Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Reflective Practice
Happy 100th Day! I was thinking about educational and fun activities that we could do with students today, but all I could think about was the 100 things on my to do list. I'm sure you feel the same way much of the time. I do think the flurry of activity in which teachers and students are involved here at UTE is a big part of our charm. It is very obvious that the activity people will see in our classrooms and hallways is purposeful. We need to encourage thinking and empower our students to succeed by being positive and constructive in our feedback. As I have visited your classrooms this week, I have seen a learning community in action. The most impressive part of that is the reflection, goal setting, and growth that I see students and teachers doing alongside one another. I truly think that students who aren't able to attend UTE, are missing out on a world class, excellent education!
This week we need to get some serious work done in the area of our reflecting and planning for growth. Please work with your PR team to complete the following.
1. Review the Walk Through Data from last quarter and create a smart goal to address one or two areas in which you feel we need to improve. (Report Website Down For Maintenance?)
2. Review the PR to which you are assigned and complete your walk through plan. Drop it into the shared dropbox.
3. Locate evidence for all 3 PRs that support what we are doing and drop it into the shared appropriate dropbox.
4. Finally, look carefully at our 120 day plan and comment with any questions, concerns, or insights.
Resources for the Above Tasks:
UTE 120 Day Plan
Program Reviews can be located in the shared Dropbox Folder.
Program Review DB Folder
Important Upcoming Events:
January
24 - 4th/5th Reading Academy, Academic Team Travels to PES
25 - Service Team Meeting @ 8:30
29 - KPREP Reception 5:30 - 6:30
28 - January SBDM @ 3:30
30 - Lead Team Mtg @2:30, Faculty Mtg. @ 3:30
31 - Special Ed. Rdg. Academy @ 8:30, Mid-term ends, Notes from your first peer partner visit due to Mrs. Justice
February
1 - Spelling Bee
4 - Central Office Monitoring Visit to UTE (RTI, PR, Committee Processes)
6 - Faculty Mtg.
7- KDE, RTI visit to UTE, Mid-term progress reports go home.
8 - Valentine Dance sponsored by PTO
18 - No School, Mandatory PD for teachers
21 - Math/Science Night 5:30 - 7:00
Tigers on a Roll - 4th Grade Greek Mythology Projects - Student Choice With Rubrics
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q3n5tpiar27z57r/2013-01-23%2008.47.35.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qw3gqv0r2xp0dkg/2013-01-23%2008.46.54.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ssey7tduf5zua9v/2013-01-23%2008.24.08.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t3efze15ongxdii/2013-01-23%2008.26.25.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cwp79svil0jjxhd/2013-01-23%2008.16.04.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uzheghj2wu0dw9q/2013-01-23%2008.51.38.jpg
Mrs. Young's and Mrs. Tomolonis' Classess Buddy Reading 100 Books
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfxlbtlhk0qo4q5/2013-01-23%2012.59.31.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/29m1w08nxf40q2t/2013-01-23%2012.59.49.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a0h3xymqvfs1t05/2013-01-23%2013.00.58.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yduubeonxntsz3n/2013-01-23%2013.00.33.jpg
Mrs. Flannery's Class Racing to 100 by Odds and Evens
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9cwbj3a89mttwoc/2013-01-23%2013.24.18.mov
Mrs. Underwood's Class sorting 100 objects by 10s and 5s
https://www.dropbox.com/s/frh8hcr1xjpavii/2013-01-23%2013.26.41.mov
Mrs. Clary's Class Counting by 5's to 100
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mdaawql8u9qidhp/2013-01-23%2013.30.42.mov
This week we need to get some serious work done in the area of our reflecting and planning for growth. Please work with your PR team to complete the following.
1. Review the Walk Through Data from last quarter and create a smart goal to address one or two areas in which you feel we need to improve. (Report Website Down For Maintenance?)
2. Review the PR to which you are assigned and complete your walk through plan. Drop it into the shared dropbox.
3. Locate evidence for all 3 PRs that support what we are doing and drop it into the shared appropriate dropbox.
4. Finally, look carefully at our 120 day plan and comment with any questions, concerns, or insights.
Resources for the Above Tasks:
UTE 120 Day Plan
Program Reviews can be located in the shared Dropbox Folder.
Program Review DB Folder
Important Upcoming Events:
January
24 - 4th/5th Reading Academy, Academic Team Travels to PES
25 - Service Team Meeting @ 8:30
29 - KPREP Reception 5:30 - 6:30
28 - January SBDM @ 3:30
30 - Lead Team Mtg @2:30, Faculty Mtg. @ 3:30
31 - Special Ed. Rdg. Academy @ 8:30, Mid-term ends, Notes from your first peer partner visit due to Mrs. Justice
February
1 - Spelling Bee
4 - Central Office Monitoring Visit to UTE (RTI, PR, Committee Processes)
6 - Faculty Mtg.
7- KDE, RTI visit to UTE, Mid-term progress reports go home.
8 - Valentine Dance sponsored by PTO
18 - No School, Mandatory PD for teachers
21 - Math/Science Night 5:30 - 7:00
Tigers on a Roll - 4th Grade Greek Mythology Projects - Student Choice With Rubrics
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q3n5tpiar27z57r/2013-01-23%2008.47.35.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qw3gqv0r2xp0dkg/2013-01-23%2008.46.54.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ssey7tduf5zua9v/2013-01-23%2008.24.08.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t3efze15ongxdii/2013-01-23%2008.26.25.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cwp79svil0jjxhd/2013-01-23%2008.16.04.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uzheghj2wu0dw9q/2013-01-23%2008.51.38.jpg
Mrs. Young's and Mrs. Tomolonis' Classess Buddy Reading 100 Books
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfxlbtlhk0qo4q5/2013-01-23%2012.59.31.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/29m1w08nxf40q2t/2013-01-23%2012.59.49.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a0h3xymqvfs1t05/2013-01-23%2013.00.58.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yduubeonxntsz3n/2013-01-23%2013.00.33.jpg
Mrs. Flannery's Class Racing to 100 by Odds and Evens
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9cwbj3a89mttwoc/2013-01-23%2013.24.18.mov
Mrs. Underwood's Class sorting 100 objects by 10s and 5s
https://www.dropbox.com/s/frh8hcr1xjpavii/2013-01-23%2013.26.41.mov
Mrs. Clary's Class Counting by 5's to 100
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mdaawql8u9qidhp/2013-01-23%2013.30.42.mov
Monday, January 14, 2013
Perseverance
Good Sunday morning everyone! Recently, as I've been reading articles and educational resources I've noticed the new emphasis in education on perseverance. Training students, and ourselves in some cases, to persevere through problems until a solution can be reached. Not relying on one strategy, but being open to many possibilities. As we grow in our beliefs and understandings about how students learn, we must be asking them to think outside of the box and attempt new and more complex thinking than ever before. This does not come naturally; and in sometimes in our strong desire for students to succeed we do too much of the thinking for them. As I was reflecting on this idea, I came up with the following list of things which we do to encourage perseverance in students.
A. Working to mastery, not simply corrected work and returning it.
B. Immediate, specific feedback on student work.
C. Conferencing with students about their mistakes, rather than just marking them wrong.
D. Model Drawing
E. Journaling
F. Allowing students to share their strategies and discuss them.
G. Supporting students through failed attempts by encouragement.
H. Positive reinforcement.
I. Trading in completion of many tasks in one class period for in depth discussion of just a few.
I'm sure there are many more strategies we use at UTE to help students persevere through problems. Please reflect on your classroom and the strategies you use on a regular basis.
 |
Mrs. Underwood's K students writing about sentences they had read together which included their spelling pattern for the week. Now that's rigor and perseverance! |
Mrs. Tomolonis' 5th grade students participate in daily model drawing. They try it on their own and then have a class discussion about different strategies. Immediate feedback is the key to this being such an effective daily practice. Great Job! |
Sunday, January 6, 2013
State of The School
Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day!!!
Good Sunday Evening Folks!
I thought this week's blog would be a great time to take a look back at all we have accomplished this year. We often get bogged down in all of the day to day issues of school and forget to take a step back and appreciate how our flurry of action truly does create opportunities for better lives for our students. I am proud to be a part of this important work and I hope you are too.
Our beginning of the year DEA combined school average of students scoring benchmark in math was 48.5 and our mid-year average is 60.3. Our beginning reading score was 52 and our mid-year is 60.5.
Our beginning of the year score on DIBELs was 35 and our mid-year is 60.2.
All of the above scores indicate a significant increase in student achievement! You are making a difference! You are the change that counts!
We all know that in this game there is no such thing as being satisfied with where we are. We will always strive for continuous progress of every student! That is the difference in a good school and a great one; and I firmly believe that UTE is a GREAT SCHOOL for many reasons. Although we are judged by test scores, I like to self assess UTE on the warm and friendly conversations I hear between students and adults and the hundreds of smiles and kind comments I see in our halls. Not only are we on top of things academically, but our students know that we love them and they are special.
Please take the time to tell someone you care about, who doesn't work with us, about our success and let them share this joy with you. Congratulations and keep up the good, no GREAT WORK!
Have you ever heard this saying?
Greatness lies deep within failure. We must encourage our students to take challenges and to persevere within failure to come to success! Our actions and words directly affect students' self worth and concept. It is imparitive that every student at UTE understands that what really matters is not a number on a test, but how they prepare themselves and work toward knowledge. Thinking is the key! Please take a minute to read through the link below and respond with your thoughts. I look forward to hearing what you each has to say!
Developing a Growth Mindset
Good Sunday Evening Folks!
I thought this week's blog would be a great time to take a look back at all we have accomplished this year. We often get bogged down in all of the day to day issues of school and forget to take a step back and appreciate how our flurry of action truly does create opportunities for better lives for our students. I am proud to be a part of this important work and I hope you are too.
Our beginning of the year DEA combined school average of students scoring benchmark in math was 48.5 and our mid-year average is 60.3. Our beginning reading score was 52 and our mid-year is 60.5.
Our beginning of the year score on DIBELs was 35 and our mid-year is 60.2.
All of the above scores indicate a significant increase in student achievement! You are making a difference! You are the change that counts!
We all know that in this game there is no such thing as being satisfied with where we are. We will always strive for continuous progress of every student! That is the difference in a good school and a great one; and I firmly believe that UTE is a GREAT SCHOOL for many reasons. Although we are judged by test scores, I like to self assess UTE on the warm and friendly conversations I hear between students and adults and the hundreds of smiles and kind comments I see in our halls. Not only are we on top of things academically, but our students know that we love them and they are special.
Please take the time to tell someone you care about, who doesn't work with us, about our success and let them share this joy with you. Congratulations and keep up the good, no GREAT WORK!
Have you ever heard this saying?
Greatness lies deep within failure. We must encourage our students to take challenges and to persevere within failure to come to success! Our actions and words directly affect students' self worth and concept. It is imparitive that every student at UTE understands that what really matters is not a number on a test, but how they prepare themselves and work toward knowledge. Thinking is the key! Please take a minute to read through the link below and respond with your thoughts. I look forward to hearing what you each has to say!
Developing a Growth Mindset
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