HUMS staff week of June 10, 2019

I know it says Elementary - but the point is pertinent. 

ITEMS: 

1.  Last week of school (ELO's) 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wkKFPCBpuIKVn7C6Z8q7Ovd_QrHDd-IKYXXE3ZnF0kA/edit?ts=5ce44f1b

Field Trips - 8th Grade Monday (Elmore) , 7th Grade Thursday (Res)

• Friday Awards Assembly 

MS AWARDS Assembly 6/14 is from 9-10 - -TA first from 8:15-8:55 that day

• Wednesday Assembly 

Next Wednesday 6/12  from 9:30-10:20 will be the final student-led assembly.  Teams will have students from 8:15-9:25-- Assembly Crew and Assembly Band kids will be setting up in the auditorium during that time before the assembly.

2.  Final Staff Meeting June 11 - Full Fac Mtng - Honoring Those Who are leaving HU.

3. In-service Updates

• Reminder Responsive Classroom Work - At Crossett Brook Middle School
• To confirm (so everyone included here is in the loop), each day will run from 8:30 - 3:30 with 45 minutes for lunch (teachers will bring their own). 
• NOTE:  Monday, June 17th Middle School noon to 3:00 

Just some deep thoughts.. if you have time to think

4. Seven Learning-to-Learn Skills for Adolescents

(Originally titled “Learning to Learn: Tips for Teens and Their Teachers”)

            “Many teens today don’t have effective learning skills – and they need them more than ever,” says Ulrich Boser (The Learning Agency) in this article in Educational Leadership. Boser and his colleagues have found the following strategies especially helpful to middle and high-school students:

            •Actively retrieve and explain. Re-reading notes and highlighting textbook material is too passive, says Boser. Much more effective is testing oneself or explaining material so it makes sense to another person. Low-stakes classroom quizzes also help solidify memories and pinpoint problem areas.

            •Focus. Trying to study while listening to music, watching YouTube, texting, or doing Snapchat and Instagram is inefficient because short-term memory is compromised. Difficult though it may be, teens learn far more when they tune out distractions. 

            •Check for understanding. “Adolescents can be naively overconfident about what they actually know,” says Boser. Teachers should encourage them to regularly ask themselves whether the material makes sense. 

            •Find deep features. Learning sticks when students dig for concepts, connections, and underlying structure. Comparing and contrasting are good ways to probe these levels.

            •Embrace feedback. Teachers should encourage students to get over their natural hesitation and seek feedback from peers and adults – something that’s common in sports. 

            •Being aware of feelings. Teens are subject to emotional and hormonal surges and downswings. Being aware of these and practicing meditation – or simply counting to ten before acting – can make a big difference. It’s also helpful if teachers break up intense academic work with short breaks. 

            •Reflect. Adolescent learners should be prompted to ask questions like, What are my assumptions about what I’m doing? How has my thinking changed because of this experience? What could I do next time to improve my practice?

“Learning to Learn: Tips for Teens and Their Teachers” by Ulrich Boser in Educational Leadership, May 2019 (Vol. 76, #8, p. 70-73, 78), available for ASCD members or for purchase at https://bit.ly/2JwWzjp; Boser can be reached at ulrich@the-learning-agency.com.

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