Week of: April 3rd-7th, 2017
Monday- Jeans/Sweats Day with Baseball team shirt/colors (Kickoff of Baseball Season)
Wednesday - Jeans Day (TCE or College Shirt)
CMSN Visit for 5th grade - 9:00 - Cafeteria
CMSN Visit for 5th grade - 9:00 - Cafeteria
Faculty Meeting - 3:15
Thursday - PTO Meeting - 8:15
Brett Out (part of the day)
Real School Gardens Training
Friday - Jeans/Sweats
Texan Town
RTI Meetings - Kristan's Room (All Day)
Angie Out (Interviews at Admin.)
Bluebonnet Party - 1:45
Important Reminders
Garden Challenge
Don't forget about our TCE Garden Challenge that is starting up for this month! I will be sending home a letter on Monday with our parents about the challenge. Also, remember this would be a great tie in to curriculum for class time and exploration of learning in our outside areas!
End of the Year Goal Setting and Evidence
Remember this final piece for our goal setting with TTESS this year. You will need to go in to Eduphoria (goal form)and fill out a final part for your goals.
Giving an extension: This part will be due on Wednesday, April 5th at 3:00pm!!
By filling out the piece in Eduphoria, this will help Brett and I in preparing for your summative that will we schedule sometime during April. For your summative we will all meet together and you can show, tell about and discuss with us how your goals have gone as well as share any evidence you have on how it impacted your learners or you as an educator.
Remember this final piece for our goal setting with TTESS this year. You will need to go in to Eduphoria (goal form)and fill out a final part for your goals.
Curriculum Documents to Review
The following was sent out last Friday afternoon about the district Curriculum Management Plan and directions for what they are wanting our help with for next steps:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10HZk54a7KU03qkPG0Q5QVAJBps-4bYHdofKTQeuR9Ck/edit
Click above or below to see video connection.
The following was sent out last Friday afternoon about the district Curriculum Management Plan and directions for what they are wanting our help with for next steps:
Please send this out next week (week of March 27) and ask your educators to read through it (it is lengthy---sorry) but it is the guide for curriculum for the district.
CMP link:
They are asking us to then share feedback on this document on Tuesday, April 18th from 10:30-1:30. Two directors will be available for anyone on the campus to stop in and ask questions, give comments, etc. The district hopes to gain feedback and promote understanding as this new guideline of curriculum is implemented.
We will use Kristan's room as our location and if you have questions or would like to discuss any part before then, feel free to let me know!
From the Desk of BS….volume 27
Hot
off the press! Another guest
blogger. What a treat!
Beauty and the Emotionally Intelligent Beast
Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite childhood movie….I
used to daydream about that LIBRARY! *swoon* When I heard that they were coming
out with a live action remake, I was beyond excited and also a little
skeptical. Were they going to stay true to the original movie? Were the actors
going to do justice to their characters? This weekend I finally got around to
seeing Beauty and the Beast (I definitely brought up the average age in that
theater), and it took everything in me not to sing along throughout the movie
(there was not a sing-along version...I checked). When I left the theater, I
could not contain my happiness. The cinematography, the music, EMMA WATSON, the
story line...it was AMAZING! I’m undoubtedly going to watch it several more
times!
One of my favorite Beauty and the Beast quotes is “Love begins with trust, with mutual respect. All relationships must be firmly based on that.” This quote made me think about my relationship with my learners and the importance of building that mutual trust and respect. I thought back to all those morning meetings and those times I’ve had to call impromptu class meetings to have the much needed heart to hearts. It’s these times when the kids are being open and honest, sharing their feelings, learning to disagree well, and talk out conflicts that relationships are deepened and trust is being built. As educators we know that building the social and emotional learning skills are just as important as the curriculum and knowledge that learners gain in our classroom. We want our learners to become mindful of their emotions and to feel in control of the decisions they are making. If you watched The Bachelor, we want our learners to grow up having “emotional intelligence” and self-awareness (no Corrine’s in our classroom).
One of my favorite Beauty and the Beast quotes is “Love begins with trust, with mutual respect. All relationships must be firmly based on that.” This quote made me think about my relationship with my learners and the importance of building that mutual trust and respect. I thought back to all those morning meetings and those times I’ve had to call impromptu class meetings to have the much needed heart to hearts. It’s these times when the kids are being open and honest, sharing their feelings, learning to disagree well, and talk out conflicts that relationships are deepened and trust is being built. As educators we know that building the social and emotional learning skills are just as important as the curriculum and knowledge that learners gain in our classroom. We want our learners to become mindful of their emotions and to feel in control of the decisions they are making. If you watched The Bachelor, we want our learners to grow up having “emotional intelligence” and self-awareness (no Corrine’s in our classroom).
Students often bring emotions to the classroom from life outside of school.
They might be dealing with a stressful situation at home, or often times I’ve
seen in my class: an argument with a friend. We can see when something is off
with our kiddos from the moment they enter the classroom, and know that
students may need support in cooling off or letting go of the emotion before
they can focus on what we are teaching that day. We can provide that space for
them to unload and share their feelings. I know I have needed this in my own
life many a times. I found this great article that shares some activities that
foster social and emotional learning skills. These can be used during morning
meetings, or truthfully when we see that there is a need. One of my favorites
is appreciation, apologies, and aha’s. As the year has gone on, I have seen my
learners open up with their feelings which has led to some really meaningful
and authentic discussions.
Take a look at some of the other SEL activities:
Shout out to our second guest blogger, who also chose to
remain anonymous. What a great
connection!
See you in April,
BS
Shout Outs!
Kristan, Thank you so much for sharing the most amazing
chrome extension that ever was...RatherNice!!! (Although Hey Girl is a close
second!) I have *loved* all the extra sunshine that it brings to my day. –Tina
Kelly, Angie, and Brett--Thank you so much for such a smooth
and organized STAAR week and for hosting breakfast and lunch! You guys are
amazing! ❤
Tina
Julie--It was so much fun partnering with you this week for
STAAR! Thank you for helping make the week go by quickly and smoothly! –Tina
Kylen, You have been such a big help with our new student. I
was so impressed by how quick you were to come and help us brainstorm behavior
interventions. I love collaborating with you! –Marly
Beth Reynolds, I'm not sure that we would have made it
through STAAR without you. Thank you for taking the time and effort to help our
little guy feel special! –Marly
Kelly, You are a superhero! I know how much time and energy
you have put into STAAR, and I so appreciate how much you work to make
everything run smoothly and efficiently. Your attention to detail and support
of the learners is pretty incredible! –Marly
Angie, Thank you so
much for the yummy lunches this week! You really made our day!! Love, A-Hall
Julie and Kelly, Thank you both so much for helping take
down the orange paper in our hallway! You made it look so much better! You two
are the best! We love you! Love, Katy, Lauren, Lorri, Kim, Lori and Marie
Sue, Thank you so much for helping keep us organized with
all of our medications for the kindergarten field trip! We are so thankful for
you! Love, Katy, Lauren, Lorri and Kim
Angie, thank you for coming up on Sunday to help me with
STAAR materials! It was so thoughtful of you to take time from your weekend to
help out...thanks for all you do to help with testing chaos! –Kelly
Brett, thank you for getting to school early to help with
STAAR stuff each day. I appreciate everything that you do to help get things
done more quickly. Thanks for putting up with my 504 questions and getting
everything clarified. –Kelly
Front office staff,
For food preparation pickup and clean up! What a great week of
eating! BS
Megan & Catherine! Thank y'all for being amazing and
helping get all my sub stuff set up while I was out. I don't know what I'd do
without y'all!! Ashlin
Marie, Thanks for helping me with technology before spring
break! You are so patient! Anne
Counselor Kelly, ALL
THINGS TESTING. And your Taco Bueno story.
BS
Lisa, thank you for everything you have done to help with
TELPAS! I can't imagine how I would get through all of it without your help and
knowledge, especially with other testing going on at the same time. Thanks for
everything! –Kelly
4th/5th grade teachers: thanks for all you did to help our
first round of testing go smoothly! I appreciate you getting all of your
materials ready and having them organized...it makes such a difference trying
to get everything ready. –Kelly
Kylen, thank you so much for all of your efforts to ensure
all of our documentation was accurate! I appreciate your patience with all of
my questions :) –Kelly
Kristan, Thank you
for everything you have done to help prepare our learners for the Writing
STAAR, especially helping me with Writing Boot Camp last week! You're
awesome! -Renee
Leigh Ann- Thank you for helping me plan some ozobots
lessons to use with our learner's around the building! –Candace
Mary--Thanks for being the best Team Lead! You are so
incredibly organized and on top of all things, we are so lucky to have you!
Tina
Laura- thank you for ordering and setting up lunch during
STAAR days! It was so yummy.
Angie and Brett- thank you for providing breakfast and lunch
during STAAR!
Kelly- thank you for all the hard work you do for getting
all the testing set up and turned in. Not just STAAR but CogAT too as well as
other tests!
Lisa, Thank you so
much for helping to take down our covered walls in the hallway! You are so
wonderful! <3 Kate and Morgan
Angie, Thank you so
much for providing us with breakfast the morning of STAAR! It helped us get
through the days! <3 Kate and Morgan
Small Group Helpers,
Thank you so much for working with our kids during the STAAR Test! It
means so much to us that you took time away from your kiddos to help our kiddos
do their absolute best! <3 Kate and Morgan
Laura, Thank you so much for helping us put together
everything for our field trip! We had such a wonderful time! Thank you so much
for making it so stress free for us! We love you! Love,
Lorri, Lauren, Kim and Katy
Beth Reynolds- Thank you for being there for one of our
learners who needed you during STAAR! You helped motivate him and helped us
find a new reinforcer!
Marly & Jenna- You guys rock! Thanks for working with me
to create a reinforcement tracking chart. Can't wait to see how it works with
our learner! –Kylen
Beth Reynolds, I loved seeing you in the garden with your learners. They thrive in that environment. Your new title should be "garden whisperer."
Beth Reynolds, I loved seeing you in the garden with your learners. They thrive in that environment. Your new title should be "garden whisperer."
April Birthdays
Brett Shelby - 7th
Morgan Peccarelli - 22nd
Patti Radcliffe - 26th
Stacey Watson - 27th
Tying Our Garden into TCE Learning
As we go through this month, I would like for us to reflect and think about what work we have done so far with our TCE Garden, Real School Gardens (and our lesson design) and our upcoming future ideas with the TCE Garden Challenge. I found a few articles and videos about how others have used gardens in helping to make connections for their learners!
Check out these ideas and we will talk about this more throughout this month!
Article:
Check out these ideas and we will talk about this more throughout this month!
Article:
https://www.edutopia.org/practice/garden-based-learning-engaging-students-their-environment
Click above or below to see video connection.
https://www.edutopia.org/edible-schoolyard-school-garden-video
https://www.edutopia.org/edible-schoolyard-school-garden-video
Final Quotes for the Week
As we think about making garden connections with our learners, I found it fitting to have a few garden quotes for the week!
