Pow Wow Principals Press

This week, our Grade Chairs will be sharing a very important video with you about the power adults can have in students lives. We are making some incredible gains and really want to applaud the hard work of EVERY single staff member.

Thank you for always looking for ways to grow and learn!

Loving the writing that is displayed. Please make sure to include the following: your rubric, the Cold Write, corrective feedback, and the re-write. These are a great way to show the students how they are progressing and improving, If you want an incredible example of specific feedback, check out the writing outside Ms. Robinson's hallway. Dr. Rendell was really impressed!

RtI:

Thanks for all your flexibility in changing your RtI groups. It looks like most of our groups are tweaked but if you find any glitches we can certainly make changes. Just let Sue Fred know. Please remember these are fluid groups.

LLI:

We are excited to see the student engagement and hearing the positive responses about the LLI Kits. Thank you for being open to learn and continue this work in progress. Volunteers have almost completed the activities that align with the lessons. There is only one set of Blacklines that go with each Kit and these will not be duplicated, so please be sure to return them after you make your copies. Also remember to sign the check-out-in sheet so that we know where the materials are. Certainly on our way to an A!!!

We have been so fortunate to receive time and support to plan collaboratively with our grade levels. We have come a LONG way from our initial units, but there is always room to grow.

Here are a few helpful pointers to make the most of your time together:

1. Make sure everyone has copies of the necessary materials to plan. This would include standards, item specs, texts, and any sample items or model lessons.

2. Decide which standards the unit will be covering BEFORE everyone meets. This can be accomplished through e-mail based on our curriculum maps. This will enable everyone to come prepared with ideas.

3. Use a protocol. Protocols are a powerful tool for keeping focus and ensuring everyone's voices are heard. There are some great protocols on the National School Reform web site. http://www.nsrfharmony.org/free-resources/protocols/a-z

4. Watch other teams in action. We are so fortunate to live in a digital age when we can see successful teams from all over the country and learn from proven models. We have seen a snippet of this in action during our schoolwide data presentation, but I think it's worth sharing again. The entire video is only 11 minutes, but it shows how two teachers are able to plan standards-based instruction for all levels of learners.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teacher-collaboration-for-ccss-ells-nea

Teacher Collaboration Strategies For CCSS And ELLs

www.teachingchannel.org

Collaborating to Plan a CCSS Lesson for ELLs Transcript Teachers: Mari Rodriguez and Tita Galde Mari: Because we both have different strengths and it's really nice to ...

Talk Points: These are the recording buttons that we discussed during our focus sessions last week. You can record your voice giving center directions so that students have an auditory reminder.

www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Talk-Point-Pop/dp/B004R5YG5Y

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner....

Congratulations to Jessica Singewald and Laura Rochon for winning our ELA Twitter Challenge!

Jessica showcased her Brain Smart Start and Dr. Rendell was so impressed he videoed it when he visited our school. Jessica's students dance and move to get #connected and #readytolearn.

Laura showcased an awesome example of using ELFAS resources to teach text structure to her fifth graders. We are definitely #onourwaytoanA with this kind of instruction.

Both teachers are earning some quiet critters for their class and an anchor chart of their choice.

We want to recognize more teachers for their outstanding commitment to their professional practice and our Little Indians. We are using Twitter and our school Facebook to share our story so that we can continue the conversation about what is driving innovation in our school.

This week's challenge: In 140 characters or less -- How has collaboration changed your professional practice? How have your students benefited? #vbevibe #tribework

1. Just a reminder, every student starts fresh with second quarter for behavior. Please make sure you communicate this with them. You will begin new minor infraction forms for the students. Please keep the previous forms from first semester for documentation and parent conferences. Don’t forget, you should only be filling in one section and providing interventions before moving on to the next step of the infraction form.

2. Any student reporting bullying must be referred to Mr. Lee or Ms. Riddick to fill out a student statement so the event can be investigated and documented for validity. Keep in mind in order for the incident to be considered bullying it must be multiple events, repeated, cause anxiety in the victim, and be one-sided.

ie. Two kids saying mean things back and forth is not bullying.

3. Please be sure to communicate any behaviors with parents through agenda or dojo. It should not come as a surprise to a parent if their child is misbehaving when they have been receiving positive remarks in their agenda or dojo. We must believe that parents will address and support our concerns, but they can’t do that if they aren’t aware on the daily basis.

***Early Release Expectations***

On early release PD days it is very important that you complete your dismissal duties first before you leave campus. We ALL have somewhere to be and the district is aware that we may not get there until 2:15 or so based on the location of the meeting. Our first priority is getting students home safely. The cafeteria had a lot of buses without adult supervision or only one adult watching all of those students on a particular bus. It becomes a safety issue when we are not completing our duties.

Please make sure you have your recommendation for Pride of the Tribe in the Binder by sign-in by WEDNESDAY 10-26.

Please send home the invitation to lunch with your student by Tuesday so parents can make arrangements to attend with their families for lunches. Grade chairs have extra copies of certificates if needed.

Finally, Awards assemblies will be explained in full detail by grade chairs. They will be organizing each grade level. What has worked best in the past was a folder for each child with all the certificates inside. Most teachers wrote on the outside what the awards were to expedite the process.

Research has shown that using Data in Instructional Decisions can lead to improved student performance (Wayman, Cho and Johnson,2007). But when it comes to improving instruction and learning, it’s not the quantity of the data that counts, but how the information is used.

Teachers that assess, analyze data, take action and reassess have the greatest impact on student achievement. Engaging in Data Driven Dialogue will improve instruction therefore increasing student achievement.

Grade Level Teams will continue to meet weekly to discuss data from assessments to make decisions about adapting instructions, evaluating progress, celebrating success and improving weaknesses.

Create a Positive Testing Atmosphere

Benchmark Testing continues this week. Please remember to stay Positive, come prepared with math manipulatives, testing notebooks/paper and pencils, create a quiet environment replicating FSA testing, circulate around the room, and encourage students to review work when they are finished.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” - Robert Collier

Next Wednesday, October 26, is the Relay For Life Taco lunch. Would you like to participate by bringing something for the lunch and/or buying the lunch? Please e-mail Lisa Segroves if you would like to participate.

The program is off to a great start!
We started strong, inviting in all Little Indians that feel they can exhibit the qualities of a little chief. However, some have not met the expectations and will be asked to leave until they can earn their way back in. Mr. Lee is emailing an updated list.

We are now restructuring the program to focus on the positive things that the Chiefs are doing school wide. We appreciate the data from the "Little Chief" sheets that helped us narrow down participation in the club. In place of that, you will be provided with Positive Little Chief Referral forms.

I will be offering an incentive to the students who earn the most positive referrals for following the VIBE. Please turn them in to me in the cafeteria daily so I can track them.

They will be in your mailbox.

If you have any concerns with students in the Little Chief program, please utilize the minor infraction report form and communicate with the behavior team, Ms. Riddick and myself. Students who are violating our rules will be removed from the club and need to earn their way back.

Positive Referrals go to Mr. Lee.
Minor Infraction forms, when completed with 3 incidents, will need to go to Ms. Riddick.

Thank you, Superman and Batgirl

Please email me if you would like to meet individually with questions about science fair or want me to come into your classroom when you are doing part of your logbook, the actual experiment itself, or putting it altogether. Some things to remember - date and write down EVERYTHING in the logbook. In your hypothesis statement use an if then statement. Examples: If I increase the height of the ramp, then I think the car will go a longer distance. If I add fertilizer to my soil, then I think the plant will grow faster than soil without fertilizer.

I will be putting together a table outside my office with some completed science boards so that you can see some finished products. I will also put some log books out so that you can see what a finished logbook looks like. Please do not remove them, but feel free to take pictures if you want. Completed boards and logbooks are due November 18th.

I love how many of you are doing STEM projects in your classroom. If you need materials please send me a list and I can check the STEM lab. If it is a grade STEM project I can collect for the grade level. Please give me enough notice to check and get those materials if they are available. I will let you know if they are not available. I have found that parents are very willing to send in items needed for these kinds of projects - paper towels, egg cartons, toothpicks etc. Maybe wampums if they bring in items that you need.