Principal's Update- Friday, October 30, 2015

Happy Halloween! 
What a crazy week- a full moon and Halloween! 

Using the term "Rti"- ALL STAFF
It's been great to see the work you have put into our tier 2 and the "Power Half Hour".  I have been so impressed with the conversations where we are really looking at student need in each grade and how to address it.  Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to make "Power Half Hour" effective. 

In your conversations, I want to challenge you to reconsider your use of the word, "Rti".  Rti is not Julie/Cheryl and Gia.  Rti is our entire system- core/grade level instruction, tier 2, and tier 3.  Julie/Cheryl and Gia are our tier 3 programming.  Rti is our building structure to ensure that students get rigorous grade level standards AND support for skills they are missing (grade level or foundational skills).    As we move forward, consider using "tier 2" and "tier 3" instead of just "Rti". 

Patrol Fundraiser
Our Patrols, with the help of their wonderful advisor Sonya, have created a fundraiser through Schwan's.  This fundraiser helps pay for some of their equipment, as well as their end of the year trip.  Click here to see the online catalog of items.   Questions, see Sonya!

Office Referrals- October 2015
Below are our office referrals for the month of October (not including today):
Total referrals: 43 (up 20 from September)

Location:
      Classroom: 23
      Hallway: 1
      Playground: 2
      Bus: 5
      Restroom: 6
      Other: 6

Problem:
      Inappropriate language: 1
      Fighting/Physical Aggression: 12
      Disrespect: 14
      Defiance: 6
      Harassment/Bullying: 2
      Disruption: 5
      Theft: 1
      Weapon: 0
       Other: 5

Possible Motivator:
      Peer attention: 8
      Adult attention: 4
      Obtain items/activity: 1
      Avoid peers: 0
      Avoid adults: 1
      Avoid task or activity: 10
      Don't know: 11
      Other: 11

Total Out-of-School Suspensions: 4
Total In-School Suspensions: 1

I will be meeting with the PBIS team in the next month to start to analyze this data.  It's interesting to already start to see trends from just two months of data collection. 

Weekly Building Newsletter
Click here to see the weekly newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to 1st grade teacher, Michelle Simon!  Michelle is an outstanding teacher who has high expectations for her learners.  Michelle loves to see kids succeed and will take multiple approaches with them to ensure mastery.  Michelle always has a positive attitude that is contagious.  Thanks for all you do, Michelle! 


Thank you to everyone for this past week.  It's hard being out of the building for two straight days.  It's great to know things just move along smoothly without me.  A huge thank you to Justin Lang, Justin Lang, and Annette Kleinschrodt for assisting with some unique situations.  We truly have the best team here at McKinley!

Enjoy your weekend- and trick or treating!
-Justin

Update- Friday, October 23, 2015

Happy Rainy Friday!  It feels like fall out there!

I'm Out of Building Wednesday and Thursday:
I am out of the building on Wednesday and Thursday of next week at a HumanX Training (our interviewing process in the district).  Justin Lang and Lorri are in charge (watch out!). 

Office Referrals:
Just a reminder- complete office referrals if a student comes to the office.  We are seeing more and more students without referrals.  Also, please don't rip the carbon copy apart.  We will take care of that.  This data is extremely important to our PBIS initiative! 

Halloween Costumes:
Please remind your students- NO HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!  If you have any communication go home through a classroom newsletter, please include this somewhere. 

Building Newsletter:
Click here for the weekly building newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week:
Our Valet Parking for the Week goes to Amanda Gislason.   Amanda goes above and beyond for student learning, as well as the aesthetics of our building.  Amanda is such a creative, passionate, and dedicated teacher to our school.  Her commitment to arts integration is amazing.  We are so lucky to have such a talented teacher.  Thank you for all you do, Amanda!  

Have a great weekend!
-Justin

Principal's Update- Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Good morning- and happy "Friday"!

We've made it to MEA Break!   Enjoy your time off!

Closing Up Room(s):
With the break upon us, please make sure your room is closed up for the weekend- close blinds, electronics off, lights off, etc.  Also, please take a minute to make sure any food is out of the refrigerators. 

After School Program:
After School Program starts next Tuesday, October 20th and will run until Thursday, November 19.  The program is from 2:30-4:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  If you are interested in applying, there are a few positions still available! 

AESOP:
Please enter all absences into AESOP- this includes staff development, doctor's appointments, personal time, or personal illnesses. Please enter this in a timely manner (all absences, other than illness, should be entered 2-3 days prior to being gone).  If you are having issues with your login, please contact Mallory or Hannah in HR. 

Infinitec Training:
Your Infinitec Training is due Thursday, October 15! If you haven't completed this, please do some immediately.  This is for ALL STAFF.

Checking for Understanding:
Below is a link to 53 ways to check for student understanding and mastery.  During a PLC cycle, it takes 4-5 formative assessments to truly gauge a student's mastery of an Enduring Understanding.  Here are some great ways to do the day-to-day checks for understanding:

53 Ways to Check for Understanding

Referendum Update:
During conferences, we had some representatives here to share some referendum information with our families.  A video played in the entry way, letting parents see the urgency of this vote.  If you missed the video, here is a link:  https://vimeo.com/139385586

Building Weekly Newsletter:
Click here to see the building weekly newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week:
The valet parking for the week goes to Darlene Runner!  There are three words to describe Darlene- positive, energetic, and all about kids.  Darlene brings a positive attitude to work each and every day.  Her positive attitude is always focused on kids and learning.  We are lucky to have Darlene as part of our McKinley team! 

Enjoy your long weekend and take some time to sharpen your saw!
-Justin

Principal's Update- Friday, October 9, 2015

Happy Friday! 
Was it a full moon all week or what?  Crazy, busy week!

Just a reminder- we have students here on Monday and Tuesday only (next week). Conferences are Monday night, Tuesday, night, and Wednesday morning. 

Discipline Data for September:
I will be updating you with discipline data each month, based on the office referrals only.  This is why it is so critical to get these turned in to the office.  Overall, we had 22 discipline referrals turned in for the month of September.  When you look at this data, not all numbers will add up to 23 (with some of the choices, you can choose 2 options).

Location:
74% - classroom
22% - playground
4%- other

Problem:
38% - disrespect
24%- defiance
24%- physical aggression/fighting
14%- disruption

Possible Motivator:
15%- avoid task/activity
58%- don't know
12%- obtain item/activity
12%- peer attention
3% - adult attention

Number of Out-of-School Suspensions (OSS):  0

After we begin to gather more data, the PBIS team will meet and spend some time analyzing this data to see what changes we need to make around McKinley.

Translating Documents/Field Trips:
Please make sure that any document sent home is translated.  Also, when you have an upcoming event or field trip, please let Sylvia and Ayan/Nura know about it.  They are fielding a lot of calls regarding upcoming events/trips and have no background knowledge about it.

After School Program:
If you are interested in working/teaching after school, hurry and apply!  We need more people!

Literacy Coach Data- September:
I've asked Libby to keep track of how staff is using her role at McKinley.  Below are some ways we used her in September:

• Completed phonemic awareness assessment on 29 first graders.
• Completed DRA (to discover students’ guided library levels) on 1 fourth grader and two kindergarteners
• Co-planned kindergarten anchor lessons
• Co-planned second grade anchor lessons
• Co-taught a kindergarten anchor lesson
• Modeled looking for evidence in text in 5 first grade classrooms
• Co-planned and co-taught Words Their Way in a second grade class
• Gathered graphic organizers for fifth grades critical EU
• Gathered ideas for a fourth grade teacher on making content reading more interactive
• Supported one teacher of special education with determining the text complexity of texts
• Assisted with STEM-ifying second grade reading texts

Because of scheduling, Libby is going to attend your common planning time(s) when you request it.  Because she is split between here and Wilson, it is too hard to plan for her at every week 5 common planning.  If you need her, please email her- she'd be glad to join you! 

Halloween:
No costumes (again this year).  Also, let's make sure we refer to any class events as "fall parties" instead of "Halloween".  

Three Things Students Desire to Hear From Their Teacher:
I read a great article last night on Twitter- there are three words kids want to hear from us. Take a minute to read through the article.

Building Weekly Newsletter:
Click here to access the building weekly newsletter.

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to Jen Schlauderaff!  Jen has been a wonderful addition to our 1st grade team this past year.  Jen believes in all kids and will stop at no ends to make sure they are successful.  Jen is also a strong collaborator and learner- she continually looks for input and ways to make her classroom an even better learning environment.  Jen, we're glad you are now a Monkey! 


Have a great, restful weekend- I heard it is going to be beautiful outside!  There are some late nights ahead next week....

-Justin

Principal's Update- October 2, 2015

Happy Homecoming! 
It looks like a great day for a homecoming parade.  It's always great to see the community come together to celebrate our students! 

A couple updates:

After School Program
We will be changing the structure of after school program.  I met with a representative (per grade level) to discuss these changes.  Make sure you take some time to offer feedback before next Wednesday. 

Instead of referring students for the year, we will be splitting our program into three blocks:  October/November, December/January, and February/March.  We will be referring students for specific math and reading interventions during these blocks.   I have also designed this so we can visit with parents at conferences before students start their new "block" of learning.

If you are interested in teaching after school, I have posted teacher and EA positions online.  Apply ASAP! 

PLCs
I will be sending an email out this weekend about PLCs (I will remember this time!).  I met with Amy last week and have a good direction for us to move forward using the Essential Standards Chart.  Teachers- watch for this email, it will guide your work on Monday! 

Infinitec Training
Don't forget- Infinitec training is due 10/15!

Stump the Teacher:
I shared this last year, but figured it was worthy of another share.  Stump the Teacher is a great activity for students to develop deeper questions, as well as cite their evidence.  Students create questions from a common text and challenge you to their answers.  The activity teaches them to write deeper questions that don't require a quick answer.  Also, they have to go back and prove where their answer came from.  Use if you'd like:  Stump the Teacher Graphic Organizer.   I'd be happy to come in and model this activity for you!!

Zumba:
We started Zumba yesterday. If you want to participate as a staff member, join us on Thursday afternoons.  The program is lead by local instructor, Stephanie Hanson!  It was a great (sweaty) time! 

Building Weekly Newsletter:
Click here to see the building weekly newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to Gia Davison.  Gia does an exceptional job coaching our most struggling readers.  Gia goes above and beyond to find effective interventions that are focused on student need(s).  And, Gia has lived in a scheduling nightmare the past couple of weeks!  Thanks for all you do, Gia! 

This was on Facebook this past week.... it gave me a good laugh, hope it does to you also!

 

Enjoy your weekend!

-Justin