3 P's of Communication

Positive, Proactive, and Periodic Communication

The Keys to Our Success

Especially at this time of year, when emotions run high and exhaustion has set in, it's important to remember that communication is key, and that how we say things is just as important as what we say. The following guidelines for communicating will help you focus on the how and ensure that you finish out the year successfully!

Remain Positive

•  Always consider your tone, particularly when responding to a request that has put you on the defensive.  Take a moment to collect your thoughts before you prepare a response.  Talk through what you would like to say with someone else for feedback.
• Always respond with a proper greeting. In email, be sure to start with "Dear ________," and close with "Sincerely," "Respectfully," or another positive closing.
• Assure parents that you are available and willing to discuss their concerns.
• Consider how exclamation points, capital letters, and emails written in red may be perceived.

Hopewell's Languapalooza Winners and Sponsors

Be Proactive

• The time to share concerns about a student is when the problem first arises. Don't wait until a parent reaches out to you!  Imagine emailing your child's teacher about a low grade on a test only to be told that the problem is your child's behavior, and it's been a problem for 3 months!
• Establish a relationship with your parents early on. That way, if and when there is an issue, the first contact you make isn't a negative one.

Hopewell's Technology Fair Winners

Communicate Periodically

• Check-in with your families occasionally. Send a reminder about an upcoming project or activity, share enrichment opportunities, stay in contact!
• Share good news about students, particularly when a struggling student experiences success. What a breath of fresh air that would be for him/her!

2012 Employee of the Year Nominees



Professional Learning Communities - Introduction

As we continue to focus on improvement of teaching and learning at our school, we will begin the work of developing "Professional Learning Communities." PLCs at Hopewell will primarily be structured by content, so that in department and grade-level content teams we can examine our practice through collaborative planning, examining student work, analyzing data, and peer-to-peer feedback.  The following are the "big ideas" at the core of PLCs*:

#1 - Ensuring that students learn
As a professional learning community, the team considers:

What do we want each student to learn?

How will we know when each student has learned it?

How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

#2 - A culture of collaboration
The powerful collaboration that characterizes professional learning communities is a systematic process in which teachers work together to analyze and improve their classroom practice. Teachers work in teams, engaging in an ongoing cycle of questions that promote deep team learning. This process, in turn, leads to higher levels of student achievement.

#3 - A focus on results
PLCs judge their effectiveness based on results. Every teacher team participates in an ongoing process of identifying the current level of student achievement, establishing a goal to improve the current level, working together to achieve that goal, and providing periodic evidence of progress.

Working collaboratively provides the opportunity for us to share ideas and learn from each other.

*Dufour, Richard,

Educational Leadership

May 2004 | Volume 61 | Number 8
Schools as Learning Communities Pages 6-11
What Is a "Professional Learning Community"?

Reflecting and Preparing

Happy Holidays! It's the end of our very first semester together, and wow, we have so much to celebrate! Thank you everyone for your hard work, support, and dedication. Congratulations to our first game ball recipients, Donna Fallis, Britt Beene, Lisa Johnson, Denise Theriault, Meredith Tongue, Anne Prodgers, and Al Nellons!  I hope you all enjoyed the morning fellowship as much as I did.  I'm looking forward to our monthly gatherings because the sole purpose is to connect with you and celebrate YOU!

The TAG Department is all smiles, but saying goodbye to Lori wasn't easy!

Our dedicated cafeteria staff...looking good ladies!

What's Ahead in 2012?

• Committees, committees, and more: Discipline, Mission & Vison, School Beautification, and Data Team will all be meeting in January. It's not too late to get involved!
• Instructional focus: Walkthroughs will be conducted monthly and targets will be set and monitored. (The summary presentation is available in the Step 2 Achieve folder on the shared drive). As a reminder, our targets for January are:
• Essential questions posted
• Learning expectations/standards communicated
• Higher order thinking questions and/or activities observed
• Timely feedback given to students
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): We will begin developing an understanding of PLCs through our monthly department meetings. They will look and feel different. 
• Student recognition: We are looking to celebrate and recognize our students in new and creative ways. Have a suggestion? Please share!

Go Team!

We're too good not to be GREAT!

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

-Henry Ford

Healthy Food for Thought

As you know, we recently partnered with Core Physique to establish a student-led Health and Wellness Committee here at Hopewell.  The 4 student ambassadors, selected through an essay contest, have been charged with leading the development of programs that educate, encourage, and support health and wellness.

The 2011-2012 Health and Wellness Student Ambassadors,
pictured with Dr. Patterson and Kolleen Riddick of Core Physique

Their very first event, "Hopewell Lives Well," is a nutrition and wellness fair set for Thursday, December 8th, from 4:30-6.  We will be partnering with various organizations to sponsor massage chairs, healthy eating booths, door prizes, blood pressure screenings, you name it!  The guest speaker is a certified nutritionist that will offer tips and advice for developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The kick-off for the event will be our first faculty/student competition of the year! We will host a faculty/student volleyball game right after school.  Teams of faculty and students will play against each other, and student participation will be limited to 8th grade.  Details have not yet been finalized, so please see me if you are interested in coordinating the game.

This exciting event has the potential to be a huge success, and I love to see every Hopewell staff person there!  Feel free to bring your family and friends as well!

Classroom Observations and Instructional Walkthroughs

What does an athlete, a student, a teacher, an administrator, and just about any other category of worker have in common? They all rely on feedback to improve their practice! 

While the administrative team will continue to conduct informal and formal observations, a larger team, including teachers and staff, will conduct classroom walkthroughs.  What is the difference?  They are all designed to give feedback, but the walkthrough, conducted by a larger group, is designed to provide feedback about the school's overall instructional practices, not an individual teacher.  On November 15th, our first round of classroom walkthroughs will be conducted.  Here is a link to the form that will be used to collect data: https://employees.fultonschools.org/Instruction/Documents/Instruction%20Learning%20Walk%20Template%202011-12.docx

Janet Dauenhauer gives "feedback" on volleyball serve techniques in her PE class.

Please remember that observations are not about "gotcha" moments.  The sole purpose is to provide feedback for improvement, not judgment.  Think of it this way: You're too good not to be great!

New Principal Woes...

Every time I think I have it all figured out, I run into Keri, Meredith, Minna, or Kelli and realize I've got some work to do!!! I thought it might be fun to share this struggle with you and offer a challenge....

Kelli Torkelson, 6th Grade, Science

Mina Wallace, 7th Grade, Language Arts

Meredith Tongue, 7th Grade, Social Studies

Reach out to one of them AND one other person you don't know...introduce yourself, share something about yourself, learn something about that person, and post it here!  No cheating!

Sharpen the Saw - Teacher Workday

Monday, October 17th is our first and only workday this semester. With such limited time to work, plan, and collaborate, it's incredibly important for us to use this time wisely and seek ways to get the most "bang for our buck," meaning when we come together, although this is "work," it doesn't have to feel like it.  I hope you have this experience on Monday. After we come together briefly in the morning, I hope you will take advantage of the opportunities for you to take of yourself physically (free massage and allergy testing, teeth whitening) as well as connect with your colleagues.  Consider the following from Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:

Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have--you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Here are some examples of activities:

Physical:	Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting
Social/Emotional:	Making social and meaningful connections with others
Mental:	Learning, reading, writing, and teaching
Spiritual:	Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or service

As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a pretty picture, is it?

Consider writing a "Thank-You" to our PTA volunteers for donating the delicious treats! 

What a spread!