December 2 - 9

Opportunity Statement:   Coolidge Elementary will continue to provide all students with academic, social, and emotional growth opportunities through great teaching and the utilization of our community resources.  We will maintain high expectations for all students, as well as expand our efforts to cultivate a positive school culture that encourages intellectual and social growth.”

Welcome Back!  I hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving Break and is ready to make this a December to Remember!

Coolidge Smart Goals:
0% of our ELL students and 0% of our SpEd students were proficient on the OSTP last year.  Our Goal is for at least 7% to be proficient on the state test for each of those subgroups.  We have to work together for that to happen.  That means - CHANGING what we are doing to meet those needs.

 To meet these goals we have smaller goals that we can achieve each quarter. For K - 1st Grade our SMART goal is for students to have a 7% increase in their IStation assessments.

• Monday: December 2  Kinder PLC 12:35 - 1:35, 1st Grade PLC 1:40 - 2:40.  Please come with your computer and all the necessary materials.  Leadership Meeting 3:30
• Tuesday: December 3 -  Please come with your computer and all the necessary materials.4th Grade PLC, LockOut Drill, PreK PLC, Specials PLC, 1 Hour PD after school.  
• Wednesday: December 4 - Papa John's Pizza.
• Thursday: December 5 - PreK Jones and Watford to Rockwood for observations.
• Friday:  December 6 9:15 Please come with your computer and all the necessary materials.3rd Grade PLC, 10:20 2nd Grade PLC

TLE will be doing another walkthru in our building next week to see if we are indeed using the standards to teach.  While they are in your room they will be looking for your standards (that must be written exactly as the State Standard says, as well as your rubric or success criteria (or I can statements).  Students could be asked if they know what they are working on - and why they are working on it. It will be in the afternoon - but just because it is after lunch and/or recess doesn't mean that the learning day is over.   Dr. Morris will be checking for target task alignment - is what you are asking students to do aligned with what the task is they are working on.  Here are some excellent examples of Standards from Rockwood Elementary.  They are large, placed in the room where students can see them, and the teacher frequently referred to them throughout her lesson.  These are from PreK - 1st-grade classes.  These are "our kids" - we share students from Rockwood all the time.  Our kids can do this too - but first we must believe they are capable and help them believe they are capable too.
While you may not have been to the Jan Richardson 2nd training YET, everyone in this building has been trained on Standards-Based Instruction.  Jan Richardson just has some excellent tools that will help us meet our school-wide goals.
Coolidge 2nd Quarter Goal
Every child will grow in reading and math at least 7% as measured by IStation on the December assessment.

MORRIS Group - 2nd Quarter Standards Focus Week of December 2nd:

• ELA Students will describe the structure of a text (e.g., description, compare/contrast, sequential, problem/solution, cause/effect) with guidance and support.
• Math: Recognize when to round numbers and apply understanding to round numbers to the nearest ten thousand, thousand, hundred, and ten and use compatible numbers to estimate sums and differences.

Read the Book with Prompting....  The Next Step Forward in Guiding Reading  By Jan Richardson
TIP:  Do not have students read the book chorally or round-robin.  This limits the amount of text they read and impedes independence.
TIP:  If you notice two students reading the same page, have one student go to the previous page and read it to you.
TIP:  If you have to introduce more than five words, the book is too difficult.  Choose another book.
ELL TIP:  Children learning English will likely need help during the discussion.  Provide sentence starters and scaffold their language.  Be encouraging and supportive but make sure students do most of the talking.

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• 3rd and 4th Grade.... How are your students doing earning their Ice Cream Sundae?
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• The Power of Positive Parent Communication

  Jen McDonough

  Issue #593
  It is important to have positive, supportive relationships with the parents of our students. When parents and teachers work together, children grow stronger academically and behaviorally. I always knew that, but a recent email that a friend of mine received solidified this belief for me.

  I just wanted to drop you a brief note to tell you how impressed I am with your daughter. She is showing wonderful leadership skills in class. During group work, she keeps her team on task and helps to scaffold the students who need extra assistance. I am continually impressed with the answers and observations that she makes in class, and her involvement in our projects has been stellar. Thank you for being supportive parents who have raised her with an attitude of success!

  Now, I agree that this kind of email can make your day, but my friend has been getting emails like this since her daughter started school. So, I decided to investigate.
  Her daughter’s teacher had taken over for another teacher midway through the school year. She had just graduated, and this was her first teaching experience in her own classroom. She sent this email after teaching for only two weeks!
  Let’s think for a minute about what was going on in this young teacher’s life. She’d just embarked on her first teaching job, taking over an already-established classroom. Yet she took the time to reach out and start a relationship with the parent of one of her students. My friend is now ready to jump in and support this teacher when needed. She said it wasn’t the content of the email as much as this teacher taking the time to get to know her daughter so quickly, and honestly sharing her observations with the family.
  It is easy to overlook the value of parent communication during this hectic time of year. But this interaction serves as a good reminder of how important it is. There are many easy and quick ways to connect:
  • a brief email about what you’ve noticed or appreciated about the child so far
  • a note tucked into a backpack
  • stopping the parent at pickup or drop-off to mention something positive that happened with their child recently.
  • an encouraging message written on student work
  • a quick text or message left on a cell phone
  Gail often talks about how kids are like ATMs. If we don’t make deposits, it is hard to make a withdrawal. This idea applies to parents as well. Share positive communication throughout the year to develop relationships with parents. The effect will last the entire year and beyond.
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  Happy Birthday
• December 1 - Coach Barton, P.E., Ms. Wendling 4th Grade
• December 7 - Ms. Baringer, PreK
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