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What do Teachers Do in the Summer?

In Michigan, state law dictates that public schools begin the day after Labor Day and end approximately 182 learning days later.  This typically means that school ends the second or third week of June.

From the last day of school through Labor Day, students are busy enjoying the best weather and activities that West Michigan has to offer.  What are the teachers doing during their summer breaks?

This summer, Georgetown teachers were busy doing the following:

  • Graduate Studies:  Additional course work to further their understanding of how to better prepare all children to succeed as learners (expenses paid for by the teacher)
  • Special coursework in writing studies
  • Specialty coursework in social studies
  • Specialty coursework in behavior management
  • Non-credit workshops (personally covered by teachers rather than the district) in writing, reading, math and learning disability studies
  • Book study reading preparation for our professional development work this coming year.
  • Curriculum writing and development for instruction in the coming year.
As a staff group, we began the year by focusing on ways to improve our instruction of math, reading and writing grades PK-5.   Our foundational book for this work was Focus:  Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning by Mike Schmoker.   This text helped us to identify the best of what we were currently utilizing and refine practices that would benefit all learners.
Last week, we spent four days working together on how to focus on essential learning practices for our students–it was energizing and exciting.  The staff at Georgetown is truly an amazing group of people, teachers and learners!  We are ready for the new school year to begin!
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The Week Ahead: March 7-10, 2011

The upcoming week will be four days of school for students and five days for teachers.  Friday, March 11 is a Professional Development day that provides teachers with an opportunity to attend classes to learn strategies to improve instruction.

Many thanks to everyone who attend Parent/Teacher Conferences last week.  As a school, we had an attendance rating of 99% and those who could not attend are conferencing with the teachers by phone or via email.  Collectively, as a staff, we feel incredibly fortunate to work with your children each day.  Thank you for all you to do help us to learn how to advance your child intellectually, socially and emotionally each year.

I want to offer up a HUGE THANK YOU to the parents who provided us with a just perfect soup bar for dinner the first night of conferences.  The teachers are with their students all day long and begin conferences 45 minutes after the students depart for the day.  The soup and desserts were a real treat for all of us.  Much of the conversation at dinner revolved around this topic:  WE HAVE THE BEST PTC IN THE WORLD!

The snapshot of the week ahead is below.   Our PTC meeting is this week Thursday at 10am in the Media Center.  (Two of our meetings per year are in the morning….a request that has been made by parents who cannot make evening meetings.)   Please note that our Superintendent, Mr. Nick Ceglarek, will be the keynote speaker.  He will be sharing information about the upcoming bond vote (May 3) and the district’s long term strategic plan.  PLEASE COME IF YOU CAN!

Have a great week.

Mrs. Reagan

BLog week 25