Week Two is Through!
Week two flew.
I decided to drive over to Whitefish this weekend. My roommate in Cut Bank has pneumonia and I thought she would like to have the weekend to herself to recover. So, I write as I'm cozied up by the fire in my home away from home.
I consider today to have had three wins:
On Tuesday, I attended a meeting with the other 2nd grade teachers and listened as they discussed their results from Star Math, a computer program designed to assess individual students' math skills in order to guide teachers in their instructional planning. The results were puzzling. The students were broken down into groups by their score: Green - At or above Benchmark, Blue - On Watch, Yellow - Intervention, and Red - Urgent Intervention. The majority of the students were in the Red and although I only work with Ms. Grant's math group, several of our students scored much lower than I would've guessed just from observing them in class. The teachers hypothesized that the low scores were due to the students inability to read the questions on the test and found out that they are allowed to read the questions to the students as they take the test. I spent the past two days re-testing our students who were in the "Red" and ALL students improved! The majority jumped from Red to Green - yes, the lowest group to the highest. Only one student remained in the Red but did move from Early Numeracy to Grade One which is a step-up within the category.
It is no secret that many of the students in 2nd grade at Browning Elementary struggle with reading (more on that later) but I was thrilled that I was able to use my time in the classroom to help the students re-take their Star Math test providing scores that aligned with what's happening in Ms. Grant's classroom. Win #1!
Win #2: I received confirmation that my passport and China Visa are safe and sound in my P.O. Box!
Passing tests is fun! Today, I took my first ever drug test. Apparently, drug testing is mandatory in Browning's school district, a fact I wasn't aware of until two days ago. It was awkward. I passed, of course. The man administering the test was awesome. We talked about bowling and he suggested I join the league in Cut Bank! You never know where you'll meet a new friend. Win #3.
I decided to drive over to Whitefish this weekend. My roommate in Cut Bank has pneumonia and I thought she would like to have the weekend to herself to recover. So, I write as I'm cozied up by the fire in my home away from home.
I consider today to have had three wins:
On Tuesday, I attended a meeting with the other 2nd grade teachers and listened as they discussed their results from Star Math, a computer program designed to assess individual students' math skills in order to guide teachers in their instructional planning. The results were puzzling. The students were broken down into groups by their score: Green - At or above Benchmark, Blue - On Watch, Yellow - Intervention, and Red - Urgent Intervention. The majority of the students were in the Red and although I only work with Ms. Grant's math group, several of our students scored much lower than I would've guessed just from observing them in class. The teachers hypothesized that the low scores were due to the students inability to read the questions on the test and found out that they are allowed to read the questions to the students as they take the test. I spent the past two days re-testing our students who were in the "Red" and ALL students improved! The majority jumped from Red to Green - yes, the lowest group to the highest. Only one student remained in the Red but did move from Early Numeracy to Grade One which is a step-up within the category.
It is no secret that many of the students in 2nd grade at Browning Elementary struggle with reading (more on that later) but I was thrilled that I was able to use my time in the classroom to help the students re-take their Star Math test providing scores that aligned with what's happening in Ms. Grant's classroom. Win #1!
Win #2: I received confirmation that my passport and China Visa are safe and sound in my P.O. Box!
Passing tests is fun! Today, I took my first ever drug test. Apparently, drug testing is mandatory in Browning's school district, a fact I wasn't aware of until two days ago. It was awkward. I passed, of course. The man administering the test was awesome. We talked about bowling and he suggested I join the league in Cut Bank! You never know where you'll meet a new friend. Win #3.
Sunset at Lake McDonald
I've probably taken over 100 photos of Lake McDonald but this one may be my favorite. I stopped into The Montana House on my way over to Whitefish and it sounds like I can have my summer job back! I'll take that as an extra win! It will be nice to return from China with a job waiting and this setting for my lunch break.
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