Friday Focus - October 28

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

• Students engaged in a math lesson with the SMART Notebook app to allow each of them to engage in the digital manipulatives/math tools on their iPads. 
• Students practicing the strategy of making a mental picture in their mind as they were reading...a skill that has huge crossover in all subject areas, especially when reading and figuring out what word problems are describing and asking for. 
• Kindergartners drawing a picture of something "close to their heart" (they actually repeated this to me!) and then writing sentences to go with it and labeling different parts of their picture. Seeing these little 5 year-olds deep in writing this early on is always amazing to me!
• 4K students practicing their jolly phonics sounds and writing their letters...the building blocks to be able to start writing in Kindergarten!
• A student book group with deep discussion led by the teacher asking questions that required students to refer back to the text to quote directly from the text (as the standards call for). Students had already left post it tabs to label parts where they had questions or thought were important when they read on their own. 
• Some fun trying to figure out optical illusions in art before creating their own artistic optical illusion.
• ALL grade levels have WIN up and going! :) :)

Events Next Week:
Tuesday - I plan to announce the students of the month at 8:05. If your names aren't in the google doc, please add them!
Friday - End of 1st Quarter (Grades are due Monday, November 7th by 7:30)
Future dates:
Tuesday 11/8 - Election Day--we'll have a student election (details still being worked on for this)
Wednesday 11/9 - Report Cards Distributed, Fundraiser Pick-Up
Friday 11/11 -Veterans Day Assembly


"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
*If you're still looking for a professional learning activity, EdCamp Beaver Dam is still an option on Saturday.
*Report Card reminder from Mr. Wallesverd: For end of quarter: It is important that final quarter grades are being given and then saved correctly. Every student on your class list must have some sort of grade recorded (A,B,C,D,F,P,I,PS,FL,NG,X,M,W,NG) for storage in historical grades of the Q1 term. This is the case for all MS and EL class sections and is needed so that that we can send this required information to the state

Blogs, Tweets & Pins...Oh My!
*Great post from last week's Daily Cafe Newsletter on how the little things that we don't even realize that could be affecting our relationships with students: It's the Little Things
*It Really Happens...great story from a teacher on how positivity(ending the negativity) really works!