November 20, 2015

First Impressions Count

Ten years ago, when we opened our doors, one goal we shared together was how to create a welcoming environment. We wanted to create an environment that people got an instant feeling of who we were and what we were about. We selected furnishings for the lobby intentionally to create a mood and flavor. We committed to only hanging student art - and making sure we had visually appealing displays, colors and messaging.

Just the other day I was engaged in conversation with a staff member who had visited another school. She was struck with how clean, organized and beautiful the school was, reflecting on the overall positive impression it had given her. I left our conversation wondering what impression our school gives off to visitors and our community? I didn't have a good feeling. 

We are exploding at the seams, having utilized every nook and cranny. We have purged together, rearranged and reorganized. And yet, might we be only mid-way into the challenge of recreating our space? We have answered the call of redefining learning spaces and are seeking ways to be innovative, but have we created order and beauty? 

As you look around, does our school communicate our value of stewardship? Look at your space right now. Does it? I'm looking at my office and I am a very poor model for that which I speak. I'm committing right now, that this space will look differently in a few weeks. I recognize that I may need to develop a few routines to support my goal of transforming my personal space and to maintain it. I need to allocate a few minutes every day to keep the order and demonstrate my commitment to being a good steward.

In the book, Classroom Spaces That Work, a Responsive Classroom resource, chapter six is devoted to creating ambience in our classrooms. "Ambience is not easy to define or describe, yet most people know within minutes of entering a place whether the ambience is right for them. Does the place make them feel comfortable or tense? Stimulated or bored? Welcome or alienated? Ambience is the feeling or mood associated with a particular place. It involves our emotional responses to a place and how that place affects all our senses."

We have embraced collaborating with our students to design our learning spaces. However, I believe we are still responsible for defining and monitoring whether the ambience is welcoming, comfortable and engaging. We each have our own unique style, so our rooms should reflect that, but we should have unity in a shared commitment to a community that reflects our value for order, organization, and beauty. "While a teacher's passions should never dominate the room, they certainly are critical to enlivening its ambience and sparking students' excitement about learning. Some of the most engaging classrooms I've been in are the ones in which the teacher's passions - whether for art, history, poetry, or the natural world - are obvious and reflected in the physical setup of the room."

In the Reggio Emilia approach, the environment is the third teacher. "The environment is recognized for its potential to inspire children. An environment filled with natural light, order and beauty. Open spaces free from clutter, where every material is considered for its purpose, every corner is ever-evolving to encourage children to delve deeper and deeper into their interest."

A classroom's ambience, and the school at large, makes a difference in how well children learn.

Take a critical look around your learning space/work area. Ask yourself these questions:

What impression does it give? 

Have you created ambience that reflects your values? 

Is it a place that people will want to stay? 

Is it organized, tidy, pleasing to the eye, does it invite a visitor to want to come in? 

Have you used your learning spaces funds in such a way that it has raised the level of ambience in your space to a new level?

Would you describe it as inviting, warm and beautiful?

Have you created high-quality documentation panels of learning?

Please join me in evaluating your space. It is a critical component of our goal work together in taking our school to the next level.

I wonder, with some care and attention, what we might do together in the next month? Could this potentially be a way to include parent volunteers and enlist their help in organizing, purging and displaying Learning Expedition documentation panels? I'll bet there are even parents who might be interested in doing this in collaboration with their student? I think there are clever ways to enlist some helping hands. 

(I'll leave the book on my coffee table should you be interested in a deeper look.  Here are a few links for further study: Marie Montessori talks about a 'Prepared Environment' and 

WHAT IS THE REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH?

Sign Language

Thanks Wendy for the short video reminding us all to use the sign-language we committed to using with students as an entire school!
Check your email for the video.

We look forward to learning more!

Middle of the Year Self-Evaluation

 Official communication from the district level: The MOY evaluation window is now open.  Please remember that the MOY Self-Evaluation is required by all teachers and evaluators.  The MOY Self-Evaluation is due by January 15th for both teachers and evaluators.  The MOY evaluation deadline for CITE/LEAD is January 31st. 

Last year, I started Mid-Year Evaluations in December and finished almost all of them before break.

If you are ready, and have your MOY self-evaluation done and evidence uploaded to support your ratings, please coordinate with me to schedule your conference in December.

Please, please folks - don't put off uploading evidence as something to do over the holiday break. 

That would be a real drag for you and for me!

How is uploading evidence going?

Please remember if you are tagging things to CITE Standard One, you need to include your plans.

Also, remember to write your narratives in a word or google doc, so if you need to revise, you don't need to rewrite the entire entry, since CITE won't allow you to revise after you submit.

Consider uploading evidence and only tagging a few elements that are strongly connected, rather than one piece of evidence with lots of things tagged to it. That's when rating it gets blurry. You can even use the same evidence several times and tag different elements with each entry - keeping it concise and targeted.

Consider your work around writing READ plans, required moodles, drills, self-evaluations for CITE as evidence for CITE Standard 5 - Professionalism - 5.5:demonstrates professional and ethical conduct including following all laws, district policies and school procedures.

Calendar

November 23rd - 27th:

Tuesday: 

* No RTI meeting - Building Leadership Team meeting 7:00 a.m. (all staff welcome to listen in if you would like to come)

Wednesday - Thanksgiving Break

November 30 - December 4th:

Monday:

* District Budget meeting - Deborah out of the building

Tuesday:

* RTI meeting 7:30 a.m.

Wednesday:

* The Beat

* PD: Part One of First Aide/CPR course

* Remember to bring your $6.00 cash for your card

* Course will run until 5:00 p.m. 

Thursday:

* Discovery 4th grade field work

* PK12 Admin mtg - Deborah out of the building

Have a wonderful weekend!

Deborah