October 27th, 2014

                                       High Point News

Week of: October 27th, 2014

********NEWS*************************

Documentation of Failing Grades
Teachers, please remember to send Jacinta Alexander your documentation of how you gave students opportunities for recovery and how you notified parents of the failing grades (U's or F's) if applicable.

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REMINDER: Front Door Access During the Day
The front office staff stay extremely busy during the day. In order to help reduce the amount of traffic in the front office as well as reduce the number of times the door has to be unlocked, we are asking teachers to please use other entrances when returning from recess or going to and from lunch. All teachers have keys that will unlock the outer doors that have a slide lock on it.

Entrances that can be used are:

• the entrance from the portables
• the second grade hallway door upstairs (a key lock was just put on the door for teachers)
• the fifth grade hallway
• the kindergarten doors
• the carpool entrance

The front office staff is constantly opening the doors for classes and this allows others to come in with them without being screened by the staff. We have to be safety conscience at all times and reducing the number of times the doors are unlocked will help to assure that our students and staff remain safe. Thank you for our cooperation!

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PBIS This Week

•  Data: October 11th last year we had our School-Wide Reward for filling up tickets to the "E" in our bin. We are still not there yet for 2014. Help us reach our school-wide reward soon by giving TICKETS, TICKETS, TICKETS!!!! Are your students practicing good manners, being prepared, working hard, and staying safe? If so, let's reward them for it!

Thought of the week from Love and Logic: Are you guiding students to solve their own problems?

Here are 5 ways to help students:
○ Have empathy
○ Send the “Power Message.” What are you going to do to fix this (student)?
○ Offer choices
○ Have student state the consequences
○ Give permission for the student to solve or not solve the problem

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Field Trips
Creating more opportunities for students to experience their learning in the real-world is extremely important to us at High Point. Field trips give teachers opportunities to build background knowledge before a unit is taught or to bring a unit of learning to a close. If a student is not able to go on a field trip, whether it be for financial, behavioral, or other reasons, please email Pitchford at least one week before the field trip. It's important that the administrative staff is aware and can help you with the situation prior to the field trip. We, ultimately, want all students to experience these once-in-a-lifetime trips.
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Meetings/Conferences 

When scheduling a meeting with a parent, please try to meet them in the front office.  Most visitors who are not familiar with our building have a hard time finding where to go. Thank you!!

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What I've Been Thinking About…

This is a wonderful article about Project-Based Learning and the importance of it not just being "student-centered" but rather "learning centered." The learning process is the most important thing in the classroom and the teacher is the one to plan what that will look like. Below is a wonderful quote from the article:

"Although one seeks to engage students in project work, and grant student voice & choice as much as possible, the teacher remains the most important person in the classroom. Teachers design and plan projects with specific learning goals, model and scaffold learning so that students can meet these goals, co-manage the project process, assess learning, give feedback to help students improve, and plan new project scaffolds and resources."

http://bie.org/blog/the_importance_of_project_based_teaching

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Technology Tips of the Week

·         Many of us are being prompted to change our passwords, when you do this BE SURE to also change it on all of your other devices (i.e. iPads, smart phones, or any device accessing our FCS Wi-Fi). If you get locked out, it’s usually because you haven’t changed your password on all devices.

·         Delivery of new laptops will be Nov. 5^th. I will immediately begin preparing them in the computer lab and scheduled comp. lab classes on Nov. 5^th & 6^th will make alternate plans which may include use of our laptop carts.

·         Distribution of new laptops will begin as soon as possible; however, software will need to be added, domain setup, etc. I hope to give you about a week with both laptops before collecting the old ones to ensure you have transferred all documents.  Now is the time to purchase an external HD or USB device for back up (perhaps use PTA or other funds with a spending deadline, if allowable) AND begin cleaning off OLD, obsolete information.  If you “store” a lot of documents on your desktop, create a folder named ‘Desktop Docs’ and drag those documents without a home into it…this makes it easier to transfer to a back-up drive. You will be responsible for backing up your data but if you want me to assist a grade level at a time, let me know.  I’ll post a ‘Back-Up How To’ in the Technology Tips folder on the G: Drive.

****Our Math Corner******************

Becoming a Leader: Finding My Voice
Tabetha R. Finchum
Dissatisfied with the outcomes of teacher-directed mathematics pedagogy, this fourth-grade teacher learns of—and begins to implement—student-centered, problem-solving mathematics in her classroom. Check it out!!!!

http://www.nctm.org/publications/article.aspx?id=43098

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Parent Connection

How can I help my child in Mathematics?
Most parents want to help their children learn mathematics. However, traditional ways of helping, such as showing children the steps to get answers, are at odds with our efforts to engage students in solving high-level tasks and developing conceptual understanding, thinking, and reasoning. Parents need specific suggestions about productive ways to help their children and how to implement them.
A key shift is for parents to ask questions to help their children solve unfamiliar problems rather than to show them how to solve them. Explicitly tell parents that when their children are struggling with a problem, their role is to help them solve it by asking questions such as the following:

• What are you being asked to find out?
• What does the problem tell you? Can you describe it in your own words? Have you seen a problem like this before?
• Is there any part of the problem that you already know how to do?
• Is there anything you don't understand? Where can you find the answers to your questions?
• Will it help to make a list, a chart, a table, a drawing, a diagram? Can you act out the problem?
• What do you estimate your answer will be? Why?
• Is your strategy working? Why or why not?
• Is there another way to check your answer?
• How do you know if your answer is right or wrong? (From A Parent's Handbook, Grade K–5, Allegheny Intermediate Unit, p. 2; similar questions appear in the Grades 6–8 and Grades 9–12 Parent Handbooks.)

Parents can support their children's learning in other ways:

• Practicing basic facts. Children are expected to develop immediate fact recall as well as understand the meaning for operations. Immediate recall requires practice, in addition to understanding—and time for practice in the school day is limited. Parents can help in a variety of ways, especially since orally presenting facts promotes immediate recall more effectively than worksheets. Perfect times to practice are while driving, walking, waiting, and so on. Just be sure that parents understand that this practice should build on understanding of operations, not occur in isolation.
• Playing games. Games are a great way for parents to give their children practice with mathematics concepts and skills and develop strategic thinking, while also promoting positive parent-child relationships.
• Posing contextual problems. Mathematics problems are part of everyday life. Parents help children see that math is all around them when they pose problems that arise in everyday situations. 

****VISUALS OF BEST PRACTICES****

In Ms. Cornibe’s 1^st grade class, written feedback is a common practice. Ms. Cornibe gives students very specific feedback on their writing. Students need to know what they are doing well and what they need to work on.  “Teaching is interaction.”  

Written feedback signals genuine interest and respect, it motivates students to care about their writing, and it identifies ways to improve and deepen thinking.

*****WRITERS' GALLERY**********

The writers' gallery/pledge is hosted by Ms. Collins' class this week.

The writers' gallery/pledge will be hosted by Ms. Gersten's class next week.

******CALENDAR OF EVENTS*******

Monday, October 27th
Rigor and Relevance Training @ Specials - Robert's Portable
9:30 - Parent Tours

Tuesday, October 28th 

Newell Rubbermaid Global Day of Service
Writing Workshop with Hess for 2nd and 1st Grade
2:50 - Faculty Meeting 
3:30 - Committee Meetings

Wednesday, October 29th 
Kindergarten Field Trip
Writing Workshop with Hess for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades

Thursday, October 30th

Honey Baked Ham for Lunch - Order by Wednesday
2:50 - PLCs

Friday, October 31st
Halloween!!! Book Character Dress Up Day!!
Parent Involvement Day
Writing Workshop with Hess for Kindergarten
Send your tickets down and change your Student of the Week!

******BIRTHDAYS! ****************

Happy birthday to Sheri Buehner on November 1st! We hope you have a wonderful birthday!!