11.30

     

Hi All, 

I hope that your travels, stays or miniations allowed you to reset and feel ready to tackle the next three weeks! As a reminder, Rowan is having her tonsils and adenoids taken out tomorrow so I will be out of the building and largely offline tomorrow. I will be available via phone and email Tuesday and Thursday. I know the timing is terrible, I appreciate your understanding. 

Observations from the Field 

• I saw positive recognitions and classes celebrating in style around the building 
• I heard productive problem solving and student focused thinking 
• I saw engaged colleagues working together 
• I felt a deep level of care and support for all of our families in supporting Turkey Boxes and their delivery 
• I saw and heard laughter and care amongst colleagues 

News and Announcements 

• This Wednesday we will host a WCUUSD Board Meeting at BES. The board has asked the Administrative team to show a budget in which we meet the financial goals of the district and remain in our 5 school model. This looks like over 2 million in cuts district wide. I've been working on what that would look like for our school, we can talk more about this at staff meeting on Wednesday. 
• Here is the Agenda for the Board Meeting 
• Community Connections will be running afterschool activities M, T, Th. They are "ramping up" to 5 days a week in the new year. They will be utilizing a "club model" that was successful for us during the beginning of the school year. 
• Kevin Marlier (kmarlier@u32.org) will be running afterschool. Please make sure to say hi if you haven't already. 
• Book Club: Due to the staff holiday breakfast, Berlin Book Club for staff will be on Tuesday, December 16th from 8:15 am to 8:45 am in the library! We are reading a book with a yellow cover to share with colleagues. I hope to see you there and happy reading!
• Lunch Bunch: From 11:40-12:40 on Thursday 
• New playground equipment: 10 Spin 
• Here's the link to the webpagehttps://www.miracle-recreation.com/product/ten-spin-2/ 
• 10 students are allowed on it at once. 5 standing, 5 sitting. 
• Winter Recess:
• Winter Recess Rules
• I have also attached a visual for winter gear. This appears to be something that you all have used in the past and is inline with what I remember our agreements to be from last year. If I'm wrong, please let me know! 
• Essentially boots and coats are required from here on out. If kids want to play in the snow (sled, forts, use equipment) they need ski pants, hats and gloves. 
• 

• Here is the plan for the week regarding our professional meetings

Week of December 1st-5th 2025 Staff Meeting----3:15-4:45 Nuts and Bolts Games and Connection (Math Night) Budget  Gifts for Giving   Required December Comprehensive Assessments:	K-6: UDL 3
	Allied Arts: No Meeting

• Here is this week's Marshall Memo. I found an interesting read that relates to our learning around Writing: 4. Using Student Talk to Scaffold Student Writing

•             In this article in English Journal, Meghan Dougherty Kuehnle (University of Notre Dame), Amanda White (a high-school ELA teacher in Columbus, Ohio), and George Newell (Ohio State University) describe how White shifted from the formulaic five-paragraph essay and began to use student talk to stimulate and support argumentative writing. Here’s how she orchestrated that in one writing unit:

              • Speed debate – In small groups, students quickly debate and reach consensus on a series of questions:

  -   “Bests” – Fruit, type of food, pet, social media platform, actor/actress, musician, season);

  -   “This or that” – Country or city? Early or late bedtime? Drive or fly? Time travel to the future or the past? Texting or calling? Online or in-person school?

  -   “Would you rather…?” Go viral for something embarrassing or stay unknown for something you’re proud of? Be really rich but hate your job or have an average salary and love your job? Lie to protect someone you love or tell the truth and risk hurting them? 

  -   “Big questions” – Should schools eliminate standardized tests? Should the driving age be raised to 18? Is it acceptable to use social media to publicly shame someone for their behavior? Should we eliminate censorship in books, movies, and other media?

  • Silent debate – Students pair up on a question (for example, Is it okay for social media platforms to ban people?), sit back-to-back, write claims and counterclaims on a piece of paper and pass it back and forth without speaking. “Silent debate,” say Kuehnle, White, and Newall, “asks students to progress from engaging in argumentative moves through talk to doing so in writing, a barrier that is often difficult for students to cross.” 

  • Student-teacher conferences – As students start writing their argumentative essays, White circulates and checks in with students individually, affirming, encouraging, questioning, and making suggestions for revision. 

  “By explicitly framing writing as social,” conclude the authors, “teachers can make otherwise daunting genres more accessible and relevant to students, reducing the barrier to engagement and making writing more meaningful to students inside and outside the classroom.” 

   

  “From Talk to Text: Leveraging Dialogue to Cultivate Argumentation” by Meghan Dougherty Kuehnle, Amanda White, and George Newell in English Journal, September 2025 (Vol. 115, #1, pp. 62-70); the authors are at mdoughe4@nd.edu, awhite1@columbus.k12.oh.us, and newell.george4@gmail.com. 

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What's Happening at BES? 

Monday 12/1
Tuesday 12/2
Wednesday 12/3	K-6 Teacher PD 8:20-9:20   Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Art Room
Thursday  12/4	All School Meeting 2:55-3:25 **Students will sit in the bleachers
Friday 12/5	Team Meetings  3-6 Behavior/Attendance K-2 Academic

Where is Celia?

Monday 12/1	**Celia Out
Tuesday 12/2	**Celia Out
Wednesday 12/3	Teacher PD 8:20-9:20  WCLT: Nuts and Bolts 1:00-2:00  Staff Meeting: 3:10-4:45  Board Meeting 6:15
Thursday  12/4	**Celia Out  PTNA Meeting 6:00-7:30 at BES
Friday 12/5	Team Meetings