Differentiation is and IS NOT...

Dear Deep Creek School Family, 

I ran across this a few weeks ago and it instantly hit home, so I thought I would share. I know we are all trying our hardest to meet our students needs through differentiated instruction, so it's important we realize what is and is not classified under differentiation.. If we continue down the IS path we are on our way of meeting all of our students needs. I know as a team, and family, we are capable of making this happen and showing success. If you are interested in learning more there is a great book called- The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, 2nd Edition by: Carol Tomlinson. 

Thanks, 

Kristina

Music & Measurement Night

Happy Friday to all,

I hope everyone has been able to use the work day effectively.  It feels good to get grades posted and look back in disbelief that nine weeks are already over!  I know that the days often seem overwhelming, but I can not remember a smoother starting nine weeks in my career.  Thank you all for that, I have had a great time and have enjoyed myself.

Looking ahead to our next event, Music & Measurement, gets me excited to see our students and parents on our campus having fun. It is so cool to step out of the moment and just look around at our students that night, dancing, having fun, and spending a relaxed evening at our beautiful school.  I know all of you love those moments as well, it's the 30 minutes before where you are interacting with parents that many of you feel the pressure.  It's important to prepare and plan to make sure you relieve some of that anxiety and feel good going into the evening.

Now is the time to start planning for the evening and communicating with students with the manner they will lead their conferences with parents and any other activities you plan in the classroom.  Now is also the time to start creating the invitations home to parents (personal invitations from students always seem the most successful).  Remember to use email, websites, and any other means of communication available to inform parents about the night.  Below is a list of items/suggestions that I always practiced and still think about when I am greeting and interacting with  parents on these evenings.

• Personal Invitations: Include date, time, room number, outline of evening's activities
• Dress professionally
• Make sure rooms are neat and organized
• Welcome Sign visible as parents enter room 
• Greet each parent at the door with a smile and a handshake
• Try to also greet each parent with positive remarks about their student (Remember tonight is a night to celebrate successes)
• Politely ask parents to call or set up conferences if they try to tie up too much of your time (Let them know you do not want to take time from their child sharing their data or class activities and want to be able to celebrate with students under the pavilion.)

 Thank you all and enjoy your weekend,
James

• 

The struggles of ELL students

Dear Deep Creek School Family, 

In the last couple of weeks, we have had several students enroll who do not speak English or whose English is very limited.  One of our new cubs came from a school district that offers pull out ESOL instruction with an ESOL Liaison and an ESOL Aide. In this type of sheltered instruction, the emphasis is on language development, not content.  

We have a very diverse population of ELL students who speak or understand a vast array of languages: Spanish, Ukranian, Russian, Phillipino, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Urdu.   Neil Armstrong Elementary has about 51 students, Peace River Elementary 32, and Deep Creek Elementary 20. The majority of our ELL students are native-born, contrary to popular belief.  Most are 2nd and 3rd generation citizens. 

English language learners face many obstacles when reading literature in English and solving multi-step math and science equations.  Below are 2 quick articles that give a few common sense ideas for classrooms.  As classrooms become more diverse, teachers can celebrate students' cultural strengths by integrating multicultural lessons into the curriculum.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/760


http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/supporting-esl-students-mainstream-classroom/

Thanks, 

Noelle

Worrisome Week

Dear Deep Creek School Family,

This week has been filled with some turmoil due to Hurricane Matthew looming off the east coast. Many of us have unsettling memories from Charley. Hopefully we can use this energy to support those that have been affected by Matthew. We know all to well how needed the support is after a storm. 

We are very thankful for the fact that the weather changes so quickly. This enables our kickball team to still participate on Saturday. Thank you to the following people for representing on Saturday:

Sarah Mann, Amanda Lockhart, Alicen Rhodes, Brad Combs, Sandra Howard, Becca Janiak, Aubrey Cobe, Wyatt Hansen, Barb Deubel, Denise Bourne, Teresa Dilena, Brandy Larson, Jackie Riddell, Darlene Marsh, Kristina Kelch, and our captain, James Vernon. If anyone want to come out to cheer us on, please join us at the Carmalita Fields in Punta Gorda at 8am on Saturday. 

Thanks for all you do,
Adrienne