News for October 22, 2018
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We love learning from our colleagues! Thank you for your leadership Sarah, Stephanie, Connie, and Natalie! #ONE
💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙This Week at Brown
Oct 21 Time Capsule 1:00 p.m.
Oct 23 Release Day 4th (a.m.) 5th (p.m.)
Donuts with "Dads" 7:30 - 8:15 a.m. We would love your help!
K to Dinge's Farm (a.m.)
Oct 24 Late Start Day
Fire Assembly 10 a.m. in gym (Y5-2nd)
Fire Assembly 10 a.m. in gym (Y5-2nd)
Kristen to Central (p.m.)
Oct 25 Release Day 2nd (a.m.) 3rd (p.m.)
P.A.T. playgroup in the gym (a.m.)
Oct 25 Release Day 2nd (a.m.) 3rd (p.m.)
P.A.T. playgroup in the gym (a.m.)
Kagan for New Teachers 4:15-5:30 p.m.
Coming Up...
Oct 29 Picture Re-Take Day (a.m.)
Oct 30 Ann's Lunch with 5th grade group
Staff/SI meeting 4 - 5 p.m.
Oct 31 Late Start Day
Halloween Parties - p.m. (no background check needed for volunteers at parties)
Nov 2 End of the First Marking Period
1/2 day - dismissal at 12:05 p.m. (ELE only - virtual records day)
Last day to turn in walk-a-thon donations in order to be included in the drawing
Nov 5 Girl Scouts visit during lunch
Girl Scout Sign-Ups 6 - 7 p.m.
Nov 2 End of the First Marking Period
1/2 day - dismissal at 12:05 p.m. (ELE only - virtual records day)
Last day to turn in walk-a-thon donations in order to be included in the drawing
Nov 5 Girl Scouts visit during lunch
Girl Scout Sign-Ups 6 - 7 p.m.
Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Our Students
This weekend's family blog will feature the article below regarding the power of encouraging a growth mindset. At this week's PTO meeting, I spoke about our school wide efforts to cultivate a growth mindset in all learners. The 4-week free downloadable guide linked below is full of amazing resources for both school and home use.
We know the power of "yet" at our school and are helping students to embrace the "struggle". Not everything comes easily to all - nor should it if authentic learning is occurring. Perceived "failures" often result in powerful learning opportunities. The video below describes what a growth mindset is and why it is so important to encourage both at home and in school.
To lean more about the power of a growth mindset, check out this article:
Click here for a 4-week guide to cultivating a growth mindset.
Our new laminator is ready to roll! A HUGE thank you goes out to our PTO for purchasing this for our use, as well as Matthew and April Soyk for researching different brands, ordering and setting it up for us.
All staff members and parent volunteers MUST watch the video below prior to using the machine. Thank you!
Did you know that school employees have free online access to the Herald Palladium? Click on the link below to view our article about this weekend's time capsule unveiling!
Feedback Matters
At our Teaching with Poverty in Mind workshop, Eric Jensen shared that general feedback such as "good job" or "that's awesome work" has almost no effect on student learning (0.14 - same as handing the student a blank piece of paper). However, adding a specific qualifier related to the student's strategy, effort, or attitude (SEA), as well attribution (why it matters), has a 1.42 effect size. Considering that 0.40-0.50 is a year's worth of gains, and anything above 0.75 is considered to have a strong effect on student learning, this is a little thing that could make a BIG difference. Here's how it might look:
Instead of "good job", try:
Wow! You tried many strategies until you got it. (STRATEGY feedback) That may help you get into the college of your dreams someday. (attribution)
You refused to give up. (EFFORT feedback)That extra effort will really help you reach your goal of___." (attribution)
Before you began, you thought you could succeed. (ATTITUDE feedback) I bet that positive attitude will help you get the job you want someday. (attribution)
How have you or how will you plan to use Flip Grid? Share your ideas with your team!
Please consider helping out with our annual Donuts with Dads event on Tuesday, October 23rd. We will have additional volunteers to monitor students outside that morning as well.
Check in with your swim buddy today!
Who Am I???
You guessed it...Jamie Huber was last week's mystery staff member. Let's explore this week's!
This week's mystery staff member...
likes horses, dolphins, and marlin.
would like to visit Egypt, Ireland, Scotland, and Alcatraz.
likes Pink, Imagine Dragons, and the Greatest Showman soundtrack.
loves to swim because he/she loves the water.
would employ a personal chauffeur if she/he had a million dollars.
Kudos and Thank You to...
Rick for his positivity during the heroic clean-up of sick children this past week.
Stephanie, Connie, Natalie, and Sarah for leading breakout sessions during the technology meeting.
Connie for her extra help in the media center last week.
Jamie and Rachel for displaying our students' creativity for all to enjoy.
All of our staff for walking and supporting our annual walk-a-thon.
Sandy and Kristi for their amazing support of Carol as she began her important role within our school.
Morgan and Becky for joining me in learning about how to best support all of our students.
Kim and Blake for hosting our TGIF gathering!
Kent, Sarah, Linda, and Becky for representing Brown School at DLC.
