Sigler State of Mind - Week 33 Rewind
I do believe I speak for everyone, when I say,
THANK GOODNESS STAAR TESTING IS BEHIND US!. There are two more small days ahead
in May, but it will hardly impact the building as testing had the past week.
Nothing but instruction and sunshine between now and June 7th (well, and MAP
testing).
As we enter the month of May and
the proverbial homestretch, it is so important to maintain high
expectations for all and continue to educate as if it were the first days of
school and not the last. In spite of testing last week, there were
many examples of teachers who were continuing to teach, as if school had just
started.
Students in KN were practicing their writing as
they explored different types of places they would choose to live. It just so
happened, as I was walking in, they were reviewing one of the places I had
spent lots of time in growing up; The World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.
I promised them some pictures that I had taken during my last visit, so as
promised, here you go!
While students in KN were still trying to figure
out exactly how I knew about the Corn Palace, 4th grade students were in the
midst of a measurement lesson ranking students height in order from tallest to
shortest in cm. Students were so engaged in the lesson and trying to accurately
determine where they would line up as a class based upon their measurements and
then checking their measurements through making an observation to determine if
they were lined up shortest to tallest. There was one or two students who
needed to measure again, but hey, we all need some extra practice. Upon
leaving, I was made aware of an upcoming project this week, where our 4th
graders are making a trip down to 1st grade to do a little measuring to see
just how much taller the 4th graders are than 1st graders. Just remember 4th
graders, you were the same height as the 1st graders a few years ago. To all
the students, yes, Mr. S is taller than I am.
All in all, it was a great week at Sigler and
there is just too much to highlight in one email. I could continue to share how
excited our 2nd graders were when they discovered they have a class pet again
and its a familiar hedgehog. I could continue to share how excited the staff
was to "shine bright" in their fluorescent colors on
Friday, even Coach Lazarine. In fact, Coach Lazarine looked so good, I have
decided each Friday, between now and June 7th will be Fluorescent Friday and
our regular Friday Spirit Wear w/ Jeans days will be moved to Thursday. (Hope
everyone is reading this) I could also continue to share how flexible our
support staff was this week in covering additional testing days on Thursday and
Friday, rearranging schedules to accommodate intervention in various parts of
the building or the quality of small group instruction taking place in 5th
grade to encourage the students that will be retesting in 11 school days.
Each week our students and teachers continue to
do their personal best and shoot for the stars. For those who want to shoot
past the stars, here is an inspiring article for you to reflect.
Feeling really inspired...here is one additional
idea I came across as educators participated in an #edcamp in Waller, TX
(#edcampwaller).
Save the Date - #edcampfwtx (Fort Worth) is
coming this summer. Click below for more info!
Make it a TRRFCC week Sigler Elementary!
Matt Arend
Principal
Sigler Elementary
