Renzulli Learning

I have been very busy lately getting Renzulli Learning up and running for our students and teachers.  Renzulli Learning is an approach to differentiation that starts with the students completing a interest survey called The Renzulli Profiler. This is a simple online tool for conducting individualized strengths-based assessments that identify a student’s interests, learning styles, and expression styles.

The information gathered from the profiler provides the teachers with the knowledge to use the Differentiation Engine, a lesson-planning tool that differentiates over 25,000 Enrichment Activities — automatically. The result is a highly engaging learning environment that empowers students to achieve more in the classroom, and enables schools to attain better academic results.

Teachers are able to group profiled students by their shared strengths and interests and to compile custom reports on those groups. As a result, students help other students to learn more and take on new challenges.

So be on the look out for a printout of your child's profile.  You may find it very interesting to see what is motivating for your child, what his/her interests are, and what is their preferred learning style.  Renzulli Learning has been made available to the school through our SchoolLands Trust funds.  To find Renzulli on the web, go to http://www.renzullilearning.com/default.aspx

NWEA MAP testing is underway!

This week the studetns in all grade K-9 will be demonstrating what they know on the NWEA MAP test.  We have been working ferverishly trying to get everything ready for our first round of assessments.  K-2 will be assessed in Math and Reading, while grades 3-9 will be assessed in Math, Reading, and Language Arts. The students are eager to please and do their very best.

The NWEA MAP is a computer adaptive assessment that targets the students' mastery level according to the Utah state standards.  How it works is the students receive questions based on the standards.  If a student answers the test correctly the computer adjusts the targeted questions to more advanced concepts.  When the student misses the concepts it adjusts down a level to identify what the student has mastered and what he/she has yet to master.  The faculty have found it very interesting to see some of our most gifted students struggle through the test.  With a computer adaptive test, the does not end until a frustration level is met and for some of our students, they are not necessarily used to reaching their frustration level in tests.  It is good to see all our students stretch to demonstrate their individual proficiencies. 

At our upcoming parent/teacher conferences parents will be provided a report indicating the students' scores and what you can do to help raise that score and/or maintain a high level of motivation in continually seeking out learning opportunities each and every day.

For more information regarding NWEA, follow the link http://www.nwea.org/ 

DIBELS

YEAH!!  DIBELS is now completed.  DIBELS is a yearly assessment in that measures reading fluency.  The Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills is conducted three times per year.  All K-6th grade students will be assessed and their scores will be recorded.  Students will be judged based on a predetermined Benchmark.  Depending upon the number of correct words read per minute, students will be given a intervention status.  The levels of intervention are: Low-risk (meeting basic reading benchmarks), Some Risk (Within a level of confidence that without some intervention the student may drop below benchmark), and At-Risk.  For students in the At-Risk category, teachers are expected to monitor them frequently with intensive interventions to improve the reading fluency levels of the students. 

DIBELS also assesses retell fluency to determine if the student is understanding what it is he/she is reading.  For our youngest students, they are assessed in nonsense word fluency, phoneme segmentation and letter naming fluency.  These skills predict their ability to apply basic phonics in reading unfamiliar words and leter isolation in hearing and manipulating sounds.  Additionally, DIBELS  is widely accepted to determine academic success based on reading fluency.  Although, some students may not be "fast" readers, if they are comprehending what it is they are reading that may be a stronger indicator of success across the subject areas.

Parents will receive a copy of their child(ren)'s DIBELS scores at our next Parent/Teacher conference. This will be helpful for parents to become informed of where their child(ren) are reading in comparison to the grade level benchmarks.  Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for November 2,3,and 4.

SIS: Are you using it?

The Student Information System, otherwise known as SIS, is your gateway to seeing how your child is doing in class.  This is one of them most powerful tools a parent can utilize to keep informed.  If you have not yet logged into the SIS system, then you should follow the link https://oquirrh.usoe-dcs.org/Login/. You will prompted to request a log in name.  In order to do this, you will need to have one of your child's student identification number.  If you do not know this number, you can call the main office for your child's number or you can view the number on a hard copy of your child's progress report from your child's teacher.  Once you able to login, you can subscribe to the system and have weekly or daily emails sent to you with a progress report and student summary.  the system also allows you to can update any personal information, add emergency contacts, change email address, etc.  You can also view the progress summary, check grades, and see the proficiency on the state CRT assessments.  As a parent, you should be checking your child's grades weekly in order to remain in the loop and to ensure your child is fulfilling his/her responsibility as a student.

Morning Greeting

Our "Morning Greeting" has quickly become one of the most enjoyable parts of my day.  Each morning beginning around 8:15 to 8:30, Mrs. Olson leads the elementary students through a series of songs and chants that motivate and engage the students . We have a great new school song and the students have learned to sing it with gusto each morning.  We also are focusing on specific aspects of our school mission:  Moral Excellence, Citizenship, and Scholarship.  Each of these "pillars" have specific character traits that we highlight each full week of school.  Students are chosen by their teachers who exemplify the trait of the week.  The students receive a certificate and get their picture taken which is then displayed in the rotunda of the school.

Dr. Cox also imparts his vast knowledge of History by sharing interesting historical facts and events that took place on the particular date of the day.  The faculty and students have really enjoyed learning about "This day in History".  The Jr. High also holds a "Morning Greeting" between first and second period.  It is a great enhancement of each school day.

Jr. High Enrichment

Our new Jr. High Enrichment program has been going very well.  Each Friday, the 7th-9th grade students have chosen a special enrichment class that they get to participate in.  There are 10 classes that the students have been enrolled in.

1. Social Sciences
2. Drama Club
3. Choir
4. Strategic Games
5. Student Body Officer
6. Expressive Art
7. Classic Film
8. Spanish Club
9. Japanese Club
10. Study Hall

The classes are one hour in length and are selected each term.  It is enjoyable to watch the students mingle among the grades and experience interests outside their typical school day.  The teachers are amazing and are doing a great job in creating meaningful experiences for each Jr. High student.

DIBELS Testing

DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a reading fluency assessment that all K-6th grade students will be able to experience within the next week.  DIBELS helps the school determine who is meeting basic reading benchmarks and who is At-Risk for reading deficiencies.  In kindergarten and first grade the reading assessment looks at letter naming fluency and initial sound fluency.  Then 1st and 2nd graders are testing in nonsense word fluency and beginning reading.  The 2nd through 6th grade students are tested in their reading fluency and accuracy as well as their retell fluency.  It can be a very exhausting process for the those conducting the assessments.  However, the students have been doing a fantastic job.  I have personally tested many students and have been very impressed with the amount of high quality readers that we have at the school.

Once the results have been entered into our system the school will identify the At-risk readers and provide additional support to increase their skills. The At-risk students will then track their reading progress through the progress monitoring program provided by DIBELS.

We will conduct the DIBELS benchmarks three times per year.

RAZ-Kids.com

The school has just recently launched a new and exciting program to incentivize and motivate students to read.  There are several students who love to read and often spend hours on end reading, however, there are those students who prefer spending time engaged in doing other things.  RAZ-kids.com provides reading electronic materials for students at their level of ability.  RAZ-kids incorporates high interest topics in both nonfiction and fiction texts. The books are in vibrant color including moving graphics, sound effects, and highlighted vocabulary words which can be decoded for the students.

http://www.raz-kids.com/

Students have the opportunity to listen to the book, read the book, read the book out loud and have their voice recorded and then listen to themselves read the text.  They then can take a quiz to monitor comprehension.  As students complete the activities they can earn stars.  Star are collected and then used to create a personalized rocket.  Student then progress through the ranks beginning with Ensign, moving to commander and then to general.  Rank advancements seem to be extremely motivating for the students as well as the creation of their own rocket.

The school has enough funds to purchase licenses for all Kindergarten through third grade students.  Luckily, I too have a login where I can grant access to select students in grades 4-7.  If you think your child could benefit from RAZ-kids, feel free to contact me and I can set your child up with an account where he or she can begin reading leveled texts and enjoy the same features our younger students have come to appreciate.  To learn more about it, follow this Link to RAZ-kids

Technology in the school

There are some fun new gadgets this year that the teachers are excited to implement in their classrooms.  Last year each classroom was outfitted with a Document Camera called an Elmo and digital projection systems.  This was such a hit among the teachers, towards the end of the school year additional technology was introduced.  Over the summer teachers were able to create meaningful lesson plans and using programs such as PowerPoint to create presentation materials for student learning.  Now, teachers can display their PowerPoints utilizing more interactive teaching methods. The MimioBoard is one such tool.

Mimioboards can turn any ordinary whiteboard into an interactive whiteboard.  They enliven lessons with audio, video, and Flash files.  They can record audio and video lessons to reuse whenever the teachers want.  Teachers can import existing lessons from popular applications such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat and save their whiteboard notes and drawings to their computer.

Within the next week or two, teachers will be receiving yet another tool to create more engaging and interactive lessons.  The MimioPad wireless tablet lets teachers use their interactive whiteboard while walking around the room—up to 30 ft away from their computer. Through the use of multiple wirepless tablets students can collaborate from anywhere in the classroom. Up to 50 MimioPad tablets can be connected to one computer. The award-winning MimioPad tablet gives teachers more ways to encourage class participation. The school has also purchased the MimioVote™ assessment system which allows teachers to create formal and informal assessments where students can submit responses providing immediate feedback on the spot.  These two new enhancements are very exciting for both teachers and students.

So the next time you visit a classroom, come and see for yourself the motivating and engaging lessons this kind of technology can make possible.