Bravo Zulu!
Bravo Zulu to Renee Rosette, our CTE Environmental Sciences teacher for organizing and over seeing a successful trip to the Zoo for students! Not just New Start kids, but an entire crew from Mt. Rainier as well. To deliver two busloads of kids, out of district, and into real life hands-on learning experiences in our community is a lot of work, and shows commitment to authentic and relevant learning experiences for our students. I heard the trip was a hit from several students! Bravo Zulu Renee. Well Done.
Also to Andrea Love, Sheralyn Quitania, Ann Carlson at New Start, and CHOICE Crew, George and Kay for incredible behind the scenes work preparing adults and students for HSPE this week. The Reading and Writing HSPE are important milestones for all of our students, and their efforts to ensure all those who need it, take it, is critical to our helping students be successful. I also want to thank the rest of staff who have been teaching and prepping students for this vital test all year. It is testing time, and this week we will see high results and achievement for our students. In advance, thank you for your good work, commitment and a job well done.
Instructional Point: Teaching Purpose and Rigor
For years educators have struggled to identify “Rigor” in classrooms. In my walkthrough at HS3 last week we looked for academic rigor through a connection to teaching point and purpose. That is to say if we found teachers clearly on teaching point, and effectively communicating this to their students, what we believed to be rigor was evident.
What we learned was that diversification was the key. We saw teaching and learning that was indeed academically rigorous for some students, and not so much for others…certainly not all. For example, in an algebra class we saw students working with each other to describe inverse relationships on a graph. Most were truly engaged in the discussion, and clearly thinking about the tasks at hand. Students helped each other, and drew notes, equations and pictures to make sense of what the teacher had proposed to them. Other students, in the same class, did not grasp the concepts put forth by the teacher, and therefore their small group work was not so independent. The math activity did not feel, or look rigorous. In fact the teacher spent a lot of time and effort directing students who did not make a connection or see the overall purpose of the lesson.
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| Mr. Fix working hard to engage all of his students in Algebra. (HS3) Keep it rigorous! |
This came as no surprise to me, but emphasized the importance of good planning in the classroom for a wide diversity of knowledge, understanding and engagement in the lesson. Ongoing formative assessment is critical to understanding where each student is intheir connection to the learning at hand. This is the art and science of classroom teaching. How are we repeatedly clear, and relentlessly communicating, our purpose for teaching every lesson every day? How do we design lessons, and support all of our children so that each child “get’s it”?
More News:
Classified Appreciation Week: This week is a week to thank our classified staff for their incredible work to support our teaching, and student learning. Please take a moment this week to acknowledge our fantastic classified staff! Thank Jenn and Dolly at CHOICE, and Mica, Josh, Jackie, Ann, Sheralyn and Jackie at New Start. Amidst the HSPE hustle, I hope we can do something special for them, for the good work they have shared in with us.
Friday PCT: New Start meets to discuss Master Schedule, and CHOICE to select the incoming students next fall. Yes it is that time of year we are looking forward to Fall 2012-13. Wow!
HSPE: Will require special scheduling this week at each site. Please keep in touch with your coordinators to make sure you understand what is expected of you Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We are all in this together. Go get ‘em!
My Schedule:
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
CHOICE /New Start | New Start | New Start | CHOICE / HCC | PSSC / CH / NS |
March 12 | March 13 | March 14 | March 15 | March 16 |
CH Student Matter NS Morning Office Meeting Teach Class NS Observation Energy Efficiency Walkthrough Meeting with Teachers re: contracts Weekly Counselor | HSPE Oversight Teach Class Meet w/ Carla Jackson Sped Meetings | HSPE Oversight Becca Meeting Observation Meetings School Board (Evening) | HSPE Oversight Monitor Visit to Gateway (HCC) Pro Cert Project Work | PSSC Skills Gap Symposium SPED/CHOICE Planning Meeting PCT Oversight: CH Acceptance Committee NS Master Calendar Monthly Meeting w/ Carla Jackson |
In closing this week, I want to remind all of the importance of testing this week. I know you all have been working hard this entire year to prepare our students for success. It is now test time. My best wishes and hopes are with all of us now. Please focus on HSPE and achievement for our kids this week. May we all have a very successful week…Happy HSPE!
Mike
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