Update #4 - October 11, 2021
Upcoming Dates of Interest
Monday, October 11, 2021 - Two Hour Early Dismissal (No school for Head Start and PreK - Parent Conference Day)
Friday, October 15, 2021 - Two Hours Early Dismissal (No school for Head Start and PreK - Professional Responsibilities/Collaborative Planning)
Friday, October 29, 2021 - Two Hours Early Dismissal (No school for Head Start and PreK - Professional Responsibilities/End of Marking Period 1)
Mentoring Impacted by Quarantine
A few mentors and mentees have reached out in recent weeks to ask about what happens when either of them is out for extended quarantine. The following is the guidance we have shared with each. If you have specific concerns, please contact Heather Husk at hlhusk@smcps.org.
If a mentee is out for quarantining, that is outside of your control. For your weekly logs, indicate that the mentee was absent due to COVID in the "other" section of the interactions. If you happen to communicate via email, phone, or Google Meets, please indicate that. However, it is not required if they are sick and not able to actively participate. If you are helping to take care of things for them in the building, indicate that in your log as well.
If a mentor is out for quarantining, reach out to your mentor team and have them support your mentees. They would log the time and interactions. This will not impact your EPED stipend. This is beyond your control and you can also choose to check in with your mentees via phone, email, and Google Meets if you are well enough. When you return, please support your mentor team members as you can through walkthrough coverage, planning an upcoming mentor team meeting, etc.
Want to Walkthrough?
This is a new segment of the Mentor Update to highlight the practice of walkthroughs for new teachers. It will include tips, ideas, and general information about the practice of walkthroughs. Our hope is that each mentee will be an active participant in a walkthrough experience each marking period.
There is a great deal of value in seeing someone else teach. Pre-service interns spend so much time in the classrooms of master teachers watching and learning. There is also a great deal of value in having a trusted colleague watch a teacher in their classroom. The walkthrough process - a discussion before to set the purpose, visiting the classroom instruction, and a discussion after to reflect and plan - allows teachers to consider their practice.
Take a moment to read this excerpt from Todd Whitaker's book, What Great Teachers Do Differently which highlights the benefits of observing another teacher.
Mentor Log Reminder
Please remember to submit your mentor logs each week. Logs are reviewed each month and the first installment of your mentor stipend is based on the completion of logs including August, September, and October. As of Friday, you should have logs submitted for the weeks of (Mondays) August 23 and 30, September 6, 13, 20, and 27, and October 4. You should receive an email response with each log submission to confirm that you have completed your weekly logs.
Unity Day - Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Wear and share orange to show that we are together against bullying, and united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
Make it ORANGE and make it end! What are your true colors when it comes to showing that you believe that all youth should be safe from bullying? Come together in one giant ORANGE message of hope and support, WEAR AND SHARE ORANGE to color our nation, and even the world, visibly showing that our society believes that no child should ever experience bullying.
“ORANGE provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity,” said Paula Goldberg, Executive Director of PACER Center. “Whether it’s hundreds of individuals at a school wearing ORANGE, store owners offering ORANGE products, or a community changing a landmark to ORANGE, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the supportive, universal message that bullying is never acceptable behavior.”
~ pacer.org/bullying
October Topics for Mentoring
Elementary Classrooms
Short Range Planning
How are daily and weekly planning working?
Are you able to access and use the content sites to guide instruction?
Differentiated Learning
How have you been able to use differentiated groups in the classroom?
How have you been able to differentiate assignments?
How do you plan to implement learning centers? Are you able to do so? What are some ideas?
Parent Conferences
Be sure that you know where and when the conference occurs. Who schedules the conferences? Who needs to attend?
Consider why the conference is being held prior to the day. Who initiated it? What is the purpose - academic, behavior concerns, etc?
Tips:
Always start with a positive comment and avoid following it with "but . . ."
Make sure that you have updated data when the conference occurs
Have student work samples to illustrate concerns or show growth
Always end the conference summarizing the next steps for you, the student, and the parent
SLO/TPAS/Observation
Have you reviewed the TPAS evaluation rubric?
Have you accessed Perform to submit your SLO?
Have you reviewed your SLO with a peer?
Walkthroughs
Did you participate in a walkthrough this marking period?
Was there a pre and post walkthrough conversation?
Did you determine a focus for the walkthrough?
Secondary Classrooms
Planning
How are daily and weekly planning working?
Are you able to access and use the content sites to guide instruction?
Have you considered the student workload?
Have you reviewed your Schoology Gradebook for Process, Product, and assignment distribution?
Parent Conferences
Be sure that you know where and when the conference occurs. Who schedules the conferences? Who needs to attend?
Consider why the conference is being held prior to the day. Who initiated it? What is the purpose - academic, behavior concerns, etc?
Tips:
Always start with a positive comment and avoid following it with "but . . ."
Make sure that you have updated the grading in Schoology when the conference occurs
Have student work samples to illustrate concerns or show growth
Always end the conference summarizing the next steps for you, the student, and the parent
Report Cards
Marking Period 1 ends on October 29th
Do you know the process for submitting grades?
SLO/TPAS/Observation
Have you reviewed the TPAS evaluation rubric?
Have you accessed Perform to submit your SLO?
Have you reviewed your SLO with a peer?
Walkthroughs
Did you participate in a walkthrough this marking period?
Was there a pre and post walkthrough conversation?
Did you determine a focus for the walkthrough?
Articles of Interest
Mentoring: A Solid Foundation for a Mentoring Relationship by Amie Weinberg, Edutopia
Building Relationships: Bringing More Empathy into Your Classroom by Katelyn Oellerich, MiddleWeb
Classroom Management: How Novice and Expert Teachers Approach Classroom Management Differently by Youki Terada, Edutopia
Free Resource: Access to Daily Learning Activities from Discovery Education for SY2021-2022
Includes tips for preparing for parent conferences and details about the October 6, 2021 New Teacher Seminar.
2021-2022 Schoology Mentor Group
In addition to the information on the SMCPS Induction Website, mentor resources will be posted in the 2021-2022 Mentor Schoology Group.
The 2020-2021 Mentor Schoology Group will be archived, but all mentors will need to join the 2021-2022 group to access the updated resources.
Schoology Group Access Code: 7HKS-8KVG-2R7B9
