April 28, 2016
Customary to the deadline, grades are due this weekend, MAY 1st at 5pm.
DO NOT COUNT THE DAYS,
but
MAKE THE DAYS COUNT!
Confidence - The assurance that you accomplish the task before you.
A Brief Note for Parents:
There are many sites on the internet that offer endless tips on what to do, how to be a good parent and how to raise your child.
“...As long as it’s KG”
I am impressed by the extra effort displayed by this team while contributing to the Special Day of Honor for our Administrative Assistant. Thanks for everything.
Ask Ms Gracey how this kinesthetic activity worked for her 6th graders
Here is a link to the FINAL APPROVED STANDARDS
Final Approval looks like this:
What is different in your content?
Also listed on DESE at http://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/ProposedStandardsMar2016.pdf
Here is the link to the 280 page document discussing our new standards and curriculum.
Question #1 - What do we want them to learn? (See link above)
What curriculum exists for us to work from or into?
Question #2 - How do we know if they know it?
Grades, progress reports, worksheets, rubrics, tests, self-reported grades, handouts, coloring and decorating sheets, essays, problems, the aha moment???
How are we doing according to our Progress Report Grades?
Over 36% our grades assigned are A’s. Do they represent how close the students understand the tested curriculum? The SPED populations and the Free/Reduced populations have more Ds and Fs tallied. What else can we infer?
How are we doing according to eValuate?
Cycle A
Cycle B
Seeing more Green increases in the individual grades.
How do we review, apply interventions and foster growth?
And another View
According to eValuate, we have seen some growth. Interestingly, we will wait again for the MAP results. Does anybody want to visit with me on or about July 25th to review those.
How are we doing according to the state reporting?
According to the state scores as we discussed during summatives, we are still looking for the keys to finding that elusive success.
http://visible-learning.org/2016/04/hattie-ranking-backup-of-138-effects/ is a link to the top 138 things and how well they work.
Enlarge this graph to show his highest few interventions.
How will we assimilate that into our schema, our way of doing business or our routines?
Great Attendance so far this month
Working through the 90/90 students, we see many of them responding to the special attention.
Red Card, and Black Card Statuses benefit many others that already meet our expectations.
We will tackle this group earlier next year.
MONDAY - Teacher Appreciation Week - May 2 - See the bulletin to follow along
- Binder Meetings 7th
- Track Pictures at the HIGH SCHOOL.
TUESDAY - May 3
- Binder Meetings 6th & 8th
WEDNESDAY - May 4
- APRIL HENRY AUTHOR VISIT- Get those 6th graders home early
- Early Release
- Office Staff will host
- MAP Testing Details
- Hattie Presentation
- Reflection - Instead of the list of EXIT SURVEY QUESTIONS, write me your reflections on your expectations of the year, how you worked to meet them and what you would like to adjust for next year to help our student population reach higher marks.
- Summer School Candidates
- Summer Academy Candidates
- End of the Year Planning
THURSDAY - May 5
- MAP - Day 1 - Here are the details. Feel free to make a poster for your students and where they go.
- Steering/Building Leadership Meeting
FRIDAY - May 6
- MAP - Day 2
Upcoming
5/4 Spencer Library - (Meet the Author - April Henry - Get home and in Bed Early 6th Graders)
Early Release
End of the Year
Expectations for SY 16-17
Summer School
Summer Academy
Summer Planning
End of the Year Planning
5/5 MAP Testing - Middle School
Steering Committee - Higgins Room 7:20
5/6 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/10 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/11 MAP Testing - Middle School
5/12 Six Flags - Leadership Students
5/13 SEMI - Students must be in attendance this day to attend
5/16 Field Day - ALL Middle School students - Pink & Purple Assembly, Expectations,
5/17 Final Ac Lab Challenge - Dunk Tank - eValuate - Locker Clean Out; Survey Day
BOE Meeting - 6:30 Central Office
5/18 Chris’s Cakes for Attendance and Student of the Month
5/19 Last Day, Half Day, 8th Grade BBQ & Walk-Out (8th grade graduation)
Working to get into the schedule
Next years - more than Mix Bucks and McCracken Money ???
Conclusion
Thank you for your willingness to explore various options, study techniques and contribute to the success of all learners here in Winfield. Ranking in the lowest 10% of all the middle schools in the state is nobody's idea of success. As teachers who transparently demonstrate our own learning process, we exemplify true, life-long learners for our students.
Summer reading programs are characteristically a challenge, both for adults as well as students. After a demanding year in which we have given our all, asking anyone to do more can be viewed as either a burden or an opportunity. It could be a burden because of the additional work, or an opportunity to serve others by fine-tuning our skills. Either way, we will have a book report next summer again completed on Google Docs. You may read your own book but connections to how we can improve our achievement scores in this building will be stressed. I will not waste money on books that won’t get read but I recomend choosing a good book about teaching or learning. I will be doing “Teach Like A Pirate” by Dave Burgess. If you would like me to order you a copy, that would be great. Another favorite of mine is “Discipline without Stress” by Marvin Marshall. Thank you.
Next year, we will be expected to share with our parents each week regarding their student’s progress through SISK12. Two grades will be input each week: one will consist of students self-reporting a grade of their own, and the other will represent a typical teacher-determined grade. We will increase the student's sense of control, contribution and participation in their own learning, achievement and grades. I will not mandate what that assignment looks like, but only that one exists, gets entered weekly and considers the student’s perspective on his own learning. I envision this component containing things such as a review, reflection, weekly summary or a workbook containing a SWBAT from each day of the week. The teacher follow up activity could be a quiz, test or assessment to determine if the reporting accurately reflects learning and achievement. We need them to be able to retain what they learn longer than a few days after the lesson, so that scaffolding can form for future development. According to Hattie, when a student claims how well he will do, he achieves that level of mastery. This action will affect all learners in all Tiers, from those barely passing to those striving for perfection.
Please persist through the development of this initiative. Feel free to run ideas by me on what it might look like in your content and class. Of course we will need some time to adjust, but what we have been doing has not been academically successful. Within our NEE, we will be looking for fidelity in these areas to ensure maximum student achievement:\
Question 1: What do we want them to know?
The Golden Minutes
Direct Instruction
SWBAT versus TO DO: items
KAGAN Activities
Teacher Centered versus Student-Led Discussions
Word Wall / Vocabulary
PBiS-4:1 Ratio of Positive to Negative feedback, Buddy Sheet interventions, majors/minors
Question 2: How do we know if they know it?
Wait time
Pyramid of Interventions Flow-Chart
Guided Practice, Peer Assisted Practice and Independent Practice
Student-Led Lessons
Teacher talk or student talk
Exit Slips
Student Reported Grades
eValuate/MAP/Progress Report Grade Distribution
CFA Collaborative Planning Binder Teamwork
Question 3: What do we do it they don’t?
KAGAN Activities
Teaching Peer Visits
Sub Coverage from within to observe fellow teachers
Assessment Item Analysis
Re-teach until all have attained Mastery
IBD Research
I know it seems like a lot to look at right now. I am not asking for things to change but we do need a shift in focus. I cherish each of you and working alongside of you motivates and prompts me to do my best.
Sincerely
Tom McCracken
