Johnson Memo: Friday Focus

Great Things I Noticed this week:
*5th grade classes looking at student writing samples together, using the 6 Traits Rubric to score and then see how the teachers scored each piece of writing. This helped students better learn the rubric. By the 3rd time around they were almost as consistent with the teachers on scoring.
*4th grade students wrote weekly scores into their portfolios, assessed themselves on the code of conduct for the week and wrote their personal learning goals for the next week. What a great way to give them ownership of their own learning.
*Kindergarten is up to 9 minutes of reading stamina!
*An almost magical technique to get 4K-ers to stop blurting...when told to "catch it" they put hands over their mouths as they raised hands. I could not believe how well it worked!
*Several classes have started trying out the iPads. I'd love to hear when you're going to so I can get in to help. Let me know if you want me to help you plan for them.

Events Next Week:
Monday-We will have 3-4 teacher visiting from Oakfield to observe Daily 5/Cafe in the lower grades, with additional teachers to visit at a later time. (Word continues to get out about how great you are!)
Let me know if you're interested in joining them for lunch to talk Daily 5/Cafe...not sure where they're eating yet.
Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-7:30, School Board Meeting 7:30
Tuesday - I will be back at CESA 6 for Teacher Effectiveness training all day
Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-7:30
Wednesday - Fall Festival
Thursday - Professional Development Day
Saturday - PTO Craft Fair/Bake Sale-If you can't come to help, please come to shop!!! (or bring baked goods on Wednesday to help with the sale)

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*For 3-5th grade teachers the WKCE Parent letters will be mailed out by October 24th. Please also try to mention the WKCE test in your Parent/Teacher conference so parents end up hearing/seeing this information twice.
*Let me know if you would like me to join in a P/T conference or just have one you'd like me to be nearby "just in case." My schedule for both nights is booking up.
*When you're using Google Docs it has now turned into "Drive." I know several of you are still using the old version and some are braving the latest "Drive." I've survived through finding things in the new version, but found this resource very helpful to learn how to navigate Google Drive: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rn3sOyKSv111UX2DngOLCwd1FMCf7IgCu4RNdyjVNXg/edit

Blogs, Tweets, and Pins...Oh My!
Teach Mentor Texts - a great blog that shares a wealth of books for mentor texts. What are mentor texts? Mentor texts or anchor texts are books that can be used as an example of good writing for students. Students can use the writing in these books to improve their own writing.