Two weeks down, and many more to go.  It was sort of refreshing to get an extra day off to recharge and be rested in order to give our students our best.  Hopefully all of you enjoyed the GISD Convocation.  It was a great program.  I loved your spirit and enthusiasm.  It was fun to experience the time with each of you.  Let’s certainly keep the intensity going.

It was great being in many of your classrooms last week.  I can tell that you are committed to doing what’s best for our students.  I spoke to you earlier that it is a must that all of our students have a great “Tier 1 learning experience.”  With that being said we are all going to be intentional about making that happen.  You will receive feedback from your walk-throughs.  That feedback is meant to assist you in seeing what you are doing in a great way and what you may need to adjust.  We will also be coaching you to have deeper discussions about instruction in your classroom.

A great strategy that every classroom should employ are checks for understanding.  A good classroom consistently checks to ensure that students are grasping the learning concepts that are expected to be mastered.  Please read this article that addresses checks for understanding: http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/Checking-for-Understanding-Formative-Assessment-Techniques-for-Your-Classroom-2nd-Edition.aspx.  I am also including this site that gives several strategies that are beneficial to check for understanding in your classroom.  http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/category/C7.  Let’s continue to be intentional in making our classrooms the very best for our students.

A big shout out to the all of the coaches, sponsors, and other student group leaders who bring great spirit to The Forest.  They give their best and make us all proud.

Let’s all have a great week!

Go Rangers!