Coming soon to Arno…

Christmas Break Dec. 21-Jan 5

Jan 6, 2020

Class Resumes

Jan 7

No events

Jan 8

Super Cougar Pizza

PTSA Reflections District 6:30

Jan 9

SEO (Soc emo committee) meeting 4;00

Jan 10

No events

Jan 13

PTA Food drive begins

Ad Council 9:00

4:00 PBIS coaches at Bennie

Jan 14

BAS 5th Grade

Jan 15

BAS 4th Grade

SIP 7:50

Jan 16

BAS 3rd grade

Staff Meeting 7:50

Jan 17

Mother/son Night 6:30

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY WILL PROVIDE A SYSTEM OF SUPPORT TO EMPOWER

AND INSPIRE STUDENTS TO BECOME COLLABORATIVE LEARNERS

THAT STRIVE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Merry Christmas!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a restful break.  We have certainly had our interesting moments to end 2019 this year, but looking at it all- it was amazing to see how cohesive the entire staff is, one big caring family looking out for one another on many levels- what a special place Arno truly is!  Heading into 2020, this couldn’t be a better combination of talent and caring individuals to help our kids focus on their learning, where success is job #1!

Many Christmas Blessings!  Cheers!

Congrats Megan! Outstanding Educator

The annual Founder’s Day Awards were announced at this month’s PTA meeting.  Congratulations to all our winners!  The award winners will attend a banquet in their honor in February where they will be recognized for their accomplishments.

Congratulations to our Founder’s Day Winners!

Business Partner: Get Movin Crew (Fun Run)

Outstanding Program: Book Fair- Nicole Adkins and Jackie Brown

Distinguished Service Award: Stacy Sisson

Outstanding Educator: Megan Schultz

Strategy PD

Thank you so much for a productive afternoon last week on deep diving into our new strategies in relation to our learner centered problem.  Enjoy some pics

Instructional Rounds

On Wednesday, December 4, the upper el teachers (Emilie, Erin, Ciara, Megan, Lindsay, Sarah, Beth, Steve) participated in a professional development day using instructional rounds.  We met with Dr. Tafelski in the morning to learn about the strategy and the procedures. The group then observed four classrooms and made notes that they turned into sticky notes. The sticky notes were divided into three categories:

Checking for understanding by – prompting, organization, student participation

At the end of the day we used the charts to answer the concluding question to the instructional rounds strategy, with the help of Dr. Tafelski.  Here is our answer:

If you were an Arno Cougar and did everything you were expected to do, you would be able to demonstrate your learning in the following ways:

• Use prior knowledge
• Provide peer to peer feedback
• Collaborate
• Create products
• Solve problems
• Use graphic organizers

Our goal for this week is to share this information with staff and reflect on what we learned.  Our goal for the future is to work together as a staff to encourage higher order thinking by students. Some strategies the group suggests using are:

• Use No-Opt Out

• Right is Right

• Stretch It (strategies to use when asking questions)

Strategies for discussion at January staff meeting

• Set reading goals that extend beyond literal
• Clearly state expectations and goals
• Provide time and space to review and provide feedback
• Have students demonstrate learning in a variety of ways
• Scaffold (I do, we do, you do)
• Provide stems for peer to peer feedback

DATA QUESTION TO REFLECT ON THIS WEEK:

After ________ days of focused instruction, what will confirm for us that the required learning has occured?

Coming soon…

Arno Olympics Flyer 2020

Mindfulness at Christmas

5 Winter & Christmas Mindfulness Activities

1 – Breathe Like Santa

This is a fun activity that the younger students really enjoy! To help kids practice slow, controlled breathing, take a deep breath in, hold it for a moment, and slowly let it out with a slow, “Ho ho ho.” It feels silly at first, but this really helps kids feel their chests fall as they let the air go.

2 – Hear the Bells

Grab some jingle bells or handbells for an easy listening activity. Ask students to tune in to just the sound of the bells. Notice the vibrations of the sounds. Notice where they feel the bells in their bodies. And notice any feelings that come along with it!

3 – Settle the Snow Globe

Shake up a snow globe and watch it settle! Notice how the snow falls and glides. Notice the slow, gentle movement. Feel your body settle as the snow falls.

4 – Christmas Yoga

Any basic yoga sequence can be winter-themed with a little name change! Tree pose? Make that Christmas tree pose. Mountain pose? Make it a snowy mountain. A fold can be a candy cane pose. Get creative with it!

5 – Mindful Eating

Pick any holiday food for a mindful eating activity! Gingerbread cookies or candy canes are perfect. Encourage students to notice the texture, the taste, and the crunch of the food. Notice where on their tongues they taste each flavor. Enjoy every little bite!

CHRISTMAS SING-ALONG

We will gather everyone in the gym on Dec. 16th at 2:30 for the Christmas sing-along as Jeff  leads us in Christmas cheer.

Neuroscientists have identified how exactly a deep breath changes your mind

By Moran CerfNovember 19, 2017

Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

TAKE A PEEK AT SANTA’S REINDEER

HTTPS://REINDEERCAM.COM/

 TRACK SANTA WITH NORAD HELP

HTTPS://WWW.NORADSANTA.ORG/

Brian has a new role as Raggedy Andy

Coming soon to Arno…

Dec. 2

No events

Dec. 3

Stanley obs 9:30

Schultz X-Mas 12:20

Dec. 4

Instructional rounds 3-5

Dec. 5

Pizza Lunch

PTA Meeting 6:30

Dec. 6

Report Cards Distributed 4:00 Parent Connect

Playworks visit

Dec. 9

Ad Council

ICC 4:00

Dec. 10

Reflections Breakfast 8:30

Dec. 11

PBIS Meeting 7:50

Mentor/Mentee Sub Day

Dec. 12

Mentor Meeting 7:50

Steve @ RESA 8:30

District Safety Committee 9:30

Staff Christmas Lunch 11:00-12:00

Dec. 13

Early Release 11:30- Teacher PD p.m.

Arno Vision

Arno Elementary will provide a system of support to empower

and inspire students to become collaborative learners

that strive for academic excellence

Data Wise Study- working together

This article is taken from a text called Data Wise.  In it, they talk about the ACE Habits of Mind as it relates to Data Mining.  It’s a good read and very relevant to the work that we do.  Please take a few minutes to read it over the next couple of weeks.

Data question to reflect on this week: Do our assessment questions (you pick the assessment) require rigorous thinking? (Bloom’s Taxonomy: evaluation, synthesis, analysis) 

See also- Depth of Knowledge: https://inservice.ascd.org/what-exactly-is-depth-of-knowledge-hint-its-not-a-wheel/

Lessons from the Data Wise Project

Three habits of mind for building a collaborative culture

by KATHRYN PARKER BOUDETT AND ELIZABETH A. CITY 

Policy initiatives around the Common Core State Standards and teacher evaluation present schools with opportunity and risk. The opportunity is to make more effective use of evidence to inform the education of all of our children; the risk is to think that evidence alone will do the job.

For over a decade, the Data Wise Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has trained school-based teams in an eight-step process for using data to improve learning and teaching, described in our book, Data Wise. Over the years, we have adapted our courses to accommodate what we have learned from the field. For example, we no longer have to spend time persuading people that using data is a good idea; indeed, data has become an established component of educational policies worldwide. There is now an expectation that the data should be used to track student progress, set goals, identify action steps for improving instruction, and monitor progress—tasks at the heart of the Data Wise Improvement Process that seemed revolutionary when we first started advocating for them 10 years ago.

One thing that hasn’t changed much, however, is that we still find we need to make the case that educators should engage in the process collaboratively, treating Data Wise not as a “program” to “implement” but, rather, as a means of organizing and bringing coherence to staff members’ collective efforts at improvement. And, perhaps most importantly, we have learned to warn educators that simply going through the eight steps of the process will not guarantee success. Schools that use data to make real improvements in learning and teaching bring a distinctive approach to their work, and we have come to call this disciplined way of thinking the ACE Habits of Mind, where A stands for a shared commitment to Action, Assessment, and Adjustment; C stands for Intentional Collaboration; and E stands for a relentless focus on Evidence.

We have integrated these habits into our own teaching and daily work and into the revised edition of our book because we have learned that, for most of us, they do not come naturally. And most of us have, by default, some “bad” habits that can work against our desire to use data effectively.

A: Shared Commitment to Action, Assessment, and Adjustment

The first of the ACE habits boils down to this: All of the work you do is geared toward doing, not just talking. Every meeting has clear objectives and a plan for making sure those objectives are realized. For example, if you are a member of a teacher team meeting to dig into student data (Step 4), the deliverable you are working toward is a statement of the learner-centered problem you and your colleagues are committed to addressing. When you meet to examine instruction (Step 5), your objective is to identify a problem of practice that you all share. By the time you are ready to develop an action plan (Step 6), you know you need to identify specific instructional strategies that will make your teaching more effective. And, almost from the moment you begin implementation, you start assessing the extent to which that action is leading you in the direction you want to go and adjusting your actions when they fall short of the mark.

We contrast this habit with bad habits that are easy to slip into. One involves falling into a state of analysis paralysis, in which meeting after meeting is devoted to collecting more information, yet nothing ever gets done. Another is forging blindly ahead. In this case, the inclination is to stay the course with a plan, usually out of fear that midcourse corrections would be a sign of failure, or to abandon it entirely, which often means that the good ideas are thrown out with the bad. Cultivating a shared commitment to action, assessment, and adjustment helps teams follow the middle path toward real improvement.

At schools that cultivate a shared commitment to action, assessment, and adjustment, there is a sense of perpetual, purposeful forward motion. Educators talk about the confidence they get from taking lots of intentional small steps together—instead of taking (or avoiding) big leaps alone in the dark. Most importantly, they recognize that midcourse corrections are not signs of weakness but signs of strength.

C: Intentional Collaboration

This second habit involves being extremely deliberate in how and when you engage groups with the work of improvement. This involves making conscious decisions about whom to bring to the table for a particular conversation and structuring that conversation so that the collective wisdom of the group is brought to bear. The default bad habit here is to assume that just because you have put people together in the same room productive interaction will take place. In reality, what often happens is that people skirt the most important conversations in an effort to keep the interaction pleasant. Or people fall back on preestablished patterns of participation that leave some voices out.

Intentional collaboration is all about building trust. Creating and regularly reviewing group norms helps build trust, as does bringing many people together to make sense of assessment data, rather than having that knowledge reside in a few “data experts” at a school. Discussion protocols can be powerful tools for supporting this habit, especially if they are designed to make it clear when to contribute ideas and when to listen. A powerful way to build trust is to engage educators in understanding what’s happening with learning and teaching, why it’s happening, and what tools and training they need to do their jobs better.

For example, as a teacher you may appreciate that to improve instruction you and your colleagues need to look at the instruction that is happening in your classrooms. But what if this sounds really scary? If your team is cultivating the habit of mind of intentional collaboration, you will make deliberate choices about how to work together as you explore this unfamiliar ground. Maybe you begin by talking about your hopes and fears of opening your classroom doors. Then you get clear on the purpose of observation and set clear expectations for the collective work you will do before, during, and after an evaluation to make sure that the experience feels safe. You might test the waters by allowing teachers to videotape their own lesson and then choose what part of the video to show, along with specific things they want their colleagues to be looking for as they watch. If you make clear choices about how you will do this work together, you may find yourselves embracing a practice that at first seemed daunting.

E: Relentless Focus on Evidence

This habit often draws a laugh when we first mention it, since it can sound a bit obsessive. But we offer this habit in all seriousness, since time and time again school leaders have told us that the single most important thing that builds trust as staff members work through the Data Wise process is sticking to evidence. The goal is to create a culture where people make decisions based on specific, objective, and descriptive statements about a wide range of data sources. But reading all kinds of things into the data is a deeply ingrained habit for most people, so it requires a determined effort to break it.

Have you ever noticed that instead of making a factual statement about what we see, most of us tend to make an inference about why we see what we do? The statement “The teacher doesn’t know how to let students do their own thinking” leads to a very different conversation from “Four out of five times the teacher asked a question, she answered it herself.” In the first case, there is an inference and a judgment that can put someone (quite naturally!) on the defensive and close off the possibility of exploring alternative reasons for the observed data. In the second, there is a simple statement of fact, something that is much harder to argue with—and much easier to remedy. When interpretations are offered as facts (and when those interpretations vary widely), it is extremely difficult to get consensus about what the problem is, let alone how to solve it.

A simple way to help a colleague hone the habit of sticking to evidence is to ask, “What evidence do you see that makes you say that?” All of us make inferences based on something, but sometimes our brains are so quick to leap to conclusions that we need help naming and describing that something. A metaphor we use to put language to this challenge is “the ladder of inference,” an idea developed by Peter Senge and others. Picture a ladder with description at the bottom and inference and action at the top. If you start at the bottom with description and climb your way up to inference and action, you will be steady on the ladder and your action will be supported by the lower rungs of the ladder. If you leap to the top, it’s hard for anyone else to make the journey with you, and your conclusions are usually precarious. We’ve found that the metaphor of being “high on the ladder” and “coming down the ladder” can make the process of developing the habit of evidence more playful and easier to talk about and do.

More Than Data

We have made the ACE Habits of Mind central to our own teaching and practice because we believe they are essential to creating a culture of continuous improvement. When used daily and in combination, these habits draw out the diverse perspectives on a team, build the trust that allows educators to open their practice, make effective use of limited precious time, and provide a pathway to turn piles and piles of data into a discrete and actionable plan. It is true that it may take many small steps to build the ACE Habits of Mind into the work of improvement. But don’t underestimate where those small steps can lead. In our experience, this work is transformative—for both students and adults. It is about so much more than data: It is about finding a way to allow every student and every educator to fulfill their potential.

Kathryn Parker Boudett and Elizabeth A. City are co-editors (with Richard J. Murnane) of Data Wise: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning Revised and Expanded Edition (Harvard Education Press, 2013), from which this article is adapted.

Mentor/Mentee Sub Day

Our day for observations and collaboration among our mentors/mentees in coming, scheduled for Dec. 11.  Stay tuned for direction and scheduling.

CHRISTMAS SING-ALONG

We will gather everyone in the gym on Dec. 16th at 2:30 for the Christmas sing-along as Jeff  leads us in Christmas cheer.

CHRISTMAS STORY TIME

I would like to once again come around to all of your rooms to give you a holiday 30 minute break, and read Christmas stories to your kids.  Please stop by or send me an email when you would like me to come in

CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON

Reminder- we have our Staff Christmas Luncheon Dec. 12th.  We will do the one hour block again and will have a schedule when we get close.

TAKE A PEEK AT SANTA’S REINDEER

HTTPS://REINDEERCAM.COM/

 TRACK SANTA WITH NORAD HELP

HTTPS://WWW.NORADSANTA.ORG/

Tech Time:

These resources are from Birmingham Schools- I know we are a ways away, but you may want to preview some of this content.

Meet your new Clevertouch!

• Click here for tips on what to know for first time use. (remote, power, speakers)
• Full 21 minute overview

Video Segments Broken Out By Topic

• Clevertouch Introduction and How to Toggle Between Devices
• The Notes App (use for a whiteboard)
• Saving (folders, files and flashdrives) 
• Browsers and Annotation 
• Apps and Organizing Folders
• Active, ScreenLock and Favorites
• Settings
• Freezing Screen, Shutting Down, Pen, Remote and Cleaning

Full, Continuous Video Tutorial (approximately 21 minutes)

Clevertouch Introduction and How to Toggle Between Devices

The Notes App (use for a whiteboard)

Saving (folders, files and flashdrives)

Browsers and Annotation

Apps and Organizing Folders

Active, ScreenLock and Favorites

Settings

 Freezing Screen, Shutting Down, Pen, Remote and Cleaning

More on Clever Touch:

on 18 January 2019

Coming soon to Arno…

Nov. 18

Mr. Peace Assembly

• Grades K-2 @ 9am
• Grades 3-5 @ 10am
• Location: Gym

Book Fair Week Begins

Hearing Rescreen

Nov. 19

Instruct Comm meet 7:50

Mercer obs 9:30

Nov. 20

MTSS comm. 7:50

4th grade Parade Company

P/T Conf. 5:00-7:30

Nov. 21

Early Release 11:30

P/T Conf p.m. and evening

Steve @conf

Nov. 22

PBIS reward

Steve @conf

Nov. 25

No events

Nov. 26

Early Release 11:30

Teacher PD

Nov. 27

No School

Nov. 28

Nov. 29

Black Friday

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY WILL PROVIDE A SYSTEM OF SUPPORT TO EMPOWER

AND INSPIRE STUDENTS TO BECOME COLLABORATIVE LEARNERS

THAT STRIVE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Data Wrap Up

Thank you to everyone for some great data discussions.  Please remember that our highlighted students are those that we will maintain an intense focus.  Thinking outside of the box- sharing students-high, medium, low classrooms-providing a double dose are all ways to creatively meet additional needs.

I had the pleasure of doing some observations lately that included some strategies out of Jennifer Savallo’s book “Reading Strategies” – and it is some good stuff!  If you need a copy, let me know.

Committee Updates:

Tech Committee: A rep group of the tech committee visited 3 districts last week in Gibraltar, Woodhaven and Bloomfield Hills.  The purpose was to see two other versions of interactive TVs and then Bloomfield gave us a look at CleverTouch in action.  Although we were impressed by all 3 versions, Clevertouch was still the most robust for its features and the group decided that was the direction.  The district is ordering 15 units to supply the rooms of the members of the tech committee first.   A plan will then be rolled out for the rest of the district soon after the new year.

Teacher in Bloomfield using the Clevertouch in small group:

School Improvement: The team worked a full day again on Wednesday.  We are fairly deep into the plan now and will not meet again until Feb. when the round of testing is done.  We also completed the PD plan for next year that will driven by coaching/staff meeting/other means to provide PD to the staff.  MTSS group will meet and give us math data info for the sip team in early Feb as well. 

CHRISTMAS STORY TIME

I would like to once again come around to all of your rooms to give you a holiday 30 minute break, and read Christmas stories to your kids.  Please stop by or send me an email when you would like me to come in starting after Thanksgiving.

CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON

Please mark your calendars for Dec. 12th as we will be having our annual Staff Christmas Lunch.  We will do the one hour block again and will have a schedule when we get close.

Instructional Rounds Update

Dec. 4 is the new date for 3-5 Instruct Rounds.- Please fill your name in the gris for participating in group and/or hosting a room

Dec. 17 is the new date for K-2 Instruct Rounds- More info will come out closer to the event

Remember that this is an observation on learning, is non-evaluative, and helps to discuss a problem of practice that the team has discussed.  Although the first round is more voluntary in nature- by spring everyone will have to participate at least one time.

Think Central

Since our district has paid for Think Central, we need to start talking about using this resource for the home.  We should have the ability to assign lessons to student’s accounts- then send home user and password info with expectations.  It doesn’t have to be a tracked and graded thing- it could even be reward based and due dates could be wide open- it would be mainly for practice at home, but it connects with MIF and that is something that all of the other programs cannot claim. More to come…

NWEA RESOURCE

REPORT CARDS PLANNING

DISTRICT-WIDE HOLIDAY TOY BOX DRIVE

The annual district-wide toy drive for local families, as in the past we are looking for donations of new or gently used clothing and toys.  The box for drop off is in the main office at our school until December.  Please consider donating something if you are able.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT IN NOVEMBER

JUST A REMINDER OF TASKS/STRATEGIES IN OUR PLAN:

• Complete the Visual Thinking Chart in the lounge. Plan for next month’s requirements with colleagues.

• Continue to utilize the following strategies: No Opt Out, Cold Calling, and Turn and Talk

  • http://teachlikeachampion.com/wp-content/uploads/Field-Guide-sample-chapter.pdf

  • http://teachlikeachampionch4.blogspot.com/p/technique-22-cold-call.html

  • https://teachlikeachampion.com/plugandplay/turnandtalk

• Work on trimester writing utilizing the writing process. Scores need to be input by the MTSS Data Drive meetings.

  • https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uzz40flIoslcmzLkv7qe1W1pRoKe-E3F?usp=sharing

Tech Corner

• Thankful Thoughts Assignment – This is a fun Thanksgiving assignment you can adjust for any grade level.
• ​Don’t Gobble Me (writing Assignment) – Help save Tom Turkey! This activity teaches persuasive writing and email etiquette.
  

  Thanksgiving Websites For Your Students

  By: Jacqui Murray

   

  Thanksgiving is a time of celebration. Most people have a few days off to prepare their feast, enjoy family, and remind themselves of all they have to be thankful for. If you’re one of those that will be spending hours preparing menus, activities, travel arrangements and entertainment for out-of-town guests, I have help for you. Here are eighteen digital resources that will keep children happy and entertained while you take care of all that other stuff:

  First Thanksgiving

  Bring the story of the First Thanksgiving to life in your classroom! Introduce your class to the first harvest celebration, delve deeper into the relationships between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags, and take a closer look at the historical significance of the Pilgrims’ settlement.

  Online/Offline Thanksgiving Activities

  Related Articles

  

  Ways to Use Instagram to Enrich Your Classroom

  A few effective ways that you can use Instagram to enrich your technology in…

  

  Top 20 Teacher Jokes

  We’ve compiled and concocted 20 side-splitting (and maybe a little corny) …

  

  Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

  By embracing and integrating technology in the classroom, we are setting our…

  

  Approaches to Successful Cross-Curriculum Integration

  The advantage of a successful cross-curriculum integration is that students…

  

  Technology in the Classroom: The Benefits of Smart Boards

  We outline the amazing advantages to utilizing technology in the classroom by…

  A wide variety of quick, fun Thanksgiving activities for kids. some require a computer, others not so much.

  Starfall — Silly Turkey

  Starfall’s unique approach to reading activities, themed to Thanksgiving.

  Thanksgiving Educational Websites from CybraryMan

  Dozens of activities–reading, crafts, online games, puzzles, non-fiction, historic background. Lots of activiteis to keep children entertained.

  Thanksgiving Games by Primary Games

  Fun games, just for kids, themed for the holiday. Lots more on different topics.

  Thanksgiving Vocabulary–Quia

  Flashcards, matching, vocabulary, word search, concentration.

  Thanksgiving Information

  History, poems, general resources, crafts, poetry, and more.

  2 Jigsaw websites:

  Thanksgiving Jigsaw
  Thanksgiving Jigsaw II

  Thanksgiving Lesson Plans

  Crafts, history, story, the First Thanksgiving and more.

  More:

  Thanksgiving Online Coloring Book
  Thanksgiving video — Brainpop
  Thanksgiving Tic-Tac-Toe
  Various Thanksgiving Games — BillyBear 4 Kids
  Wordsearch
  You are the Historian — Thanksgivin

   

Coming soon to Arno…

November

4

Talamonti obs 9:00

Zuke obs 11:15

5

Data Dive per schedule

Election Day

6

PBIS Meeting 7:50

PBIS District Meeting 1:00

7

Mentor/Mentee obs Day

Science Committee meeting

Limo/Lunch Day

PTA Meeting 6:30

8

Reflections due

District Assessment Reports go home

11

Ad Council 9:00

12

SIP meeting all day

13

Grades 3-5 Instr. Rounds

SIP meeting 7:50

14

Staff Meeting 7:50

Cervantes obs 9:20

Higgins obs 11:15

Picture Retake Day

15

Principal for the day

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY WILL PROVIDE A SYSTEM OF SUPPORT TO EMPOWER

AND INSPIRE STUDENTS TO BECOME COLLABORATIVE LEARNERS

THAT STRIVE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Clevertouch

You have been hearing a lot from the tech committee on Clevertouch.  Below is some additional information.  Keep in mind that there are going to be site visits by the tech team to make sure we have the right product that will enhance our ability to deliver curriculum in the most engaging manner.    You will hear much more on this, other types of boards, and upcoming plans to implement and offer PD.

https://archive.clevertouch.com/cleverstore

DATA DIVES Protocol

After hearing some feedback and with a new timeline for the process, the following will be our opening process for looking at our data:

This takes into account the Oct. and Nov. prep per contract

Nov 5- Day 1

• The schedule for the day will just following the prep schedule.  You should come down to the conf. room
• We will meet as a whole team on the data you have already previewed (coming soon from Cindy).  You will not be able to edit the doc, but submit any corrections to Cindy prior to our meeting.
• We will also look to connect the students that have been identified as the “bubble” kids that we are focusing on.  We will have those names already from Beth.
• We will take a look at your writing scores- discuss next steps and what else may be needed resources/coaching etc.
  • Outcomes will be to have a complete picture of our tiered students by grade level, a connection with the focus students-their assessment information-plan, and request additional assistance or resources.

Nov. 7- Day 2

• The schedule for the day will follow the prep times, but Cindy will have a variation of those times.
• We will meet with each grade, but this time by ind. teacher every 15 minutes- you decide the order.
• The primary focus will be to discuss your highest needs students via the at-risk form you will fill out (or update) prior to the meeting.
  • Outcomes will be to have a personalized discussion of your highest needs students in your room and set forth a plan for each.

It is my hope that this will serve as a means to have a relevant discussion on your data, and provide you with some direction moving forward.

REPORT CARDS PLANNING

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT IN NOVEMBER

JUST A REMINDER OF TASKS/STRATEGIES IN OUR PLAN:

• Complete the Visual Thinking Chart in the lounge. Plan for next month’s requirements with colleagues.

• Continue to utilize the following strategies: No Opt Out, Cold Calling, and Turn and Talk

  • http://teachlikeachampion.com/wp-content/uploads/Field-Guide-sample-chapter.pdf

  • http://teachlikeachampionch4.blogspot.com/p/technique-22-cold-call.html

  • https://teachlikeachampion.com/plugandplay/turnandtalk

• Work on trimester writing utilizing the writing process. Scores need to be input by the MTSS Data Drive meetings.

  • https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uzz40flIoslcmzLkv7qe1W1pRoKe-E3F?usp=sharing

Assemblies for November

Monday, November 18th, 2019: Mr. Peace’s Passion 2 Purpose

• Grades K-2 @ 9am

• Grades 3-5 @ 10am

• Location: Gym

• Fee: $1,250 (paid for by PTA and PBIS

INSTRUC ROUNDS

INSTRUCTIONAL ROUNDS

As I mentioned in the staff meeting, I am working on two dates with 6 floats each on November 13 for 3-5 and December 4 for K-2.  All grades will participate this fall to explore a problem of practice, solutions, and a plan moving forward.

OPEN ENROLLMENT INFO

Tech Time

How to Create Vocabulary Games on Educandy

Educandy is a new service for creating simple vocabulary games and multiple choice trivia games. A convenient aspect of the service is that once you’ve created a list of vocabulary words it will automatically be applied to multiple game formats for you. In other words, write one word list and you’ll get three games that your students can play. Your students can play the games without needing to create an account on the Educandy site. In the following video I provide an overview of how you can create games on Educandy and how your students can access your games.

Take a break. Relax. Recharge.

Remember only we tell our own story- and what a victorious story it is from the champions of teaching!

Coming soon to Arno…

Oct. 14

Mad Science Assembly

• 9-9:30→ Grades 3-5
• 10-10:30→ Grades K-2

Ad Council 9:00

ICC 4:00

Oct. 15

BAS 2nd Grade

Steve out

Oct. 16

PBIS meeting 7:45

BAS 1st Grade

Restaurant Night- BUffalo Wild Wings

Steve out

Oct. 17

Steve out

Oct. 18

2nd Grade to Cranbrook

Steve out

Oct. 21

K-2- Fire Department assembly 9:00

Oct. 22

BAS Kinder

Instructional Committee 7:50

Hearing tests

Oct. 23

MTSS 7:50

SIP 7:50

Tech Committee 8:30

Hearing tests

Building up to Kindergarten (Preschool) 4:30

Oct. 24

SIP team full day

Skating mascot at lunch

Hearing Tests

Membership Drive ends

Halloween Skating Party

Oct. 25

No events

Oct. 28

Mobile Dentist at Arno

Oct. 29

Membership Classroom winners party

Metro Parks 3rd Grade

Oct. 30

No events

Oct. 31

Halloween Parade 10:00

EARLY Dismissal 11:30

Nov. 1

PBIS Reward

Nov. 2

PTSA Holiday Fever/Craft Show

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY WILL PROVIDE A SYSTEM OF SUPPORT TO EMPOWER

AND INSPIRE STUDENTS TO BECOME COLLABORATIVE LEARNERS

THAT STRIVE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Upcoming Committee Dates:

• Instructional Committee meets on Oct. 22 7:50

• MTSS meets on Oct. 23 7:50

• SIP meets on Oct. 23 7:50 (There will be a short presentation on the SIP plan next year)

• PBIS meets on Oct. 16 7:50

• SIP full day planning on Oct. 24

HALLOWEEN PARADE

Time to get those costumes on the kids and come on down to Arno on Oct. 31 at 10:00 for our annual Halloween Parade.  Our route will take us out of the 5th grade doors that morning, making a loop on the inside perimeter of the playground.  Please join us around the outside perimeter of the playground for the best seats.  It is a district PD day with an 11:30 dismissal that morning.

EXCITING NEWS

Wahoo!  Introducing Arno Elementary’s first Facebook page! “LIKE” us to see lots of great updates and photos from school!  This format is much easier to share photos in real time, so the blog photo gallery will now be coming to you in the form of Facebook posts!  Thank you for promoting this social media platform as a positive way to share the good news and great things happening at Arno!

HERE IS THE LINK!  

https://www.facebook.com/arnoelementary/

**I have learned that there is an Arno Elementary Facebook page out there with pictures- this is NOT an official school page- The real Arno Facebook page is titled “Arno Caring Cougars”.  Please check the page to make sure it has current photos before you “LIKE” it- The most recent post is on a lesson from Mrs. Byrne. 

So what’s happening with the blog?  

The blog, after a post on Oct. 11, will then only be updated once monthly on the first Friday of every month.  It will still contain a calendar and other news, but will no longer contain pictures- those will be on the Facebook page.  

Of course, as always, if you have a concern or question, please contact me directly by email or by calling our office.  I am here to help you in any way you need.

Assemblies the month…

Monday, October 14th, 2019: MAD Science

• 9-9:30→ Grades 3-5
• 10-10:30→ Grades K-2
• Location: Gym
• Fee: Free
• Set Up: Table for supplies, chairs for teachers, microphone

Monday, October 21st, 2019: Fire Safety

• 9:00→ Grades Y5, K, 1, CI
• 9:50→Grades  2 and 3
• Location: Gym
• Fee: Free
• Set Up: Table for supplies, chairs for teachers, microphone

Tuesday, October 29th, 2019: Huron-Clinton Metroparks: People of the Three Fires

• Third Grade Presentation
• Fee: $125, Paid for by Third Grade Families
• Location: Media Center
• Set Up: Please move chairs and tables so third graders can sit on the floor in the normal table area.
• Times:
  • 8:50-9:50→ Warneck
  • 9:50-10:50→ Kalis
  • 10:50-11:50→ Guyot
    • Rachel T please meet your Renee’s class in the library.

OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR 2020 IS APPROACHING.

BE SURE YOU ARE READY FOR THE ONLINE ENROLLMENT PROCESS.

STEPS TO TAKE IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO YET:

1) LOGON TO WWW.MESSA.ORG CLICK ON “MEMBERS (MYMESSA LOGIN)”

2) LOG IN WITH YOUR INFORMATION IF YOU ARE A REGISTERED USER. IF YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN YOUR USERNAME OR PASSWORD CLICK ON “FORGOT USERNAME OR PASSWORD” AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO RESET. 

3) IF YOU ARE NOT A REGISTERED USER CLICK ON THE “REGISTER NOW” LINK AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO REGISTER. 

4) IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ISSUES WITH LOGGING IN OR OBTAINING AN ACCOUNT MESSA IS AVAILABLE FOR ASSISTANCE VIA PHONE 1(800) 336-0013.

4701_001

Help Doc

 

HALLOWEEN SCIENCE ACTIVITIES

So many amazing Halloween science projects! Halloween and crazy science are a perfect fit for lots of fun and learning.

Gummy Mummies – Kids love this combination of Lego, History and Science! And who doesn’t enjoy mummies at Halloween?

Grow Your OwnScented Halloween Crystals. These decorations are extremely durable and fun to make. Exactly what we need to decorate for the big day.

Screaming Ghost Balloons – Creepy and fun activity! Explore sounds with this neat project.

Halloween Optical Illusions– Trick or treat? How about some tricks for your eyes with this illusion?

Spider Web Vibrations Science – Spiders are always popular at this time of year, so why not make a giant spider web and learn a bit about how spiders use vibrations?

 

 

---

HALLOWEEN ENGINEERING

Halloween Shooter Toys– A fantastic engineering challenge that is bound to be a huge hit.

Ghostly Engineering Structures – Challenge young architects and engineers to create amazing structures.

Pumpkin Catapult Made From Lego– Construct your very own catapult and pumpkin from Lego and launch them in this fun engineering challenge.

Creepy Crawly Spider Soap Making Project – This might not be a traditional engineering project, but creating these soaps is a must do as part of your Halloween plans!

CANDY & EDIBLE HALLOWEEN SCIENCE

Halloween and candy go together perfectly, so why not use some of that candy to teach a little Halloween Science?

Dive in deep with a unit study into the science of candy making. Kids love Candy Science because success in this lab is sweet!

Explore polymers and eat them too with this glow in the dark jelloactivity. Perfect for a Halloween party!

Dissolving Candy Pumpkins Science – There is always so much candy around at this time of year, use those sugary treats for learning!

Candy Pumpkin Engineering Challenge – Combine your engineering with some candy for a fun twist.

Pressed Sugar Scienceis a fun and easy activity that kids of all ages enjoy!

Halloween STEM Activities Candy Science Kit– Candy is a great addition to some science study with this innovative kit.

Layered Lollipops – A beautiful layered density experiment with candy that smells and looks amazing!

HALLOWEEN CODING, CIRCUITS AND TECH ACTIVITIES

Halloween Apps and Tech for a fun, educational, free and spooktacularly techy Halloween. I’m doing this right at the start of our Halloween countdown so they have all month to embrace the spooky tech.

Lisa Smalley’s plankers planking…

Coming soon to Arno…

Sept. 30 

PBIS Rewards

Reflections Contest Kickoff

Oct. 1

Fire Drill

Oct. 2

Student Count Day

Reading Log Reward Recess

10:30- K-2/ 1:30 3-5

Oct. 3

PTA Meeting 6:30

Oct. 4

Early Release 11:30

Oct. 7

No events

Oct. 8

BAS testing 5th grade

Oct. 9

3rd Grade to River Raisin

BAS testing 4th Grade

PBIS meeting 7:45

Oct. 10

Staff Meeting 7:50

Hearing Tests

BAS 3rd grade

Oct. 11

No events

Arno Vision

Arno Elementary will provide a system of support to empower

and inspire students to become collaborative learners

that strive for academic excellence

Fun Run Fun!!

ESL Service Information

From the PTA

It’s Fun Run time!!! Donations can still be submitted until October 4th so please please please keep sharing it on social media, through texts and emails! The Fun Run will be on September 27th and the schedule for when your child will be outside running will be sent home soon. 

The next PTA meeting will be held on October 3rd at 6:30 p.m. Spirit wear will be sold that night, come see our new designs and new colors! We hope to see you there! Bring grandma, auntie, daddy & uncles too! Don’t forget, you can still sign up for the PTA at all the meetings, events and online! 

Don’t forget that October 4th is a half day for your littles.

Membership drive is still in high gear, when you sign up to become a PTA member online you can also buy extra Western Stamps for your littles! 

Halloween skate party is coming up on October 24th from 6-8 p.m. Have your kiddos put on their costumes and come skate with us!!! There will be a Halloween costume contest too! 

Reflections kickoff is September 30th! The theme this year is Look within. Encourage your child to show their special talent in Art with the rest of the school! 

Last but definitely not least is our Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser on October 16th! Come visit and support Arno’s PTA! A portion of your meals profits come to our PTA to help out our amazing caring cougars!

We are excited to announce the return of the Playworks company to continue implementing their organized recess play program for all of our new lunch parapros.  Playworks reps worked with our parapros for four days that included lots of games and strategies to use on the playground, as well some of our teachers and their students also were treated to some lessons! We are up and running and ready to make recess even more fun!

https://www.playworks.org/michigan/

Arno Lunch Parapros pose for their Playworks Completion

Halloween Parade

Time to get those costumes on the kids and come on down to Arno on Oct. 31 at 10:00 for our annual Halloween Parade.  Our route will take us out of the 5th grade doors that morning, making a loop on the inside perimeter of the playground.  Please join us around the outside perimeter of the playground for the best seats.  It is a district PD day with an 11:30 dismissal that morning.

More Tech Time from Kevin Honeycutt

Storyjumper

https://www.storyjumper.com/

Tikatok

https://tikatok.com/

2019 off to a GREAT start!

Coming soon to Arno…

Sept. 16

Playworks program arrives to train Arno Lunch Para’s and Staff

Ad council 9:00

Sept. 17

Constitution Day- remember to document your activities

RESA Elem Prin group 8:15-10:15

Sept. 18

SIP Meeting 7:45

Sept. 19

Tornado Drill- 2:00

Sept. 20

No Events

Sept. 23

Band Rental Night 6:00

Journeys Training @Riley 8:30

9:30 Steve @Riley

Band Rental Night @Arno 6:00

Sept. 24

Fire Drill- lunch

Journey’s consultant at Arno 8:30-3:30 per schedule

Instructional Committee

Sept. 25

MTSS Meeting 7:45

Cub Scouts visit 12:00 K-4 in rooms

Sept. 26

Picture Day

Sept. 27

Reading Coaches @Riley for Journeys

Fun Run!

Get ready for some cider millin’

Arno Vision

Arno Elementary will provide a system of

support to empower

and inspire students to become

collaborative learners

that strive for academic excellence

Thinking outside of the snowglobe…

Great Message- Great opening!

What a great message we hear from Kevin Honeycutt to open our year on Hope and Excitement!  My feeling, in reflection of all the things Arno staff are willing to do outside of the box- that we are not in a “snowglobe” here, but we must be in the mindset of continuous improvement to keep in that direction.  I will be highlighting some of his resources he gave out in my blog for a while to help break the list down a bit for you.  I encourage you, just like Kevin, to try at least one– see what the difference is that you make.  Please share any success stories as I would love to include that in a future edition.

Tech Corner

Over the next few blogs, I’ll highlight some of the tech site Kevin Honeycutt left us as resources to try and break the list down a bit.  If you need any support with any of the sites- let me know.  Remember the ASK- just try one- why not??

LibriVox

This web site has an extensive catalog of people who have volunteered to read various print items.  You can both listen, and/or join as a volunteer to do some reading that will go in the archives of the site- Totally cool!

https://librivox.org/

Spoonflower

This is the website where you can upload student designs (or even your child’s)design and turn it into curtains, plates, dishes, etc.  What a great project- and this could be a good one to get a parent volunteer or 2 involved!

https://www.spoonflower.com

Hallways are Looking Awesome!

SUMMER READING LOG REWARD INFO

The reward for extra recess and popsicles will be on Oct. 2  K-2 will be at 10:30/3-5 will be at 1:30 for 30 minutes each.

From the PTA

Fun Run is coming up on September 27th! The link has been opened for registration of your student and Flyers have been sent home! You are all invited to come cheer on your Caring Cougar the day of the Fun Run! Times your student will be running will be posted in the next few weeks, so you can put it on your calendar! 

https://www.getmovinfundhub.com/register?school_uuid=5d2dde700a4c3&fbclid=IwAR0cz5lnK1dm-8yLO6JrS4LR93q6u3MFE1aCVgzdb_JCHo3wXTAy67u4Gv8

Spirit Wear will be sold at every Arno Elementary Event and PTA meeting with two brand new designs! The shirts have Minecraft and the  Unicorn designs! In grey for both designs or pink for the Unicorn design and green for Minecraft! Check out our Facebook page to see what they look like! We also have a select amount of last years designs available on sale for $5!

Reflections kickoff is September 30th! The theme this year is Look within. Encourage your child to show their special talent in Art with the rest of the school! 

We still need a chairperson for end of the year skate parties, Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser, and spring and Holiday fever. Thank you Nikki Adkins for Chairing the book fair and Jennifer Hook for chairing our Halloween and Valentines day skate parties. If you are available and want to Chair this event please let out PTA know either by email or through Facebook!!!

If you haven’t joined the PTA and would like to do so, you can sign up online at arnopta@memberhub.com/dues  and while your their add an extra western stamp or two for your Cougar! Help boost their class up for prizes!! The 1st place will get a pizza party and $100 dollars in book fair dollars to shop at the book fair! 2nd place will get a popcorn party and $50 in book fair money, 3rd place winners will get a rice krispy treat party and $25 in book fair money!!  Come join this amazing group of ladies and gents that run Arno’s PTA and help raise money for your child at the same time!

Constitution Day Resources

CONSTITUTION DAY CLASSROOM CELEBRATION KIT

Download our free, custom Constitution Day kits and get everything you need to celebrate in your classroom! Our “Constitutional Convention” video lesson makes a fantastic introduction to the unit.  You can print a poster-sized United States Constitution for your students to sign (or not) and have them make their own Preamble T-Shirts.  Then, have your class join students across the country as they take the Preamble Challenge.  You can tie everything together with one of our great lesson plans, and finally, have students download the Interactive Constitution App, so they’ll have a pocket Constitution handy all year long!

• Constitution Hall Pass Video: The Constitutional Convention
• Printable Poster
• Preamble T-Shirt Printout
• Preamble Challenge
• Interactive Constitution App

LESSON PLANS

• The Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights: An Interactive Constitution Lesson Plan
• The First Amendment Plan of Study
• The Interactive Constitution and the 2nd Amendment Lesson Plan
• The Interactive Constitution and the 4th Amendment Lesson Plan
• The Interactive Constitution and the 8th Amendment Lesson Plan
• To Sign or Not to Sign Lesson Plan
• Preamble Challenge Lesson Plan
• Founders Library-Think Like a Founder

ACTIVITIES AND OTHER RESOURCES

• Preamble Puzzle
• Tri-corner hat craft
• Which Founder Are You? Quiz
• Amendment Cootie Catchers
• Founding Fathers biographies

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Civics Renewal Network

The Civics Renewal Network is an alliance of 26 organizations committed to working together to increase the visibility of civics education. These organizations share the belief that understanding the Constitution plays a vital role in helping young people become responsible and engaged citizens.

iCivics

Meet your Constitution Day teaching needs with fun, engaging, and easy-to-use games and lesson plans from iCivics.

• Run your own firm of lawyers that focus on the Bill of Rights in the special edition of iCivics’ most popular game, Do I Have a Right?
• Explore the Constitution article by article; discovering the duties and powers of the three branches, the amendment process, and the role of this document as the supreme law of the land.
• Take a closer look at the debates over power in the young American system of government with this mini-lesson. Students discover the compromise between the Federalists and Anti-federalists that led to the creation of the Constitution.

General Resources

For some of the following activities, you might find it useful to have students look at the actual Constitution. Visit the National Archives at
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html.

Activities for Grades K–2
Working with their Learning Coaches, students color images of Founding Fathers as they learn more
about the founders’ impact on American history. The site also gives suggestions for writing prompts.
Find the coloring pages in the Lesson Handouts section of the Constitution Day Activities from Library of
Virginia at
http://edu.lva.virginia.gov/online_classroom/lesson_plans/constitution_day_activities:_elementary.
Working with their Learning Coaches, students learn about the fundamentals of the U.S. Constitution
and the basics of the government it established. Explore Learning Adventures: U.S. Constitution 1789
from the U.S. Government Publishing Office at https://bensguide.gpo.gov/. Click Apprentice and then
Historical Documents followed by U.S. Constitution: 1789 for information on the Constitution.

Playworks

The Playworks company will be at Arno for four days next week to work with aides and staff in implementing the program with fidelity.  Please see the schedule below for those staff who are participating in the training.  Since we have implemented the program, discipline has went down significantly during the lunch time recess periods.

Monday- 

• Playworks staff will start around 8:45 walking around to each room just to introduce themselves to all of the kids and staff
• PW will debrief with lunch staff around 10:45
• PW will be observing the playground for the duration of lunch
• PW will meet with all lunch staff from 2:00-3:00

Tuesday-

• Playworks is looking to partner with 2 classroom teacher for 30 minutes to teach games and have fun.  Please insert your name if you are interested 

• PW will debrief with lunch staff around 10:45
• PW will be observing the playground for the duration of lunch
• PW will meet with all lunch staff from 2:00-3:00
• All staff are invited to a mini Playworks training after school from 3:45-4:45- voluntary attendance.  Please consider attending this free opportunity. 

Wednesday-

• Playworks is looking to partner with 2 classroom teacher for 30 minutes to teach games and have fun.  Please insert your name if you are interested 

• PW will debrief with lunch staff around 10:45
• PW will be observing the playground for the duration of lunch
• PW will meet with all lunch staff from 2:00-3:00

Thursday-

• Playworks is looking to partner with 2 classroom teacher for 30 minutes to teach games and have fun.  Please insert your name if you are interested 

• PW will debrief with lunch staff around 10:45
• PW will be observing the playground for the duration of lunch
• PW will meet with all lunch staff from 2:00-3:00

Goals and the Reading Coach

This year, we are looking to make our coach, Beth, more involved in your teaching experience.  Beth has worked with Journeys now for two years and can be a tremendous asset as you go forward in your lessons.  As evaluations start this year, you are annually asked to create a person goal- the types of things you want to find out about or work on.  As such I have met with Beth and have come to the following:

-Every teaching staff member that is being evaluated will initially meet with Beth once you  establish your personal goal, and the types of resources, modeling, etc. that you may need during the year to make it happen.  This should take place by Oct. 18.

-During the month of Jan/Feb, please meet with Beth again to review where your goal is at and any additional things you may need.

-At the end of the year (May/June), you will wrap things up with your normal evaluation process with me and enter all of your results into your evaluation.

This will result in some meetings through the year with our coach to help make your personal goal more meaningful and should be very helpful.  Beth will be issuing a menu of sorts that will help detail a number of the things that you can take advantage of, but Beth will, of course, work with you on whatever your personal needs are at the time.

Once Beth knows your goals, she can be on the lookout for resources, etc that can help you build your knowledge base and instruction.

WELCOME BACK!

Coming soon to Arno…

Aug. 26

No events

Aug. 27

No events

Aug. 28

Medical Meetings

Aug. 29

Staff Welcome Back Lunch 11:45

New Family Tour 1:00

Aug 30

No events

Sept. 3

First Day of School– A.M. Only/Staff PD in P.M.

Sept. 4

Full Day

Sept. 5

PBIS Stations per schedule

PTA Meeting 6:30

Sept. 6

Fire Drill 10:00 a.m.

Sept. 9

No events

Sept. 10

No events

Sept. 11

No events

Sept. 12

Meet the Teacher Night

Sept. 13

ALICE Drill 10:00 a.m.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY WILL PROVIDE A SYSTEM OF SUPPORT TO EMPOWER

AND INSPIRE STUDENTS TO BECOME COLLABORATIVE LEARNERS

THAT STRIVE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

MEET THE NEW FOLKS…

STAFF CHANGES FOR 2019-2020

So many new changes and classroom changes for this school year.  Please help me welcome all of our new staff for the 2019-20 school year.

Erica Saville- School Social Work

Hello, Arno family! My name is Erica Saville and I’ll be your new School Social Worker! I got my MSW from the University of Michigan (go Blue!) and have worked in neighboring districts for the last 5 years. Outside of school, I love spending time with my own sweet daughter and husband, and traveling to visit my family. We are particularly fond of the National Parks, so look for my souvenir stickers in my office. I am so excited to be joining this team and can’t wait to get to know the Arno staff, students and families!

Lindsay Garza- 5th grade

Ciara Zuke- 5th grade

My name is Ciara Zuke. To fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a teacher, I attended the University of Michigan – Dearborn and received my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education in 2018. I student taught in Southgate, Michigan in a fourth-grade classroom. I plan on going back to school to obtain my Master’s Degree.

This year will be my very first year of teaching in my own classroom, and I am very excited to be teaching 5^th grade! I began my teaching career as a substitute teacher in Allen Park and Southgate and continued as a Title 1 Math and Reading Interventionist in Southgate. I have worked with students from Kindergarten through 5^th grade. I am also a lifelong Allen Park citizen! I attended Arno Elementary, Allen Park Middle School, and Allen Park High School and still currently live in Allen Park. I am very thankful to be starting my teaching career back at Arno!

Emilie Talamonti- 4th grade

Hello! My name is Emilie Talamonti and I am a new teacher at Arno Elementary this upcoming school year. I graduated from Michigan State University in 2013 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. In 2018, I obtained a Master’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University in Learning Disabilities. I have been teaching fourth grade for the past five school years. When I am not teaching, I enjoy cooking and being outside with my family. I am so excited to join the Arno team!

BIG Welcome back also to Cassie Harrison and Andrea Alvarez!

2019-20 Teaching Staff

Goals and the Reading Coach

This year, we are looking to make our coach, Beth, more involved in your teaching experience.  Beth has worked with Journeys now for two years and can be a tremendous asset as you go forward in your lessons.  As evaluations start this year, you are annually asked to create a person goal- the types of things you want to find out about or work on.  As such I have met with Beth and have come to the following:

-Every teaching staff member that is being evaluated will initially meet with Beth once you  establish your personal goal, and the types of resources, modeling, etc. that you may need during the year to make it happen.  This should take place by Oct. 18.

-During the month of Jan/Feb, please meet with Beth again to review where your goal is at and any additional things you may need.

-At the end of the year (May/June), you will wrap things up with your normal evaluation process with me and enter all of your results into your evaluation.

This will result in some meetings through the year with our coach to help make your personal goal more meaningful and should be very helpful.  Beth will be issuing a menu of sorts that will help detail a number of the things that you can take advantage of, but Beth will, of course, work with you on whatever your personal needs are at the time.

Once Beth knows your goals, she can be on the lookout for resources, etc that can help you build your knowledge base and instruction.

NEW FAMILY OPEN HOUSE

Thursday, August 29, is our New Family Open House at 1:00 p.m.  At this time, our new Cougar families will be coming to check out our wonderful school.  If you are around and are able to help guide our new families as they check out our building, I would really appreciate it.  In the past, families have loved spending a little time with our great staff and learning all about Arno!  Please let me know if you think you’ll be able to help out so I can plan accordingly!

FYI- Summer Reading from the parent blog:

Summer Book Swap

It was another great summer of swapping as we saw many students up here at Arno looking for new books- we are so PROUD of our Cougars ! Now that summer is over, we need to set up the return of the books so that we have good stock for next summer’s swap.  Please plan on sending in your child’s summer books by Friday, Sept. 6 to their teacher.  Returning the bag is optional, but if it’s in good shape- you may return that as well.  Ms. Stanley will need all summer reading logs as well as the students may have earned an extra recess and popsicle in early October.

PBIS Behavior Chart update for 2019-20

PBIS lower clip chart

PBIS Stations 

PBIS Beginning of the Year Stations and Follow-Up Activities

Thursday, September 5, 2019

2019_2020 PBIS Beginning of the Year Stations

There will be 10 minutes spent at each station which includes the discussion and travel time between stations.  You will rotate in sequential order.

Start Times and Station

8:45a–Trionfi (1), Talamonti (2), Johnson (3), Pushman (4), Watson (5)

9:35a–Warneck (1), Guyot (2), Kalis (3), Schultz (4), Martinchick (5)

10:25a–Garza (1), Zuke (2), Higgins (3), Cervantes (4), Amonette (5)

11:50a–Jensen (1), Haskin (2), Harrison (3), DiCarlo (4), Stanley (5)

**Presenters, please note that the 11:50a rotation are all littles.  Please shorten your presentation to short attention spans, highlighting the big ideas.  Thank you for making this accommodation!**

1.Office Expectations

Staff: Kim Dowd or Cathy Anderson

Location: office

2. Assembly and Bullying Expectations

Staff: NEED STAFF

Location:  Gym

3. Bus Expectations

Staff: Steve Zielinski

Location: bus located in parking area

4. Cafeteria Expectations

Staff: Lunch STAFF

Location: Cafeteria

5. Hallway Expectations

Staff: Michele Sbonek

Location: hallway outside of Media Center/Computer Lab

Follow-Up Activities

(If needed, use for hallway displays for Meet the Teacher Night)

~Posters for the hallway

~Individual positive messages

~Write about it in your journal

~Review classroom matrix and expectations

~Draw a picture of when you were kind/somebody was kind to you

~Watch a PBIS video clip 

2017/2018 Stations video

RESA PBIS website–“Videos” dropdown on the page

REMIND

Please be sure that you have been added to my Remind account for any emergency contact needed.  Please enter 81010 and text this message @arnostaff to join our Remind group

GROUPME

Please remember to make sure I either have your cell phone number, or an updated cell phone number to enter you into Groupme.  This is the service I can use in an emergency that will allow staff to communicate back and forth should it be necessary (different capabilities than Remind)

FLIPPED STAFF MEETING

Please be sure that you view the flipped staff meeting so you are prepared with any questions during the F2F staff meeting on Sept. 4

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DATES

This year, the district calendar reflects 7 half-days of teacher PD plus 1 Full day that is required by the state.  Those half-day PD dates feature no school in the afternoon, 11:30 dismissal.  The dates for this school year are as follows:

10/4, 10/31. 11/26, 12/13, 1/20 (Full Day), 2/14, 3/6, & 3/27

Digital Resources to Kick-Start the year

English / Language Arts

To install one of the tools listed below, visit the Chrome Webstore and search for it by name. 

Math

To install one of the tools listed below, visit the Chrome Webstore and search for it by name. 

Congratulations to all of our retiring Cougars!!

Coming soon to Arno…

June 3

Field Day per schedule

June 4

Field Day per schedule

Steve to RESA

3rd Grade to Greenfield Village

June 5

Kindergarten to the Zoo

NWEA Top 10 reader picnic

June 6

No events

June 7

Warneck to AP Library

Mrs. Pushman and the Grads

June 10

2nd Grade Picnic

Mentor Celebration

PBIS Reward

Board Meeting

Ad Council 9:00

ICC 4:00

June 11

Super Cougar Celebration

EARLY Dismissal 11:30

June 12

Kindergarten Picnic

5th GRADE Graduation 9:00

EARLY Dismissal 11:30

June 13

Early Dismiss  11:30

Last Day of CLASSES!

June 14

Last day for Teachers

**Office closes on June 21.  We will reopen on August 19

Can you believe it?  It is June already and we are officially wrapping up for the year.  This has been a tremendous year- I have never been a witness to a staff working so hard and students who really started to adopt “Do my best”!   What we have done with our M-STEP scores is unbelievable- a total of 20% growth across the 3 grades!  Fantastic! Incredible!  We are faced with many challenges over the days- but when we look down from the top- it was really an incredible year!  I look forward once again to the privilege of collaborating with you, working together for the achievement of all our kids- whatever it takes!  Cheers!!

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

Please remember to complete you grade activities for this school year in the lounge.  This must be finished before you leave for summer. Also please remember to record your writing scores, which should be be one for each trimester

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ychxDna4ODdXUxn6DEi9riEtrskx-lf3

PD LOG

Please log your PD in your MOECS account to be sure that your certification stays current!   Please remember that you must print and sign your PD log as part of your final evaluation process.  That can be done as soon as you have finished entering it!  Stay tuned!

SUPPLIES

If you have special requests for supplies, please get them to Cathy by Friday, June 14

NO BACKPACKS PLEASE…

Please note that students may continue to carry backpacks through Monday, June 10.  They will no longer be allowed for the next 3 half days leading up to the last day.

Journey’s PD in Sept. 

Reps from Journeys will be here the week of Sept. 23- more details to come, but here is a glance:

• Sept. 23- training for all new staff
• Sept 24- in building at Arno with floats
• Sept. 25- in building at Bennie with floats
• Sept. 26- in building at Lind. with floats
• Sept. 27- Literacy coaches training

Music to read by…

Some New Beginnings

Some people would say that change is good.  In some cases they would be right,, but not in this case.  This year we must say goodbye to three of our MVP’s of Arno- Sandy Bennett, Dr. Barb Chuby, and Jenny Dalton.  The mark they have left on us, and the tremendous impact on kids that they have had is immeasurable.  They are truly the professionals that put kids first everyday, but have also been tremendous supporters of our staff.  We wish them well in their retirement as they begin anew, waiting for their next big adventure.  They will always be an Arno Cougar- We will miss you!!!

Sandy Bennett

Mrs. Bennett is an Arno veteran and our social worker , while also splitting her time with Bennie Elementary. Sandy has a way with kids.  She can get on their level, she knows every strategy to get them to feel comfort, calmness, and safety.  The students and staff have trust in her, and confidence that she helps the students in extraordinary ways that they can focus on their schoolwork.  Sandy has also been pivotal in Arno’s implementation and maintenance of our building PBIS program, as well as proving a mentor program for our 5th grade to mentor younger students.  Her dedication to her profession shines through every time she enters our building.  You will be missed Sandy!

Dr. Barb Chuby

Dr. Chuby is also an Arno veteran and has been our number one At-Risk teacher.  She coordinates a staff that have the charge of moving up all of our students that may be struggling, along side our teachers.  Barb is at the top of her game- the movement in scores that we have seen this year is incomparable.  Like Mrs. Bennett, she too has developed those key relationships with kids and staff that develop trust.  She inspires them to have a positive mind-set- motivating them to learn, which includes her tireless help in building our new M-STEP programming and motivational vocab videos.  She is an integral part to our success and you will be missed Dr Chuby!

Jenny Dalton

Mrs. Dalton has been a fixture here at Arno and Bennie for a long time.  As we all know, gym is one the student’s favorites- and Mrs. Dalton certainly is the main reason for that.  She is skillful at giving the kids an immersive experience when they play new games, and even bring guests out like she did this for her bowling unit.  In the age of video games, gym is such an important subject to help motivate kids to get exercise and play games on their own- Jenny has done a great job of that, inspiring so many to put the devices down and get outside and play!  We will miss Mrs. Dalton and your motivational lessons!

We also say goodbye to two of our 5th Grade Teaching Veterans

At a recent district meeting, Mrs. Hool and Mr. Creutz accepted new positions at Allen Park Middle School in Science and English Language Arts.

Melissa Hool

Just as the aforementioned staff, their contributions will be missed!  Mrs. Hool was instrumental every year in her efforts for 5th grade camp.  She tirelessly worked on fundraising with families to help pay down the cost of camp so that more students could participate.  She also ran one of our great March events- Bingo for Books.   What a better prize for a student to receive than a book, and Melissa made sure the entire event was enjoyable and fun for our families! We will wish her all the luck in science at APMS- We will miss you Mrs. Hool!

Todd Creutz

Mr. Creutz will be joining the Language Arts department at APMS in the fall.  He has been a great mentor for kids and worked very closely with our ESL language students to give them the very best experience in learning.  Todd also did a great job with our Arno Broadcast team and worked with the students who put together a successful broadcast program for the students and staff throughout the year. We will miss you Todd!

Other changes for the fall 2019

• Mrs. Wesley will be moving to the reading specialists role at Arno

• Mrs. Smalley will be moving into physical education

• Mrs. Kalis will be moving to third grade

• Ms. Johnson will be moving to 4th grade

• Mrs. Harrison will be returning and placed in kindergarten

Congrats to the Class of 2019 APHS!!  Today’s Senior Walk at Arno

End of Year Checklist

Please be sure to check out with me or Cathy with your checklist verified completed

End of the Year Checklist 2019-x3j6ht

Mrs. Smalley poses with her Top 10

NWEA Celebration Assembly

We kicked off another celebration of our students who have worked so very hard to meet their goals on the NWEA.  This time around, all students who met their goal or achieved grade level on their NWEA will receive an extended recess.  We also have a Top 10 reading scores per grade, and a “Biggest Jump” category for those who saw the biggest jump in score from Sept. to May.  All Top 10 and Big jump kids will be attending a pizza picnic at Boccabella park on June 5- those students have a note and permission slip to take home.   It was so great to see all of the smiles and the M-STEP charm necklaces, which were very filled up to end our testing season!

Congratulations!

Mrs. Wesley

Mrs. Warneck

Mrs. Guyot

Mrs. Smalley

Mrs. Kalis

Mr. Trionfi

Mrs. Hool

Ms. Higgins

Mr. Creutz

Top 10 

Biggest Jump

Arno Therapy Dog Program at the Board

Your fellow Cougars took to the main stage last night at the Board Meeting.  They were showcasing one of the many wonderful programs we do at Arno- the Reading Therapy Dogs in Mrs. Warneck’s, Mrs. Jensen’s, Mrs. Bleau’s, and Mrs. Haskin’s classrooms.  The dogs were a hit as well as the great job our little Cougars did (Ariana, Luke, Matthew and Gwen),  Thank you for all you do to make special moments like this happen!  So Proud!

PBIS Beginning of the Year Stations and Follow-Up Activities

Thursday, September 5, 2019

There will be 10 minutes spent at each station which includes the discussion and travel time between stations.  You will rotate in sequential order.

Start Times and Station

8:45a–Trionfi (1), new 4th grade (2), Johnson (3), Pushman (4), Watson (5)

9:35a–Warneck (1), Guyot (2), Kalis (3), Schultz (4), Martinchick (5)

10:25a–new 5th grade (1), new 5th grade (2), Higgins (3), Cervantes (4), Amonette (5)

11:50a–Jensen (1), Haskin (2), Harrison (3), DiCarlo (4), Stanley (5)

Follow-Up Activities

(If needed, use for hallway displays for Meet the Teacher Night)

~Posters for the hallway

~Individual positive messages

~Write about it in your journal

~Review classroom matrix and expectations

~Draw a picture of when you were kind/somebody was kind to you

~Watch a PBIS video clip

2017/2018 Stations video

RESA PBIS website–“Videos” dropdown on the page

Tech Corner

Math fact practice for chrome
 MathBoard Addition

MathBoard Addition is appropriate for all ages from kindergarten to elementary school where learning math can be a challenge. You can control the range of numbers you want to work with, the number of questions you want to answer and even assign a time limit per quiz.

8- Monster Math Flash Card

Monster Math Flash Cards for kids is a fun way for kids to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication with an array of cute animated monsters. With the Monster Math Flash Cards app, you can choose from a range of numbers, which is great for kids who are having trouble with certain math facts. Each card contains an animated monster that will entertain kids while they practice their math facts

7 Practical Tips to Achieve a Positive Mindset

                            M-STEP snacks, $200, T-Shirts, $8.00—                              M-STEP Conquered, PRICELESS

Coming soon to Arno…

May 20

No events

May 21

3rd Grade BAS

5th Grade Parent Orientation at APMS 6:30

May 22

MTSS 7:45

2nd Grade BAS

5th Grade IEPs

May 23

1st Grade BAS

May 24

No events

May 27

Memorial Day– No School

May 28

5th Grade Health Lessons

DATA Dive

K BAS

May 29

5th Grade Health Lessons

NWEA rewards assembly

5th Grade IEPs

APHS Senior Walk

May 30

DATA Dive

SB Retirement Party

May 31

PBIS Reward Clubs

Report Card Window Opens

Arno Vision

Arno Elementary will provide a

system of support to empower

and inspire students to become

collaborative learners

that strive for academic excellence-

Thank you PTA

On behalf of the entire Arno staff I want to thank you for all of the good food and yummy treats throughout this Teacher Appreciation Week!  Your thoughtfulness really matters to our staff and they are feeling VERY appreciated this week!  Everyone knows it’s a lot of work and coordination to prepare such a wide variety of snacks and meals, gathering all of the volunteers, getting donations, and putting that extra special touch to show how much the staff is valued.

Thank you Again

Mr. Zielinski and the Entire Arno Staff

T-SHIRT Redesign

PTA is in search of new t-shirt designs for next year. .   Please send all ideas to arnopta@gmail.com.

M-STEP is wrapped up

Although the scores will not be out for a few months, I can tell you that the effort our kids put into the test year was like no other year I’ve seen it.  There were posters, cards for our M-STEPers from the younger grades, clapouts, and kids even writing themselves a personal message of encouragement on scrap paper before they started the test- it was AMAZING.  We may not know all of the scores right now, but we do our kids are the BEST and gave their personal BEST and it is all attributable to our hard working, dedicated staff! Cheers to you!!

Kindergarten Roundup Wrap up

The classrooms and gym were packed for our annual Kindergarten Roundup!  We had over 60 families attend the evening event and got to meet many of our new families that their future kindergartners.  This was big increase in our numbers over last year!  Thank you to Nickie, Cristina, Megan, Jeanine, Alyse, Sandy Bove, Amanda Madrigal, and Kelly Danson for all their help!

New Skating Party Announced

The PTA will be holding an end of the year skating party at LP Skating Party FREE admission- you can either bring skates or rent.  Thanks to Patty Messer for winning this free party for Arno!

June 18 from 6:00-8:00

5th Grade Band Rocks the House!

Thank you to Mr. Skebo and all of our talented Band students!

Congrats to Wyatt Douglass and Hannah Booher for their Band Awards!

Congrats to our 4th and 5th Grade

What a beautiful spring concert this past Wednesday as we enjoyed any songs from our 4th and 5th graders at the APAC.  Kudos to Tracy and Jeff for letting our students shine through song!

Tech Corner

All the apps/extensions you could ever want for Chrome

Chrome App List