Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Week 1.6

Growing Excellence (+10 for ALL) 
As we prepare to give students their 1st formative assessments for the year next week, ask yourself these questions:

  •  what is your plan to use the data to drive your instruction?  
  • What is your plan to get the students to analyze their data to identify their strengths (GLOWS) and make a plans to address areas in need of improvement (GROWS).  
If we want students to own their learning, it is critical that we communicate their performance to them in such a way that they look at their data is an opportunity for growth.  The link below is the epitome of what formative assessments should do for kids and teachers.

Be sure to look at the DMAC Response to Assessment link above to help you pull the 6 reports you need to drive the right response to their performance through your future instruction and personalized intervention.
 College AND Career  - Graduation Coaches
Above are the dates of the ACT test.
Please share this information with a junior or
senior or a parent of one.
THS Principal, Allen Koch, has implemented a new concept at the high school this year to help every senior graduate.  Several THS teachers have taken on the task of coaching 1 senior this year to help them graduate.  They will be coaching them on monitoring their grades to ensure that they pass every class and earn the necessary credits to graduate.  In addition they will be coaching seniors to make sure that they pass all EOCs in order to graduate.  Our goal is to get 100% of the class of 2016 to graduation day, and THS teachers and staff are coaching our seniors to make sure that they reach that goal.

Additionally, the SAT and ACT tests are available for juniors and seniors to take right now. To the left are the posters at THS to sign up.  For registration information, go to the following links:

The most important test that kids will take in their education is one of these 2 tests.  Let's make it a priority to encourage them to take this test.  If you don't teach juniors and seniors, your kids should hear about the importance of these tests now so that they know there is a bigger test after STAAR that is even more important and more necessary than STAAR.
Google Me This - Collaborative Learning
If you are not following Alice Keeler, you should be.  She has tons of information (CLICK HERE) that will help you learn even more about GAFE (Google Apps for Education).  This week I want to encourage you to explore how Google Slides can help your kids collaborate.  For example each class can be assigned 1 Google slideshow, but every student will be responsible for creating their own slide to demonstrate their learning.  In collaborative groups, kids can be given a common task or problem to work on, but each student is responsible for creating his own slide to demonstrate his learning for the teacher and the class.  The beauty of collaboration through Google Slides is that kids can embed photos, YouTube videos and hyperlinks to show what they know, and they do that by learning with and from their peers.  Check out the graphic and link below from Alice to get even more ideas on how to use Google to accelerate learning.




Give Oral Administrations in the Room with Vocaroo
Kids miss instructional time each time they have to leave the classroom to take an oral administration of a test.  Vocaroo (CLICK HERE) is a cool tool to keep kids in the class so they can take their test with a tablet and earbuds.  Listen to my vocaroo below and click the record and upload voice button to make one of your own.


Record and upload voice >>

  Upcoming Dates 
  • Fri, 9/25 - Email migration to Google (CLICK HERE for more INFO)
  • Mon, 9/28 - Begin formative assessments (CLICK HERE for INSTRUCTIONS & INFO)
  • Fri, 10/2 - Deadline to enter FAs in DMAC  
  • Fri, 10/2 - End of 1st 6 weeks
  • Mon, 10/5 - Begin Response to Assessment Data (CLICK HERE FOR PROCESS)
  • Wed, 10/7 - Early Release Day: Mandatory 504 Training for all staff at THS Auditorium
  • Fri, 10/23 - End of 3 Wks (2nd 6 Wk Formative Assessment Due)

 What I'm Learning

The 8 Minutes that Matter Most via +Edutopia

We Find What We Look For In Our Students – So What Do We See? via +Chris Wejr

One Size Does Not Fit All via +Ben Gilpin



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