Potential Power of a teacher is limitless!

Good morning, all you movers, groovers, shakers and shapers of young minds. We are beginning our 4^th week together and DCE is a great place to be!

Students look to their teachers for safety, approval and learning. Classrooms and learning have changed so much.  More than ever before, greater pressure is being placed on the educator to get all students to learn equally, successfully, and at the same pace.  This will never happen because it’s like trying to teach a fish, a tiger, and a monkey to climb to the top of a tree and get there at the same time!

Huh!

We all keep reading and hearing about differentiation.  What is it? It is a way of thinking and responding to the way students learns. We all have ways of responding to one another and to the material we learn, so how can we use what we know about ourselves and our students to meet their needs?

For us to differentiate in our classroom, it is essential to do the following:

·        Connect and build relationships with our students.

·        Know and understand student differences in learning, social and emotional development.

·        All students should have access to curriculum that meets their needs.

·        Build a sense of belonging for all students.

·        Use a variety of assignments and provide choices

·        Testing and evaluations should be based upon students learning style.

·        Use evaluations to drive individual instruction.

Finally, I think this quote is the result of NOT differentiating. “When a teacher tries to teach all students the same thing at the same time: 1/3 will already know it; 1/3 will get it; 1/3 won’t get it; so 2/3 of the kids are wasting their time! Scott Willis ASCD

As we go into September, let’s Labor smarter not harder! Have a wonderful week!

Jodie Petrulo

The Drive to Success!

Dear Deep Creek Family,

What a great first week!! As we embark on week two it’s important we continue holding our students accountable for their academic abilities. Each student has strengthens and weaknesses, it’s our job to strengthen their weaknesses and allow them to shine through them.

Starting Monday we will begin our school wide testing on numerous assessments. As much as we dislike assessing our students we need to remember the benefit of it-to drive our instruction. These assessments are like placemats, they show us what we need to work on to meet each individual student’s needs. The data collected from these assessments are an essential step in moving students towards understanding important concepts and standards. Teachers can then modify their teaching and learning activities to meet the needs of their students. 

It’s important that we not only use assessment to actively measure a learner’s progress but also to acquire useful data to drive our own instructional practices. Remember, we reach all students by using a variety of teaching strategies. All of you are capable of making this a success, and I know this year we will exceed our school wide goals. 

Assessment not only empowers the learners but the teachers as well. 

Our main goal is student success, which comes from student achievement. As a school we help one another by creating a better and effective learning environment. To make this possible we need to use the collected data from these valuable assessments to drive our instruction. We are all leaders, leaders of success! Through the use of curriculum, shared ideas, continual support, and analysis we can make all students successful! The wealth of knowledge each one of us shares is indescribable. Don’t be afraid to reach out to one another. We are a team, a community, a family-we ALL are in this together! Just like we hold ourselves to high expectations, hold your students to that as well. They are all capable of making the growth this school year! Here’s to making our CUBS the best they can be!  I wish you the best, as you embark on this assessment road!

Thanks,

Kristina 

Give a Dog a Good Name

The past week was an outstanding week to be a Deep Creek Cub.  It amazes me to see the effort you put into getting your classrooms ready for students and make them feel welcome on Open House.  As an Assistant Principal it makes my job so easy when parents ask directions to your room and I get to watch them and their children walk away knowing they are going into a room with a teacher who truly cares about them.  Thank you for that.

I also believe that Wednesday was one of the best site based Professional Development Days that I have been a part of as an educator.  Congrats to all the presenters and behind the scenes staff that did a great job getting all of it ready. 

Now on to Monday, students are back.  I want to share a part of a chapter from Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends & Influence People, he has a chapter titled, "Give a Dog a Good Name."  I believe its message is perfect for the first day of school and continuing throughout the year.  Carnegie (1936) in his book talks about Mrs. Ruth Hopkins, a fourth-grade teacher in Brooklyn, New York.  When she looked at her roster the first day of school, her excitement and joy of starting a new term was tinged with anxiety.  In her class this year she would have Tommy T., the school's most notorious "bad boy."  His third-grade teacher had constantly complained about Tommy to colleagues, the principal and anyone else who would listen.  He was not just mischievous; he caused serious discipline problems in the class.

Mrs. Hopkins decided to face the "Tommy problem" immediately.  When she greeted her new students, she made little comments to each of them: "Rose, that's a pretty dress you are wearing," "Alicia, I hear you draw beautifully." When she came to Tommy, she looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Tommy I understand you are a natural leader.  I'm going to depend on you to help me make this class the best class in the fourth grade this year." She reinforced this over the first few days by complimenting Tommy on everything he did and commenting on how this showed what a good student he was.  With that reputation to live up to, even a nine-year-old couldn't let her down - and he didn't.  If you want to excel in that difficult leadership role of changing the attitude or behavior of others, give the other person a fine reputation to live up to. (p. 224 -225).

As a teacher you have several choices when students cause problems, you can embarrass them or yell at them, but that just usually causes them to resent you.  You can remove them from your room, but that only solves the problem temporarily.  You can threaten them, but that usually just relinquishes your authority to another person.  Or you could have a "heart-to-heart" with them and remember that a child will do anything for you if they know you care about them and believe they have some kind of ability.  I believe you know by now that I will support and assist you with our students any way I can, but nothing is more powerful than your relationships with your students.  Build that relationship on day one and help us reach our mission of making our Cubs successful leaders..... we are CUBS, nothing less than MY SUCCESS.  Thank you for all you do.

SUCCESS - peace of mind which is the direct result of knowing you did the best of which you are capable. - John Wooden (UCLA Basketball Coach & High School English Teacher)

James

One Mission, One Voice, One Team

Dear Deep Creek Family,

We are well on our way to another great year here at Deep Creek. Seeing all of your rooms come together in such a short amount of time always amazes me and gives me such a tingle of excitement in the coming of a new school year.  You all work so hard to put the finishing touches on walls and desks so that our parents and students feel warm and welcome.  I too have made some little changes to my room/office, but its not the same kind of job.  I don't have the large amount of space or the desks or the upkeep that you all have as teachers, however, I did work hard to make my space look inviting and appealing.  
All of us work hard at what we do as educators as do our kids.  Sometimes, the behavior of a student indicates that he is not working hard, or not doing his best, or not putting in the effort.  For a variety of reasons, some which are unknown, a student seems unmotivated...he lacks initiative or drive.  I feel this way some days, don't you?  If you felt unmotivated, what would be your "pick me up"?  I know what would motivate me..chocolate! Seriously, a little praise is a terrific motivator. Kids LOVE to be praised... I don't know a single kid who doesn't like to be told he has done something well.  Vince Lombardi said, "Praise publicly, criticize privately".  We know the science behind this and we discussed these words during our program planner luncheon as well--when we use sincere and specific praise and encouragement, we can alter behavior. Encouraging children gives them the courage to try new behaviors. Praising them invites them to repeat the positive behaviors that you praised. While criticism reduces confidence, encouragement and praise help our children succeed.
This is going to be a great year! Our kids are going to be confident learners and leaders. Those who need our encouragement to try just need a little more praise!

One mission, one voice, one team. 

Have a wonderful week!
Noelle

Welcome to the 2015-2016 School Year!

Dear Deep Creek Family, 

Welcome to our new format for the Monday Morning Memo. Each week the Core Team will share important information in this blog. You will need to be logged in to your CCPS provided google account (same log in and password as email) in order to access all the info in the blog. Only certain events will be shared in the Weekly Reminder section. It is imperative that everyone monitor the DCES calendar. As a Core Team, we are challenging ourselves by growing and learning with technology just as we ask you to do. Technology continues to evolve so must we!

A HUGE thank you to our custodial crew, office team, and core team who endured many challenges this summer and yet have everything ready to start this year! Wednesday is our official school based professional development day. We will close the office from 7:35-10 and all staff need to report to the cafe. Non-instructional staff will be released by 10 to go back to their areas. Lunch will be provided for all staff at noon. Our faculty and team photos will occur during lunch as well.

We are very excited for this year and look forward to the great things to come. We said goodbye to a few staff members but are welcoming many! New faces bring new perspectives and new ideas. Please help us welcome:
Dee Cornelison - 4th grade
Amanda Lockhart - 3rd grade
Sarah Sarkany - Kinder
Melissa Crowder - 5th grade
Kristina Kelch - Lead Teacher
Mary Powers - Paraprofessional
Jennifer Konold - Nurse
We still have an ESE teacher posted for our new ESE unit. Also, we are still monitoring closely our kinder and 3rd grade numbers.

I read a good book this summer, Teach, Reflect, Learn.  One of the most powerful growth techniques for improving your teaching is reflection! The practice of reflecting on your instruction will help you grow and learn as a professional. We all need to continue to grow and learn. I challenge each of you to reflect daily. Grab a spiral notebook and start simply by writing down a positive each day or writing "Wows" and "Yikes" for each day. I wouldn't challenge you if I wasn't going to do it myself. This is very personal and won't be shared. It is simply for you and your growth! Also, you could use it as part of your Deliberate Practice Plan. Please watch this video on the Happy Secret to Happy Work! It has a powerful message at the end.

I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are returning relaxed and ready to dig into another year. Thank you in advance for making it a HAPPY one. Don't forget to send me a fun summer picture for our slideshow on Wednesday.

Thank you all for being part of our school family!

See you Tuesday,
Adrienne