Coaching Corner Newsletter
WUSD Academic Year 2023-2024
Welcome back to school! We are excited to see you back here for another outstanding new year! Check back in for weekly updates to our Coaching Corner Newsletter.
For Parents/Guardians: Nov-May Challenge--Reading at Home with Your Students
March 4 - Read Across America Week
March 7 - 9:00 Clear Creek Cowboy presentations
March 8 - End of 3rd QTR / LETRS Training at 1:00 at BB / AR movie/pj reward day
March 11-15 Spring Break
March 18 - Grades due at 8:00 / Party with Principal on BB court at 1:00
March 21 - Report cards sent home
March 22 - Staff meeting at 1:00 in Bratt’s room
March 25-26 Staff Art Team Building in Art Room 2:15 both days
March 29 - Snow Day no school
April 1-3: Kindergarten Author’s Tea
April 8: 301 folders due to Ms. Martinez
April 19: Snow Day no school
Parent Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XT8TGN6
March 7-Clear Creek Cowboys Assembly 10am
March 7-Q3 Awesome Attendance Party 1pm
March 8-AR Game Party
March 8-LETRS rescheduled
March 8-End of Q3 Grading Period/Grades Due
March 21-AASA Writing Simulation #2 8:30
March 22-CNA Group Questions Due via Google Form
March 26-Best Practices Trauma Informed Instruction 4-6pm PD at BB
March 27-Testing Hype Pep Rally
March 28-Little Caesars Fundraising Materials DUE
March 28-Early Release
March 29-Field Trip Tshirt Order DUE
March 29-Snow Day
April 3-AASA Writing
April 8-301 Folders DUE
April 9-AASA ELA Part 1
April 10-AASA Math Part 1
April 15-Little Caesars Fundraiser Pizza Delivered
April 16-AASA ELA Part 2
April 17-AASA Math Part 2
April 22 & 23-AASA ORF 3rd Grade
April 19-Snow Day
April 26-Bulldog Day @Washington for Future 5th Graders
April 26-LETRS Final Session
April 29 MAP Reading
April 30 MAP Math
May 1 MAP Language
May 1-Art Show Field Trip-3rd Grade 11:55-12:30, 4th Grade 12:45-1:30
May 6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6-Petrified Forest Burns & Brodt
May 7-Petrified Forest Reichel & Avelar
May 8-Petrified Forest Edwards & Baber
May 8-Last Day to Earn AR Goal
May 9-AR Incentive Movie Theater Trip for 3rd Grade
May 10-AR Incentive Movie Theater Trip for 4th Grade
May 10-Staff Appreciation Luncheon
May 15-Bearizona Setalla Muse
May 16-Bearizona Reid Naha Curley
May 21-Field Day
May 22-Graduation Walk & Early Release
May 23-Report Card Pick Up
June 17-21-Curriclum Mapping Week
YANA
March 7-Relay Races
March 20-Planning for Q4 activities
March 7 - Clear Creek Cowboys
March 8 - End of 3rd quarter - Grades and Parent Logs due
March 11-15 - Spring Break
March 18-28 - Testing Boot Camp
March 29 - Snow Day - no School if not used before then
AASA Testing Days - Please try to ensure that you are present on these days to help administer the tests.
April 2 - Writing Test Grades 3-6
April 9 - Science Test - Grade 5 Part 1-2
April 10 - Science Test - Grade 5 Part 3
April 16 - Reading Part 1 - Grades 3-6
April 17 - Math Part 1 - Grades 3-6
April 23 - Read Part 2 - Grades 3-6
April 24 - Math Part 2 - Grades 3-6
April 26 - 6th Grade Day to the Jr. High
April 26 - 4th Grade Day to the Jr. High
April 29-May 2 - MAP Testing
May 3 - Orchestra Field Trip
May 7 - Orchestra Concert
May 8-10 6th Grade Field Trip
May 13 & 14 - 5th Grade Field Trip
May 15 - Lego Museum
May 17 - Glow Party
May 20 - Honor’s Assembly
May 21 - Field Day
May 22 - Grad Walk
May 23 - Last Day of School
March 5th Orchestra and Band concert starting at 6:00 pm at the PAC
March 8th Grades are due
March 19th Cosmo’s birthday (who really reads these dates?)
March 29th Snow Day
April 19th Snow Day
April 26th-6th graders visit
April 29th-May 2nd Start of Young Artists Show
May 22nd Graduation walk
June 17th- June 22nd Curriculum mapping for math and ELA teacher
March 4: Baseball @ Snowflake- 3:30 p.m.
March 6: Baseball vs. Wickenburg- 3:30 p.m.
March 6: Track @ Snowflake, Coed Relays- 11:30 a.m.
March 8: Track @ Ben Franklin High School
March 8: Baseball vs. Safford- 3:30 p.m.
March 9: Softball vs. ALA Anthem South- 11:00 a.m.
Road Show Flyer TILC 2024
Free K-5 Literacy Endorsement
Math PD for teachers in grades 3-8
My name is Ellen Cooper, a Senior Manager with TNTP. We wanted to highlight a free professional development opportunity for some of your staff that will begin in mid-February. Participants will receive certificates of completion to use for recertification as well as a $50 gift card to use on classroom supplies. If you could please forward the information to your staff, or provide me with names of teachers who might be a great fit, I'd be happy to reach out personally to them.
Our team here in Arizona is thrilled to have received an APS grant to host a Rural Educators Math Collaborative for educators in Navajo, Apache, and Yavapai counties. Thanks to the generous grant funding from the APS Foundation, participation is free and we would love to invite educators from Winslow to participate.
The collaborative is geared toward math teachers in Grades 3 through 6, although we are open to 7th and 8th-grade educators who might be interested as well. The collaborative includes 2-3 virtual professional development sessions and 2 cohort-level PLCs per month. Through the Collaborative, teachers will:
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Be exposed to, reflect on, and process shifts in strong mathematical instruction
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Consider how these shifts in math instruction disrupt narratives about who can learn mathematics and open doors to historically marginalized students like multilingual learners and students with learning and thinking differences
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Unpack what research says about how our expectations influence student achievement and reflect on how to build an asset-based mathematics culture in our classrooms.
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Explore the science behind how to support learners who need it the most and identify what just-in-time supports look like for grade-level content.
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Collaborate with colleagues in their region to apply and plan for key concepts in their classrooms.
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Engage in focus groups to share reflections on their vision for excellent math instruction and work through challenges that arise.
We have a limited number of slots available in the region. The Collaborative will run from mid-February through May. I’ve attached a flyer with more details. Due to the nature of the funding, our timeline is somewhat tight. Please let me know if you have any questions and we look forward to partnering with your teachers on this amazing project.
Free Suicide Prevention Class
Act on FACTS Suicide Prevention Training
ACT on FACTS is an updated version of the school-based suicide awareness program “Making Educators Partners in Suicide Prevention.” Like its predecessor, ACT on FACTS is a two-hour online interactive training program, designed in a series of modules. It addresses the critical but limited responsibilities of educators in the process of identification and referral of potentially suicidal youth. It focuses on the practical realities and challenges inherent in the school setting through a variety of training formats that include lectures, questions and answers with content experts, interactive exercises, and role-plays. In addition to its other content, the program highlights four categories of youth who may be at elevated risk for suicide: youth involved in bullying, LGBTQ youth, gifted youth, and students being reintegrated back into school after a suicide attempt. The training includes optional content that addresses suicide in elementary and middle schools. There is also an additional module that includes the stories of individual survivors of suicide loss as well as a high school that experienced an episode of contagion. The focus in telling these stories is to highlight the importance of emphasizing resilience and protective factors after a loss event.
Structure: Two hours online in a series of modules.
2023-2024 Achievement Assessment
October Teacher Spotlight --WHS, Michelle Jones
CRR--Grants for K-5 Teachers
A short summary can be found at: https://gn.ecivis.com/GO/gn_grantDetailExt/EMAILUUID/52CB71A5-FB72-4A74-BE91-9FB5EEFEB0E0
"The purpose of this program is to support classroom teachers as they seek a better way to help their students learn in grades K-5. The funding agency seeks to encourage teachers who hope to innovate, try a new idea, or explore a different approach. Awards will generally be directed to teachers in K-12 schools; however, educational nonprofit organizations and universities working with K-12 teachers are occasionally considered with prior approval.
All details can be found at: http://www.toshiba.com/taf/k5.jsp
Greeting Students at the Door (Build Rapport)
The Quality Classroom --Effective Instruction
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Model and explain
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Guided practice
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Independent practice
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Formative Feedback
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Improved Performance
Effective Instruction means the teacher is well prepared with high-quality Learning Targets and Success Criteria. Clear instructional delivery using the above cycle. Effective questioning and meaningful feedback allow students to think more deeply and improve their performance. Appropriately scaffolding learning and gauging student progress helps those students who might otherwise struggle to understand. Finally, differentiating instruction for those children who did not understand the concept the first time around allows access to all.
It is important to regularly reflect on your teaching practice. As John Hattie tells us, “…those teachers who are students of their own impact are the teachers who are the most influential in raising students’ achievement.”
The Quality Classroom
Using Total Participation Techniques helps to engage students in the lesson. If you haven’t already, try using one of these this week.
Think-Pair-Share
1) Ask students to reflect on a question or prompt, provide at least 30 seconds to formulate response.
2) Ask students to find a partner or turn to assigned partner.
3) Ask them to share responses with each other.
Chalkboard Splash
1) Create a sentence starter, prompt, or question for which you would like students to see all of their peers’ responses.
2) As students generate responses, ask them to copy their responses onto random or designated places on the chalkboards, whiteboards, or chart papers. Give them a word limit (like 15 words)
3) Debrief by asking students to walk around, analyze, and jot down similarities, differences, and surprises, perhaps using a form (short chart – similarities, differences, surprises)
4) Ask students to get into small groups and share what they noticed in terms of similarities, differences, and surprises, before asking for volunteers to share.
Lecture T-Chart
1) During presentation students take notes in left-hand column.
2) Periodically stop (at pause points) to allow students to read over their notes and summarize in the right-hand column.
3) Allow time for pair-share summaries and for recording questions on index cards or Chalkboard Splash.
4) Allow time to answer any questions students have.
Quick Writes
1) Select prompt you would like students to address
2) Give students a specified amount of time to collect their thoughts and jot down a response (about 3-5 minutes)
3) Follow up with pair-share, networking session, chalkboard splash, or other TPT
The Biggest ‘Aha’ Quick-Write
1.) At end of lesson ask students to think about and record their biggest “AHA” on a quick-write half sheet, index card or scrap paper.
2) Ask students to meet with someone they haven’t spoken to in over a day and share their “aha.”
3) Ask volunteers to share with whole group
4) Collect cards and review them, or a select few. Be sure to return reflections even if you didn’t get a chance to read them all. Let students know that you randomly selected a few.
Self-Care for Teachers
AASA Writing Resources
Navajo Tribal Utility Authority 2023--SCHOLARSHIPS
AZ Assessment Committee --Click link if interested in signing up!
Professional Development for Educators
Arizona Reading Fundamentals OnDemand Academy
As you continue planning for the new school year, consider making the Arizona Reading Fundamentals OnDemand Academy a part of your comprehensive professional learning plan.
These courses are best facilitated by a school or organization-level literacy leader. Participation is best completed in a collaborative and job-embedded manner.
Before you register, please watch our OnDemand Academy Introduction Video to learn more. Each knowledge block recommends a companion text. Please browse the Professional Development webpage for all details prior to registering.
More PD Opportunities
The Growth Mindset
Neuroplasticity
- The idea that our brain (neuro) can be molded (like plastic)
- What we focus on and how we discipline our thoughts and attitudes encourages brain growth in those areas
- New neural pathways are made
Fixed v. Growth Mindset
Fixed Mindset
~Intelligence is fixed
~Angered or discouraged by criticism
~Valuing the end result
~A desire for approval
~Failure
~Challenges
Growth Mindset
~Intelligence can change
~Active and responsive to criticism
~Valuing the process
~Satisfaction from the growth along the journey
~An opportunity to learn from your mistakes
~Opportunities
Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe
Check out this video!
~Simon Sinek on Creating a Circle of Safety
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOnXcrmgAw8.
Brene Brown on Empathy