Good morning - and happy Homecoming!
Mindset & Language Matter! Think about those words you are choosing - they have greater impact than you realize!
Guided Groups:
Guided groups are up and running this week! A huge thank you to all the teachers who spent hours getting student goals established and schedules made. I know this required a lot of time and effort.
Just a reminder - guided groups are a priority. These time, along with intervention blocks, are sacred. If we want to get students to becoming readers, guided groups are the structure to making this happen. Please remember a few things:
- Guided groups are ineffective if we are not monitoring student goals and adjusting throughout the year. These are our resources - the responsive teaching is what is critical to making our students high quality readers.
- Guided groups are at a minimum - 20 minutes.
- LLI is designed to support guided groups. Teachers between both programs should be communicating on the goals, level, progress, and the observational data they are seeing in group.
If you need support, please let Libby know. She is a great resource!
Library Re-Design:
As you could see yesterday, Denise and Kayla were busy re-assembling our new learning space - the library. The goal of this space is to move away from it being a "books only" spot to more of a learning space. Eventually, Denise will have things out - puzzles, MakerSpace items, etc... the list is limitless! The goal of yesterday's work was to create spaces throughout the library for small groups to work. It looks awesome! A huge thank you to Denise and Kayla for their hard work! Also, thank you to the Maintenance Team for their help and our fellow Media Center EA's!
EL Graduation:
Congratulations to our 2019 EL Graduates! We are so proud of these students! A huge thank you to Laurie Wolhart, Liz Stitzmeyer, Caryn Boetel, Sylvia Zavala, & Nura Elmi for all their work coordinating this special evant!
Life Space Crisis Intervention - Guest Columnist Danielle Nystrom:
Over the summer I had the opportunity to become certified in Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI). LSCI is a framework for working with students who are in crisis. This framework meets the students where they are at and works to increase their capacity to navigate settings that are managed by adults (school); this is something that is a struggle for students who have/are experienced trauma and haven’t developed a sense of safety. This framework is built on three critical foundations. It is important to understand the foundations of the LSCI framework as it plays into the mindset of the adult who is working with a child in crisis. With these insights, it allows the adult to meet the child where they are at.
Foundation #1: The Understanding of Brain Differences between children and adults
The first foundation is “The Understanding of Brain Differences Between Children and Adults”. This foundation contains three important understandings. The first is the idea that a child’s brain is different than an adult brain. These differences are evident in four different ways: thinking, perception, feelings, and behaviors. When looking at the brain of a child, their thinking is irrational, events are perceived in one way, emotions take over, impulsive behaviors occur and defense mechanisms are used when the pain is too much. This differs from the brain of an adult. Adults are able to think rationally, use multidimensional thinking, manage and control emotions, and can take responsibility for their actions. Adults also have the understanding that their presence has impact; positive or negative. This understanding is important because it shows that children are self-centered in their way of thinking and struggle to see all sides of a situation or event. Adults are able to use multi-dimensional thinking and use all aspects of the situation or event when deciding how to act or respond.
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Child
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Adult
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Thinking
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Irrational
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Rational
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Perception
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Centered on self- Sees things one way
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Multidimensional thinking- See all sides of a situation
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Feelings
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Emotions take over
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Ability to manage emotions
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Behaviors
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May act impulsively and use defense mechanisms to protect themselves.
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Can take responsibility for actions and understand that their presence has an impact in some way; positive or negative.
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NEW Educational Assistant Schedule & Role:
Our new EA Schedule starts this Monday. Just a reminder, EA's are supporting intervention blocks throughout the day. With their "open" times listed on the schedule, they will eventually have individual students or small groups assigned to work with. This will be assigned based on data and need. A huge thank you to the EA team for their flexibility with scheduling this past month!
Discussion Strategies:
Below is a link to some great discussion strategies - ways to get students collaborating!
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/speaking-listening-techniques/
Infinitec Trainings - Due in 27 Days!
August is right around the corner and as we wait for the 19/20 school year to begin, I am sending out the step-by-step instructions for the required on-line training modules (using Infinitec) for all employees. The required trainings include the following:
- Anti-Harassment Training
- Bullying Basics
- Mandated Reporting
- Student Confidentiality
Once you have viewed each video, you must take the quiz and receive a score of 80% or higher, otherwise you will need to re-watch the video until you achieve 80%. DO NOT print out the certificate. We will pull reports from the system and provide to the appropriate administrators and committees. The training needs to be completed by October 31, 2019.
Building Weekly Newsletter:
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