Enjoy

Need-to-Know

• We have a CIA next Tuesday, 7:45 in the BOE room. We will be starting a process at developing team action plans around executive functioning. 
• Sled race is next week! February 1. It looks like it is going to be cold, so please start reminding families now to send in extra layers. 

Looking Ahead

What Does Success Look Like?

I was doing my rounds earlier today and stumbled upon a class taking a summative assessment. Outside of the fact that the questions required a solid level of thinking, I was most impressed with the idea of having the success criteria--in this moment a rubric--right on the assessment.

If students are going to be agents of their learning, they have to be able to understand where they are going and where they are in that process. When students have a clear picture about what success looks like during a lesson or when doing an assignment, it sets them up to be able to self-assess. Self-assessment takes students to higher-levels of learning, puts them in the driver's seat, provides them with clarity, and ensures that they understand the purpose of the learning in a broader context.

Because we have a thoughtful school, a lot of us are finding ways to ensure that students have clarity around what success looks like. Outside of an assessment, how can you infuse success criteria into a lesson? Ask yourself: do students know how to succeed and what I am asking from them? Is there a rubric that I can show them to serve as a guide? Can we identify success together before we begin the learning? Is there an example I can pull up with which I can have them compare their work?

The best part of identifying the success criteria is that it also provides clarity for you as a teacher--it helps you to cut through the extra stuff and focus on the essential elements and targets.

Keep up the great work, QUEST. We are growing students who know who they are as learners, and for THAT, and many other reasons, our school is QUEST. WE are QUEST!

Boxes? Anyone?

Please make sure you get in touch with Mike or Theresa if you need boxes for your room renovations. They have quite a few put away. 

You can reach them via email or x6128

Survey

If you have not already done so, please consider taking the SEL survey. The district wants your feedback. The survey will be open for one more week!

Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HiltonAssessment

Looking Ahead

"Possible Teacher Questions and Talking Points for QUEST’s PYP visitation"

From Andrea:

Some QUEST staff members are looking for review of PYP components or terminology, after coming across PYP Self Study questions that were confusing or they were unsure of. This summer we will have some time to review. But for now, I have an idea!

Each week I'm going to offer ONE idea for discussion. Please spend 3-4 minutes reflecting on the question either independently, with a colleague, or with your team. The new question each week will be posted at the top right of the blog. If you cannot answer the question and want my support, let me know! Please don't think you have to memorize any "answers", but if you're not familiar with an idea or term, this may be a good way to guide some review.

#WeAreQUEST

Social Skills at QUEST

When I sit and do work in the hallways, I feel as if I get to view QUEST from 10,000 feet. Have you ever watched kids at recess and felt the same? Sit and notice as they play during recess and you will see what your classroom is all about, and the social interactions that occur naturally will tell you a lot about where each child is.

Today, having sat here for about an hour, I have had:

• Three students look at me and explicitly ask me how I am doing. 
• A class or two walks by me. Most students look me in the eye and smile. Some look down.
• I asked a handful of students who were walking apart from their class how they are. They answer and then respond by asking me how I am doing.
• I gave a child a compliment for being so respectful and he responded by saying thank you. 

When you look at your students, picture them 20 years from now, walking into an interview. Will they have the communication skills and a presence to help them earn the job? Will they have the social aptitude to sell their brilliant ideas to a board room? Will they have the emotional intelligence to hold a solid, two way conversation? 

 As a classroom teacher, I used to set classroom rules that I called the Laws of Civility. Most rules stemmed from Ron Clark's book The Essential 55, but many took on their own unique twist. Per Ron Clark's recommendation, some of the rules we established as a class each year were: 

• Say thank you within three seconds of someone giving you something or saying something nice. 
• Look people in the eye.
• When asked a question in conversation, ask one back. For example, if someone asks you how your weekend was, respond, but then give a thoughtful question back.
• Hold the door for others.
• When you shake a hand, don't squeeze too hard and don't squeeze too soft.

I know these rules seem rigid and odd, but really it is all about creating communication and social skills in our students. Some learn these skills at home, many do not...and we live in a world where social skills appear to be shifting and deteriorating based on the influx of technology in homes and schools (that is my personal opinion). As kids learn these social skill norms, they can begin to realize why these expectations are important...or what IB Profiles they are living out through these expectations. It can also be fun to look at basic communication skills in our country and compare them to those of other countries. For example, eye contact is not looked at in the same way around the world. 

Last week I sat in a K class during a classroom level morning meeting. As we sat in a circle, each child went around and had to look at the student next to them in the eye and ask about their favorite gift that they received over the holiday. Eye contact and facing the other person was expected. Little expectations like this can really build solid habits in the future.

We are building great communicators here at QUEST, and I'd encourage all of us to continue to find ways to build these habits in our students. When QUEST kids leave our school, all should know exactly where they came from because the way in which they live out the IB Profiles and demonstrate proficiency with AtL skills. The little things matter most--thank you for all you do.

WE are QUEST!

We learn most from others

Team,

On our blog we have a Craig's List. Although some have added needs and items on there, using it like a traditional Craig's List, I want to encourage you to look at this through a different lens. What if we request to see a lesson of some sorts? For example: "I'm looking to see a home-run guided reading lesson that follow a Jan Richardson format"or " I want to see a lesson that incorporates guided inquiry." I'd encourage you to take a risk and find a way to visit others--we can always hunt for coverage, or I will gladly cover myself if I am free. See this message from Cathy L. Looking to observe something? Just email Hannah or I and we will add to the Craig List. If you are willing to have someone watch you, pay attention to this list and simply invite them in! Together, we are better!

Colleagues, 
While I had my student teacher, Kara, I was able to observe some of you fabulous teachers during Kara's solo week.  It was such a wonderful experience going into classrooms to see what and how others teach.  I often question myself with how I am doing as a teacher and struggle with thinking of new ways to stay fresh.  Observing others opened my mind to so many different approaches to teaching.  It was the little things like watching Katie teach a guided reading lesson and seeing how she seamlessly moved from one topic to the next, how Nate captures the inner writer in all his students, Judy having meaningful conversations through guided reading, and Brenda teaching about cells in a way that makes sense to her students.  It also gave me perspective from seeing where my students came from, to seeing where they are headed.    I came back to my class more excited to teach!  We really do have a special school. I highly recommend you take advantage of our schools "craigslist" and take some time for yourself to go into another teachers room.  It could simply be a half an hour of your day.  It is totally worth.  My door is always open!     

Cheers!
Cathy