Resource of the Week
Our resource this week comes from within. Mrs. Crawford shared a way she was able to get her students to use "Accountability" and problem-solving to help students achieve their goals. Take a few minutes to listen to what she has to say....there are some ideas here that would be a good idea to replicate throughout the classrooms in our school.
Accountability Reflection - a conversation with Mrs. Crawford
Leaders of Learning Book Study Update
I am very excited about the high number of middle school staff members that are participating in the "Leaders of Learning" book study throughout this spring. We had our first meeting on Thursday afternoon. I want to provide an update to share some of the themes that emerged from the core concepts of the chapters that were read and discussed. One part focused in on the beliefs necessary in a school where all students learn at really high levels...those beliefs are:
-ALL students can learn - ALL students will learn at high levels because of what WE do.
We took a closer look at the many actions that demonstrate this belief in our school...and we also looked at some actions/words that sometimes can be expressed that are not representative of this belief.
The school year can be long and the very nature of middle school students sometimes lend themselves to be frustrating to work with at times...but having a foundational mindset and belief that EVERY kid can learn at high levels is important for everyone working in an exceptional school. Sometimes it's good to reflect on and think deeper about our core beliefs and what it means or looks like. It's true that every kid comes to us at different levels, so high levels might look different for some than others. Our beliefs shine through in both words, body language, and actions.
We also started the process of looking at some of our structures, and began learning about ways that we can be more efficient and focused in the time that we do have. Much more learning and planning to come from this group.
Quarter 3 Grades
Today marks the end of Week #3 for the 3rd quarter. This is usually the time that we post standard grades in our classes. We have had 2 snow days so far this quarter, so if you need a day or two yet, feel free to take a couple of days, otherwise, if you haven't already, please post overall student scores within the standards your students have been working towards. I'll be sending a note out to parents next Wednesday asking them to review student progress grades for the 3rd quarter.
Virtual Snow Days
On Friday we implemented our first virtual day due to the weather. Hopefully the weather doesn't get cold enough to cancel in-person learning next week. Please share any feedback that you had from your experience from Friday.
For future days, we should make sure students take materials home on days in which the next day has a forecast that has the potential to cause hazardous travel or harmful conditions outside.
Thought-Provoking Video
This video was shared with me this week by Mrs. Walther. It's a video that makes you think. It makes you think about what we do in school...what's the purpose...what's our role? Around the 2:39 mark, it sparks the realities of the power of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, and how it's so important for students to be able to show their learning or understanding of specific learning goals in a variety of ways...It also makes me wonder if other schools haven't shifted away from just making kids regurgitate facts on assessments, and how our assessments involve much higher level, deeper skills. Take a look and let me know what you thought.
Lessons Learned from Local Schools...
This week there was an incident that occurred that sparked media interest and had an impact on racial tensions in a nearby school district. A teacher or group of teachers made a mistake, and this one had pretty big ramifications in how the students/parents/community responded. There are multiple facets of lessons to be learned here...both in ensuring that we have a strong cultural competence when reviewing activities and materials for our students, but also a rationale for why we have curriculum systems in place. There will be more to share in the weeks ahead.
Staff Talents!
A contribution from Mrs. Wheeler...This is a photo of Mr. Dean playing his wooden flute in our classroom. We're currently learning about the 4 Native American Regions and he played some native american music for our class and as you can see the students loved it, as they stood up and started dancing :)
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