Tag: clear expectations

102 Review, November 13th, 2017: Lots of Stuff

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

The nine-deep 2nd grade team captured judge grandma’s heart with their routine, and they were able to edge out a few other contenders to win the prestigious Halloween Team Costume contest. Laminator (Yes, Ms. Cohen, it’s the industrial one) or printing station? Gift cards to Starbucks or Dunkin? Let me know and congrats!

Weinstein: Learning how to apply operations using rational numbers,  Ms. McCabe’s students were working on a problem that included the application of operations as well as the need to recognize what to do with remainders in a division problem. Ms. McCabe effectively  created a question and discussion session where students enthusiastically built on one another’s ideas until the class came to an end product together.

Sheerin: This week, Class 4-336 worked through a lesson on multiplying 2-digit numbers using area models and partial products.  Ms. Tasca showed students how to break down a 2-digit number into 2 smaller numbers before multiplying.  This strategy visibly eased student anxiety by giving them the freedom to choose numbers that are easier to multiply, thereby making the task accessible to all.

Borelli: Ms. Devito brought a bit of Cross-Fit to 1st grade this week. How many 6 year olds can do a burpee? The students were tasked with “Mission Possible!” which is a team exercise to accomplish 5 activities together.Thank you Ms. Devito for keeping the kids revved up and ready to learn.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Please work with your inquiry team tomorrow afternoon. Specify where you will be meeting for  the next few sessions in your inquiry template. Admins will be visiting to discuss needs, purchases, and to answer any questions you may have,

Parent Teacher Conference this Thursday. Memos to families have already gone out, and you should prepare for a busy day. Session 1 12:30PM to 2:30PM, session II 4:30PM to 7:30PM.

  • Google Translatecan translate for you verbally via your smartphone, in real time. You should download the languages in advance so you can use it even if the network is down. Google Translate also translate documents that you take a photo of. Thank you Thiri for your write-up!

A Word of Caution on Using Behavior Tracking/ “Gold Star” Training Programs Such As Class Dojo. It’s unquestionable that these programs work like magic with certain kids. However, you should also be very mindful how these systems affect students who simply aren’t built for linear and controlled learning environments. Students with ordered intelligence will win every gold star in school; whereas their chaos intelligence peers will not be fully appreciated until they can let loose their problem-solving/creative skills later on as adults. Both types of minds are necessary; let’s try not to extinguish the fire of one before it’s even lit.

ENL Compliance Visit on 11/16. Visitors will be dropping by to assess our compliance to ENL regulations. Let me know now should you have any questions or concerns.

Trash. I will work something out with our custodial team to set up a schedule for replacing trash bags. Should you find your bin having dirty bags, let your AP know immediately so it can be replaced right then and there.

Nurse. The last two weeks have not been good for us health-wise. You are not to allow a student back into class after vomiting. Again, call an AP or the main office should they be brought back to class.

Bathrooms. If the staff restrooms are lacking in cleanliness, do not wait for a meeting to request assistance. Call for custodial services immediately.

New shirts. There’s a reason why there’s a picture of a headless model up top. I saw someone wearing that shirt while on my first 102 DC trip, and I thought it was a terrific design that I’d appropriate eventually. The 2017 102 shirt: now with less circles, more rectangles, same amount of black, and is a touch more declarative to meet today’s needs.

Screen Shot 2018-05-28 at 2.30.11 AM

102 Review, October 29th, 2017: The Unyielding Non-Negotiable

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Since my first 102 Faculty meeting, I have not deviated in my words or actions in communicating what I consider as 102’s chief objective: to be a factory that mass produces kind, compassionate human beings that by 8th grade have already internalized the power and joy of caring for others, and can’t be anything but. The recognizance that they may be outliers among peers should we succeed is unfortunate, but even today in world where self-indulgence is the name of the game, we already need to have a bit of a rebellious streak just to be kind.

And I always thought it was Think for Yourself so you can care for others.

An incident Friday left me seething over the weekend. A female student alleged that a male peer inappropriately touched her as they were walking as a class, and she said it wasn’t the first time. But that’s not the most infuriating: it’s thinking about the inadequate reactions from bystanders that keep me up at night. In this case, the alleged victim said a group of by-standing boys joked and laughed as the event unfolded, and no one interceded.

Whether intentional or not, this is emotional/mental abuse at its purest form: force a victim into a position they never wanted, shame them for it to chip away their self-worth, and repeat the cycle so much that the victim no longer see themselves as worthy of better circumstances. 

The rapidity in which the hopelessness and the poor self-image/self-worth bind to the individual is terrifying. It is paramount that should we witness the deliberate demeaning of any individual we must respond fast and respond decisively. Our students look to us as moral authorities and both our actions and in-action have lasting consequences. Love and kindness is not something you can teach via an online course or by using a textbook; love spreads only through experiences, not flash cards and Khan Academy and multiple choice tests.

Our students depend on us to provide them these experiences because the world they inhabit afterschool–the online one–is hardly a bastion of compassion and moral righteousness.

We can’t control what happens in the greater world, on and offline. In 102, however, we will do whatever it takes to nurture kindness by eliminating anything opposite. And that’s an unchanging and unyielding expectation.

HIGHLIGHTS

Sheerin: This week, as class 3-227 deliberated the day’s TG, Ms. Wright reminded students to use language appropriate for class discussions.  They used statements such as “This statement is true/false because…;” “I agree/disagree with…because…;” and “I see it differently.  The way I approached it was…”  While the TG elicited students’ content knowledge, Ms. Wright’s expectations for discussion pushed them to explain their ideas clearly and succinctly, as well as ensuring they listened to one another and built on each other’s ideas.

Weinstein: The 8th Grade team of Ms. Arlequin. Ms. Eliades, Ms. Gaffan, Ms. Green and Ms. Zecca pulled off another fantastic spirit week.  Students and teachers came together to celebrate all week with events that culminated in our Friday afternoon Pep Rally.  Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to the 8th grade students and thank you to all of the staff who also participated.  It’s what 102 is all about!

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Drills: Mr. Borelli sent out a reminder of drills and the description and purpose of each. Post this adjacent or directly on your classroom door by Friday COB. Students are reporting that teachers are confused what to do in each instance, please help us ensure this never happens again.

Absences: Thank you for requesting personal days in advance, and I’ve respected these requests accordingly as promised. In case of a need for an emergency sick day, I do request that you show our team the same respect in shooting me cc’ing your AP a one-sentence email letting us know. Many have been doing so and we deeply appreciate it.

2:50PM: We are anticipating great things tomorrow, and we want to make sure we get some photo ops at the end of the end as a group. I am asking all staff to release at 2:50PM tomorrow, and the 20 minutes you stay tomorrow can be taken off Wednesday, meaning we dismiss staff at 3:05PM November 1st. Please let me know should you need clarification or accommodations.

Observations: TGs manifest itself in planning 1E, questioning 3B, intellectual engagement 3C, and assessment 3D, and is now an embedded element in all observation feedback. We will start TG workshops in November, and our expectations is that the TG are thoughtfully designed to push students to think about specific, focused thinking points to connect pieces of prior knowledge, leading to the desired learning. Post-ob feedback meetings have led to real and and productive growth opportunity, and you should always check-in with APs and myself should you see something we may have missed in the report

Costumes Contest: Can’t wait. Be amazing.

September 24th, 2017: Preparing for Purpose

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

This is late. Sorry.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: FAMILY NIGHT

Our objective on Tuesday, school wide, is to inject a dose of clarity in the complex work we do each day so parents can join in on the fun. We do it by explaining how we:

  1. Identify key standards per grade that students cannot skip;
  2. Deliver world-class instruction with genuine thinking curricula;
  3. Anticipate strugglers, and identify them early to deliver personalized learning as intervention
  4. Preemptively build systems in place for practice, remediation, and self-paced learning
  5. Align all our work with a laser focus: Promotion decisions, marking period grades, 102+ learning, after school program eligibility, EVERYTHING will be tied to the successful mastery of the grade level key standards.

(3) THINGS PARENTS NEED TO KNOW AFTER FAMILY NIGHT

  1. WHAT IS PERSONALIZED LEARNING AT 102

I’ve prepared a 5-minute introduction on our focus on Personalized Learning, and you can use:

  1. an iPad via the Engage by Scrollmotion app (I will share the file with you)
  2. or a web browser using this link: 2017 FAMILY NIGHT PRESENTATION
  3. For 3-8 classes whose families will meet with multiple teachers, only one teacher should deliver the presentation.
  4. A LIST OF THE KEY STANDARDS IN THEIR GRADE(and when applicable, which months these standards will be assessed)

III. SOME OF THE TOOLS THEY CAN USE NOW TO SUPPORT LEARNING TOWARDS THESE SKILLS

-Lexia/ Khan/ OpenEbooks/ etc.

 

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: SUPPLIES

Printers. We have funds and we don’t mind spending them. However, we have funds because we make smart decisions. Replacing 20 printers every year is not one of them.

Should teacher teams want to use their Inquiry Funds toward a printer, that’s fine. However, we need to come up with a better system before we purchase printers again as we need to move away from relying so heavily on classroom printers to make copies. Print one and let the heavy-duty machines do the copying.

Now that we will soon have a copier on every floor, you can expect a much quicker (same-day?!) turnaround.

Document Cameras. We will be purchasing them. Let me know if you want one and haven’t requested one already.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Personalized Learning in September

TESTING: K-5 should be going full steam ahead with F+P. To assist teachers in 3-5 in testing over 60 students, I will be assignment several staff to assist with testing. 3-5 teachers can expect at least 15 of their students to be “outsourced”, should they be willing. Give the assisting teacher their names and consider it done.

INTERVENING: Once we have the levels, we will identify the most at-risk students (LEVEL III intervention) and provide them with high-impact reading instruction. We will also assign some to AM/PM extended day learning (3-6 weeks).

Teachers who are interested should write one sentence to apply for a per-session posting coming out later this week.

6-8: Ms. Weinstein will provide you with options in a separate memo.

THINGS I NEED TO DO

Starting in October I will be organizing ongoing morning meetings for a writing instruction task force. This team will put in place a vertically coherent instructional plan to elevate student writing, ensuring all elements are in place (grammar, handwriting, using accurate vocabulary to trim length, etc.)

We teachers from all grades–if interested, look out for a posting this week and send back one sentence.

THINKING GENERATOR FEEDBACK COMING SOON. In anticipation of next month’s focus standard, teacher teams should start discussing the TGs they will use to teach them. The most important standards merit the best TGs.

CALENDARS and SCHEDULES

And finally, the item I’ve wanted to share since 2015:

Teacher and class schedules for the whole school, online. ps102q.edupage.org/timetable 

(Any changes should be reported to Teresa so we can update.)

Calendars too.

PUBLIC EVENTS CALENDAR  on PS102q.org

IEP DATES AND SPED STUFF

TEAM SPECIFIC MEETINGS

 

 

September 17th, 2017: Intentions Made Clear

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Exactness in lesson planning is the clearest indicator of highly effective instruction. Great teachers don’t waste time on “just because” activities; everything is intentional from minute 1 to minute 45.

Every question, prompt, activity, assessment, and grouping is done with explicit rationale, and the teacher is purposeful in planning all aspects of a lesson to guide students towards new understanding.

We expect nothing less at 102. Classroom observation will begin next week, and these are the questions your observer may ask you:

How do you see the Thinking Generator working to get students thinking about precisely what they need to think about in order to learn the targeted objective?

What is the rationale behind the student grouping?

Do you believe this is a skill that requires more direct modeling? Or is it something that needs to be more experiential? How does this impact your lesson?

What pre-requisite understanding is necessary? How have you made sure students have it?

What are your next steps should you observe students struggling during the lesson?

What will tell you by the end of the lesson whether your students have understood what you taught?

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

A district principal of a large elementary once remarked that every dismissal is a small miracle, and I don’t disagree. However, forcing miracles to happen day in and day is basically what we educators signed up for, and nothing is accidental. Miracles happen because we made it happen.

Case in point: our dismissal.

From Mr. Borelli and Ms. Ferrari taking care of directing busing services to Ms. Sheerinand Ms. Weinstein facilitating late pick-ups with the incredible help  of Ursula and Laura, this has been the smoothest opening week I’ve ever experienced.  Thank you!

From Ms. Sheerin: The writing workshop I attended with Alex this week was not at all what I expected. It really got me rethinking my approach to teaching writing and I’m interested to see how this course unfolds and bridges creative writing with essay writing.  It goes against so much of how teachers are taught to teach writing – so it might be just what we need. 

From Mr. Borelli: Mrs. Smith has gotten class K-105 into mid-year form by the end of the first full week of the year! Her students have shown an immense sign of maturity, lining up in two straight lines, quietly waiting for the next set of directions from Mrs. Smith. They walk to each “landmark” with purpose. By having her students focused on her and having that attention reciprocated back to the students, the ease in which class K-105 enters the building to start their day speaks to what students can do with clear expectations.

From Ms. Weinstein: Ms. Susie Williams told me about a student in her class who just kept saying that he wanted to get better. She added, “When he said that, it made me want to be MY best for him and all of the other students and I can’t wait to do that.”  It is this spirit that caught my attention when we met over the summer.  Welcome, Ms. Williams – we are looking forward to seeing your best!

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

September 26th is Family Day. and we will begin at 4:30PM and closing at 7:30PM. The objective for this event centers around Focus Standards:

1.) Make clear to all families how important the focus standards are for the grade; (handout)

2.) The resources and strategies we will use to teach these focus standards; 

3.) What we’ll do to make sure there’s really no child left behind (New 102 Personalized Learning Intervention System); and

4.) What parents can walk away with to support children (guides, websites, online platforms such as Khan, Matheletics, Lexia, etc.)

MONDAY PL: Please prepare for Family Day with your content teams. Review the PL calendar for specifics and check in with your APs should you have any questions.

THINKING GENERATOR WALK THROUGH 9/20: This Wednesday we will have our first Thinking Generator Walkthrough in anticipation of the first round of classroom observations. We will conduct at least 4 walkthroughs this year (we had 6 last year), and they are non-evaluative and are only used for planning professional learning.

EMAIL SET UP: Thank you to Ms. Arlequin for creating such a helpful tool to support email set up. And myapologies if I had accidentally not included you in our staff contact list thank you for your patience as we fine tune our new online system.

ATTENDING OFF-SITE PDs, leaving early, etc.: Any off-site PD must have written approval. Please email me and cc your AP, Ms. Mills (smills@ps102q.org) as soon as possible.

Should you need to leave the building for any reasons, please check in with me and your AP. APs will approve should I be unavailable.

In case of emergency, don’t wait. Go and tell me later.

First Day Photos are up at http://www.ps102photos.com. Thanks Pete for an amazing Ms. Joyce portrait!

102 Review, Thank You for Learning: June 19th, 2017

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

HIGHLIGHTS

4th Grade Science Test Results (% of students scoring levels 3 and 4)

2015: 85.6

2016: 92%

2017: 96%

P.S. Your MOSL teacher rating this year, no matter what you teach, depends on these 4th grade test scores.

Speaking of STEM, our first ever  STEMCON blew everyone’s mind. Students buzzed around showing their parents how to make PlayDoh and functioning water filters, played video games that our own students designed, and modeled how to build and maximize the efficiency of an air-powered model car. The entire gym buzzed with energy, and when a parent came up to me and said that the event was amazing, all I could respond was, “This is out of control”.  

STEMCON itself would be the annual capstone event for just about any other school. It had all the ingredients of top-notch school event: Strong parent engagement, high staff participation, collaboratively planned, student-centered, academically-driven, and showcases authentic 102 learning. Thank you Ms. Hughes for taking the lead!

But for 102, it was one of many similarly extraordinary events that same week. From Paint Night to Fast and Furious Family Fitness Fun Night to the carnival to the Art Expo to 102’s Got Talent, every new event blew expectations to smithereens.

And it’s all because of you having the courage to learn and to expand. Coordinating new events is hard and scary, and these events were the culmination of this year’s School Event inquiry learning group. Likewise, the Science scores came from a 3-5 STEM team that took on the challenge to build a legitimate 21st century curriculum that also attends to 20th century assessments. ignificant literacy growth owes much to a K-5 TC team that worked overtime to shepherd in a new curriculum, as well as an Academic Triage inquiry team that designed and piloted a promising AiS model that will be scaled to every grade next year.

To protect equilibrium and seek constant is human nature; to take risks and explore ways to improve is to be an educator.

I am so proud to be amongst a team of educators who are fearless in learning themselves.

Thank you for an absolutely amazing year.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

UPLOAD PHOTOS: This year’s school goal is to set up awesome events. Next year’s school goal will be to channel yielded parent engagement from these events to drive improved partnerships and communication with families. How? Photos.

102 has the best photos–thanks Mr. Gebhardt!–and it’s time we aim to have the most photos. As we transition to our PS102Q Google Drive platform next year, please upload photos of your class, events, or anything you deem worthy to our Public Photos page. Once you sign in with your PS102Q account, you can add photos to existing folders or request a new folder. I quickly added some folders for us to use and upload, and I urge everyone to fill them up as a yearend gift to our families. Please, however, be mindful not to upload anything that may negatively impact anyone.

(To see the photos, parents need a link. We email links to parents who give us their email. With their email address, we can contact them via email and not use paper. Like how everyone else outside of education do.)

WISHLIST STANDARDS: Please review the September Academic Wishlist and plan accordingly. We will check in next week and we look forward to hearing about teachers giving students a final push towards the next year.