Friday Focus - October 26, 2012

• Pompano Beach Middle School will be presenting to our 5th graders on Monday afternoon in the cafeteria at 1:25.
• Team Leaders will meet in my office on Monday afternoon at 2:15.
• Wednesday is Fall Colors Dress-up Day.
• SAC and PTA meetings are next Thursday evening.
• Super Citizens' names are due to Mrs. Olstein next Friday.
• Next Friday is our Fall Book Fair kick-off.  Our 50s Sock Hop is next Friday evening.  I hope to see you there.
• Great article on effective feedback - 7 Keys to Effective Feedback  Are you measuring the quality of the feedback you provide to your students?  Please self-reflect on this important quality of a good teacher. 

Quote of the Week - "It's the people, not the programs, that determine the quality of a school." - Todd Whitaker.  People can be either the problem or the solution.  Are you a solution?

Friday Focus - October 19, 2012

• I wanted to officially welcome Beatriz Bofill as our new Science teacher.  Ms. Bofill brings a wealth of knowledge to the position and I am very excited to have her as a part of our faculty.  
• Monday is our "Wear Pink Day" to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness and next Wednesday is "Wear Red Day" to support our Drug Free activities.  
• Birthday Table and Super Citizens' Ceremony are both next Tuesday.  
• We have our Ronald McDonald Assembly next Wednesday afternoon at 12:50 for all grades.
• Next Thursday is an Early Release Day.  Our 5th Graders will be participating in their Walk-a-thon and there will also be two fire prevention assemblies that morning.
• Next Friday is a Planning Day.  PLCs are scheduled for that day although I know that some PLCs have decided to meet on Thursday instead.  We will also have CVS here to provide flu shots to those interested.  
• I encourage all teachers to visit the Common Core website on a regular basis - Defining the Core  There are a lot of resources from the District related to implementing the Common Core Standards.

Quote of the Week - "Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required." - Winston Churchill

Friday Focus - October 12, 2012

• Falcon Express articles are due to Mrs. Olstein next Wednesday.  Every grade level must submit an article.
  
• We will be receiving a visit from Aurelia Chis of Senator Bill Nelson's office next Friday in the cafeteria in honor of National School Lunch Week. 
• Cool site shared by Mrs. Gronsky - http://learnzillion.com/  Great videos relating to the Common Core.  Perhaps you could have students preview a video before you introduce a new concept or you could use them to reinforce what you have already taught.  
• Data chats follow-up: I remain very impressed with the level of conversation that has taken place and teachers' knowledge of our students.  The focus for our next chats will be to answer the following questions: What have you put in place to meet your students' needs?  Have those strategies worked?  How do you know?  What will you do next?
• Writing sample feedback - It is great to see that we have our students writing on a regular basis.  In order to have some consistency with what we are seeing, I think that it is important that you include a copy of the rubric that you use to score your writing.  I also think that writing gives the perfect opportunity to provide constructive feedback.  Two examples of good feedback that I saw came from Mrs. Nocera and Ms. Szpak.  They both stated specifically on their students' papers what the students did well and also how they could improve. 
  

Quote of the Week -             "I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow.  
                                              They'll learn much more.....than I'll never know.  
                                              And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world."

Friday Focus - October 5, 2012

• Data chats are next week.  We will be utilizing the same schedule as last time.  It is located in the Floranada CAB Conference under 2012-13 Schedules.  Monday is Day 1.  Please be prepared to talk about the progress that your students are making academically.  The expectation is that you will be able to provide detailed information about your students.  
• There will be a faculty meeting on Monday afternoon.  Please see the email that I sent and read the two attachments prior to the meeting.
• PLCs are scheduled for next Thursday afternoon.  Hopefully we are at the point where we are sharing how we are implementing strategies to meet the Common Core Standards and discussing how/if we can implement them in our classrooms. 
• Next Friday at 12:30 those students who sold enough during the Fall Fundraiser will receive snow cones outside on the field as well as their other prizes.  I believe there are about 90 students. 
• Teachers, October's writing samples are due next week.  
• Interesting post from a teacher who experimented with a different approach to homework - 10 week trial  What do you think?

Quote of the Week - "Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." - Mother Teresa
Love is a big theme with me.  My whole purpose in doing my job is because I care deeply about our students and I hope that each of you does as well.  Nothing is more important than a school where every staff member realizes the tremendous responsibility we have of caring for children and believes that every child must be treated as if he or she were one of their own.  I encourage you to follow my lead and spread this love throughout our school.