What we are remains the same!

Some may say now that it is September and after Labor Day that the honeymoon is over, that the kids are beginning to show their real colors and this might be true however our response to this fact or myth will continue to determine our success.  We are teachers and each an everyday we come to help students become better and prepare them for where they will go in life and school.  Some days frustration sets in because we feel that it is groundhog day and everyday is the same.  We say to ourselves why am I having to continually talk to the same kids over and over about these things?  Why do they not understand my expectations?  Each of these are valid questions but do they have the impact on student achievement that we want?  What does have impact is teacher-student relationships, 0.72 effect size and teacher efficacy 1.57 effect size, the #1 factor influencing student achievement.   So after the honeymoon is over who we are remains the same, We are Lincoln, we build relationships with all students, we measure our impact, and we are the difference.  How many of the 180 marbles are left? 

List of reminders/strategies for building the learning environment in your classroom:

• The teacher creates a positive classroom culture together with the students
• The teacher sets up the purpose for learning, the success criteria, but students have a “choice and a voice” in how they’re going to complete the Daily Team Task
• The teacher ensures that resources are available for the students to complete the daily task
• The teacher helps build consensus in solving the daily task through teaching the students how to collaborate
• Errors are welcomed in the classroom… don’t look at them as mistakes
• Teachers and fellow classmates are always accepting one another for who they are in any given moment
• Students have the opportunity to engage in activities they have enjoyed before as well as expose to new and novel challenges
• Students build bridges to new learning through prior knowledge and experiences
• Together the teacher and students create an enriched environment
• Students and teachers set and communicate appropriate, specific and challenging goals
• Extensive feedback is provided to both the students and teachers, from one another
• Student learning involves more than surface learning
• Teachers express their genuine belief that all students will excel and be successful
• Teachers focus on assessing student growth on social emotional skills, such as through empathy, and mindfulness
• And teachers should always “Know Thy Impact” (Hattie, p.ix) 

It was a long 4 days but here are some reflections from this week:  

Learning Walks-  This week I have been able to take some learning walks with a few teachers to look at blackboard configurations and help those teachers see some examples of how other teachers are writing do nows, objectives, and agendas.  I love the openness of our learning environment.  Learning walks will continue to be apart of our culture and if any teacher would like to visit other classes during their prep period just to learn how others might be doing something in their classrooms I would love to walk with you.  

Feedback and walk-throughs- As you see me in classrooms I will try and give you feedback through the google form that I shared with all teachers at the beginning of the year.  I will try and follow up with some of the feedback from time to time and you are always welcome to ask for clarification or ask questions.  Remember that seeking feedback and asking for clarification are examples of agency that we want our students to have and we can model the way for our students through our adult culture as well.  

Wow-  Our athletic teams are starting to jell and I see some real potential for some fall success at conference.  Our football teams have strung together some wins.  Our cross country teams are really running well and the volleyball girls get better when playing better competition.  I look forward to watching the continued growth of our student athletes.  Great job coaches. 

Upcoming @ Lincoln 

Monday PD-  This upcoming Monday Ryan Ahlrich will provide a workshop on the Lau Law, the can do descriptors, ELL checklists, and Language Objectives.  

Tuesday- Leadership Meeting 7:00 a.m. and Behavior Leadership team meeting 3:15 

eLearning information -  I have updated our hub page for eLearning and it might be a good thing for teachers to familiarize yourself with the hub and the procedures for posting assignments and communicating with students in the case of an elearning day.   Here is the hub page.  

Progress Reports-  Our first quarter progress reports will go home next Wednesday.  Here are reminders of our grading policy from the faculty handbook.  

Progress Reports will be given out each 4 and ½ weeks.  The dates for progress reports are on the master calendar.  Progress report grades will be used for study table purposes and athletic eligibility.

Grades must be kept on the school’s electronic grading program.  The electronic grading program is in real time.  Parents can view their student's grade as soon as it is updated in the program.  Every effort should be made to keep grades up to date to improve communication with parents using the grade program.  Grades should be updated at least once a week for these purposes.

Grade Scale

A…...93-100

A-…..90-92

B+…87-89

B…..83-86

B-….80-82

C+…77-79

C…..73-76

C-….70-72

D+…67-69

D…..63-66

D-….60-62

F……59 and below

Labeling Assignments with codes:  Any class assignment or homework assignment

in Humanities, Social Studies, Language Arts, Science, or ICP that measures

comprehension, writing ability, and problem solving should have a code (codes

below) added to the beginning of the assignment name in PowerSchool.

*Assignments measuring reading comprehension would be denoted with an "RC"

before the title of the assignment

*Writing assignments would be "W"

*Math problem solving or story problems would be "PS"

This allows for our Special Education Department to better progress monitor

students throughout the school year.

Fundraiser Coming up September 26th to Oct. 8th - This year the all school fundraiser will be run through advisory classes again and our PTO will be running the fundraiser. Our kick off on September 26th will be at 1:00. Students will be sent back to there advisory classes after our kick off convocation. At approximately 1:45 we will start calling advisory classes to the cafeteria to distribute chocolate. More information will come but mark your calendars now.

Annual Bullying Prevention Lesson- Each year state law requires schools to provide bullying education to all students. This year we will do this on Friday September 14th in advisory classes. Julie Stauffer will share the information that teacher will need to go through with their advosiry students.

iLearn Webinars- Teachers are welcome to join the following webinars next week.

Get the Scoop! ILEARN English/Language Arts-September 13, 3:30-4:30 pm  Red Room 

Get the Scoop! ILEARN Mathematics September 11, 3:30-4:30 pm  Red Room 

Get the Scoop! ILEARN Accessibility & Accommodations September 10, 3:30-4:30 pm  Red Room 

These training will provide information regarding: • Use of summative assessment data • ILEARN computer-adaptive assessments • Content-specific changes, including examples of new item types • Item rigor (DOK) and item difficulty • Priority standards and interpreting test blueprints • Changes in test administration for the teacher