Monthly Archives: March 2016

Weekly Update: March 14, 2016

Posted on by jgrondek

Hope your weekends were restful and fun!

Staff Meeting:

We do not have anything planned for you this Wednesday afternoon. Please plan by yourself or with your colleagues.

Golden Eagle Awards:

Thank you for collecting student data, completing student raffle forms, notifying families and completing your certificates. I look forward to our Golden Eagle Award Ceremony this Friday, March 18th. See bulletin for schedule.

Classroom libraries:

As we focus on our goal of refining our current library and incorporating our new titles into an accessible library which will allow our students to access “just right” books. Remember that you have a $50 budget to purchase bins and supplies (keep the receipts). We are able to compensate you for 6 hours of time (out of contract) during spring break working on your library.  You must take and share with me a before and after picture of your library.

VIP Attendance Party:

This Thursday, March 16th, we will celebrate our students with outstanding attendance during trimester 2. Be on the look-out for VIP tickets to our lunch time pizza party.

Coach’s Corner:

Seeing all the books that are going in classrooms, it is exciting to imagine what our classrooms could be like in the next few of years.  Developing a classroom of readers doesn’t happen overnight.  Putting labeled books in bins and creating a classroom library is just a part of the equation.  Creating an environment where kids value and protect books, cherish independent reading and engage in rich conversations about what they read takes time and effort.  The book “Simple Starts – Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom” is a very informative and easy-to-read guide.  If you haven’t read the chapter that was given at the last PD, please dedicate some time to do so.  Read it while your students are reading (it is never a bad thing to model reading and writing to your students).  Take a look at the Table of Contents to see everything that is presented.  Kari Yates, includes ‘Step inside the Classroom’ examples that are very insightful.  If enough teachers request the book, we could form a book club and support each other.  I’m in.  Anyone else?

CAASPP Testing:

Reminder to our 3rd-6th grade teachers and specialist team, please email Chris by Wednesday to let him know that you have completed your headphone check and looked on each chromebook to see the “Air Secure Test” icon. To review the presentation from Wednesday’s meeting, click here.

Chris made some modifications to the CAASPP schedule. (affects 5th and 6th grade) Click here to see the revised schedule.

 

Jose Montano Change for Change:

Thank you for supporting our Change for Change campaign. Boxes will be collected this Friday, March 18th.

Everyone a Reader:

We will train interested 5th and 6th graders to serve as reading tutors this Tuesday, March 15th from 11:30-approximately 1:00/1:30. These students will volunteer their time during their morning recess (maybe 1 day per week or maybe more) to read to and with students in primary grades. Thank you 5th and 6th grade teachers for collecting applications. I will send you a list of students who will participate in Tuesday’s training by the end of the day on Monday (March 14th).

Noon Time Supervisor Training:

On Tuesday morning, we will provide another training to our noon time supervisors and special education instructional assistants who keep our kids safe during lunch time.

Fountas and Pinnell Questions and Answers:
Which score do I enter into Illuminate?
         You should enter the student’s instructional reading level into Illumina
Which do I administer first, fiction or non-fiction?
          At this point, whichever you administered first is the best one, however, according to           Gay Su Pinnell and Irene Fountas, best practice is to administer non-fiction first.

 

Fountas and Pinnell into Illuminate:

Click here for Directions for Entering Fountas and Pinnell Scores into Illuminate

 

Quote of the Week:

 

Weekly Update: March 7, 2016

Posted on by jgrondek

I hope that your weekend was relaxing and fun. Let’s have a fun and productive week together.

Flag Salute:

Flag Salute will be fairly brief, as our first graders will need to rush to their Drawing Assembly which begins at 8:10.

Staff Professional Development March 9th:
Specialists and teachers in grades 3-6 should plan to meet this Wednesday in room 23 to discuss CAASPP/SBAC administration.
Fountas and Pinnell Questions and Answers:
Which score do I enter into Illuminate?
         You should enter the student’s instructional reading level into IlluminaWhich do I administer first, fiction or non-fiction?
          At this point, whichever you administered first is the best one, however, according to           Gay Su Pinnell and Irene Fountas, best practice is to administer non-fiction first.

 

Fountas and Pinnell into Illuminate:

Click here for Directions for Entering Fountas and Pinnell Scores into Illuminate

In response to Leslie’s question about which columns to complete, unfortunately, I am not able to paste a screenshot into our blog. Please complete the first four columns of data entry (test year, test period, tested grade level, reading level (use instructional)) the other columns will help track additional data. Again, I am happy to help you or enter your data for you.

Classroom libraries:

Big thanks to Chris and Teresa for getting our new books checked in.Chris has begun distributing books to your rooms. Each classroom will get three boxes: Essential, Info, and Literary collection of books. We are missing some books and are still awaiting our book order for our specialist team. Chris will get the books to your classrooms just as soon as he is able.

As we focus on our goal of refining our current library and incorporating our new titles into an accessible library which will allow our students to access “just right” books. Remember that you have a $50 budget to purchase bins and supplies (keep the receipts). We are able to compensate you for 6 hours of time (out of contract) during spring break working on your library.  You must take and share with me a before and after picture of your library.

Artbox Fundraiser:

On Monday, you will receive forms for your students to use to draw/create a unique piece of art. Please spend some time this week allowing your students to create something. Submit your students’ creations to Eunice by Thursday. Within a few weeks, we will receive a personalized order form for each student to take home with personalized artwork options for our families to purchase.

Placement Cards:
See information below from Student Support and Accountability Director Pamela Montiel-Reichert.
Monday, March 7th placement cards will go home with students – all placement cards are due byFriday, March 11th . Placement cards will not go home with SDC or 6th-8th grade students.  The cards are designed this year to be folded in half with the student/parent information on the top half and the student/teacher information on the bottom half.  Placement cards will come to us already populated from the February 26th report card, and teachers will only complete sections C, I, J and K, when applicable to the student.  Please note that the student’s last name appears in the top right corner, and the student’s full name appears around the fold line.  You will not need to fold the placement card before sending out to parents, the office will take care of that once it is returned.

 

Coach’s Corner:

Books.  Books.  Books.  I spent a good amount of time this week sifting through, labeling and organizing books that were in the PLC room.  Some had a nice layer of dust on them, and I thought, “These books haven’t been read in years.  Why would teachers or kids want to even read them?”  I certainly wouldn’t reach for book on Joan of Arc, but if the goal is to get students to appreciate and love books; we have to show them that all books are valuable and mean something.  So maybe I find a section in the Joan of Arc book that is interesting or has humor or can be used as mentor text or is informative and then I talk it up.  Let’s let our students discover what might interest them through the books we use or that are on a shelf or in a bin.  The more books become a focus in our day, the more likely they will be read.  So, the time invested in leveling, bagging and organizing these book sets and classroom libraries will be well worth it when we see kids reading and becoming effective, proficient readers.

Million Word Challenge:
Please submit your students’ Million Word Challenge logs to Teresa Monday morning. (March 7th). She will return them to you after she has finalized processing them.
Golden Eagle Awards:
Please be sure to review the email that you received form Holli about Golden Eagle Awards. We will be giving up to the 25 week award. Like last trimester, please let Holli know how many certificates you will need and she will place them in your box.
Correlation Chart:
Below you will find a link to a chart that correlates, Fountas and Pinnell level, AR level and others.
Opportunity for Families:
In case you missed it in Moving Forward, please share with your students and families the information below about a free Science and Engineering day at SDSU.

Science and Engineering
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fxkKktlWWc/T2C-Ip6UZII/AAAAAAAAAZs/hCAFz4RUqQw/s1600/San-Diego-Festival-of-Science-and-Engineering-520x533.png
On Saturday, March 19, 2016, 9:00-2:00, the College of Sciences and College of Engineering at San Diego State University open their doors to K-12 students and families to showcase 23 interactive exhibits such as: CSI Meets CSU, telescopes, planetarium showings, laser demonstrations, Electron Microscope Facility, aerospace, robotics, making ice cream using liquid nitrogen, and much more.  For more information, see the flyer or the website.
Quote of the Week: