Look Ahead

November Principal's Challenge: Have to vs. Get to

From your School Improvement Team

From Your Friendly, Hardworking SIT Team:

Hello QUEST! As you know by now, our 2017-2018 goals have been created and teased out with an action plan and measurement tool.  As a reminder, for 2017-2018, we are working to achieve the following goals. (For more information, see our SIT plan presentation in the Fiesta lounge!

RtI GOAL:

By the end of the 2017-2018 school year, QUEST staff will share a common, basic understanding of what RtI is, why it exists, and how we might implement an RtI Approach at QUEST. To measure this, we will create statements and ask staff to gauge where they are with their understanding. The same statements will be used 3 times to measure growth: October, January, April. By the end of the year, we will have a common statement, a common “why”, and approaches for RtI implementation.

CULTURE GOAL:

By the end of the 2017-2018 school year, QUEST Elementary will see a 10-15% increase in positive association for the area of engagement.

We need YOU to complete the following survey in October, January, and April to measure our growth in our understanding of RtI. To gather a baseline, we need you to complete it ASAP. Follow the link – and be honest! Surveys are anonymous. Your responses will frame our RtI learning for the year!

RtI Survey link:

https://goo.gl/forms/e5vLZkBG7BzdmOe22

Thank you!

Picture Day Feedback

Hello team, I am looking for some help to see how picture day went this year! I did pop in a couple of times throughout the day but I would love some anonymous feedback:)

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ShareFormPage.aspx?id=WfdK09a6skWZaq2i0WhW0ou3TblBZ1pInj5E3-jgpLNURVdCT1QyN0ZZMFdPRzk0SDlJOVA4RVJUTC4u&sharetoken=68OlwVkUdtU66NakTvvJ

IB Online Curriculum Centre Info from Andrea:

Alas! IB has decided to change up the Online Curriculum Centre. Some of us love it for resource sharing and information (think Andrea and Patrick Kruchten) and some of us have never logged on before (think... you know who you are! 😊) Well, the OCC IS BEING PHASED OUT EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. It's still up and accessible, but only in a read-only format. The new system, "My IB", is available to you now. More info will come later next month. For now, if you still love the OCC and want to use it, go ahead. And if you forgot your login info, let me know because I have it for you. Otherwise, hold tight and we'll get you on the new platform soon!
xoxo

Andrea

PTSO FYI

We are now in fundraiser season. This fundraiser is the bread and butter for QUEST fundraising, and the funds raised during this time have a direct impact on your classrooms. It has been found that when parents are provided with reminders from the teachers, the response is stronger. I understand that it can feel overwhelming to be the middle man sometimes, but thank you in advance for any support you can provide in getting kids to participate. Your enthusiasm is contagious to kids! 

I'll be sending a thank you to Jill Warner on behalf of us for her work with this fundraiser. If you see her, be sure to give some high-fives.

Speaking of fundraisers, I just wanted you to be aware that we completely crushed last fall's book fair. WE are QUEST. Numbers are below.

Fall 2016:
Total Taxable Sales: $7,203.06
All For Books Sales: $322.47


Fall 2017:
Total taxable sales: $9,678.23

All For Books money collected: $850.61

Reminders for the week of 10/30

• 10/30 starts no meeting weeks. I also will be avoiding observations during this time. Thank you for all the hard work you each are putting in with conferences. I notice it and I appreciate it.
• If your level has not shared your values (names of the buckets) with me, please share with Derek by 11/1. 
• 10/31 is a half day with kids. We will not have specials. 

Instructional IB info from Andrea!

As we settle into our new school year and new classroom routines, now may be a good time to establish an area of the classroom for student questioning! A "Wonder Wall" or "Question Corner" or"Inquiry Nook"... Most of us fell down on recording student questions and inquiries during our first planner reflections and many of you wanted to rededicate instructional time to focus on student questions. I can support you in this endeavor. Just say the word!

Here are some ideas:

• www.padlet.com for recording student questions electronically - very cool tool!

• Penny is going to try a clear, plexiglass pane with dry erase markers - to make kids feel like creative, business hipsters recording their genius thoughts!

• From Kath Murdoch's May, 2017 blog: 

Physical environment: Have you spent time with students exploring ways the classroom furniture can be arranged to best support flexibility, movement, collaboration and group conversation. Are materials and resources clearly organized to ensure students can be as independent and resourceful as possible?

Visual environment: Do your ‘walls’ help students learn?  Are displays indicative of what you value as an inquiry teacher?  What do the walls tell the visitor about the learning happening in your room? Do your walls speak of inquiry?

• You could give each student a laminated piece of cardstock for them to record with dry erase or hot glue clothespins on there and they can pin up notecards 

• You can get creative and make it look like a real wall... or Humpty Dumpty's brick wall...

• And don't forget Pinterest! I'm sure there are 101 ideas there too!

Make A Difference Day

Stephanie Harney's non profit, Hilton Cares is collecting warm coats and mittens that are gently used or new for Make A Difference Day on Sat  Oct 28th in the high school lobby. If you want to deliver early, drop them in the library and help our community!  Each year warm coats are given to any kids districtwide that need them.  The rest are delivered to the local church coat closet. 

CIA Next Week

This coming Tuesday am(the 24th) we will have our next CIA meeting.

Judy Fuller will be doing our warm-up activity at 7:45, after that we are going to dig into value work.

Why spend time on values?

Schools, organizations, and groups need a purpose. With that, the best organizations make decisions based on values. Our school has values--to me they seem clear as day, but I want us to have identified core values that we can use as a filter.

When we hire? 

We should hire people through the lens of our school values.

When we make school-wide decisions?

We should make the decision only if it aligns with our school values.


What will this process look like?

On Tuesday you will identify YOUR core values. Once we do that, we will put our values in buckets (not literally). From there, we will look at all QUEST has been and will find what values fall under those items. For example, QUEST is an IB school. QUEST is multi-age. QUEST has many traditions. QUEST has essential agreements. What values would capture these events and practices? That's our goal. Hopefully we will see a pattern emerging, but ultimately we will come to agreement on what our core values are.

This will take two staff meetings--now and December 5th. It is going to require us to listen to one another, reflect, and think big picture. In the end, I 'd like to plaster these values all over, have you find what these values look like in motion, and use these values as our filter.

Can't wait to get started as we continue to create our future together.

A Week of Play

Reflections from a new principal: 

Being a principal is really hard. Being a teacher is really hard. Being an SRP is really hard. We all have challenges in our jobs, and we all have a million reasons why we could let negativity rule our individual worlds. As we engage with one another, it is easy to adopt the emotions of the person that is across from us.

When I went into leadership, I always dreamed of a school where adults would make learning urgent business--both for themselves and their students. More than that, I wanted nothing more than to be part of a place that could balance that sense of urgency with a sense of play--work hard, play hard? Play, or the act of bringing enthusiasm and joy to all we do, is an intentional choice. A choice that we get to make each day. A choice that I get to witness when I walk into your rooms.

My week:

• Was given a pile of fake feces; 
• Had my room sticky noted (is that a term?); 
• Was given a pet fish; 
• Had my marble jar stolen and replaced with a Hungry Hippo game; 
• Walked in a classroom to find a teacher wearing a cowboy hat;
• I was trying to talk to a teacher when she was on roller skates and she fell right in front of me; 
• Had an entire class of kids scare the life out of me in the hallway;
• Had teachers trying to hand pull fish from the creek (so great for kids!)...

Should I stop there?

I love it. I absolutely love it. This, in my eyes, is exactly what play is all about. It is about taking your life work so serious that you realize that play is an essential ingredient to achieving your goals. Learning happens through play, and when we take the time to notice the funny moments, life has a way of becoming richer. 

Right now, we are in the stressful month of October (almost November). I'm sure some of us are tired, you've realized how human your principal is (he makes lots of mistakes), and there are plenty of imperfections that we could point out in ourselves and one another. Yet our school always rises above and is able to see the good. WE are QUEST. We are more. We want more. We expect more. We offer kids more. 

My hats off to all of you for making time to play. Life is short, and laughter adds time to our life and decreases stress. Just play! Be a grownup, but find the inner-child within you and continue to have some fun. Our little ones are the perfect role models for this approach--let's be big kids.

Proud to be your principal. Great week.

Halloween 2017

The feedback from the past has been mixed in regards to Halloween. Because of this, at a recent admin. team a new approach was proposed. This is the approach we will use for this year, with the end goal of creating an imperfect, yet fun, yet feasible, Halloween opportunity for parents and students. I can't wait to reveal my costume!

Also, do I have two people for the gym? Please send me your name if you're willing to supervise kids in the gym.

All you need to know about Halloween can be found below: 

Halloween 2017

• ·      Students who are not participating will report to the gym at 9:50.
• ·      Please arrive in the auditorium in costume by 9:55. The parade begins at 10:00.
• ·      Seating is assigned by neighborhood. Please fill in all rows so there is room for everyone.
• ·      Parents should not sit with classes. Instead, they may sit in the last 6 rows of the center section (O to T) or wait on either side of the hallway between the cafeteria and QUEST part of the building.
• ·      Derek will host… We will have a livestream camera set up to project video on screen, and hopefully some spooky music.
• ·      When Derek announces your neighborhood:
• o   Stand and follow your parade route, in order like exiting an airplane (K classes go first)…down aisle, across the front, up the opposite aisle, out the back doors, and back inside to your seats.
• o   Once entire neighborhood is seated again, he will announce the next neighborhood to stand and repeat this process.
• o   The order will be: South Pole, Equator, North Pole.
• ·      After all neighborhoods have paraded and are seated, Derek will dismiss parents first, and tell them to line the hall between the cafeteria and the QUEST part of the building.
• ·      He will then dismiss us out the back doors ONLY, one or two classes at a time, from back to front. Listen for your name.
• ·      Parents will be waiting in the hallway between the cafeteria and QUEST part of the building, for pics and videos. Teachers walk right back to their classrooms.
• 
  
• Thanks for being open minded!

Hoping to see lots of students and staff participating in the spirit week!

Monday, October 23 – “healthy choices are the keys to your dreams.”

            *WEAR YOUR FAVORITE PAJAMAS!

Tuesday, October 24 – “Your future is bright!”

            *DRESS IN YOUR BEST! * Remember it is picture day!

Wednesday, October 25– “Live for the future!”

*What do you want to be when you grow up? DRESS AS YOUR FUTURE CAREER!

Thursday, October 26 – “Be Strong! Stand up for yourself and others”

            *WEAR A CAPE OR A SUPERHERO OUTFIT!

Friday, October 27 – “We are all in this together!” – SHOW YOUR QUEST SPIRIT!

Be sure to thank...

We have a few PTSO members who are going above and beyond for us. It you have a moment, be sure to thank Kate Coyle and Christy Sadecki for all their work related to the book fair.

WE are QUEST

Who Does What?

The office ladies and I put this together as a way to create clarity around roles given the shift from a .5 to 1.0 Principal's Secretary. Please see below, and be sure to give them lots of high-fives for their quality work. We are lucky.

Dates to Write Down

Looking Ahead

• Halloween is coming up. This day is a half day for kids. Please be sure to communicate with parents that costumes should be appropriate, non-violent , etc.... Those kids who are looking to no be part of the festivities will be afforded some time in the gym. In order to create a win for all, we are changing up the parade route and attempting to do it in a way that meets the needs of all. Admin. team went through that and should be communicating with you shortly. We will share the details of that plan next week.
• Three-way conferences can officially start on October 16th--Monday! Wow. What a great opportunity to put our kids in the driver seat of their own education, and to forge a partnership with parents. Think creatively about how you can infuse the FISH philosophy into the conferences you have.
• The book fair is next week. Morning meeting will still happen the auditorium, but this may require a bit of creativity. 
• Mary and Carol are going to keep doing popcorn--yum! Thanks to the two of them for making our day, and as a result I will be taking down the sign-up on the blog. If you want to help them one week--and help is appreciated--please reach out to them. 

Why QUEST?

I challenged Greg to write for us in the month of October, sharing his response to question why QUEST? Below you can find his response.

Interested in doing the same thing for me? We'd love to hear what your Why QUEST response would be. Anyone can respond. If interested in responding to that prompt for me, please email me. I'd like to post one Why QUEST writing each month this year.

Why QUEST?

Why QUEST? The obvious and easy answer is, why not. However, if we look at what’s effective at building the educational foundation for kids during the early ages with the goal being to produce caring, responsible, productive citizens, the question becomes even easier to answer.

When we look at the skills and attributes of the average successful student in the advanced stages of the educational world, or look at many of the common traits of effective and valuable employees in the many work-related professional fields, it becomes easy to see why QUEST exists and why it follows the practices and procedures it does. By trying to implement these unique practices at such an early age, we lay the framework these young individuals need to be successful in the later stages of their schooling and when they begin entering the workforce in our current society.

When focusing on the multi-age aspect being practiced at QUEST, we all realize that it can look messy, is complex and is difficult to manage but the results you observe from a student that has spent numerous years in that environment are significant and quickly justify its worth. In the “real world” and in all walks of life, we are constantly surrounded by people of differing ages, differing social and emotional states and individuals with differing abilities and readiness. This takes place as early as the later portion of middle school as classes become conglomerates of different grade levels and abilities. While functioning during the secondary educational years or while entering the workforce, these tolerances, skills and strategies that are developed while being present in a multi-age classroom become valuable. Many great skills and strategies are imbedded while working and functioning in a multi-age classroom during the earliest years of the educational journey.

The second area to take a deep look at when trying to answer the question “Why QUEST” is the fact that QUEST is an authorized International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme school. The way in which instruction takes place within a PYP school focuses heavily on developing an Internationally Minded student. No this does not only mean they have greater knowledge of other languages, world geography, flags, etc. but it simply means that students demonstrate the attributes of the learner profile. If a student as young as 12 years old is already starting to demonstrate some of the attributes of the learner profile such as being an effective communicator, is open-minded, is reflective or is principled, they have a major head start in being caring, responsible and productive future citizens and have a significant advantage of becoming a beneficial asset to our society. Opinion I know, but really take a moment and think about it. We all know that our world is becoming smaller due to the technological advancements over the past 20 years and having a students develop a second language as early as kindergarten has proven to be another excellent advantage over the long run. Pair this with practices that focus on becoming more Internationally Minded and you have yourself a pretty decent foundation.

The final area I will touch upon that comes to mind when asking the question Why QUEST is in regards to the transdisciplinary nature in which our instruction takes place. This practice gives students a major advantage in the later walks of their schooling and especially when they enter the workforce. We all know the reality of living our lives in “the real world” and we know that all of the pieces or facets of specific content areas are no longer separated but becomes a giant interchangeable puzzle in which we must decipher, relate to, comprehend, process and fit all together in order to live productive and healthy life styles. Having students see the transdisciplinary nature of everything and learn in a way in which all content areas are interchangeable and connected at an early age can only be a positive thing.

Why QUEST? Why not QUEST is the real question!

"Winner winner chicken dinner...our lifelong learner bingo winners." Hopefully we didn't miss anyone.

Be Extreme

The recent events in Vegas shook a lot of us to our core. Turning on the news was all that was needed to be reminded of how precious and delicate life can be. The actions of one person can be humbling, devastating, disgusting, and hard to comprehend. 

I remember my sixth grade teacher telling me that hurting people hurt people, and although there is so much out of our control, I find the most hope in the work that we do. There are many ways we can respond to this event, and the habits we form and the work we do each day provides us with many opportunities. 

Some of our opportunities: 

• Care so deeply for our colleagues that our differences are okay. 
• Model what love looks like for our kids with one another. 
• Make it cool to care in your area.
• Give others the benefit of the doubt...ALL have a story to tell...listen for it. 
• Help our kids see the good inside of them--point it out constantly. You may be the only one that tells them that.
• Be a courageous optimist, even when it is hard. 
• Find a way that you can add to the FISH practices at QUEST. Can you make a day, each day? Can you choose a positive attitude each day, knowing that we are modeling for our learners? Can we create a chain reaction of kindness? I am seeing daily examples of this already, and I can't thank you enough for this environment that you all have created.
• Recharge the emotional battery each day so that you have something left to give others--principal's challenge, anyone? 

I could likely go on-and-on, but to sum it all up...just be radical about spreading good. I have been amazed at the level of care that this school demonstrates. Absolutely amazed. But we can never settle. The world needs us. The kids need us. We need one another. WE are QUEST.

Proud to be your Principal. 

You work hard, so take plenty of time for YOU this weekend.

Best,

Derek 

A few things to remember:

• 3-way conferences can begin on October 16th. Anyone willing to allow me to sit in on one? I ask because I'd love to see what these look like.
• I've had about 30 entry meetings, 1:1. If you have not signed up for one, I'd love to hear your voice. So far, it has been amazing at how consistent the feedback has been. We really know our school...love it! Sign up with Hannah.
• Thank you for your attention to signing out in the office when you take kids to the creek or off school grounds. I appreciate the follow-through with this despite this being a new process. Thank you. 
• Our lockdown drill will be on October 11th--see email. Chat with kids, but utilize the mental health team if you have any questions about messaging. 
• I will be coming around to level meetings to talk about our RtI problem solving process. This process has the potential to impact a lot of kids, but it is crucial that we all speak the same language about it. I look forward to working with you on this. 

Reminder

Tuesday am we have our next CIA meeting. Think about this...three day weekend, so this will be like a Monday morning. Oh yes...and I plan to bring you plenty of energy. See you at 7:45, team!

Sit with your level teams--we will do the following:

STEM Bookfair

Merton Williams Library is hosting a STEM bookfair at Barnes and Noble in Greece on October 11 from 6:30 - 8:30. It is being held during Educator's Week, so all personal purchases made by teachers are 25% off.