Week Ahead: January 25

It’s been another great week.  With the birth of Zane and Emina Crowell, Stacy and Mark are now not just a lovely married couple, but a family with 2 kids.  Talk about an incredible change in the trajectory of their lives.  So exciting, so beautiful, and so inspiring.   Being able to celebrate with them is a privilege.

Here is what’s up this week:

Monday, Jan. 25
Day 2 EFGH
1:30-3 Admin Team Mtg
3:15-3:45  Leadership Team Budget Mtg

Tuesday, Jan. 26
Day 3 BCDA
Happy Birthday Gregor Berger!

Wednesday, Jan. 27
Day 4 FGHE
1:20-1:40 ES recess in MS gym (just an FYI)
3:15-4:30  All Faculty WASC Mtg

Thursday, Jan. 28
Day 5 CDAB
9-11 Admin Mtg
7-8pm School Book Club (Teach Your Children Well)

Friday, Jan. 29
Day 6 GHEF
8:15-10:15 PTA Coffee Morning
7:30pm-7am StuCo / PTA Lock In

Upcoming (on the radar)

• Feb. 4-Feb. 12 – Tet Holiday
  
• Feb. 19 – MS Dance
• Feb. 22 – Mid-Quarter
• Feb. 22-23 – Author Visit (schedule)
• Feb. 24-28 – MRISA Arts Exchange (Thailand)
• Mar. 3-6 – MS GIN Conference, China
• Mar. 9 – Early Dismissal
• Mar. 11-13 – Vietnam Tech Conference, Hanoi

Duty Schedule:  Okay – best laid plans, right?!  I was supposed to create a Semester 2 duty schedule based on the changed prep blocks.  However, I totally forgot.  So I’ll be working on that this weekend and will put it out next week.  Please let me know if you really don’t want your duty to change even if your preps have changed.

Dragon’s Apprentice:  If you haven’t heard about it yet, this is a project based interdisciplinary unit being lead by Abena, Greg and Eric for Gr 6.  6th grade students will be developing, creating, pitching, and selling products as they seek to become the winning apprentice.  There are a few days where we will be off our normal schedules to support this big project.  Here are the dates and events:
– Feb. 18: HL Schedule for Apprentice Fair (selling products) 2:30-3:30; 6th grade dismissed at 2:20; open for 7th grade from 2:30-2:45, 8th grade from 2:45-3.
– Mar. 16:  Dragon’s Apprentice Finale; special schedule with all division (and Gr 5), parents, and special guest judges; schedule not quite ready but will have shortened blocks and assembly from about 1:40-3.

Tutorial Additions: Based on team requests, and after a Gr 8 pilot, we will be adding in a few Tutorial days in 2nd semester.  Mar. 1 and Mar. 15 will be Tutorial Days (same as Advisory schedule).  More information will be shared via your Team Leader.

Pre-Registration for 16-17 Year: Believe it or not, we are already gearing up for pre-registration of students for next year.  This means I’ll be asking departments to review their course descriptions for the Program of Study.  We have also set the pre-registration meetings with each grade level.  Per our divisional commitment to protecting advisory time, we will be doing these meetings during 3rd block for Gr 6 and 7 (for Gr 8 we are using advisory due to scheduling time frames with HS counselors).

• Feb 29 – Gr 8 pre-registration presentation, 11:40-12:10
• Mar 3 – Gr 8 pre-registration presentation with HS counselors, 11:40-12:10
  Mar 14 – Gr 8 electronic pre-registration, 11:40-12:10 (Mark Crowell’s room and Rebecca Jardin’s room)
• Mar 2 – Gr 7 pre-registration presentation, 11:50-12:10
• Mar 17 – Gr 7 electronic pre-registration, 1:10-1:30 (Library and Dragon’s Den if space is needed)
• Mar 8 – Gr 6 pre-registration presentation, 11:50-12:10
• Mar 17 – Gr 6 electronic pre-registration, 1:45-2 (Library and Dragon’s Den if space is needed)

Visible Thinking Strategy: What Makes You Say That: Interpretation with justification
Sometimes asking simple questions can lead to impressive discoveries and depth of thought.

1. What’s going on?
2. What do you see that makes you say that?

Purpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?  This routine helps students describe what they see or know and asks them to build explanations. It promotes evidential reasoning (evidence-based reasoning) and because it invites students to share their interpretations, it encourages students to understand alternatives and multiple perspectives.

Application: When and where can I use it?  This is a thinking routine that asks students to describe something, such as an object or concept, and then support their interpretation with evidence. Because the basic questions in this routine are flexible, it is useful when looking at objects such as works of art or historical artifacts, but it can also be used to explore a poem, make scientific observations and hypothesis, or investigate more conceptual ideas (i.e., democracy). The routine can be adapted for use with almost any subject and may also be useful for gathering information on students’ general concepts when introducing a new topic.

Launch: What are some tips for starting and using this routine?  In most cases, the routine takes the shape of a whole class or group conversation around an object or topic, but can also be used in small groups or by individuals. When first introducing the routine, the teacher may scaffold students by continually asking the follow-up questions after a student gives an interpretation. Over time students may begin to automatically support their interpretations with evidence with out even being asked, and eventually students will begin to internalize the routine.

The two core questions for this routine can be varied in a number of ways depending on the context: What do you know? What do you see or know that makes you say that? Sometimes you may want to preceded students’ interpretation by using a question of description: What do you see? or What do you know?  When using this routine in a group conversation it may be necessary to think of alternative forms of documentation that do not interfere with the flow of the discussion. One option is to record class discussions using video or audio. Listening and noting students’ use of language of thinking can help you see their development. Students words and language can serve as a form of documentation that helps create a rubric for what makes a good interpretation or for what constitutes good reasoning.

Another option is to make a chart or keep an ongoing list of explanations posted in the classroom. As interpretations develop, note changes and have further discussion about these new explanations. These lists can also invite further inquiry and searches for evidence. Other options for both group and individual work include students documenting their own interpretations through sketches, drawings, models and writing, all of which can be displayed and revisited in the classroom.