Welcome to the 2014 – 2015 school year!!! We are off to a great
start! The staff and I are eager to set our learning plan into motion.
Our mission is simple – Every Student learns Every Day. We believe
that, we plan for that, and we work hard to be sure it happens every
day.
So what’s going on right now at Defer?
• Last Thursday, Sept. 4th was our Back-to-School Night. It was a
great opportunity for parent to learn about their child’s learning
program, get a feel for the culture of Defer, and learn about our
parent organization, the Defer PTO. If you were unable to attend
please contact your child’s teacher. They’ll be glad to fill you in.
• This year the Defer staff will be implementing four aspects of
the Leader in Meprogram in all classrooms. Leader in Meis
a program based on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Adults. The four habits we are piloting include: learning the
7 Habits, reading the The 7 Habits of Happy Children book in
all classrooms, having students set goals and track their own
data toward that goal all year in a data binder, and finally set a
grade-level goal. These grade-level goals, called WIGS – Wildly
Important Goal,will be posted in the main hallway and progress toward those goals will be charted throughout the year.
Building relationships – Teachers are getting to know your child.
That’s really what’s going on right now at Defer. They are planning activities that help them get to know each child as an individual. One of our PBIS procedures in Morning Meet and Greet.
Your child’s teacher meets every student at their door each morning and engages them in a morning welcome. From a simple,
How are you today to What happened last night in your soccer game- The Defer staff is busy engaging students in conversation. The goal is to build a relationship, a relationship that is the
stepping stone for our students to learn, even when it is difficult,
because they know their teacher cares.
Establishing routines – Part of being ready to learn means that you feel safe. Knowing what the routines are in classrooms builds that safe environment for learning. Where do I put completed homework? How do I fill my book bin and where do I keep it? What time is Gym and when day is Art?
What nights do I have math homework? Right now the Defer staff is teaching students the routines
of the school year.
