Think for Yourself; Care for Others (and Yourself, too.)
Superintendent Chan visited last week, and she had nothing but praise for every one of the classrooms she saw. She also marveled at the palpable warmth not often found in high achieving organizations–it’s regrettable that as schools care more and more about scores and programs and accountability, caring for anything else often fall by wayside.
102 is unique because no matter how big or how smart we’ve grown, our primary driver remain internal: we all do because we each care. It’s not money that motivate Ms. Ana Arsenault to come in on Friday AM just so her ASD students can 102+ in a quieter environment; it’s not a fear of punitive measures that made Ms. Smith make hot cocoa for her students after the storm; and it’s not a want of glory that drive Ms. Belfiore to patiently spell every word letter by letter (at near-Zootopia DMV speed) to whoever she is speaking with on the phone.
We do well because caring for others is something we live by, and not just say as Ms. Weinstein’s one last message. Thank you for always caring for others, and my ask for everyone the next six months is to not forget to also take care of yourself.
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHT
SHEERIN: This week class 4-336 were learning about fractions. While Ms. Arsenault worked with a small group on the rug, the rest of the class were working on problems that were posted throughout the room. Students loved the process of “finding” the next problem and Ms. Arsenault was able to monitor them as she worked with her small group. Her thoughtful planning ensured that not a moment of instructional time was lost.
WEINSTEIN: Ms. Connolly was working with her 5th grade ENL students on determining the main idea of a passage. She asked the students to create a hashtag for each paragraph, telling them that the hashtags would help them understand what the article was about. It was an effective way to increase interest and understanding. #learningcanbefun!
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW by Ms. Sheerin
1) PL Mondays for January and February
Inquiry Showcase – We have made a few adjustments to our Inquiry Showcase schedule.
January 22 – Last day for teams to meet & finalize presentations;
January 29 – Presentations begin:
- 2:40PM: ICT – Finding the Problem Before Trying to Solve It
- 3:00PM: SCT – Making Kind Happen
- 3:15PM: ENL Inquiry
- 3:30PM: Physical Education: Family Fitness Fun
February 6: Final Presentations:
- K Intervention
- Grade 1-2 Blended Learning in Early Elementary
- 3-5 Personalized Learning as Intervention: ELA & Math
- 3-5 Humanities Team
- 6-8 Humanities Team
- 3-5 STEM
- 6-8 Math
- 6-8 Science
- Art/Music/ASD/STEAM
February 12: Presentation Make-Up Day/ Self-Directed Content Meetings
2.) Maintain a Parent Contact Log: Please document parent calls and visits. Feel free to be as minimalist as you’d like–these will not be collected unless there exist a discrepancy between school and family. Note that the documentation of meetings is especially crucial for students who are PID, and there should be entries every Tuesday for Parent Contact time.
PID Lists and MP2 Grades: Each AP have already sent out directions on how to submit PID names. Please let us know should you have any questions.
3.) Care for Horo: – Mr. Horodyski is happy to support us all with our technology needs; however, he also teaches many periods and, therefore, cannot be immediately available whenever a problem arises. Should you need assistance, please send him an email and he will get back to you during one of his designated technology periods. Please do not call, stop by or send a student with a question or tech need. His teaching periods are just as important as yours and in order to maximize instructional time we need to minimize interruptions.
mrkobot.com 