because I saw several of these strategies in their classrooms--which happen to be very effective!)

We do not have teachers teaching the same way they've always taught. We do not have teachers blaming the kids or the parents for not getting it. We have teachers that are constantly learning and sharing their passion for learning to inspire their students.  We have excellent teachers that are constantly observing their students, reflecting and trying new things to meet their kids where they are.  Our students and community are so fortunate to have such excellent teachers!

Image from I Feel Okay

Monday Memo - Week of March 5

Great Things I Noticed Last Week:
*During literacy blocks I've seen many teachers moving around the room to confer with students.  This made me think of a previous Friday Focus in which I talked about teachers not sitting behind there desks here.
 When I've asked teachers why they move to where students, I've heard the following responses:

• I just move quietly to them so it doesn't interrupt the whole class to call a student. If I call out, heads look up and break stamina.
• It doesn't interrupt that student, they just read out loud from the point they're at in the book.
• It really breaks up the block for me, because I'm not just sitting at the table the whole entire time. 
• When I'm walking around the room to meet a student, I also get the chance to peak at kids that are in difficult to see spots from the reading table. 

Events this Week:
Unless I'm missing something,  I have nothing to put here! (Mark that on the calendar as a first!)

Next week: March Madness--We will once again be having the map in the commons to show where everyone went to college. In addition, all staff will be given posters to put on their doors that identify where they graduated from. We will also have facts on the announcements each morning about college.

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
*Spring Fundraiser Info:
Kick off assembly will be Tuesday, March 27th at 2:15, packets go home this day.  Packets will be due back to school on Wednesday, April 11.  Pick up for fundraiser will by May 3.  We will also be scheduling a family fun Inflatable Party some night in May with the fundraising company.
*I've started the Dodgeland Elementary Facebook fan page as a means to communicate information with parents.  I'll be sending home a note on Tuesday with the information for parents, but please feel free to include it if you send out a newsletter this week.  Until 25 people "Like" the page, it does not show up in a search, so for now, people need to go to: http://www.facebook.com/DodgelandElementarySchool  For those of you on facebook, feel free to "like" it...others will not be able to see if you did.  If you have any news you want me to share on there, please just let me know. 
 *Here's a post from Education Week featuring an interview with Gail and Joan ("The Sisters")

Tech Tips:
*I came across this blog that is filled with tech tips for elementary teachers each week: http://tjhouston.com/2012/02/cyber-monday-feb-21-2012/  This specific link is for just one post, but if you want to see all posts, just click on HOME at the top.

Friday Focus - March 2

I'm  borrowing a wonderful blog post from Angela Maiers for this week's Friday Focus (with her permission of course, her original post can be found here). Angela is an educator that now speaks to inspire other educators about learning, leadership, and 21st Century Learning Skills.  You can check out her website/blog here.

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12 Things Kids Want from Their Teachers

by Angela Maiers on 20. Feb, 2012 in Uncategorized

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Whether you are a teacher, parent, relative, boss, or fellow community member, each of us has a chance to make a positive and impactful difference in a child’s life.
But in order to do this, we must carefully consider this question:
What do you think matters most to our children?
For 20 years I have been posing this question to my students. At the beginning of every school year, I would ask my students to give me advice on how to be their best teacher. I asked them to think about the times they felt most successful and to consider what the adults in their lives did to make this success possible.
The classroom would become immediately silent as the students wrote intensely for longer than they had ever written before. Smiles would appear on their faces as they reflected on the happy experiences they were remembering. After reading their responses I would add to my list all the ideas they mentioned.
Surprisingly, many of the responses were the same. Year after year, in every grade level, content area and classroom I was in, regardless of demographics or background, students were saying the same things and had the same message: It’s the small things you do that mean the most.  That is what they remembered. That is what mattered.
Here is a list of the 12 Most Important things that came out of these amazing conversations:

1. Greet me each day

Wish me good morning, and send me off with a “see ya tomorrow.”

2. Smile

When you look at me, let me see happiness in your eyes.

3. Give me your attention

Sit and talk with me privately; even if only for a second.

4. Imagine with me

Help me dream of things I might be able to do; not just the things I need to do now.

5. Give me challenging content and assignments

Show me how to handle it. Teach me what to do.

6. Ask about me

Inquire about my weekend, the game a played, the places I go. It shows you care about my life.

7. Let me have time

Time to let things sink in. Time to think. Time to reflect, process, and play.

8. Demand of me

Hold me accountable to high standards. Don’t let me get away with what you know I am capable of doing better.

9. Notice Me

Leave special messages in my desk or locker. Just a quick not that says you notice something right.

10. Let me ask the questions

Even if they are off topic. It will show that I am thinking about new perspectives, curious, and willing to learn more. Let me have the chance to show what I am wondering about, not just what I know.

11. Engage me

I came to you in love with learning, keep me excited, keep me wanting more.

12. Trust me

Believe that I can do it. Allow me the chance. I promise to show you I can.

These words did not fall on deaf ears. I collected them, honored them, and then promised I would do everything within my power to be the teacher they needed.
What matters to the children in your life?
It’s worth a conversation, I promise!
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My reflection prompt for you: Which of these do you already do for your students? Are there any that you could do more of?

OR Let your students write your "mid quarter progress report" and give you feedback on what they think you do well and what they would like you to do differently. I used to love reading what feedback my students gave me on my "report card."  Yes, I would get things like "no homework" or "more recess", but I always got feedback that helped me reflect on what I could do differently to engage my students.