In a school year one begins the first quarter in the Dog Days of Summer with professional development and preparationfor the first day with students. The first quarter is filled with introductions and lays the foundation for the upcoming year. No Box Thinking strategy we used before theyear ever started was to host parents for meet and greet with the teacher. Parents were scheduled throughout the day at their convenience. This assisted us in creating a positive contact before the year even began and diminished the hectic, fast paced, impersonal madness known as Meet the Teacher. This quarter is important as teachers need to get started on the right path and be able to compete, reach, and ultimately teach each student. This time for administration is crucial because they should also reach out to each teacher and begin the evaluation process early so that plans for improvement can be put into place. With No Box Thinking I was able to complete all of my teacher evaluations in the first quarter and it assisted with the ability to truly help teachers in need. Once you get to October you are now ready to transition into the second quarter of the year.
In the second quarter the school year has now really taken off and the teachers are taking the students deeper into the standards for learning. No Box Thinking parental involvement series has now began and the parents are brought in monthly to reinforce strategies or concepts being taught in class. Instead of having the traditional Open House we used No Box Thinking to have our first annual Talk or Treat on Halloween, where parents and students visited classrooms to talk about what was taking place at school. Of course, students were provided a treat! The teacher has performed all the prior year review and beginning of the year evaluations at this point. The classroom as a whole has begun to shape into what it will ultimately look like at the end of the year. From the administrator standpoint they have now started the assistance for teachers who may have shown they need assistance early in the year. They have also began to reach out to students who have shown the need for reinforcement from a discipline standpoint. By being proactive the administrator is able to curtail some of the undesired behaviors that students have began to display. This quarter runs through December and takes one to Christmas Break! This year we used No Box Thinking to implement Fired Up Fridays and intentionally use Friday as a launching point for in depth learning to occur! We also implemented another No Box Thinking strategy known as Winter's Writers Workshop, where parents joined us to learn different writing enhancement tips and strategies to assist students with writing at home!
When one comes back from the two week Christmas Break, it is now time to almost revisit the first quarter of the year due to the restart process that occurs. Each teacher and administrator must take this time to go back over the rules and regulations to ensure that optimal learning occurs as soon as possible. Once that foundation has been laid again one must look at data and determine what standards the students have mastered for the first half of the year and which standards need to be spiraled back in for reteach! The third quarter goes a little long and wraps up right after spring break which is a week long break from the school year. After returning from this break the end of the year is in sight and the last push is now at hand. During the third quarter we hosted two No Box Thinking engagements. The first one was Fall In Love With Reading, a night filled with reading and conferring strategies to assist parents in actively assisting their students at home with the learning process. We also had a March Madness night where we had a Student vs. Staff basketball game to increase the relationships and bonds between the two groups. It was an excellent event that was standing room only!!!
We have now turned the page to the fourth quarter of the school year and the following you tube clip was the message given http://youtu.be/qNZQCwKZnvo.
At this point of the year we are at the pivotal point for success and must pour our entire being into this quarter in order to reach the peak of our success. Notice I mentioned not caring about results due to trusting the process that has been out in place to ensure student and staff success. We are creating a learning environment that all stakeholders can be proud of and a standardized test has never been our measuring stick! We believe that by creating a rigorous student centered environment that infuses No Box Thinking Strategies we have done our job of educating all STUDENTS! This school is on the path to greatness and the engagement of all has been at an all time level! We are excited to finish the game in the fourth quarter and not need to go into overtime to Win The Day!
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