December is Here

We have reached December.  WOW the time is flying.  As we approach the end of the semester it is always good to cycle back and reflect on where we have been thus far and remind ourselves of important goals and visions that we had for the year.  Here are some top priorities to think about:

Your Goals:  We all set goals at the beginning of the year.  Where are you with your goal?  Are you revisiting your goals constantly to remind yourself where you are?  What are your wins thus far?  What improvements or adjustments are you planning to make?  One of my goals was to be in classrooms more.  Being vulnerable, I have not improved on this goal much.  Some adjustments that I need to make are to better prioritize my time as this is probably the most important thing for me to do.  I will now challenge myself to 120 minutes per day to be in classrooms.  I would like to also get back to a strategy that I had several years ago "No Office Days"  where I take my cart out and work in the hallways.  I need your help.  Don't hesitate to ask me to visit your classroom or to ask me such questions as:
                          How many minutes did you make it today?
                          Where is your cart?
                          When is your "No office day"

It is always good to share your goals,  share yours and help others reach theirs.

Classroom Management:  Remember all of our efforts to set procedures and build routines in all classrooms at the beginning of the year.  It is always important to revisit these throughout the year.  If students are having problems remembering your procedures or if they have not become routines it is never too late to reteach.  Here are some other keys to classroom management to reflect on:

                 Calling home: Phone calls are the best mode of communication when things aren't going
                 well with difficult students.  They are also great for those students that are doing well.

                 Conferencing 1:1 with students: Build those relationships, get to know your students,                           probably the single best strategy for classroom management and working with difficult                         students.

                 Greeting students at the door:  This is a proactive positive strategy to get all students off                   to a great start each class period, not to mention what it would do for our active hallway                       supervision.  This strategy can be used to remind students of materials needed, of the                           beginning of the class procedures, to connect with them, and to welcome each student.                         Try it if you haven't, it works.

Check out this Blog post for more strategies:

Reading, Writing, Discussing:  "The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not instant illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital- and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions."  Jim Collins

We started the year talking about clarity and simplicity with abundant amounts of reading, writing, discussing.  The increases in these areas have been evident at times throughout the semester.  Where are you now with this emphasis?  Are students reading for information and processing new learning (thinking) through writing and discussing?  How much of your lessons include opportunities for students to do these priorities?  Do students know why they reading, writing, discussing?  If you are struggling with any of these it is always a good thing to pull out your FOCUS book and revisit strategies Schmoker talks about in the book or ask your colleagues for suggestions.  Students thinking is a good thing!

Building Project Update: 

During the week of December 18th- I will be asking for teachers to meet with the Architect for the building project again.  The focus will be classroom cabinets and such.  The architect will be sharing what has been planned and asking further questions.  Much has been decided with teacher input since the last meeting and this will be an opportunity for you to see where the rooms are at this point.  Please understand it might not be exactly along the lines of your wish list but I think you will see that you input was used.  It will not be the time to make too many changes as we are nearing the final stages.  There will be meetings the afternoon of the 18th and throughout the day of the 20th.  If you have any questions please let me know.  The schedule will be shared soon.  If you have already met with the architect multiple times or are in a classroom with limited cabinets the architect might not need to meet with you or your team. 

Enjoy the weather today the COLD is coming!