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:
- Does my classroom reflect these beliefs?
- Do all of the things that I ask my students to do align with these beliefs?
- What belief represents an opportunity for growth in my classroom?
- 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!).
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!).
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.
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?
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
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ReplyDeleteI can't figure out how to post a picture in my comments, Annette, but we listen to quiet music in art when we need to be mindful and take a talking break to focus on our work and to give kids a chance to regroup, think about their art work and be mindful of the peers that may not appreciate all the noise.
ReplyDeleteJust realized this doesn't show my name :) Art should give it away...but this is from Amanda Gislason.
DeleteLove it, way to go, Amanda!
ReplyDeleteAmanda is the winner of this weeks blog post, come see me for your prize and thanks for playing!!
ReplyDelete