Week of August 20

Thursday Thoughts August 20



Well it is the ninth day of school.  Most of you know that the first ten days can keep a principal on edge, especially if our enrollment is very high or too low.  We anticipated opening a second grade classroom after the tenth day and we will open it.  We had hoped to keep the other grade levels fairly stable but we will have to reduce a class in 4th grade.   Tomorrow is the official tenth day so we can always hope to get a dozen or so kids to grace our doors (wishful thinking...I know). We will spend the day tomorrow making phone calls, so we ask that you please allow us to do so before sharing the news.  As educators, we find ourselves making lemonade more and more (figuratively speaking of course).  I think that Medlock Bridge squeezes every lemon to make the best lemonade around.  Thank you for the great work that you have done these first two weeks of school.

Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Elizabeth Lumpkin.  Elizabeth was hired to assist Mrs. Padgett in Special Needs Pre K, however she has been been pulled hither and yon to help us meet the needs of many students over these past two weeks.  Elizabeth hardly had the chance to learn her way around before being asked to pick up and drop off students in various locations throughout the building.  She has done everything with a smile and several staff members have mentioned how wonderful she has been.  We know it's hard to be hired for one area and have to jump right into many other responsibilities.   Elizabeth we appreciate your willingness to pinch hit where needed.  Welcome to the MBES Family!!

Personalized Learning

A Simple Way To Clarify Personalized Learning
06/28/2013, Terry Heick

Personalized learning is a term that’s becoming increasingly common as education becomes more ambitious and self-aware, moving away from whole class sit-and-get towards a model where new tools (e.g., apps and learning simulations) and new thinking (e.g., blended learning and game-based learning) are used to craft learning experiences that actually fill an existing need.

The fact that as educators we have to shift our perspective to make sense of this is interesting.
Quick story–I’m an old man, so my lower back hurts. I recently sought out a chiropractor to help me run/jump/lift the way I could even five years ago. After taking X-rays and reviewing film from a recent MRI, they created a routine of exercises for me, and for 4 weeks I went in 3 days a week to complete this routine, along with a handful of other treatments.
The unsettling thing for me was that no one was extracting new data–no new information, range of motion, pain thresholds, examine results, or other nuggets that could then be used to modify and personalize the more general treatment plan. As I looked around, the overlap of the course of treatment between myself and the patients around me was about 90%.
We did almost the same things, the same ways, for the same amount of time, in the same order when beyond a universal need for core strength, there is little chance that our bodies, injuries, and overall needs were so similar.
“Just in time, just enough, and just for me” is an easy way to articulate the concept of differentiation/personalization of learning, much in the same way “Show me, help me, let me” captures the spirit of the Gradual Release of Responsibility model so well.
If we could just be as insulted by whole class direct instruction (supplemented with only brief, minor attempts at truly personalized learning) as I am when I receive the same in a chiropractor’s office.

Habitudes- (Growth Mindset)

Looking Ahead

The top three print resources for the new Math textbooks are listed below and are available to be reviewed by the local school level and public from August 21 – September 21, 2015.


Listed below are the titles for review:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Grades K-8

• Dixon, J., Larson, M., Leiva, M. & Adams, T. L. (2015). Go Math!: Teacher Edition with Solutions Key Grade K (Vols. 1-2). Orlando, Florida: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

McGraw-Hill
Grades K-5

• Carter, J., Cuevas, G., Day, R., & Malloy, C. (2014). My Math: Grade K-5 Teacher Edition. Bothwell, WA: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Grades 6-8

• Carter, J., Day, R., Cuevas, G., & Malloy, C. (2013). Glencoe Math: Course 1-3 Teacher Edition. Bothwell, WA: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Pearson

Grades K-6

• Bay-Williams, J.M., Berry, R.Q., Caldwell, J.H., Champagne, Z., Charles, R., & Copley, J. (2016). enVision Math 2.0: Grade 3 Teacher's Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Grades 7-8

• Fennell, F., Milou, E., & Schielack, J. (2015). Digits: Grade 7 Teacher's Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Displays with print and digital resources will be displayed for teacher and public review from August 21 – September 21, 2015, at the following locations.

North Locations

• Administrative Center (6201 Powers Ferry Rd, NW, Atlanta, GA 30339)
• Crabapple Crossing ES (12775 Birmingham Highway, Milton 30004)
• Northridge Learning Center (450 Northridge Parkway, Sandy Springs, GA 30350)
• Creekview ES (3995 Webb Bridge Road, Alpharetta 30005)
• Hillside ES (9250 Scott Road, Roswell 30076)
• Wilson Creek ES (6115 Wilson Road, Johns Creek 30097)
• Sweet Apple ES (12025 Etris Road, Roswell 30075)

South Locations

• Asa G. Hilliard ES (3353 Mount Olive Road., East Point, GA 30344)
• Feldwood ES (5790 Feldwood Road, College Park, GA 30349)
• Tri-Cities HS (2575 Harris Street, East Point, GA 30344)
• Sandtown MS (5400 Campbellton Road, Atlanta 30331)
• E. C. West ES (7040 Rivertown Road, Fairburn 30213)
• Stonewall Tell ES (3310 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park 30349)

Feedback from parents will be gathered through an electronic survey which may be completed on a school computer or on a smart phone.