Don’t Get Testy!

A few parents have asked, “What is a Probe?” I am so glad that you asked that because of two reasons. First of all, you are subscribed to our elementary blog and therefore, keeping up with all that is going on at school. Secondly, you are truly interested in your child’s education enough to ask questions.  Please allow me to explain the concept of a Probe through this scenario.

You are preparing a delicious chicken dinner for your entire family. The bird is placed in the oven and cooked for the determined time. As soon as the timer goes off, you place the roasted bird in the center of a serving dish and set it on the table. The first piercing of the fork hints of a pink stain warning you that the chicken is not ready. Decision time – You can serve an unsafe dinner or disassemble the dish and return the foul to the oven for extended cooking time.

Wouldn’t it have been better to have “Probed” the chicken during cooking to check for readiness?

Our district has chosen to check for readiness before serving up students to new skills for which they are unprepared.

Probes are given every week or two in the form of five or so questions to quickly assess the instruction that has just been completed. It lets the classroom teacher know if reteaching needs to take place or if the class is ready to move on to another skill.  Often times it helps to target prerequisite skills that could be missing and consequently makes it difficult for a student to grasp a newly introduced concept. Without these small assessments on specific skills, or probes, teachers would be left to make decisions without the necessary data.

So, how can a student prepare for these probes?  Generally, students who pay attention to classroom instruction, complete their homework, arrive to school on time, and remain at school for the entire day perform quite successfully on most probes. At times, some students may need the information retaught in a different way before they can show understanding. At other times, a few students may even need the assistance of another instructor to supplement the classroom teacher. In any case, we will use the data to “check for readiness” to insure that your student is fully prepared.

August 30th through September 3rd

Third Grade – Basic addition facts

Fourth Grade – Place Value through hundred thousands

As we gather data on our newest students and revisit data on our returning students, we gain direction as teachers.  When you enter our building, you will notice a quote on our bulletin board that states, “Success is not a destination; it’s a journey.” What we are seeking is a road map. We need to know our beginning mark so we can set our course.

August 30th begins the two-week window for our universal screening. Third grade students will be given the TPRI while fourth and fifth graders will be asked to complete Read Naturally.  Also, third graders will be taking their very first Math Probe on basic addition facts and fourth grade will take a Math Probe on Place Value through hundred thousands.

These are exciting times at White Oak Intermediate. We are having a W.O.nderful year.

As we begin this new school year, our theme has been determined – The Sky’s the Limit.  When you stop to consider the innocence of children and the limitlessness of their dreams, you realize just how true this concept is. Already this year, teachers are working hard to make sure that every child receives the best education that White Oak Intermediate School can offer and therefore, assure that those dreams are realized.

Come Monday morning, boys and girls will enter this building with backpacks full of new school supplies and heads full of new ideas. What they do not know is that we, too, are full of new ideas—and new skills.  The teachers of 2010-11 have an exciting journey mapped out for this group of students.

Success is not a destination…….it is a journey, and on our campus, The Sky’s the Limit.

We have the best students, faculty, and administration in Texas. Once again you have made it happen. We have been awarded the highest accountability rating of Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency. To earn this rating, at least 90 percent of a district’s or school’s students passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). A campus could earn this rating by meeting the absolute standards or by using the Texas Projection Measure (TPM) or exceptions.  Our primary and intermediate campuses have earned this rating with our students absolute standards performances. We are so proud of YOU all!

You may view ratings of schools in Gregg County by clicking here.

My  daughter-in-law sent me this article entitled “When Love Trumps Anger” by Gwen Smith, and after reading it I felt this was a good time to share just a small part of it with my personal thoughts on the matter.  Below are the beginning lines that really made me think.

“I was working in my office, minding my own business, when my oldest son threw a paper airplane at the back of my head.  Not one to normally welcome an air attack, I gave him the stern “mom voice,” and asked him to stop messing around and give me some private time so I could get some work done.   He agreed, and turned to leave.  Surprisingly, he then jumped around and threw it at me again!  Well, let me tell you, my grace-o-meter was reading pretty low at this point!  I barked like an angry dog.  “What in the world do you think you are doing?  I just told you that I needed to be left alone so I can get some work done!  Stop it!”

“There’s a message on the plane,” he tenderly replied. “Read it, mom!”

As I unfolded the airplane made of orange construction paper, I saw this message written in pink marker:  “I Love You.”

“Nice!” I said to myself. “Loser-mom strikes again.”  I had scolded my son and reacted out of frustration with an unkind tone.  All the while, my son was trying to communicate love to me.”

My personal thoughts:

We will be beginning a new school year in just a few short weeks, and I am reminded that there are many students who will be reaching out to communicate their love for their teacher.  For some, the method in which they attempt to communicate that student/teacher connection may not always be what some consider to be the most socially acceptable.  It may, however, be a valiant attempt to show love.

How will we as teachers react? Will we react in frustration with an unkind tone, or will we seek the deeper, underlying reason for the actions of our students?

We may have one chance to communicate love for our students. May we reach them all with words of kindness and acts of compassion.

~~Thank you, Shelly, for causing me to stop and think. You do that often.~~

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to visit the new White Oak Elementary Blog. If you have children in Primary and/or Intermediate School, then you can find everything that you need right there in that one location. Just what will you find there?   Well just for starters:

• Primary and Intermediate Calendar combined
  
• School Supply Lists for PreK-5
  
• Printable 2010-2011 School Calendar
• Monthly Cafeteria Menus for Breakfast and Lunch
• Roughneck Recognition Links for Primary and Intermediate
  
• Direct Links to EVERY Primary and Intermediate Teacher’s Blog

We will be adding so much more during the coming school year including pictures, stories, announcements, etc.  It is the goal of White Oak Elementary to keep our community and school connected in order to create the strongest educational environment we can for children.

I suggest that you go right now and enter your email on top left side of that new blog.  This will subscribe you so that you will receive emails each time something new is posted. Do not miss out on your child’s school day.

It is most definitely that time of the year again for our intermediate students. Already our fourth graders have completed their state assessment in Writing, and all three grades will soon be faced with the Reading and Math TAKS tests (And let’s not forget Mr. McBride’s 5th grade Science TAKS test). With benchmark testing behind us, teachers are spiraling in on skills that are sure to increase student confidence and production. The level of commitment and passion being exhibited by all of the instructors is to be commended. Students are engrossed in learning and specific needs are being tackled based on the data that has been collected. Consequently, I think that this video is exactly what we all need. I do hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Last Sunday, the pastor ended his sermon with a statement that has stuck in the forefront my thoughts. I plan to share his statement later on in this posting, but allow me to take you back for just a moment.

I know that you remember the poster labeled with the above title. The first time I took the time to read this poster, I thought, “That is so true.” I think that I stood there and nodded my head with each revelation. I may have even uttered under my breath a few “Amens.”  It was inspiring to read Robert Fulghum’s recollections. I urge you to click on the title and reread his thoughts for yourselves. Most likely it will bring you back to some unforgotten truths.

Returning to my original thought, the subject of the sermon was kindness, and while the pastor did not draw upon Fulghum’s statements, he did transport us back to our childhood. The observation was made that valuable life lessons could have been gained from the many children’s films to which we were repeated exposed during our younger years.  One specifically mentioned was The Beauty and the Beast. The lesson, and his memorable statement, was this, “Unlovely things must be deeply loved before they can become lovable.”

I absorbed that statement and began to think about students and what we must do to bring about the educational transformation that must take place during this school year. We have been gathering data on each student since the first day of school and using that data to help formulate an academic plan to ensure success for each student. For some, the plan develops more easily, and for others the plan demands that we teach more deeply before we reach that teachable stage where the goal can be realized.  The level of commitment on the part of our White Oak Intermediate teachers to take students where they are and transport them to new heights is admirable.  We believe ALL students can be and will be successful. The entire faculty believes together we can move the most frustrated student into his own realm of success. And like we all learned as children, and it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

That’s right! Fourth grade classes gathered on Friday afternoon to do some Halloween caroling. I hope that you enjoy listening to them as much as I did.