Barker's Bulletin
Titan Hill Intermediate School
Week 25: February 12 - February 16, 2024
Happy Valentine's Day Week!
Random Information
A concern was shared with BLT about assemblies and other events being scheduled in the morning which interrupts specials classes for some students (and sometimes the same students multiple times). I understand on the surface this may look like we are just scheduling things in the morning because we want to . Here is the larger and more accurate picture that you don't see...When we schedule events such as musical performances, assemblies, etc. we are often at the mercy of our guests and/or the location we are reserving. We often have very little choice in the time of day for these events. Anytime we have the opportunity to have events in the afternoon, we do. Please be reminded that we do schedule as much as we can in the afternoons, such as: PTA assemblies, celebrations, show choir assemblies, end of year assembly, etc., however many of our guests need morning times due to their schedule.
If you have not had time with Rizzo yet and you would like a time, please email me. They will be out of town in March and back at it in April!
Yearbooks will be on sale via the PTA from 2/20-3/20. Flyers will be distributed to send home.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility with the number of split classes we have had recently due to unfilled absences. We utilized our coaches heavily for the first half of the year trying to remove that stress from our teachers. Now, we are trying to achieve a balance and remove some of that stress from our coaches as they have been pulled from their jobs frequently from September through January. The reason I chose to do it this way is because there was so much that was new the first half of this year and adding a few more students to your rooms then would have likely felt heavier. Now that we have more of a grasp on our new resources, I am shifting the balance back that way. I have asked about pay for additional students, but that is not possible. Some classes have 24 students and some have 27 students. That would mean a classroom of 24 would get paid extra to take on the same number of students other classrooms have everyday. In addition, we do not have an identified cap on our classrooms to say that extra pay would be required for additional students. (FYI, we cannot create a cap on our classrooms at the building level). I understand that is hard, especially with our larger class sizes, and I appreciate your help in ensuring our students always have access to quality instruction of core content by highly trained educators! I love that we always do what is best for kids at TH!
Friendship Celebrations
Friendship Celebrations are this week from 1:45-2:45 on the following dates:
2nd/3rd Grades Th 2/15
4th/5th Grades F 2/16
Doors will open at 1:30pm. All visitors enter through our pool doors to sign in and wait in our gym. We will allow guests to enter the building to go to classrooms at 1:40 pm.
Students may make and bring Valentine's Boxes. Julianna will place sign out sheets in your mailboxes the day of your celebration. If you were assigned a parking location, please remember to park there to help with guest parking. Playgrounds will stay open on this day.
If you need coverage to attend your own child's celebration, please let me know and I will give you directions for doing that. :)
PLCs
Here is the document with our PLC Expectations for this year. As you get back into the swing of your common challenge, please know that you may continue the standard you were unpacking, or you may choose a new standard in any content area your team chooses. This document only has a couple of changes & those have been highlighted in yellow.
REMINDERS...
Please remember to email Julianna if a student arrives after you have submitted attendance - this eliminate the needs for her to call your room.
Don’t forget we have the language line available for making calls home to families that speak a language other than English. Questions about how to use it can be directed to Michelle who is more than happy to help.
Black History Month Resources
Read Aloud Videos from TH staff
Titan Appreciations
Titan Hill is an amazing place to be. It is like a big family and everyone is eager to jump in and help. Titan Appreciations is your opportunity to share your appreciation for the colleagues who have your back, who are there for you when you need them, who show kindness in all forms each and every day.
This will be one more way to seek, recognize, and share our gratitude. One more way to identify what is going well, and share it with others. The link is also available on the LC drop down tab. Click the link above and show some love!
Below are last week's nominations...
Monday 2/12 Events (CD: 3)
*Barker in IEPs most of the day
*4th Grade Purchase from PBIS Store
*Start/Continue Interventions & PM from Winter groups
*NHS Food Drive begins
Tuesday 2/13 Events (CD: 4)
*2nd Grade PLC (7:50-8:33...Green Pod)
Topic: Common Challenge
*Titan Time (8:15-8:35)
Topic: Counselors
*4th Grade Purchase from PBIS Store
*Fran & Rizzo (therapy dog) at TH 1:00-3:00
*Math Lead Team (7:50-11:35)
*Student Leadership Lead Team (12:05-3:50)
-Student Council Meeting (1:30-2:15)
*AHA Assemblies (2/3 @ 9:00, 4/5 @ 9:35 in Ernst's gym)
-If you have specials at this time, the special area teacher is in charge of supervision during normal class time
Wednesday 2/14 Events (CD: 5)
*5th Grade PLC (7:50-8:33...Green Pod)
Topic: Common Challenge
*Titan Time (8:15-8:35)
Topic: Counselors
*Admin in meeting 8:30-9:30
*3rd Grade Purchase from PBIS Store
*Professional Learning (2:50-3:50) Agenda 2.14
-Location: Various
-Topic(s): Unpacking Standards & iReady Data Review
Paraeducators: MTSS PD in McDonald's Classroom (see agenda)
Specialists/Special Ed/Special Area: Attend Unpacking Standards portion
Thursday 2/15 (CD: 6)
*3rd Grade PLC (7:50-8:33...Green Pod)
Topic: Common Challenge
*Titan Time (8:15-8:35)
Topic: Counselors
*2nd/3rd Friendship Celebrations (1:45-2:45)
-Pool doors open at 1:30, Building opens at 1:40
-You may switch special times if needed
*PTA Family Game Night at Titan Hill (6:00-8:00)
-Attendance is encouraged but not required
Friday 2/16 (CD: 1)
*4th Grade PLC (7:50-8:33...Green Pod)
Topic: Common Challenge
*Titan Time (8:15-8:35)
Topic: Counselors
*Barker out (Personal Day)
*4th Grade Delivery from PBIS Store
*4th/5th Friendship Celebrations (1:45-2:45)
-Pool doors open at 1:30, Building opens at 1:40
-You may switch special times if needed
Intentionally Taking Care of Ourselves
It's hard to be stressed out and negative all the time. It's also hard to be stressed out and stay positive.
It's hard to meal plan on a budget and with little free time. It's also hard to dedicate an hour each week to doing this to relieve stress for the following 6 days.
Choose your hard.
PLC+ & Titan Time
EXTENDED Titan Time (8:15-8:35)
Focus: Counselors
Location: Ernst's Gym
How YOU can help:
Continue to attend counseling lessons & support the skills being taught.
Titan Time supervisors, please review the Supervision Schedule & the email from Michelle for your responsibilities. If you are absent, it is your job to find coverage for your duty as usual.
Teachers, please review the Titan Time Plan and prepare your students for the procedures on your given day. Please review the arrival tab of the Master Schedule for supervision assignments for Titan Time.
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PLC+ (7:50-8:33): Tues- 2nd, Wed.- 5th, Thurs.- 3rd, Fri.- 4th
Location: Room 301 - Green Pod
Focus: Common Challenge
*Please be sure to start on time (seated & ready to start at 7:50)
*Teachers pick students up at 8:35 sharp on the assigned playground/gym
PLC+ Questions
*Where are we going?
*Where are we now?
*How do we move learning forward?
*What did we learn today?
*Who benefited and who did not benefit?
PLC+ Expectations
Focus on the PLC+ Questions
Look at recent student work (common formative assessment) & collaborate to address student needs at least once/trimester
Select a content area & review student work to determine student needs & plan to intervene to accelerate those skills based on essential standards (those reported out on) and extend those skills for students who are ready
"Bonus points" if the team tries out a collaborative intervention system by grouping & sharing students (disclaimer: bonus points aren't real...there are no points) 😊
*Special Ed, ELL and TAG teachers should plan to attend the PLCs to align with classroom instruction and to help with ideas regarding differentiation. Special Ed teachers will attend the one grade level they work with most.
*Grade Level Meeting (GLM): Teams must meet together, but they may choose to use this time as team planning/prep or to dive into the PLC+ questions
*PLC+: Teams will meet together to dive into the 5 PLC+ questions
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UPCOMING PLCs
2/20-2/23...Morning PLC+
- Common Challenge
2/29...Morning PLC+
- Special Education Only
3/5-3/8...Morning PLC+
- Common Challenge
3/6...EO PLC+
- Common Challenge (LETRS participants: LETRS Module Work)
Titan Taming
Student enjoyment of learning experiences has an effect size of .50 (potential to accelerate). Yes, we have standards to teach and very little time to do so. Creating enjoyable learning experiences for students increases active engagement & decreases negative behaviors. Ensuring students are active during lessons, giving students limited choices, providing hands on experiences, and using their interests in planning are all ways to increase enjoyment of learning.
Use caution - enjoyable experiences that are not tied to learning or a purpose can have the opposite effect. If students are engaging in enjoyable activities that really don't connect to the teaching of the standard, behaviors may increase as students don't see the overall purpose. Ensuring our learning activities are meaningful, enjoyable, relevant, and connected to standards will have a positive impact on learning!
Lead Team Updates
BLT Meeting Summary
- Recess Zone 2 Planning
iReady Winter Data Review (Healthy Indicators, Grade Level Growth, Special Ed Growth
Spring Family Night Planning
Reading Lead Team
Continued working on budget and reviewed potential decodable purchases
Reviewed staff needs around FPC survey
Planned some future professional learning
Field Trip Planning Guide
PTA Funding Request Form
Dana Barker
Email: dana.barker@lewiscentral.org
Website: lcth.lewiscentral.org
Location: 4125 Harry Langdon Boulevard, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Phone: 712-651-9412
Facebook: Titan Hill Intermediate School