March 1, 2019

In recent surveys that we sent out regarding tutorial (as well as the students at the Student Advisory Committee), we have students bringing up the fact that they are bored and feeling unsupported sometimes during the school day.  I know that we have talked and talked and talked and talked about student engagement and the NEED for it.  It's not a "hey maybe" or "kinda needs to happen"....It's a MUST.  SERIOUSLY.

There should be SO much less teacher talk.  If I can go into a classroom and not be engaged or a teacher talks the ENTIRE time, how do you think our students (who have even less of an attention span sometimes than I do!) are even getting the information??

PLEASE take a moment to read THIS ARTICLE about keeping students.  PLEASE:

E-N-G-R-O-S-S-E-D

We are BLESSED to have some of the best in the business at GVMS!  We have stressed this over and over again:  GO VISIT YOUR COLLEAGUES ON OUR CAMPUS!  Struggling with classroom management?  Want some out of the box ideas on student engagement?  Not sure what great academic conversations look and sound like?  Want ideas on quick and easy formative assessments to gauge what student "got" during your lesson?  JUST GO VISIT.  One period is ALL it would take and WE definitely have names to give you of people to visit.  Why is this important?  Take a look at THIS EASY ARTICLE about Open Classrooms and just how awesome they are!!

YEP!  We are gearing up for CAASPP!!!  This is coming in just over SEVEN WEEKS (YIKES!!!!) and there are practice tests for ELA/MATH/SCIENCE (CAST).  Please visit www.fsusd.org/assessment or CLICK HERE and click on the green button "SBAC Practice and Training Tests" to access the site!  

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to Dustin for the CHALLENGE!  PLEASE accept it!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T for making the MAP display BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  THANK YOU!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Carla for working thoughtfully and creatively to figure out ways to support students in the classroom.  She is consistently hopeful! ~Ryan
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for getting plans and work for not one, but TWO classes!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia and Carol for the tutorial meeting and all your hard work! ~Sue
• SUPER awesome shout out to All of the Fabulous teachers that attended the Tutorial Meeting! ~Tamia
• SUPER awesome shout out to Pozzesi for entertaining the TAP students! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather P.  for helping me with the challenging kids!~ Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Marlys for helping with IEPs!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Elizabeth for helping my students with their troubles! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tara for always letting us know what's going on in G107! 
• SUPER awesome shout out to Doris for donating materials to our TAP class! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out Alex for helping me with my tech needs! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to my lunch buddies!  It is so necessary to have a few minutes to vent and share our lives.  Love you Katherine, Heather, Cristina, Karron, Julie, and Ryan.  Thank you for listening and supporting me always! ~Lynn
• SUPER awesome shout out to Dustin and Tom for getting my forms back to me the day I gave them to you!  Thanks for the input and for making my job easier!! ~Karyn
• SUPER awesome shout out to Jason for ALL of the help on Thursday with the Science Field Trip!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Carol for all she has done with ELPAC testing!!!

February 22, 2019

There are SO MANY options out there for ways we can have our students show us that they have mastered a skill or standard versus a worksheet or packet.  As the pic above shows, there are lot of ways to support learning.  I saw this video awhile ago and again recently and, while the students behavior was totally disrespectful, you can see where he is coming from.  While not all "worksheets" are created equal, sometimes all that is given can be called a "busysheet" with zero purpose or meaning.  Other times, worksheets can be used as note taking sheets or data collection tools.  Take a look at THIS ARTICLE about the video, the Worksheet Continuum, and what to do instead! 

YEP!  We are gearing up for CAASPP!!!  This is coming in just over 8 weeks and there are practice tests for ELA/MATH/SCIENCE (CAST).  Please visit www.fsusd.org/assessment and click on the green button "SBAC Practice and Training Tests" to access the site!  

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to Julie for always having my back.  Any time I need to speak with a student or parent, she is always there! ~Lynn
• SUPER awesome shout out to Katherine for the way that she has trained her class.  Even when she was stuck in traffic, they got out their work and got busy! Way to go McKenna and class~ The Teacher Guy From The Wall (Jason =)
• SUPER awesome shout out to My Secret Pal!  You always make me feel special and my day! ~Karron
• SUPER awesome shout out to Angelina for helping with one of my students.  Thank you for giving him a quiet place to work and keeping him on track!~ Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to KC for the Valentines on the mailboxes and the treats all the time! ~Sue
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sue, the kindest person, who would literally give a person the shirt (or scarf) off of her back! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to the English Department for a collaborative, productive, and fabulous ELA day!  You all are absolutely amazing and a true pleasure to work with! ~Heather
• SUPER awesome shout out to Dustin for being the best hugger on campus! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Carla for her rescuing skills! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T for the MAP help!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia and Marlys for covering and making things happen! 
• SUPER awesome shout out to Kimberly and Michele R for sharing their lunches and stories with me! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Alex C. for working on my TV even though the vendor it taking forever and letting me know what was happening every step of the way!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Elizabeth for always helping and cheering on my students! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Katherine for being willing to do intervention with struggling 6th graders in Math! ~ Sue and KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for continuing to help while Heather gets back in the game!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Lynn for helping the subs in science and helping me while I was out! ~Heather P
• SUPER awesome shout out to Ryan for collaborating and talking through some units and lessons! Heather P
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for holding down the fort while I was out; it was a tough job.  She did the work of two and kept things flowing.  I could concentrate on healing and not worry about the classroom and kids.  Words are not enough to show my gratitude, but I can't afford a lifetime of Starbucks =)! ~Heather P
• SUPER awesome shout out to GVMS for the support while I was out.  To those checking on me, covering classes, providing help to the subs, giving support to the kids, and countless other "things" teachers do when there is a need! ~Heather P.
• SUPER awesome shout out to Brenda for the subs, making sure I had the right paperwork and SAVING MY BACON on my return date =) ~Heather P.

February 15, 2019

Taking a look again at "Principles of Instruction, Researched-Based Strategies Every Teacher Should Know" By Barak Rosenshine , I mentioned checking for student understanding, much like having high levels of engagement. Let's focus on requiring and monitoring independent practice. The phrase practice makes perfect (or at least, a whole lot better) comes to mind here. Research shows that students need a great deal of practice in order for a new skill to become automatic. Keep in mind that independent practice should be guided, not just handed off with students left to their own devices. Our very own students even said that when work is just handed off for them to do independently (rather than being guided and/or scaffolded) it gives them reason to act out because they aren't sure what they are supposed to be doing. This independent practice should be the same material that the class worked on in guided practice (this is not the time to try and see if students can master a new skill). Here are a few ways that you can support independent practice

• Walk around the classroom and monitor student work. Research has shown if you are spending more than 30 seconds at a students desk that student (or the whole class) should most likely have some reteaching of the concept or additional explanation of what is expected. Makes sense.
• Try out cooperative learning (students helping each other) by using a procedure such as "ask three before me". Research has shown that there is some advantage to students explaining to each other in addition to increased engagement.
• Complete independent practice problems with class before they go off on their own. Makes sense.

There are some really great resources for teaching and sharing information for Black History Month and a lot of info is being shared from our BSU!  Thank you!  Check out THESE 6 Tools that can help.  Also, take a look at THESE lesson plans that many have already utilized!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to Susan and Brenda for helping me on my delay last week!  Thank you for securing Amy during tutorial! ~Sue
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for handling the issue and concern after school last week! ~Karen
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for ALL that you are doing in 1st and 2nd period and SPED!  You ROCK! 
• SUPER awesome shout out to 
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia for ALL of your HARD WORK with ALL of our kids, especially the challenging ones! ~Cristina
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sandy and Leadership for all of the positive notes and hearts around campus!

February 8, 2019

As we are now into February, I have to remind myself that I determine how I walk onto our campus each day.  I am the one who can "get out of my own head".  Want some help in joining in this mantra in my head each morning? =)  Check out THIS ARTICLE for some additional ideas =)

Academic conversations are such a SIMPLE way to get students engaged and get the learning to "stick" and mean even more!  How do you structure those?  We have passed out so many different resources and tips and really want to see our levels of academic conversations increase 100%!  Think about it:  Do you learn more at a P.D. when they talk "AT" you or when you get to share with your peers or friends?  Seems like a no brainer!  Take a look at THIS ARTICLE for some background and ideas to help facilitate academic conversations with our students!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to Lynn for letting/asking me to model questioning!  I love love loved it!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Jason for helping me corral the kiddos for MAP make up testing! ~Heather T.
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T and Sue for helping me grow in my knowledge of MAP!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Peter for helping to organize a fabulous trip to Stanford and the chaperones- Anita, Megan, and Karen (and Jason for offering to attend! ~Heather T.
• SUPER awesome shout out to Alex for coming down to my room on a moment's notice to help with a technical issue! ~Karron
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T for helping me with the Tutorial Schedule!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Anita, Heather, Megan and Karen for an awesome trip to Stanford! ~Peter (and Megan!)
• SUPER awesome shout out to Angie for the help she is giving with some of our students!
• SUPER awesome shout out to Lynn, Katherine, Paula, and Tamia for coming to and participating in the PD at the DO! ~Sue
• SUPER awesome shout out to Rosa and Julie for decorating my room for my birthday! ~Lynn
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sandy for taking on the Washington DC/NYC trip again this year!
• SUPER awesome shout out to KC for coming to my 6th to help register and explaining the Leadership application! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sandy for sharing some wonderful items from China! ~Carol

February 1, 2019

WAY TO GO!!!  To date (and yes, I am STILL testing and making up testing!) our students ALL showed growth on the Winter MAP TEST!!  WHOO HOO!

6th grade Math up 3.7/ 6th grade ELA up 2.6

7th grade Math up 3.9/ 7th grade ELA up 1

8th grade Math up 3.5/ 8th grade ELA up 3.6

WAY TO GO!!  AWESOME JOB GVMS!

I am going to step away from student engagement for a minute to reflect on our influence on our students.  Every day we are with our students to encourage them to create change, empower thought, challenge their minds, and help them to become the BEST and most successful people that they can be.  I am going to take a break from student engagement and simply focus on KINDNESS.    

It was just Great Kindness Challenge week and kindness is more critical now than ever.  We MUST model this to our students, to one another, to our families that we work with.  It can be hard.  It can be a challenge.  And, yet, it is a MUST.  Again, we spend most of our awake time with EACH OTHER.  Make it a kind time with one another.

How do we foster that in our students too?  Take a look at THIS EASY article for things to HELP you promote teaching kindness in our classrooms and yes, I am sending to parents too =).  

Let's chat for a sec....Let's focus on good first instruction!

Obviously, focusing on good (great, honestly, would be better!) instruction makes everything better- mastery by our students, engagement levels, grades, test scores, etc.  We have already discuss ways to deliver material AND another critical component is to check for understanding.  How do you KNOW that they know the material? Simply asking the class, "anyone have questions?" doesn't work.  Here are some ideas to check QUICKLY!!

• Whiteboards! And oldie but a goodie.  Super easy peasy to have them hold it up to share their answers with you.
• Sticky notes out the door!  Easy peasy quiz to gauge how they understand the standard you presented.
• Academic conversations take place and you monitor to either record or write down information.

Check out THIS article (it's a little long, but worth it!) for more ideas!

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to our campus monitors and parent volunteers for always keeping our school safe and keeping kids out of trouble! ~Alex
• SUPER awesome shout out to Katherine for letting me borrow snap cubes! ~Sue
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather, Peter, Megan and Karen for taking our kids to Stanford! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Angie for working so hard with our kids and parents all of which takes a lot of time! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sandy, Dustin, Dave, and Kevin for always having my back and looking out for me!  Love you guys/gals! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T for taking my MAP testers that take FOREVER! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to my English Dept this week!  I love how willing everyone was to help each other out and knock out testing!  Special shout out to Heather T for rounding up all the ones who didn't finish! ~Aubry
• DITTO to above! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sue for jumping in and helping out my kids in the library while they were waiting for me! ~Katherine
• SUPER awesome shout out to my Secret Pal!  I appreciate your thoughtfulness! ~Katherine

January 25, 2019

Wow.  What a start to 2019.  I have to say, it certainly hasn't been an easy year all the way around.  To be honest, I am really struggling to try to remain positive at all times.  I am trying to send positive post cards, leave notes of encouragement and more to all of our staff every chance I get and it definitely makes me happy to do that!  I am also blasting Taylor Swift EVERY chance I get, much to Kendall's dismay =)

I am trying to really take advice from THIS ARTICLE, including taking short walks during the day, remembering to take a deep breath, and laughing out loud.  Try it!  Got some ideas to share, please do!  

Also, just for laughs.....this is one of my FAV songs that makes me smile and always puts me in a better mood (and has been my ring tone for YEARS!).  Yes, I am a middle schooler and yes, Kendall is rolling her eyes =)

Continuing our discussion on student engagement (one of THE MOST important things in teaching), building relationships with our students is CRITICAL to how effective we are as educators.  We cannot simply close the door, turn our back, ignore the signs, or pretend that our kids DO NOT need us.  They do.  Plain and simple.  So how can you build these relationships with 30+ students in your class?  Some ways can be simple.  Check out THIS ARTICLE on some of the "golden rules" of easy peasy ways to make SIMPLE connections.  C'mon people.  Don't they deserve it?  Don't YOU?

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

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to Lynn for making our schedule work during MAP Testing! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T. for helping me with the bizarre choices on the NWEA site for MAP testing! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T for helping me with the revision of the tutorial schedule, testing schedule and Soul Shoppe schedule! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Gwynn and Tamia for helping with TAP when we have been short staffed! ~Uma
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T for taking MAP testing make ups for me!!!  I owe you AGAIN!! 
• SUPER awesome shout out to Heather T for helping to organize the Stanford Trip! ~Peter
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sue for taking care of the revised MDTP and guiding 6th on when to administer! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALL STAFF who allowed students to come during tutorial to complete their MAP Testing!  It greatly helped the Math Dep! ~Sue
• SUPER awesome shout out to Jason for always helping me with tech issues and being a super supportive person! ~Paula
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia and Carol for getting a jump on the tutorial feedback! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sue for her support, kindness, hard work, and dedication throughout the last 18 years! ~Paula
• SUPER awesome shout out to Dustin for always having my back for the good and bad times! ~Paula

January 18, 2019

Take a minute to watch this video from Kid President!  You know I love him and love to share his videos!  This one is great =)

Yes, we as educators must ensure that our students are independent, engaged, and successful.  So how do we guide them to become more independent learners?  Take a look at THIS ARTICLE for three strategies to help foster this including, inspiring them, helping them to set goals, and having them evaluate how they are doing!

I recently read THIS short article and, though it says it's for administrators, is really for anyone especially those in education.  Take just 5 minutes to read it and remember that we ALL need to take care of ourselves in order to be successful in our campus!

EVERYONE feeds off of positive praise and recognition!  Have YOU taken a moment to praise a student, send a positive card home to a student, compliments/thanked a colleague, written a Good News Referral to a student or staff member?  It takes LESS than 5 minutes to spread a little kindness and positive vibes around here so let's step up to the plate!  Still not convinced?  Check out THIS ARTICLE for the 7 effects of positive praise for students AND peers!!!

Love to read??  Love to buy books for yourself?  Barnes and Noble is having a special event on Saturday, January 19 at 10:00! Pre-K through grade 12 educators, join the in the store every Saturday and Sunday in January and enjoy 25% off most books, toys, games, movies, music, and more.  Plus, shop online at bn.com on Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27 and save 25% on most orders.

SUPER HERO SHOUT OUTS!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to Cristina for the beautiful GV Elements table.  You are ROCKIN it this year with so many great ideas!  6th grade and GVMS are so lucky to have you!!  ~Lynn and KC =)
• SUPER awesome shout out to Kevin, Larissa and Liz for offering to cover my class the other day during 4th period! ~Lynn
• SUPER awesome shout out to Michele Silva, Susan, and Brenda for getting the certificates together for awards!  I really appreciate it! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to GVMS FAMILY for supporting and loving on your girl through pregnancy #2! ~CL =)
• SUPER awesome shout out to Ms. Tiffany for stepping in the help when I am doing an IEP and teaching new methods of math! ~Lilia
• SUPER awesome shout out to Tamia and Ryan for working as a team with me! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to Rosa and Brenda for taking care of the emergency contact info in classrooms! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to Sue for connecting with students and teachers! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to Kevin and Julie for covering my classes for me! ~Lynn