Two years ago NEA and Better Lessons partnered to launch a site where master teachers would share their lessons all featuring Common Core State Standards. It started with over 3,000 lessons to help our students become college and career ready. Fast forward 2 years and the lessons have increased exponentially. Every grade is represented, standards for ELA, Math, Next Generation Science Standards, Reading and writing in social studies and now including Blended lesson resources. It is through the lens of teachers for teachers. Watch the original video introducing this project below.
Students as Learners
Thank you to Sydney Culbertson and Keith Higgins and a big shout out to our peer partners for our Adaptive PE class this past Wednesday. They hosted students and families from Hamilton during their third period class. I asked Sydney how this opportunity came about and before she did she wanted to make note of how it was so nice to see some of my students take on the role of a partner and mentor!
Additional background from Sydney:
Ashley emailed me and said she was doing a basketball unit with her students and could they come on a field trip here and get a chance to play with some of our students or Best Buddies. I thought APE would be a great class to invite them to since we would have the gym and our peer partners are just so great! Keith welcomed the idea and it progressed from there. Ashley and I agreed that the trip was great for both of our groups and we are hoping to do it again later this year!
This past Thursday, students in Mrs. Hammersley’s Advanced Foods class made Irish Soda Bread. The "soda" in the soda bread comes from using baking soda instead of yeast, the traditional leavening agent. Look at this picture; it is better than a professional bakery. Maybe next year we can put in our orders!
Teachers as Learners
This past Wednesday the ILT, consisting of Department Chairs, our Senior Project Coordinator and our Media Specialist, gathered to use the Success Analysis Protocol. They prepared a success they had had and the caveat was to give a success where they had to use a Growth Mindset with a student, colleague, in their job, or something of this nature. In the past, we have circled around the table before to share what is going on in each department but never having to prepare in this way. Everyone divided into triads and all were able to analyze and understand the circumstances and actions that made them successful and hopefully apply this understanding to future practices. There was not much time to debrief as a whole group but we did have some consensus on the following: the most growth happened when we stepped out of our comfort zone. If anyone is interested in reading the article or the protocol we used please ask your department chair or email me and I will get the links to you. It can easily be done during a CPT or maybe wait for next year.
Health and Wellness
From Karen D’Abrosca
Almost here … Spring Equinox is Sunday March 20 (12:30 AM) It the first day of spring in the Northern hemisphere. With sunrise at 6:48AM and sunset at 6:58PM we have almost equal day and equal night.
Psychology Today suggests the following spring renewals: simplify your life, plan a trip or spend time outdoors. In Japan, people remember their ancestors on this day. How will you celebrate?
Upcoming Events/Important Dates
March 22 – Band Concert 7 pm
March 23 – E-Cig & E-Vap Presentation for parents 7 pm
March 25 – No School – Good Friday
March 28 – RI Orchestra Festival
March 31 – All Town Concert 7 pm
Student Services Office
Congratulations to Liz Parvo-Brown for being nominated for this week's Skipper Pride for Excellence Award by last week's winner, Melissa Waterman.
From Missy:
I choose Liz Parvo Brown for the Skipper Award for Excellence. Liz and I have worked together for sixteen years. In this time, I’ve had the honor of being her colleague. She’s always exuded a confidence I admire. She was an all-star teacher in the classroom; she is just as effective as a guidance counselor, too. What I like about her in this roll is that I get to work more closely with her and see first-hand, the positive effect she has on her students. One’s stress level drops just walking into her office; she’s managed to create a haven for both faculty and students. I like that she will come to a classroom in order to find a student in need. Students who have Liz as a counselor know how lucky they are to be in such supportive hands. For these reasons, and so many more, I nominate Liz for this award.
School Culture
From Steve Janelle:
I am adding a new section to our Annual Budget this year to recognized any Academic awards students and schools may have won in School Year 2014-15 and 2015-16. If you would like to add any recognitions from your school please forward the student name or group and the award they received (I.e. Spelling Bee, Robotics, math, debate team, etc). Thanks.
We do not want any team or individual to be left out of the high school entry. Donna and Barbara are creating a Google spreadsheet to add the names of the students and their awards. They will share it with you. Please feel free to enter any award that may have not been added. If all of us look then all of the students should be included.
Quote from John Owens, “That’s got love written all over it.” I know it is not pretty and it will be dolled up soon. We hope you can appreciate that Linda is responsible for creating the transactions in the Munis Software for the Student Activity Budget that runs on average over 250,000 dollars and over 120 categories. The district has moved our schools from Quicken to what the town uses, Munis. She has been teaching herself over the last few months as we were the first school in the district to move over to this software. While we know the main office is the hub for the school, she must also find the time to work on this system uninterrupted. Since there is no where to hide, we had to create a wall. For those needing reimbursements or other checks please have your check requests in by Wednesday of each week, Linda will enter into Munis for approval on Thursday and they should be ready for pick up on Friday. Thank you very much for your support.
From the Deans
We are sending an email to all students to remind them of the cell phone policy; this email will be copied to the teachers as well. Hopefully this email will provide a point of reference to assist you in enforcing the policy in your classrooms; we keep a running list of violations in the Student Services Office. The policy states that students will receive a one hour detention for the first offense and a two hour detention for each subsequent offense; the phone will be returned to them at the end of the day for the first and second offenses only. After each offense, a phone call will be made home to alert the parent that on the third offense, the phone will be kept in the Student Services Office until a parent picks it up.
We are sending an email to all students to remind them of the cell phone policy; this email will be copied to the teachers as well. Hopefully this email will provide a point of reference to assist you in enforcing the policy in your classrooms; we keep a running list of violations in the Student Services Office. The policy states that students will receive a one hour detention for the first offense and a two hour detention for each subsequent offense; the phone will be returned to them at the end of the day for the first and second offenses only. After each offense, a phone call will be made home to alert the parent that on the third offense, the phone will be kept in the Student Services Office until a parent picks it up.
Additionally, we have recognized a problem with 18 year old students signing themselves out of school for early dismissal; they are required to provide documentation for the dismissal to be excused. Students who are abusing the privilege will receive detentions similar to the tardy policy. They will receive a one hour detention for the 4th and 5th unexcused dismissals per quarter and a two hour detention for any subsequent unexcused dismissals. The dismissals and tardies will be treated separately and will not be combined. We hope this helps to keep the students in class for the entire day as the weather improves.
Videos Worth Watching
The Power of belief -- mindset and success | Eduardo Briceno
Articles Worth Reading
Food for Thought
Don’t praise intelligence or talent, praise the process. ~Carol Dweck
Until next time, Think, Create, Innovate...Denise
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