Hello Friends,

As we have come to an end of another year, I want to say that I have enjoyed my first year as academic coach at Gilbert Elementary School. I have worked with a group of wonderful teachers who go above and beyond the call of duty to meet the needs of all students. It has been an honor to work with such a dedicated staff. Today, we finished our book study on Debbie Diller's Math Stations book. We learned about so many great activities to use with small groups in math. My goal this summer is to set up eight tubs according to the stations in Debbie's book. I want to have games and activities made for teachers to use when they are on that particular unit in math. These will be housed in our new Huddle Room. I am so excited about our new work place. We will have room to post data on the wall so we can see where we are at the beginning of the year and where we need to go. Also, our Thinking Maps team watched 2 videos as they are preparing to implement the maps for the coming year. I hope you all have a safe and happy summer.

Karen :)

Debbie Diller Book Study

We are on chapters 5 & 6 of our Debbie Diller book study. Gilbert teachers are applying what they are learning right into their classrooms. I have heard so many teachers talk about the stations they are implementing and how they are able to differentiate for their students. The new book by Debbie Diller is now available. The math team will begin the book study on math stations very soon.

My Weekend Rewind

Hello Friends,

I hope this weekend finds you healthy and happy! We had a great learning week at Gilbert Elementary School. This past week in Huddles we discussed academic vocabulary. Implementing an academic vocabulary program will help students develop the background knowledge they need to succeed in school. Our main focus was on the six steps of teaching vocabulary terms described in Marzano and Pickering's Building Academic Vocabulary Teacher's Manual. In a few weeks, the teachers will take time during Huddles to play games that will help increase students' vocabulary knowledge. During Huddles next week, the teachers will discuss goal setting in the classroom. I hope everyone has a blessed week!

Your friend,

Mrs. Neal

Hi Friends,

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I will be attending meetings most all week, so I will definitely miss being at school. If you need anything, just send me an email. I will get back to you as quick as I can. If you didn't get the conference forms that I sent you, let me know. We will cover academic vocabulary in Huddles after Fall Break. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fall Break!

Mrs. Neal:)

Growing, Learning, and Implementing

Hi Friends,

I hope you are having a great week! I want to take a few minutes and rewind to last week. Time goes by so fast! I enjoyed meeting with every team during Huddles last week. We discussed our data notebooks, Destination Reading & Math, and discussed how to use the Navigator materials at certain grade levels for math interventions. We had some really great discussions and sharing opportunities. We learned so much by bouncing ideas off of each other. D.R.A. data is due. Please put your data sheets in the D.R.A. folder in front of my desk or my box. September Progress Monitoring data is due on October 1st. I will not be here on that day, so please put it in my box or the September Progress Monitoring folder in front of my desk.

We have some exciting activities going on at Gilbert this week. Grandparent's Day is Thursday. I know that many boys and girls are excited about their grandparents coming to school! I hope you all have a great week. We have eleven more days until Fall Break!

Your friend,

Mrs. Neal:)

Using Data Daily

Hi Friends,

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Our week at Gilbert was very full of learning experiences. Last Thursday, we met in Huddles to discuss R.T.I. updates with Ms. Marshall. I also met with my friend Marty Hegwood on Friday to learn about Key Math. This program will help identify struggling learners in math and offer intervention activities to promote success in the areas of difficulty. This Thursday we will prepare data notebooks in each grade level. By using our data to drive our instruction, we will insure that each learner is getting what he/she needs. I will also give an overview of Navigator Math to help teachers use as an intervention tool in the classroom. If you have any questions, feel free to come by and see me in the Huddle Room.

Have a super week!

Mrs. Neal

Welcome September!

Hi Friends,

I don't know about you, but I am loving this weather! The color of the sky lately has been mesmerizing! As I was at my dad's house today, I glanced at his front porch. From the time I was little, I was a decorator; not a professional or maybe not even tasteful, but a decorator none the less. Every fall my parents allowed me to decorate their front porch. My dad would buy me at least two hay bales, and my mom would get together some old clothes for me to conjure up a scarecrow or two. I would rake leaves to fill up Mr. and Mrs. Scarecrow, only to be raking hours later because I loved jumping into my mountainous piles. Let's not forget the pumpkin. I would tell my dad about the design I wanted for this year's jack-o-lantern, and he would do the carving. Even though I'm grown now, I still like to decorate my front porch. Sometimes I even recruit a few Neal boys to help with the decorating. If you have never been much of a front porch decorator, start a new tradition with your family this year. I promise you will enjoy it, and you will make some memories that will last a lifetime.

Last week we discussed integration stations. Stations are a great way of reinforcing the standards in each grade level. It provides time for students to practice what they are learning. When planning stations, keep the end result in mind. What do I want my students to learn from this station? What do I want reinforced? Stations also allow time for students to get away from their desks/tables. The management for station activity can vary from five days a week to one day a week. Remember to start small. Give yourself and your students time to get accustomed to this new activity in the classroom. Check out books in the Huddle Room by Debbie Diller to help you get started.

I hope everyone has a super week. Let me know if you need anything.

Your friend,

Karen:)