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Upcoming Events:
MON. (6/3) DISTRICT EdTech Symposium --- 3:30pm in PAC
RSVP HERE
Mark Celestin, Dan Bennett & teachers from all
grade levels and schools in Los Al have been
planning this event for months. It's going to be
amazing!
TUES. (6/4) Teaching & Learning Everywhere :)
WED. (6/5) Cap & Gown Distribution in Room 500, 1:30pm - 4pm
Bacalaureate Ceremony @ Seacoast at 7pm
*** Please Attend If You're Available ***
Baccalaureate is a ceremony just before graduation
in which graduating Seniors celebrate learning and
the achievement of finishing their high school career.
It's a great opportunity to take photos with students
and families, and is usually slightly less formal, less
busy, and much closer to home than graduation
itself.
Please Be There If You Can... It Means A Lot To The Kids
THUR. (6/6) Yearbook Distribution --- Seniors Only
FRI. (6/7) Yearbook Distribution --- All Grade Levels
June 10-11 Senior Finals
June 12-13 FINALS --- Minimum Day Schedule
June 12th Senior Lunch @ Knott's Berry Farm
June 13th Graduation Practice @ 8:30am
JUNE 13th --- GRADUATION @ HOME DEPOT CENTER
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Summer Reading:
There's A Great Book About Teaching & Learning In Everyone's Mailbox... Here's What It's All About
By the time you read this Memo, you're likely to already be on Chapter 2 of Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey's book on the craft and science of teaching... and hopefully, you'll love it! But, if you're like me, you'll probably want to know where the "meat & potatoes" of this highly-regarded, teacher-beloved, research-based book on instruction is: Chapter 6! Of course, in order to soak up all there is in the Gradual Release Of Responsibility model of teaching, you need to read Chapters 1-5 first. Enjoy :)
It's arguable, but in life there are very few things more special than adding a book to your library of past reads. Hopefully, you were able to do that last December with Doug Lemov's TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION. And now, you'll have another opportunity to do that with a much different kind of book: BETTER LEARNING THROUGH STRUCTURED TEACHING by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey.
As an extension to our "Common Core Aquarium" last February, BETTER LEARNING is the book that literally invented and defined the modality of teaching we all watched Crystal Jerabek implement so effectively with our students: "I Do, We Do, You Do..." or, Gradual Release Of Responsibility. In short (and many of us apply this framework already to some extent), the lesson/unit begins with the teacher being responsible for almost all of the learning, and that responsibility slowly shifts onto the student over the course of the lesson until they are the ones solely responsible for learning on their own. The "I Do, We Do, You Do" style of teaching is the vehicle by which this responsibility is shifted.
So, what does this have to do with Common Core?
EVERYTHING! Regardless of the standard being addressed, good teaching is good teaching. If gradually releasing the responsibility for learning from teacher to student is an educator's baseline tool for delivering content and engaging kids, the nuances of Common Core will become much more manageable and we'll all be able to take our students deeper and further... faster.
 Now, BETTER LEARNING is a much different kind of book than TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION. The book everyone we received in December sounds and feels like you're in a classroom. That's Lemov's point. He's a teacher-leader, and he's focusing on small, specific, practices you can implement tomorrow in your class. But make no mistake, much of Lemov's practical work comes from Fisher & Frey's Framework. In fact, Chapter Three of TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION references Gradual Release Of Responsibility (or "GRR") specifically, and often. So much so that Champion Techniques 16, 17, and 18 (Break It Down, Ratio, and Check For Understanding) are all aspects of "We Instruction" according to Lemov.
So, enjoy the book. Read it over Summer. Pay close attention to Chapter 6. And when you come back in the Fall, we'll be focusing much of our Professional Development next year on implementing effective GRR practices in the classroom.
Good teaching is good teaching. And fortunately, at Los Al, we have tons of it to go around! The more we can become deliberate and intentional about the nuances of our practice, the better prepared our students will be to lead the way, nationally, in demonstrating their knowledge of the Common Core.
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Teacher Appreciation :)
We Have The Best PTSA!!!!!! 
CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THE BEST "THANK YOU" SONG OF ALL TIME. *** The lyrics perfectly sum up our feelings about our PTSA and all that they've done for us this week:
You didn't have to love me like you did
But you did, but you did.
And I thank you.
Feeling loved is an important aspect of being able to do one's job effectively. Thankfully, Los Al parents Khadija Goulhiane, Judy Searing, Tonimarie Cruz, Monica Wissuchek, and everyone in our PTSA fundamentally believe that happy teachers make happy kids.
And nothing makes teachers happier than unlimited prime rib for lunch. And did you see that mashed-potato bar????
 Last week was yet another example of an aspect of Los Al's culture that is rare, special, and simply doesn't exist at many other schools in this country: We love our parents... they're the ones that help support our students and further the learning we work to achieve in class, and in return they love us back! They shower us with Chocolate Fondue, and tacos by the pool, and S'mores, and a week that people look forward to from the day they start the year back in September.
So, in the words of Sam & Dave...
You didn't have to love me like you did
But you did, but you did.
And I thank you!
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Take The SBAC Practice Test This Summer!
Or, If You Want To Take It With Students This Week, Read On To Find Out How We Can Support
To take the newly released Common Core Practice Test...
CLICK HERE NOW
Some really important things you should know before you delve into this 4-8 hour test are these:
- THERE'S NO ANSWER KEY... YET. SBAC says they'll be releasing one on July 1st.
- IT'S DIFFERENT. Not just the questions being asked, or the wording of the task... but the way you interact and engage with the testing environment.
- JUST CLICK "SIGN IN" ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT TO TAKE IT. The system will automatically log you in as a guest, and take you through the initial set-up.
- EVEN IF YOU DON'T TEACH ENGLISH OR MATH... TAKE A PRACTICE TEST BEFORE THE START OF NEXT SCHOOL YEAR! It's valuable to have first-hand knowledge of what students will be experiencing and what teachers are being asked to prepare kids for.
- TAKE A TEST IN A GRADE LEVEL OTHER THAN "11" IF YOU HAVE TIME. It's amazing to see how Common Core impacts all children, all teachers, and effectively our entire country.
If you're interested in taking a class into a computer lab to experience the Practice Test, Gregg has reserved every computing space on campus this week for teachers and students to have this opportunity. Please email gstone@losal.org or mschaeffer@losal.org to request a time and day this week.
The only thing we are asking from students and teachers taking the test on campus in a computer lab, or with chromebooks, iPads, or laptops, is that each test-taker fills out a 5-minute Google Form answering some questions about the experience once they've completed a Practice Test so that we can gather some data to wrap our heads around this Summer and plan thoughtful implementation strategies for the Fall.
We're getting closer and closer to our country's biggest educational shift in more than a decade, and it's exciting to be doing this work alongside all of you, and to be doing at Los Al.
Here's to all of us being smarter and much more balanced in the years to come!
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We Got A "6 Clear!"
Our WASC Visiting Committee Recommended That Los Al Receive The Highest Level Of Accrediation Possible... A 6-Year Clear
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR A SUPER-SUCCESSFUL
WASC VISIT AND SELF-STUDY THIS YEAR!!!
THANKS TO ALL OF YOUR EFFORT IN THE CLASSROOM, WASC HAS GRANTED LOS AL THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ACCREDITATION POSSIBLE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO SHARI KAULIG & GREGG STONE
(OUR WASC COORDINATORS THIS CYCLE). YOUR LEADERSHIP HELPED ALL OF US BE PREPARED TO SHOW OFF ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS GOING ON @ LOS AL.
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The DISTRICT'S EdTech Symposium is MONDAY @ Los Al.
If you haven't RSVP'd yet, do so now by clicking HERE.
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Staking Our Claim:
Los Al Finally Takes Over The Corner of Los Al Blvd. & Cerritos Ave.
BEFORE
AFTER
The pictures here really do say it all. Through some generous donations from our PTSA, and a wonderful "iHeartLosAl" fundraiser back in March, our effort to beautify the corner of Los Alamitos Blvd. and Cerritos Ave. has finally come to fruition. Hope you like it :)
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"Thank You" From Dr. Kropp:
After Her Most Recent Visit To Los Al, Superintendent Kropp Is Proud Of All Of Our Rigorous Instruction
Dear Los Al,
Please know that I absolutely enjoyed the walkthrough at LAHS this week!
I loved seeing students engaged with activities, laboratory experiments, discussions, and debates. I also loved seeing so many lessons learned at the Carol Jago workshop being implemented in classrooms just days later. Learning was definitely evident and joyful!
See you at graduation,
Dr. Kropp
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I Like SPORTS, Not MATH... How Can You Engage Me In Class???
ESPN Is Leading The Way Applying Math In Cool & Interesting Ways
In the above SportsScience clip, math is used to give viewers a true sense of LeBron James' absurd athletic prowess.
Image sitting in class and learning "R x T = D". For those in the humanities, that's "Rate" times "Time" equals "Distance." You're sitting at your desk, taking copious notes, you're doing all the practice problems, and then you get assigned the homework: "Problems 1-35, even."
Admit it... are you engaged?
Now, imagine your teacher is part-way through a similar lesson, and then they show the above video (click to watch). You see LeBron running and dunking and jumping and passing, and then your teacher gives you a scenario problem: "Given the following information about each player on two competing basketball teams, which player would you have guard LeBron James and why?"
I'm engaged!!!!
Sports can be math-y... and if it's set-up properly, there's plenty of algebra and geometry to be found in football, basketball, track, hockey, baseball, and more. You just have to know where to look.
Here's another example...
In the clip below former ESPN anchor, Rich Eisen, compares his 40-yard dash time to real NFL athletes. The video is hilarious... and it has "R x T = D" written all over it.
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Projects Galore:
All Around Campus This Spring, Collaborative Projects Abound!
Mr. MacDuff's AP Environmental Science students are doing what many AP kids across campus are doing this June: Projects!
Go into Room 500 on Monday and you'll see AP Environmental Science Artifacts sprinkled across the room. That's because Mr. MacDuff's class had a showcase last week on one of their Final Projects.
In fact, if you read Ms. Kurrie's Instructional Networking email last week, or visited a friend's class in the last few days, you're sure to have seen some collaborative learning taking place as the pressure of high-stakes testing dissipates after AP & CST testing.
In many ways, these are the kinds of teaching and learning opportunities that students and teachers look forward to the most. And rest assured, now that the school year is winding down, there are even more creative and innovative outlets for demonstrating learning across campus.
Soak it all up Griffins... because in just a few days any projects you'll want to complete will have to be on your own... Summer's here... and this one is well-deserved!!!
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THANK YOU SHOW CHOIR
FOR AN INCREDIBLE YEAR!!!
DOWNLOADING SITE
From now on, if you need a picture from any of these Monday Morning Memos,
The pics there are high quality, easy to access, and always downloadable.
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Los Alamitos High School
3591 Cerritos Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
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