#VoteForSgtNick

GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY FRIDAY!

In case you haven’t heard, Rebecca Beale won the Food Networks Kids Baking Championship!   Our congratulatory Facebook post has reached over 53,000 people… crazy!

The Graham Steer Basketball Season came to a close this past Tuesday night against the Hirschi Huskies. Although the final outcome was not in our favor, it does not diminish the accomplishments of this team. As is the norm with Graham student athletes, they play hard and represent their school and community with pride!

Good luck and safe travels for our Lady Blues and Graham Steers teams as travel all over the place (Lubbock, Mineral Wells, Iowa Park, Ft. Worth, Bowie, Stephenville, Aledo, Henrietta, Boyd and San Antonio) See the online calendar for details- http://www.grahamisd.com/page.cfm?p=213&period=month

Writing Curriculum/Professional Development-  You may recall during my first opportunity to address the GISD staff this past August, I shared with you that we would be working to develop a professional development plan to strengthen our writing instruction.  Additionally, I shared the importance of writing across the curriculum.  The process to identify writing professional development was driven by the following goals:

•  Buy-in from stakeholders.
• Support for teachers in time and resources.
•  Maintain efforts systemically through vertical alignment meetings and in-district trainer of trainers.
•  Follow-up training for new teachers.
• Consistency in implementation across grade levels and classrooms.
• Promote a writing-rich culture.  Writing time is protected at all grade levels.  Writing in multiple formats.
•  Cross-curricular writing.
• Set the foundation in mechanics of grammar and writing at early grade levels.
•  Support ELLs and other struggling students.
• Integration into the district curriculum (TEKS Resource System)

The selection that resulted from the goals above was Trail of Breadcrumbs – Gretchen Bernabei for grades 4-12.  This writing training focuses on:  Grammar as a foundation for writing.

• Writing as an integrated part of literacy.
• Strategies for grammar and writing that help teachers and students.

A Trail of Breadcrumbs trainer will be in Graham ISD in May 2016 to provide the following trainings:

•  May 23 Grammar Keepers – ELAR Teachers Grades 3-12
• May 24-25 Academic Writing for STAAR and Life-ELAR Teachers Grades 3-12
• May 26 Best Practices in Cross-curricular writing

Work remains to complete this process.  Writing must be supported at grades K-3 as well.  While the Trail of Breadcrumbs training is not appropriate for grades below fourth, third grade teachers will attend the writing training and work to adapt some of the grammar and writing strategies to make them fit.  Also, grades K-2 may receive a writing resource as part of the new reading curriculum currently under consideration.

#VoteForSgtNick

In the United States, voting is a privilege. No one makes us vote, and we are not required to vote for any particular candidate. Voting is one of the freedoms afforded to citizens. If, however, we don’t use it, what kind of freedom is it?

Leslie Milder, along with her husband Scott, is the founder of Friends of Texas Public Schools (FOTPS), and FOTPS is a leading advocate for this years “turnout the vote” campaign.  Leslie wrote a tribute article about her cousin Nick and his sacrifices while in the military to ensure the freedom for Iraqi citizens to vote. The Texas Association of Community Schools (TACS) recently shared this article with me.  Today I am pleased to share it with you- #VoteForSgtNick.

The Texas primary election is next Tuesday.  Today is the last day to vote early. Early voting has its advantages: (1.) voting lines are shorter, (2.) since you pick the day, inclement weather is usually not an issue, and (3.) you are not prevented from voting by an emergency. Why not do it today?

Of course, being a voter is one thing, but being an informed voter is quite another. Real voting power comes when one studies the candidates and the issues, prioritizes the issues, and then casts votes to reflect the voter’s priorities. If educators’ voices are to be heard in Austin, educational issues need to be prioritized. Not every candidate who says that (s)he is pro-education is supportive of the work of public school educators. Educate yourself to make sure your vote makes a difference for the school children of our state! You may click this link http://teachthevote.org/, select “Search for Candidates”, and enter your zip code for information about “your” candidates running for a seat in the state legislature. “Teach the Vote” is the site of ATPE. ATPE does not endorse candidates, and they provide unbiased information. Also, a good source for pro-public education candidates is the Parent PAC website- http://www.txparentpac.com/.

Hope you all have  blessed day!

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY:

Why was the baby strawberry crying?

Because his mom and dad were in a jam.