Wednesday October 1st, 2014

Habit #8 helps students to understand that their voice matters. This isn't accomplished only orally, but also through writing. This was one of the main themes at Idaho Leads the last two days. Many items mentioned at the training went perfectly with Leader in Me and other activities we are already doing in our building. We'll use some of the ideas with upcoming staff meetings, teaming meetings, and our school improvement plan to help fine tune our direction. Student voice is a powerful tool, and we definitely have seen that with our students.

One of the other topics mentioned was belonging. This is something we are always striving to improve with students, staff, and families. Think also about books and images, and then the diversity we have at Harrison. We need students to see pictures that they can relate to. Even our library has more multicultural books this year. Here is a reflective article that illustrates both student voice and belonging:

First Grade Student

Here is an image from Mr. Fullmer. This picture would be great to discuss with students, or for a writing activity, using the topics of student voice and belonging:

Have a great 4 day weekend with your friends and family!


                                                   

Tuesday September 30th, 2014

Tie Tuesday is coming in October! Girls can wear ties or a scarf.

We had a request for crazy sock day, so please put Friday November 14th on your calendar. Get the crazy socks ready!

Collaboration is embedded in everything we are doing this year. We also are striving to include this more with our students. This image is a great reminder of the importance of collaboration:

Monday September 29th, 2014

Duties for the week:

     AM Bus: Owens
                  Osborn
                  Taylor
     PM Bus: Warner
                  Anderson
                  Coleman
     Lounge: Ardito/Matlock

Meetings/Reminders for the week:

   September 30th, 2014- Tuesday- Choir Starts 8:10-8:40

   October 1st, 2014- Wednesday- Eval Team

   October 2nd-3rd, 2014- Thursday and Friday- No School- State Inservice


The week is short, but we still have three days for significant instruction. Please remember to progress monitor this week, and we will then have data for next week when we meet for grade level teaming.

I will be at Idaho Leads Monday and Tuesday, and Mr. Fullmer as well. Tyler will be taking care of two schools with no principals. Patience is appreciated!

Here is the flier that was sent home with students:

Upcoming Dates 

Here is a great picture from bus duty on Friday. She said she was doing what her teacher does- teaching others how to read:

The lighthouse team had a great training on Friday. We used the community room at the Farmers National Bank on Poleline, and it was a perfect location. They were very good to work with.

We will update staff shortly with the school goals:

We even had Daysha going to the restroom, and running back in with an idea. So funny!

Friday September 26th, 2014

It is an all hands on deck kind of day. We have several teachers out today because of our Leader in Me training today. Please assist the guest teachers at your grade level and help them feel welcomed. This is the trainer, and she has quite the experience in her background. We are really lucky to have her:

Trainer

Here are two parent notes I posted on the school website about creativity. These would be great to share on your classroom blogs and or email distribution lists to families. We have several great pieces of student work and student art in the hallways.

Creativity Note in English

Creativity Note in Spanish

Ms. Warner's fifth grade class has a student leader greeting the class every morning as they walk into their classroom.  Here is a picture and a video of the awesome welcome from Pablo. What a way to feel welcomed! You'll also notice Thursday was pajama day.

Welcome Video

We are so lucky to have chromebooks this year. These are pictures from Mr. Fullmer's fourth grade classroom. Students were learning about changing landscapes and natural disasters, from the new reading curriculum. Students then were extending their learning as they researched about landscapes and natural disasters on the internet.

I looked at the students, most we have had since kindergarten, and knew some have had really difficult home situations. We are high poverty, but here they were with a chromebook on their desk! We are closing the digital divide and leveling the playing field. They might not have access to technology at home, but we do at school.

Here are two pictures from the after school program with students learning morse code. They were sending messages back and forth and were so engaged with the activity, as they synergized with their group to decipher the messages. 

Thursday September 25th, 2014

As we get ready for conferences, this is nice reminder about the focus for conferences to be student led. This is a great way for students to own and lead their own learning.

Student Led Conferences

It was another hot afternoon at Harrison on Wednesday. We have two more warm days, and then it will cool off this weekend. Please make sure students are drinking lots of water. Dress lightly, but professionally.

Here is a great quote that goes right along with the Leader in Me, and would be great to share with students:

Wednesday September 24th, 2014

Picture day! We need every staff member to have their picture taken. Somebody will come get your class, or call you when it is time.

This is a great video about having a positive attitude from Ted. This would be great to share with students.

Attitude

Staff Meeting today will start about 3:45. I'll be coming from a meeting at Canyon Ridge. We'll meet by the office. The first part of the meeting will be visiting classrooms to discuss objectives. Not only does this go with one of our WISE tool indicators, but also the indicator we are working on about developing leadership in staff.

Teachers will be sharing how they post and refer to objectives, strategies they use, what has not worked for them, if they have student leaders assisting, and other strategies that have been successful. Here is the plan for our tour of classrooms:

1. Jacobson- K
2. Moulson- 1st
3. Enders- 2nd
4. Osborn- 3rd
5. Miller (and Fullmer Sharing)- 4th
6. Warner- 5th

Second part of staff meeting will be about safety items. Please bring a pen to take notes.

Here are some pictures from the after school program.

This is Bill from CSI. Students are preparing for a future hover craft that will lift off the ground. Before that, they are making mini ones to understand the science and engineering background.

This is a 4th and 5th grade math group with Ms. Warner. Yes, the clock says almost 5- but there is still learning after school is out!

Sign Language with Mrs. Lancaster.

Art class learning about textures and three dimensions.

Tuesday September 23rd, 2014

Please tentatively put October 23rd on your calendar for our Fall activity. This will be a combination of Title 1 and our 21st Century grant. It also is the same day as the national Lights on After School Event. More information to come!

Lights On After School Information

This article is a great reminder of how important it is to prepare students for a global society. Many of the items mentioned are occurring this year at Harrison. Our students may not have the same experiences as other students, so school is the perfect place to help reduce those gaps. We even have a world map by the front door for students to refer to.

Global Literacy

Monday September 22nd, 2014

Duties for the week:

     AM Bus: Jacobson
                  Standley
                  Enders
     PM Bus: Garcia
                  Miller
                  Lent
     Lounge: Simmons

Meetings/Reminders for the week:

   September 22nd, 2014- Monday- 1st Grade Teaming

   September 23rd, 2014- Tuesday- RTI

   September 23rd, 2014- Tuesday- WISE Tool Meeting

   September 24th, 2014- Wednesday- Eval Team

   September 24th, 2014- Wednesday- School Pictures

   September 24th, 2014- Wednesday- Staff Meeting

   September 25th, 2014- Thursday- 2nd and 5th Grade Teaming

   September 26th, 2014- Friday- Lighthouse Team Meeting All Day

We have three grade levels teaming this week because the meetings were cancelled last week due to the water issue.

Staff meeting this week will have two main items. Our professional development piece will be objectives, which goes right along with one of our indicators for our school improvement plan. We will have a gallery walk as we visit classrooms to see and discuss objectives. The second item will be discussing important safety items.

There will be several people out on Friday for the Lighthouse/Leader in Me training. Please assist the guest teachers at your grade level.

Please make sure Linda has your guest teacher sub folders and directory print out of your class. Please also make sure block teachers also have a copy. When we had the water issue last week, we sometimes had difficulty getting into Powerschool. That directory print out is really important so we have current phone numbers. The one positive about the water situation, we now have several updated phone numbers from parents.


 

Friday September 19th, 2014

Staff picnic starts at 6:30. Please come! We always have a great time.

Mrs. Schroeder was on the radio to share information about Harrison, the great things our students are learning, the 21st century grant, and our Lego drive.  She did an awesome job!  You will need to fast forward to the right section of the radio program. It starts at about  26 minutes in. I loved it!

Radio Program

Here is an article from Dr. Dobbs that gives a nice overview of common core math stamdards. This is helpful information to share when you hear incorrect information.

Math

Thursday September 18th, 2014

Please help remind students about wearing their favorite college or team shirt on Friday.

We have two potlucks on Friday: at lunch during the hearing and vision screening and during the staff picnic after school.

Eva Craner, our district community relations specialist, visited the library because of our library grant. Here are some great pictures on magicvalley.com

Pictures

Here is being flexible and thinking outside the box when we are short on available space. Kathleen is teaching a Title 1 intervention group in the lunchroom. Great job practicing reading skills!

Here is your thought for the day:

Wednesday September 17th, 2014

It all started about 12:15 on Tuesday, and what an awesome staff we have! Everybody just jumped in to help, kept students calm and engaged with alternative activities in the classrooms, and took care of whatever was needed. Thank you to everybody!

Here is Brady observing. He did an awesome job making sure we had everything we needed, a big thank you:

And when we just had a few students left, well we have talent! Here is Jenni and Tyler singing and playing music with students in the lunchroom before the bus came:

Tuesday September 16th, 2014

Anne has updated the bulletin board by the office. Our school wide goals are to improve attendance, reduce the number of tardies, and to reduce the number of write ups. All three items are critical to student achievement. This article was given to teachers at data day, and it is a great read for all of our staff.

Attendance

This is a great article to reflect upon, thinking of the long term goal of college and career readiness.

High Performing Classrooms

Today is grade level teaming for first through fifth grades. We will go through intervention and enhancement groups. Feel free to bring any data you have so far, and you can bring your iPad or laptop to enter notes and intervention plans right into Milepost.

I love this picture from data day. This goes right along with our 10 indicators for our school improvement plan with the WISE Tool. These teachers are collaboratively discussing data and student intervention groups for fifth grade, and they represent all areas: ESL, Resource, Title 1, and classroom teachers.

Monday September 15th, 2014

Duties for the week:

     AM Bus: Goodwin
                  Nail
                  Pauley
     PM Bus: Hammond
                  Fullmer
                  Owens
     Lounge: Matlock

Meetings/Reminders for the week:

   September 15th, 2014- Monday- No School- Teacher Data Day: 8:30-11:30 in the Library and
   12:30-3:30 at Canyon Ridge

   September 16th, 2014- Tuesday- RTI

   September 16th, 2014- Tuesday- 1st-5th Grade Teaming Meetings

   September 17th, 2014- Wednesday- Eval Team

   September 18th, 2014- Thursday- Kinder Grade Level Teaming

   September 19th, 2014- Friday- Wear Your Favorite College or Team Shirt!

   September 19th, 2014- Friday- Hearing and Vision Screenings, with staff potluck for lunch

   September 19th, 2014- Friday- Staff Picnic and Fun!

 
Here is the data day agenda for Monday.

Agenda

Jenny and I will be in Boise on Thursday and Friday for a training meeting for the 21st Century grant. Just text or email if you need anything.  The before school program will be on Tuesday-Friday this week, and the after school program will only be on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

With the 21st Century grant, we are able to have 10 kindergarten students attend Boys and Girls club. This creates a full day program. Today is their first day! Our Fall IRI scores are similar to last year. Kindergarten students come in ready to start at benchmark, or almost half of them not at benchmark with a 1 on the IRI. Boys and Girls Club is a great intervention piece.

This is a great article that relates to our school. We have several autistic students who are in regular education classrooms. I watched several of them this summer during the two week summer enrichment with the 21st century grant, and it was amazing to see them blossom and engage with peers. One great quote in the article is this:

“He already had leadership characteristics within him, but he didn’t know how to bring them out,” said DiRado. “The Leader in Me gave him the structure he needed to shine.”

Autism and Leader in Me

For the Chromebooks, Brett has the classroom app ready. You just need to sign in with your district gmail. This is a great app. I highly recommend watching the two short videos:

Classroom 

Friday September 12th, 2014

Please remember to send home the newsletter. Copies have already been made for your class. There is a phone call out set up to also remind families about no school on Monday.

Newsletter Front

Back Side With Dates

All of our students in grades 2nd-5th have the opportunity to use google apps for education this year. Most students have returned their permission form so they can receive a gmail account. One item within this includes presentations, like powerpoint. Here is a short article with 3 items students should be able to do with their presentations.

Presentations

There is no after school program on Fridays, or on Monday due to no school. Please help remind students.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday September 11th, 2014

Please add October 27 to your calendar, for free flu shots and blood draws. It is free through our insurance, with Preventative Health. We like to think outside the box and work with your schedule. They will be at Harrison from 2-7 pm. Check your email for more information from Angela Carter. A sign up sheet will be coming.

Please remember to sign up for the potluck during the hearing/vision screening day, and the staff picnic. This is on September 19th, and we would love to have everybody attend.

Wednesday September 10th, 2014

Staff meeting will start about 3:45.

I'm at a school improvement meeting with Mrs. Sweet and Mrs. Terrell. Just send me a text or email if you need anything.

Teachers, please remember to finish going through student files for your class by Friday. 

As you receive assessment results from IRI, MAZE, Core Phonics, and other pieces of data- please consider sending a registration packet home for the before and after school programs. That is a perfect opportunity for tutoring and extra academic practice. You can check in with Jenny if you have any questions.

Here's a great thought for the day, and it goes right along with habit #8: Finding your voice and helping others find theirs. Every time a student has an opportunity to present and contribute in the classroom, it is an opportunity to develop a life long skill of using their voice.

Tuesday September 9th, 2014

Here is a great article about the importance of increasing opportunities for special education students to learn alongside typically developing peers, particularly students with more advanced language skills. This would also benefit all of our students regardless of whether they are on an IEP. Striving to include more opportunities for all students to strengthen language skills is important.

Language Development with Inclusion

As we have been discussing classroom management, with the new school year starting, here is a pinterest board by Edutopia that has several great resources and ideas. Everyday is a new day to start over and try another strategy and plan if the first one is not working.

Classroom Management Ideas

Sometimes Christmas comes early! I found a Keurig on sale. It is in the staff room. You can make hot chocolate, tea, and coffee. Thank you to Claudia and Khrista for letting me experiment with their lunch! You can even heat hot water for instant soups and meals. There are k-cups next to it that came with the package.

Monday was a busy day at Harrison. We started full day kindergarten, the before school program, and the after school program. Thank you to everybody that helped students find their place to be.

I loved how the after school students didn't know the exact activities they were going to be involved with, and they were all so positive and excited. We have activities that include a running group, sign language, STEM, tutoring, dance, art, drama, games, soccer, technology, and more!

Here is a post from the school website that has pictures you could share with students:

Pictures and Registration Packet

Monday September 8th, 2014

Duties for the week:

     AM Bus: Jensen
                  Jacobson
                  Simson
     PM Bus: Anderson
                  Moulson
                  Osborn
     Lounge: Nail

Meetings/Reminders for the week:

   September 9th, 2014- Tuesday- RTI

   September 10th, 2014- Wednesday- Eval Team

   September 10th, 2014- Wednesday- Staff Meeting

   September 15th, 2014- Monday- No School- Teacher Data Day


Please help remind students that there is no school on the 15th. I'll have a school newsletter going home towards the end of the week with a reminder as well.

Wednesday I will be at a school improvement meeting, but will be back for the staff meeting. We are continuing with staff meetings being more about professional development that you can take right back to your classroom. This should be a great staff meeting for a sharing of ideas with colleagues about data notebooks, leadership jobs, and any other ideas that you have found to be helpful in your classroom during the first few weeks of school. 

Please help direct the students for the after school program to the lunchroom at the end of the school day.

Please remember that Constitution Day is coming up on September 17th. Please remember to include something about this in your lesson plans. Here is a handout with ideas and resources:

Constitution Day Resources

Here are pictures of preschoolers checking out library books for the first time! These are the older students getting ready for kindergarten next year.

Friday September 5th, 2014

We will be starting the before and after school program with our 21st Century grant on Monday. Jenny has been working hard to get everything set up. Please check in with Jenny if you have students you would like in the before or after school program. Students will be starting in the lunchroom at 3:30, for snack and to complete homework.

Thursday around 5:45 a group of college students, one high school student, from Boys and Girls Club visited Harrison and learned about their part in the after school program. They are an awesome group and so excited to start on Monday! I gave each of them a copy of the 7 habits, and this article reiterates the importance of the Leader in Me program.

Transforming Schools 

Please encourage students to apply for the school wide leadership jobs. The job application forms are on the bulletin board by the front office.

One job is for library leaders, to assist with checking out books. All of our students preschool-fifth grade have the opportunity to check out a library book, read it at home with their family, and then return it the next day for a new book. Agnes has the library cards sorted by classes, and the goal is for students to be leaders in finding their cards as they quickly check out new books. Here are two first graders learning the new system, and they were so excited to get a new book:

PTA meeting is at 11:40 in the library. There was a phone call out to help remind families, and we provide a free school lunch for parents if they attend.

Have a great Friday!

Thursday September 4th, 2014

We have a new computer teacher, Mrs. Sorensen. Please help her feel welcomed.

Please note the dates and grade levels for the upcoming hearing and vision screenings. We can also refer other students if you have a concern.

Friday the 19th Hearing Screening: K and 1

Friday the 19th Vision Screening: K, 1, 3, and 5

Here is the math website some classrooms are using for additional practice. It is free, and starts in first grade.

TenMarks

Please remember to print out a copy of the student directory for your class. This is a great report in Powerschool to have in case of an emergency. We need one copy in the office, and then one copy for each of the specials teachers. Several already have, just let us know if you need help finding the report to print.

Wednesday September 3rd, 2014

We have signs by every classroom door that has the high school graduation year for the students in that classroom. We need our students to hear that language, about high school and going on to college or a technical trade. Please talk with students about this. Here are two short video clips with two students.These students had no problem telling me about their future careers, really excited to share. They are on the school website as well.

Fifth Grade Student

Second Grade Student

The last bus has been picking up students around 4:30. Thankfully we have library books! With our library grant kindergarten students are able to check out books for the first time! Here are a few students happy to share their books.

Here is a picture of fifth grade student leaders leading the pledge of allegience and morning announcements. Thank you Lesa! We will miss you as you start at Canyon Ridge this week.

Please add September 19th to your calendar. We will have a day for students and staff to wear their favorite college or team shirt!

What if every student heard, "Kid, you'll move mountains!" Here is a great quote to share with students. Every student has potential, and where they are now does not determine their future.