December 2018
Happy (almost) December, everyone! As we enter the month of traditions and celebrations, please be reminded that there are so many sensitivities that come along with this month. Some of our families have already expressed concern with how the upcoming holidays will be presented to students. We are so blessed to be at a school that is so incredibly diverse and we celebrate that! Know your students and know their families. Be sensitive to their beliefs and trust your instincts. Also be reminded that this time of year can be tough for some families. If there are stresses at home, atypical behaviors may manifest at school as our students cannot always articulate what is bothering them. As you are planning with your team, do you best to keep a schedule and routine. This will also help our students who rely on routine and consistency to stay on task and engaged in learning.
As you plan your instruction with your team, always focus on the 4 essential questions:
1. What do we expect them to learn?
2. How will we know that they've learned it?
3. What will we do if they don't learn it?
4. What will we do when they already know it?
If it's a lesson or activity that you've been doing for the last 15 years, reflect and ask yourself if it is related to the learning standards. Please be intentional in all that you plan, keeping engagement, learning and structure in focus. Keep a schedule. Keep your routine. You'll be glad you did!
As you plan your instruction with your team, always focus on the 4 essential questions:
1. What do we expect them to learn?
2. How will we know that they've learned it?
3. What will we do if they don't learn it?
4. What will we do when they already know it?
If it's a lesson or activity that you've been doing for the last 15 years, reflect and ask yourself if it is related to the learning standards. Please be intentional in all that you plan, keeping engagement, learning and structure in focus. Keep a schedule. Keep your routine. You'll be glad you did!
RtI
To recap from November Super Specials, communication is the key. Response to Intervention is a research based tiered approach to address concerns within the academic setting (academics, behavior, social, etc.). When done correctly (strategies implemented, data taken, data discussed, routine meetings are held, and so on), RtI works! If we communicate that, we have a great team of people who can help our students...then the process will be trusted!
Who is responsible for ensuring that data is entered? Homeroom Teacher
Do students who are ELL have to have a language acquisition goal? Yes. All students who are considered English Language Learners must have a language acquisition goal. *Students who are ELL-M (monitored) do not have to have a language acquisition goal.
Who notifies Jean and Colleen that a student is on RtI? Homeroom Teacher (*Innovative ELL Homerooms are responsible for entering the language acquisition goal. There is not a drop down option at this time, so please reflect the goal and data points in the notes section.)
My student is not showing up under the Progress Monitoring tab. They most likely do not have any baseline data entered. Baseline data MUST be entered before a child will populate under the Progress Monitoring tab.
Who is responsible for ensuring that data is entered? Homeroom Teacher
Do students who are ELL have to have a language acquisition goal? Yes. All students who are considered English Language Learners must have a language acquisition goal. *Students who are ELL-M (monitored) do not have to have a language acquisition goal.
Who notifies Jean and Colleen that a student is on RtI? Homeroom Teacher (*Innovative ELL Homerooms are responsible for entering the language acquisition goal. There is not a drop down option at this time, so please reflect the goal and data points in the notes section.)
My student is not showing up under the Progress Monitoring tab. They most likely do not have any baseline data entered. Baseline data MUST be entered before a child will populate under the Progress Monitoring tab.
Calendar & Upcoming events
Dec 3: CHAT, 2:30-3:30 PL Room
Dec 5: Maggie in the building for drop-ins (She will either be in the Learning Lab or Nicole's office as there will be a group of district personnel using our PL room on Dec 5.) Dec 6 & 7: Super Specials, Anchor Meetings, RtI Tier 2 Dec 6: Dessert Theater, doors open at 6:00 p.m. Dec 10: Jr CHAT, 2:30, Lisa Bone's Room Dec 13: Kindergarten Holiday Party AM Dec 13-14: Santa Gift Shop (during Specials) Dec 15: Sundaes with Santa, 1-4 p.m. Dec 17: 4th grade Holiday Parties AM Dec 18: 2nd grade Holiday Parties AM; 3rd grade Holiday Parties PM Dec 19: 1st grade Holiday Parties AM; 5th grade Holiday Parties PM Dec 20: Early Release, Professional Learning Day *Certified staff who do not attend Super Specials, 12:45-1:15, PL Room for redelivery information 1:30-2:00 "Stress Reduction" training w/ district School Social Worker team, Cafe Dec 21: Early Release, Holiday Luncheon, 1:00, location TBA, & PAY DAY! |
Due to RI testing, the computer labs will be closed December 3rd-21st.
Calendar Update for Field Day
Due to Milestones testing (calendar changes), we have had to adjust Field Day dates. Please mark your calendars accordingly:
K-2 Field Day: April 26th
3-5 Field Day: May 14th
Calendar Update for Field Day
Due to Milestones testing (calendar changes), we have had to adjust Field Day dates. Please mark your calendars accordingly:
K-2 Field Day: April 26th
3-5 Field Day: May 14th
Cheatham Hill CCC Implementation Plan
As we reflect on our progress with our Cheatham Hill CCC Implementation Plan, you should feel great about how far we've come since last fall.
Focus on Learning:
Weekly Meetings
Anchor Meetings
We will begin the Prioritizing Standards process in December with more discussion in January.
Make Cobb the best place to Teach, Lead, & Learn:
Established Norm Violations
Roles for Collaboration
Use Data to Make Decisions:
Use Common Assessments
Use Data from Reading Inventory (Universal Screener)
We will continue the quarterly team meetings with admin (Super Specials)
Focus on Learning:
Weekly Meetings
Anchor Meetings
We will begin the Prioritizing Standards process in December with more discussion in January.
Make Cobb the best place to Teach, Lead, & Learn:
Established Norm Violations
Roles for Collaboration
Use Data to Make Decisions:
Use Common Assessments
Use Data from Reading Inventory (Universal Screener)
We will continue the quarterly team meetings with admin (Super Specials)
December Super Specials
Annual School Sing along schedule, Dec 21stWe will not have Specials on Dec 21st, but we will have the annual Sing Along in the Gym.
8:15: Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 4th grade 9:15: 1st grade, 3rd grade, 5th grade Specialists will be in the gym with your students if you need to take a few minutes to take care of other things. |
Staff Member of the Month
Congratulations to all those nominated for November's Staff Member of the Month!
Lisa Bone
Jana Haney
Terry Rimmer
Kasey West
Elsa Wehrenberg
Tessa Whitus
To nominate someone for December's Staff Member of the Month, click here.
Lisa Bone
Jana Haney
Terry Rimmer
Kasey West
Elsa Wehrenberg
Tessa Whitus
To nominate someone for December's Staff Member of the Month, click here.
Cold weather guidelines
CHAT Reps attending PLC Institute in Atlanta
In November, several CHAT reps attended Solution Tree's, PLC at Work Institute. This institute focused on the PLC process, how it applies to the work we do, and the impact on student achievement. Over the next month or so they will be redelivering information to the other CHAT members and your CHAT rep will redeliver to your team.
Any staff member who emails me, answering the following questions will be entered into a drawing to win 1 of 2 Amazon gift-cards to be used on whatever your heart desires, school related or not. These are provided by our incredibly generous Foundation! (Drawing will be held during morning announcements on Friday, December 7th.) 1. When a student RtI is not showing up under the Progress Monitoring tab, what is likely the reason? 2. What are Superintendent Ragsdale's 3 Priorities? 3. What 4 questions should you continuously ask yourself (as a team and as an individual) when planning learning? *Please put December Flipped Agenda in the subject line. |
stem night
A HUGE Shout-Out to everyone who helped to make our first Family STEM Night a huge success! An even bigger Shout-Out to Tracey as she facilitated the entire evening! She had the vision a year ago and, with the support of our Foundation, her vision became a reality on Nov 29th. We had almost 100 students and their families join us. We also had about 30 KMHS students come and help, too. As one of our parents shared, "It was an awesome evening! My child didn't want to leave!". Please check out some of the pictures on social media and the CHES website! Again, thank you to everyone who made this happen! *not pictured, Karen Courant (she was at a district PL event the evening of the STEM night)
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