As we are beginning to think about summer curriculum project ideas, I was reflecting on the summer writing work we started last year. A large group of us came together and created an unofficial vision statement related to writing: We believe that writing is an essential component of becoming a literate individual. We believe that everyone can learn to write. Writing is integrated into all areas of the curriculum. We foster the development of independence, creativity, stamina, and engagement. Teachers will have common expectations for writing across grade levels and will incorporate writing across disciplines. Writing is viewed as an ongoing process with gradual release of responsibility from teacher to students. Assessments help guide instruction and teachers use multiple samples of writing to support this work. Students develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence necessary to become independent thinkers and writers. It is exciting to think about the progress we have made related to this vision. Like the saying goes, if you build it they will come or in this case if we put our vision into words, it will come to fruition. Think about where we started two years ago when we looked at exemplar writing samples and wondered how we were going to get our kids to that level. You have collaborated to create rubrics, have tracked growth using writing prompts, and have worked to build up students' writing stamina by having them simply write more across the different content areas. I was excited to hear from the WELL group during our May PD day. For those that weren't able to attend, I will share that they gave us a little introduction into some of the explicit writing strategy work that they will be doing with us starting next year. I took some pictures of their slides and I will ask them if they can share all of the slides with us. They gave some very specific strategies for writing instruction starting at the word and sentence level. I think my favorite part of the PD session was when one teacher sitting near me said, "That makes so much sense!" We will be working with this group for the next three years. They will be teaching us some explicit writing instructional practices. They will be monitoring our students' progress as we implement specific strategies into our instruction. And we will be helping them with their research! This is truly an exciting partnership that is going to have a lasting impact on our students and help us continue to grow as educators. I haven't had much time to read so instead I will share this quote from a teacher that I saw online...
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I had an entirely different post that I was going to share today, all about the writing PD and work we will be doing over the next several years, but like we often do as educators, I switched gears and changed my lesson plan. Instead, after a rollercoaster of emotions in our house this weekend, I decided to share one of my favorite scenes from a movie. Clearly, I will be dating myself with this one, but how many of you remember the movie "Parenthood?" It came out in 1989, and I have definitely watched it many times since then. Here is the scene that popped into my head last night... I was definitely riding the rollercoaster this weekend with my kids. Cayce was super excited to sleep over at his cousin's house and study his Pokemon card collection all night, comparing cards, determining value (I think his cards of value are up to a whopping $6.50.), and trading with his cousin. Meanwhile, I took Emerson to Hartford, CT to see her gymnastics idols, Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Gabby Douglas. Quote of the day was when we walked into the venue, she said, "I can't believe I will be breathing the same air as Simone Biles!" Definitely a memory maker moment for sure.
We were definitely riding the high of our kids living their best lives. But we knew that things were going to come to a crashing halt on Sunday. We had to break the news to them that one of our cats had been hit by a car and didn't survive. They definitely don't give you the script for that in our parenting handbooks. It broke my heart to tell them and then watch them collapse into hysterical sobbing. As parents, we do everything we can to protect them and take away any pain. In that moment, I felt pretty helpless. So I did the only thing I could do, I hugged them and loved them and let them cry. And then today, I am sending them into school. I emailed their teachers and the counselor and am trusting the educators to take care of them and help them continue on the rollercoaster ride. My daughter has a walking field trip in town that my husband is chaperoning so at least I know she will be distracted by that. My son said he wants to write a sticky note that tells his friends he doesn't want to talk about it. They will each deal with everything in a different way. And thankfully their teachers and the staff know them at school, and will help them in different ways. We are all on this crazy rollercoaster called life. And now as we quickly travel towards the end of this year, the highs and lows of the ride come fast and furious. This week we have trolley rides, middle school tours, concerts, assemblies, iReady assessments, and more. Plus, we know our kids have things outside of school...recitals, sports games, family events. And as staff, we have our own events and daily life stuff that we are dealing with. We are strapped into this rollercoaster. There's no way we are just going to get off and ride the merry-go-round that only goes around and is boring. We need to ride the ride and deal with the highs and lows as they come. We need to laugh and cry and feel all the emotions in between. We especially need to give ourselves and our kids grace. It's all a lot, but we need to just take each part of the ride as it comes. So lower your lap bar. Double check your safety belt. Grip the bar with white knuckles or, if you are up for it, raise your hands in the air. You can grit your teeth, scream, laugh or sometimes shut your eyes. We are riding this rollercoaster all the way to the end of the year. Might as well enjoy it! You might think I am referring to the "Hokey Pokey" song and dance with my title. You could say that this is the time of year when I am singing that song in my head and now I bet you are too. What I mean with the title of this post is that it's the time of year when we are still finishing up the year and many of us are thinking about vacations that are planned, but we are also thinking about next school year already. We are in our door frame era. We are leaving one room and stepping into the new room. There is still a lot for us to do to wrap up this year. End of year assessments. Last modules and units. Final writing projects. Report cards. Celebrating growth. But at the same time, we start to do a lot to get ready for next year. Placement. Budget. Ordering. Planning. While it can be a crazy, busy time, it's also a time where we get to celebrate all the growth that has happened this year, and we get to start imagining what the future can look like. We had a great brainstorming session the other morning, thinking about all things related to the schedule. Andrea, Kristine, Maria, Brianna, Jen, and Julie all came together to start thinking about what we have done with the schedule in the past and what potential changes we can make for next year. There are so many things associated with the schedule! I have to say it was exciting to fill up a chart paper with all the different ideas, plans, things that we want to think about as we are building the schedule. We talked about child study meetings, whole child review/data days, WIN blocks, family meetings, vertical team meetings, special education services and meetings, arrival and dismissal, staggering academic blocks across the grades, half day schedules, chorus, KCR, tech integration, MCAS days, and so many more things. While we didn't come up with any scheduling solutions yet, it was awesome to see everyone thinking about how much is impacted and needs to be included in our discussions and planning of the schedule. Which is exactly why we have a team working on this. It's too much for one person to figure this out. We need to collaborate, think of all our stakeholders, and take some risks with doing things differently than we have done in the past. If you have thoughts or questions, reach out to any of people I mentioned above and share your ideas or questions! I just got a new PD book called Reading Above the Fray: Reliable Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills that was recommended to me by some of my literacy specialist friends. I am gathering potential books to add to our summer reading loaner library. If you remember, I ordered multiple copies of several books and people were able to check them out to read over the summer. This book might be one that will be in the mix. There are several books related to science of reading in this series. I was excited to be a mystery reader in my daughter's class on Friday. I read one of our favorites from home, Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast: Mission Defrostable. I couldn't believe that her teacher had never heard of Josh Funk. He is a local author who has written this book and so many other great ones. If you haven't checked out his website, you should! https://www.joshfunkbooks.com/ Speaking of local authors, I will be mailing some of the letters and stories that students wrote to Andrew Hacket. If you have more that you haven't sent to the office, send them down and we will put everything in a packet. Andy also asked me if teachers would be willing to write a short testimonial that he could use when advertising his author visits. I know I have talked to many of you about how great he was; if you are able to type up a few sentences, email them to me and I will get them to Andy. Thanks! I did something I haven't done in a while this past weekend. I went to the mall. Actually, I took my daughter and her friend shopping. I was just there to be the chauffeur and help pay at the register. The girls were excited to try to find different matching outfits, and we had to do a lot of hunting to find shorts and tops that matched and were in the right size that they each needed. Definitely not my idea of a "fun" afternoon, but it certainly made them happy. Our little shopping trip got me thinking about our students and the last few weeks of school. I know in education we usually say one size does not fit all. And I do still believe that is true. In this case, as we are finishing our last few weeks of school, I am actually only thinking of one size. XL. This is the time of year when our students need extra from us. I don't mean that they need extra learning...although of course, they deserve for us to keep teaching and learning with them up until the last minute of our last day. What I think they need now is extra love. That is the XL that I am referring to. Yes, at this point in the year, we expect them to know the expectations. We expect them to be making good choices. We expect them to treat each other and their teachers with respect. But I can tell you that for a 5-year-old, a 6-year-old, a 7-year-old, an 8-year-old, a 9-year-old, and even a 10-year-old...when summer is right around the corner, when the weather outside is taunting them through the window, when we are planning end of the year activities, it is hard to remember all of those expectations. So when you are frustrated when a student asks a question that you think they should know the answer to or when two students who are supposed to be collaborating with each other start arguing or when a student interrupts you for what seems like the hundredth time that day...remember that right now they need XL from us. Our students all need a little extra love this time of year. I know I need this reminder after several conversations I had with students last week. Before you let out a frustrating breath or tell them you are disappointed in them, stop and think about XL. Give that student and all of the others some extra love these last few weeks. Soon they won't be around to get your extra love and they won't be around for us to give them extra love. And I can guarantee you that we will both miss the giving and the receiving. How will you use the one size fits all model of XL, extra love, for all of your students during these last weeks of school? I am still reading many of the books I shared last week, but I wanted to use this section to tell you that it's Children's Book Week this week. The theme for this year is "No Rules, Just Read." You can get some free resources and learn more about Children's Book Week here: https://everychildareader.net/cbw/celebrate-2024/
I have to say...I might really love their theme...maybe you can find time in your classrooms this week to do exactly that, no rules, just read! |