Good Morning and
Happy Friday!
Congrats to our Lady Blues and Graham Steer golfers! Both
teams finished first place in tournaments this past week! (see our Facebook posts for details). The
Lady Blues will be playing in the Graham tournament this coming Monday at the
Graham Country Club. Good luck ladies!
Our Lady Blues and Graham Steers basketball teams
represented themselves in good fashion this past Tuesday in Stephenville. The Steers came away with the victory. Although we didn’t get the win, our Lady
Blues played hard and have been markedly improving throughout the season. The Steers will be in action this evening in
Mineral Wells. The Lady Blues will be
playing Mineral Wells in Jacksboro this evening at 6:30 with the victor
qualifying for the playoffs. Best of
luck to both teams this evening!
A plethora of Spring activities are underway. Be sure to
check our district web calendar to see the opportunities to get out and support
our students.
Stadium Update- Nothing
happens as fast as we would like. I
expect to receive the written engineer report from the insurance adjuster
today. On the 19th, we are to
receive a cost estimate from the adjuster.
The Board will convene a special called meeting to review the
information and possibly approve a plan for the “New Newton.”
AG Center Update- Site
work (land clearing, etc.) for the project has started. A draft set of plans have been completed. A couple of local vendors will be providing
cost estimates for the barn structures.
K-2 Reading
Curriculum FYI- The information below was shared yesterday with our K-2 ELAR
teacher by our Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Gary Browning.
At the end of the 14-15 school year Micki
Bullock and I were analyzing TPRI data and began to notice trends in the data
that showed while students are improving through the intervention process, that
progress is difficult to maintain over time. Through our analysis we came
to the conclusion that this trend could be occurring, not as an indication of
the lack of effectiveness of the intervention program, but rather a lack of
consistent, focused and foundational literacy curriculum in the early grade
levels (K-2). Also, in the past we have taken somewhat of a one size fits
all approach to instructional philosophy rather than implementing the most
appropriate form of literacy instruction for each age.
In late fall 2015 I was presented with a
literacy program for consideration for grades K-2 called Voyager Read Well.
In our evaluation of this program it seems to address the needs described
above but we are still in the very early stages of consideration. I
encourage you to research and become informed regarding Voyager Read Well as we
will be asking your input as a K-2 ELAR teacher throughout this process.
Also, there are many preliminary steps that must be taken to ensure the
success of any implementation such as securing funding. Below is a
description and tentative timeline of the process that will occur.
- Assess need supported by data.
(Fall 2015)
- Identify and secure funding
sources. (March 2016)
- Administrator site visit.
(March 2, 2016)
- Voyager representative presents to
Pioneer and Crestview ELAR teachers and administrators. (March 2016)
- Teacher site visit. (March
2016)
- Teachers review sample materials.
(March 2016)
- Consult key stakeholder input.
(K-2 ELAR Teachers, administrators, instructional coaches) (April
2016)
- Finalize decision (April 2016)
- Purchase and arrange for training.
(May 2016)
This change would be:
1. An attempt to better support
teachers in providing the most appropriate literacy instruction and curriculum
for students in grades K-2.
2. An attempt to support teachers in
giving students a strong foundation in literacy.
This change would NOT be:
1. A move away from the TEKS
Resources System as our district curriculum for other grade levels and
subjects.
2. A move away from the balanced
literacy approach at grade 3 and beyond.
As we move forward through this process
please understand that the timeline above is tentative and very tight. We
would ask for your patience throughout this process. If you have questions,
feel free to contact me.
Shortly, we will
be sharing details regarding the Writing Curriculum initiative for the
2016-2017school year.
Calendar Choice- The
Board approve the recommendation of Calendar B. My recommendation for Calendar
B was based on the vote of our staff and community. The staff vote was 69 for Calendar A and 122
for Calendar B. The community vote was
31 for Calendar A and 32 for Calendar B.
Flipping Your Mindset on Creativity
The book, Flipping the Switch, by John G. Miller contains a
few pages on the concept and mindset of creativity.
I wish I had a dollar every time I’ve heard someone say, “I
am not creative” or “I don’t think like
that.”
Many of us think of creativity as talents such as writing, drawing,
painting, music, dance, etc. Is not overcoming
obstacles or brainstorming new ways to reach our goals being creative? Flipping our mindset begins with asking
questions such as:
“What can I do with
the tools I have?”
“How can I obtain the
information required?”
“How can I develop
the people I have?”
“What can I do to
reach the goal?”
The road to success is often filled with potholes,
obstructions and accidents. As a result,
some get trapped and give up. Those who
“flip the switch” on their thinking, remain focused on the goal and keep working
to uncover the route to success.
“Goals become unreachable only when we stop reaching” (Miller, 2006) .
Be creative… keep reaching… keep teaching!
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