Food For Thought... Intentional Focus
As we settle into the second quarter, we know our students, and realize that the honeymoon is over and the day to day can get overwhelming... it is time to make sure we are keeping our work focused. To achieve the next level of success: growing all students and showing the world that we are A class school, we have to have intentional focus each day.
On what are you spending your time? How do you utilize your planning time? Are we getting bogged down in grading, disciplining and churning out work for our students to do?
Could we focus our work better on what matters most? Are we spending high amounts of time fussing about the little stuff we are letting get under our skin? Are we spending high volume of time on items that will not really get us bang for our buck?
I am 200% sure that very few people in our building can work any harder, which means we must work smarter. If we continue to do what we have done, then we will get the same results. Remember the data slide that we looked at in PLCs that shows that it will take a "breakthrough" to change the trend?
Breakthrough... what does that mean? "'a sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development"
How can we have a breakthrough? It will take intentional focus. What is your team doing differently to get different results? FOCUS on all students growing. FOCUS on high value standards both for the end of the assessment and for the future. FOCUS on engaging kids in the content.
We have had several work sessions and PD on engagement because if students are just filling out endless worksheets, they are completing the work and practicing, but are they really learning it? Can they apply it? Will they remember it beyond the end of the week quiz?
There are no magic pills in education, but research has shown over and over and over that there are three key levers:
1. Relationships - they will learn more from someone they know cares about them and they will be more apt to show what they know on an assessment for a teacher they like.
2. Engagement - spending time having fun and really engaging with the content improves memory/recall and long term recall of content.
3. High Expectations - if we think they can, if we let them struggle and try the hard stuff, and if we convince them they can... they will.
October is historically hard on teachers and the good news is we made it!! November is a time to be grateful. I am grateful that you commit to being present each day for kids and for admitting that we don't have it all figured out and are willing to try new things to get better and different results. I am thankful that we have the best job in the world: we get to shape the future.
Thank you for being willing to have intentional focus. We have to have a vision of what we are working towards, we have to believe in ourselves and our students, and we have to keep the right work in front of us each day.
~Principal Sauer
MOVIE NIGHT!!!
Movie will begin around 6:30pm, with gates opening at 5:30 for seating - bring a blanket/chair, pillows, etc.
Staff members get in free - we are asking that you pay the $5 per student for your children as this is a fundraiser for PTC.
A Popcorn & Drink comes with admission. Additional popcorn, drinks and candy will be on sale.
Gates open at 5:30 to claim your seats under the stars.
Safety Review: Lockdown - Code Red
- Notice your TapApp does not use the code words as most institutions have gotten away from them as they can lead to confusion. The word is what is key and should give you more information. We continue to reference codes as they are listed in old documents, but you will begin to see them fade from publications.
- Lockdown - most commonly used for active threat in the building such as an active shooter or active intruder.
- If outside, quickly gather students and head towards a parking lot exit. If Tap App indicates drill, take them to shade away from building and wait quietly. If it does indicate a drill you would use situational awareness to head away from campus with your students quickly and quietly.
- If a drill, act as if it is real in that students need to stop play immediately and report to you.
- Can also be used for domestic situation of custody concern, out of control student, or out of control adult.
- Door should already be closed and locked - if right there, drop window covering - do not return to door/window if forgotten to drop.
- Locks, lights, out of sight - IF you see lockdown on your phone, then you say to your students "lockdown, locks, lights out of sight"
- If door is open (you would be at the door) or class is in hallway transition - gather as many as possible into the room and then secure.
- Can also be used for domestic situation of custody concern, out of control student, or out of control adult.
- Once in hard corner and quiet, recheck Tap App.
- You may also check in that you are safe, and also list missing students as you check your roll. This would be more important later in a lockdown situation as they approach evacuate and reunification. Listing missing students is not an immediate concern in the first 5-7 minutes.
- In a real emergency, this will last not minutes, but possible hours.
You Have the Authority...
Remember that as a teacher/staff member in the State of Florida, by law you have the authorization and obligation to call/alert others in an emergency: hold, shelter, lockdown, lockout, evacuate. You can use the Tapp App if able, but if a phone is not with you, then alert another for their phone, or use the PA system: 7001#00* You do NOT need an administrator to make that determination.
Movies
I still remember that most of what I learned about the civil war was through watching Blue and Gray in 6th grade. It was not the watching the caused the learning, but the engaging discussions and civil war activities we completed to "earn" our mini series time each week.
Movies are like field trips... anyone can find an instructional standard to connect it to, but that does not mean it is a good use of our instructional time.
Please refrain from showing full length movies in class. In the rare occasion that you would like to complement a series of instructional activities with a movie, please come see me and hopefully by talking it through with me, you can get me on board.
I am not referring to 15-20 min segments to illustrate a concept (Day of the Dead festival of Coco) or short science movies to illustrate a concept. I am talking about commercial movies.
Remember that most of us do not look good in orange or stripes, and that FBI warning, and copyright regulations do apply to educators too! (that is why we hire a movie company to do a PTC movie night, as they have to purchase a licence for a one time showing of a movie whether you charge or not, to an audience)
Ultimately, it comes down to only having so many instructional minutes per day, per week, per quarter, and will showing movies give us the breakthrough impact to grow all students???
Ms. Reemsynder went above and beyond with her Halloween activity for math! It was awesomeness with high levels of time on task, engagement and fun!!
Students are enjoying the live school cart
It is great to have middle schoolers showing leadership and helping the younger students with the live school cart
Sunshine committee is planning a pot luck lunch for Thursday the 21st, so we will yield common planning to DCSS family time of gathering!
Middle Schoolers are running for student council and making it about issues rather than just popularity
Middle school student council elections are leading to SEL discussions and platform ideas through respectful collaboration on Edmodo!!
Teachers are implementing Kagen strategies in the classroom and we will be selecting two teaches to attend further training with our CRTs.
·We have selected our first basketball team!! Go Stingrays!!
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Food Drive
Our 4th annual "Food Drive" is happening this week in coordination with our food service provider, SLA. All donations will be donated to Sandalwood Family Resource Center.
Items to donate:
Crackers
Nuts/ raisins/ dried fruit/ dried cranberry
Peanut butter
Pasta (any and all types)
Whole grains (barley, bulgur, cornmeal, couscous, oats, quinoa, rice,
wheat berries)
Oatmeal (individual packaged)
Cereals (individual packaged)
Grits (individual packaged)
Chips; cookies; Popcorn; Granola bars; pop tarts; apple sauce, snacks (all kinds for kids)
Instant potato flakes
Packaged meals (macaroni and cheese, hamburger helper, Ramen noodles, etc.)
Canned meats (tuna, salmon, chicken, etc.)
Dried Herbs and Spices -Seasonings (all kinds)
Any and all nonperishable items.
*Please avoid donating items packaged in glass, as these can break and be dangerous.
