The Lions' Den

The Power of PLCs

Professional Learning Communities (PLC) are not just the meeting on Thursdays (Tuesdays for kindergarten), but can take place each day of the week!  Let's review the purpose of the professional learning community; at King this means each grade level and special area team.

Each grade level has common plan times.  If you are not using this time to engage in PLCs -- planning together, reviewing student work, sorting results from daily learning checks, and planning next steps together, splitting the work -- you are working in isolation and making your work more difficult and cumbersome.  Never has it been more relevant to work SMARTER not HARDER.

I take great pride in having an incredible staff that loves and supports students and each other.  It's time to take our collective efficacy to the next level -- truly collaborating with one another.  Below is a 2 minute video from Rebecca DuFour one of the pioneers of the PLC process discussing the work of PLCs.

Now that we've reviewed the purpose of professional learning communities in schools, let's take a quick look (5 minute video) on how one team uses their PLC time and approaches learning as a team.

This week in your PLC, you will review and bring your Envision Placement Test results, MAP data, and your laptop.  Using this information, you will group students according to skill needs/levels and create math groups for center work and planning lessons -- some of you are ahead of the curve :).  The end product will be student groups for purposeful skill work and how you plan for upcoming math instruction.

Faculty Meeting Agenda 10/24/2017
Let's transform faculty meetings to Lions' Share time!  This means we will use this time to discuss a strategy, gain vertical feedback (K-5 progression), review student work, or meet within committees (will be the last meeting of the month beginning in November).

• Writing workshop implementation
• Writing workshop materials

• View PLC video

• Let's transform faculty meetings to Lions' Share time!  This means we will use this time to discuss a strategy, gain vertical feedback (K-5 progression), review student work, or meet within committees (will be the last meeting of the month beginning in November). 

• Student personal narratives and rubrics -- reviewing the work, pulling themes from student performance.
• Understanding of writing genre
• Mechanics
• Voice
• Handwriting
• Writing length
• Implications for writing workshop, centers, homework, daily practices, K-5 progression

For your information:

2017-18 State Testing Areas by Grade Level

Wednesday, 10/25, Computer Education Service trainers will come to King and provide embedded PD/training on navigating the Google environment.  All staff members will attend and sessions are scheduled during planning times beginning at 9:05 in room 303.  We are going digital at King, this is a non-negotiable and a sign in sheet will be in 303.  Bring your laptop, if you don't have one, machines will be available for you to use.  If you are support staff and consider yourself a novice to the Google environment, I suggest you attend the 9:05 or 2:45 session.

The grading window closes at the end of the day Monday, October 23, 2017.  All grades should be put in for report cards -- they go home October 26th.

Picture day is Monday, October 23rd -- see the living calendar for schedule.

Red Ribbon Week is this week