EAGLE MOUNTAIN NEWS & NOTES #36
MAY 18, 2015
EAGLE MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY
Email: bmclain@ems-isd.net
Twitter: @bmacEME
REAL QUICK
We have a lot going on this week with Liink Training today, two parent meetings, Care Team meetings, Field Day, Employee Service Luncheon, Battle of the Books, & a performance by Vocal Trash tomorrow afternoon.There are only 14 more school days, & they will go fast. Thanks for continuing to keep the focus on kids & instruction!
IMPORTANT INFO FOR THIS WEEK!
· Today is our final day of training with our Kinder & First grade teachers on the Liink project. We are also hosting a parent meeting this evening with Dr. Rhea to give an overview of the program to our parents.
· Our ALI participants will be recognized at tonight’s board meeting at 4:30. Congratulations to: Regina, Suzanne, Tim, & Kelli for their leadership & work with the ALI groups this year. We are proud of your success!
· Please turn in your final Eagles of Character names TODAY to Sandra, so we can get busy on their certificates.
· Please complete the team leader survey with your team this week if you haven’t done so already – thanks to those of you who have already turned that in!
· We started interviewing last week for our second grade position, & we have several more interviews scheduled for this week.
· All summative conferences have been completed.
· Thank you for your support of Emily’s Hope – Becca Williams is extremely grateful for the support you have shown their family.
· The weather has not been cooperating with us to conduct our final drills – we will keep trying to work them in this week.
· If you have not turned in your Retention List that Kelli sent out, we need those forms returned no later than today please.
· Tentative class lists are due to us by Friday – I will put the format in your team leader’s box of the exact way we want the lists to be created.
· As you are planning your awards ceremonies please include having certificates for the students who participated in the Speeding to Read program. We realize we had many students who didn’t keep up with their logs & participate well, but let’s make an effort to honor the ones who did!
· Please review cafeteria expectations with your students &make sure you are walking students all the way into the cafeteria & not just dropping them off!
· Please make sure you are picking your kids up from Specials on time.
· Please remember to sign-up in Eduphoria ASAP for summer staff development – there are some great offerings, & the courses are filling up fast!
· Here is a short article that makes some good points about having difficult conversations:
Basic Steps for Handling Difficult Conversations
(Originally titled “10 Tips for Tackling Tough Conversations”)
In this Educational Leadership article, school counselor Brett Novick (Rutgers University) has these suggestions for high-stress, high-stakes encounters:
• Begin with the end in mind. What’s the desired outcome?
• Seat people strategically. Sitting side by side can make all the difference.
• Let the other person speak first. This way you can find points of agreement.
• Allow silences. Don’t prattle. Let important points sink in.
• Listen. Try to understand the underlying emotions. Don’t rush in with suggestions.
• Look under the anger. “You must be sad about how you feel your child was treated.”
• Decide whether an issue is worth fighting for. A setback now might help long-term.
• Don’t try to reason with angry people. Get them calmed down first.
• Cover yourself legally. It’s sometimes helpful to have a colleague present.
• Avoid trigger words and phrases. These include can’t, won’t, never, always, problem child.
Rather than, “Your kid is chronically absent”, say, “Your child has been out 15 days.” Using phrases like “Help me understand…” is a good tactic.
“10 Tips for Tackling Tough Conversations” by Brett Novick in Educational Leadership, April 2015 (Vol. 72, #7, p. 80-81), http://bit.ly/1P5OCer; Novick can be reached at iambrettj@gmail.com.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday – Final day of Liink Training for Kinder & first grade teachers, School Board meeting & ALI recognition – 4:30, Parent Liink Meeting – 6-7 PM, Bogo Book Fair
Tuesday – Brief meeting with each team leader – please drop by to see me when you can today, Battle of the Books – 3-5 – Vocal Trash – 1:30, Interviews after school for 2nd grade, Book Fair, Play it Safe Parent meeting 6-7 in the cafeteria
Wednesday – Bogo Book Fair, K & 4 Field Day, Battle of the Books Final – 1PM, Interviews after school for 2nd grade
Thursday – 2 & 3 Field Day in morning, 1st grade Field Day – PM, Employee Service Luncheon – HCTC – 11:30 – 1PM
Friday – Third grade field trip – Planetarium, 5th grade Field Day at Boswell, No Clubs today,
Isn't It Time to Move from a Teacher Centered Classroom to a Student Centered Classroom?
In the past, classrooms were often all about the teacher. This “sage on the stage” was there to offer what he or she knew, and it was up to the student to make the most of it.
These days, though, we know that student centered classrooms make a better and more effective learning environment for students. Sometimes knowing just how to change the focus from the teacher to the student is, well, hard. It’s easy to stand up front and talk for an hour but not as easy to create an environment where your students take the center stage. Whether you are just moving to a student centered classroom or are a pro at stepping back and letting your students take the stage, here are some tips for making the shift and staying there.
1. KNOWLEDGE
2. FOCUS
3.STRUCTURE
4. OBJECTIVES
5. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
6. GUIDANCE
7. ACTIVITY
Some differences between the teacher centered classroom and the student centered classroom are subtle. Others are blaringly at odds.
Some teachers may have a difficult time walking the narrow line between the two if they have pressure from administration but still want to meet the needs of their students. Ultimately, only you can decide what the best way to run your classroom is, but the more we can focus on students and their needs the better language learners they will become.
What do you do to make your classroom more student centered?
NOTEABLE QUOTABLE:
We have enough people who tell it like it is – now we could use a few who tell it like it can be.
A LITTLE HUMOR:
You can’t make everybody happy: You’re not pizza!
SHOUT OUTS
· I want to give a huge shout out to Sandra Short for her help on the budget – THANK YOU for all you do to take care of us & for helping me meet deadlines - You are awesome!
· Congratulations to our ALI members who will be recognized at tonight’s school board meeting: Regina, Kelli, Suzanne, & Tim! We appreciate your involvement in ALI this year & your interest in leadership!
· Shelly Couch did a wonderful job of serving as the PTA president & we thank her for her service to our district. We also commend Shelly for the exceptional job she did in helping our PACE students present their research projects last week at Evening with the Experts…they were incredibly well done! Take a bow Shelly!
· Kudos to Danielle Adama for having ALL of her students pass their STAAR tests…that is extremely impressive!