Attendance Update

As of today, our weekly attendance is graphed below. The recent run of illnesses have affected our overall average!  Stay healthy!! 

October 30, 2009

Frightening Experience - Although I did not make it around to every ICC team on Wednesday, I did appreciate the converesation I heard in the teams I did visit.  Please bring those conversations back to your PLC teams and know that ICC does not have to be a frightening experience.  We have a great start on it and the 'outside-the-box' ideas, units and activities will only increase.  As mentioned, a great source to start wth is George Lucas' http://www.edutopia.org/.  The core concept tab on the top left side is a good place to start (assessment, project learning, and integrated studies).

Treat!  Building PLC Time! - Our next two early outs will be devoted to building PLC time.  In addition to your regular time looking at formative assessment data, please discuss the curriculum meeting conversations.  Taking time to look through the team discussions before then would be great.  They can be found on the right side of the curriculum blog. Also, watching one or two videos from the Edutopia.com site would be time well spent!

Terrifying Tiger Behavior Plan - Consistency has been the key with our building plan and you have all done your part.  Continue setting the expectation for student behaviors high and using the plan in place.  It is very evident that communication is extremely important, especially with following up on the paper trail.

Scary Times - The budget woes of the state and school district have put us in some scary times.  I do appreciate the proactive ideas and positive discussion you've had with myself and your teams. From using less copying to Gene's idea of removing light bulbs from areas that receive more natural light, everyone is doing their part. The fact that you continue to keep the focus on instruction, content and assessment is amazing.  Keep up the good work and continue to brainstorm ways we can save money and not decrease services to students and staff. 

Upcoming dates to note...

Monday - Ms. Mann's birthday!

Tuesday - Rock-In-Prevention

- 12:30-1:45 pm 4th grade

- 1:45-3:00 pm 5th grade

Wednesday - ICC Meeting (Barry AM); Bldg PLC PM
Thursday - Responsible Homework Party (3:15-5:00 pm in gym)

Friday - 5th grade reading party

Nov 9 - Board Mtg (6pm @ Webster)

Nov 10 - PTO (5:30 pm @ WIS)

Website of the Week
http://www.3dtextmaker.com/
The banner to this post was made on this site. Can be used for your website,
blog, PowerPoint document or any MS document.

Happy Halloween!!

One that you will have to view from home - but well worth it.  :)  Thanks Lonnie!! Funny stuff.

Direct Link Click here

October 23, 2009

Red Ribbon Week - Jeannie will be getting a schedule for next week to you and we will be announcing it to students too.  Please review it prior to next week as there are several suggestions as to what you can do to support the activities during your literacy block.  An assembly will take place on Friday and times will be announced once they are set!

Fire Extinguiser Demo for the 4th graders has been rescheduled for Monday, October 26th.  This will begin after lunch so please do not park on 2nd Street (west side of bldg) after noon on Monday.  It looks to be cool - but no rain.  :)   

Tiger Behavior Plan - Please keep me informed of any concerns with our new building-wide behavior plan.  Positive feedback and success-stories are also welcomed!  I will be including information about the new plan in our November newsletter which will be sent home next week.  The same information can be found on our website now - this includes the forms we are using. 

Curriculum PLC - October 28th will be a curriculum PLC afternoon as we will begin at the middle school auditorium at 2:00 pm.  After a brief presentation by the ICC team, staff will move into your curriculum teams with K-12 teams meeting in the same room/location within the middle school.  More information will be sent out district wide Friday afternoon. 

Writing Activity - During opening, literacy block or journaling, students can pick some of these photos to write about or describe, or they can be used in class with your projector as part of the Picture Word Inductive Model teaching strategy:

Off the wall: The astonishing 3D murals painted on the sides of buildings by a trompe l’oeil artist
20 Awesome 3D Pavement Illusions  (Haven't seen these yet??  Wow...)
The World’s Ugliest Dog Show  (First one is a classic!)
Extreme Ironing: shirt-ironing the hard way
Here’s a TIME Magazine slideshow on wild human-powered flying machines.

Printing - (repeat of email sent Wednesday) A good time to reinforce the message of “If you don’t need it – don’t print it.”  We need to save on paper and ink as much as possible. This would apply to students printing things for ‘research.’ I would like to have students take notes and not print because often many pages are printed for 2-3 facts. Another option is for me to work (or Janelle if she’s available) with classes who are interested in students/teacher learning how to use Read & Write Gold in the labs.

Speaking of Janelle...you should have received an email from her about supporting you with an upcoming unit.  I know a couple of you have contacted her already and I would encourage all of you to do so!  Janelle can offer wonderful technology and research instruction, ideas and support for you and your students. Visiting the Google.docs site she has created can also give you ideas as to what other teachers are covering with their students.  I appreciate Janelle taking this on for our 4th-8th grade students. 

Budget Woes - As mentioned in our short building meeting on Wednesday, please keep the lines of communication open as we go through this budget cut process.  Ideas are always welcome so keep them coming - I will keep you as informed as I am able. 



Thank you! The "Boss's Day" song and potluck were very appreciated. Laughing and eating together is a nice way to end the week!

A Couple Videos Worth Watching...

Governor Culver on the 10% across-the-board-cuts - click here to see the Iowa Press, October 16th Interview.


Arne Duncan on The Colbert Report.  You may need to view this from home as the school's internet may block the video.  :)

October 16, 2009

District Meeting - Mr. Schmidt will be meeting with all staff on Wednesday, October 21st, at 3:30 pm in the high school auditorium.  He will be discussing what he and the school board know and have discussed up to that point in regards to the state wide 10%-across-the-board budget cut.  This meeting is voluntary for support staff and is the only scheduled meeting at this point.  The Department of Education has posted some information about the budget cut on their website. If you have questions, please see me.

Special Board Meeting has been set for Monday, October 19th, at 6:00 pm in the Sue Wagaman Board Room.  The above budget issues will be discussed during this special meeting.  The public is welcome.

Writing Instruction - I have enjoyed seeing what some teachers are doing to incorporate writing within the literacy, science, social studies and even math units.  Through conversation and observation, I do identify this as an area of growth for all classrooms though.  Ask yourselves the questions below to assess where you are with writing expectations as we begin our 2nd quarter Monday.  If you answer 'no' to many of the questions below, think about how you can change your instruction to provide daily exposure to writing and writing instruction.  A good article can be found on the National Writing Project website (and links below can give you ideas!!)
*  Are my students expected to write more than single-sentence responses on a daily basis?
*  Have I provided & instructed students how to use the writing checklist handed out last year? (copies in the office)
*  Do my students write in a daily journal?
*  Do I allow time for self editing, peer editing or teaching editing? 
*  Have I had students "publish" work using the writing checklist and editing strategies (for room, hallway, parents, online)?
*  Have I looked over the Iowa Core Curriculum writing concepts 4th and 5th grade students are expected to understand and apply?  (This would be something everyone needs to do today)

Language Acquisition Team (LAC) - Thank you  to Sonia Kunze, Hayley Perkins (MS), Deb Graber (IPS) and Rhoda Sorensen for attending the LAC training with me this week.  This newly formed committee (we needed another one, right?) will be a district-wide SAT-like team to create awareness of the ELL program and help teachers address ELL questions and concerns.  We learned a lot on Tuesday and have a couple 1/2 day follow-up training dates to assist us with implementation. 

Fall Conferences - The data from this fall's conferences are below.  If you did not have a face-to-face conference with the student's parent(s), please indicate to me how-and-when you'll meet with them.  I appreciate your efforts to get more students involved with conferences and would like to see that increase during the February conferences. (click below to enlarge)

Picture Retakes are scheduled for Tuesday, October 20. These will begin shortly after the school day begins. Please let the office know who you have from your room for retakes. Remember, this also includes students and staff members that were absent or moved into/started in the district after pictures were taken.  If your first picture didn't turn out, you can get retakes too.

Extra PE Schedule - Thank you to Brenda for emailing out the extra PE schedule.  Please note that it may change if we have snow days or other unforeseen events/changes.  The schedule can be found at the bottom of our home page. 

Dates to Note
Friday
- Last day of the quarter!  Lunch Potluck.  Bates gone all day; Barry gone in PM; Ehmke in charge (like she always is anyway!)
Monday
- First day of 2nd quarter; grades due at 4 pm!
- Barry at AEA 14 mtg (9am-1pm); ELO Site Visit mtg (Barry & Bates 3:30-6:00 pm)
- Special Board Mtg (6pm @ Webster)

Tuesday
- Student Information System Mtg (Barry, Ehmke & Haufle; 3:30 pm @ Webster)
Wednesday
- Building PLC (1:30-3:30 pm); District discussion with Mr. Schmidt (3:30 pm @ HS Aud)

Website of the Week

Wonderful web resources, including writing resources and strategies.  Plus, it is organized by age and is nicely color coded for your visual learners.  :) 
http://www.teachersfirst.com/matrix.cfm

October 9th, 2009

Budget Concerns - Through either Mr. Schmidt's email or the news, you've likely heard by now that Governor Chet Culver has announced a 10 percent across-the-board cut to state general fund appropriations effective immediately.  As of this morning, I ask that all non-essential expenditures be put on hold.  After more guidance from the state department and Mr. Schmidt, we will work together to plan appropriate 2009-10 expenditures (building & PTO). As we did last year, additional cost-savings ideas and suggestions are always welcome (things like GoodSearch.com and DonorsChoose.org become even more important to us!).  Although concerning and serious, we must continue to focus on the reason we all gather together each day - the kids.  I have 100% confidence in the staff at Washington Intermediate and believe our building and district can work together to get through these rough financial times.

PTO Trash Bag pick-up is tonight (Friday) and tomorrow morning.  Please check as to what time you signed up and thank you for helping!!

October Observation - Are you on cycle?  Do you have your October observation scheduled?  If not - do so today please.

End of Quarter - Grade cutoff for 1st quarter is Friday, October 16th.  Grades will be due in the office by the end of the day on Monday, October 19th.  Grades will be printed out for teacher review by Wednesday morning and sent home Thursday, October 22nd.  A reminder that any student earning a D or F should have a comment in place on the report card and parents should be contacted early next week to give them a heads-up.   

Science Literacy Grant - The general decision was to not pursue the science-literacy grant.  I fully understand the concern about time commitment and said that the mass majority had to be on board.  I do want to reinforce my position that we need to continue to look for ways to infuse our science and social studies essential concepts (Iowa Core) into our literacy and use technology and student inquiry as necessary instructional tools.  In addition to technology and literacy, Iowa Core Curriculum for Science stresses student inquiry. The depth of understanding required of our students is not possible with lectures, readings, cookbook labs, and plug-and-chug problem solving. Students must be actively investigating: designing experiments, observing, questioning, exploring, making and testing hypotheses, making and comparing predictions, evaluating data, and communicating and defending conclusions. A district's science curriculum cannot align to the Iowa Core Curriculum for Science without including inquiry as a guaranteed and viable, testable component in every science course."

Building Behavior Plan - We will be moving forward with the RtI behavior plan I presented to the staff during the same meeting.  I will work on some common forms and finalize the plan early next week.  I would like to meet with the staff from 1:30-2:00 on Wednesday, October 14th (prior to building PLC meetings) to share my final draft and forms.  If all looks good - presenting it to students the first week of 2nd quarter is my goal.  I have included a design I'd like to share with the kids to go along with the plan - maybe creating some shirts with the logo to be given away as prizes.  For both the plan and the logo/shirt, I'd love feedback!! 

Building PLC - The next two early out days are for building PLC time.  During the October 14th early out, we will have a 1:30-2:00 staff meeting to cover the behavior plan and Mrs. Crouch is having a SPED meeting at 3:00 pm.  October 28th's PLC time will be curriculum centered with a short presentation by the ICC team followed by time for teachers to meet within curriculum teams.  More information to come!

Dates to note next week and beyond...

Tuesday - Language Acquistion Team (ELL) training @ Webster (Barry, Kunze & Sorensen)

Wednesday - Early Out/Building PLC; 1:30 WIS mtg; 3:00 SPED mtg @ HS MC

Thursday - SAT Meeting (Do you have kids data ready???  Talk to Jeannie TODAY)

Friday - End of 1st Quarter

He who laughs, lasts - More important than ever, we sometimes need to find a way to distract us from the stressors that come with educating kids, constantly looking at the data, learning new technology and skills, our budget woes and life in general.  I wanted to thank you for helping me do this during my time at Washington each day.  In addition to my HABD (Having A Bad Day) file I keep in my desk drawer and my friend's blog, I found another way to laugh and this one hangs on my office wall.  I thought I'd share it with you as I hope it helps you smile and laugh.  Hang in there...keep laughing and keep lasting.

Saxon Discussion

Summary of what I heard....please continue the conversation.  :) 

Adaptation Sheets - Are you using the adaptation sheets for written practice?  This has been successfully used with some students in the 4th and 5th grade classrooms.  The question came up: "When do we ween them off the adaptation sheets?"  David's suggestion was to do it after they are ready to do so.  They are there to be used.

Time - Classroom management and effective transitions will help teachers get closer to the 60-minute block we have provided in our schedule.  Keep working and talking - it will get there.  The 30 minute intervention block needs to be devoted to interventions.

Assessment - It was reinforced that an assessment score of below 80% is a red-flag.  Spending the time following the assessment to work with students on those specific skills is key to success down the road.  It is important to use progress monitoring (using the assessments after every 20 lessons or Assessment Center).

Did You Know 4.0

An ongoing project from Scott McLeod.

October 2, 2009

Saxon Discussion - David VanGorp will be here Monday to meet with the grade level teams to talk about progress with Saxon to this point.  A schedule was emailed out this week - 4th grade teachers - please talk to your kids today about where to report Monday morning!  Please have questions ready for David.

Tuesday Meeting - The teacher meeting Tuesday will start at 3:30 pm.  We will begin with the classroom teachers and discuss the Science Writing Heuristic grant.  Around 3:45, we will discuss a proposed building wide behavior plan.  If time permits, we can discuss the online technology training - I do want to ease some anxieties about expectations and time. 

Skills Iowa - Jim Lippold will be back to work with staff on Thursday, October 8th.  He can work with staff to go over/explore reports or any other Skills Iowa or Assessment Center.  The tentative schedule is below. 
8:00–8:30  Barb Gilliland
8:30–9:30  4th Grade
9:30–10:10 5th Grade
10:30 Rhoda?
11:30 Melissa

Grades - With only two weeks in the quarter, please communicate with parents next week if a child is earning a D or F.  If students need to stay after school next Wednesday to get "last minute" work in prior to the end of the quarter, let me know and I will arrange people to work with them.  I would need to know a ballpark figure of number of kids by the end of Monday.   

PTO Trashbag Distribution - If you have not signed up for the trash bag distribution, please do so today. It will be next Friday night and the following Saturday morning - notice the times have been shortened! 

Other Dates to Note...
Friday, Oct 9 - 4th Grade to Andersen
Tues, Oct 13 - Barry, Kunze & Sorensen at Language Acquisition Committee training
Tues, Oct 13 - Barb Gilliland turns 29!
Wed, Oct 14 - Building PLC/Early Out; ICC Meeting 3:45-5:00 pm MS MC
Thurs, Oct 15 - Angela Goldsmith's birthday!
Friday, Oct 16 - End of Quarter
Mon, Oct 19 - Begin 2nd Quarter (wow!)
 

Links of the week...

Our Washington favorite sites!
Want a link added?  Send it to Brenda.

Intervention Central
Great intervention ideas & ready to use downloads

 

He who laughs, lasts
DB