B.T. Bullock: January 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Week 22: February 1-5

Bullock Brief

Our Wildly Important Goals

Every child will increase reading skills based on their individual academic ability by the middle of the year mClass and/or Q2 quarterly assessments.
We will reduce discipline to 21 or fewer referrals per month.

B week for duty.

Habit 7 Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
B	C	D	E	A

Upcoming meetings and events for February 1-5, February 8-12 and February 15-19.
The most up-to-date calendar is located online in Google calendar.

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Celebrations
I have created a Padlet--a digital cork board--to capture all the celebrations here at Bullock. I do hope you'll take a few seconds to celebrate the great things happening at B.T. Bullock.

Stop by Celebration Station.

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The focus this month: Public victories

This week our 7x7 journey guided us to revisit (or create) a personal mission statement, set a goal, make a deposit in someone EBA and rate your openness to others. I hope you enjoyed those activities.

You can access the week 2 guide here.

More resources are located at the Leader in Me website.
You can also follow Sarah Ann's blog at sarahanntaylor.org or email her at sarahann.taylor@franklincovey.com.

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Please bring your three-column notes to the staff meeting on February 1st.

AVID elementary site visits February 16th through 19th.

The "STAR" strategy in AVID refers to note taking. We have focused largely on the "ST" which refers to "setting up" and "taking notes." The "AR" is adding to the notes and using them for review.

This week we'll explore the "Add to Notes" component. After students have completed their notes they can use their notes as an ongoing learning tool.

Make additions, deletions and clarifications
Highlight or underline important points.
Identify the main idea
Add symbols or pictures to enhance the notes.
Add leveled questions that can be used as a review.

Page 178 of the AVID Elementary Foundations manual has some great ideas.
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Intent Forms:  Please be sure to have intent forms turned-in by February 8th. The forms are used for planning purposes and are not binding.

College Stuff: Please bring your college paraphernalia to our staff meeting on Monday. We will have our pictures taken for an awesome bulletin board the Modeling committee is putting together. This will be another way to generate that college going atmosphere at B.T. Bullock. It would be great to display those pennants you bring in outside your door to show your college pride.

Report Cards:  The new date for report cards to go home is February 3rd.

Panther Pride day: Friday will be Panther Pride day at Bullock. Students and staff can wear Panthers gear to support our Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl next Sunday.

Grades...reminder:  It is a requirement to enter grades into PowerSchool every Tuesday. This is county policy and requirement for all teachers in Lee County Schools.

Book Room:  Please be sure to help keep the book room clean and organized. The book rooms are an amazing resource. We want to make sure they stay in great condition for continued ease of use.

WIGs update: Please input the percentage of students that grew according to mClass or quarterly assessments. They can show growth in either to be considered as a 'yes' for growth. To calculate, # of 'yes' for growth students / total students in class = X * 100. Enter the percentage here by February 12th.

Goal setting: Please use the data garnered from Q2 to determine your next goals in Q3.

Data Wall: As your mClass data is complete, please take a moment to update the data wall by February 12th. The Data team has suggested a few options: 1) Bring students in small groups to help move their magnets and celebrate success, 2) The teacher/TA move the class w/o students, 3) Contact Mrs. Clarke, Mrs. Gaines, Mrs Chaney or Mr. Hurdt to help move your data if you need assistance.

Love the Bus:  Love the Bus week is February 8-12. More details to come.

Leader on TRACK celebration: The event was a huge hit. I was really proud of the kids to be able to have fun and then get it back together. Thanks for your help and participation. It's fun to "sharpen the saw" together. The next celebration will be on April 8th. Please remind students often that they need to "put first things first" to enjoy the celebration. Third quarter is from January 18th through March 24th.

ACCESS testing: ACCESS testing begins on February 15th-19th.

Read to Achieve Letters: State statute requires that parents are notified of their child's reading progress. The letter was provided by Central Office for grades K-3. Please send the letter by February 5th.

Leadership Day:  Our first Leadership Day will take place on March 23rd. It is going to be an exciting day to celebrate our student leaders and the great things happening at Bullock. The Traditions, Community and Lighthouse Teams will be meeting on Monday, January 25th to start planning the event. Stay tuned for details.

Instructional Tip: To be shared in the staff meeting.

Instruction at Bullock: The instructional non-negotiables at Bullock are located at this link.

Should have recently completed (check that it's complete):

Safe school videos - due January 15th
Habit quiz - due January 29th
Renaissance U - 'Welcome to STAR," "Essentials of STAR," and "First Data Conversation" - due January 29th (Grade 3-5 literacy teachers only)
Check that cumulative folders are current - due January 29th

Due this week:

Grade cards go home - February 3rd
mClass window closes - February 1st
Bring example of three-column notes to staff meeting - due February 1st
Read to Achieve letters to go home - due February 5th

Upcoming due dates:

Renaissance U - 'Having Data Conversations" and "Using the Learning Progressions to Inform Instruction" - due February 15th (Grade 3-5 literacy teachers only)
Update mClass data on the data wall - February 12th
Enter class WIG percentage - February 12th

Please sign-off on reading the brief here.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Week 21: January 25th-29th

Bullock Brief

Our Wildly Important Goals

Every child will increase reading skills based on their individual academic ability by the middle of the year mClass and/or Q2 quarterly assessments.
We will reduce discipline to 21 or fewer referrals per month.

A week for duty.

Habit 7 Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
D	E	A	B	C

Upcoming meetings and events for January 25-29, February 1-5, and February 8-12.
The most up-to-date calendar is located online in Google calendar.

______________________________________________________________________________

Celebrations
I have created a Padlet--a digital cork board--to capture all the celebrations here at Bullock. I do hope you'll take a few seconds to celebrate the great things happening at B.T. Bullock.

Stop by Celebration Station.

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The focus this month: Put first things first

We are embarking on a personal journey this week with the 7x7 contract. We will move through the process together. I hope you will be open to this process thinking of the paradigm that "change starts with me." We cannot work on the public habits of 4-6 without starting on the inside with habits 1-3.

We officially start on Sunday, January 24th.You can access the week 1 guide here.

More resources are located at the Leader in Me website.
You can also follow Sarah Ann's blog at sarahanntaylor.org or email her at sarahann.taylor@franklincovey.com.

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Please bring your three-column notes to the staff meeting on February 1st.

AVID Night for the county will be held on January 28th from 6:00-8:00 at the Civic Center.
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Great things: As I walk the halls of Bullock I see great things happening. I love the bulletin boards showcasing challenging students work. I love seeing class goals and students engaged in accomplishing those goals. I see student reading and writing more than ever. I also see research-based practices infused throughout the day. I see evidence of action teams at work. Keep up the great work team.

Tutoring: We will be adding 20-24 students from the waiting list to our tutorial program. We will be notifying families and teachers early next week. Please make sure that all students have a book and homework (or other materials they need to work on). Thank you for your help in ensuring we are meeting the needs of all the students who are in the program.

Attendance: Attendance is due at 9:00am each morning. Please make sure this is completed in the timely manner.

Grades: It is a requirement to enter grades into PowerSchool every Tuesday. This is county policy and requirement for all teachers in Lee County Schools.

Committees: If you have ideas for a committee, please place your ideas on the committee board.

BT get together: We will reschedule. Date TBD.

Leader on TRACK celebration (rescheduled)/Assembly: We are working to cancel the assembly scheduled for January 28th. We are planning to hold the Leader in TRACK dance party at 1:30pm on January 28th instead.

NCEES: Wendy and I know that you all are so busy and stretched so thin. We also know that the PDP/evaluation process can be cumbersome. However, we are having a really tough time with PDPs and sign-off steps being incomplete on the PDP/evaluation process. I think we can improve the process with two easy steps. 1) Make sure your PDP is updated prior to meeting (we will need to reschedule if it is not complete), 2) Bring your computer to the meeting so we can sign-off together. Please check the right hand column for check mark with a circle if your sign-off is yellow rather than green. That needs to be clicked to "mark complete."

Mentors: Please make sure you have reviewed and signed-off on your mentees PDP.

ACCESS testing: ACCESS testing begins on February 15th-19th. We will be using the computer cart for testing during that week. We will also need computers for a practice test on January 28th and 29th. Thanks for your flexibility.

Read to Achieve Letters: State statute requires that parents are notified of their child's reading progress. The letter was provided by Central Office for grades K-3. Please send the letter by February 5th.

Leadership Day: Our first Leadership Day will take place on March 23rd. It is going to be an exciting day to celebrate our student leaders and the great things happening at Bullock. The Traditions, Community and Lighthouse Teams will be meeting on Monday, January 25th to start planning the event. Stay tuned for details.

Instruction: Since it is the middle of the year, I would like to remind every one of the instructional non-negotiables at Bullock for this week's instructional reminder. The non-negotiables were discussed at the Opening Meeting and are located in the staff handbook. Please review the list and make sure your mid-year instructional planning includes these elements. If you need assistance or have questions, I am always happy to help.

Should have recently completed (check that it's complete):

Safe school videos - due January 15th
Grade cards - due January 20th
Web page update - due January 21st

Due this week:

Clubs moved - January 29th
mClass window closes - January 27th
Report cards go home - January 28th
Renaissance U - 'Welcome to STAR," "Essentials of STAR," and "First Data Conversation" - due January 29th (Grade 3-5 literacy teachers only)
Habit quiz - due January 29th
Check that cumulative folders are current - due January 29th

Upcoming due dates:

Bring example of three-column notes to staff meeting - due February 1st
Renaissance U - 'Having Data Conversations" and "Using the Learning Progressions to Inform Instruction" - due February 15th (Grade 3-5 literacy teachers only)
Read to Achieve letters to go home - due February 5th

Please sign-off on reading the brief here.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Week 20: January 18th-22nd

Bullock Brief

Please note the revised format with "to do" items summarized at the end. Have a wonderful week!

B week for duty. The duty schedule has been updated to accomodate new hires. The schedule is located at https://goo.gl/q9w1EJ.

Habit 7 schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
No school	No school-workday	B	C	D Club day: 9-10am 2nd resource 8:15-8:55

Upcoming meetings and events for January 18th-22nd and January 25th-29th.
^{The most up-to-date calendar is located online in Google calendar.}

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The intent of our celebration segment is to create a culture of celebration. We have so much to celebrate at Bullock it certainly cannot all be captured here in this little box. I noticed that a few staff members celebrated their co-workers this week through email. I hope that continues; that is so much more comprehensive and inclusive. I'm lovin' it.

I cannot miss the opportunity to thank and celebrate the following folks this week....

I would like to thank Ms. Velasco, Ms. Welch, Ms. Frausto and Ms. Christopher (from our PTO) for helping to manage the yoyo sales. You made that a quick and painless process. I could not have done it without you.
Thank you to Ms. Kennedy for covering the Principal Prize Bin crew.
Thank you to Ms. Waters for covering Ms. Gillette's class during her planning for our AVID auditions.
Kuddos to Ms. McHugh for babysitting for Dinosaur School on Tuesday evening and Ms. O'Shaughnessy for her dedication to the process.
Thank you to Mr. Martin and Ms Chaney for jumping in to cover car pool and other duty stations this week when we were so short handed.
Let's celebrate our wonderful after-school tutors: Ms. Slate, Ms. Johnson, Ms. Lazcano, Ms. Brown, Mr. Emerson, Ms. Hurdt, Ms. Gatten and Ms. Spaulding.

We will be starting our 7x7 contract on January 19th. This is a personal journey and provides a chance to reconnect with your "why."

Last week we explored goal setting in our journals. Please continue to work with our students to either set goals as a class or as individuals. I see excellent examples throughout the school. I encourage you to take a gallery walk to see how folks are setting goals and tracking progress. Well done team.

The Leader in Me monthly focus: Put First Things First

More resources located at https://theleaderinmeonline.org/resources/leadership_notebooks.
Follow Sarah Ann's blog at sarahanntaylor.org or email her at sarahann.taylor@franklincovey.com.

Over the past few weeks, I have shared several AVID strategies and we have also explored Costa's level of questioning. Now that testing is complete, consider how you might be able to utilize those strategies in your instruction.

We will be bringing samples of 3-column notes at our next staff meeting on February 1st.

The county is hosting a parent night on January 28th at the Civic Center from 6:00-8:00pm. The student presenters will be announced on Wednesday, January 20th. The students did an incredible job at the auditions.

Every child will increase reading skills based on their individual academic ability by middle of year mClass and/or Q2 quarterly assessments.
We will reduce discipline to 21 or fewer referrals per month by June 2016.

Custodial reminders: Please make sure students are cleaning the silent lunch table when they clean the other lunch tables. Also please be sure to check the bathrooms to make sure students are not leaving papertowels on the ground. Please take recycling bags out when they are 1/2 full rather than waiting until they are filled to the top.

After-school tutoring program: The after-school tutoring program is off to a great start. The tutoring session will last from 2:45-3:45. Please make sure that students have a book for the tutoring session. They are all required to read. The tutors will be working on homework during the session. Feel free to include assignments that the student did not master so that the tutor can work with the student one-on-one.

BT get together:  We will have a BT/Admin get together on January 22nd at 2:45pm. The session is informal and is intended as a time to ask questions and spend some time together catching-up.

Excused absences:  Please make sure to change absences to excused if your receive a note excusing the absence.

Tardies:  Students should not be marked tardy unless they have a white slip from the office. If a student is arriving late and they do not have a slip, please work with the student to get to class on time. Please alert admin if you need further assistance.

Attendence:  Attendence is due by 9am every morning.

Technology...reminder:  Joy Thompson will be available on January 21st in the front conference room for technology support during your planning time. Please make sure you have updated your web page prior to that meeting. You will need to sign-off that your web page has been updated even if you opt not to stay for the support session.  Ms. Thompson will be available to assist with your webpage as needed. She will also offer support and answer questions about RazKids and SMARTSync. Please send her your questions in advance so she can be sure to be prepared.

PLC agenda and minutes: Thank you for your PLC minutes and agendas. It looks like some great discussions are taking place.

Instruction: We will have PD on Tuesday morning. I am asking that you include some of the strategies shared in that session in your instruction in the coming weeks.

Brief sign-off: Once you have read the Bullock Brief please sign-off here.

Should have recently completed:

Safe School videos - January 15th
STAR test - January 15th (Grade 3-5 literacy teachers only)
AVID organization and note-taking assessments - January 15th (Grade 4-5 only)

Due this week:

Web pages updated - January 21st
Clubs - January 22nd

Upcoming due dates:

mClass window closes - January 27th
Report card go home - January 28th
Renaissance U - "Welcome the STAR," "Essentials of STAR," and "First Data Conversation" - January 29th (Grade 3-5 literacy teachers only)
Check that cumulative folders are current - January 29th
Habit quiz for students - January 29th
Bring examples of three-column notes to staff meeting - February 1st
Renaissance U - "Having data conversations" and "Using the Learning Progressions to Inform Instruction" - February 15th (Grade 3-5 literacy teachers only)

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Week 19: January 11-15

Bullock Brief

A week for duty. The duty schedule is located at https://goo.gl/q9w1EJ. Please take note of the changes. Please help guide and "train" our new staff members in the morning. Synergize!

	Teams on Duty
Duty Position	Team A	Team B
Bus greeter	Kelly	O'Shaughnessy
Dining Hall Line Server 1/Music	Chesney	Cole
Dining Hall Line Server 2	Woodell	Sowder
Dining Hall Monitor	Fling	Frausto (temporary)/ESL TA (permanent)
Dining Hall Monitor (upon arrival)	Davis, Sellers, Hairston**	Linkous, Ross, Alston**
Car Line 1	Wiltshire	Gierbolini*
Car Line 2	Dowdy	Martin
Car Line 3 (admin back-up)	Gaines (not until Jan. 15)	Welch/Babb (temporary)/New ESL teacher (permanent)
1st/Dining Hall Entrance	Phillips (nurse)	Whilby
K/1 Hall Monitor	Mills	J. Chaney
2nd/3rd Hall Monitor (student monitor)	Dossenbach	Spivey
Back Lobby (admin)	Perrell	Perrell
Front Lobby (admin)	Clarke	Clarke

Habit 7 schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
C	D	D	E	A

Upcoming meetings and events for January 11th-15th and January 18th-22nd.
^{The most up-to-date calendar is located online in Google calendar.}

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Let's celebrate...

Yolanda Gierbolini taking on double the load to serve our ESL students while we find the perfect ESL teacher.
Ana Frausto covering Ms. Hunter's duty while we get a new ESL TA in place. \
Ms. Perrell for working over the weekend (and on her daughter's birthday) to ensure that testing is ready for next week. We appreciate your sacrifice.

If you have celebrations to include in the brief please send them to me by Friday. We have much to celebrate.

We will be starting our 7x7 contract on January 19th. Mr. Chaney sent initial information about getting started. Please see him with questions about how to access the 7x7 app to prepare for this wonderful journey together.

Last week's Leadership notebook check on "On Track Tuesday" asked that all teachers and students make sure they have an intact Leadership Notebook with a table of contents. All Leadership Notebooks should have 5 dividers. If you need dividers, please let Mr. Hurdt know. This week we will explore the goal section. You can certainly stick with class score boarding to teach students how to track goals, but please do explore the Leadership Notebook components highlighted on the news each week.

We will have a school-wide habit quiz on January 15th. Mr. Chaney will be sending the Google form this week.

The Leader in Me monthly focus: Put First Things First

More resources located at https://theleaderinmeonline.org/resources/leadership_notebooks.
Follow Sarah Ann's blog at sarahanntaylor.org or email her at sarahann.taylor@franklincovey.com.

I would like to revisit Costa's levels of questioning again this week. Costa's is a simplified Revised Blooms Taxonomy. In order to use consistent language, we will use Costa's levels to refer to higher-level questioning which is a hallmark of effective teaching. Costa's level 1 are where I see most questions falling. Worksheets, including passages and questions, often fall in this range. Costa's level 2 and 3 require students to synthesis knowledge and extend their thinking. Notice how many components of the NCEES evaluation are included in that level of teaching activities. Discuss how you can increase the rigor of your learning activities within your PLCs.

We will be bringing samples of 3-column notes at our next staff meeting on February 1st. See Ms. Gillette's bulletin board for samples.

The county is hosting a parent night on January 28th at the Civic Center from 6:00-8:00pm. Students who are interested in presenting should prepare a 1 minute speech about what they have learned through AVID. The auditions will be held on January 15th at 1:05pm,

4th and 5th grade teachers, should give students the organization and note-taking assessments no later than January 15th. All 4th and 5th grade students should be working with their accountability partners.

- Every child will increase reading skills based on their individual academic ability by middle of year mClass and/or Q2 quarterly assessments.

- We will reduce discipline to 21 or fewer referrals per month by June 2016.

WIGs assessment: We are nearly at the middle of the academic year. As you start to gather mClass and quarterly data please take note of the the number of students who accomplished this school-wide WIG of growth for all. I will be asking for a class-by-class report of the percentage of students showing growth.

Accountability partners: Accountability partners, please ask your partner what they have determined to be their class WIG. Please make sure the WIG is posted so we can all see how we are "beginning with the end in mind." Help support each other in accomplishing our wildly important goals.

After-school tutoring program: The after-school tutoring program begins on Tuesday, January 12th. We will be serving approx. 95 students at that time. Students attending after-school should report to the Platform at dismissal. The tutoring session will last from 2:45-3:45. Feel free to send extra practice materials with those students attending the program. Also please include assignments that the student did not master so that the tutor can work with the student one-on-one.

We are looking to add more teachers to the program to serve more students. If you are interested, please let Ms. Perrell know. Please pass the word to tutors or other folks who would be interested in helping.

Y Learning: Y Learning is seeking a teacher to replace Ms. Ashworth when she goes on maternity leave. Please contact Mr. Chaney if you are interested. Y Learning is 4 days a week from 3:30-4:30.

Rodents: We have some new UNWELCOME visitors at Bullock. We have seen many mice over the past week. Ms. Kennedy is keeping them at bay with a yard stick. Please make sure all candy and food is placed in plastic/metal containers (not bags) and is tightly sealed. Also please make sure that no food in left in classroom trash cans.

Assembly:  We will have an assembly, The NED Show, on January 12th at 1:15pm. I hope you took a few moments to view the video that was sent out last week.

Technology:  Joy Thompson will be available on January 21st in the front conference room for technology support during your planning time. Please make sure you have updated your web page prior to that meeting. You will need to sign-off that your web page has been updated even if you opt not to stay for the support session. Ms. Thompson will be available to assist with your webpage as needed. She will also offer support and answer questions about RazKids and SMARTSync. Please send her your questions in advance so she can be sure to be prepared.

Testing:  Q2 testing begins on January 12th. Ms. Perrell has sent a detailed schedule. Please be sure to carefully review. Thanks for working together to make sure testing is as smooth as possible.

Upcoming professional development: Please reserve the morning on January 19th from 8-12 for professional development on Balanced Literacy instruction.

PLC agenda and minutes: I only received notes from two grade levels this week: kindergarten and 2nd grade. Thank you Ms. Roberts and Ms. Hamel. Please make sure to send Ms. Perrell and I your agenda and minutes each week.

Final reminder about staff absences: Please make sure Ms. Kennedy, Ms. Perrell and I know you will be absent. You can email, call or text. Clarke cell phone # 919-935-7408, Perrell cell phone #919-352-2575, and Kennedy cell phone#910-690-4273.

Safe Schools: Safe School videos are due this Friday by January 15th

NCEES: Mrs. Perrell and I will continue conducting our 2nd round of unannounced observations and holding PDP conferences which are due this week. Please remember to bring artifacts, lesson plans, evidence of completion of the standards to the post-conference. Also please bring a 1-2 student data notebooks to the meeting to review. This is not a "gotcha," but rather a way that we can see our progress and determine how we can help. We will include questions in the observation tool to prompt discussion when we meet. The post-conference must occur within 10 days of the observation. You can find NCEES materials from DPI at http://ncees.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/NC+Teachers.

AR Professional Development: "Welcome the STAR," "Essentials of STAR," and "First Data Conversation" modules within the Renaissance online learning portal are due on January 29th. Please let me know if you have trouble accessing the PD. "Planning for Assessments" and "Administering the Test" should be accessed and utilized as needed. All STAR tests must be given by January 15th. I set-up the first benchmarks in two parts before and after the break to accommodate all classrooms.

The second round of modules "Having data conversations" and "Using the Learning Progressions to Inform Instruction" are due February 15th.

Instruction: For the past few Bullock Briefs, I posted information about anchor charts. Please make sure we are using anchor charts to document the skills that have been taught and provide a way for students to access that information as they a cementing their learning.

Essential Question: As Ms. Perrell and I move around the school we are seeing EQs posted in every room. That is fantastic. Please remember the 'why' behind posting that EQ. Students should be explicitly told the goal of the learning activity AND asked to answer the EQ during and after the lesson. Exit slips are a great way to informally assess student's understanding. Also see your Learning Focused manual for more ideas.

Brief sign-off: Once you have read the Bullock Brief please sign-off here.

....and our world needs peace!