Focus

I hope you are taking time to  enjoy this beautiful weather! That is one of the ways we take care of ourselves! There are lots of studies that show that simply being outside can lead to health benefits, not the least of which is an improved mood. We all need that with Spring Break coming later this year.😎 Shout out and endorsement for Mrs. Critcher and the Walking Club!

But I digress...
This week's post is about focus. Sometimes it can seem like there is so much coming at us. At principal's meeting this week, district leadership shared their renewed emphasis on coherence and focus on the Core. All of the things that we have discussed this year, fit there. When we talk about unpacking standards and creating standards aligned assessments (or using those already created) first, that is Core. (School Improvement Goal: Teams create units aligned to standards) As we get better at delivering the best Core instruction for all students, we can eliminate the need for as many students to progress to Tier 2 and Tier 3. (School Improvement Goal: Sharing student's progress and what they can do at home to help with that)


Please know that we will continue to focus and deepen our knowledge and efficacy around this work.

So glad to see Mrs. Downend is still doing great things!
#ONCEAFALCONALWAYSAFALCON!

Ms. Peg works with some of our littlest Falcons!

5th Grade EL

Ms. Henderson's class create anchor charts. This gets uploaded on Seesaw for parents!

Students in Ms. Perry's class enjoy the Mouse and the Motorcycle!

More Assessment and MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS!

As we are working to use assessment in a way that increases the effectiveness for all students, consider including them in the process. Sometimes students can come up with great questions as well. It is interesting to see what questions the students would anticipate being able to answer or what tasks they would anticipate being able to complete when they have mastered a standard. This is a great way to make sure they understand what they are about to learn!
Please remember that there is a Google Classroom assignment for PLTs shared by Tara in email on Friday.

Ms. Cossa shares an assessment

MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/t2WGeP1Jqeo

Ms. Parker quiets the crowds for Music in Our schools

Ms. Brees's students assess each other's work

Uh Oh I think we had a lucky little visitor!

Ms. Zimmerman's students explore how different things affect the distance their cars travel

Reminders: 

*Report Cards go home April 5th. Please have them printed by April 3rd. Please be thoughtful about report card comments. Ask yourself if a parent can really understand where their student needs help and how to help them.

Carnival is Friday from 5:00-8:00 Kids and families would love to see you there!

 

The Power of Assessment

Thank you for your engagement on Friday around the topic of assessment. Your parking lot questions were insightful and constructive and we will continue to work through and improve upon this topic as a staff.
Some of the questions asked that we didn't necessarily address in Friday's meeting

What does a level 4 look like? (We will continue to share examples of these so that we can all become more able to create them.


How do we find balance between assessment and teaching? This is likely to be an ongoing process for us all. I think we can assess in a smarter way that can assess standards in less time and we will continue to work together on this.

How do you determine a 2 or a 3 if it is borderline? Could a follow up opportunity be given?
This is a discussion to have with your team before you give the assessment and before you teach the lessons. Determine this when you take the assessment before the planning of the unit.

We will continue addressing these parking lot questions moving forward. A reminder of our plans moving forward.

An interesting article on this topic...
https://catlintucker.com/2019/02/ask-yourself-why-am-i-grading-this/

Read Across GHE!!!

Happy March!

Thank you for all of your hard work at what is sometimes a tough time of the year. This time of the year can also be our most productive. We now know our students well. We know what they need and in most cases how to meet those needs. We continue to work on providing interventions to students who need them, but we can also focus energies on continuing to build the best of CORE instruction.

Remember that all CORE begins with the standards (unpacked and understood). What implications does this have for planning? Planning should always begin with desired outcomes. The assessment will provide the roadmap. Begin by looking with your PLT at the end of unit assessment and list the things students will need to know or be able to do to be successful on it.  This should be the first step in your planning of the unit. We will talk more about how to plan with the end in mind at Friday's Early Release. In the meantime here is a link to an article that talks about this process also known as Understanding by Design (UBD)

https://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf

 Hats are very serious business at GHE! Thanks for participating!

Thank you for these creative doors in celebration of Read Across America!

Reminders:
Monday - "Reading Don't sweat it!" (Wear your worout/ exercise clothes!)
Tuesday - Leadership Meeting 8:00 am Media Center Cozy Couch Potato Day
Wednesday- Wacky Tacky Wednesday (Wear wacky-tacky clothes)
Thursday- Seussical Thursday (Dress like your Favorite Dr. Seuss character)
Friday- Early Release GHE Rockstar Readers Day (Wear GHE gear to show off your GHE pride!)
PTA will provide lunch starting at 1:45 in the Media Center.