Weekly Update- Friday, December 21, 2018

Happy Last Day before Winter Break!  

Make Sure You Relax Over Break!
It's time to relax, rejuvenate, and spend time with those you love!  Looking for ways to relax and rejuvenate over break... see the article below.  Read a good book, binge watch a Netflix series, or eat some comfort food... just to share a few!  
Click here to access the article 

Transition Day - Jan 2
Just a reminder of our January 2 Transition Day.  Please see this link for details! 

Positive Office Referrals:
In January, we will be starting a "positive office referral" for students.  This office referral is meant to bring students to the office for positive things - above and beyond the normal expectation.  When a student comes down, they will ring the "gong" below (it will be located in the office).  Then, I will take a picture of the student holding their positive office referral.   Then, every week, we will tweet out a collage of the students who received this.

This is NOT meant to take the place of a McKinleyStrong slip.  This is meant for the "above and beyond" situations, not the day to day successes.  Think of it like behavior - is it classroom-managed or office-managed?  We obviously want to celebrate students with the positive office referral; however, we can't have all kids getting them, every day.  I would say one every week (or even every two weeks) would be a general rule.  This really comes down to the amount of time and this losing it's impact if we issue too many.
I'm excited to see how this works out!

ISD 761 Foundation Grant:
The ISD 761 Foundation Grant directions were sent out this week.   This is a great opportunity to request money for those innovative projrects you've been wanting to try.  In the past, we received our guided math, outdoor learning cart, and some of our MakerSpace cart through a foundation grant.  If you want help with this grant, let me know.  If you can think of something we need as a building, I'd be glad to write one!  

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 1st Grade Teacher, Jen Schlauderaff!  Jen is a collaborative & compassionate educator who creates an environment focused on every student, every day.  One of the things that impresses me most about Jen is her role as a learner herself.  Jen is always looking for ways to grow and develop as an educator... to ultimately serve her students.  We are so lucky to have Jen at McKinley.  Jen, thank you for being McKinleyStrong! 

Have a great break, everyone!  Enjoy every minute of this time with your loved ones!  Also, take some time to rejuvenate and recharge your "battery"!  

Weekly Update - Friday, December 14, 2018

Good morning!

Winter Break is almost here!   We can do it!  

Just a reminder - please be sensitive and aware of the upcoming winter break.  First, we should not be celebrating Christmas.  Secondly, as I mentioned earlier this month, this is not always a positive time of year for some kids.  It's stressful - they don't know if they are getting presents, if they are going to eat, what their time away from school will look like, etc.  Please be sensitive to this as we finish up December.  

Also, please be aware of behaviors increasing next week.  A lot of the anxiety and uncertainty of break can result in behaviors.  This is the time students need us, more than ever.  

Positive Office Referral:
In January, we will be starting a "positive office referral" for students.  This office referral is meant to bring students to the office for positive things - above and beyond the normal expectation.  When a student comes down, they will ring the "gong" below (it will be located in the office).  Then, I will take a picture of the student holding their positive office referral.   Then, every week, we will tweet out a collage of the students who received this.

This is NOT meant to take the place of a McKinleyStrong slip.  This is meant for the "above and beyond" situations, not the day to day successes.  Think of it like behavior - is it classroom-managed or office-managed?  We obviously want to celebrate students with the positive office referral; however, we can't have all kids getting them, every day.  I would say one every week (or even every two weeks) would be a general rule.  This really comes down to the amount of time and this losing it's impact if we issue too many.

I'm excited to see how this works out!

So, What's Going on at McKinley with Co-Teaching? 
Below is a blog entry written by Jess Zupansic, Jen Schlauderaff, and Liz Stitzmeyer about the work they are doing with co-teaching in 1st Grade.  There is some awesome work in the building going on around co-teaching, particularly with EL and Special Education.  It's been powerful to see the "all hands on deck" approach happening with this model.

We attended an exciting co-teaching training session this summer with Martina Wagner and were introduced to many new co-teaching models. We had a chance to brainstorm how we could integrate these models into our reading block. We loved a lot of her ideas and used them to create a hybrid model that we thought could help meet the kids’ needs in guided reading. Here is a snapshot of a day in the life of first grade co-teaching!

What: Liz spends time with each of our classrooms daily during guided reading and runs guided groups (parallel co-teaching model). We run four groups within a 40 minute period. We then spend the other 20 minutes of time with her in our classrooms focusing on reading strategies or picturing writing projects (team-teaching model).
We have really enjoyed the co-teaching experience so far. The first graders really are benefiting from having two reading teachers that are there to notice their strengths, gains and areas where they may need support. The students are showing such great growth and we feel like we know our students as readers better than we ever have because of the meaningful conversations we have about each one each week.

Where? We take turns with space. Liz spends a week teaching at our guided reading table in the classroom and we work in the glass conference room with the other group. The next week, we switch spots and groups.

When: Liz co-teaches with Jen for 1 hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon with Jess

Why? We noticed that 45 minutes of independent time for six year olds was leading to some issues with disengagement. The hybrid that we created helped make independent time more guided and purposeful. We are now free during their independent reading time to confer with students and are gaining even more information about them as readers.

How: Liz meets with Jen and Jess each once per week during prep time. We sometimes meet as a group of three when we have a writing project we want to collaborate on. During our planning time we go over any reading record data, anecdotal notes, set new guided reading and language goals, and have really purposeful conversations about each child.

Revisiting Expectations with Student Buy-In:
As we know, this time of year can get hard - lots of indoor recess, little sunshine, etc.  Our approach with PBIS continues to remind me of the importance of continually revisiting and reviewing expectations, and teaching these expectations (much like we would teach reading or math skills on a daily basis).

I came across this on Twitter - a great way to involve students in problematic behavior in your classroom.  Are students too loud during transitions?  Room is left messy?  Below is a tool to bring students together and pose the problem- and let them own the work toward a solution.  As our work with Eric Jensen's "Engaging with Poverty in Mind", we know that a classroom management issue is our issue.  However, this is a great way to bring the issue to students' attention and involve them in the process.

Important Assessment Information:

Fastbridge benchmark assessments are just around the corner.  

Our CBMr (fluency rate - grades 1-5) and e-reading (K&1) assessments will take place January 10th for ALL students.  We are training the team of retired teachers to administer these assessments right after break.  A schedule of your specific time will come back right after break.

A-reading and A-math assessments will be administered by the classroom teacher in the classroom.  We are utilizing the window of January 14-25, so that students are back in routines.  The Fastbridge window closes the 25th, so you will want to leave time for make ups if students are absent.  You may want to have a conversation as a grade level about when you'd like to schedule these and reserve the computer carts soon, as we know those times fill up quickly. 

F&P Benchmark Assessments have a window of February - March to reassess each student grades 1-5.  

Libby will send additional information about all of these closer to the time, but wanted to give a heads up to the date ranges now.  Please let me know what questions you have.  

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to our Cultural Liaison, Sylvia Zavala!  Sylvia "wears" many hats at McKinley - supporting families, students, and staff.  Sylvia is supportive, compassionate, and flexible with everyone she serves.  One of the things that impresses me most about Sylvia is the relationships she builds with everyone around her, particularly with families.  She is always serving our McKinley families, even in her "outside of work" life.  We are happy you are McKinleyStrong, Sylvia!  Keep up the great work!


Enjoy the weekend- it's going to be a nice, warm weekend!
-Justin

Weekly Update - December 7, 2018

Happy Friday, everyone!
It's going to be a cold one this morning..... how did winter hit us so quickly?

Behavior & SEL Supports @ McKinley:
At our last Power Hour, we discussed the work the PBIS Team has done around identifying where supports are available for behavior and SEL concerns.  This document is still a work in progress, as our PBIS team is currently looking at tier 2 supports for in the classroom (class pass, break cards, etc). 

Also, just a reminder of the tier 2 behavior plans available.  For students who are frequently not following expectations, or students who have more than 2 office referrals, we should be looking at developing these plans. 

We will spend more time at a January Power Hour discussing this.

Click here to see the document 
Tier 2 Behavior Plans 


Use of Social Media:

Just a reminder - social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) should not be used for personal reasons during the day unless it's your break or lunch.  This has become an issue lately - people notice the times you are sharing and liking items.  Please be aware of this. 

If you are using social media, particularly Twitter, for professional reasons, go for it!  As you know, I fully support this as a communication and professional learning tool.  Posting pictures of students, providing updates on classroom and learning work, and/or learning from your colleagues is an appropriate use of work time.

January Family Newsletter:
Our January McKinley Family Newsletter will be transitioning to an e-newsletter called "Smore".  We have been working on making this happen for about a month now.  We will still be sending home translated copies, as this program doesn't translate for our families.  However, the majority of our communication through a newsletter will now move to online. 

Winter Concert:
We had another fabulous winter concert last night, led by Mrs. Moon.  There was magic in the air as our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders showed their musical talent.  Kudos to everyone who was involved!  And, thank you to our teachers who helped supervise this event! 

Important Updates from Libby - please read carefully! 

Aww Snap!

Do you often see this popping up on the Streams when students first try to log in?  This happens when the prior user has not logged out properly. It will help us all, but especially our younger learners who take a bit longer to log on in the first place, if we teach students (and remind them) how to properly shut down the Streams after use.  Thank you for helping tech use to run smoothly in all of our classrooms.

Guided Reading PD Follow Up:

We are doing an amazing job of meeting our students’ needs in Guided Reading groups; there is a lot to celebrate around this implementation!  Our staff has such a learner mindset, so it is awesome that people want to continue to grow in this practice. It was brought to Reading Leadership Team that we did not go through the word work or writing components about Guided Reading last year, and people would like more support.  Building Leadership Team suggested common planning time for this learning work. Here are some options for how we can engage collaboratively:

1. Let me know that you’d like to discuss this at common planning time or another team meeting time (I’ll come prepared if I know in advance).
2. Check the Guided Reading book out of the Professional Library (or ask me for a copy of the part you are wondering about).  There are chapters on each portion of the lessons.
3. Invite me in to co-plan and/or co-teach a lesson or two.  We can focus our efforts on the word work or writing portion (or both).
4. Of course, I’m always open to other ideas of how to collaborate!

Guided Reading Resources:

I have heard, and perhaps you have seen emails, about people not being able to locate resources (both in the Scholastic short reads - stored in 5th grade conference room, and in the extra 1st grade F&P Guided Reading set - stored in the library).  Please check out the F&P books with Denise. As for both, you do not ever need more than 2 books or text sets of a level at a time (usually just one - unless you are keeping for a reading record the following day). Please be respectful of the number of people utilizing the resources.  We will not be able to have a week’s worth at a time in our room. I’m so excited that these resources are available for our students; thank you for your support in making them accessible.

Reading Records in F&P:

I have met with several teachers and gone into their classroom to collaborate around the reading records within the Guided Reading Classroom.  This type of reading record has the main purpose of using the data to reflect upon the previous day’s instruction. It’s extremely useful in planning your next day’s teaching points. Let me know when you’d like to connect if we haven’t done so already.   

December 20 PM Groups

All teachers who teach LLI groups will be coming together for collaboration around implementation the afternoon of 12/20 beginning at 11:30. They will not have a sub, so their groups will be cancelled. This will include special ed, tier 3 and tier 2 teachers. Thank you for your flexibility.

Christmas Season:

Just a reminder to be aware of the "celebration" of Christmas that occurs at school.  As much as this is my favorite time of year, I have to change my mindset this time of year.  First, not all students celebrate Christmas.  Secondly, this is isn't always a "happy" time of year for all our students.  Some know they won't get a gift, celebrate, or even have the "happy family time" that I envision when I hear Christmas.  Please be aware of this as we move into the next few weeks.  If you have questions about activities you plan to do, I would be glad to help guide your planning.  Thank you! 

MSU Shout-Out! 

A quick shout out of thanks to Kayla Davis, Rachael Eickhoff, Dani Rypka, Mark Langlois, and Eric Oppegard for hosting MSU-Mankato students in their Block 2 field experience! Candidates are done today, December 7, and are anxiously awaiting their student teaching assignment. Wish them luck!

Michelle Simon, Jess Zupansic, Katie Demmer, and Karla Wilke have hosted student teaching candidates for the last year... thank you! Holly Dahle, Sammi Ladd, Makayla Wichmann, and Gabby Wagner are making the most of their last few days at McKinley! These soon-to-be graduates will finish their student teaching on Wednesday, Dec 12 and are excited to graduate next weekend. We wish them the best as they enter their education career!

Teacher Workday Fun:
Below are some pictures from our Teacher Workday "fun" this last Monday.  Our wonderful teachers participated in some challenges.... one of which was to lip sync and act out their favorite 80's song!  They are FABULOUS!

Building Weekly Newsletter

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:

Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 1st Grade Teacher, Michelle Simon!   Michelle is a passionate educator who creates a student-centered environment in her classroom.  Michelle works hard to ensure that every student will be successful in her 1st grade classroom.  One of the things I appreciate most about Michelle is her willingness to always be a learner - she will spend hours learning and growing if it will serve students' needs.  Keep up the great work, Michelle... you are McKinleyStrong!  

Have a great weekend, everyone!  Enjoy some "down time"!

-Justin

Weekly Update - November 30, 2018

Happy Friday, everyone!

Tier 2 Behavior Plans:
A month ago, our PBIS team looked at providing tier 2 behavior plans.  These tier 2 behavior plans were for students who needed some extra time and support around behaviors.  I'm hoping these were developed and shared with all teachers (including specialists) who work with the student.  This includes students who are "off task", who "refuse to work", and are "disengaged".

This week, I saw 10 students in the office for "refusal to work".  I understand this can be frustrating as a teacher - believe me, I was in this situation.  My hope is that these students have tier 2 plans developed and that strategies are in place to "re-engage" the student.  I am here to assist in brainstorming those strategies, if you need.

With those that are coming to the office, I will be asking to connect on those plans.  The plan will help us create a very clear process and support(s) to the student - everyone is on the same page about teaching the student the appropriate behavior(s).

Unconscious Biases:
Last year, we did some work around your unconscious biases.  Remember, these are your hidden beliefs that come automatically - you are usually unaware of them.  It is often defined as "quick judgments and assessments of people and situations".  These biases come from your background, cultural environment, and personal experiences.

Since our work, have you come across any additional biases that you weren't aware of?  Have you addressed any biases?  Remember, the TED talk we watched said to walk right toward those biases - get to know people on a different level and "re-train" your brain to see those biases differently.

As educators, we have an ethical obligation to challenge our biases each and every day.   Our biases create our body language, language, and the beliefs about people and students.  This "unconscious bias" can make or break a student's success in our school.

If you haven't been already, continue to challenge your biases - be aware of them or walk toward them!

Engagement Strategy - Quick Draw:

A Quick-Draw is a great way to get students engaged in their learning - building background knowledge, taking a larger concept and making it understood, or just to solidify their learning.  It's a quick (and creative) way to give students time to think, process, and reflect!

Click here to access the directions

McKinleyStrong Theme of the Month:

Our theme of the month is integrity.  

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 3rd Grade Teacher, Karla Wilke!  Karla is creative, energetic, and focused on each individual student.  Karla builds a learning community where students feel valued and welcomed.  One of the things that impresses me most about Karla is the deep, meaningful relationships that she builds with her students.  She is there to help every student. Keep up the great work, Karla... you are McKinleyStrong!

Weekly Update- November 16, 2018

Happy Friday- and Go Huskies!

Transition Day:
We have a transition day on November 26th.  A huge thank you to our committee - Jess Zupansic, Michelle Simon, Katie Demmer, Libby Zeman, Annette Warner, Amy Wencl, Gabby Wagner, Kayla Davis, and Sam Ladd - for organizing this.

Reminder - you can wear jeans and your STEAM gear on Monday.  Our goal is to rebuild relationships, regulate students, and re-establish routines.

Click here to see the Transition Day options


End of 1st Trimester:
Just a reminder - the end of the first trimester is Friday, November 30 (the week we return from break). 


MTSS Follow Up Meetings on Monday & Tuesday: 

A Note from Libby
It will be great to have a block of time devoted to examining student learning and growth with foundational skills on Monday or Tuesday!  

I will bring a copy of the graph with progress monitoring data for each student who has received an intervention.  Currently, tier 2 and tier 3 teachers are adding notes to those graphs. I will also bring some guidelines that we will use to examine if an intervention is working for a student so that we have a consistent way to figure out next steps for students.

Please bring:*Your computer*Any EU data you have for the next power 20 cycle (assessments and anecdotal)*A list of any additional interventions students are receiving outside of the power 20 (could be with an EA, special education teacher, etc.)*Your current spreadsheet of what students are receiving*Any PRESS data that you have (progress monitoring sheets/data).
I'm looking forward to planning with you next week!

Getting Rid of Some Ineffective Practices:

We've all said it.. including me - "I'm so overwhelmed" or "I've got so much on my plate right now".  This is true - teaching is an extremely hard job. 

I was recently introduced to this article - "5 Common Teaching Practices I'm Kicking to the Curb!".   Take some time to read this - there are things we can get rid of and feel good about getting rid of!  Her list includes:  popcorn/round robin reading, giving students prepared notes, whole class punishments, using learning styles to plan instruction, and having advanced students help struggling students ("differentiating").  The thing I like the most about this article is she provides the "why", but also gives strategies on what to do instead!  

Mindfulness Moment:

#6 of 6 ideas for creating a mindful classroom: 6) Gratitude practice.

The following is an excerpt from: the blog post, The Pause That Refreshes: 6 ideas for creating mindfulness in the classroom, Written by Betsy Caruso, August 16, 2018

Millions of years ago when humans lived in the wild, our brains evolved to be alert to danger. Despite the fact that most of us no longer face the existential threat of wild animal attack, our brain still maintains that ‘early warning system’. We are really expert at remembering the bad stuff but not so hot a recalling the good. Dr. Rick Hanson defines this ‘negativity bias’ as Velcro for negative experiences but Teflon for positive ones. Gratitude practice helps us embody the emotions and sensations associated with positive experience. It can guide us toward equanimity by balancing out our overall perception of what has occurred during a certain period, be it math class, the school day, or a particular event at home.

Gratitude practice is a simple way to share and remind ourselves and others about the things that matter. Sitting in a circle and each sharing something we’re grateful for can be a lovely way to end the day. This practice can be surprisingly informative, and don’t forget to include yourself in the circle.

To read this article in its entirety click this link:

Challenge: Post in the comments something a student reported to be grateful for.  A winner will be drawn for a prize. - Annette M Warner, LICSW

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Assistant Secretary, Selena Flemming!  On a given day, Selena wears many hats at McKinley - attendance, entering data, greeting families, answering phones, etc.  Selena is a positive, energetic team member who makes every one of our families and students feel welcomed.  Selena makes McKinley a welcoming environment for all.  Keep up the great work, Selena! 


Have a great weekend - sounds like there is snow on the way tonight!
-Justin

Weekly Update - November 9, 2018

Happy Friday!
We just completed another great week of learning & relationships at McKinley!  Keep up the great work! 

Round Robin Reading:
It's been energizing to get around the building and see guided in reading in action.  It has been great to see the concentrated focus on this - and the way you are providing high quality instruction to our readers.   One of the strategies I see is round robin reading - students each, individually, reading aloud at the table to their guided group.  One student reads, everyone else listens.  This strategy has its limitations - mostly around the fact that a student is only reading a small segment of the text during a lesson.  The student isn't apply decoding, fluency, or any other word attack strategies as they aren't engaged with the text like a reader would be.  It was eye opening to me during my LLI training this summer -  when a student is at around level H or higher, they should move from reading aloud to silently reading (unless the teacher is individually listening, coaching, and providing feedback to that individual student).  This was a game changer for me -  at around the level H, students need to move away from reading aloud during guided group to the silent reading with teacher support.  Something to think about..

Disclaimer - I am, in no way, saying a student should not practice fluency.  If fluency is a deficit skill for the student, it's important to build in these out loud reading opportunities during their reading block (not necessarily guided reading). 

Here is a link to a great article on round robin reading 

STEAM Family Night
We had our first STEAM Family Night, "Grateful for Nature" last night. A huge thank you to our 4th Grade Team for planning and hosting the night.  Families participated in a range of activities from engineering to active movement.  It was a great night filled fun with a lot of fun!

PBIS Team Follow-Up:
Our wonderful PBIS team met yesterday in Mankato to create some tier 2 and 3 interventions for students.  We had a great workday that has resulted in some ideas coming back to our staff.  We are piloting some tier 2 interventions in the next month - with the hope (if they work) to release to the entire staff.  We also did some learning work around the stages of escalation (very eye-opening).  We will look to add something on our next Power Hour. 

So, What is White Privilege?
Here's a great article on what exactly white privilege is.  It isn't being a "racist", as many believe.  It's truly a look at yourself to examine yourself and "power".  Take some time to read this article - there are some action steps at the end of the article.   Click here to access the article

Tracking Sheets for Relaxation Room & Check In/Out:
Annette & Isabel are doing some data collection for our building on both tier 2 and 3 interventions we have in place for behavior & social-emotional supports.  Recently, they have sent some data collection sheets out to teachers with students utilizing the RR and Check In/Out.  Please make sure those are getting completed and returned quickly - we need this data.  The data provides two purposes - we can see if the intervention is working and secondly, the information helps us with planning of the individual student.  Please get those turned in ASAP.

Author Visit- Tuesday:

McKinley Welcomes Authors

Miranda and Baptiste Paul

When: Tuesday, November 13th in the gym

12:45 - 1:15 (Grades K - 2)

1:25  -2:10  (Grades 3 - 5)

Details:

• The ISD761 foundation generously funded this request.
• The Media EAs will try and read as many titles as possible to your class, but if you can also familiarize students with their work, that would be great!
• Their books are available for viewing (and limited checkout) in the library.
• Students can order their books on Amazon prior to the visit and have them autographed that day.
• I am asking the parent group for funding to purchase 6 books for a random drawing. If approved, one lucky student in each grade will leave with a signed copy of their book!
• Both Miranda and Baptiste are passionate about equity and STEM
• Miranda’s website has a Teacher Resource Page with book activity ideas and a page with Video Links.

Author Bios:

Miranda Paul is the award-winning children’s author of Water is Water,  One Plastic Bag, 10 Little Ninjas, The Great Pasta Escape, Are We Pears Yet, Whose Hands are These, and Blobfish Throws a Party. Her books have been named to several “Best of” lists and have been translated into multiple languages. Miranda has been a guest presenter at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center, serves as Mentorship chair for We Need Diverse Books™ , volunteers for Books for Africa, and is a regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers (Wisconsin). One of her bravest moments involved reciting poetry inside a crocodile pit. (Yikes!)

Baptiste Paul is a Caribbean-born author and native Creole/Patois speaker. His debut picture book, The Field, centers around teamwork, leadership, diversity, and acceptance through a neighborhood game of soccer. He has also co-authored a book Adventures To School  that tells about the unique ways kids around the world get to school.  

Building Weekly Newsletter:
Click here to access the newsletter

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Kindergarten Educational Assistant, Tarah Thompson!  Tarah serves our learners in Kindergarten - mostly in Rachel Anderson's K3 classroom.  Tarah is positive, flexible, and always focused on each and every students' needs.  One of the things that impresses me most about Tarah is her "never give up attitude" - no matter the situation, Tarah is willing to try something new to support a student.   This can be seen in her words, actions, and overall demeanor.   Keep up the great work, Tarah! 


Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin

Weekly Update - November 2, 2018

Happy Friday! 

3 Tips to Make Any Lesson Culturally Responsive (click for link):

A quick, great read on creating opportunities to link students' learning styles with your teaching. 

Mindfulness Moment:

#3 of 6 ideas for creating a mindful classroom:

The following is an excerpt from: the blog post, The Pause That Refreshes: 6 ideas for creating mindfulness in the classroom, Written by Betsy Caruso, August 16, 2018

3) Check on the environment.
Some of the best teachers I know begin the day with a short sit in the classroom. There is something wonderful about starting off together in silence, and even kindergartners enjoy it. Students in middle and high school often protest that they’re not interested in this quiet few moments, but in my experience students this age are also the most vocal about insisting on the morning sit if it has been forgotten. Some classes find that just after lunch or the end of the day is the best time for a few mindful moments. Experiment to find what works for you and your group(s).

After a brief (two to five minutes) sit, it can be helpful to get a short report from each student about how they’re feeling. Popular metaphors for these reports include a one-word “weather report” (sunny, stormy, rainy, etc.), thumbs up, down or sideways, even sports analogies for the oldest students. The littlest ones can make an animal sound or hold up a colored piece to represent their mood (see Zones of Regulation for more on this). Don’t forget to include yourself and any other adults in the room!

These environmental check-ins allow the entire group to get a general idea of the overall ‘climate’ in the room in that moment. This is great information for each person. As the group leader, you may decide to adjust or even completely change the next activity, based on what the reports tell you

The students also see each others’ responses, which informs them about how others may wish to be treated. A sweet surprise can happen in the form of one or more kids expressing heartfulness (or compassion) for a classmate who has given a negative report. This is usually most immediate in younger grades but often happens away from the gaze of adults in middle and high school aged cohorts.

To read this article in its entirety click here.

Note: I encourage use of the Zones of Regulation.  If you would like any resources please see me.
Challenge: If you currently use Zones of Regulation with your students or if you would like to use Zones but need more resources, post “yes” in the comment area to be included in a drawing for a prize.

-Annette M Warner, LICSW

Phones & Social Media:

As you know, I am an advocate for us "telling our story" through social media.  I encourage staff to have Twitter and utilize it regularly.  However, please be aware of the "personal" likes and posts during work hours.  Again, I am not in any way saying not to use these for professional reasons.  However, personal reasons should wait until your break and after hours.

Same for phones - I know we use these regularly to communicate within the building, particularly with our non-classroom staff.  Be aware of the time we are using our phones for personal reasons.  I'm not going to "police" this - you are a professional, please be only using this for professional reasons. 

I would appreciate your cooperation in this.  

Recess:

As a staff, we have done some learning work around the benefits of students being outdoors throughout a given day.  This is something I fully support.  In saying this, we should not be keeping students in from recess.  Students need fresh air, down time, and time to play.  I often think that our students with the most behavioral needs are often the ones who have recess taken away from them.  There will be rare times that an office referral may result in recess being taken away - mostly to allow for a situation to "cool down".  Again, we should not be keeping kids in from recess.  If you are having issues with what to do now, feel free to connect with Libby or I for some ideas.  

STEAM Family Night:

We have our first STEAM Family Night, "Grateful for Nature" on Thursday, November 8 from 6-7pm.  This will be a night of STEAM challenges and exploring nature.  A huge thank you to our 4th Grade Team for organizing this night.  If you are free, join us for a fun night! 

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:

The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Teaching and Learning Coach, Libby Zeman!  Libby is a knowledgeable, compassionate educator who is focused on not only every student, but every staff member, too.  Libby truly models a growth mindset, each and every day.  One of the things that impresses me the most about Libby is her understanding of teaching and learning - and how to translate the research into practice.  Keep up the great work, Libby! 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

-Justin