Learning This Week Oct 25-29

Week Oct 18-22

Mon	Homeroom teacher notify Mr. Patrick of any missing Emergency Lesson Plans
Tues	· Class Walkthroughs including Grade Level Leaders
Weds	· Class Walkthroughs including Grade Level Leaders
Thursday	· Class Walkthroughs including Grade Level Leaders · Primary Homeroom Teacher meeting 2:00 Patrick’s office
Friday	· Grade Level Leaders Meeting 4:15 · Halloween celebration · Primary, in classrooms starting at 2:30 · Secondary in Homeroom Period 10. No Subject Class period 10

Welcome back,

Thank you all for all your efforts so far! Below you will find information about:

· Halloween

· Classroom ‘walkthorugh’ visits

· Classroom Discipline Protocol

· Update on schedule

· Important Documents

Halloween

On Friday, Oct 29 Primary students will have a Pumpkin Party where they can dress as their favorite book, movie, or cartoon character. The party will be at 2:30 in Homeroom and students can get dressed after lunch.

Secondary students can come to school in Costume, or put them on during Lunch. During Period 10 Secondary students will have a special homeroom to celebrate Halloween. There will be now regular classes in Period 10.

Students CAN NOT bring food to school!

1. If students are not in costume, they MUST be in uniform.

2. If the only thing the student has is a hat or mask, the student MUST be in uniform.

3. If they are not wearing a school shirt, what they are wearing MUST be the costume

4. Costumes may not promote violence or have accessories or props that could be used as a weapon.

5. No bare midriffs or “revealing” clothing, such as short shorts or exposed underwear

6. You must be able to sit, walk, breathe, see and hear (no masks that cover the face during class).

7. Costumes cannot promote use of drugs, alcohol or weapons of any kind.

8. Costumes may not be offensive or inappropriate in any way.

9. Students should not wear costumes that make fun of others or make others feel uncomfortable

Classroom Walkthrough Visits

Thank you again for allowing us in your classes for walkthroughs. Congratulations! We Observed evidence of many of the practices we are looking for.

Grades 6-8 we Observed:

· Clear and consistent use of the classroom journal in 6-8 with students aware of do now expectations and following through

· Some evidence of Objectives being used

· Students understanding expectations for participation and routines such as raising hand

· Good management of materials, text books, note books, etc.

Please continue with the focus on Do Now

Please continue to focus on student management of classroom materials. Remember it is important to leave the room ready for the next teacher, it helps everyone to dismiss the students in an orderly fashion taking note of the condition of the room. The teacher should be the last one out of the room, closing the door when the teacher leaves.

We Ask that you include the Objective, Homework, and Date with the DO NOW posted on the board at the start.

Grades 9-11

· Mastery of subject content by teachers

· Commitment to the syllabus

· Students demonstrating an understanding of the give and take in classroom exchanges

There are different circumstances in Grade 9-11 such as class sizes from 1-15 and an intense focus on academics. For 9-11 we will be looking for the following:

We Ask for 9-11

· The Objective be posted at the start of the lesson along with the HW, and date, topic, relevant pages of text

· Students copy the objective, HW, and Date into their copy book as the Do Now and open their text

This will set up all 9-11 students with an open note book on the desk, an open text book on the desk, and the start of notes organized with dates, all in the first 2 minutes.

Classroom Discipline Protocol

Protocol for Issuing Student Detention

The Teacher Should: Remind individual student of code of conduct if they are disrupting class. The teacher can also remind the student that detention is a CHOICE made by the student. If they chose not to follow instructions, they choose detention.
If the behavior persists, the TEACHER assigns student detention in that grade level room at the nearest break: breakfast, Lunch, After school (If at this point you need to remove them from the room send them to Mr. Patrick's Office. I may hold them for 10 minutes before sending them back to class)
The Teacher Should: Notify the grade level leader so they can coordinate having the students in the room at break
The Teacher Should: Run the detention. Detention is run BY THE TEACHER assigning it. 20 minutes. Be in the room on time
The Teacher Should: Have the students complete a “Behavior Report” during detention. Each grade level leader has one
The Teacher should: Have them practice the procedure that they violated (Raising hand, etc). Research shows it take 18 times to break a bad habit and 3 times to learn a new one. Have them Raise their hands 21 times. Each time explaining why. Or walk into the room and sit down 21 times correctly, etc)
Give the behavior report to the Grade Level Leader so grade leader can contact home
Grade leader message the parents that the student had a detention and cc it to Mr. Patrick, then give Mr. Patrick the Behavior report

I support disciplinary action against persistent disruptive behavior, I also encourage teacher accountability. Student participation in class is first and foremost the responsibility of the classroom instructor.

In addition to questions about what the student did and how often they were doing it class, I will be concerned with questions such as “What was the do now, how was it implemented? What were the students instructed to be doing when this student was being disruptive-what was he or she supposed to be doing at that time? Have you practiced routines for transitions and quieting the class”?

· Repeated detentions will lead to a parent meeting with me according to the Code of Conduct and the use of a behavior tracking report.

· Continued disruption after this will lead to a referral to the disciplinary committee made up of the Grade Level Leader, Mr. Patrick, School Psychologist, Ms. Lima.

Update on Schedules

Over the last three weeks, we have added well over a dozen courses and added half a dozen staff members to the time table in order to meet the program requirements, all while negotiating with the two other divisions in the school for rooms and teachers.

All changes made have been necessary. No changes have been made for personal preference or convenience.

I thank you all for your patience and flexibility and for demonstrating the learner profile of “Open-Mindedness” through this process. Inshallah, this is our final timetable.