Week of: December 15th 2014
********NEWS*************************
Closing for Winter Holiday
As we get ready for the winter holidays, please ensure that, on Friday, you turn off all lights
(including portables) and computers/monitors. Fulton County will be monitoring our
performance on this and recognizing schools that are exceptionally successful getting
computers shut down.
Please also close blinds for security and energy conservation and ensure that no food or
candy is left out anywhere. Food/candy should be removed or stored in a refrigerator.
Thank you for your help in getting our school ready for the long winter break!!!
As we get ready for the winter holidays, please ensure that, on Friday, you turn off all lights
(including portables) and computers/monitors. Fulton County will be monitoring our
performance on this and recognizing schools that are exceptionally successful getting
computers shut down.
Please also close blinds for security and energy conservation and ensure that no food or
candy is left out anywhere. Food/candy should be removed or stored in a refrigerator.
Thank you for your help in getting our school ready for the long winter break!!!
**********************************************************
Feedback for Math Day
PTA wants each staff member's feedback from our first annual Math Day. Below is the link to a very quick survey! We have only had a few staff members to respond so please take a moment to fill out this important survey. Thank you!
Math Day Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N6TQN39
**********************************************************
Reminder!!!!
The PTA's Annual Holiday Staff Luncheon will be held this
**********************************************************
JEANS
As we all prepare for winter break, we know the importance of teaching until the last minute and supporting and monitoring our students since some might be anxious about their winter break. We appreciate everything you do for your students and want you to be as comfortable as possible for the remainder of the week. Please feel free to wear jeans this week but please be mindful that we will have some important people from the county here throughout the week so continuing to dress professionally is still extremely important. Thank you!
**********************************************************As we all prepare for winter break, we know the importance of teaching until the last minute and supporting and monitoring our students since some might be anxious about their winter break. We appreciate everything you do for your students and want you to be as comfortable as possible for the remainder of the week. Please feel free to wear jeans this week but please be mindful that we will have some important people from the county here throughout the week so continuing to dress professionally is still extremely important. Thank you!
Feedback for Math Day
PTA wants each staff member's feedback from our first annual Math Day. Below is the link to a very quick survey! We have only had a few staff members to respond so please take a moment to fill out this important survey. Thank you!
Math Day Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N6TQN39
**********************************************************
The PTA's Annual Holiday Staff Luncheon will be held this
Tuesday, December 16th in the Media Center.
(Come during your lunch period)
As a gift to you, the PTA would like to wrap presents for you during your lunch!! Please bring up to 3 gifts boxed or ready to wrap. Your gifts will be wrapped for the holidays while you enjoy your lunch!
Happy Holidays!!
**********************************************************
BING in the CLASSROOM
Congratulations
to Cecile Charron, 4th grade, for winning the Special Mention prize in the Online "Bing in the Classroom- Summer Story
Challenge."
The
Bing in the Classroom Summer Story Challenge was the digital storytelling contest
that used the power of Bing search to turn students’ summer experiences into
brand-new knowledge. The challenge was open to students in 10 schools
nationwide for the 2014-2015 school year. High Point was fortunate enough to be one of those schools.
As her prize, Cecile will be receiving a Microsoft BING Prize Pack and a Surface Pro3. A huge thank you to Jennifer Taylor for encouraging her students to participate. We are very proud of our students!
PBIS This Week
Teachers, thank you for reminding your
students about the expectations for our bathrooms! Please continue to
remind them about expectations for proper bathroom conduct.
For our final week before the break, our lunchroom monitors and workers would greatly appreciate if you would work with your students on lunchroom expectations and etiquette. Some reminders for our students about lunchroom expectations:
Thank you for taking the time this week to remind students about good choices! We are only one week away from break, and many of our students may have difficulty adjusting to changes in schedules and to transitions, so please continue to reward positive behavior with praise and PAWS UP tickets!
For our final week before the break, our lunchroom monitors and workers would greatly appreciate if you would work with your students on lunchroom expectations and etiquette. Some reminders for our students about lunchroom expectations:
- Students should enter and exit the lunchroom by walking in
line through their assigned doorway
- They should get everything they need as they go through the
lunch line so they can sit and eat their lunch without having to get
back up
- They should stay seated the entire time and only talk to
those students seated near them
- They should use proper etiquette - please and thank you,
especially with the adults serving them
- Students may only get up to clear their trash when directed to
do so by a lunch monitor or teacher
- They should clear their tables and floor of all trash before
lining up
- When they line up after lunch, they should be in single file, facing forward, so they are ready when their teacher comes, and they aren't blocking the doorway for other classes.
Thank you for taking the time this week to remind students about good choices! We are only one week away from break, and many of our students may have difficulty adjusting to changes in schedules and to transitions, so please continue to reward positive behavior with praise and PAWS UP tickets!
**********************************************************
Rigor and Relevance with DonnellaAll teachers will meet with Donnella today to analyze the tasks you wrote for rigor, relevance and differentiation and discuss the successes and needed adjustments. Donnella has copies of your tasks but please bring a copy with you as well. She looks forward to meeting with each of you during your planning. She will be located in the conference room.
***********************************************************
What I've Been Thinking About…
Ahhhhh.....data.
I know that, for some, data has a negative connotation. There is no disputing that at High Point we have just started our data journey. For a while, we "did data" because we had to; not because we knew it would help move students. It is very evident now that we are seeing the benefits of what data tells us and how we can use it to "work smarter." I am so proud to hear each grade level or special area speak at the faculty meeting about how they are monitoring student growth, what they believe is happening with their students, and how they are changing what they are doing because of it. I appreciate everyone's efforts to dig a little deeper, get a little uncomfortable, and find out exactly what kind of an impact you are all making. Because in the end, it's huge. You make a difference every day and the data speaks volumes to that. Thank you!
****Our Math Corner******************
A Great Teacher
Begins a Lesson With the Hook
A strong teacher uses
the Hook technique for introducing a new lesson to students. This technique
encourages class excitement for deep learning.
Doug Lemov, states in
his book,Teach Like A Champion, that great teachers begin their lessons
by delivering key information to students as directly as possible. The use of
direct instructions is a key element which is effectively applied with the use
of the "The Hook."
Teaching with the Hook
method should inspire and cause students to become very interested in the
lesson introduction. Lemov states that this method is "a short
introductory moment that captures what's interesting and engaging about the
material and puts it out front."
Lemov explains that a
Hook can be a short story, riddle, or a picture of the anything that is the
subject. There are many effective types of hooks used by teachers that have no
particular classification. Doug Lemov presents the following types of hooks
that teachers should find very effective.
·Story. Tell a quick
and engaging story that goes directly to the material. An example would be the
introduction of a long division problem with a story about kids staying at home
without their parents. The long division sign would be the house, and the kids
would huddle at the door as numbers knock from the position of the divisor. The
important moment (whether to open the door) turns on the rules of divisibility.
· Analogy. Offer an
interesting analogy that touches students' lives. Lemov offers an example of an
useful analogy of a teacher comparing single replacement bonds in chemistry to
dancers choosing partners at a school dance.
· Prop. An example could
be a jacket like the main character in the story might have worn. Or a globe
and flashlight to show the earth's rotation.
· Media. A picture, or a
piece of music, or brief video can enrich your hook when it supports your
objective.
· Status. Describe
something great: Use great work by a student, or give reasons a famous author
is highly regarded.
· Challenge. Offer
students a very challenging task and let them try to solve it. An example would
be when a teacher asked students what a complete sentence was. The teacher gave
the students five words to use for making a complete sentence. The students
couldn't make a sentence. So, the teacher asked the class what was missing? The
answer was a missing subject. This surprise of the unsolvable riddle hooked the
students for the remaining hour of the class.
Strong Teachers Lead With Hook Basics
Lemov points out, that
the hook is the introduction and not the lesson. Most importantly, it engages
the students almost immediately. The hook yields. In another words, once the
momentum of the hook is under way, it gives way to the more teaching part of
the lesson.
The hook is energetic
and optimistic. Lemov explains that it focuses on what is great about a subject
and not what is hard or difficult, unless a particular difficulty is what makes
a subject great.
Getting Students Excited and Engaged
A great teacher gets
students immediately enthused and engaged for deep learning by using the Hook
technique. This method is a quick and simple tool for introducing the day's
lesson to students in a direct and meaningful manner.
Sources
Lemov, Doug. Teach
Like A Champion. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2010.
****VISUALS OF BEST PRACTICES****
In
Ms. Arnold’s 3rd grade class, students use a rubric
for talking, reading, and writing. This rubric helps them to stay on task
because they all strive to do their very best. This a powerful and useful
visual in her classroom that students refer to constantly when collaborating
with each other and when doing independent work. To receive a level 4
(based on the rubric), students are asked to justify their answers based on
text evidence, making real world connections, using complete sentences, asking
questions, and using because statements.
It's important for students to have rubrics in order to achieve high standards and take
ownership of their learning.
In
Ms. Arnold’s 3rd grade class, students use a rubric
for talking, reading, and writing. This rubric helps them to stay on task
because they all strive to do their very best. This a powerful and useful
visual in her classroom that students refer to constantly when collaborating
with each other and when doing independent work. To receive a level 4
(based on the rubric), students are asked to justify their answers based on
text evidence, making real world connections, using complete sentences, asking
questions, and using because statements.
It's important for students to have rubrics in order to achieve high standards and take
ownership of their learning.
*****WRITERS' GALLERY**********
The writers' gallery/pledge is hosted by Ms. Evans' class this week.
The writers' gallery/pledge will be hosted by Ms. Newman's class following the break.
******CALENDAR OF EVENTS*******
Monday, December 15th
Rigor and Relevance with Donnella Cranford
Ridgeview Band Tour - 5th Graders
Tuesday, December 16th
Holiday Luncheon for Staff
*Don't forget your 3 gifts to be wrapped!
2:50 - Faculty Meeting
3:30 - Committee Meetings
Wednesday, December 17th
Holiday Sing-A-Longs
PreK-2 @ 8:15
3-5 @ 9:15
*Don't forget your 3 gifts to be wrapped!
2:50 - Faculty Meeting
3:30 - Committee Meetings
Wednesday, December 17th
Holiday Sing-A-Longs
PreK-2 @ 8:15
3-5 @ 9:15
Thursday, December 18th
Tazikis for Lunch - Order by Wednesday
2:50 - Meeting with Dr. Muri in Media Center
PLCs - After meeting
2:50 - Meeting with Dr. Muri in Media Center
PLCs - After meeting
Pitchford to Principals' Meeting
Friday, December 19th
F&P Due!
Parent Involvement Day
Send your tickets down and change your Student of the Week!
F&P Due!
Parent Involvement Day
Send your tickets down and change your Student of the Week!
******BIRTHDAYS! ****************
Happy birthday to Amy Bradshaw TODAY, Barbi Kriedler on the 17th, Michael Hunter on the 22nd, Melissa Newman on the 30th, and Pam McClure on January 4th! We hope you each have a wonderful birthday!!!!
