{Week of September 21-25}
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| Set a goal for your class ~ Help them collect pledges/money to make this one great fundraiser! |
Monday, September 21: Lunch: Chicken Nuggets
- Happy Birthday Katie Wright!
- 1st Grade begins Reading Groups
- District Wellness Committee Mtg (Jeffries, Brown?) 3:30?
Tuesday, September 22: Lunch ~ Nachos
- Happy Birthday Traci Stanley!
- American Fidelity Reps in the Staff Room all day ~ Sign up for a 10 minute slot in Staff room!
- 5th Grade Team Meeting 8:00-10:00 / 2nd Grade Math Assessment Time 10:00-3:00 (Subs to cover)
- Hulbert's Class Walking Field Trip to Ridley's (9:45-11:15)
- Val @ Bimonthly Admin. Team Mtg (9:00-12:30)
- Building Math Team Mtg (3:00-3:30) in Conference Room (Standar, Hulbert, Crawford, Aronson, Baldrica, Blackman)
Wednesday, September 23: Lunch ~ Hamburgers
- Lamm's Class Walking Field Trip to Ridley's (9:45-11:15)
Thursday, September 24: Lunch ~ Pizza
- Doane's Class Walking Field Trip to Ridley's (9:45-11:15)
Friday, September 25: Lunch ~ Deli or PB&J Sandwich
- Pay Day $$ Whoop! Whoop!
- 3rd Grade Specials Time - 9:15-10:00 for today only
- Tortoise & the Hare 'Walk/Jog-a-thon' PTA Fundraiser Event @ PLMS Track (leave the classroom at your set time / walk to track...walk/run for 20 minutes and return to class). It helps to ask kids what pledges and goals they have and to cheer them on or participate! Volunteers were to sign up on Volunteer Spot via PTA website.
- 8:30-9:00 3rd Grade
- 9:00-9:30 4th Grade
- 9:30-10:00 Kindergarten
- 10:00-10:30 5th Grade
- 10:30-11:00 1st Grade
- 11:00-11:30 2nd Grade
- 12:00-12:30 RTI Team Mtg (Jepsen, Blackman)
- 12:30-1:00 Team Mtg (Aronson, Anderegg, Jensen, Berg) - Wright cover Aronson
- 1:00-1:30 Student Mtg. (Standar, Andergg, Jensen, Berg) - Wright cover Standar
- Homecoming "Vandal" Spirit Day and/or our regular School Spirit Day
- Homecoming Parade outside - start to head outside about 1:45 {tentative time}
{OTHER NOTES from the DUGOUT}
Performance Goals/Self Assessment (Certified Staff Only): Due in October - your 3 Performance Goals and your beginning of the year SELF ASSESSMENT. Both forms are in your Staff Binder under tab 5. I failed to tell you I'd like everyone to complete a SELF ASSESSMENT so I know where you see yourself on a day-to-day basis. I will set up a 15 minute pre-conference with everyone as I receive your goals and your self assessment.
Cold Morning Options: We had our first Building Advisory Team Meeting. Consensus was to not use certified staff before 8:00. Currently, we have 4 options we'd give kids once we begin 'cold morning options'. If you have more, let the Advisory team members know. No start date determined yet. Hopefully October-April.
- Outside Play (1 'duty')
- Cafe for Breakfast (1 'duty')
- Walking in the Gym (1 'duty')
- Study/Homework Tables in Cafe (1 'duty')
- and possibly a board game room - thinking of keeping all kids contained downstairs and to one are...maybe empty Kinder room, hallway, bleachers, or music room?
Calendar Contest for any students K-8 - directions/template will be by the mailboxes to copy if your'e interested. Sponsored by Idaho School Boards Association. Due to the office by October 1st.
Tech. Program Update: Programs we have paid/plan to renew for the year until we have more data:
- Typing Pal (Grades 2-5) - should be ready to go
- Education City (Grades 1-3) - should be ready to go
- Think Through Math (Grades 3-5) - FREE - see Evonne if you need directions to set it up
- Alexandria (Library Check Out program)
- Xtra Math (Free - all grades)
- Brain Pop Jr - pd. by Tech. Committee
- Wonders (all grades) - ready to use
- Great Body Shop (all grades) - ready to use
- Waterford (Web based) - we have 120 district licenses. This is enough for Kinder, 1st, and ERR kids if you want to use it - Honey would be a good 'go to' to get you set up
Lunch/Recess Time Adjusting: Thank you for bringing classrooms to the cafe on time and for picking up students on time. Lots of things at lunch time are going really well and need to be celebrated; however, a few tweaks are in the works. It appears - these are the biggest hurdles (that need some solutions):
- 1st and 2nd graders coming inside (too loud, only one class at a time to start washing up, bunching up in lunchroom, forgetting their lunches in the classroom, and being rushed to finish eating.) ~ Send me solutions!
- 11:30-11:50 - too many kids outside at once....trying to figure out how to keep it to no more than 3 classes outside at once. ~ Send me solutions!
- Inconsistent 'duty directions' - We need to have whistles/bells/voices to communicate same thing daily - what our expectations need to be. ~ Send me solutions!
- 1st and 2nd grade kids not quite ready when their teachers arrive so we are rushing them (which defeats the purpose of having lunch after recess if we truly want them to eat more).
Homecoming Week: Your Advisory Team Reps voted to only participate in spirit day next week Friday with the High School and the parade. Just an FYI.
Announcements: New hallway and cafe speakers are coming....please take the poll (on the right) so I have an update on who is hearing them.
iPad Carts: There are 25 iPads in a cart. Many grade levels don't have 25 kids. We have 2 classroom specific carts (via grants - LaFay and Truxel) and 5 other carts. 5th grade got a grant for a class set of mini laptops as well. We have a need to share them better as there are a few rooms that don't have any to access. Every student/classroom deserves to have access to ipads equally. Help me solve this dilemma: 1. Do I create a schedule for each cart? 2. Should we split up some ipads to provide a small number for each classroom? 3. Can you share with another classroom?
Lunch Count in Powerschool: Coming Soon
Box Tops Challenge for the Month: Get this, just under 200 short of making our September goal. What should we do for the kids as a reward? Please vote on an idea on the poll!
504 Student in LaFay's Room: Just a heads up that we have a student with arthritis that has full use of the elevator and his scooter to help him get around. It is part of his 504.
Updated Fire Exit Routes are in the works. They will be in your box soon and must include a primary and secondary 'nearest' exit route. Please replace any old ones with the new and post it by your light switch.
Espanol Rapido (Spanish Classes): Grades 2-4 ~ Sign Up Here
Oct. 10th Walk Event: Join Sam D, our 2nd grade student in a fundraiser walk in Boise on October 10th if you're interested for Muscular Dystrophy. Join or Donate to Sam's Lightning Team: www.musclewalkmda.org/boise2015
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| Weekly Appreciation from me {and anyone else who shares staff compliments with me}! |
- This ALL STAR Staff....each day I am just in awe at the professionalism, friendliness, and your strengths as a school team. BRMES is truly an amazing place to work and learn! I could already write a book. Home Run observations that I want to share about my observations this week:
- Team meetings were focused, professional, and so helpful for me. I am in awe at the work you all do.
- Committees were selected and not one person hesitated to step into the position you were chosen for.
- Every bit of feedback I've been offered has been positive, full of solutions, and so helpful.
- I've observed no gossip or drama - WOW!
- You have been logging into data in AIMSweb, Milepost, and TIDE and asking hard questions already.
- Folks have been on time for when your job begins (many of you begin at 7:45 with a duty - and have been coming at 7:30 to leave a bit earlier - cool.)
- You pitch in beyond your job description - often!
- Nobody is a yeller! Your norm is to talk with a kind voice and many are striving to always use positive wording when telling kids what you want them to do - NOT what you don't want them to do.
- Newsletters and good parent communication are going on regularly and I'm getting copies - electronically or on paper - yippee!
- Parent feedback has been 100% positive (and their kids are happy)!
- All schedules and 'going home' papers are in!
- We are striving to be fiscally smart and to analyze the data from programs and what is worth paying for and what we can part with
- Homework seems to be minimal but if necessary - it seems more purposeful (with an understanding that it might not get done by every kid and finding ways to not punish the kid who has no home support but to praise them too).
- Behaviors have been handled by EVERY staff member who observes the issue. We all have a responsibility to talk to the student(s), correct the action and offer ideas for resolution.
- Can you see just how great things are? Be proud and know you are appreciated!
- Help! I want more praise for others/compliments for this amazing staff!? To get us going, I am putting some little slips by the downstairs mailboxes and anyone who fills out a compliment (note of appreciation) for another staff member will get a treat from me!
