Friday Flash: December 6, 2012

Feedback: Everybody wants it

I hear from parents all the time how much they enjoy and appreciate the blogs you have each created. Since we have moved away from the days where students went home with worksheets that showed what they were learning (yeah, right..) we are faced with the challenge of how we make the learning visible to our parents.
Added to that challenge is the way our kids work. They are engaged in constructing new understandings by working collaboratively; they work to build understandings and then do something with them - project based or performance based assessment. Meanwhile, time ticks by while students are active and engaged, but parents remain a bit 'in the dark'. That is why your blogs are such an essential piece of helping parents understand the changes in education. Through your blogs you do an amazing job of showcasing what the learning looks like and what the learning experiences are that students are engaged in. This is critical! The report card won't give them this level of information.

As we move to our new report cards, the feedback from SAC was that the language of the GVC's (yeah, parents will definitely need some support understanding all of this) is complex and a bit hard to grasp. That's true - so...if we could begin to use some of the language of the GVC's in our blogs as we label pictures and the work/learning that students are doing, then perhaps we can slowly and gently help parents begin to understand how it is that students:
(example from 3rd grade GVC's)

"Construct short cross-curricular research and writing projects; develop questions for further research/inquiry; ethically gather, and interpret relevant information, cite sources, and communicate information through various media."

Do you know what I mean? Let's start using some of the language of the GVC's with kids and with our parents as we help move them towards a deeper understanding of what a World Class Education looks like!

Thanks for taking the important time to create your blogs to provide the essential feedback to parents that they are hungry for (and they are hungry!). Your blogs are critical! Nice to know that what you spend time doing really makes a difference!

Calendar

* Time to be sure to communicate to your families that school IS IN SESSION on Friday, December 21st - unlike the other district schools on our modified calendar. In addition, students DO NOT attend on Monday, January 7th, but come back on Tuesday, January 8th. We can't over communicate this information. :)

December 10 - 14:
Tuesday -
RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday -
Parent Orientation 8:00 a.m.
All School Meeting: Featuring MarySue's Crew Musical and Band and Orchestra
Professional Development - Report Cards
MarySue's Crew Musical 6:30 p.m.

December 17 - 21:

Wednesday-
Parent Orientation 8:00 a.m.
NO All School Meeting
Professional Development: Eportfolio and uploading documents in the library - bring your laptop!
(It's essential that you come to our PD session with your reflection from Restorative Practices so that you can upload your reflection with help. If you have other documents you want to upload in your Eportfolio this would also be a good time. Liz Walhof from staff development will be with us to walk us through how to do all of this!)

Friday-
School IN session
1st grade Field Work to Kings Land Restaurant
Staff Holiday Party at MarySue's after work

* Coming up and you'll need to include on your calendar "Choose Your Life" presentation on January 9th (Wednesday am). More information to come. This presentation was coordinated through our Anti-bullying team. It was decided not to include K-2 and the presentation is best suited for 3rd through 6th grade.

New Report Card Update:

Our new report card form was approved by our SAC on Tuesday night. Some thought it had way too much information and others thought it was perfect. Guess there's no way to create a document that will be perfect for everyone. The report card is in final stages of creation and I'll have it to you as soon as it is completed. You can start your comments anytime and just save them in a word document and cut and paste them into the report card on Wednesday. You'll have all of Wednesday afternoon to stow away somewhere and get those done. Please, please try to complete them in just that afternoon - that is our goal. Keep in mind that the place to channel the most energy is into the document with the 4 C's and the comment section. It is clear from the feedback I've received from all the parents I've run this document by, that those two areas mean the most to the parents - and they are the audience for this document!

It is also important that you give some thought to what the learning experiences have been that are the way the kids have been working on the GVC's (the descriptors in the content areas of the report card). This way, you'll be prepared if any parent asks you, "So, how do the kids do...." This could also lead your thinking about what you might include in the comment section.

I think in the future we'll be thinking of ways to write the GVC's in a language more like what you see on the 4 C's page of the report card - more of what those GVC's look like at the learning experience level.

I will be sending you an email to forward on to parents explaining the new document.

Peek Into the Life of our School

Lots of ownership here - students are voting whether they want to change the room around.
You can see, they voted to do it.
Then, they decided what needed to be replaced, what additions, what would be eliminated, where things would be located...
in kindergarten.

The kids voted on which big book they would read.

Using the three modes of learning to learn letters -
hear it, say it, do it -
This is the letter Z
The kids are taking a Zzzzzzz(sleeping)

Movement is crucial!
Chelsea teaches yoga in kindergarten

I don't have a picture of the 'Breath of Joy' - but ask Chelsea about it -
it's wonderful!

Doug started badminton in PE
It's part of his Life Time Skills Unit -
things to do for the rest of your life and with your family and ways to stay active.