Colt News

Good afternoon! I will use this newsletter to send weekly information, events, and important campus updates. Please make sure that you're reading each week so you don't miss anything!

Monday, August 18

Tuesday, August 19

• LAST DAY to turn in schedule change forms to counseling office
• Tennis Parent Meeting, Craig Cafeteria, 5:30PM
• 7th/8th Grade Football Parent Meeting, Craig Gym, 6PM
• Theater 1, 2, 3 Parent Meeting, 6:30PM
• Theater Production Parent Meeting, 7PM

• Fire Drill

• Lockdown Drill
• Orchestra Parent Meeting, Craig Cafeteria, 5PM
• 7th/8th Grade Girls Athletics Parent Meeting, Craig Gym, 5:30PM
• Choir Back to School Bash @FLC, 6-8PM

• Craig tennis courts used for high school tournament

Saturday, August 23

• Craig tennis courts used for high school tournament

August 29 AEF Contribution Deadline

September 1 Labor Day - School Holiday

September 5 Crosstown Showdown @Shotwell, 7PM

September 6 West Texas Fair and Rodeo begins

September 7 AEF STAR Grant Submission Deadline

September 22 Professional Development Day

Please be at your assigned station by 7:45. If you will be out, it is your responsibility to switch with someone.

Please do not park on the curb outside the 6th grade hall. It causes our gate sensor to fail.

You may have noticed administrators popping in to classrooms throughout the day. We are doing this to check on students, enforce campus policies, and provide support. Feel free to keep teaching. We're here to make sure students know that we can "pop-in" at any time and reinforce good behavior.

1. This year, KJ and Denise are trying to push in to classrooms. You might see them pop up on your rosters. This means that you have a group of TIP students that period. The primary goal of TIP this year is to keep students in class as much as possible by helping them develop tools they can use that work for your classroom and minimize interference with instructional time. We are trying to get students to realize that the TIP room is not just a “get out of class free” card.

2. We cannot “just send kids to KJ”. While she is here to help and wants to support us in addressing behaviors, her focus will be on TIP kids first and foremost. Sheila is a phenomenal resource to help with addressing student behaviors. She is willing to push into your classroom to observe, offer feedback, and help re-direct students.

3. If a TIP student wants to use their Red Card, please call first (either Norma or Jessica Talavera at the front desk). We found that last year students were using their Red Cards to go hide in bathrooms and never made it to the TIP room. Some of these students have exhibited self-harming behaviors, so this is extremely unsafe. We need to know where they are, and if KJ and Denise are in other classrooms, there will not be anyone in the room for that student to get the help they need.

4. Some students have safety plans that include things like the use of fidgets to help de-escalate and regulate. If you have questions about student behavior, reach out to KJ! While she may not be able to give you all the information about a particular student, she can help with strategies and tools to help our students regulate and de-escalate.

Passwords should have all been reset through math classes last week (go math department!). If you have a student who is still having trouble, call or email Ms. Hartley.

8/20 Sheila Light-Dendinger

Start this year off strong building relationships with students. Greet each class at the door. Start each period with Good Things.

It's time to start building your social contracts. Many of you have already started and that's great! If not, let's try to vary the days that we do this.

Monday - Electives

Tuesday - Math

Wednesday - Social Studies

Thursday - Science

Friday - English

If your assigned day doesn't work with your lesson plans, that's totally ok - do what works for you. See link below if you're not sure where to get started.

• Structure-“When presenting new instructional activities or procedures, be prepared to spend 20-50% of the scheduled time for that activity on teaching your expectations during the first days of class. Time spent teaching expectations early is time you will save in later weeks dealing with misbehaviors. For example, if you planned 15 minutes for direct teaching, you might spend 3-7 of those minutes explaining and modeling your expectations ” -Discipline in the Secondary Classroom pg.203
• Teach- small bits at a time/one part of a rule or one procedure at a time/Model it/ have them demonstrate
• Observe - give positive and accurate feedback/ praise compliance
• Interact- learn their names/ greet your students/ smile and make eye contact/fist bump for a job well done

• Correct - calmly, briefly, immediately, consistently use language posted in your expectations.
  
  **Re-inforce hall expectations by using hall one liners to praise students for compliance. Doing this will also pre-correct and remind other students.**

Kudos to Krista Conner for taking over the cafeteria in the afternoon and establishing behavior expectations during bus duty.

Kudos to Ms. Mary Davis, Mr. Montez, and Ms. Conner for facilitating Good Things in your classrooms and Ms. Benoit and Mr. Nance for leading students in writing Social Contracts. We're off to a strong CKH start!

Kudos to Coach Ryan Childress for implementing CHAMPS like a pro in your classroom.

Kudos to Coach Steven Childress for being flexible and solution-oriented when it comes to scheduling.

**If you have Kudos for next week's newsletter, send them to Mrs. West.