Weekly Update - October 25, 2018

Happy Friday!
What another great week of learning at McKinley!  I am continuously impressed with the work we are doing each and every day!  It's been great to see our balance of relationships and academics this year - particularly around guided reading.  Our small group instruction is so focused and aligned to exactly what our learners need.  We are already seeing gains with this work - keep it up! 

The Power of our Words:
Below is one of my favorite quotes/pictures - it continually keeps me grounded in the "why" behind words and my beliefs.  I know it sounds like a simple thing - we use words every single day without even thinking of what that word choice is actually creating.  Research supports that your word choice, whether conscious or unconscious, becomes your beliefs and actions.  Your challenge - pay attention to the words you choose.  If you call a student a "naughty student", "low kid", or "unmotivated", the student will rise to your words.   Your words become your beliefs and actions- students will pick up on this and rise to what you believe them to be.  What house do you want to live in??

Staff Attendance:
Just an FYI - I calculated our staff attendance rate for the first 35 days of school.  Currently, we have around 50 full day absences (I've taken full day, half day, and hours and calculated into solid days).   This calculation does not include staff development or subout times.  Please be aware of your absences as we head into the winter season - we need you at school!  Your impact, relationships, and knowledge is needed at McKinley!  

Literacy Beliefs:

Last month we spent some time in one of our staff power hours brainstorming what we believe about literacy in our school philosophically and in practice.  That information has been compiled and examined by Reading Leadership Team. Here are our Core Literacy Beliefs.

As you look these over and consider literacy in your classroom, reflect upon the following questions:

1. Does my classroom reflect these beliefs?
2. Do all of the things that I ask my students to do align with these beliefs?
3. What belief represents an opportunity for growth in my classroom?
4. If I shared these beliefs with students, would they see the connections to what they are doing?

We will revisit these beliefs often as we continue to build a community of engaged readers and writers.   If you have really read this far, email Justin Kiel and say "I read the blog!". Your name will be entered in for free prep time!

Twitter Gratitude Challenge:

an you believe we are almost into November?  Wow!  November is our month of gratitude - being aware and recognizing the things we are grateful for.   As we recognize and acknowledge what we appreciate, our mindset starts to find the small things and grounds us as a person and educator.  
Below is a link to our first staff Twitter challenge which contains a daily "tweet" challenge.  If you tweet 16 times or more this month, your name will be entered for a drawing for a team lunch (off site!).  

Click here to access the November Gratitude Challenge Calendar! 

As you tweet, use the hashtag - #McKGratitude2018 (be careful of your spelling of gratitude or we won't see your tweets! 

I'm encouraging EVERYONE to participate - yes, that's ALL of you!  

Mindfulness Tips for the Classroom:

#2 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

Number 2- Set intentions ("prime the pump").

Most of the time, our curriculum and lesson plans tell us what we’re going to teach. Setting an intention widens the focus to consider how we want to teach. An intention is a statement of how you want to be in this next period. Think about your goals for the way you want the experience to feel and how best to facilitate the skills you are helping your students to master.

An intention might be a general one, such as keeping things moving calmly in the days before a high stakes test, or it it might be as specific as responding to a challenging student or group with equanimity instead of going directly to control. It can be simple (but not necessarily easy) like, ‘I want to be fully present.’

In his wonderful book The Mindful Brain, Dr. Dan Siegel writes “Intentions create an integrated state of priming, a gearing up of our neural system to be in the mode of that specific intention: we can be readying to receive, to sense, to focus, to behave in a certain manner.” Mindful Schools Executive Director Robert Thomas spoke about this in his Back to School talk on August 13th.

To read this article in its entirety click this link:

Challenge: Post a mindful moment picture in the comments.  A prize winner will be drawn.

- Annette Warner, LICSW

Problem Solving Team Process:The PST meets weekly to discuss students who have been brought forward by a teacher for any concern (academic, behavior, enrichment needs, etc.).  If you have a student that you are concerned about, it is important to connect with your team to brainstorm ideas and try a few things. There is such a wealth of knowledge on your team of things that have worked for students in the past.  It’s also critical that you connect with the family, as we know that the home-school connection is important.

If you have tried a few things and you are not seeing growth or improvement in the area of concern, please complete the referral form and Sami or Libby will send you a date and time to connect with the PST.   

How were WE McKinleyStrong this Week?

Building Weekly Newsletter
Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Student Support Specialist, Isabel Mendoza!  Isabel is a huge advocate and support for our building in so many ways.  Isabel is a compassionate and dedicated professional who is a true advocate for our students.  One of the things that impresses me most about Isabel is the way she quickly builds meaningful relationships with our learners.  She knows how to support the social-emotional portion of a student's day so they can then access the academics.  Keep up the great work, Isabel!


Have an awesome, relaxing weekend!  Take some time to enjoy you and those you love!
-Justin

Weekly Update - October 16, 2018

Happy Friday (well, Tuesday, but kind of a Friday!)! 

It's Education Minnesota break... we've made it to our first vacation.  Please take some time this weekend to relax, unwind, and regroup to come back strong. 

Transition Day: 
Just a reminder - Monday, October 22 is our transition day.  Please see the email that Sami Nelson sent out regarding this.  Remember- the goal of transition day is to re-establish routines, relationships, and regulate students.  We have a list of fun things for this day to help with this.  Don't forget to wear jeans and your STEAM gear! 

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

Have a great, long weekend!
-Justin

Weekly Update - October 12, 2018

Happy Friday, everyone!  I hear the sun is possibly coming out this afternoon... get out and soak up the Vitamin D!


Family - Teacher Conferences:
Next week, we hold our fall "family-teacher conferences".  It's a great time to get families into the building and continue to build a partnership with them around educating their child/children.

Last year, we changed the name from "parent - teacher" to "family - teacher" to be more inclusive of our students, families, and their home situation.

As we move into conferences on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, remember these tips:

• Get up and meet the family, at the door.  This body language starts the tone of the meeting from the time they arrive.   If you shake hands, be aware of any cultural norms that may impact this.  
• Have some strengths ready to discuss.  Each of our students' have strengths - be ready to share these throughout the conference.
• Be honest about where the student is at, academically and socially.  However, be ready to support this with the data (including your observations).  
• The conference should feel like a planning session, in which it really is.  You, as a team, are coming together to acknowledge the facts and then create a doable action plan to ensure the learner will grow.  
• Value the family's input - what can they add to the table to deepen the conversation and action?  What is their vision for education and their child's future?

Thank you for all you do around family engagement.  Our staff does a great job of building - and deepening - our relationships on a daily basis!  

Transition Day - October 22:
October 22nd is our first "transition day" at McKinley.  For our new staff, we engage in transition days after long breaks from school.  The goal is to reunite, re-engage, regulate, and re-establish community on these days.  We have found that students (and staff!) need this day to get acclimated back into school life.

We had a wonderful team design our first transition day.   More information will come out early next week on the details of the day.   We did move our McKinleyStrong Assembly that day to 8:40 (*the building calendar has been updated).

The POWER of THINK TIME:
It's been great getting around to classrooms to see the real work - learning - in action!  As we are designing and instructing lessons, please remember the power of "think time".  Students need time to process, question, and reflect on learning.   As a former classroom teacher, I remember teaching a lesson, getting to the end, and thinking - "did I even take a breath?"  Being intentional about building in think time would have helped me - and can help you and your students!  Don't forget... students need this time to process, but also need to productively struggle with their thinking and questioning.

September Office Referral Data:
Yesterday, our PBIS team met to analyze our September office referral data (see link below).  We looked at trends, as well as possible causes and solutions for the behaviors. 

On Monday, October 22, we have a Staff Power Hour where we will focus on this data.  Your team will spend some time looking at your grade level data and creating an action plan to see what supports/changes we can make to decrease the negative and increase the positive behaviors.  More information will come out on this.

When you have some time, check out the data below.  *Please note - these graphs include both major and minor behaviors.

Click here to access the data

Education MN Break - Take Some Time for YOU! 
Next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is our Education MN Break.   During this break, take some time to focus on YOU!  Do something that only YOU enjoy.  Do something that makes YOU happy and relaxed!  Our work is highly stressful and can wear on a person.  Take this break to enjoy YOU and reground yourself in your WHY and your PERSPECTIVE.  Below are some ideas, if you need them:

Mindfulness Tip from Annette:

As promised, here is #1 of 6 ideas for creating a mindful classroom:
If you already have some familiarity with mindfulness, you may know that establishing a regular practice is key to implementing mindfulness in your life, inside and outside your work environment. Here are some ways to bring mindfulness into your classroom and your teaching life.


1) Establish a regular practice. To create a mindful classroom, it is important to be anchored in your own mindfulness practice. Find a few moments each day to sit quietly and focus on your breath. First thing in the morning can be wonderful, but the best time is the time that works for you.

Mindful Breathing: If you’re brand new to mindful breathing, try this. Find a spot where you won’t be disturbed. Sit with feet flat on the floor, and with a relaxed upright back and head. Place your hands in your lap on on your thighs. Close your eyes or lower your gaze to a spot on the floor in front of you. Breathe regularly through your nose, paying attention to each in breath and out breath. Thoughts may arise; plans, worries, ideas, ruminations or stories. When they do, just gently let them go and return to focusing on each breath.

Additional Resources for Guided Practices

• Center for Mindfulness at University of California at San Diego
• Tara Brach
• Insight Timer meditation application
• Free Mindfulness resources, online guided practices for breath, body scans, mindful movement, and more

To read this article in its entirety click here.

Challenge: Comment one mindful activity you tried this week.  A drawing of the comments will take place with winner receiving a prize. - Annette Warner, LICSW

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

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:
Our McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to 2nd Grade Teacher, Katie Demmer!  Katie is a positive, creative educator who puts in countless hours to make sure students are getting the supports and learning they need.  Katie has a gift of keeping students engaged in their learning - and will even be silly (or stand on a table!) to keep them engaged and having fun!  Keep up the great work, Katie!


Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Justin

Weekly Update - October 5, 2018

Happy Friday, everyone!

A huge thank you to everyone for the hard work around guided groups and Power 20!  I know this has been a ton of work to prepare for - with some grade levels not having much time between the start date and your data subout.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  High quality, purposeful core instruction (including guided groups) is one of the most effective ways to create readers.  I'm excited to see all the growth we have this year!

Also, a huge thank you for your flexibility around our new inclusive model around Special Education and EL.  I know the schedule changes have been frustrating - something we can work on earlier next year.  It's been a learning curve - you change one schedule, it impacts five others.  However, you have stayed focused on what our learners need.  Thank you! 

Belief System:
Do you believe all kids can learn?  Do you truly believe this?  Or, are you an educator who makes comments like "Oh, that kid" or "Man, it's only been a month with these kids!"  Your belief system determines so much of your daily experiences.  First, your beliefs will determine your outlook for the day.  If you are looking for negativity, you will find it.   If you are out seeking the positives, you will find many of those!   Secondly, your belief system can make or break a students' experience here at school.  This includes your thoughts and biases.  If you have already "painted a picture" of a learner in your room - and it's not positive - I challenge you to get to know that student more.  Find time and patience to learn more.  And, if you are biases are standing in the way of this work, walk to your bias.  Learn more about it... challenge it... decrease the way you think about it.  The quote below is from Jimmy Casas, a former principal and now author/presenter around school culture and all kids.   What legacy do you want to leave?

Picture Re-Take & Badges:
Just a reminder - next Thursday, October 11th is Picture Re-Take.  Every staff member needs their picture taken this year!  Everyone!   If you took it on picture day, you are good to go.  These photos will be used for our new badges.

Referrals & Discipline:
A couple of things regarding office referrals.  Please read this carefully so we are all on the same page.

• If a student is physical and harmed someone, they come to the office.  
• Please complete the referral completely -including last name, date, time, etc.  We use this data for tracking purposes (to provide supports to students).
• Please involve me if you are keeping a student in for recess.  I'm seeing more and more students inside for recess.   Due to schedules and space, I should be involved before the consequence is given.  Some students have temporary plans that include staying in for recess - this should not become a daily thing.  
• Please put referrals in the gray basket behind Julie and Selena - not in my mailbox.  I check the gray box frequently.  When you put it in there, please put this upside down to keep the information confidential.

Independent Reading:

So, now that we've worked hard to create purposeful, high quality small/guided groups, what are the other students doing?  As I've made my way around this week, I see a lot of independent reading.  This is awesome - kids need time to just read!  Something to reflect on - is this purposeful practice/reading of books?  Are students engaged, or fake reading?  Think about it this way - in a basketball game, the coach is off on one side of the court helping two players practice their form.  The other players are shooting hoops at the other end of the court.  If they end up playing tag down there, are they practicing and developing as basketball players?  This is more work we will be looking at this year - what can students be doing, including independent reading, to be purposeful and engaged (while you meet with groups)?  Libby and I will be around the building doing some time-on-task to gather this data.

Cell Phones:

Please monitor the amount of time you are on your cell phone.  I am not making a statement about not using phones, as I know how important they are for internal communication, as well as for posting the learning on Twitter.  However, I'm seeing more and more people on their phones throughout the building.  Please be aware of the time you are using this - especially for non-school activities.  

Learning Work:

Thank you for all your hard work this week around literacy beliefs and feedback.  I absolutely love that this staff is full of learners.  Not only in our meetings, but on Twitter and with each other.  The amount of learning that occurs in this building is fabulous!

Building Weekly Newsletter:

Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week:

The McKinleyStrong Educator of the Week goes to Nurse Brittani Tancre!  Brittani wears so many hats during the day - and keeps our students healthy and ready to learn.  Brittani has compassion, care, and high expectations with everything that she does.  She takes great care of our students' health needs throughout the day.  Keep being awesome, Britttani!

Have a great weekend - enjoy some down time! 

-Justin