Recent Changes

Stephanie
A few weeks ago, we were scheduled to have our second zoo field trip as part of the "Zoo Ambassador Program" my kids participate in. When I got to school that morning, I found fire trucks out front and staff ushering us a few blocks down the street to the massive Rockwell Automation complex, where we kept dwindling numbers of students for the day. Naturally, the field trip was cancelled. Given that I'm basically the most "senior" member of my grade level (the bilingual 4th grade is on its fourth teacher this year, and the other monolingual 4th grade teacher was out for a few weeks and now misses at least one day a week due to some family medical issues) I've been responsible for organizing this program. Our school requires a lot of paperwork for field trips, and I managed to pull it all together for this one. When I rescheduled, I informed the school - and I did send home and collect new permission slips. However, I did not think I needed to fill out new lunch order forms, so after school the day before the field trip I was called down to the office, where I was informed that the kitchen didn't know and there was no way they could get bagged lunches together in time. The principal said that our 1:30 return time was too late to eat hot lunches then, so we'd have to cancel the field trip. I didn't want to cancel another field trip (figuring the zoo might just be done with us at that point and boot us from the program) and the kids would be very disappointed. In the end, I ended up ordering 25 pizzas, arranging for a staff member to drop them off at the zoo and paying the bulk of the substantial cost. The trip was wonderful - a lot of fun, and truly educational (they teach a class while we're there). My only point of annoyance regarding the cost was that my principal made it clear she was not going to pitch in any money. When we got back to the school that afternoon, I was called down to the principal's office again where I was informed that the kitchen had forgotten and made 3 classrooms worth of hot lunches anyway. We needed to serve them (and watch our kids just through them out) and mark "1s" on our lunch sheets so that the school would be reimbursed for them. Salt in the wound.
- Eamonn

I, too, enjoyed most of my parent teacher conferences-- one parent, in particular, told me she had a "tickle in her heart" because of how much progress her son has made, and he really seems to be set on going to college now, which is so exciting to me. It was, however, a little disheartening to see that a lot of the parents I would most like to conference with because of behavioral or academic issues did not attend conferences. Overall, this week I did not feel as positive about my classroom culture. I think my kids really burned out on testing, and were rather wound up for a lot of the week. I am looking forward to getting back into a normal schedule and routine with less interrupted academic time, especially since I am starting to get a little bit of anxiety about how little time is left before the end of the school year, and how much content I want to cram into the last 6-8 weeks!
Stephanie
A few weeks ago, we were scheduled to have our second zoo field trip as part of the "Zoo Ambassador Program" my kids participate in. When I got to school that morning, I found fire trucks out front and staff ushering us a few blocks down the street to the massive Rockwell Automation complex, where we kept dwindling numbers of students for the day. Naturally, the field trip was cancelled. Given that I'm basically the most "senior" member of my grade level (the bilingual 4th grade is on its fourth teacher this year, and the other monolingual 4th grade teacher was out for a few weeks and now misses at least one day a week due to some family medical issues) I've been responsible for organizing this program. Our school requires a lot of paperwork for field trips, and I managed to pull it all together for this one. When I rescheduled, I informed the school - and I did send home and collect new permission slips. However, I did not think I needed to fill out new lunch order forms, so after school the day before the field trip I was called down to the office, where I was informed that the kitchen didn't know and there was no way they could get bagged lunches together in time. The principal said that our 1:30 return time was too late to eat hot lunches then, so we'd have to cancel the field trip. I didn't want to cancel another field trip (figuring the zoo might just be done with us at that point and boot us from the program) and the kids would be very disappointed. In the end, I ended up ordering 25 pizzas, arranging for a staff member to drop them off at the zoo and paying the bulk of the substantial cost. The trip was wonderful - a lot of fun, and truly educational (they teach a class while we're there). My only point of annoyance regarding the cost was that my principal made it clear she was not going to pitch in any money. When we got back to the school that afternoon, I was called down to the principal's office again where I was informed that the kitchen had forgotten and made 3 classrooms worth of hot lunches anyway. We needed to serve them (and watch our kids just through them out) and mark "1s" on our lunch sheets so that the school would be reimbursed for them. Salt in the wound.

- Sarah Vester
I think the highlight of the week was the very end (and not because it was the lead-in to spring break) when I was able to collaborate and actually trade classes with Mr. DeBruin, a 2011 TFA corps member, Friday afternoon. Our school has been working with Sweet Water Organics, an urban farming group, to build an urban garden and set up an aquaponic system among other initiatives. The administrator in charge of this program set up Mr. DeBruin with a vermicomposting bin a few months ago. Essentially, it's a composting bin with a certain species of worms that devour the scraps and produce "castings" that make incredibly fertile soil. They had worked their way through his bin so it was time to harvest - separating the worms from the soil, splitting them into two new bins, and giving them some new food. (In the process, my class would end up with one bin.) We split the lesson between our two classrooms and traded classes at the midpoint. In Mr. DeBruin's room, they worked on harvesting - separating the worms from the soil (after a mini-lesson explaining the needs of the worms and how the castings are produced). In my room, the students created the new bins, shredding newspaper and dampening it as "bedding," and adding other food scraps (after a mini-lesson about their diets and ideal living environments.) Both groups of kids were very well behaved, I think due more to high engagement than our stern warnings about behaving in the other's class. Beyond the natural excitement of a hands-on lesson with dirt and living things, I think the kids enjoyed the change of pace - and scenery. Mr. DeBruin and I did, too. It reminded me how rewarding collaboration can be. I work together with my grade level partners to create weekly reading centers, etc. - but I'd like to do more involved (and cross grade-level -- DeBruin teaches 5th) projects like this.
- Eamonn Collins

Last week was a bit of a blur before spring break. My kids and I were both in need of some rest and relaxation. Repeatedly, this year, I've struggled with the same 4 or 5 male students with issues of disrespect, namely talking back to even basic requests. After talking to our school's counselor (who I am grateful to have now on staff), she is going to run a specific session for my male students on issues of anger, but I am also going to begin doing mini-sessions on socio-emotional issues the last 20 minutes of each day which usually are taken up by activities we didn't get to during the day or are sometimes too short after a prolonged Word of God class for any substantial instruction to occur. This has been a long time coming and while it's not academic, I cannot let some of my students leave my classroom lacking these important socio-emotional skills. I finally had to put my foot down and do what I know is right. My students need these skills to be successful students and adults in the future. Socio-emotional issues can pervade the classroom culture and detract from the level of learning occurring. What's more, I'm tired of feeling emotionally exhausted at the end of the day after being a punching bag for the same students day after day.
- Sarah Vester
I think the highlight of the week was the very end (and not because it was the lead-in to spring break) when I was able to collaborate and actually trade classes with Mr. DeBruin, a 2011 TFA corps member, Friday afternoon. Our school has been working with Sweet Water Organics, an urban farming group, to build an urban garden and set up an aquaponic system among other initiatives. The administrator in charge of this program set up Mr. DeBruin with a vermicomposting bin a few months ago. Essentially, it's a composting bin with a certain species of worms that devour the scraps and produce "castings" that make incredibly fertile soil. They had worked their way through his bin so it was time to harvest - separating the worms from the soil, splitting them into two new bins, and giving them some new food. (In the process, my class would end up with one bin.) We split the lesson between our two classrooms and traded classes at the midpoint. In Mr. DeBruin's room, they worked on harvesting - separating the worms from the soil (after a mini-lesson explaining the needs of the worms and how the castings are produced). In my room, the students created the new bins, shredding newspaper and dampening it as "bedding," and adding other food scraps (after a mini-lesson about their diets and ideal living environments.) Both groups of kids were very well behaved, I think due more to high engagement than our stern warnings about behaving in the other's class. Beyond the natural excitement of a hands-on lesson with dirt and living things, I think the kids enjoyed the change of pace - and scenery. Mr. DeBruin and I did, too. It reminded me how rewarding collaboration can be. I work together with my grade level partners to create weekly reading centers, etc. - but I'd like to do more involved (and cross grade-level -- DeBruin teaches 5th) projects like this.

movement around the room is good
total belief in kids is present, and other students are patient even when I wait a long time for a response
the discussion. Inspiringly,Inspiringly, when I
unveiling of "personification" - and interesting touch on the intro to new material
day 2 - lesson with 2Pac - use of music appealed to multiple intelligences
The next day, as we were running to track, one of my students was not paying attention and almost ran right in front of a school bus as he crossed the street. Again, my heart started racing and I felt physically sick. These different events made me realize how deeply I care for my children. While they are not biologically mine, they are mine this year, and my emotions and feelings for each one of them are real.
-Chelsea
Last week was a bit of a blur before spring break. My kids and I were both in need of some rest and relaxation. Repeatedly, this year, I've struggled with the same 4 or 5 male students with issues of disrespect, namely talking back to even basic requests. After talking to our school's counselor (who I am grateful to have now on staff), she is going to run a specific session for my male students on issues of anger, but I am also going to begin doing mini-sessions on socio-emotional issues the last 20 minutes of each day which usually are taken up by activities we didn't get to during the day or are sometimes too short after a prolonged Word of God class for any substantial instruction to occur. This has been a long time coming and while it's not academic, I cannot let some of my students leave my classroom lacking these important socio-emotional skills. I finally had to put my foot down and do what I know is right. My students need these skills to be successful students and adults in the future. Socio-emotional issues can pervade the classroom culture and detract from the level of learning occurring. What's more, I'm tired of feeling emotionally exhausted at the end of the day after being a punching bag for the same students day after day.
- Sarah Vester

Video Reflection (video accessible at http://gallery.me.com/jjjcart/100055)
Positives
warmup - perfect length and scope; kids really needed it
self-created poetry/essay packet - kids are really invested in this resource format (intriguing to them--somewhere in between a daily handout and a cover-to-cover textbook they might normally be given)
movement around the room is good
total belief in kids is present, and other students are patient even when I wait a long time for a response
no opt-out - I used this for Hiram, who admitted he wasn't paying attention, and this provided him a chance to reinsert himself into the discussion. Inspiringly, when I returned to him, he didn’t want to settle for simply repeating a classmate’s response; rather, he wanted to come up with his own description. However, I could tell that he was still uncomfortable articulating a response to the original query, so I presented a slight variation on the question. After showing much patience towards the student, he was able to supply an example of a personification sentence, which I enthusiastically repeated and used as momentum going into the next part of the lesson.
unveiling of "personification" - and interesting touch on the intro to new material
day 2 - lesson with 2Pac - use of music appealed to multiple intelligences
class average on S/M/P quiz - 70%
Action Areas
Pacing/urgency of transitions -- might be getting a bit lax at times
Imbalance of similes vs. metaphors on the review assignment
#1 missed question on quiz was a metaphor mistaken for personification -- reflective of fact that similes dominated the review assignment
Group in front of camera (orange) was not prompt to begin work and did not engage in quality group discussion (one member of group has since been shifted to another group with a positive outcome)
Question: Should I handle no opt-out (or the student actions that necessitate its use) more strictly? I ask because Hiram, the student who I used no opt-out with, ended up scoring a 30% on the quiz. She I have kept him in for 5 mins at recess to look at material again?
Question: When I direct groups to discuss with each other, should I be roaming and listening in, or should I stand at the group bonus point chart and award for groups that appear to be engaging in discussion? Or do a little of both
-Joe
-Student data/ outcomes - Students in literature averaged 80% on the "JFK Inaugural Speech Quiz" which assessed them on breaking down text from the speech using their background knowledge on the theme of JFK's speech. Students had to analyze five passages of his speech and explain the figurative language and how it related to JFK's overall message of peace and unity.
-Student action progress/ Prioritized student action to change - I am continuing the practice of teaching my students how to take "college notes" which is writing down notes and ideas in margins of text and modeling teacher talk to reflect how I want them to mentally evaluate text.

-Student data/ outcomes - Students in literature averaged 80% on the "JFK Inaugural Speech Quiz" which assessed them on breaking down text from the speech using their background knowledge on the theme of JFK's speech. Students had to analyze five passages of his speech and explain the figurative language and how it related to JFK's overall message of peace and unity.
-Student action progress/ Prioritized student action to change - I am continuing the practice of teaching my students how to take "college notes" which is writing down notes and ideas in margins of text and modeling teacher talk to reflect how I want them to mentally evaluate text.
-Teacher action to change to impact student action - I need to think of a stronger assessment to truly evaluate if the students are understanding how to take notes and analyze text on their own. This will ensure that students are understanding the process and evaluating with their own train of thought rather than my constant guidance.
-Plan for development/ solution - We are currently analyzing MLK "I Have a Dream" speech and I will continue to model how to take notes and evaluate. The last novel of the year in literature will be "The Good Earth" and I will have students use sticky notes to write questions and ideas they have regarding the text.
-Anticipated change in student data/ achievement outcomes - Students will become more comfortable in note taking and greater higher order independent thinkers.
Michael Nguyen
We are really working to refocus the class when there is very little time left before spring break. This week coming up may have very little students coming to school because MPS's spring break is the coming week. We had an okay week. We are working on science fair and continuing to develop the projects. There is always a lot going on and even though I am constantly tracking what every one is doing there is still 60 kids that I'm trying to keep track of. The students are getting really restless. I feel like everyone is ready to go on break so I'm working to develop ways to keep them invested and engaged in the classroom. I saw a turn around in a couple of my students who have been challenging recently. This week I really felt a break through with these students.
- Emma

We are really working to refocus the class when there is very little time left before spring break. This week coming up may have very little students coming to school because MPS's spring break is the coming week. We had an okay week. We are working on science fair and continuing to develop the projects. There is always a lot going on and even though I am constantly tracking what every one is doing there is still 60 kids that I'm trying to keep track of. The students are getting really restless. I feel like everyone is ready to go on break so I'm working to develop ways to keep them invested and engaged in the classroom. I saw a turn around in a couple of my students who have been challenging recently. This week I really felt a break through with these students.
- Emma
This week I had to scares in my classroom...
On Tuesday, I quick stepped out to make copies during my prep. I was barely gone 5 minutes, when two of my students came barreling into the office screaming, "Ms. Prochnow you have get upstairs, Lonneshia can't breath!!!" Without thinking, I raced upstairs to find one of my student reeling on the floor, grabbing her neck. Lonneshia is asthmatic, and we thought she was having an attack, so we cut of her sweater vest and were able to unbutton her dress shirt enough to give her some release. She did take a puff of her inhaler, but we could not find it after she started convulsing to give her more. As we waited for the paramedics to arrive I tried to calm Lonneshia down, because her nerves were only exacerbating the problem - I sang her songs and rubbed her back like my mom did when I was a little girl. Finally, the paramedics arrived and were able to take over. They did not hear symptoms of asthma as they listened to her breathe, and determined she was having an anxiety attack. It took about 30 minutes after Lonneshia left to go home and rest for me to calm down.

This week I had to scares in my classroom...
On Tuesday, I quick stepped out to make copies during my prep. I was barely gone 5 minutes, when two of my students came barreling into the office screaming, "Ms. Prochnow you have get upstairs, Lonneshia can't breath!!!" Without thinking, I raced upstairs to find one of my student reeling on the floor, grabbing her neck. Lonneshia is asthmatic, and we thought she was having an attack, so we cut of her sweater vest and were able to unbutton her dress shirt enough to give her some release. She did take a puff of her inhaler, but we could not find it after she started convulsing to give her more. As we waited for the paramedics to arrive I tried to calm Lonneshia down, because her nerves were only exacerbating the problem - I sang her songs and rubbed her back like my mom did when I was a little girl. Finally, the paramedics arrived and were able to take over. They did not hear symptoms of asthma as they listened to her breathe, and determined she was having an anxiety attack. It took about 30 minutes after Lonneshia left to go home and rest for me to calm down.
The next day, as we were running to track, one of my students was not paying attention and almost ran right in front of a school bus as he crossed the street. Again, my heart started racing and I felt physically sick. These different events made me realize how deeply I care for my children. While they are not biologically mine, they are mine this year, and my emotions and feelings for each one of them are real.
-Chelsea

This week was short; we had parent teacher conferences Thursday night and Friday morning. It was really great to meet with all the parents, about 20 parents out of the 60 students I have showed up. I feel like this week I have really been focused on what is necessary to make my students successful. It’s a combination of our conversations in grad class about culturally relevant teaching and parent teacher conferences. I know that there are only about two months left in the school year but I still feel like I need to stop and re think my plans for the end of the year so that my students are really entering the next year as ready as possible. Each grade level has made a lot of individual progress and as much I want to beat myself up for the lack of growth in areas I know I need to really prioritize for the rest of the school year. I ask myself, what is truly relevant for my students, I think I’ve spent too much time listening to what everyone else had to say about how to teach my students because I wasn’t sure of my ability to teach them. I need to do what is best for my students based on what I know, I don’t think I’ll stop learning and getting advice, but I have to ask myself what is relevant for my student? How will this help them be people, and be prepared for the world?
-Emma
-Student data/ outcomes - Students averaged 85% or higher on all of their daily Exit Tickets this week.
-Student action progress/ Prioritized student action to change - I have seen a huge increase in investment/engagement in every math lesson since I started publicly tracking exit ticket scores. Also, they have a better understanding of why it is important and how it directly connects to their big goals since we had a discussion on why exit tickets are important.