Week 4 September 23

Mr. Browne's Precept

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. ~Martin Luther King Junior

Shout Outs 

 I would like to give a shoutout to Sarah, Sam, and Alyce for helping to move binders to make room for Miss Mellissa's music materials. Their help was essential in getting book bins moved and space cleared out in 207.

I also would like to give a second shout out to Nurse Sam for volunteering to help out at Family Movie Night. Her help will be very much appreciated.

Honey- Do List 

• September 30th: 1st Draft of Action Steps for professional growth and student learning goals
• October 4th: Copies of guided reading, intervention groups and, intervention schedule due in the office.   
• October 10th: Grade Level Blueprint for Learning objectives completed so Jodi can review
• October 15th: Goals and action plans finalized in TeachPoint

Leadership Team Update

Our leadership team met this week. We had the following meeting objectives:

• Revise peer to peer observation tool based on the leadership teams' experiences using the tool
• Develop feedback on district-led PD to inform next steps
• The team will review  Unit Development Rubrics and identify elements that we should include in our feedback form for teachers as units are completed.
• The team will understand and support the ILP process for students learning English that did not meet their State assigned benchmark
• Begin to generate ideas for students who are reading one year below grade level to be used for progress monitoring and intervention design. 

The most immediate impact of our work at this session is that we will be identifying 3 Focus Students in each classroom in grades 1-3. We will ask teachers to choose 1 student from each of their three lowest groups. We will be diving into the nuances of the literacy continuum to gather data on these students and will use this data to plan an intervention to accelerate growth. We will also gather data on how impactful the intervention was.

We will be slightly adjusting the Blueprint for Learning to provide more specificity about what we would like to see occur in certain CLTs. 

CLTs next week are designated as the beginning of the year data review. Leadership team members will be attending the second half of the grade 2 and grade 3 CLT at 11:15 to explain further.

Paula will be meeting with you to discuss the new ILP process for students learning English that did not meet their goals. This is a district mandate.

We are excited to have peer observations become a more formal part of our process this year. I am looking forward to seeing your analysis of the teaching and learning that is occurring here at our special school.

Fire Drill 

We will be having a fire drill on Monday at 10:45 am. If it is raining we will have a fire drill on Tuesday at the same time.

View from the District

It was brought to my attention this week through LeadBPS that BPS has a policy around the Pledge of Allegiance that is aligned with State Law. The important part of the policy for us is the following:

School Committee Policy and Massachusetts State Law require that “public school teachers at the

commencement of the 1st class of the day lead the class in group recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance”

(M.G.L. c.71, §69). The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, however, has ruled that although

students and teachers have the right to a daily opportunity to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance,

teachers and students have a constitutional right not to participate in the pledge. Teachers and students who choose not to participate (i.e. recite and/or stand) may not be penalized for declining to do so. All schools must comply with our responsibility to display the flag and to provide daily opportunity for recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Moving forward we will be including the Pledge of Allegiance in our morning messages in order to be in compliance with this mandate. 

News from DESE 

Please remember that DESE will be visiting on Wednesday as part of their review of BPS schools. 

One School One Book

These are the books that I am considering for my monthly reading to classrooms. There are also a few "bonus" books that look fun. 

October: Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin

Tameika is a girl who belongs on the stage. She loves to act, sing, and dance—and she’s pretty good at it, too. So when her school announces their Snow White musical, Tameika auditions for the lead princess role.

But the other kids think she’s “not quite” right to play the role.

They whisper, they snicker, and they glare.

Will Tameika let their harsh words be her final curtain call?

Not Quite Snow White is a delightful and inspiring picture book that highlights the importance of self-confidence while taking an earnest look at what happens when that confidence is shaken or lost. Tameika encourages us all to let our magic shine.

November: A Boy Like You by Frank Murphy

There's more to being a boy than sports, feats of daring, and keeping a stiff upper lip. A Boy Like You encourages every boy to embrace all the things that make him unique, to be brave and ask for help, to tell his own story and listen to the stories of those around him. In an age when boys are expected to fit into a particular mold, this book celebrates all the wonderful ways to be a boy.

December: Because by Mo Willems

Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, composes a powerful symphony of chance, discovery, persistence, and magic in this moving tale of a young girl's journey to center stage. Illustrator Amber Ren brings Willems' music to life, conducting a stunning picture-book debut.

January: Alma and How She Got Her Name- Juana Martinez-Neal
If you ask her, Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela has way too many names: six! How did such a small person wind up with such a large name? Alma turns to Daddy for an answer and learns of Sofia, the grandmother who loved books and flowers; Esperanza, the great-grandmother who longed to travel; José, the grandfather who was an artist; and other namesakes, too. As she hears the story of her name, Alma starts to think it might be a perfect fit after all — and realizes that she will one day have her own story to tell. In her author-illustrator debut, Juana Martinez-Neal opens a treasure box of discovery for children who may be curious about their own origin stories or names.

February: Whoever You Are-Mem Fox
Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same language. Their lives may be quite different. But inside, they are all alike. Stirring words and bold paintings weave their way around our earth, across cultures and generations. At a time when, unfortunately, the lessons of tolerance still need to be learned, Whoever You Are urges us to accept our differences, to recognize our similarities, and-most importantly-to rejoice in both.

March: Just Ask! Be Different, Be You.- Sonia Sotomayer
In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges--and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same: When we come across someone who is different from us but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.

April: The Undefeated-Kwame Alexander (1-3)
Originally performed for ESPN's The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith, and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present. The robust back matter at the end provides valuable historical context and additional detail for those wishing to learn more.
Get up, Stand up- Bob Marley (K0/K1, K2)
As a young girl goes on with her day in school, she comes across several instances of teasing and intimidation. But with loving action and some help from her friends, she's able to make things right for herself and others.

May: Auntie Luce's Talking Paintings- Francie Latour
Every winter, a young girl flies to Haiti to visit her Auntie Luce, a painter.
The moment she steps off the plane, she feels a wall of heat, and familiar sights soon follow ― the boys selling water ice by the pink cathedral, the tap tap buses in the busy streets, the fog and steep winding road to her aunt’s home in the mountains.
The girl has always loved Auntie Luce’s paintings ― the houses tucked into the hillside, colorful fishing boats by the water, heroes who fought for and won the country’s independence. Through Haiti’s colors, the girl comes to understand this place her family calls home. And when the moment finally comes to have her own portrait painted for the first time, she begins to see herself in a new way, tracing her own history and identity through her aunt’s brush.
Includes an author’s note and a glossary.

June: Ode to an Onion: Pablo Neruda and his Muse-Alexandria Giardino
A poetic, beautifully illustrated picture book inspired by Ode to the Onion by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904–1973).  Pablo has a lunch date with his friend Matilde, who shows the moody poet her garden. Where Pablo sees conflict and sadness, Matilde sees love and hope. The story is less a biography of Neruda and his muse, Matilde Urrutia (1912–1985), and more a simple ode to a vegetable that is humble and luminous, dark and light, gloomy and glad, full of grief and full of joy—just like life.

Bonus Books:
One World, One Love- Bob Marley
Swarm of Bees-Lemony Snicket
Ruby Finds a Worry-Tom Percival

Family Council and the Fridge 

Family Council is actively seeking donations for a new upstairs refrigerator. I wrote a memo for them to share with the appropriate suppliers and possible donors. In the meantime, we have taken the old refrigerator out of the building. 

Fundraising 

The family council really wants to support the school, the teachers and build a sense of community among parents and the school. In order to do this, they need an operating budget. They have several fundraisers planned throughout the year.

• Ongoing Fundraisers (Amazon, Stop & Shop, Box Tops)
• Oct-Nov Coffee Cake Sale
• Dec- Christmas Store
• Jan- 50/50 Raffle
• Feb- National Grid Fundraiser

My question for all of you is what were your thoughts about the Christmas store? It did not earn a lot of money and it sounds like it was a significant lift for the teachers, Michelle, and Mr. Ben. Is this something that we could continue. 

Michelle was a gem and did a lot of coordination work for the Family Council. I think the  Family Council Team is really feeling her loss. I think as we work on events and fundraisers it would be helpful to have an organizational liaison to work with the team and troubleshoot problems. Almost like what a wedding planner would do. The council is a great group of people to work with. If you are interested in serving the council in this way please let me know.  

Curriculum Night and Tacos 

On that note, we are having a taco pot luck the night of curriculum night. Members of the leadership team will be stationed at the entrances asking families to go to the classrooms first and then finish in the cafeteria with the community by building a taco and having dinner and conversation. We hope that you will join us for this community meal as well. 

The family council asks that staff members provide paper goods like plates, napkins, and silverware. 

I am going to supply sour cream and salsa. (My two favorite parts of the taco)

Family Council is going to supply meat and beans. 

As you have seen students from each grade level will be providing a different part of the taco. Students will be bringing those on Tuesday morning. Items can be stored in the refrigerator in my office and on my table. 

Opportunity to Make Extra Money 

Bus Attendant- 539 Afternoon Run

Our big bus 539 needs an attendant to ride the route in the afternoon. This is a great opportunity to make some extra money and bond with some cute kids.  The route is as follows:

MORTON ST@VERRILL ST 03 : 45 PM 3

MORTON ST @ LUCERNE ST 03 : 47 PM 6

228/230 WESTVIEW ST 03 : 51 PM 3

WESTVIEW ST@AMES ST 03 : 52 PM 1

361 Harvard St 03 : 57 PM 1

HARVARD ST@FRANKLIN HILL AVE 03 : 58 PM 7

AMERICAN LEGION HWY@FRANKLIN HILL AVE 04 : 01 PM 1

HARVARD ST@WALES ST 04 : 05 PM 3

GLENWAY ST @PAGE ST 04 : 08 PM 5

ERIE ST@MICHIGAN AVE 04 : 10 PM 3

WASHINGTON ST@NORWELL ST 04 : 12 PM 1

WASHINGTON ST @BOWDOIN ST 04 : 15 PM 4

BOWDOIN ST@CORONA ST 04 : 16 PM 2

GENEVA AV @ WESTVILLE ST 04 : 20 PM 6

PARK ST@GENEVA AVE

Yellow Bathroom 

Ahhh the yellow bathroom a quiet restful place to do your business, NOT. Our K friends need a bit more time and support to most effectively meet their needs. I have had several events of tears and shouts this week of friends that just could not handle the independence needed.  We also have some older friends (I am assuming) who are crawling under the stall and locking it from the inside. It is not healthy or sanitary to be crawling on that floor.  If at all possible if we could have a classroom adult teach and supervise the proper toileting routine for the next week or two that would be very helpful. I just do not think our smallest friends are there, yet.

The Little Things

In addition to the Yellow Bathroom, there are two things we need to be mindful of.

• Most importantly is attendance. Almost every day I have had one parent call and let me know that their child is present after they hear our Robo attendance call. Please be careful when taking attendance so that we are not causing families undue anxiety.  I am also tracking attendance pretty closely because I believe if we are going to close the opportunity gap we need our students with us. 
• The other is the bus binder. The bus binder is essential for a smoothe dismissal. We are already handicapped by the busses, let's support our community in what we have control over. 

Behavior Plans

If you have a student with a Tier 3 behavior plan please share it with me. That way when called in to support the supports and language are consistent.  I also want to know who we are working intensely with so that we can monitor their progress throughout the school community. 

Literacy Honeycomb -Sarah Little 

Forming Reading Groups

Many of you have used or are about to use your BAS assessments to form your guided reading groups.  The newest edition of the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading text that we all received last year has a couple of chapters on assessments (Chapter 9) and using assessments to form groups (Chapter 10).  There are some helpful reminders in there for what to keep in mind when assessing and grouping students, including:

• When thinking about a student as a reader, be sure to consider the entire wheel of strategic action - what the student is doing within the text (fluency, decoding, summarizing); how the student is thinking beyond the text (making inferences; synthesizing big ideas); and how the student is thinking about the text (analyzing the author's craft and critiquing a text).  Keeping these actions in mind will help set goals for groups and individuals.
• When analyzing student assessments - think individual, small group and whole class.  How can the whole class instructional contexts of shared reading, interactive read-aloud, writing about reading, writers workshop, word study, and interactive/shared writing support the needs you see bubbling up for a larger number of students? 

Best Practices Article: Teaching and Learning About Letters in Early Literacy

We have shared this article before, but since it is the beginning of the year and many students are building their letter knowledge, I thought I would share again.
This article (linked here) is from The Reading Teacher - a journal that is written for and about real-world classroom practitioners (and often by real classroom teachers).  This article focuses on building letter knowledge and is a quick read with some strong recommendations.  The five key principles pulled out below. Enjoy!  And if you would like to discuss any of the ideas in the article or would like more resources about the topic, please reach out to Sarah. 

Principles of effective early literacy/letter knowledge instruction

• Keep instruction brief and focused - using crisp, clear language and as few words as possible so that students can focus on the items they are learning
• Help students make meaningful connections between new letters they are learning and words or letters they already know.  If you are using words to anchor the letter to a sound (e.g., Cat for C or Fortnite for F), make sure all adults working with the student are aware of the sound/letter/word links so that initially students can be prompted consistently.  (See Alyce, Kathryn, or Sarah if you want to know more about making the individual ABC books mentioned in the article)
• When teaching a new letter, include movements, words, and a visual model of the letter.
• Ensure that students not only learn new letters but also become faster at identifying and differentiating already-known letters. 
• Teach for the application of letter knowledge to writing and writing connected texts - help students see WHY it is important to know letters and sounds.

Far-Fetched Idea 

If you could rename our school, would you and why? Who would you name it after? 

I would rename our school because I am becoming increasingly frustrated with being confused with the Lee K-8 from our district and families. I want our own identity that reflects who we are.  I would rename our school the Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Academy. I am truly curious about what your thoughts are about this. Please share them

Week 3: September 16th

Mr. Browne's Precept

You are a conductor of light ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Shout Outs 

Lindsay- Lindsay's level of leadership, institutional knowledge and support has been so helpful. I am so appreciative of the open and honest communication from the union's viewpoint as well as her ability to know and support our school community through our by-laws and ETWA.

Rose- When I first put out the plan for announcements Rose took a risk and offered some constructive feedback that will improve the outcomes and delivery of the messages resulting in the goal that I wanted. I can't imagine this was easy to do with a new leader. I am appreciative of how she helped me make my practice better. 

Honey-Do List 

• September 20th-23rd- Send home reminder about the family council meeting on Monday evening from 5:45 to 6:45
• September 25th Coaches: Fill in objectives for coach facilitated CLT in October. Moving forward these will be completed on the second Monday of the month prior to implementation (i.e 10/15 for the November sessions)
• September 26th: Use your parent communication to remind families that the first meeting is 5:45-6:45 and there will be childcare and food.
• September 30th: 1st Draft of Action Steps for professional growth and student learning goals
• October 10th: Grade Level Blueprint for Learning objectives completed so Jodi can review

DESE News 

October 2nd DESE Visits 

As you know DESE is coming to visit. I am so excited to show our school off.  Our guests will be here on Wednesday, October 2nd. The observers will be using the CLASS tool when observing district classrooms. I am very familiar with this tool and am confident that we will be rated very highly. Here is a high-level overview of the tool.

MCAS Update

There have been some small changes to the 3rd grade ELA Test Design. This is the link to the document that describes those changes. I think it will be helpful for all to see what the test design looks like because it will help provide context for stamina and expectations for our students. 

Morning Announcement Revamp 

Morning announcements take three! I want to thank everyone for their feedback and incredibly helpful suggestions. Especially Rose who provided several ideas to make "Dr. Jodi's Math" workable.

• We will begin with music again this Monday.  We will be staying with African Drums. Thanks to your feedback I knew students could not really hear the music and I needed to get a Bluetooth speaker. I just have not made it to the store yet. 
• By the end of the day each Monday you will have a sheet with your grade's Dr. Jodi's Math problems for each student. Both the Tuesday and the Thursday problem will be on the sheet. I will still read the problem on each specified day. 
• I will have an envelope hanging outside my door. Students can put their completed work in the envelope. On Thursday afternoon I will choose a strong example of mathematical thinking for each grade level to be displayed on our "Bee"utiful Math Bulletin Board.
• On Friday afternoon I will announce our grade level math stars and have them come to the office to receive their math star badge (a large cardboard star with a piece of tape on it). I want this to be an opportunity to reinforce our students' identities as intellectuals capable of high levels of thinking. 
• The math problems are not intended to be aligned with the curriculum but rather to reflect grade-level standards.  It is an opportunity to see how students approach novel problems using the mathematical knowledge that they already have. It is also an opportunity to reinforce some of the mathematical practice standards. 
• By the end of the day on Monday, you will also have our 3 words of the week. 
• These words will also be added to the bulletin board outside of my office with a definition and picture when applicable. 
• I am going to try and commit to a 9:35 hard start time for announcements. Hopefully, our luck with morning busses will hold. 
• I will also slow down on the pledge. Thank you for that feedback. If Ms. Denise keeps standing by her door and repeating with the kids the timing should be much better. 

One School, One Book 

I am hoping to have a list of titles that I want to use ready for your review next week. I have found some books that look great. Some of which I have seen in your classrooms. I want to avoid titles that you are building an entire unit around but if students hear a book two times as a read-aloud it might not be a bad thing. I will look for your guidance on this. 

Family Council 

Family Movie Night

If your Friday night routine has become a bit stale and you're looking for a way to make it saltier, come have some popcorn with us at Family Movie Night next Friday from 6:30-9:00. Our wonderful family council is looking for volunteers to help with crowd control as we premiere Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. It is sure to be a fun event. I am really looking forward to it. 

The family council also asking those of you with a Class Dojo, Seesaw or some other type of classroom communication with parents to send out a reminder to your families on Thursday afternoon that movie night will be happening on Friday evening from 6:30-9:00. Thank you in advance. 

Reminder

The family council has asked that we use our classroom communication platforms with families to remind them of the parent council meeting on Monday Evening from 5:45 to 6:45 and that there will be food provided.  

Taco about an Idea

I wanted to give everyone a heads up that our Fabulous Family Council may be hosting a build a taco night in conjunction with our open house on  October 1st. This should be super fun. Look for more information at the beginning of the week. 

Fridge 

I am sure that you are very aware that we need a new fridge upstairs. Unfortunately, we do not have the budget to purchase one. If we are going to replace the fridge then we will have to either find a nice appliance shop to donate and deliver one and take the old one away or somehow raise funds. I checked the rules and we cannot raise the funds ourself because of the student activities conflict but Family Council could possibly as a donation to teachers as long as they are clear about what they are raising the funds for. Please talk with Lindsay or Denise about what you believe is the best way to proceed and we will try to make it happen.

Water Update 

The flavored water is a district-wide problem. The flavor is nothing that will harm anyone and is a byproduct of the process that WB Mason used to sanitize the water coolers. Bill is going to replace all of the coolers that have an off flavor and he is going to rinse and wash the replacements so hopefully, all of our water will taste good on Monday.  If it does not on Monday please stop by and let me know!

Moving of Music Supplies 

We are giving Ms. Melissa some space to store her materials! Ms. Melissa will be moving her materials into the pull-downs in 207. In order to accomplish this, we need to move the plethora of black book bins into the binder closet down in the cafeteria. I am looking for volunteers to gather on Tuesday morning at 8:30 to help accomplish this task quickly and efficiently much like we did the book room. We will move bins downstairs and help Melissa move her things in. 

Accessing Employee Self-Service (ESS) 

Zoraida will be redistributing the fliers with directions for accessing ESS in mailboxes. We will also be using our huddle on October 1st to work together to demonstrate how the system works. 

September 30th Fire Drill 

We will be having a fire drill on Monday at 10:45 am. If it is raining we will have a fire drill on Tuesday at the same time. 

Week 2: September 9 2019

Mr. Browne's Precept

An act of kindness never dies but extends the invisible undulations of its influence over the breadth of centuries. ~ Frederick William Faber

Appreciation 

 

This week, I would like to extend my appreciation to Chris and Anthony. On Friday morning one of our friends was having difficulty settling into the day. Anthony and Chris were a strong presence for our friend and helped get him launched into class. Their love and care for the student were evident. I am also aware that Stephanie and Lindsay had to do without their support as we started the day. This is just a single example of how this community works together to support our students and each other.

Honey-Do List 

September 13th: Huddle Preference Survey
September 16th: Sign off Sheet for Required Reading
September 20th: Classroom Schedules
September 20th: Let Jodi know if you think the Book of the Month Club is a good idea
September 30th: 1st Draft of Action Steps for professional growth and student learning goals
October 10th: Grade Level Blueprint for Learning objectives completed so Jodi can review

Idea: Book of the Month Club

Sometimes when I can't sleep I think up activities that I think will be good for the school community. Here is my latest. I/we would choose a book representative of our students that focuses on a positive character trait like kindness or empathy. Over the course of the month, I would read the same book to each class so every student would hear the book. We could send something home to families about the book and the character trait in our newsletter with ideas for related read alouds and/or activities. Let me know by September 20th if you think we should go forward with this idea.

Leadership Team Update 

The amazing leadership team met Thursday morning. We had a productive meeting.  We created draft protocols for our peer observations and classroom visits. The coach facilitating your CLT can tell you more about them. The leadership team members will be trying these out in classrooms sometime before September 26th.
We also resolved some lingering issue that you had about creating your Blueprint for Learning.

• Instead of creating the Blueprint through January you will complete it on a month by month basis. The coach facilitating your CLT will fill in the objectives for the coach facilitated time that happens at the beginning of each cycle.
• The team will fill in the remaining blocks based on a combination of three things: 1) What you have been working on in CLT  2)New ideas that you got from WSPD 3)Your action plan for the professional practice and/or student learning goal. 
• Please continue to use whatever agenda format worked for your CLT last year. You will not be graded on your agenda. The agenda is important because it is the "lesson plan" that you develop for your own learning. I am not concerned about you using the time well or on the tasks identified. You are professionals
• I have added a Honey-do list to the Hive so that you will see upcoming due dates for the month. There will not always be a concrete deliverable. Often the results of the work will be seen in change and growth during classroom visits. 
• We will create a folder of protocols that teams can choose from for the variety of activities that we will be participating in.

Morning Announcements 

I apologize that morning announcements have been a bit lackluster. I have wanted to take time and think about how I wanted to "brand" them. This is how I am going to start next week. We will have morning announcements at 9:45. Each day I will have grade level students of the week help. We will start with the third grade on Monday and work backward to K0-K1 on Friday.  Each day we will do the following:

• Reminders for Staff
• Birthdays-Yes we have birthday crowns!
• Music-We will identify a different genre each week and talk a bit about the genre. We will listen to a clip of the genre
• Dance-Using the genre above we will have a dance break where students can just move to the rhythm
• Daily Buzzword (M, W, F)- We will have a new vocabulary word each of these days\
• Dr. Jodi's Math Problem of the Day (T, Th)- I will read a word problem for each grade. The first student to bring me the correct written solution from each grade level will get a math star fo their class. I will read the problems on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I will also include them here each week. 

Morning Announcement Focus Areas

Dr. Jodi's Math Problem of the Day (T, Th)-

Tuesday

• Kindergarten: Dr. Jodi has 8 nuts. Squirrels ate 3 of the nuts. How many nuts were left? (5 nuts)
• Grade 1: Dr. Jodi saw 67 apples. Fifty of those apples were red and the rest were green. How many green apples did Dr. Jodi see? (17 green apples)
• Grade 2: Dr. Jodi heard a horn honk 5 times every hour. How many honks did she hear in 5 hrs? (25 honks)
• Grade 3: Dr. Jodi saw 27 girls at the movies. She saw 4 times as many boys there. How many boys did she see at the movies? (108 boys)

Thursday

• Kindergarten: Dr. Jodi needs to know how many letters appear in her name. (4 letters)
• Grade 1: Dr. Jodi needs to know how many times the letter P appears in the phrase " Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers. How Many Pickled Peppers did Peter Piper Pick?" (15)
• Grade 2: Dr. Jodi has 5 nickels, 4 dimes, and 6 pennies. How much money does she have? (71 cents)
• Grade 3: At Franklin Park Zoo Dr. Jodi saw 77 snakes, 67 alligators, and 57 bears. How many reptiles did Dr. Jodi see? (144. Note: Bears are not reptiles.)

Music Genre: African Drums (Source https://www.contemporary-african-art.com/african-drums.html)

DESE Visits

I was informed this week that our school has been selected to participate in the upcoming classroom observations being conducted as part of DESE’s district review.  Below, I provide more information on these observations. Most immediately, I have two hopefully quick requests: 

DESE has received our school’s master schedule and floor plan from BPS. They greatly appreciate any additional information you can provide on teachers’ instructional times and locations in advance of the visit (e.g., Grade 3 ELA takes place in Room 101 at 10 am). Please provide this schedule in response to this email or in response to the forthcoming scheduling email. 

Here is some additional context on the visit: 

DESE has selected the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to be the vendor who will conduct classroom observations. Between 9/30 and 10/11 of this year, AIR’s observers will visit 100 BPS schools, and conduct between eight and ten observations per school, depending on school size. The purpose of these observations is to create a report on the quality of classroom instruction across the entire district, using a sample of classrooms in the majority of BPS schools. The district review will not be used to evaluate individual teachers or schools, and no identifying school information or individual teacher information will be reported to participating schools, BPS, or DESE. The observation protocol is not designed to provide feedback to individual teachers or schools.

 On the day of the observations, an observer will report to the main office and sign in. I will set aside 15 minutes at the start of the visit to coordinate with the observer(s). The AIR team will ask if there are any teacher absences (they do not want to observe short-term substitutes), confirm the timing of activities outside of regular academic instruction (e.g., recess, lunch, physical education), and confirm how to avoid settings where their presence would be unduly disruptive (e.g., medically fragile settings, one-to-one settings).  

The observers will then proceed to conduct observations, unaccompanied, in a representative set of preselected classrooms. All observations will be brief, lasting approximately 20 minutes, and designed to minimize interruptions to teachers’ instruction and students’ learning. No identifying information will be collected on teachers whose classrooms are observed.

 All observation team members are certified in the use of the CLASS tool and are experienced observers. All AIR members have been CORI checked, and will also only be with children in a classroom setting (i.e. they will not pull children out of class for interviews). 

Classroom Schedules 

I will need your individual class schedules for the above review by the end of the day on September 20th. 

Reminders

• Please check mailboxes at least every other day. This is important so that we can fit important information, or at least backpack mail, in your boxes as it comes in. 
• Do not forget to sign in every day. This is important for payroll purposes. 
• Do not forget to pick up your two-way radios when you are taking children outside of the building. Though this is a new procedure it is important for safety. 

Late Pick-up Help 

We are looking for a co-educator (Paraprofessional) to volunteer to shift their hours to 9:30-4:00. The reason behind this is we would like someone to help cover late pick-ups. The expectation is that the volunteer would be at their teaching post and ready to go at 9:30. Please let me know ASAP if you are interested. The 1st person to volunteer will be selected. 

Food for Thought 

This article "An Open Letter to Black Parents Whose Suns Have Been Pushed Out of Preschool" has been on my mind since I first read it. It is thought-provoking and challenged my thinking in a lot of ways. I have been in schools where we have called parents every day about their child's behavior without thinking about what message we were sending the parent about their identity and the identity of their child. I believe that we are the type of school that will build relationships with our students and families. This article simply reminded me how much as at stake. 

Week 1: September 2, 2019

Mr. Browne's Precept

Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise. ~ Horace

Appreciation 

I cannot find the words to convey how much I appreciate the role every one of you played in the smooth opening of school. In 25 years in education (darn I am old) I have not encountered people, as individuals and as a collective, that are as passionate, driven, committed, dedicated, determined, warm-hearted and open-minded as you are. What would have been catastrophic in some settings has been a blip for you. You are single-mindedly focused on your students. I see it when I am in your rooms.. watching you facilitate lessons. I observe it as you thoughtfully prepare your rooms thinking about what will work just right for your kids. You are special. Our learning community is special.

 I can't wait to welcome our smallest bumblebees next week. 

Book Recommendation 

My commute is long and I listen to a lot of books. This week I am listening to "How to be an Anti-Racist" by Ibram X. Kendi. In many ways, this book is a counterpoint to my last recommendation "Between the World and Me". I find the blend of Mr. Kendi's personal stories, history lessons, logical assertions and arguments to create a compelling case for being an anti-racist. 

Goals and TeachPoint

We have identified the CLT time the week of 9/16 as an opportunity to work on your goals and action plans in TeachPoint. If you have any questions about the platform please do not hesitate to come to see me. I have had several years of experience using the tool. I really think once you get used to it you will prefer it. 

Huddles 

It is my intention to use our Huddle time for operational issues and shout-outs.  was brought to my attention that the team had discussed changing the time of Huddles when you were working on your EWTA. I have created a form so that you can share your opinion with me. Please complete the form by Friday 9/13/20. 

Health Office- From BPS Health Services 

BPS Health Services has made the following requests of how we access the health office:

• Please do not use the water in the health office. That should be reserved for students taking medication only. There are several water coolers on the first floor that are accessible to all. 
• Please do not use the refrigerator in the health office. That should be used only for medication storage. You can store items in the refrigerator in my office. Fair warning, I will throw anything left in there out on Fridays. 
• Please do not use the bathroom in the health office unless it is an emergency. 
• We will move the microwave that is currently in the health office to the teachers' lounge.
• Please limit the amount of traffic in the health office so that its use is limited mainly to student foot traffic. 

I also want to be clear that these requests are not coming from our new nurse Samantha who will be starting soon. They are coming directly from BPS Health services.

Central Office Point of View 

The central office has been buzzy. They have provided me with a few items that they would like you and me to be aware of. I am linking those here:

School Safety

Equity Letter from Dr. Cassellius

Time off Requests 

We are changing the way that we are handling your requests for time off. We will now be handling them electronically through ESS rather than completing the paper form as you have in the past. They have worked out the bug that would have made me hesitant to not have the paper redundancy. If you are sick we will continue to handle that the way it is outlined in the staff handbook. You will be expected to enter the time into ESS as soon as you are feeling up to it. 

Required Reading

Please do not forget to complete your required reading of mandated items and the sign-off sheet to acknowledge that you have completed your homework. 

Reading for Fun 

I LOVE reading to classes. Please invite me in to read a story to your students. Though I have an awesome selection of children's books, I would ask that you choose to that it is one tied in with the curriculum and relevant to the learning that you are facilitating. 

Literacy Reminders

BAS Guidance

It's BAS time again.  Here is the 19-20 BAS Guidance document that lives on the drive.  As always, please see Sarah if you would like to see an assessment modeled, do a side-by-side assessment, or talk through the scoring of an assessment.  Don't hesitate to reach out! 

Book Room

Thanks to the help of loads and loads of people, the book room has moved!  It is now located in the Literacy Office in Room 201.  The guided reading book bins are still organized by level against the wall as you walk in.  The check out system is the same and the clothespins labeled with room numbers are by the door. 

The guided reading bins are still under construction (lots of strays and some new sets to label and organize), but books are available for use and will be fully stocked and labeled by 10/4. 

Additionally, our school big book collection is now in 201 and organized and labeled for school-wide use.  We have quite a robust collection that includes storybooks, traditional literature, social studies and science topics, math concepts/counting books and some songs/rhymes books.  There is also a collection of level A-I books that are GREAT for teaching early literacy concepts and some print features - everything from 1:1 matching, return sweep, dialogue, speech bubbles, bolded text, high-frequency words, etc.  We also now have a "Professional Lending Library" with lots of great resources for literacy instruction.  Included in that is a copy of "Read it Again!: Revisiting Shared Reading" by Brenda Parkes with has tons of great ideas for shared reading purposes and activities.  There are also tons of Keri's old classroom poems in the literacy office that can be used for shared reading. For both the professional library and the big book collection, there will be a clipboard and sign out sheet to record what you've borrowed and when you return it.  See Sarah with any questions!