Susan Brandt's blog

The Library Review Committee met on Wednesday, October 8th.  Our first task was to develop a Mission Statement that would communicate the importance of the library in a school setting.  Our first draft was completed, we will continue to refine it at our next meeting.  We also talked about the Information Literacy standards for all students K-8.  We decided to work within four topic areas: (1) Access Information, (2) Evaluate Information, (3) Apply Information, and (4) Share Knowledge.  Specific grade level standards will be worked on at our next meeting.

Members of our committee wil be attending the Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA) Conference on November 6-7 and site visits are planned to visit school libraries that have been recommended as exemplary.  Information from these events will be shared at our next meeting. 

Kindergarten teachers met on October 1 to review their quarter one report card standards and determine common assessments for each standard.  We also discussed the possibility of assessing kindergarten students in the spring of the year, prior to making class grouping decisions.

The grade 4 team met to review their report card and standards.  This meeting concentrated on Literacy: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening.  We reviewed the State Standards in each of these areas and checked for alignment with our current standards.  We also reviewed the Key Vocabulary for literacy.

Some revisions and updates were suggested and will be incorporated in the fall of 2009.

The grade 3 team met to review their report card and standards.  This meeting concentrated on Literacy: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening.  We reviewed the State Standards in each of these areas and checked for alignment with our current standards.  We also reviewed the Key Vocabulary for literacy.

Some revisions and updates were suggested and will be incorporated in the fall of 2009. 

On September 19th our 5th graders and 8th graders had an opportunity to watch history come alive!

The Wapiti Trading Company is a group of Living Historians, or re-enactors. The group is made up of people from all walks of life that share a passion for history. They cover the time period from the beginning of the French and Indian War, sometimes called the Seven Years War, to the end of the Eighteenth Century. They are committed to educating people about this era, the people who lived it, their skills, their backgrounds and livelihoods and interactions with each other.

Students rotated in small groups to visit each of our actors.  They were able to ask questions about the time period and  be a part of that time in history.

These types of activities are important for getting our students excited about learning! 

The Library Review Committee will begin with representation by the library specialist from each building, Jerry Michel, and myself. Classroom teachers will be added to our discussion groups later in the year.

Kara Thorstenson, Kelly Tokarski, Geri Murray, Jerry Michel, and myself used the first meeting to plan out our program review. Our tasks for this year will be: (1) develop grade level Literacy Information Standards for each grade level K-8, (2) review and update our information access at each building, and (3) update and revise our policies and procedures for program administration.

Our next meeting will be on October 8th. We will be revising and updating the mission statement for our library program in District 74 and begin to develop the Information Literacy Standards for all grade levels K-8.

Kindergarten through grade 2 teachers worked all last year on revising and updating their grade level learning standards and key vocabulary in all content areas. The standards are complete and are being communicated through a booklet format for ease of use for parents and teachers.

Grade Level Learning Standards are directly aligned with the Report Card. The booklet indicates the quarter the standard wil be assessed and when it will appear on the Report Card. This new communication method will assist parents in knowing specifically what the learning expectations are and what their child's grades are based on.

The Grade Level booklets are attached.

The Review Cycles for curriculum and programs were approved by the Board of Education in the fall of 2007.  Some revisions were made this year to align with the current District inititatives. 

The focus for our curriculum review this year wll be K-8 Science.  We will be reviewing student data to determine strengths and areas in need of improvement in our current curriculum. Grade Level Learning Standards will be updated and teaching materials reviewed.

The focus for our program review will be our Library Programs in all of our buildings.  We will be developing  information literacy standards for students K-8, we will be reviewing and updating information access in our programs and be refining the program administration policies and procedures. 

I will use my BLOG to update you on the progress of each of these comittees.  

The Gifted Committee met on Wednesday, May 14 to review the matrix scores for all students who qualified for the second round of assessment.  Decisions were made on placement in the Accelerated Math classes, the Advanced Reading and LA classes, and the Gifted Pull-out classes.  Parents will be notified of placement decisions prior to the end of the school year.