Using Choices to Prevent Power Struggles and Reporting Preparation

Staff

At our Tuesday staff meeting, first we will introduce the next Love and Logic classroom strategy: using choices to prevent power struggles. After this, the rest of the time is yours to prepare for filling out your report cards on Friday. Both Lisa Skoyen and Amy Wise will be in attendance to answer any of your standards based reporting questions.  Linked within your grade level folder, you'll find the ELA report card rubrics embedded into your table of contents document.

For those of you utilizing mindfulness activities in your classrooms, Edutopia published a wonderful article this fall on brain breaks and focused attention activities. Here's the article. I found it gave good examples of what type of activities help energize and calm students.

One last reminder, tomorrow is a Day 5 and set aside for your grade level teams to continue your collaboration around utilizing the Jan Richardson lesson plan format.

Thanksgiving with Mr. Rogers

As we near Thanksgiving, I thought these words from Mr. Rogers were timely. His message of supporting our neighbors and remembering the encouragers who have "helped you to love the good that grows in you" are as important today as it was when Mr. Rogers first gave this speech.

Some Reminders

Staff,

During your Day 5 common planning time on Tuesday, Chris Strop will be joining meetings to check in with classroom teachers regarding any behavioral support needs. A reminder that our staff meeting was shifted this week to Wednesday at 8:05am. The two agenda items will be Love and Logic: setting limits with enforceable statements and PLC time to collaborate around Jan Richardson guided reading lessons. Please bring any of your resources you'll need to plan guided reading to this meeting. 

Now for the bad news . . . it's anticipated that Skyward will not be ready for grade entry until the week of November 26. Because I am not sure what day it will be available that week, we have not yet set a timeline for when entry will need to be done or when progress reports will be expected to go home. I will update you as soon as we know.  I'm so sorry for this inconvenience!

BAS Roll Through, Love and Logic Strategies Review and Celebration Reports

Staff,

On Monday, during your common planning time, Amanda McCarthy and Kara will be reviewing with you the important updates within the new F+P Benchmark Assessment.

On Wednesday, November 14th Chris and I will be rolling out the next Love and Logic classroom strategy:  Setting Limits with Enforceable Statements. We will also quickly review the previous strategies listed below.

• Neutralizing Arguing:  broken record . . . I respect you too much to argue . . . Probably so . . .  I’ll listen when you voice is calm

• Teacher/Student Relationships (friendly eye contact, smiles and friendly touch) One sentence intervention:  I notice that . . . Will you stop doing that just for me?

• Delayed Consequences:  Oh, no this is sad. I’m going to have to do something about this. But not now . . . later . . . try not to worry about it. Then “plug holes” in your consequence

• Empathy:  says to a child: You are capable! Because we love you very much, we care about how you feel. But because we love you so much we will not rescue you from your problems or poor decisions. Deliver a strong dose of empathy, or sadness for the child, before you deliver the consequence.

Examples of empathic statements:
This is so sad. This is hard. Oh, this is never good. Bummer. Oh man.

Finally thanks again for all your hard work connecting with students and families through greetings, goodbyes and postcards home. It is now that time of year to fill out celebration reports for the great things you see your students doing. You should have copies of the Celebration Reports in your PBIS binders.