Weekly Update 2.28.16-3.5.16

Happy Leap Day.  It’s a bit unfair that because of Leap year we got stuck with an extra Monday.  So to make it a little easier to take, feel free to leap into this day with a Concord spirit day on Monday.  And I thank you for taking the time to read this very lengthy Weekly Update!

 

Learning Labs on Wednesday: Thanks for being flexible.  We are going to host Learning Labs on Wednesday in the PD room.  Please be sure to bring a charged laptop.  Agenda will be coming soon.

Friday, March 4th is a ½ day  Please remind your families that it is an 11:50 dismissal.  PM Kindergarten students will be in attendance.  The schedule can be found here.   In addition, we will have an Leader in Me Assembly at 9:00 a.m. to celebrate our 3rd quarter successes and refocus on our energy on the 7 Habits.

The afternoon is a records day.  Report cards are due at midnight on Sunday.  

Here are the links to reading levels for your reference:

Instructional Reading Levels by Quarter (named in the drive as:  Instructional Level Expectation for Reading-most current copy (9.8.14))

Instructional Reading Levels by Month (named in the drive as:  Lindbergh Instructional Text Reading Levels by Month-most current copy (9.8.14)

Support Staff and Teacher of the Year Nominations are due by March 18.  Please take a moment to nominate your deserving colleagues.  

Arts and Education Fund: The Arts and Education Campaign has begun.  Please consider supporting the Arts and Education Council with a donation.  The Council provides many great art education and outreach programs for our students and K-12 students throughout the Greater St. Louis area.  You may give a one-time or monthly on-line donation by clicking on the following link:  Concord's Arts and Education Council Fundraising Page  If you prefer to write a check, see Katie Goedde or Valerie Creech.  

Check out this blog post about how to help no student leave the mini-lesson meeting area confused.

Here are some great groups to join on Facebook if you haven’t done so already:

• Units of Study in Writing TCRWP
• Units of Study in Reading TCRWP
• The Reading Strategies Book Community - Jennifer Serravallo

      

I came across this quote and would love for you to discuss in your weekly meetings what it means to your students:

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Reading Celebration on Friday.  A special thanks to Leslie Weiss and her data collection team, the LHS drumline and cheerleaders (with support from David Weiss and Alec Patton), and to the Student Leadership Committee for their organization of such a fun event.  It is important to celebrate when students put first things first and begin with the end in mind.  Be sure to check out photos from the event!

I also want to thank the Dads of Concord for such an amazing Casino Night.  As this was my first, I had no idea what to expect but it was such a fun time.  I can’t wait to hear about the totals from  all of the incredible donations from our families.   

Please be sure to share the following items in your weekly updates to parents:

Last Day of School is Friday, May 27: The recent snow day on Feb. 24 has shifted the last day of the 2015-16 school year to Friday, May 27. The 27th will still be a half day for students. As a reminder, emergency makeup days are posted through Friday, June 3, to accommodate potential future school closings this winter. If we have any additional days off school, it will change the last day of school for students. The district's Google calendar and the official 2015-16 School Year Calendar reflect these changes.

2015-16 calendar link (revised)

Concord Fly Up Day: May 27th

Concord End of Year Party May 24

Records Day: May 31

Gentle Reminders: Parents please send in lunch money to the office.  Remember you can check your child’s balance on the SIS portal.  In addition, be sure to phone in to our attendance hotline when your child will be out.  314.729.2409

MAP dates:  We have scheduled our tentative testing dates for April 11-29th for grades 3-5.  Please try to avoid scheduling appointments or missing school during this window.

St. Baldrick’s Shave for Childhood Cancer: Caelyn W. (Greteman’s 1st grade class) is participating in the St. Baldrick’s shave for childhood cancer.  If you would like to support her, her shave will be at 5:15 on March 5, 2016 at Helen Fitzgeralds.   Here is the link for her fundraising page: https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/813788/2016

Tuesday 3.1.16 PTG Board meeting 9:00 a.m., Mother/Son Dance 6:00-8:00 p.m. @Concord

Wednesday 3.2.16 Learning Lab

Friday 3.4.16 CLC Assembly 9:00 a.m., ½ day School, Staff appreciation lunch, Lindbergh Leader

Monday 3.7.16 DOC meeting 7:00 p.m

Tuesday 3.8.16 Daddy/Daughter Dance Concord 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Friday 3.11.16 MU Fellows Interviews @ Concord

Saturday 3.12.16 Concord Garden Work Day 9:00-12:00 p.m.

Angie Out:

Tuesday 3.1.16 MU Fellows Interviews @ Columbia

Wednesday 3.2.16 9-11 a.m. District Walkthroughs, 1 p.m. Meeting at C. O.

Friday 3.4.16 Elementary Principal mtg. 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday 3.8.16 9:00-12:00 p.m. District PD meeting

Wednesday 3.9.16 9:00-11:30 a.m. Admin Leadership Team

Reading and Writing Minilessons

Check out this Blog to read about how to help no student leave the minilesson meeting area confused.

https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2016/02/26/instant-minilesson-follow-up/

New Learning Space in Kim B's room

Check out the new learning spaces in 1st grade.  Students are able to choose where they want to sit for the day.

What are you doing to make the world AWESOME?

Check out this display by Mrs. Joy's room after watching the Kid President video this week!

Math Centers in Action

Pretest for Differentiated Instruction

Clear Organization of Centers with "I Can" statements

 Supplies Neatly Organized

Weekly Update 2.21.16-2.27.16

Check out this video....this is my favorite quote: "Every day is a clean slate.  Do the things you'll regret NOT doing."

Reader Leader Celebration:

WOW!!!  I am so impressed with our Concord leaders.  We set a goal to read 1 MILLION minutes by the end of the year, and our students have met that goal!  We will celebrate our reading success on Friday with several activities and will use the early release schedule.  During block, students will sharpen the saw with a dance party in the gym.  In addition, we would like to ask all of our students to dress as their favorite book character.  During the day, Dr. Mariscal and Dr. Moehlmann will be reading aloud one of our favorite series in costume in the PD room.

Grade	Block	Read Aloud in PD room
Kindergarten	10:05-10:35	10:40
Kindergarten p.m.	12:55-1:20	12:30 p.m.
1st	9:25-9:55	9:00 a.m.
2nd	11:55-12:25	12:30 p.m.
3rd	8:55-9:25	9:30 a.m.
4th	11:20-11:50	11:55
5th	10:45-11:15	11:20

We will conclude the day with an assembly from 1:40-2:00 and have a Read-a-thon from 2:00-2:45 (read anywhere).

"Dream Big:"

Use this document to add the items you brainstormed at the faculty meeting in addition to anything else you have been thinking about.  What has inspired you this year?  What is something you want to try?  Use this document as a digital wish list-only 5 people have added to the list so far.

Wrapping up Quarter 3:

Grades and comments are due on March 6, 2016. The grade cycle is now open.  In thinking about spring conferences, please consider the following:

• below grade level in subject area
• on RTI
• behavior/social/emotional concerns

Magnificent Monday:

We want to make your Monday MAGNIFICENT!  Please join us in the lounge for lunch from Qdoba.

Event Attendance:

I would like to encourage all of you to participate in an upcoming event outside of school.  Grade level representation (although not required) is truly appreciated.  Parents love to see their child’s teacher outside the classroom.  I thank you for talking this up with your teams.

Saturday, 2.26 DOC Fundraiser 7-11

Tuesday, 3.1 Mother/Son dance 6-8

Tuesday 3.8 Father/Daughter dance 6-8

Saturday 3.12 Garden work day from 9-12

Sunday 3.13 Spring Concerts

Questioning That Deepens Comprehension:  Questions are a common way for teachers to check for understanding, right? The answer we’re looking for is "yes." Who hasn't questioned a group of students to determine whether or not they understood the content? Unfortunately, not all questions are created equally. The article proposes four overarching questions that can be used to scaffold students' thinking about complex texts. You can tailor these questions to any book that your students are reading:

• What does the text say?
• How does the text work?
• What does the text mean?
• What does the text inspire you to do?

Check out the article for more ideas!

I am going to start sharing a little something that will remind us how to incorporate the 7 habits each week.  Please take a moment at some point during the week-maybe during a class meeting-to talk about the video or idea with your students.  So the question is….what are you going to do to make the world awesome today?  This week?

A HUGE thank you to Sheri Strebler for her efforts in organizing the Concord Maker's Fair this week.  In addition, I would like to thank Mrs. Parikh, Mrs. Graef, Mrs. Margherio, and Mr. and Mrs. Deeter for their time and efforts in sharing their maker knowledge!  I thank all those who participated.  This night is really about encouraging a love of science, technology, and all things “maker.”  After the event, I know that such an energy was created for our students.  I had one 5th grader who asked how he could learn more about Minecraft and another who went home with new ideas on what he could create with his Makey Makey.  Such an awesome event!

Box Top Challenge

Our challenge begins this week!  Please send all box tops to the lobby every day this week.  Our 5th grade volunteers will be cutting and organizing these to support the iDiscover outdoor learning space. One of our goals at Concord is to utilize the spaces around us for creative learning and that includes the outdoors. We would like to make some updates to our current garden which would include an outdoor classroom!! So spread the word to neighbors, grandparents, and other family members to save all of their Box Tops.

Monday 2.22.16 Happy Monday!  Qdoba for Lunch provided in the lounge!

Tuesday 2.23.16 Student Leadership and Teacher Leadership committee meetings

Friday 2.26.16 One Million Minutes Reading Celebration Day

Saturday 2.27.16 Dads of Concord Fundraiser

Tuesday 3.1.16 PTG Board meeting 9:00 a.m., Mother/Son Dance 6:00-8:00 p.m. @Concord

Thursday 3.3.16 Learning Lab

Friday 3.4.16 CLC Assembly 9:00 a.m., ½ day School, Staff appreciation lunch, Lindbergh Leader

Angie Out:

Tuesday 3.1.16 MU Fellows Interviews @ Columbia

Friday 3.4.16 Elementary Principal mtg. 1:00 p.m.

Weekly Update 2.14.16-2.20.16

Spring Picture Day

Friday, 2.19.16 Spring Picture Day Schedule 

Block Plans for 2016-17

Next year we plan to go to an A-E schedule.  We will be adding library into the rotation.  More to come as we get closer. 

"Dream Big"

Use this document to add the items you brainstormed at the faculty meeting in addition to anything else you have been thinking about.  The more details you can add the better.  

Box Top Challenge

We are collecting Box Tops to support the iDiscover outdoor learning space. One of our goals at Concord is to utilize the spaces around us for creative learning and that includes the outdoors. We would like to make some updates to our current garden which would include an outdoor classroom!! So spread the word to neighbors, grandparents, and other family members to save all of their Box Tops.

Cardinals Concord Night

Concord Night at Busch Stadium will be Wednesday, April 13, 7:10 p.m. Concord Flyer Choir sings at 6:50 p.m. behind home plate.

Tickets are $16 each. Deadline for ordering is March 9. Checks are made payable to Concord Elementary. All sales are final. Tickets will be ready for pick-up the week of March 14 in the Concord office.

A huge thank you to Beth And Bill for a wonderful Jump Rope for Heart event today!

Monday 2.15.16 President’s Day-No School

Tuesday 2.16.16 

·       Service Leadership Committee Meeting

·       3rd and 4th Grade LEAP combined today

·       1^st Grade Math Training 

·       2^nd grade Field Trip to Magic House (Frederich and Syrett) 

·       Kindergarten registration begins

Wednesday 2.17.16 2^nd grade Field Trip to Magic House (Bozdeck, Martin, and Snyder)

Thursday 2.18.16 

·       Kindergarten teachers to Math training 

·       Maker’s Fair 3:30-6

Friday 2.19.16 Spring Picture Day

Tuesday 2.23.16 Student Leadership and Teacher Leadership committee meetings 

Friday 2.26.16 One Million Minutes Reading Celebration Day

Saturday 2.27.16 Dads of Concord Fundraiser

Angie Out:

Tuesday 2.16.16 and Wednesday 2.17.16 Leader in Me Workshop

Thursday 2.18.16: 1:30 mtg. @ CO

Friday 2.19.16: 1:00 Principals' mtg. @ Moore