November 30, 2018

I recently read an article about why many kids are so impatient (including my own sometimes!!) and this helped me with a little insight.  It doesn't excuse it or promote it, AND, it can help to explain it a little.

Take a look at THIS ARTICLE to gain some insight as to why this year may seem WAY more of a struggle than ever before.  From instant gratification to limited social interaction, to "endless" fun, this article was truly insightful!!  

MORE ON ENGAGEMENT!  Until we are at 100%, we will CONTINUE this conversation as high levels of engagement directly link to higher achievement, lower off task behavior, and all around happier students!  How do we get students to make class discussions more engaging so that they are focused on the learning AND master content?  Check out THIS LINK to try 5 easy ways to make your class discussions more engaging!

WOULD YOU WANT TO BE A STUDENT IN YOUR CLASS???

IF YOUR STUDENTS DIDN'T HAVE TO BE IN YOUR CLASS, WOULD THEY SHOW UP ANYWAY??

I put this in family blog and I seriously think it needs to be in our staff one too...

Kindness.  Such an easy word to say and yet such a struggle to encourage kids and each other to practice.  Every single day, we remind our students to be nice, kind and caring.  To follow our school rules.  And every day we struggle with some of our students being mean, cruel and downright disrespectful to their peers and the adults.  Please help us encourage our Vikings and encourage each other ON STAFF to PRACTICE KINDNESS DAILY.  Here is an article about the Power of Kindness.  It makes SUCH a difference in everyone's life.

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

(162)

• SUPER awesome shout out to Cristina for being selected Teacher of the Year for GVMS!
• SUPER awesome shout out to my Secret Pal for such thoughtful gifts that brighten my day! ~Karen
• SUPER awesome shout out to Steven for the idea of collateral for a chrome charger use in class!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Rosa for helping me with the glasses!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to my amazing partner, Ryan, for being my twin on 11/27/18! ~Karron
• SUPER awesome shout out to Brenita who does a great job of making sure our students are safe.  She is a steady and calm force in our students' lives! ~Emily
• SUPER awesome shout out to the front office staff for being so helpful! ~Peter
• SUPER awesome shout out to Brenda for keeping me calm and reading my mind! 
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sandy for all of her help during College and Career Week! ~Peter
• SUPER awesome shout out to Rosa for helping me track down the chrome books! ~Karen

November 16, 2018

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Please have a safe, restful, rejuvenating, relaxing, fun, and EMAIL FREE WEEK!  Please do not come into GVMS unless absolutely necessary and make sure that you have the alarm code to get in!  We will not have custodial here the entire time so, if you do choose to come in, please make sure you know how to disarm the alarm.  I will be staying local so, if there is a problem, please give me a call.

Just to put a smile on your face, take less than 5 minutes to watch Kid President.  He ALWAYS puts a smile on our face and I am SURE it will for you!  =)

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

(157)

• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for all she is doing while Heather is gone through January!
• SUPER awesome shout out to HISTORY Department for being the first department to entirely submit student of the month names!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Carol for her support of my EL student in 3rd period! ~Karron
• SUPER awesome shout out to my Secret Pal for such thoughtful gifts that brighten my day! ~Karron
• SUPER awesome shout out to my Secret Pal for my gifts too!~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Alex Chalmers for solving my Smart Board problems in a timely manner! ~Sue

November 9, 2018

During our faulty meeting, we had the table focusing on objectives vs. activities and I wanted to share the differences.  Here is the black and white of it from that activity ("borrowed" from THIS reading:

Activities-

• Students will take extensive notes (Cornell Notes, DOK notes, etc) on the causes for the Louisiana Purchase
• Students will share their ideas on the benefits of multivitamin on health
• Students will be engaged in a role-playing activity to learn about Civil War
• Students will write down 3 strategies on time management

Learning Objectives (taken from SAME theme):

At the end of class,

• Students will be able to identify, with evidence, three main causes that led to the Louisiana Purchase
• Students will be able to discuss, with evidence, the 5 benefits of a multivitamin 
• Students will be able to identify, with evidence, the causes and effects of the Civil War and their impacts on the national building process in the years that followed
• Students will be able to recall, with evidence, three strategies that are used to manage their study and personal time effectively.

During our recent faculty meeting, we had a table that discussed differentiation, which leads to higher student engagement, which leads to lower negative behavior issues.  Go figure, right? =)  The read we had at that table was easy to follow and went over the four areas to differentiate in the classroom. 

How else can we differentiate to (in the long run) make our lives easier???  Yes, please!!  Take a look at THIS additional article on more ideas, ways to succeed in implementing differentiation, and making life EASIER!!

I recently revisited on ways that we, at GVMS, could help our students get inspired to be grateful.  How could we, as adults, teach and MODEL this to our students?  How could we inspire the next generation to CARE about one another as we see this less and less?  How do WE train them to be the good int he world and to "be the  change that we want to see in the world?  Check out THIS ARTICLE for some inspiration and the video above.  Don't worry, it's quick =)

Recently, a group of admin and teachers watched an EverFi webinar on mental health, myself included.  If you want to check it out, click here.  We would LOVE to create a staff wellness challenge, much like what we discussed in our faculty meeting around self-care.   We are going to print the bingo cards for each staff member to attempt to complete by the end of November.  Those that do will receive a prize from Admin!!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

(154)

• SUPER awesome shout out to Cristina for coming up with and planning the huge scavenger hunt for 6th grade! ~Tamia and Lynn
• SUPER awesome shout out to 6th grade for saving cans for leadership so we can buy fun things! ~Sandy
• SUPER awesome shout out to Volleyball team and Coach Cristina for making the staff vs. team game happen! ~Sandy
• SUPER awesome shout out to Carol for raising the most money for the Sandy Hook Promise! ~Sandy
• SUPER awesome shout out to my Secret Pal for the goodies and putting a smile on my face! ~Brenda
• SUPER awesome shout out to Jason for the idea of Student of the Month during Tutorial!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Megan for the awesome engagement idea!
• SUPER awesome shout out to our History teachers for taking on the election! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out for the monthly Room Service!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Carol and Sandy for making the mock election happen! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to Elizabeth for her awesome brussel sprouts!  5/5 Yelp Review! ~Alex
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for help with 1st and 2nd in P2!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Julie, Lynn, Anita, Katherine, Ryan, Karron, Tamia, Ms. Kristy, Ms. Uma, Heather, Rosa, and Elizabeth for helping to make the scavenger hunt work so well! ~ Cristina
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather for making me laugh even when I want to cry! ~Cristina
• SUPER awesome shout out to Bates and Lucero for calming me down, making me laugh and not letting me call in sick for the rest of the school year =)! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Ms. Kristy for always helping me with crosswalk! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to PE Department for back up on after noon yard duty!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sue for the awesome rewards! ~Lynn