War has been declared and the winners will be those suffering from damage caused by Hurricane Dorian. Please encourage your students to participate and help build excitement. NJHS will lead this event and will let you know what the prize will be for the winning class. Each day, the top classes will be announced at the end of the day. You should have your Penny and Paper container already in your classrooms. The Silver containers will be in the Breezeway from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. each day. NJHS members will collect all containers at 8:00 a.m. and bring them to the office for counting. Also, be sure to encourage participation in Spirit Week activities. Thank you to everyone who is making this happen.
I need to ask everyone to be conscious of the time and to be considerate of other teachers' time. Gina and I have seen and are hearing about classes that are not on time for Encore classes, for lunch, for carline, etc. The bell is not a signal to start wrapping up a class. Keep an eye on the clock, set a timer, or have a student remind you of when it is 5 minutes before the end of class. That is the time to wrap up, clean up, and pack up. Students should be ready to line up when the bell rings. This gives them 3 minutes to get to their next class. Thank you to those who are always on time and I appreciate everyone making an effort in this area.
Maria shared a YouTube video about classroom management and noise. The speaker took a very long time to say something simple, but he does make a good point. In a nutshell what he is saying is if you let students enter the room in chaos, it's difficult to gain control. You waste 5 minutes getting them to settle down. Control starts in the hallway. I also like how he says you've lost control when you yell or send students out of the room. (Please know that I also think there are exceptions to this - sending students out. Sometimes a timeout from each other is needed.) But he is clear about the need to show who is in command. He also talks about focusing on the positive and not the negative. It sounds like this... "Johnny, thank you for standing quietly and it looks like you have all your materials, good job. Mary, I'm so happy to see you today and you look ready to learn. Etc." I will say that I see many teachers doing this already. He also talks about something I think is SO important, especially as students get older, knowing your students and making chit chat. You need to know what students are into. It sounds like this, "Good morning Sally, your hair looks so pretty today. Johnny, how was the soccer game last night? Is anyone going to see the new Spiderman movie this weekend? Did anyone try the pizza for lunch today? Etc." I had a challenging student one year and I would hook him every Monday morning with a recap of the Sunday episode of Dr. Who. Know your students. He then goes on to say that you let students enter the room in groups as they are ready. Give clear instructions, "Please be quiet, no more talking, and when you enter do the assignment on the board." (Always have something for them to do as soon as they enter.) Students who are ready to follow directions should enter and begin. You may need to give the directions a few times before everyone enters. This may seem like it takes a while, but it is probably less time than letting them in when they are out of control and then bringing them to order and it sets the tone for the rest of the class. Please know that I think all of you are doing a great job but we also know there are some challenging students among us. These helpful hints may just work.
This week I will be out on Thursday and Friday. I will not be available at all on Thursday (I'm having arthroscopic surgery on both knees), but you can reach me after that. My plan is to be back by Tuesday (or as soon as I can get around without that walker they gave me #areyoukiddingme). Gina has a principal's meeting on Friday morning and Julianne will be the goto person. Here is the rule for Friday... No one can be sick, children are not allowed to misbehave, and everything will be sunshine and roses. Marvelous Mustang will take place Friday morning. Students receiving the award will be a little late for class as they will be at the breakfast in the East Hall following the morning show. Given how Friday looks, I suggest door judging take place next Monday.
Have a great week everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment