|
Upcoming Events:
MON. (9/2) LABOR DAY HOLIDAY --- NO SCHOOL :)
TUES. (9/3) TEACHING & LEARNING ABOUND!
***STUDENTS WITH ATTENDANCE GOALS***
Remind 1st Period Students that SWAG begins 9/16
(Email Management Plans To Assistant Principals)
WED. (9/4) LATE START DAY --- 1st Period Starts @ 8:37am
Please Meet In Department Teams This Day @ 7:30am
Rosh Hashana Begins @ Sundown
THUR. (9/5) TEACHING & LEARNING ABOUND!
Rosh Hashana Observed
FRI. (9/6) FOOTBALL @ HOME vs. Paramount, 7pm
PRINCIPAL'S CHALLENGE: If 1,000+ Students Are
Counted To Be In Attendance, We'll Give Away Free Los
Al T-shirts & Gear to the first 400!!!
Rosh Hashana Ends @ Sundown
ATHLETICS: Be on the lookout for incredibly talented teams in all of our Fall Sports --- Football, X-Country, Girls Volleball, Girls Tennis, Boys Water Polo,and Girls Golf
9/9-16 --- PEACE WEEK!
9/9 --- PTSA MEETING @ 9am in Room 500
9/10 --- College Information Night, 7pm in PAC
9/18 --- BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
9/25 --- Carol Jago Professional Development ALL DAY for English
Teachers, Room 500
Unlimited Possibilities...
|
 |
Common Core Begins Now!
2-Minute Video Explains Where Education Is Headed @ Los Al...
Common Core this. And Common Core that. Before anybody says another word about our Federal Government's new education reform initiative, and what it means for America's youth... let's break it down, Los Al-style.
To do this, we need to jump back to 2002. Back then, our country (for the first-time, really) asked states to create Content Standards so that there was an actualized baseline of knowledge for all students that graduated high school.
This was a good idea :) Before content standards, there was no "guarantee" about what students were learning...
At Los Al, we used the development of these standards to narrow down "what" we teach to be focused on the absolute most important concepts students need in order to be successful in college and careers. Byproducts of the Content Standards movement now are clear Curriculum Maps, meaningful Pacing Guides, and high-quality instruction that has helped Los Al deliver a national-caliber education experience for each and every one of our Griffins.
Flash forward to Common Core. Since, as a country, we've gotten pretty good at focusing our instruction on the correct "what," or content, we teach... we're now going to hone in on developing students' skills, and examining "how" we teach.
This will require shifts in instruction (not complete overhauls), and may alter the way we use instructional time to dig deeper into concepts as opposed to developing a wide range of breadth.
The truth is, it's the new assessments, and the new ways skills are being tested, that will help Los Al teachers and staff fine tune their instruction to best meet the needs of kids.
While there are still some unknowns about the specific evolution of teacher practice and student learning that will occur as a result of the new Common Core education reform, we do know that are a set of 21st Century Skills for students we simply couldn't anticipate 15 or 20 years ago.
The internet, Google, social media, cell phones, and more have completely altered the way students learn, interact, and contribute to the world around them.
Common Core allows us to make the necessary modifications to our practice to better prepare students for the actual world in which they will work, participate, and thrive in.
And since a picture is worth a thousand words... our new Common Core Whiteboard Video is just a quick and easy way to add some key visuals that will frame our journey over the next few years.
Here we gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
|
Thank You For Being A Friend :)
Your Heart Is True, You're A Pal And A Confidant...
Click the video above to enjoy the sights and sounds of all of us getting back together to start another fabulous school year @ Los Al!
Wanna know one of the coolest things about being an educator?
It's one of the rare jobs on earth that people wake up and smile from ear to ear thinking about how their day will be.
This emotion, pure joy, is exactly what was on display during the first two days of welcoming back teachers to Los Al last week. Smiles, hugs, and some awesome red polos make their way in abundance in the video above :)
The track list you'll hear has to do with themes that promote the fact that "we do this work together." Truly, there is no other way to educate children than by a village. In a community.
So as you listen to renditions of songs about friendships, relationships, and the power of love... please know that there is no group on the face of the earth that we would rather do this work with than each other.
Thank you for being a friend :)
|
"Once You Enter This Door,
You Implicitly Agree To The Difficult..."
An Open Letter To Students
Here's a dandy... with so many ways to set high expectations in classes across campus, this open letter to students is honest, inspiring, and something Mr. Miyagi would surely be proud of!
On Friday's walkthrough with Dr. Barke and Dr. Kropp, we stumbled upon the following letter being distributed to students...
Here's the best part, the looks on students' faces weren't ones of fear or trepidation when they read the letter. Instead, they were ones of pride and honor. Students felt that they had made choices (as did their teacher) that brought them to the very special moment they were experiencing right then.
Democracy. Independence. Consequences.
They were all taught within the bounds of 5 minutes and a single page.
Here's an excerpted paragraph from the letter.
Once you enter this door, you implicitly agree to do the difficult. In order for you to grow you need to be pushed. Quality literature inherently asks big questions and big questions inherently generate tension. The material in this class aims to make you anxious and uneasy. When you get edged out of your comfort zone by the reading, things are functioning properly. This is a symptom of you analyzing depictions of the world surrounding you --- you are questioning the meaning of what is going on around you.
We all have amazing ideas and ways that we set the tone in our class for the rest of the year. Share yours with a colleague today... and let the growth and learning begin!
|
|
|
|
|
That's Our Football Field... Incredible, Right?
|
|
Threshold...
Greeting Students At The Door Makes All The Difference In The World :)
"Put 'er there!!!" Check out Mr. Sells greeting his students at the door. Research says this simple relationship-building strategy goes a long way towards strengthening the bonds between teachers and students.
It sounds simple... but being at the "threshold" of your classroom door is a powerful tool that acts as a metaphor for a number of truths about the learning experience you will deliver.
Truth #1.  Your classroom is a special place. Just think of all the other places in which people get "greeted" the moment they walk in the door: fancy hotels, high-brow restaurants, and just about anywhere else a business, company, or person wants you to feel particularly special.  Truth #2. This room belongs to you. Much like when somebody walks into your home, you greet them at the door. Perhaps you even tell them an important rule about your space from the beginning, like "Please take off your shoes." Once they enter your space, there's an understanding that there are protocols in your home, and that you expect others to abide by them. You also reserve the right to hold people accountable for "party fouls," like spilling grape juice on the carpet, or not being respectful of other guests.  Truth # 3. I care about you. This gets demonstrated, often, through humor. People are usually only able to laugh and smile when they feel safe and respected. The greet at the door signifies that all of these things will take place. So, let's not just make it a 'first-week-of-school thing." Let's stand at our doors and greet our scholars each and every time they walk into our "home." Pretty soon, and in large part because of this strategy, we'll have the kind of relationship with our students that will allow us to push them to their considerable limits. And the best part is, they'll appreciate and respect us all the while.  New teachers, Ms. Braithwaite (left) and Ms. Flores (right), stand at their doors to greet students on the First Day Of School... |
|
Instructional Networking 2.0
It's All About Struggle In The Era Of Common Core...
Clicking on the above Instructional Networking logo will open our Instructional Networking Handbook: one of the premiere Professional Development initiatives of any school in the country.
Teachers watching teachers. It's a simple concept that has proven to be one of the fastest, easiest, and most comfortable ways to improve classroom instruction.
Last year, as Kathy Currie lead Los Al's Instructional Networking Initiative for the first time, our community looked most closely at "Student Engagement," and the best ways that teachers across campus were engaging students in lessons across various subject areas.
This year, Ms. Currie announced during DAY 2 of our Welcome Back Days that she'll be leading efforts to breakdown the best practices of inducing, mitigating, and encouraging students through meaningful "Struggle" that occurs while learning.
Much like Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san, there are good and inspiring ways to challenge students. At the same time, there are some definite no-nos when it comes to pushing the limits of a student's current knowledge or skill base
Teachers watching teachers. It's this simple concept that we'll use to get better at everything we do inside our classrooms. This year, as Common Core challenges us to go deeper and build more complex skills, we'll use Instructional Networking as a tool for growth and a method to spread and proliferate the best practices in regards to Student Engagement, Struggle, and so much more.
Happy teaching!
|
|
It's Gotta' Be The Shoes!
#SchoolSpirit #FirstWeekEveryWeek #LosAl
From now on, if you need a picture from any of these
Monday Morning Memos, Just find us on FLICKR
The pics there are high quality, easy to access,
and always downloadable.
|
Los Alamitos High School
3591 Cerritos Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
|
|
|
