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:
- 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).
- 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.
- 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).
- 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!
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!
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
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
No comments:
Post a Comment