February 21, 2020

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!!

Currently the admin team is doing a book study on the book Your Students, My Students, Our Students
explores the hard truths of current special education practice and outlines five essential disruptions to
the status quo. Authors Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener show you:
Establish a school culture that champions equity and inclusion.

• The Solutions 
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1. Build the belief among school teams that every student has value as an individual and is worthy of time, attention, and membership in
every opportunity schools and society have to offer. 

2. See students with disabilities as general education students. 

3. Do not assign any students to a "track"; deliver instruction to students with
disabilities
in the general education classroom.

4. Ensure every student receives quality core instruction every day.
When students don't respond to instruction, consider changes to the instruction itself. 

5. Provide every student with access to accommodations and modifications when these
are needed. 

6. Supply students who need support with evidence-based interventions that support
the skill and help them achieve meaningful growth. 

To realize authentic and equitable inclusion, we must relentlessly and collectively pursue change.

This book—written not for "special educators" or "general educators" but for all educators—

addresses the challenges, maps out the solutions, and provides tools and inspiration for the work ahead.

Real-life examples of empowerment and success illustrate just what's possible when educators commit

to the belief that every student belongs to all of us and all students deserve learning experiences that

will equip them to live full and rewarding lives.

Grades 3-8: Please start practicing SBAC

It's a good time to start having students explore the CAASPP Practice & Training Tests. This will help prepare

them for the CAASPP summative that they will be taking in just over 8 weeks. CDE has the California

Science Test (CAST) Training Test as well. Please go to www.fsusd.org/assessment and click on the green

button "SBAC Practice & Training Tests" to access the site. Students and teachers can access as a

Guest at school or home. Once you get logged as Guest, you'll need to select a grade. Be sure to select

Grades 5 or 8 if you want to take the California Science Test (CAST). 

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• SUPER DUPER AMAZING shout out to STAFF that made the MAP Growth Celebration happen!  It took the WHOLE VILLAGE!  Those who came to help supervise, to help pass out snacks, to chat with our students, to make connections, to praise their efforts...WE LOVEDDDDDDDDDDDD it!!!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to RYAN and MEGAN for pinch hitting for me last week for No One Eat Alone Day!  I am sad I missed it but am so grateful you helped make the pledge tree happens! ~Christina
• SUPER awesome shout out to TAMIA for holding down the fort while Heather is out! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to CAROL for meeting with me yesterday to disucss end of the year process and what's in store for our History Department! ~Karen
• SUPER awesome shout out to our DEPT CHAIRS for their leadership!
• SUPER awesome shout out to TAMIA for bringing the Sunny D drinks to remind us of Orange Sunshine at the District Office! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to CHRISTINE, KRISTEN, ELIZABETH and EVERYONE that made the MAP Growth Celebration possible!  Our kids LOVED it! ~Christina G.

February 14, 2020

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! 

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!

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• SUPER DUPER awesome shout out to RYAN for taking the GIANT lead on No One Eats Alone Day and to CHRISTINA G. and SANDY for helping!  ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to RYAN, HEATHER, KARRON, LYNN S., CHRISTINA, DAVID, ANITA, CAROL, LARISSA, KIMBERLY, DAVID O., LYNN L., LORRAINE, AND ALISA for opening your classrooms and having FUN for all during lunch for No One Eats Alone Day!  Let's do this WAYYYYYY more often! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to CRISTINA, DAVID N., ALANNA, and MARLYS for attending the MAP PD after school on Thursday!! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to JAMES for taking the initiative to email AND send a Good News Referral to two students every single day!  I am taking your lead and doing the same!  Thank you! ~KC 
• SUPER awesome shout out to CAROL, LARISSA, ALANNA, CHRISTINA G., LYNN L., SARJ, MEGAN, AND TAMIA for their hard work and data dig into our Dashboard and SPSA during our leadership meeting!  I appreciate your insight and leadership! ~KC
• SUPER awesome shout out to RYAN for organizing the No One Eats Alone Day today! ~Karron
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February 7, 2020

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 =)

Constructed, pre-planned, incorporated into a lesson 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 colleagues 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!

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• SUPER DUPER awesome shout out to CRISTINA DEVRIES for her countless hours, planning, replanning, and scheduling for the Multicultural fair that is a HUGE HIT!  THANK YOU!
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALL STAFF THAT WERE AT TUESDAY'S FACULTY MEETING!  What an awesome and rich discussion surrounding and focused on our data, our students, and our future!!! 
• SUPER awesome shout out to TAMIA for bringing donuts and coffee for our FSUTA first Tuesdays! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to JASON for ALWAYS checking on everyone and filling in when 1st period meetings run late!
• SUPER awesome shout out to MR. FRANK who comes in to GVMS before and after school FOR FREE to help us with our traffic fun!
• SUPER awesome shout out to LYNN for the dashboard discussion and laughs! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to ELIZABETH for setting up the faculty meeting and goodies for me!
• SUPER awesome shout out to TAMIA for her super power of knowing when someone needed a hand! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to SARJ for the Super Bowl fun!  Thanks for creating an activity the staff could have fun with! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to ROSIE and GYWNN for holding it down while we are down a person in TAP.   Your work ethic and dedication are awesome! ~Tamia
• SUPER awesome shout out to TIFFANY for taking the initiative to take the training to support our TAP students in the afternoon! ~Tamia
• SUPER awesome shout out to DUSTIN for helping me with the new semester grade book! ~Kimberly
• SUPER awesome shout out to RUDINA, BRENDA, MICHELE and MIMI for helping with the Shadow Day permission slips! ~Peter
• SUPER awesome shout out to SANDY, TAMIA, LYNN, JULIE, UMA, DAVID, STEVEN, KARRON, CAROL, CHRISTINA G., CHRISTINE AND KC for all of your help and participation at the MC Fair!  It wouldn't have been the same without you! ~Cristina

January 31, 2020

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?

I've asked this a MILLION times and I will again: 

Would YOU want to be a student in your class?

We know that reading aloud is commonly thought of as an elementary thing, reading aloud with middle school students has a ton of benefits as well!  Take a minute to read THIS ARTICLE as to why it is helpful and doesn't need to be the ENTIRE book to be effective!

Did you know? ONE MORE TIME....Let this sink in please.

• We have an overall class GPA range from the report cards of a 3.86 to 2.04.  
• We have 101 students with one or more Fs.  101 is not okay....
• We have 25 students with 3 or more Fs.  
• We 18 6th graders, 37 7th graders, and 46 8th graders with one or more F's, indicating that we are NOT ready to send them to high school.

Some things to think about and questions to ask yourself:

• Have we reached out to parents/guardian, personally, to see what's going on?
• Have we pulled the student(s) during tutorial to work with them at all?
• Have we met with parents/guardians and student to go over what is going on?
• Have we sent home a permission slip to get tutoring for Math and History (currently the ones being offered at GVMS)?
• Is the grading really reflective of the standards being taught and mastered?
• Is there any "out of the box thinking" that we can do to reach all students?
• Is an SST a logical next step and have you considered scheduling one, asking Carla and Christina to help you get the process started?  Click HERE to get started.

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• SUPER DUPER awesome shout out to CRISTINA DEVRIES for her countless hours, planning, replanning, and scheduling for the Multicultural fair that is a HUGE HIT!  WE CANNOT WAIT!!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to KEVIN, when having interpersonal exchanges with our mutual student, thank you for continuing to nudge/prod him to give you more! ~Tara
• SUPER awesome shout out to CAROL and DUSTIN for handling incoming 8th grade elective selection for me!
• SUPER awesome shout out to CRISTINA for working so hard on the Multicultural Fair! ~Lynn
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALEX, JASON, CARLA, and LYNN S. for working with me on a 7th grade student who needs support!
• SUPER awesome shout out to CHRISTINA G for all her hard work with our Check and Connect students and supporting them to reach their goals!!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to SANDY, ALANNA, PETER S., LYNN S., and LUCERO for staying for my IEP on Tuesday! ~Marlys 
• SUPER awesome shout out to JULIE, KARRON, ANITA, and CRISTINA for handling incoming 7th grade elective selection for me!
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALEX for the great coffee and such a surprise! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to JASON and ALEX for moving a student who they KNEW could benefit from ACC Math =)
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALISA for ALREADY completing and turning in her adjunct duty form!!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to JASON, STEVEN, DUSTIN, and MEGAN for letting me use your room for testing! ~Marlys
• SUPER awesome shout out to ALANNA for giving one of our 8th graders a 2nd (probably 4th or 5th actually) chance!
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January 24, 2020

You may or may not know this, however, my youngest daughter does All-Star cheer in Livermore with a gym called The California All Stars.  We travel A LOT.  We cheer and scream and clap A LOT.  We recently spent the long weekend in the lovely town of Bakersfield where her team, J2 Crew, won a paid bid to Summit (like the Super Bowl for cheer) in Florida.  It got me thinking about taking a risk and how she took the risk to join this prestigious, competitive, highly sought after, and amazing gym.  This lead me to taking a risk as an EDUCATOR...

How do you encourage your colleagues to take a risk in the classroom with technology, engagement strategy, lesson delivery, etc?  How do YOU take a risk and be okay with it NOT working the first time?  Take a look at THIS ARTICLE about some EASY ways to take a risk from co-teaching it, to modeling for another teacher, to simply planning it together and discussing the results. 

All of this chances should be used to help, encourage, support and learn from one another to reach ALL of our students!

Here are some pics from Kendall's risks in cheer (and how they have paid off!) and check out the Netflix docuseries "Cheer" if you get the chance!

Did you know?

• We have an overall class GPA range from the report cards of a 3.86 to 2.04.  
• We have 101 students with one or more Fs.  101 is not okay....
• We have 25 students with 3 or more Fs.  
• We 18 6th graders, 37 7th graders, and 46 8th graders with one or more F's.

Some things to think about and questions to ask yourself:

• Have we reached out to parents/guardian, personally, to see what's going on?
• Have we pulled the student(s) during tutorial to work with them at all?
• Have we met with parents/guardians and student to go over what is going on?
• Have we sent home a permission slip to get tutoring for Math and History (currently the ones being offered at GVMS)?
• Is the grading really reflective of the standards being taught and mastered?
• Is there any "out of the box thinking" that we can do to reach all students?
• Is an SST a logical next step and have you considered scheduling one, asking Carla and Christina to help you get the process started?  Click HERE to get started.

#kindnessmatters Did you know that a smile, a kind word, a helping hand or a simple note of thanks on a sticky note can truly make someone's day?  These are SIMPLE acts of kindness that can be LIFE CHANGING for many on our staff/students.  Happiness researcher (yes, it's a real thing), found that if you perform random acts of kindness for two minutes a day for twenty-one days, you can actually retrain your brain to be more positive. 

The Great Kindness Challenge is next week and Elizabeth will be passing out the check off sheet to students! 

Staff Kindness Challenge for next week:

Monday: enjoy breakfast treats and coffee from KC and CL!

Tuesday: Go check on a teacher that you rarely get to see!

Wednesday: Write a happy note to a staff member and leave it in their box!

Thursday: Compliment 5 students who are NOT in your classroom!

Friday: Write 5 Good News Referrals for students in any of your classes and the Traveling Treat Trolly (football edition!) will be coming by before lunch!

Love it or not, MAP testing is one more piece of data that we can use to inform our instruction, make school-wide decisions, use to support students with IEPs or 504s, shows what standards that students need SUPPORT and small group instruction with, and inform parents as to how they are progressing throughout the school year.  It can also be used to help show how our students will do on the CAASPP test (if they take their time and take MAP seriously).

Each English and Math teacher will be receiving the PDF version of each class period/student's growth as soon as all testing is completed!  THEY ARE AWESOME!  I have already printed them for Nunez, Laffey, Phillips and Koehler! PLEASE feel free to print to show students and then send home!  HERE is a sample of one...

Check out this very quick and short video from a fellow teacher!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to ALANNA for being an awesome Department Chair for Math! ~Lynn
• SUPER awesome shout out to ENGLISH and MATH for taking care of most of their MAP make up tests!!
• SUPER awesome shout out to MIMI, BRENDA, RUDINA, and MICHELE for jumping on the registration stuff already for 2020-2021!
• SUPER awesome shout out to KC for being so responsive and punctual on emails in spite of the large numbers she gets! ~Ryan
• SUPER awesome shout out to CHRISTINA for sharing the best beef jerky at our Department Meeting! ~Julie 
• SUPER awesome shout out to ELIZABETH for scheduling Challenge Day for 2020-2021 already!  Yes, it's on your calendar already too! 
• SUPER awesome shout out to RYAN, CHRISTINA G., and SANDY for working together to make No One Eats Alone come to LIFE!  Excited for this to happen!!

January 17, 2020

Check out this video from Kid President...Yes, it's old and yes, it's a repeat AND it's WORTH sharing =)  again and again!

Love it or not, MAP testing is one more piece of data that we can use to inform our instruction, make school-wide decisions, use to support students with IEPs or 504s, shows what standards that students need SUPPORT and small group instruction with, and inform parents as to how they are progressing throughout the school year.  It can also be used to help show how our students will do on the CAASPP test (if they take their time and take MAP seriously).

Each English and Math teacher will be receiving the PDF version of each class period/student's growth as soon as all testing is completed!  PLEASE feel free to print to show students and then send home!  HERE is a sample of one...

Check out this very quick and short video from a fellow teacher!

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!!!

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• SUPER awesome shout out to TAMIA and HEATHER for exploring small group instruction more with their 1st and 2nd period classes!
• SUPER awesome shout out to SANDY and her Geography/Leadership classes for helping with the Multicultural Fair! ~Cristina
• SUPER awesome shout out to ANNETTE for helping me keep Battle of the Books up and running! ~Karron
• SUPER awesome shout out to KARRON for doing Battle of the Books!
• SUPER awesome shout out to AIDA and BRENITA for holding it down while Rosa was away for a day!
• SUPER awesome shout out to MEGAN for sending out the MAP information since the district website is NOT user friendly! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to TERRI, TIFFANY and TAMIA for lending TAP a hand when they have been short a person for two weeks now! You guys are AH-MAZING!! ~Rosie
• SUPER awesome shout out to KAREN for helping me keep track of who has checked out the class novel! ~Julie
• SUPER awesome shout out to DUSTIN for always checking in on me!  You are a rock star! ~Carol
• SUPER awesome shout out to 
• SUPER awesome shout out to DUSTIN for always checking in and being a friend! ~Ryan
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