Monday Memo

Team,

We have a big week ahead of us! Please make sure that you read Sylvia's email that she sent to us so that you are up to spend on what is going on regardless if your grade level is testing. If you are administering STAAR any day next week, be sure to put an away message on your email so your parents know to call the front office if they need to get a message to their child. As always, I would like for 3rd - 5th grade to carefully consider what they have planned for the time after testing, as well as non-testing days, particularly on Thursday and Friday. Given the amount of quiet seat time they will have during the first part of the week, engaging and collaborative work should be on the agenda for Thursday and Friday. Readathons, movies, etc. have the appearance of time wasters and would not be appropriate.

Field Day will be held on Friday. It looks like we are due for great weather, so keep your fingers crossed. Please be sure to carefully read information sent out by Coach Relle so that you are fully informed of what to do and when to do it. In addition, last year Suzy Woodard asked us to closely examine our wardrobe changing practices. Given an issue or two that we have experienced in the past, I can totally support her request. Therefore, if students need to change into play clothes or out of wet clothes, please make sure that you have a plan in place to ensure their privacy. Students should only change in the restroom stalls, not in the common area of the restroom or in a classroom. I know this may make the lines long, but their privacy will be worth the wait. In addition, plan your time accordingly so that you will have enough time for the students to change at the end of the day.

Make today count, and take care of each other!

JL

Operation Converge 2018 is now listed in Eduphoria for registration! Teachers will receive their 6 hour GT update credit for both days of Converge. We have some exciting things planned for this innovative 2-day event. Check out the CONVERGE WEBSITE for more information on our plan for this summer and the link for breakout session proposals!

Don’t miss out! It’s going to be AMAZING!!

Links for registration:

Day 1-

https://eduphoria.mckinneyisd.net/wshop/default.aspx?cid=17156

Day 2-

https://eduphoria.mckinneyisd.net/wshop/default.aspx?cid=17157

We can wear shorts on Friday for Field Day, but they must meet MISD dress code.

• Must be beyond fingertip length

• No workout, exercise, yoga, or bike shorts at all

• Nothing with spandex/nylon/stretchy material

Please wear them with a McGowen shirt or a class/team shirt.

Thank you for participating in instructional rounds. To date, we have 48 responses on record. While this will be difficult for most of you to do this week, please continue look for opportunities to observe other teachers.

The purpose of this practice is to learn from each other, and sometimes it is the simplest things we observe watching others that can dramatically change our whole world.

• Class list spreadsheets due by EOD Friday, May 25th
• Student Learning Environment Surveys due by EOD, Friday, May 25th
• MVM names due by EOD, Wednesday, May 30th
• Collect grade level writing samples by EOY.

Did you know that each week I give out jeans passes to the three highest scoring staff members on Shoparoo? I know that many of you have already joined, but if you haven't, it is not too late. Simply go to www.shoparoo.com to create your account. Please feel free to push this information out to your parents as well.

Congratulations to Barbara Peebles, Laura Garro and Jennifer Little for being the highest three staff contributors to Shoparoo this week!

In order to help all children achieve their personal best, McGowen teachers and staff will:

• Knowledgeably speak about our current practices that contribute to McGowen becoming a Level 2 Certified High Reliability School.
• Engage in collaborative team planning and lesson design that addresses the four essential questions of a PLC.
• Present lessons in such a way that students understand and can speak knowledgeably about posted learning and language targets.

I have created a Remind for our staff in order to send out just-in-time reminders, last minute notifications of jeans/warm-up days, and/or emergency info. If you haven't already, please click on the link below to join the group.

https://www.remind.com/join/mcgowenst

May

Laurie Leotaud - 4th

Jennifer Smith - 15th

Lisa Crates - 16th

Miss Irma - 17th

• Nikki - Many thanks to you for all that you continue to do to manage and support a student. The work that you do is extremely difficult and greatly appreciated. -JL

• John, Jaime, Marilyn, Michelle and Sylvia - Thank you so much for coming to the rescue last week and helping to support a difficult situation. -JL

• A-Team - Thank you for being my people. -JL

• Maria -- Thank you so much for all of your help and advice for my first McGowen field trip. You are the best! -Henry

• 2nd Grade -- Thanks for the great field trip memories! Love you all! -Henry

• 2nd Grade: Thank you for allowing me to split my class so I could go to the doctor! Maria:)

• Shiela: Thank you for always listening when I have questions about students, Maria:)

• Krystina: Thank you for switching duty with me:) Maria:)

• Tara: Please tell Ross I appreciate his help with the videos! Maria:)

• Donna - Thank you for putting in that work order for us. We appreciate all the things you do daily to help our school run smoothly. -Third Grade

• Tessa, Ashley, Mandy & Valerie - Thank you for everything you did on Friday to make it a successful day and allowing me to be a mom for the day. I appreciate you all each and every day and couldn’t ask for a better group of ladies to work with. -AE

• Alicia - Thank you for everything you have done this year to support Macy and her Kindergarten class. They had a really fun field trip Friday and you have kept everything running smoothly since you jumped in mid-year. Thank you for doing what you do each day. -AE

• Jennifer - Thank you for your kind and supportive words during our TTESS conference. -AE

• Jean - Thank you for covering my duty on Friday. Love ya and appreciate you! -AE

• Relle - Thank you for helping us out on Friday morning with our celebration in the gym and for the gym equipment we borrowed. You are always willing to lend a helping hand, and we all appreciate you for that. -Third Grade

• McGowen- Thank you for the warm welcome on my first day back! Having so many people come by and say hi made leaving Matthew just a little easier. Krystal

• Susan- There are no words to express how thankful I am for you taking over my class while I was out. I know it was a crazy ride but please know all that you did is greatly appreciated. You are a serious super star!!! Krystal

• Jaime and Nikki- Thank you for keeping me in the loop when I was out and for constantly checking in on me. Jaime your count down to my return was the best! Krystal

• Angie and Renata- Thank you for loving on Bradley while I was out. I know he appreciated having his back-up moms watching out for him.

• Lori and Sadie- Thank you for all of your help at the zoo. I honestly would have lost my mind (or a kid) if you guys weren’t there to help! Krystal

As we near the end of the year, it is not uncommon for our patience to run a little thin. With that in mind, please be mindful of how you are speaking to your students. Often times, what you may think is a stern voice sounds like yelling to anyone else in earshot. While we all know that yelling at children is never an acceptable practice, sometimes we don't recognize our practices as yelling. Please be mindful of this anytime you are speaking to your students, and pretend that their parents are watching you. If you are speaking to your students in the same manner that you would in front of their parents, you are most likely in great shape.

At our Writing PLC last year, the group determined that there is value in passing up writing samples to the next year's teacher. The group agreed to use the same grade level prompt for students to produce a cold write. Students may use graphic organizers or a blank piece of paper to plan, but this would not be a piece that they would spend several days peer editing or conferring with you about in writing workshop. We will include the writing sample on the EOY checklist. Kinder, First, and Second will staple it to the DRA. Third and Fourth will turn a grade level folder into Michelle Caballero. Each grade level should also meet to review samples with the teams to ensure alignment with grade level writing expectations and determine their next steps.

Please be extremely focused and mindful of what students are doing while on any kind of duty (morning, afternoon, lunch & recess). While on duty, be on time, space yourselves out to cover the entire area, and actively move around in that area to closely monitor students. In addition, make sure that each day, regardless of who is on duty, expectations are kept consistent. It is not fair to ask the students to adapt to different expectations, especially since expectations in common areas have already been clearly defined. Thank you for your help with this. We are confident that this proactive measure will help keep student misbehavior to a minimum.

Stepping up will be on Monday, June 4th from 2-2:30pm. Stepping Up provides an opportunity for students to get a sneak peek into the next grade level. Kinder students will visit 1st grade, 1st graders will visit 2nd grade, etc. 5th grade students will get a chance to visit with their kinder teachers.

You do not have to prepare anything special, but in past, grade levels have created “Top 10 best things about 3rd grade, “Day in the Life of a 4th grader” videos, and letters to the incoming students from current students. If you would like to do something like that, you are more than welcome, but please keep the presentation/activity the same across the grade level. Students should also have the opportunity to ask questions.

Also remember that you are representing your grade level, regardless of your plans for next year.

Shana will create a schedule so everyone knows where to go and will share that with you soon.

For those of you who are preparing end of the year slideshows, please remember to include any student in your grade level who participates in one of our self-contained programs. Pictures of them interacting with their general education peers are preferred. Please feel free to contact Jenny, Nikki, Krystal and/or Sharon if you need any help. They may already have some to share with you.

Join us in recognizing John Cissik at this week’s Bad Dude! John is an amazing teacher who works tirelessly to provide engaging lessons for his students. In addition to his day to day duties, he is also always willing to jump into any crisis situation to help where needed. Lately, that seems to be happening quite a bit, and we cannot thank him enough!

Any time we have an idea, concern, solution and/or comment, this is the filter through which we should speak. Let's help each other live up to our vision, mission, and beliefs.

Vision:

We are a cohesive, diverse community providing engaging learning experiences for all.

Mission:
We will provide engaging learning experiences so students can become effective communicators, quality contributors and socially responsible citizens.

Beliefs:

• Partnerships between students, parents, community members and staff are foundational to educational success.
• Positive school culture and a safe environment foster growth.
• Everyone has inherent value and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
• Learning is an active process requiring engaging tasks and engaging minds.
• Relevant and authentic experiences ignite continuous, deeper learning.
• Meaningful relationships enrich learning.
• Confidence fuels risk taking and higher achievement.
• Financial stewardship ensures a tomorrow for education.