Principal's Message 10/20/08

MY FIRST 100 ON A TEST

When I was growing up, I would take a test in class to measure my understanding of the material. In fifth grade, I discovered the art of studying. Actually, my father found out I was not doing so good in Social Studies so I had to sit down with my father to look over the content and we would “attempt” to study together. I say attempt because my father would ask two or three questions on what I was supposed to know and would become so frustrated on how little I knew. Each reaction to my answer would become louder and longer. These outbursts would be partitioned by complaining of how little we learn in the education system compared to what he had to know and do when he was in school (I still hear it today). It would get to a point that I would leave the room, promise a good grade and finish the reviewing on my own. I did everything I could to learn how the Civil War began. I stayed up a decent hour and woke up the next morning and reviewed what I had focused on the night before.

I took the test on a Friday. The results came back that very Monday. I needed to know the results as soon as possible since I promised the high grade to end my study session with my father. As the teacher walked around the room, I would watch her every move. She would weave the aisles monitoring our facial expressions. She would place the test face down on each of our desks. My exaggeration leaves me to believe I was always one of the last students to get my test. In this case, I was. I would leave the test on the desk for a few seconds. I would take the deep breath and slowly flip it over. When I exhaled, I would end up being excited or disappointed. It was a 100% with a great job and a lovely exclamation point with the classic smiley face. Oh, how I loved the smiley face.

When I got home, I would have to wait until dinner to reveal the achievement. My parents would be seated at the dinner table. I would interrupt the conversation with, “Oh, I almost forgot”. I ran to my room and unpacked my test. My thoughtful packing still left me with a wrinkled piece of paper with the grade in thick red marker still preserved. I walked back to the dining area and placed the test in front of my father. Of course he took credit for the grade. “See how working with me makes a difference! We should prepare for all of your tests together.” My body tightened up and I left the silence to reply to that comment. My father walked to the kitchen fridge. He pulled the “Cooking is an art and I’m no artist” magnet from the fridge and put it on the top left corner of the test making sure the bright red marker was not covered. I felt like I just received a gold medal while simultaneously winning the Superbowl. In so many words, I felt like I was the smartest kid in the world. By simply putting my test on the fridge, I had reached the highest level a child could reach within my household. It sat up there for months. Believe it or not, I contributed some more reports and tests throughout the school year. None of them would hold the 1 with its supportive 0’s but they were worthy of the fridge in my parents eyes which made me feel good about what I was doing. I finished the school year with an A in Social Studies. I even rocked the Colonial Day with a solid costume my mother helped make and a pretty accurate colonial house which took me an entire week to put together.

FRIDGE OF FAME

Why did the fridge have such an impact on my school year? It’s not like the fridge looked anything like Ronald Reagan or I was hoisted on the shoulders of my classmates. What it did do, when I reflect on it now, is that it gave me a sense of pride. It shared my accomplishment with my family, friends of the family, and my friends. It showed our world, “Jacob Michelman is smart.” It felt good to feel smart. For those of you who were unable to feel the experience of the fridge, I might have to find something to celebrate to put you on my office fridge because it’s an irreplaceable feeling. Bart Simpson from the Simpsons shared the joy of getting his first passing grade and found a way to post it on his fridge in between all of Lisa’s repeated A’s. He still felt the pride. Granted, he is a cartoon, but I know many people in the world were able to relate to the character.

Since budgets do not allow us to put a fridge in each of your classrooms, the department of education came up with an inexpensive way to celebrate the great work our students are doing. They are called bulletin boards. They allow us to use staplers instead of magnets, even tape if staples are a little too violent for people, to post the tests, assignments, projects, and so much more around your room. They are even much bigger than the fridge I grew up with and there are several of them in each classroom. Regardless, these wall covers give us the opportunity to celebrate the achievement of our students. They are incredible tools for building pride in your classroom and they are supportive in setting expectations of what success looks like.

A WORLD WITHOUT PRIDE

Imagine if I came home with my 100% on my test and my father took my test and gave me a thumbs up, or better yet, a pat on the back. I would feel good for that moment. I would probably be proud that I received a compliment from the old man. The combination of the exclamation point, smiley face, thumbs up, and pat on the back does not even come close to the test on the fridge. The others are small moments that have an immediate end. The fridge, oh that unforgettable moss green fridge, did my work justice. By itself, the fridge resembles the contents of a nose, but with my work on it…gorgeous.

When I visit classrooms, I look to see how much pride you have in your students. I look to see what your priorities are in your room. Very often I can see the classroom rules posted on a bulletin board. I know these serve a purpose but does it have to be the biggest purpose in your room? If rules and procedures take up more room than students being celebrated, what does that tell your daily visitors? Why do successful schools have student work plastered all over their walls and failing ones do not? I know that there are many factors that could also contribute to the difference but at one point a school wants to develop a strong level of pride. Are we doing that within own classrooms? In order to build community within your classroom, respect and pride must exist. Posting student work is one proven method that allows for pride to be developed. Ask anyone who has had the privilege of getting their work posted on a fridge, or even better, celebrated in a public setting.

CHILD STUDY TEAM – EXPLORING THE CASE MANAGER

The role of the Case Manager
The hope of the Child Study Team is that the Case Manager shall participate in brainstorming as we together search for answers on Wednesdays—Periods 2 and 3.
Our brainstorming process yields fascinating and important information. As you come to the Child Study Team meeting as the Case Manager—we ask not so much that you come with answers, but that you come with questions. As we all brainstorm together, answers will emerge that shall focus our thinking, and guide our interventions.
The team members who referred the child to Child Study shall receive a copy of the Child Study Team Accountability Form.
This form outlines what -we -said –we- gonna -do….who’- gonna –do- it….What the time-frame might be. Like that. Accountability.

Case manager—you are the point person for the team. You are a part of helping to follow-up, check in, etc to see how the stuff on the Accountability Form is going. That’s it. It should all be there--who- is -gonna –do- what. How are we doing with it? Is stuff being done? Has follow-up taken place? Is more time needed? Like that.
You may wish to delegate parts of this follow-up as needed. For example, the CASE MANAGER might ask another teacher on the team to check out some specific information about the parent’s __x__ . You may ask a guidance and counseling colleague to check into the results of student’s most recent _x__. The case manager may ask another teacher to check back about the details of ___x__.
Then the Case Manager shall check back with the Child Study Team to report these updates. Ongoing follow-up, and information -sharing are BEST PRACTICES for our work together.

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE

The discipline committee meets every week from 3:15 to 4:15 to address issues surrounding the structure, implementation, and effectiveness of the school-wide discipline code. In our first meetings, we have set goals for the school year and addressed some issues regarding the code's implementation.
- JOIN THE COMMITTEE: Members of the discipline committee are eager and excited to work with new staff members and veteran staff members interested in improving our school's culture. Please join us at this week's meeting on Thursday in Ms. Quiambo's room.
- ANTI-BULLYING CAMPAIGN: Please be on the lookout for any signs of bullying in the school. Expect resources from the discipline committee regarding this issue in the coming weeks.

COMMUNITY CORNER

The parent resource center, located in room 323, is here to assist parents and families in numerous capacities. Ms. Word, our parent coordinator, will either provide information or avenues of support for all parent issues. Please take advantage of this resource. This includes staff as well.

There will be a workshop hosted on promotional criteria on October 30th. Any staff interested in helping would be greatly appreciated. We will be covering all grades, English Language Learners, and Special Education students.

ATTENDANCE

Our attendance has been the best it ever has been. This is a great reflection on how much they enjoy coming to our school. There is still a small population of students who are struggling with maintaining strong day to day attendance. If we all reach out to these students to remind them how important it is to come to school every day, we will hopefully make a difference. For teachers, displaying your independent reading classes’ attendance on the walls can really make a difference. Simply asking a student why they weren’t in school the day before in a concerned tone makes a huge impact on a student to know they were missed.

We just had 4 days in a row with over 90% attendance. With a short week, the attendance usually drops but it did not last week. We are still facing some challenges on Mondays and Fridays. We should explore ways to improve our attendance on these days. This Friday, I will be hosting a “Simon Says” game with one representative in each class. Lastly, continuing to build a welcoming environment for students and a strong community within your classroom are two powerful techniques that can make an incredible difference. If students desire to come to your class, they will come to school. We all know, the more our students are in school, the better their grades will be because of all the opportunities we get to take advantage of to make a difference in their lives.

BIRTHDAYS:

Vivian Doles October 7th
Ishrath Azad October 19th
Joanne Tu October 29th
Jerome Young October 31st

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Give me six days to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening my saw.”–Abraham Lincoln