Gator Run Friday Focus - February 26, 2016

I mentioned this at our Faculty Focus yesterday but I want to address this again here for everyone.  I don't place a lot of emphasis on FSA results or any data we collect in isolation.  Too much is made of how our students perform on one standardized test, which minimizes so much of what we do on a regular basis.  We need to change the conversation in education to include the great work we do each day.  This week reminded me of what is more important.   Cyndi looked through our FSA results and found out that this is how we ranked out of all elementary schools in Broward:

7th in ELA; 6th in Math; and 10th in Science.  While this is awesome and should be celebrated, there is a much better way to judge our school and what we are doing.  Our visitors from Gulliver Prep in Miami were completely blown away by everything that they saw.  The compliment they gave us strengthened my belief that we are on the right path.  They told Cyndi and I that it was great to see a school that was doing what they hope to be.  Wow!  Coming from a school like Gulliver, that's amazing.  They want to send another group to visit us soon.  Kudos to all of you for creating the type of environment where students feel loved, respected and eager to learn each day!

Next Week at a Glance:

• FSA Writing for 4th and 5th grade is on Tuesday.
• PLCs are scheduled for Thursday at 2:15.

Quote of the Week:

Bad things happen:

- Every day.

- To everyone.

The difference is in how people deal with it.  

Gator Run Friday Focus - February 19, 2016

FSA scores were released last week.  We are an "A" school once again.  Here are our results:

Please know that school grades were calculated without learning gains, which will be included for this year.  Cyndi is going to briefly present how gains will be calculated at next Thursday's Faculty Focus.  

Next Week at a Glance:

• Book fair continues until Wednesday.
• We are hosting a Math Night with Mathnasium next Wednesday from 6 - 8 PM.  Hope you can join us!
• Next Thursday is an Early Release Day.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Book Buddies and STEM activities.  We are excited to host a group of teachers from Gulliver Elementary in Miami that day.  They are very interested in seeing what our STEM Day looks like.  
• We have a Faculty Focus on Thursday afternoon.  More information to come but there will be food!
• Next Saturday, February 27th isThe City of Weston's Movie in the Park.  Join us at Weston Regional Park at 7:30 PM for Minions!

Article of the Week:  Cool article on how to launch Genius Hour projects with the world - Launch Genius Hour

Quote of the Week: Thanks to Carron Newcomer for sharing this one!

Gator Run Friday Focus - February 12, 2016

This has been an very difficult week here at Gator Run but we are a strong school with a lot of love.  Thank you to all of you for making our school such a special place where students feel welcomed and loved each and every day.  Thinking along those lines, I want to encourage you to take part in a social media campaign that began last year.  Last February, educators began sharing their stories and sharing their love of teaching through the #LoveTeaching hashtag.  Over five million people interacted with the campaign through the #LoveTeaching hashtag on Twitter.  It reached across four continents.

During the week of Valentine's Day, from February 14th to the 22nd, tap into why you #LoveTeaching.  Write a blog post, compose a tweet, post a picture, take a video.  Use the hashtag #LoveTeaching and also #BrowardK12 so that we can easily follow fellow Broward educators.  This is a great way to share your story, become inspired, and make connections.  We need to show the world why we love what we do.  

Next Week at a Glance:

• No school on Monday.
• Our next SAC meeting is Wednesday at 2:20 in the Media Center. 
• Book Fair Night is Wednesday from 5:30 - 7:30 PM.  Hope to see you there!
• PLCs are scheduled for Thursday at 2:20. 

Quote of the Week: "Trying times are not the times to stop trying." - Ray Owen