We Are Off To A Great Start! September 2, 2013

Week of September 1st to 4th 

Happy Birthday this week to: 

• Shakila Faqih-August 31st
• Stephen Friel-Sept. 4th
• Melissa Baccari-September 6th

A Quick Note from the Lead Learner:)

I just wanted to let you know that I am so very proud of you all.  I am just thrilled at how smoothly the first week of school went.  This just doesn't happen automatically.  Thank you for all your planning and preparation from lesson planning to our first fire drill of the year.  Everyone has worked hard and done their part to make sure that our students were welcomed into a safe, warm, inviting and caring learning environment where expectations are high and so is the belief that all children can and will learn at Diggs-Latham. Dr. Frazier and I have continued our practice of being as visible as possible.  We saw great teaching happening.  We  saw quality student work posted. We saw bright and attractive door and hallway décor devoted to the children and curriculum. Students were reading across all content areas. Congratulations to all the teams that have almost all their individual student assessments done. Way to go.  Flexibility and teamwork made the process go very smoothly as you shared children and kept on teaching!  Thank you so much for supporting our school rituals and routines.   I saw all classes putting them into practice.  Remember that all adults should also model the zero or low volume in the hallways. I always say that every job in this building is equally valuable. We are a team and it has truly been evident this week from the shiny floors, to the smiling cafeteria ladies to the patient and very busy office staff to all the great teachers and support team.  All of you impact our students positively. Thank you for the smiles and dedication to our kids!

Classroom Walkthroughs

Classroom walkthroughs start this week. The focus is on curriculum. Refer to your CWT schedule for details.  We will be in your rooms for a quick 3 minutes or so. We are looking for EQs to be posted, evident to students and aligned with common core standards.  Remember to point out to students the EQ at the beginning of lesson and revisit it at the end. 

PDP-Professional Development Plans

All PDPs will be due soon.  It is time to start thinking about what your goals will be. Your PDP is very important. A lot of thought should go into your goal statements.  They should be tied to the standards on your evaluation rubric.  We will talk about these goals during our training.

PLEASE CHECK THE BLOG AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY AS I WILL ADD ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.