I know there are others for whom the Monday Memo is a chore, one more email to read, and an unnecessary gesture. After all, everyone can take a look at the calendar to find out what's happening this week.
The Monday Memo, however, is more than a calendar, it's a short text that sets the weekly course and inspires the team.
Or, it could be an ongoing document, the kind I use with my class--I encourage students to check in daily to see if there's new news as well as to review the week's focus for home study, enrichment and more.
So on this rainy Monday in March, the week when most ELA MCAS tests are complete, and a week just three weeks before April break, what would the message be.
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| A picture from your own school would be best. |
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
James Baldwin (1924-1987); Author
This week's big idea:Invigorating learning perseverance, self direction, and attention to learning goals and objectives. Encouraging students' knowledge and action demonstrating the understanding that they are in the "driver's seat of their education."
Next, the nuts and bolts--the week's agenda (I've included our team focus here):
- Fractions, fractions, and more fractions.
- Endangered Species: close reading, vocabulary, and informational posters.
- Professional Learning: RETELL writing focus, bridging the achievement gap tips, introduction to new tech, and field studies prep.
- eBooks and Reading focus: class book, story board, using ebooks, fluency practice.
The Monday Memo doesn't have to be long, but it does need to be focused on the inspiration, targets, and the important details related to the week ahead.
I believe that the Monday Memo is one way to build team--do you agree?
