The Weekly Words

At Noble Elementary, we believe that every student has the right to learn and grow in a safe and respectful environment. We also believe that every student has the power to make positive choices, learn from mistakes, and become stronger leaders in our school community. Noble Elementary empowers all students for college and career readiness through AVID’s schoolwide focus on WICOR, student success skills, and a growth mindset.

On Friday, I had the pleasure of joining our 2nd Grade team for their TBT meeting, and it was phenomenal from start to finish! Mrs. Elwell set a strong tone by efficiently covering grade-level business, field trips, and logistics in under 10 minutes, allowing the team to maximize their time on instruction. From there, the team dove deep into student work analysis, leveraging a document camera to examine student work samples, pinpoint common errors, and analyze specific question types with place value. As an IS, Mrs. Craven shared differentiated strategies and materials to re-teach place value, followed by pacing discussion to adjust module timelines for maximum alignment with student assessments.

Team,

Last year at this time, we explored Grant Wiggins’ article on shadowing a student, which revealed how exhausting passive listening is and how easily it creates barriers to connection. As we enter Week 9, we must advance to Phase 2: Putting the Student Perspective into Practice. We hit real turbulence this past week with 22 referrals written, making this the crucial moment to pause, reflect on our triggers, and reset our classroom boundaries. High-performing school cultures thrive when students actively value and protect their community expectations, and "my way or the highway" power struggles never win against students who are still learning to self-regulate.

When students sit passively for long periods of time, dysregulation and behavioral friction are inevitable. This week, ask yourself what specific shifts or transitions drove these behaviors, and actively counter them by weaving in hands-on tasks, brain breaks, and opportunities for student agency. Every morning is a fresh start for our students, and keeping our cool means carefully picking our battles so student infractions don't completely derail instruction.

Mr. Walker, M.Ed.

Principal

• October 5 - 22: General Interim Window (Grades 3-5)
• October 19 - 27 (CH-UH Window): Grade 3 ELA OST
• October 26 - 30: Grade 3 Math Interim
• October 13: October BLT Meeting
• October 13: October Fire Drill, 2:45 p.m.
• October 14: Pre-K/Kinder/1st Hearing/Vision Screenings
• October 14: October PTA Meeting
• October 16: Quarter 1 Ends
• October 16: Noble/CLC Fall Fest, 5:30 p.m.
• October 20: October TAP Meeting
• October 21: Unity Day
• October 21: 3rd and 5th Hearing/Vision Screenings
• October 22 - 23: Records, Parent-Teacher Conferences, and GLTM
• October 27: October Principal/AP Meeting - 3:45 p.m.
• October 27: World Occupational Therapy Day
• October 29: Noble All-Star Assemblies
• October 29: October Staff Meeting
• October 30: Trunk or Treat Event
• November 3: Professional Learning Day, No Students

Help us celebrate the amazing things happening at Noble! Use this form to:

• Give a shout-out to a staff member, student, class, or moment that has demonstrated one of the Noble Big 4.

• Share feedback or ideas that will help make Noble an even better place to learn and work.

Your voice matters, let’s lift each other up and keep moving forward together!

As a 795 Union member and instructional specialist, Raymond Smith-Watkins works with teachers and building teams to solve behavioral puzzles, he is not here to evaluate, judge, or discipline.

Classroom & Data Coaching

• Analyzing Triggers: If a student frequently acts out during independent math work, Raymond can sit in, observe the lesson, and help identify if the trigger is academic frustration, transition timing, or fatigue.

• Brainstorming Strategies: He can partner with you during TBTs or planning time to design targeted Tier 1 or Tier 2 interventions (e.g., creating a personalized break card system, modifying visual schedules, or testing interactive re-engagement techniques).

• Tracking Progress: He helps monitor whether a behavioral or attendance intervention is actually working over 2–3 weeks, making adjustments based on real student data.

Crisis & De-Escalation Support

• Neutral De-escalation: If a student is dysregulated and needs to step away, Raymond can help guide through a calm reset using neutral, trauma-informed de-escalation strategies so they can return to learning.

• MTSS Alignment: He connects high-need students to our building-wide MTSS framework to ensure they get wrap-around support before behavior escalates to a crisis point.

What Raymond DOES NOT Do

• He does NOT write up or administer discipline: If a student commits a major behavioral infraction (e.g., physical aggression or safety threats), administrators still manage the office referral, consequences, and parent contact.

• He does NOT cover classes or replace ALE: He isn't a substitute teacher, counselor, social worker, or attendance officer. His focus remains on proactive behavioral and safety instructional strategy.

• He is NOT an evaluator: As a 795 peer, his observations and coaching conversations are strictly collaborative, supportive, and non-evaluative.

How to Get Started This Week

• Introduce Yourself: Reach out and coordinate a free moment to talk through a persistent classroom management challenge or student trigger.

• During TBTs / Planning: Invite him to look at attendance or referral trends for your grade level to build a quick, proactive reset plan together.

Don't See you name? Please be sure to complete our Staff Interest Survey!

October Birthdays

October 4: Mrs. Doyle

October 6: Ms. Oberfield

October 11: Mrs. Nalepa

October 17: Ms. Hubbard

October 22: Mrs. DiDona

October 30: Mrs. Barrancotto

Please join us for our annual Noble and CLC Fall Fest on Friday, October 16 from 5:30 – 7:30 PM at Noble Elementary! This is a great opportunity to connect with our families, engage with community partners, and celebrate our students outside the classroom.

On October 21, our school will be joining schools across the nation to celebrate Unity Day!

Unity Day is the signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month. The message is simple, powerful, and clear: wear and share ORANGE to show unity, kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. When we wear orange, we send a visible message that no student at Noble or staff member stands alone and that our school is a safe, welcoming community for everyone.

Our October Noble All-Star Assemblies are Thursday, October 29! Please make sure your All-Stars are selected 4 days in Advance and families are notified to attend. Please update slides by 10/28! I am printing certificates this year!

After inventorying t-shirts, we have enough for all All-Stars this year. I will distribute September All-Star shirts this week!

Noble All-Star Assembly Information

With extra doors to monitor and fewer staff members this year, our team is spread thin. Every absence and delay severely impacts building safety, making your punctuality at assigned duty posts essential.

• Arrival Window (8:30 – 8:45 AM): Duty has been reduced to just 15 minutes before instruction to ease the morning load. Please be at your post promptly at 8:30 AM.

• Absences & Coverage: If running late or absent, notify leadership immediately and try to arrange backfill coverage with a teammate.

• Dismissal Timeline: Building transitions begin at 3:15 PM for primary and 3:15–3:20 PM for upper elementary to pack up. No classes or students may exit the building prior to 3:25 PM.

As we kick off the new school year, we want to ensure your voice and concerns are heard. Please use the TAP form to log any building climate concern(s).

The District has adopted a plan for communications with persons with disabilities, which is available at the following link: Communication Plan. The plan establishes procedures to ensure that the District's communications with persons with disabilities, including applicants, participants, members of the public, and companions with disabilities, are as effective as its communications with others.

This week, all TBT sessions must dedicate time to in-depth student data analysis. Teams should examine recent student work samples, common assessment performance, and error patterns to identify core instructional gaps and plan immediate, targeted re-teaching strategies for our students.

Our upcoming October BLT meeting on Tuesday, October 13, (Media Center) will serve as a building-wide MTSS review.

During this session, the team will analyze comprehensive Q1 data across three core areas:

• Academics (Interim testing, formative assessments, and growth benchmarks)

• Attendance (Chronic absenteeism trends and daily attendance rates)

• School Climate (Behavioral referral patterns, discipline data, and culture metrics)

Using these insights, the BLT will evaluate current Tier 1, 2, and 3 interventions and revise our One Plan to ensure our school-wide strategies directly address the identified needs as we transition into Quarter 2.

Use this form to communicate a student concern and request initial support or problem-solving. The Student Concern Form is the entry point to the MTSS/RFA process. Providing a concern does not automatically result in a formal RFA or change in intervention.

Looking for a powerful, high-leverage way to deepen student comprehension and critical thinking across all content areas? Try integrating the Says / Means / Matters strategy into your lessons this week! This strategy breaks down text analysis into three accessible steps to help students move beyond surface-level reading to deeper analytical thinking:

• SAYS (Summary / Direct Evidence): What does the text, problem, or visual literally say or show? (Students pull a direct quote or key fact).

• MEANS (Interpretation): What does this mean in plain language? (Students paraphrase and explain the concept in their own words).

• MATTERS (Implication / Connection): Why is this important? (Students explain why it matters to the bigger concept, character, real world, or overall learning target).

How to Use It This Week: Whether you're analyzing a reading passage in Wonders, breaking down a multi-step math word problem, or interpreting data in science, use a simple 3-column chart on the board or in student notebooks. It's an excellent tool for TBT data discussions, small group instruction, and encouraging scholars to justify their thinking during independent practice!

The Academic Services Team is looking forward to beginning District Learning Walks in all CH-UH schools. First semester Learning Walks begin the week of December 7 for Noble.

You can access the District Learning Walk form here for your review. After a team member completes a Learning Walk, the teacher, and co-teacher if applicable, will receive feedback from the Learning Walk via email. As a reminder, District Learning Walks are not Evaluative and the purpose of the Learning Walk is to provide BLTs and the district team with feedback on implementation of the district and building One Plans. District Learning Walks also help the Academic Services team align our district instructional practices to High Quality Instructional Materials.

Use this link to access the Curriculum Connections Newsletter for the week of 10.12.26.

The fall Interim Assessment testing windows are approaching. Please see the dates and subjects for each grade level below:

Grade 3:

3rd ELA OST: 10/20 - 10/21

3rd Math: 10/27 - 10/29

Grade 4

4th Science - 10/6

4th Math - 10/9

4th ELA - 10/13

Grade 5:

5th Math, ELA, & Science: 10/12 - 10/14

Step-by-step guidance for before, during, and after testing, plus answers to frequently asked questions, can be found in our Before, During, After (BDA) document. You can access it on Clever or at tinyurl.com/CHUHBDAs.

Please note that updates have been made to the interims to align with current pacing and curriculum changes. To start, complete the first step of the Data Analysis process: take the interim yourself and jot down your predictions and curiosities about how students will perform. Where do you expect common errors, strong performances, or struggles?

As a reminder, the One Plan will be central to our daily work this year. We will regularly revisit, review, and reflect on it during our staff meetings, professional development days, and key touchpoints throughout the school year to ensure we stay aligned and driven toward our common goals.

Upcoming Fire Drill: Our October fire drill will take place on Tuesday, October 13, at 2:45 p.m. Please ensure your posted evacuation map is clearly visible by your classroom door and review drill expectations with your students.

The District is organizing lunch and transportation for the Professional Learning Day on November 3. To assist in planning, please fill out this form by October 23 with your preferences.

Lunch will be available for purchase for $5 in the Heights High School cafeteria from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Additionally, to accomodate limited parking options at Heights High School, busing will be provided. View the form for more details.

Please review the Staff Attendance Memo for the 2026–2027 school year:

Attendance Memo

The next LPDC meeting will be held on October 19. Please ensure that all items requiring LPDC approval are submitted and uploaded by October 16 so they can be reviewed prior to the meeting.