To: Michael Green
From: Chris Wiseman
Date: October 6, 2010
RE: Monthly Building update
Academic Intervention Block:
This year we created a block of time at each grade level during which students participate in various intervention, instruction, and/or extension settings. We worked particularly hard to create as much additional instruction for students in math and reading as possible without a child missing instruction in core subjects. Students will be working in homeroom on inquiry, which is a form of research, as well as spelling. Others will receive extra instruction in reading, math, their Individualized Education Plan, or other services to better help them reach state standards.
Social Emotional Intervention:
The Think Tank is off to a great start. Students who need additional help throughout the day are receiving it. Students are spending time taking ownership of poor choices, identifying which EAGLE attribute they are not following, brainstorming positive choices that should be made next time, outlining resources that are available to assist them at school if they need help and contacting their parents to communicate the choices that they are making at school.
The Fresh Start program is also off to a great start. We currently have approximately 10 students enrolled in the program. They check in in the morning, at lunch and again at the end of the day. They set goals, regularly check in with staff, monitor their progress throughout the day and are able to earn rewards for accomplishing their goals. As with any new program Fresh Start is a work in progress, but I am very pleased with the progress that we have made so far.
School Wide Expectations:
Our newly implemented building (EAGLE), learning (SLANT), hallway (LINES) and noise level (1, 2, 3, 4) expectations have caught on much faster than I ever could have hoped. This was a cultural shift that I thought was going to take a semester to sink in. Instead it has become the norm in less than a month.
Open House:
Open House was a success. Students participated in a scavenger hunt activity that encouraged them to introduce their parents to each of their teachers and visit strategic locations throughout the school. Students who completed the scavenger hunt received ice cream at lunch the following day.