Friday, December 9, 2016

December 12- December 16




It's the season for CARING!  Do not forget to take at least 15 minutes this week to teach this month's character trait. AND complete the student survey for students.

People in the community can show generosity to strangers in the community. This man paid $1000 for strangers in the drive thru of Chick-Fil-A
https://youtu.be/bzVRWIe4dOs

Have your students show one act of kindness this week:
*Play with someone new at recess
*Help pick up trash in the cafeteria
*Give an adult on campus or in the community a compliment
*Hold the door open for someone going into the office

Please refer to your PBIS handbook for lesson ideas!


Important Dates
Saturday, Dec. 10th: Super Saturday, 8am
Tuesday, Dec. 13th: ELD PD (3-6, 2nd Reach), 3pm in Room 9
Wednesday, Dec.14th:  Staff Meeting 
Thursday, Dec. 15th: Winter Festival, 5pm-7pm




Response to Concerns:

Concern: The library is cluttered and PTO uses is it during reading times.

I spoke with Janine about the library being used by PTO during reading times. She told me she understood the concern and would relay the message to Michelle. We also discussed how to unclutter the library which is a tall task considering the limited space and the amount of books. We also talked about the feasibility of  moving the library to another more central location that has more room for the growing collection. These discussions will continue as we begin planning for the new academic school year.

Concern: There is a lack of transparency as far as who gets to go to GLAD training.

I have asked Luci to spearhead our GLAD initiative since she knows the trainers. She will be looking at:
1. experience
2. grade level

 Food On Campus

Please remind your students that Takis and hot chips are not allowed at school.

Backpacks

Please remind your students to leave their backpacks in class during recess and lunch.

Passes for Back 40

 All students must have a pass to go to the Back 40 after 8:15am.  If students do not have a pass, they will not be allowed to the Back 40 without an adult escort.

 Referrals 

Good News referrals need to be given directly to Shannon. Please do not put them in Alicia's or Rafael's boxes.

Character Violation forms are the new referrals you are to use when documenting and referring negative behaviors. Please use these new forms only since they are in line with the SWIS data system. The use of one referral aligned to SWIS is a PBIS Tier I expectation.  Click this link for a copy.

Toys for Tots

The 349th Air Mobility Wing from Travis will be on campus on December 15th at 9AM to carry out Operation Teddy Bear. They will be handing out teddy bears to all kindergarten classes.


 Trainings Coming Up

Dec 13-Kindergarten BAW Modified Lesson Study PD*  1-3PM or 3:30-5:30PM @ESC board room

Dec 13- ELD Professional Development grades 2-6 in room 9 from 3:00-5:00*

*(Please note these trainings are required)

There will be a staff meeting on December 14th at 3:15PM We will be discussing the Reaccch and Spice programs.

PBIS News

Certificated Staff of the Year:  Jose Bermudez
Classified Staff of the Year:  Bobbie Strange


Congratulations to all of our candidates:  Sally Poe, Stephanie S, Danessa, Stephanie J, Lisa, Jose, and Bobbie.  We see and appreciate all of your dedication, hard work, long hours, and sacrifice for Markham.  We honor you and continue to reap the benefits of every thing you do.



We are gearing up to complete our Site Safety Plan. Please complete the Safety Survey by 12/16 so that we can gather data to determine our site safety needs and data regarding whether or not we are meeting our site safety goals from the 2016-2017 school year. If you have suggestions, please be sure that your suggestions ONLY address SITE SAFETY in regards to students, staff, and families. To access the survey, click on the link above labeled "Safety Survey".

Discipline Data for the month of December

Good News Referrals:  41
Disicipline Referrals: 21



PBIS  Spotlight...


*When searching for inspiring ideas, we happened to stumble upon this funny clip from a School Prinicpal who works in the South - his YouTube channel is worth checking out!  Here he is, plugging his new novel, "50 Shades of Sharpie": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ksx2HoLzFc

This week our spotlight is shining in a different light.  While we usually highlight a staff member individually, this time we would like to show you what awesome ideas OTHER schools and staff have come up with to foster positive school climates and behavioral success!

1. Commercials, news clips, and songs.

Some schools have produced short "news" spots, commercials, or song parodies to encourage particpation and engagement in their PBIS efforts.  Is this something that you think our students would like to see or particpate in? Take a look at some examples and let us know your thoughts in the comments section!! If enough folks are interested, this would be a great way to either wrap up the year OR kick it off in August 2017 (*gasp*)!

 Local Pride - Will C. Wood PBIS video (copy & paste to browser):  http://www.solanocoe.net/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=14580596

School Rules: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32BsjDVwdIU 

Paw Shop Prizes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCffB6eBlCE 

So put your thinking caps on - help brainstorm engaging, creative ways to get our positive Timberwolf pride across!!! 

2. The PBIS Comittee at Markham  was formed after Solano County Office of Education received a grant allocating funds for training, implementation, and management of PBIS Tiers 1-3. But did you know that other local schools were also selected? Fairmont ES, Vaca Pena, Will C. Wood and Padan  are engaged in the same school-wide practices as Markham.  Click to find out what Fairmont and Padan are up to:

Fairmont: http://fairmont.schoolloop.com/pbis 

Padan: https://padan.schoolloop.com/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1229222832170


3. Can you relate to the experiences and feedback that an Art teacher in North Carolina shared?

Is there a need for PBIS?

"As the art teacher who saw every student in the building once a week, I quickly learned how valuable it would be to have a consistent set of rules and consequences across the school that would be enforced by all teachers and staff and understood by all students."

Think about "before PBIS" and "After PBIS" in your school.  What was it like before?

"Different teachers had different behavior systems that they used in their classrooms, including clip charts, scholar dollars, and others. Some included positive reinforcement, some relied mostly on negative reinforcement, and overall, the actions that resulted in certain rewards or consequences varied greatly from classroom to classroom. This made it difficult for all teachers and staff to hold all students accountable for their behavior."

How did your school struggle implementing PBIS?

"Aside from hanging the PBIS matrix posters around school, we also had a “kickoff” for the program in the form of a school-wide assembly. Teachers from each grade level team performed skits modeling appropriate and inappropriate behavior in each area of the school. After the kickoff assembly, we wanted to continue with weekly classroom lessons that would build knowledge in respect, responsibility and safety. However, we did not have any resources for these lessons, as PBIS is not meant to be a scripted curriculum. Teachers did not have the time to create them given their already heavy workloads, so unfortunately, the only time the matrix and its contents were explicitly taught and discussed was at this assembly."

What did you find difficult to work through - as a school - when it came to reinforcing behavior and the use of slips/tokens/tickets/Paws?

"While we made an effort to get all teachers on the same page, there was some confusion and difference of opinion as to what warranted a slip. Some teachers were giving out slips when they saw behaviors that were explicitly listed on the matrix, like throwing away all of their trash in the cafeteria. Other teachers thought these behaviors were expected and therefore didn’t deserve slips. They thought only “above and beyond” behaviors should be praised, such as throwing away someone else’s trash without being asked. Still other teachers were giving out slips to their entire class for completing their homework.  We really had to spend time collaborating to get on the same page." 

Do any of this teachers insights echo any of your own? If so, leave a comment and let the team know! It is our hope that we can support each and every staff member become familiar and comfortable using Markham's PBIS Components.  Thank you for all that you do to facilitate a positive school climate for all students!


Citizenship Awards...

This month is flying by.  Please remember to choose ONE student in your classroom that has exemplified  Caring MONTH.  Click on the Citizenship Awards link to list your student NOW.  Other students you would like to recognize can be praised by using Good News Referrals and PAWS, which each staff member has received.

Timberwolf Tip...

Awesome read from Edutopia - Let's steer away from punitive practices, and move towards a restorative mindset!


Keep the classroom calm during indoor recess (well, as calm as it can be) with some of these *minimal* prep ideas!


Markham Shout Outs....

Thank you Bobbie for decorating the office and making it feel like Christmas!!!
Teresa was very sick and came to work the next day even though she was not at 100% Thank you Teresa for your commitment to our school!
Mady- Thank you for your work with our Student Council and the candy gram initiative!
Alicia B- She is supportive of me and my class.
Alex H- For sharing her wonderful ideas and creations she makes!
Stephanie Sanders is a very helpful person she is always there when I need her.
Alicia B- She is a very nice and kind person. I always responds my email. ;-)
Norma Guerrero is been a big help for me. She is always giving me wonderful advises to improve my teaching skill.
Yesenia- Shout out to you for being the first class to complete the Student Survey
Karen- Thank you for covering the groups of our absent intervention teachers so our students don't miss out on their groups.
Natalie- I love your calm demeanor with your students.
Welcome back Luci! Thanks for jumping right in and helping us to strengthen our program.





Let out a happy "howl" here -  Markham's Staff is HOWLing....

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