Elementary Collaboration: April 27th

We are looking forward to our elementary grade level collaboration that will be held this Wednesday, April 27th, from 2:30 PM-4:00 PM.  The focus of this collaboration will be around the teaching of social studies, and we will share input and feedback related to the sequence of units, unit design, and instructional materials.  

All classroom teachers will report to the High School Multipurpose Room.  You will want to arrive a bit before the start time in order to avoid the beginning of the high school dismissal traffic.  You have 2 options for parking--either on the north side of the building (use the east side main entrance) or the west side of the building (use the west side entrance). There will be plenty of parking available, but you may want to consider carpooling if possible.

Below are the locations for teacher collaboration groups for the afternoon.  We are looking forward to working together!

Preschool	TLRC Conference Room
Kindergarten	HS Multi-Purpose Room
Grade 1	HS Multi-Purpose Room
Grade 2	HS Multi-Purpose Room
Grade 3	HS Multi-Purpose Room
Grade 4	HS Multi-Purpose Room
Grade 5	HS Multi-Purpose Room
Nurses	Clay Elementary
Counselors	Altoona Elementary
Teacher Librarians	TLRC Conference Room
Music	Centennial
Art	Centennial
PE	Centennial
ESOL	Four Mile EL Classroom
Title I Math	Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/svd-sbyn-qtw
Special Education Teachers	Delaware Media Center
TAG	HS Multi-Purpose Room
Title I Reading & Reading Specialists	Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88698360332
Level 3 Alternate Assessment Teachers	Virtual Meeting

Trevor Ragan: Follow Up

We had a great day of learning with Trevor Ragan, and we appreciated the opportunity to learn, reflect, and push our thinking.  Trevor has shared some follow up resources to further support our learning. 

Learner Workbook

This resource include the key points that were covered last Friday, discussion topics, a learner action plan, and links to some of the content mentioned. 

Videos

This link includes the skateboarding video, clips related the concept of neuroplasticity as well as coping with fear. 

Below are additional resources related to the topics that Trevor shared.

Jungle Tiger	Growth Mindset	Understanding Fear
Video Quick Links Three Tools for Better Practice (article) Quality Practice (podcast) Struggling on Purpose (podcast) Suggested Books Peak by Anders Ericsson Self Renewal by John Gardner The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin Make it Stick by Peter C. Brown So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport Daring Greatly by Brene Brown	Video Quick Links What We Got Wrong on Growth Mindset (article) The SFCOHTGGAS (article) Skills are Built (article) Neuroplasticity (podcast) Suggested Books Brain Rules by John Medina The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge Mindset by Carol Dweck Soft-wired by Michael Merzenich Bounce by Matthew Syed	Video Quick Links Reappraising Fear (podcast) Emotions, Learning & Resilience (podcast) Overcoming Fear (Trev’s TEDx Talk) Suggested Books Emotional Agility by Susan David Daring Greatly by Brene Brown The War of Art by Steven Pressfield Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Podcasts

The Pygmalion Effect: The Power of Labels

How Modeling Improves the Learning Culture

Emotions, Resilience, and Learning: Permission to Feel

Psychological Safety: The Key to a Better Learning Culture

Southeast Polk Professional Learning: Trevor Ragan

We are looking forward to our day of professional learning this Friday, April 15th. We are excited to welcome Trevor Ragan to Southeast Polk.  Trevor is the founder of The Learner Lab (formerly Train Ugly) and presents workshops all over the world. 

As he states on his website, "I speak, write, podcast, and make cool videos-all about learning." Below is a link to his website as well as some learning resources.

TREVOR RAGAN WEBSITE

Learning Resources

Videos	Podcast	Articles
Growth Mindset Leadership Our TEDx Talks Learning Like a Jungle Tiger How to Build a Growth Mindset How to Overcome Fear	The Learner Lab Podcast Each episode we focus on one topic and bring in an expert to explain the science. I think you'll love it.	Three Tools for Better Practice Robbing Reps Modeling Builds Safety What We Got Wrong on Growth Mindset

Audiobook-Learner: How to Get Better at Getting Better

The schedule of the day will include 1/2 day district learning and 1/2 day building learning. Trevor Ragan's district presentation will take place in the High School Auditorium. 

Contract Day-8:00 AM-3:30 PM

District Focus Area: Trevor Ragan--A Culture of Learning

Building Focus Areas: Standards-Based Learning, Social-Emotional Learning

8:00 AM-11:00 AM

Secondary: District PD

Elementary: Building PD

12:30 PM-3:30 PM

Secondary: Building PD

Elementary: District PD

We are excited to welcome Trevor Ragan to the Southeast Polk district, and we are looking forward to a great day of learning!

ISASP: Writing Rubrics, Testing Blueprints and Reminders

This blog wraps up our information for the upcoming administration of ISASP.  It will provide information on writing rubrics, testing blueprints, and reminders, including guidelines for testing students who move to our district in late March and April.

Writing Rubrics

One of the changes to ISASP this year is that students will have one writing prompt rather than the two prompts from previous years.  With one prompt, we can really encourage students to 'give their all' to the one prompt.  The Pearson site has writing rubrics for each grade level and possible writing tasks:

• Informative/Explanatory
  
• Opinion/Argument
• Narrative

These rubrics may be found at the link below:

• Writing Rubrics

Testing Blueprints

ISASP provides testing blueprints that reflect ranges for the numbers of questions in each domain as well as the ranges for Depth of Knowledge.  Below are examples for elementary ELA, middle level science, and high school Math.

Collaborative teams may find value in reviewing these ranges both prior to testing as well as during curriculum design and revision. All testing blueprints may be found at the links below:

• ELA Blueprint
• Math Blueprints
• Science Blueprints

Students Who Move to Southeast Polk

If a student moves to our district between March 21st-April 8th, we will need to test them unless they have already tested with their previous district.  Please check with Rob or Jo Ellen to determine whether they have been tested.

If a student moves to our district after the testing window opens on April 11th, they do not need to be tested. 

Other Reminders....

Testing Window

Our district window for testing is April 11th-May 6th.  This will be further broken down by grade levels as listed below:

• Grades 9-11: April 11-April 22
• Grades 6-8: April 18-April 29
• Grades 3-5: April 25-May 6

Portal Access/Training

The Pearson Access Portal provides information related to testing including trainings and manuals, test preparation, reporting resources, and information for families. New teachers will need to create an account for training, and returning teachers will want to make sure their password is accurate and/or updated.  To create or update an account, please contact Rob Timmins, Data and Assessment Coordinator. (robert.timmins@southeastpolk.org). 

Any teacher who proctors the assessment is required to take the training.  The training site is now open and available to complete.  Please visit with your building principal regarding the timeline for completing this training.  All training must be completed before the testing window opens on April 11th.