Upcoming Events
Monday, 1/12 Student Coalition, 11:30-12:30
Tuesday, 1/13 NTB Qualifier Test, 7:15 a.m.
Wednesday, 1/14
Thursday, 1/15 SDMC Meeting, 3:30
Friday, 1/16
Monday, 1/19 MLK Holiday
Tuesday, 1/20
Wednesday, 1/21
Thursday, 1/22
Friday 1/23 Staff Appreciation Luncheon
Wednesday, 1/28 Early Dismissal, 12:30
The Power of "Yet"
I often find interesting ideas through my TED app. Are you familiar with TED Talks? TED is a set of global conferences run by the Sapling Foundation, a private non-profit group, tagged with the slogan "Ideas Worth Spreading". These talks are recorded and available at www.ted.com or through the TED App for mobile devices.
Today I noticed a new talk recorded in December by Carol Dweck, a widely known Psychologist and researcher out of Stanford University. She is a personal favorite on how our mindset shapes our success and our future. Her newest talk discusses the power of framing our challenges with "yet". Instead of facing challenging tasks with an outcome of success or failure, focusing on the influence of effort and persistence, we can frame our thinking with a new set of outcomes and recognize that we may not have met the challenge yet, but with hard work and persistence we can.
I invite you to learn more by watching the short talk, or learn more by reading her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
School Funding, Part III
Magnet Funding
Prior to the 2013-14 school year, Magnet funding was assigned to schools when programs were first approved. Roberts Elementary received $350,000 each school year to maintain our Fine Arts Magnet Program. Last year the District approved a theme-based funding formula to ensure equity between programs.
Elementary Fine Arts Magnet Programs, under the new funding system, will receive $350.00 per magnet student, plus the cost of a magnet coordinator. At Roberts, all students are part of our magnet program, whether they are zoned students, or attend on a magnet transfer. Because of our increase in enrollment, our funding would remain near the $350,000.
As we have discussed before, the increase in zoned enrollment has limited our ability to accept non-zoned students on magnet transfers. Our non-zoned enrollment has dropped under the 20% threshold, resulting in a "probation" status for our magnet program. If we cannot meet the 20% threshold during the 2015-16 school year our magnet budget will be decreased by 50% for the 2016-17 school year and then eliminated for the 2017-18 school year.
As our zoned enrollment increases, we will be able to make up for most of the funding loss if our Magnet Program is cut, but there may be a need for additional fundraising to maintain some of the "extras" around campus.
Name That Book, 3-5 Qualifier Test
If your child has been reading the books on the Name That Book, 3-5 list, and are interested in trying out for the competitive team, the qualifier test is this week. There will be no late admission. Children must arrive before 7:15 a.m. We will test in room 101, across from reception. Students with this highest 6 scores will be chosen for the team, with the next highest scoring student to serve as the alternate.
Monday, 1/12 Student Coalition, 11:30-12:30
Tuesday, 1/13 NTB Qualifier Test, 7:15 a.m.
Wednesday, 1/14
Thursday, 1/15 SDMC Meeting, 3:30
Friday, 1/16
Monday, 1/19 MLK Holiday
Tuesday, 1/20
Wednesday, 1/21
Thursday, 1/22
Friday 1/23 Staff Appreciation Luncheon
Wednesday, 1/28 Early Dismissal, 12:30
The Power of "Yet"
I often find interesting ideas through my TED app. Are you familiar with TED Talks? TED is a set of global conferences run by the Sapling Foundation, a private non-profit group, tagged with the slogan "Ideas Worth Spreading". These talks are recorded and available at www.ted.com or through the TED App for mobile devices.
Today I noticed a new talk recorded in December by Carol Dweck, a widely known Psychologist and researcher out of Stanford University. She is a personal favorite on how our mindset shapes our success and our future. Her newest talk discusses the power of framing our challenges with "yet". Instead of facing challenging tasks with an outcome of success or failure, focusing on the influence of effort and persistence, we can frame our thinking with a new set of outcomes and recognize that we may not have met the challenge yet, but with hard work and persistence we can.
I invite you to learn more by watching the short talk, or learn more by reading her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
School Funding, Part III
Magnet Funding
Prior to the 2013-14 school year, Magnet funding was assigned to schools when programs were first approved. Roberts Elementary received $350,000 each school year to maintain our Fine Arts Magnet Program. Last year the District approved a theme-based funding formula to ensure equity between programs.
Elementary Fine Arts Magnet Programs, under the new funding system, will receive $350.00 per magnet student, plus the cost of a magnet coordinator. At Roberts, all students are part of our magnet program, whether they are zoned students, or attend on a magnet transfer. Because of our increase in enrollment, our funding would remain near the $350,000.
As we have discussed before, the increase in zoned enrollment has limited our ability to accept non-zoned students on magnet transfers. Our non-zoned enrollment has dropped under the 20% threshold, resulting in a "probation" status for our magnet program. If we cannot meet the 20% threshold during the 2015-16 school year our magnet budget will be decreased by 50% for the 2016-17 school year and then eliminated for the 2017-18 school year.
As our zoned enrollment increases, we will be able to make up for most of the funding loss if our Magnet Program is cut, but there may be a need for additional fundraising to maintain some of the "extras" around campus.
Name That Book, 3-5 Qualifier Test
If your child has been reading the books on the Name That Book, 3-5 list, and are interested in trying out for the competitive team, the qualifier test is this week. There will be no late admission. Children must arrive before 7:15 a.m. We will test in room 101, across from reception. Students with this highest 6 scores will be chosen for the team, with the next highest scoring student to serve as the alternate.
Spotlight on IB:
What are Key Concepts?
excerpt from Making the PYP Happen
Central to the philosophy of the PYP is the principle that purposeful, structured inquiry is a powerful vehicle for learning that promotes meaning and understanding, and challenges students to engage with significant ideas. Hence in the PYP there is also a commitment to a concept-driven curriculum as a means of supporting that inquiry.
Which concepts were chosen and why?
A set of eight concepts was drawn up, each of which, it is felt, is of major importance in the design of a transdisciplinary curriculum. These concepts are:
- form - the understanding that everything has a form with recognizable features that can be observed, identified, described and categorized.
- function - the understanding that everything has a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can be investigated.
- causation - the understanding that things do not just happen, that there are causal relationships at work, and that actions have consequences.
- change - the understanding that change is the process of movement from one state to another. It is universal and inevitable.
- connection - the understanding that we live in a world of interacting systems in which actions of any individual element affect others.
- perspective - the understanding that knowledge is moderated by perspectives; different perspectives lead to different interpretations, understandings and findings; perspectives may be individual, group, cultural or disciplinary.
- responsibility - the understanding that people make choices based on their understandings, and the actions they take as a result do make a difference.
- reflection - the understanding that there are different ways of knowing, and that it is important to reflect on our conclusions, to consider our methods of reasoning, and the quality and the reliability of the evidence we have considered.
At Roberts, students are encouraged to consider all concept levels when developing questions to help guide their learning. Often times, when we are asking questions about new ideas or information we are focused on questions of form or function. It is important we encourage learners to consider other concepts such as change, connections, perspective and responsibility.
Ask your child about some of their questions from their classroom Wonder Wall for the current Unit of Inquiry. Are they developing questions other than those falling in form or function?
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