Ms. Ellie & Otis came to Library to discuss what a therapy dog does and allowed the students to meet and witness Otis in action. The kids were so excited!!! THANKS to both of them for their time. We are so GRATEFUL to have them at Lotus :)
-From Kim VanHoorelbeke (Library Paraprofessional at Lotus)
The PBIS Leadership Team for presenting at our monthly Agenda Meeting! Loved hearing about the 8th grader that led the school in PBIS points received! He has perfect attendance so far!!!!!
and
The Instructional Coaches for leading our staff preparation work to make Curriculum Night a success!!
and
Leah Falster for taking the lead as a Guiding Coalition member creating our new Student Kudos Box.
and
Oner Medrano for successfully using the Zen Den with a student!
and
Kim Mack, Meghan Reimers, Bryan Bailey, Kathleen Winkiel, Dayja Wydzierzecki, Veronica Kretz and Jen Leazer for hosting the educational internship students from Grant Community High School
and
Kim Husko for organizing the Football Friday lounge snacks and for Mark Perlman representing the Texas Longhorns - Hook em' Horns!!
and
Maddie Friestedt and Lynn Smolen for working with a parent to get the necessary supports in place for one of our students.
and
To Jen Leazer, Lynn Smolen, Meghan Reimers, Natalie Molidor, Veronica Kretz, Kathleen Winkiel and Bryan Bailey for dropping everything and meeting with me to really dig in on a new student who is struggling in his transition to Stanton School.
and
To Kaitlyn Goorsky and Marla Walinski for spending part of their Sunday supporting our kids
-From Jeff Sefcik (Principal at Stanton)
Thank you Colleen Robinson for all your help Friday in guiding me in the right direction when sub plans weren't up to date.
and
Thank you to the 3rd-grade team for always thinking and including me in your festivities. Means so much. :)
-From Victoria Miller (STEM Teacher at Lotus)
Thank you to Victoria Miller for a small act of kindness, that really went a long way. Taking my kids from STEM to lunch was really helpful.
-From Maureen DeVoss (2nd grade Teacher at Lotus)
Thank you to Veronica Kretz and Ashely Wydra for adopting me and letting me come work in your classrooms each week. I really appreciate it and can’t wait to learn with you and your students.
and
To Kim Jacobs-Leable, Kim VanHoorelbeke, and Mary Taylor for taking quick action to get a resource available for our kids.
and
To EVERYONE for doing what was needed for a great ROE Inspection! We got rave reviews, and your attention to detail is truly appreciated.
-From Heather 😍
In this Edutopia article, Andrew Boryga says beginning-of-class routines can set
students up to engage in the content they’re about to learn. Some possibilities:
- Rapid retrieval – Pairs of students huddle, summarize what they learned in the previous
class, and then present to the larger group.
- A misconception quiz – The class takes a quick true/false test on an incorrect fact or
concept in the unit they’re studying, then discusses why it’s wrong.
- A visual hook – Students view a short video, photo, or text that will pique their interest
in what they’re about to study.
- Vocabulary splashes – Students get words and definitions from previous lessons and
upcoming content, sort them in a way that makes sense, and discuss with an elbow
partner.
- A low-stakes quiz – A short test of students’ understanding of foundational material
informs instruction for students and the teacher.
- Brain dump – Students have 1-2 minutes to write everything they know – or think they
know – about the upcoming topic and then work in groups to identify similarities,
differences, and gaps.
Boryga then offers suggestions for ways to end a lesson that consolidate learning while giving
the teacher helpful feedback:
- Rate the lesson – On a 1-10 scale, students indicate how well they understood the
content. With 6-10 ratings, they jot down key learnings, with 1-5 ratings, they jot down
what’s missing.
- Two-dollar summary – With each word worth ten cents, students write a 20-word
summary of the most important thing they learned, in language that would be
understandable to a first grader.
- Clear and cloudy – Students write what they understand and what’s still unclear.
- Signal your knowledge – On a continuum laid out on the floor, students stand at their
self-assessed level of understanding. Alternatively, students write and post sticky notes
on a continuum on the board saying what they get, almost get, and don’t get.
- News headlines – Working in pairs, students summarize the most important concept
they learned that day in snappy six-word bulletins.
- Rock, paper, scissors – Students play the game, identifying the rocks (hardest to
understand), the main idea (paper), and less-important details (scissors).
- Quiz the next class – At the end of a unit, students come up with multiple-choice
questions on key understandings for a class about to learn the same content.
- Beachball questions – The beachball with questions written on it – What is one thing
you learned today? What was challenging about today’s lesson? and others – bounces
around the class and students answer the question their right hand touches.
“14 Effective Opening and Closing Routines for Teachers” by Andrew Boryga in Edutopia,
August 25, 2023
Medicaid Billing
You know who you are...please be sure to document your billable hours. This generates a TON of funding for our Special Education programming!
Don’t forget to download the “My Deals” App, Discounts on certain daycares, PET insurance, and more!!! Use it!!!
Download the My Deals App
Download and open the app on your mobile device
Note: Your organization name is IEA Access to Savings
Access to PD and learning opportunities:
Can We Afford to Ignore the Science of Reading? Check out this thought-provoking Ted Talk by Melissa Hostetter, a 7th grade LA teacher from Springfield, IL and trainee in the MSLE (Multisensory Structured Language Education) Practitioner program.
- After listening to Melissa’s Ted Talk, check out the article: "How Reading Instruction Fails Black & Brown Children" & "Why Diverse Books Matter: Mirrors & Windows" Webpage by Dr. Tracey Flores, Sandra Osorio, & Colorín Colorado
NEW! Teacher Back to School Articles!
I had this funny moment happen with one of my students while we were doing a writing assignment. I noticed one of my students didn’t have very much work done so I went to check in privately to ask if he needed help writing.
This is how it went:
Student: Do you like playing on the playground?
Teacher: Yes.
S: Me too. How about swimming?
T: Ya I like swimming.
S: Me too. How about a date?
T: *confused* Did you just ask me on a date?
S: Yes.
T: Hahah!! Okay sure, where are we going?
S: Chili’s. I love that place. Do you like that place?
T: Yes I do like that place. Are you picking me up?
S: Well…I don’t know if you will fit in my play car. You might have to drive.
I could not spot laughing!! Mr. Smooth over here!! Remind you, these are first graders!!
Too funny, I had to share.
-Shared by Kendra Logar (1st grade Teacher)
Funny story for your memo. A student was freaking out because he couldn’t find his PE shorts. He was yelling in the bathroom searching for his shorts. Minutes later, Lynn asked him to look under his shorts that he changed in to. Any there they were
-Shared by Jeff Sefcik (Principal at Stanton)
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