Nuts/Bolts - Week of 11/14/16

RISE Cards - Give 6 Daily! 
ZAP Cards - New ZAP Cards should be in your mailbox. ZAP Sign-Up (Bookmark it!)
    - Use this quick intervention to get completed work back quick! 
CICO - We'll be using Class Dojo to record points for kids this year. It's available online or through a     phone app. Training at this week's staff meeting PLC. 
TRMS Commitments - We appreciate you all committing to making sure:

• You arrive at your supervision duty on time
• Students watch TRTV morning announcements every day free from distraction
• You deliver the homeroom curriculum with fidelity

11/14 - Homeroom Schedule; Management Monday Lesson 11/14
11/15 - 
11/16 - Neon Dress-Up Day; PLC Staff Meeting, Room 36
11/17 - WEB Leaders meet with 6th Graders
11/18 - TRTV Schedule

Shout Out! - Aides

We have a super stellar team of aides who support all of our learners at Travis Ranch. They are hands on with the kids, compassionate, and dedicated to ensuring all of our students are included, stay engaged, and have fun. We would like to recognize them for all they do every minute of every day to ensure our students are safe, learning, and happy. 

April Henderson Anderson - Vigil 9:50-12:30
Claudia Brasov - St. Clair 11:45-3:30
Kelsey Sundman - St. Clair 8:45-12:30
Leanne Gutierrez - Lexin 8:30-12:15
Bernard Spillane "Charlie" - Lexin-12:30-4:15
Jill Buchanan - 1:1 Michael Finley 11:45-3:30
Adriana Fischer -  1:1 Roslyn Berger 11:50-3:15
Bahra, Crissy (11:45-3:30)
Chang, Amy (8:45-12:30)
Cook, Heather (11:45-2:45)
Fox, Maddie (8:30-12:15)
Magdaleno, Heather (8:00-4:00)
Newberry, Amie (12-3:30, W 11-2:30)
Fischer, Adriana (12-3:30, W 11-2:30)
Randall, Jennifer (11:30-3:30)
Rodriguez-Calderon, Stacey (8:30-12:15)
Henderson, April (9:30-12:50)
Pompeo, Annette

Tech-Tip: Ted-Ed Video Lessons

We all know our students love video content, but sometimes YouTube doesn't quite always have the educational spin we'd like. Ted-Ed has 208,000 engaging video lessons sorted by content area and grade level. Definitely worth a try with students. 

My favorite higher level thinking activity for kids. Pull up a random, completely unrelated video and ask them to make the connections to the content currently under study. You'd be amazed at the depth of their group discussions. 

Helping Kids Feel Safe and Supported Post-Election

Occasionally I receive email updates from the company who we purchased our Social/Emotional curriculum from. This ARTICLE does a fantastic job of laying out how we can best support students and each other in the wake of a highly stressful election season. I particularly like their advice about: 

Help Children Feel Safe and Supported   • Smile at them.
   • Use open, relaxed body language and speak in a calm, warm tone of voice.
Help Children Feel Accepted and Understood
Protect Children from Re-Traumatization
Provide Accommodation(more strategies and details within the article). 

Finally, "It’s equally important that educators take care of themselves and work together to find a place of calm. Otherwise, their stress and anxiety will amplify the children’s distress."

Nuts/Bolts - Week of 11/7/16

Supervision Duty = TEAM A

RISE Cards - Give 6 Daily! 
ZAP Begins - Use this to sign-up students for 1st and 2nd lunch
CICO - More time needed to get students/parents on board. Starting 11/14.
Chromebook Carts B, C, D, F, G, H, & Room 45 mostly available for use! Book NOW! 

11/7 - Homeroom Schedule; 
          6th (slide 18, teacher script pg. 49)
          7th (slide 16, teacher script pg. 47)
          8th (slide 14, teacher script pg. 47)
11/8 - 
11/9 - PLC Vertical Teams
11/10 - PM Assembly Schedule - 1st Pep Rally! 
11/11 - Veteran's Day - Take the Day Off!! :-)

Shout Out! - Susan Metcalf, Our Fearless Leader!

She's definitely back in the saddle again at "The Ranch" and doing a fantastic job! From frequent classroom observations, to silly string wars, to supervision on the blacktop, to dressing up for any/all festivities, to working closely with PTA, to handling parent concerns, to handling student incidents, to attending night events, and managing our tight budget. 

She is literally ALL over the place and does it ALL with poise, a smile, and her signature laugh! We're all very happy to have you back and are appreciative of your support in every situation. 

Susan, your guidance and leadership are cherished and admired! 

Tech Tip: Class Dojo & CICO

This year we will be using Class Dojo for assigning scores to students on the CICO program. We may also consider using it as an intervention for students with IEPs. 

Using this amazing and free online platform will enable real-time behavior data collection and parent communication. 

I encourage you to watch the video and set up your Travis Ranch account using this link: https://classdojo.com/?r=VHTCocgXO6Qnd3Uw

Also consider downloading the corresponding app for your phone: https://www.classdojo.com/download/?type=teacher

Critique Protocol: Helping Students Produce High-Quality Work

I found this article on Edutopia. They use this critique protocol as their peer revision process. There's built in tools for learners to analyze work in a constructive and positive way. Teachers talk about using it to look at an exemplary piece as a whole group or with peer to peer. It emphasizes the importance of the setup, establishing effective routines/procedures for it to be successful. Here's their guiding doc.

How It's Done:
1. Identify the critique norms.
2. Model identifying strengths.
3. Have your students analyze exemplary work.
4. Choose what work to show your students.
5. Choose your critique focus.
6. Have your students identify takeaways from the critique.
7. Repeat.