February 28, 2020

I will be going to visit my cousin’s wife this weekend with my sisters. She had cancer about two years ago and it has been in remission. It just recently has come back in full force. They have two kids. One is 7 years old and the other is 4 years old. This cousin of ours lived with us with his mom and little brother when our mom died for about two months. He is very near and dear to our heart. My heart goes out to him and his family. 

MORE ON ENGAGEMENT!  Until we are at 100%, we will CONTINUE this conversation as high levels of engagement directly link to higher achievement, lower off task behavior, and all around happier students!  How do we get students to make class discussions more engaging so that they are focused on the learning AND master content?  Check out THIS LINK to try 5 easy ways to make your class discussions more engaging!

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There:  When people need you, they need you.  Setting aside distractions and judgments to be fully present is a sign of respect.  It improves communication and strengthens relationships.

Play: You can be serious about your work without taking yourself too seriously. Play is a mindset more than a specific activity.  It allows you to throw yourself with enthusiasm, creativity and CURIOSITY, into whatever you are doing, in a way that is natural, not forced.  “Playing” with ideas helps you find solutions to everyday challenges.

Choose your attitude: To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional.  Ask yourself throughout the day, “What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?”

Make Their Day:   Simple gestures of thoughtfulness, thanks and recognition make people feel appreciated and valued.  When you make someone feel good, you feel good too.

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY, WE BUILD STRONGER

RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE STUDENTS WE

TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EACH OF YOU - I APPRECIATE AND RESPECT

EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

February 21, 2020

Winter MAP data by grade level winter over three years. Overall our students have made the most growth in ELA compared to last year. You should be very proud of your hard work!! We did drop in math in several grade levels compared to last year. 

Grade	Reading RIT SV 2020	Reading RIT SV 2019	Reading RIT SV 2018
1	172	172	171
2	192	192	193
3	202	199	200
4	210	207	209
5	211	211	213
6	219	217	220
7	220	221	219
8	227	223	224
Grade	Math RIT SV 2020	Math RIT SV 2019	Math RIT SV 2018
1	173	177	178
2	199	198	197
3	204	203	199
4	215	212	211
5	214	217	216
6	220	221	221
7	226	227	223
8	236	227	230

Student engagement (one of THE MOST important things in teaching), building relationships with our students is CRITICAL to how effective we are as educators.  We cannot simply close the door, turn our back, ignore the signs, or pretend that our kids DO NOT need us.  They do.  Plain and simple.  So how can you build these relationships with 30+ students in your class?  Some ways can be simple.  Check out THIS ARTICLE on some of the "golden rules" of easy peasy ways to make SIMPLE connections.  C'mon people. 

WOULD YOU WANT TO BE A STUDENT IN YOUR CLASS???

IF YOUR STUDENTS DIDN'T HAVE TO BE IN YOUR CLASS, WOULD THEY SHOW UP ANYWAY??

COLLEGE ESSAY CONTEST - begins Feb. 24 and ends March 20

Have your students pick up a paper from the front office if they are interested in competing in our college essay contest or they can use any blank paper. K-8 will be asked to write an essay explaining why they want to go to college. The winners of the contest will have their essays published on the school website and read their essay at the College Week Assembly if they would like to. A drawing will be held for a Kindle Reader one for K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Each grade level winner (there will be one for each grade) will receive a $10.00 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Let’s get excited about college!!

Read Across America: March 2: Be ready for a fun event on March 2!! I am so excited!! We have people from the district office and community coming to read to every classroom. Please have a book ready for them to read. A schedule will be emailed to you from Kristin as soon as all RSVP's have been confirmed. Students (or you) will come in their pj's or dress as their favorite character.

 

Here are some websites for Read Across America:

http://www.pinterest.com/teachingblogadd/read-across-america-ideas-for-teachers/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom-solutions/2012/02/five-ideas-perfectly-bookish-read-across-america-celebrations

http://www.seussville.com/Educators/educatorReadAcrossAmerica.php

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Be there for your students- make sure they know their RIT scores and the growth they have made. 

Play:  Thank you Vicky for planning our all in day.

Choose your attitude: Be positive! 

Make Their Day:  Thank you Tammy, Tina, Ebony, and Janet for supporting our students every day. 

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY, WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

February 13, 2020

Currently the admin team is doing a book study on the book Your Students, My Students, Our Students explores the hard truths of current special education practice and outlines five essential disruptions to the status quo. Authors Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener show you how to

• Establish a school culture that champions equity and inclusion.
• The Solutions 
• 
  

1. Build the belief among school teams that every student has value as an individual and is worthy of time, attention, and membership in every opportunity schools and society have to offer. 

2. See students with disabilities as general education students. 

3. Do not assign any students to a "track"; deliver instruction to students with disabilities in the general education classroom.

4. Ensure every student receives quality core instruction every day. When students don't respond to instruction, consider changes to the instruction itself. 

5. Provide every student with access to accommodations and modifications when these are needed. 

6. Supply students who need support with evidence-based interventions that support the skill and help them achieve meaningful growth. 

• 
  

To realize authentic and equitable inclusion, we must relentlessly and collectively pursue change. This book—written not for "special educators" or "general educators" but for all educators—addresses the challenges, maps out the solutions, and provides tools and inspiration for the work ahead. Real-life examples of empowerment and success illustrate just what's possible when educators commit to the belief that every student belongs to all of us and all students deserve learning experiences that will equip them to live full and rewarding lives.

Grades 3-8: Please start practicing SBAC

It's a good time to start having students explore the CAASPP Practice & Training Tests. This will help prepare them for the CAASPP summative that they will be taking in just over 8 weeks. CDE has the California Science Test (CAST) Training Test as well. Please go to www.fsusd.org/assessment and click on the green button "SBAC Practice & Training Tests" to access the site. Students and teachers can access as a Guest at school or home. Once you get logged as Guest, you'll need to select a grade. Be sure to select Grades 5 or 8 if you want to take the California Science Test (CAST). 

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Monica, Matthew, and Rachel for teaching us mindfulness lessons that we can use in our classroom. 

Play:  Thank you kinder team for always giving us the joy of the Love Concert. Thank you for sewing a heart t-shirt for every student!!

Choose your attitude: Have you said anything positive about your students today? A colleague? If you did, let them know :)

Make Their Day:   Thank you Sarbjit and student council for ensuring that every student receives a luv a gram today.

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY, WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

February 7, 2020

Resources to teach black history month

CLICK HERE OR CLICK HERE

I know I have published this before and it's WORTH the read again.  Take a look at these 5 Tips for Avoiding Teacher Burnout so that we get to see your smiling face each day!  Want some ideas on Time Management skills so that you don't get burned out?  Check out these EASY IDEAS and suggestions to help you along the way!  

January walk through data: We are doing a great job having writing wall displayed and having a rubric. We have evidence of learning goals for each student. We have increased in DOK level 3 in lessons. We have decreased in providing sentence frames using academic language from last month from 61% to 47%. In January I was able to observe 77% of small groups compared to last month at only 59% Please make sure when you are planning student discourse that you are writing sentence frames using academic language. This strongly correlates to integrated ELD, 

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There:  Thank you sunshine for planning our social today. Thank you fifth grade for our treats at our staff meeting. Thank you Heather M. for helping our and covering crossing guard duty for Daniel.

Play:  How do you incorporate play in your classroom?

Choose your attitude: Have you said anything positive about your students today? A colleague? If you did, let them know :)

Make Their Day:   Buy a luv-a-gram for a student! Make their day!!

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY, WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.