Sunday, October 27, 2013

Cricket E-Blast 10-28-13

I added a This Week at a Glance for those who are using Internet Explorer or are not signed into Google in Chrome. To see the full calendar I think you have to be in Chrome and be signed into your google account. If we are missing anything, please get the events to Marcy so she can add them to the calendar.

2 Weeks at a Glance:

  • Tuesday October 29th-Grade 5 Field Trip the the Minnesota Zoo
  • Wednesday October 30th-Picture Retake Day
  • Thursday October 31st-Halloween Parties, Parade, and Trick or Treating
  • Friday, November 1st-Survive after Halloween Parties and Parade
  • Thursday, November 7th-Parent Teacher Conferences
  • Friday, November 8th-9:00 All School Meeting

I Went Walking...
Our K-5 Meeting on Friday was great!!  I was truly impressed with the resilience of students in being in one spot for so long.  We got up and moved around, did a few relay races, read Oh Crumps by Lee Bock and gave away a few prizes.  I hear the hallways were pretty quiet on the way back, so that was nice.  Thanks to all of our support staff and 5th graders for helping out with the logistics.  I will send out the survey in a different communication so everyone gets a chance to answer how the morning time went for them.  If you have already emailed me your thoughts that will suffice.  Thanks for your willingness to spend time connecting.  The morning was wide open...and that was done on purpose.  If the time holds no value to you it is worthless so I wanted you to drive it.  If we need more structure in scheduling or content we can do that as well.  It just has to work for you and lead to better experiences for students. I loved seeing parents in school helping out with the 4th grade Pumpkin Globes...great activity and cool to see everyone interacting.  The globes look great!

What's Hoppening:
Above this post you will see our meeting calendar for the year.  I have added PBIS meetings, All Staff Meetings, All School Meetings, and BLT Meetings.  This is where Marcy will also add field trips and other events happening around school. If you are planning an activity or trip that you would like to add on your own please do so as well.  Thanks!
  • Conference Scheduling will be done at the MS on Monday morning.  Students may be coming to your classrooms to set up times.  I have a few things to connect with Brad on this before school starts on Monday.  Look for an email prior to beginning the day of further instructions are needed...specifically scheduling sheets.
  • Formal Observations-K-3 classroom teachers...please set up a formal observation sequence with Marcy.  Tuesdays, Thursday,and Friday would be the preferable days, but if those don't work then Monday and Wednesday will.
  • Thanks to those of you who submitted articles for The Chirp.  The community loves the newsletter...anything we can do to promote what happens here is important to everyone in the building.
  • If I have been through your room on a phone or IPad it means I recorded walkthrough data.  If you did not receive an email from me it may be in your spam folder.  I will work with Jake on this, but you may have to go into Spam the first time.  Should be delivered after that.  I email the walkthrough right from your room, so you should receive it immediately.  I also pose a few questions.  As we did last year, those are for your reflection only...answers to those questions do not need to be sent to me...just for you to reflect on in any way you see fit.
  • Parent-Teacher Conferences are right around the corner.  There has been some talk about the intensity of the new reading program and how to express that to parents considering their students are scoring at a different level with the new material.  A few things...if students are struggling PT Conferences should not be the first time parents hear of those struggles.  I am confident that this is not the case at all...but just a reminder. I will work on something to get to parents prior to November 7th regarding the rigor of the new series.  One more thing to keep in mind for conferences...there has never been a parent that walks into a conference and thinks..."I can't wait to hear a bunch of acronyms describing what is happening with my child".  Ever.  So...impress them with how much you know about their child...not about how many programs we have in place. 
  • I'd like to get back into classrooms again in November for 30 minutes with your students.  It fills up very quickly, so please connect with Marcy and get on my calendar.  Thanks!
Articles Worth Reading:
Videos Worth Watching:


Obvious to You, Amazing to others via Derek Sivers



Math Class Imagined by Students via Kid Snippets


Sometimes confidence takes a little time via YouTube
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Monday, October 14, 2013

Cricket E-Blast 10-14-13

I Went Walking...
Well...as I walked around the building Friday night with community members filling the halls I had this unbelievable surge of pride.  Your rooms looked so good and the public was so happy with the result of the renovation.  Even more than the physical make up of the building...I talked to multiple people who have talked to staff in the building and the words you used to describe the renovation were outstanding.  There were clearly issues with the timeline and we didn't get everything we wanted out of the project, but when it was all said and done it looks really good.  Thank you for taking the time to make sure your rooms were ready.  Again...they looked fantastic.  I also can't thank you enough for the work you did with Cluster A last week.  The feedback has been wonderful...your facilitation was key in the process. The morning meetings have received rave reviews from the group.  I didn't really know what to expect from the afternoon...but it was such a great feeling to know that I didn't have to worry about the morning...I knew you would crush it.

What's Hoppening:
Above this post you will see our meeting calendar for the year.  I have added PBIS meetings, All Staff Meetings, All School Meetings, and BLT Meetings.  This is where Marcy will also add field trips and other events happening around school. If you are planning an activity or trip that you would like to add on your own please do so as well.  Thanks!
  • October 25th is a scheduled Elementary PD morning.  We are going to try something new...we'll see how it goes.  I will need all support staff available from 7:45-9:15.  Logistics of where to put kids are still being worked out...but you will not have to worry about students at that time.  This is a few hours for you to connect with people outside your grade level regarding students (itinerant services) or scope and sequence on a vertical level.  More details to come, but start looking at how you want to spend that 90 mins.  Only rule is that it is not to be spent working on your own...connection to staff regarding students is essential.
  • Conference Reflections-If you attend a conference please fill out the conference reflection form so we can all learn from your experience.  It can be found here.  Thanks! 
  • I will be starting walkthroughs this week.  As we did last year, I will send you the walkthrough document for your records.  We will start formal observations within the next 2 weeks as well.  
  • Thanks for surviving Homecoming week!  I appreciate your flexibility in scheduling so our students could be part of the festivities.  
Articles Worth Reading:

Videos Worth Watching:
Malala Yousafzai Full interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 



Thomas Suarez: A 12-year-old app developer



21st Century Education

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