Sunday, December 5

 

Happy Sunday! For me, last week flew by and I am guessing the next two will be more of the same. Just hang on and enjoy the ride. 

Holiday Sing-A-Long: Our Holiday Sing-a-Long will be on Friday, December 17 at 11:10-11:45am. This window of time is right after upper grade recess and before lower grade lunch. All TK and Kinder are also at school, so it will be great! 

Updates: 

iReady- The second iReady window is open. The window is from Dec. 6- Jan. 21. 

Evaluations- If you are being evaluated this year, I will be sharing a google sheet this week to sign up for an evaluation time slot. 

Data: Make sure your data is updated in the data wall. We will be having another data team meeting when we come back from winter break. Ideally, you are also tracking your intervention groups on the data sheet. 

PTC Meeting: We are going to have our first official PTC meeting next week on Tuesday, Dec. 14. It will be on Zoom. The PTC has been working hard to get things up and running. 

Coming Up This Week:

Wednesday, Dec. 8 from 4-6pm: Staff Party🎉

Friday, Dec. 10: Spirit Day is Stoneridge Gear

Friday, Dec. 10 from 9-11am: Brooks off-site at admin meeting. 

last Week's Walk Up Song was..... Erin robert's!! 

Here is her song again: Erin's Walk Up Song

This is why she chose that song:

It always makes me happy, no matter what. I loved it in college and used to play it all the time when my kids were younger and I would have a dance parties.

Here is this week's Walk Up Song: 

Mystery Walk Up Song

Let me know who you think it is! Send me your guesses. Come on, give me a guess!!

If you haven't added your song, here is the form: Walk Up Song

Birthdays This Week🎈🎉

Christina DeCuir- December 9th

Have a great week!!!

Sunday, November 28

 

Welcome back!! Tomorrow's wake up call could be rough! This week has been a wonderful and much needed break, but man, it went quick!! I cannot believe there are only three weeks until the next break. It will be January before we blink. 

Staff Holiday Party: Thank you to our new Sunshine Committee for organizing our holiday get together this year. The holiday party will be at The Pink Martini on Dec. 8th from 4-6pm. 

 Please sign up here to let us know if you will be able to make it: Holiday Party RSVP

TOSA TIDBITS

Math Number/Image Talks

Check out these teacher friendly and ready to use slide decks generously shared by another TOSA using the image talk link I shared with you earlier! Image talks  are great and I can say the kiddos in the 3rd grade tutoring group LOVE them! I'm so excited to share them with you.

Number Image Talks  

Math Co-Planning and Teaching Volunteers

It is a gift to teach with all of you. Here is the link to sign up. It's not too late! :)

Co-Planning/Teaching Volunteer Form

Second Step Digital Walk Through

Here is a quick walk through of the Second Step Digital resource. I hope it's helpful. If you are using the box kit instead,  I show where you can mark online that you have completed the lesson. 

LINK

It has been awhile since I shared our last walk up song. I know you have been waiting to find out who's song it was! The Walk Up Song was..... Kelly Ertola!! 

Here is her song again: Kelly's Walk Up Song

This is why she chose that song:

This song helps me remember that all the problems I stress out about are solvable, and I just need to "shake it out!" Plus it just has a super fun beat that makes you want to roll down your windows and sing and dance to it in the car!

Here is this week's Walk Up Song: 

Mystery Walk Up Song

Let me know who you think it is! Send me your guesses. Come on, give me a guess!!

If you haven't added your song, here is the form: Walk Up Song

Coming Up This Week:

Tuesday, Nov. 30: Brooks at DO from 8-12pm

Wednesday, Dec. 1: PBIS Meeting @ 3:30pm

Sunday, November 21

 

YOU!!! I am thankful for all of you, from the bottom of my heart. I had a sort of 'ah ha' this week. I have narrowed my Facebook feed down to a few friends, anything and everything Peloton (I know, shocker) and nutrition. Many times this year, teachers have posted about what a tough year it has been and so much harder than any other. This week, a teacher posted that she was done and left her job. Many other teachers commented about how they feel the same, how kids can't work things out, that kids in TK-2 are crazed animals, and more! I was like, wow. This is a page that includes people across the entire country and they all feel the same as us. I also thought, 'Damn, I almost feel like I am taking my teachers for granted.' So, when I say from the bottom of my heart, I truly mean it. I don't tell you enough how much I appreciate what you do. Thank you for coming to work everyday with a smile and loving your students. I see that you are taking less time off because you recognize the struggle to get subs. That speaks volumes about your character. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! This post is simply to say thank you and to wish you a wonderful and relaxing break! We will save business for later😊

 

Happy Conference Week! I know this is a long week! In addition to teaching each day, you have to meet with the parents after that! Just know the parents are super excited to talk to each of you and learn about their babies. Have an awesome week!!

Updates for this week:

Your before and after school parking lot and cross walk duties have been covered!

Luncheon on Friday! The PTC has organized a luncheon on Friday. Food will be ready at 12:30pm in the staff room. 

Reminder: Your Chromebook carts have locks for a reason. There has been a lot of vandalism on our campus in addition to other campus' in the district. Please be sure to lock your Chromebook carts each evening. It would also be great if you could turn off your TV's each night. They will be less enticing if they are not noticeable. 

TOSA Tidbit:

Co-Planning and Teaching Interest Form

Here is a quick form to fill out if you are interested in volunteering to co-plan and co-teach a math block. I am really excited for the opportunity to work with you in your classroom!

Co-Teaching: Math Volunteers

Last Week's Walk Up Song was..... Poppi Canepa!! 

Here is her song again: Poppi's Walk Up Song

This is why she chose that song:

David Bowie is my jam and this song has a great intro.

Here is this week's Walk Up Song: 

Mystery Walk Up Song

Let me know who you think it is! Send me your guesses. Come on, give me a guess!!

If you haven't added your song, here is the form: Walk Up Song

Birthdays This Week🎈🎉

Aimee Schmitz- November 15th

November 7, 2021

 

It is the time change that I quite appreciate. The Spring Forward one, not so much! I am getting to work much earlier than usual thanks to this bonus hour! I hope you all slept in and got some rest. Last week, was a week! Maybe the time change will be the reset we all needed! A little Brooks update. My boys won their football championships this weekend. Very exciting. Joelle and our soccer team did not win. It was 5-4. We scored more times than we ever have! I am supposed to focus on the positive, right? O.M.G. Ok, moving on. 

I just wanted to give you a shout out on the fire drill! It was unexpected, but sometimes that is better. I put off doing fire drills because it feels like such a big undertaking and I want to make sure I can let new teachers to our site know what to do and where to go. Whelp! That did not happen, but you all did an amazing job. Thank you for supporting each other and making it happen. Please send any feedback my way. Did you notice a need for anything? Thank you!

Report Card Timeline: Please see below for our report card timeline

Monday, 11/8: Grades need to be submitted. 

Tuesday, 11/9: Report card previews will be provided for you to review. 

Wednesday, 11/10: Final changes due.

Thursday, 11/11: No school. 

Friday, 11/12: Report Cards emailed home to families. 

TOSA Tidbit

As you are considering your math block, I have a link to share with you that is awesome for the quick practice portion of your lesson. I got it from a Graham Fletchy training on rethinking fact fluency. This is a fabulous collection of concrete images that will allow ALL students to gain access to building fluency and they love them! These image talks take the abstract nature of number talks out of the discussion.  

When you display the image on your TV you can ask your students: How many? How do you see it? and How do you know?

Number Talk Images

Graham Fletchy put it perfectly when he said that even if a student counts the objects using one to one correspondence it shows us what they DO know shifting the focus from what they DON'T know. It helps us determine where to go with their learning. 

EL Updates/Reminders

Email Coming Soon

• Please be on the lookout for an email from Poppi and Rori regarding RFEP follow up forms that will be completed digitally through our new awesome ELLevation program. 

RFEP Paperwork Reminder

• Please give Poppi or Rori your RFEP paperwork including a copy of the on demand writing sample and rubric by November 10
• If you have questions, or concerns regarding writing, please reach out to one of us. We can use a combination of Lucy Calkins rubric scoring and teacher discretion when making this decision. It's tricky.  Please don't hesitate to ask.

Last Week's Walk Up Song was..... Christi Robertson!! 

Here is her song again: Christi's Walk Up Song

This is why she chose that song:

Not only is it freaking awesome, I have a fantastic memory of playing this in class one year for Rock Your School and my kiddos were singing along. Basically, it was one of the BEST days ever! ❤️

Here is this week's Walk Up Song: 

Mystery Walk Up Song

Let me know who you think it is! Send me your guesses. Come on, give me a guess!!

If you haven't added your song, here is the form: Walk Up Song

Coming Up This Week:

Wednesday, November 10 at 3:30- Staff Meeting

Thursday, November 11- No School

Have a great week!

Sunday, October 31

 

Happy Halloween! Thank you all for all of your work this last week. I know it was quite a week, but we made it!! Have fun tonight! 

I am going to keep the blog short and sweet because we will be together tomorrow. 

Report Card Timeline: Please see below for our report card timeline

Monday, 11/8: Grades need to be submitted. 

Tuesday, 11/9: Report card previews will be provided for you to review. 

Wednesday, 11/10: Final changes due.

Thursday, 11/11: No school. 

Friday, 11/12: Report Cards emailed home to families. 

iReady Diagnostics

This message was in the Educator Blog. The district expectation is that diagnostic assessments are only given during the 3 designated windows. We may not add diagnostics though out the year. I originally thought there was more wiggle room, but that is not the case. 

iReady Diagnostic Window 2 will be from December 6 to January 21. This diagnostic is required for all K-8 students. The diagnostic assessment should not be given outside of the testing windows due to:

• Loss of instructional time
• Testing fatigue
• The iReady and RCSD recommended best practice is for diagnostic windows to be 12-18 weeks apart.

If you have any questions about assessing outside the diagnostic windows, please reach out to your principal.

If you would like data before the second diagnostic, please consider using Standards Mastery Assessments and Growth Monitoring Assessments. The Standards Mastery Assessments will provide data on specific standards, and the Growth Monitoring Assessment will show the likelihood of projected growth for the year. If you have any questions or would like more information on these assessments, please email me at kpaese@rcsdk8.org.
Contact: Kelly Paese Yusim

Last Week's Walk Up Song was..... Shannon Nelson!! 

Here is her song again: Shannon's Walk Up Song This is why she chose that song:

There have been many mountains in my life and teaching profession always throws obstacles and its about the lessons I learn along the way that make me stronger. (I didn't know it was supposed to be a pump up song LOL)

Here is this week's Walk Up Song: 

Mystery Walk Up Song

Let me know who you think it is! Send me your guesses. Come on, give me a guess!!

If you haven't added your song, here is the form: Walk Up Song

Have a great week!

October 24, 2021

 

But....Ok, I am with you-- the rain makes the kids crazy. We need it so bad it is almost worth it😂Almost! It looks like the early part of this upcoming week is going to be rainy too! Just take deep breaths and have lots of GoNoodle breaks! 

BREAKING NEWS!! Stoneridge will be celebrating being drug free during Red Ribbon Week this week. We will celebrate with spirit days each day!

Monday: Our School is Drug Free!- Wear Stoneridge Gear

Tuesday: Say Peace Out to Drugs!-  Wear Tie Dye

Wednesday: Team Up Against Drugs!- Wear your favorite sports team jersey/shirt

Thursday: Drugs are Old School!- Wear an outfit from an earlier decade 

Friday: Say Boo to Drugs!- Wear your costume 

More Exciting things happening this week: 

Thursday morning is a visit from Derk and the school board, so we may be popping through your classrooms. 

Thursday is also the day Bernhard comes to Stoneridge for our 3rd graders. There will be lots of action around campus!

Friday is the Harvest Parade!

Harvest Parade: The Harvest Parade will be on Friday, 10/29, at 9:15am. We ask that parents enter through the kindergarten gate. There will be a sign in and visitor sticker. They should also exit through that gate and sign out. Parents will walk to the black top to watch the parade and then leave. You may have 2-3 parents help in your class for a party or what other activities you may have planned. Please let me know if you have questions. 

TOSA Tidbits

Number Sense and Place Value

I want to share a blog I came across that had some helpful information centered around place value. It gives some good reminders, a-has, scaffolding, and standard progressions. When I think about our initial closure, our then first graders were sent home when we would have gotten down on the ground and dug our hands into manipulatives to teach place value. Despite creating and providing carefully thought videos, there was a lot out of our control. Who actually watched the videos? What resources did they have at home to teach the concrete? How overwhelmed was the family with this new situation? Then last year rolled around and we were still adapting to distance instruction. Again...a lot out of our control.

Here we are working hard everyday to bridge the gap for some and enrich others. I hope you can pull little nuggets from this blog. 

Two Boys and a Dad

Next Week's Schedule

Instead of Jenn having her typical IA TOSA schedule, she is going to shadow me next week. 

Drill Follow Up: We have drills so we can work our kinks. Our safety committee will work to create a more seamless process, but I definitely learn a lot as we do each drill. For example, something as simple as being able to hear the announcements. Thank you for participating in the drill Friday.

Last Week's Walk Up Song was..... Jen HarDy!! and we had our first correct guess!! Except that person did not commit to one person...rani😉so, i don't think it can give it an official win. thank you for guessing.

Here is her song again: Jen's Walk Up Song

This is why she chose that song:

This song was my actual walkout song back when I played volleyball in High School. It always puts me in a good mood. Cleaning? Throw on this song. Sending an email to an angry parent? Throw on this song. (Sending an email to an angry parent. haha!)

Here is this week's Walk Up Song: 

Mystery Walk Up Song

Let me know who you think it is! Send me your guesses. Come on, give me a guess!!

If you haven't added your song, here is the form: Walk Up Song

Coming Up This Week:

Wednesday, 10/27: Picture Make Up Day

Wednesday, 10/28: Staff Meeting CANCELLED!! 

Thursday, 10/28: Pioneer/Bernhard Day for 3rd graders

Friday, 10/29: 9:15am Harvest Parade