November 11 PD

Announcements

Ms. Nagle: Jamba tickets are in boxes
Field Trip with Communities in Schools to the Vet's Holiday celebration Saturday from 11:00 - 3:00.
Mr. Watson: alcohol has been found on campus. Please be vigilant about tagging and confiscate any tag books or tags written in class.

We then broke into departments for CFA Analysis and then met back in the Parent Center to review data and analyze how we can better meet the needs of our EL students.

Meghan went over a circle square triangle reflection method.

Circle: new ideas will stick AROUND a while.

Square: knowledge that SQUARES with what you already know.

Triangle: POINTS will stick with you

We then looked at data showing how wide-reaching our EL population really is. We then looked at our EL rosters to identify who our IFEP, RFEP and LEP students, reclassification dates, CELDT scores, EL levels and program.

We then had a snowball fight with our circle, square, triangle, STAR (she added that curve in at the last minute). It was good times.

PD on Nov. 15, 2011

Okay, so here we are in the Parent Center for our meeting.

Ms. Jones started with a debrief of our Emergency Drill. She distributed several documents and reviewed several of the concerns. She reminded us that if there is an emergency during a break or passing period students are to report to their ET teacher locations.

Then Nurse Claire addressed safety plans for both school and home. Things to keep in mind: water, food, medication and flashlights. She reviewed procedures for search and rescue and reminded us we might be here for up to 72 hours. Debate ensued.

Mr. Perez then passed out a paper about emergency preparations and went over it FOREVER...

Mr. Watson let us know that we will do drills monthly for "protection" or lock down, fire drill and earthquake.

There is hope for a music program because of a donation through the foundation.

Mr. Watson reminded teacher to turn in textbook check-out documentation.

We then broke out into departments to briefly check-in on CFAs. Bring student work on Step-Up to possibly focus on expository of a six sentence paragraph. Topic is up to the teacher.

PD on Nov. 1, 2011

Today we met in the Parent Center... kind of a change of pace.

UTLA announcements: West Area Meeting tomorrow, our site meeting is on Thursday, during lunch. There were a few additional announcements and if you have discussion points, please bring them to the meeting Thursday.

Mr. Watson then introduced himself and gave some initial impressions of Emerson. In discussions with students, they are generally happy being here. From parents, it is a unique situation. "You have a school that the community gave up on and now they want their school back." He believes we can be an 800 API school... He's noticed a nice rapport amongst teachers and students, so we can move them and he is trying to figure out how to balance parents wants and teachers' abilities to do their work. He'd love for teachers to fill out the survey so he has an idea of what we want Emerson to be and how we can get on the same page and move in the same direction. Please be candid as names are optional. He has concerns about certain numbers (attendance rates, AYP, API) and he has to be concerned with those, but he also wants to see the relationships in our classrooms and high levels of thinking from our students. Department chairs

We then moved into department meetings. English discussed SPA due dates for narrative. Lily presented her argument for making the SPA consumable and then shared her SPA analysis.

These are the novels we've taught:
Barbeau:
7th Bound, I Juan de Pareja,
8th The Outsiders 8th,  The Cay,
Plans on: Call of the Wild, Shakespeare Stealers, Tangerine, Enrique's Journey

Greaney: 7th: I, Juan de Pareja, 8th, The Outsiders

Nakada: 6th The Misfits, 8th The Outsiders, 6th Mythology, 8th Three Cups, 6th Tuck Everlasting, 8th The Glory Field, 6th Esperanza Rising, 8th Midsummer Nights Dream

Cruz: 6th: Julie of the Wolves, Tuck Everlasting, IHP Julie of the Wolves, The Misfits
7th: The Outsiders, Johnny Tremain

Fraser: 6th: Julie of the Wolves but needs 80 copies, Esperanza Rising, maybe The Misfits?

Parker: 8th The Outsiders, The Glory Field, Anne Frank, for advanced ESL: Esperanza Rising and The Outsiders

Berman: 7th The Lightning Theif, I, Juan de Pareja, Shakespeare Stealer

We will meet for our next meeting in Mary's in 127.

The end.