Tuesday MM

Good Morning!

A note From Kathy Wilheit;

In the rush of holiday activities, I was slowed by two experiences last week.

1) One of our instructional assistants was absent and her duty needed to be picked up by another. When I went to ask, the assistant smiled and said, "No problem." This happens every time I come, panicked, to make these requests. I so appreciate their flexibility.

2) We welcomed 2 little girls to our school last week. They had just arrived from Mexico, clearly overwhelmed by all the "newness" of everything. They touched and ooohed with wonder as I showed them how to use the water fountain. I cannot tell you how often in my career I have taken such a child and walked him/her to a strange classroom where no one spoke the child's language. Last week we introduced them to their Spanish-speaking teacher and assistant, while Silvia reassured the mother in her native tongue. Thanks to TBE, at least ONE thing in these girls' lives will feel normal.

Be. grateful.

Silvia and/or Edwin will be working from 7:30-3:30 the remainder of this week, so if you need access to your class, just come by and check in at the office to let us know of your presence.  The week after Christmas we are all taking vacation and the building will be closed.  January 2nd is a holiday and we will return with students on day 6 in the rotation, Tuesday, January 3rd.

Enjoy your time and families during this break and know that your efforts to shape our world are meaningful and appreciated!

Monday MM

Good Morning!

Let's knock these two days out!  Today we will announce at 8:20 for 4th and 5th to come to the gym to prepare for "The Big Chill."  We will follow that with the grade level announcements around 8:30, and once we are all settled into the gym we will do the announcements and enjoy the performance.

Please keep academics a priority.  We all will have time to rest and relax and these next two days are perfect for creating a sense of wonder and building the desire to learn.  Let's leave our students hungry to return on January 3rd.

Friday MM

Good Morning!

Thanks to the Hospitality Team for organizing the wonderful food and fellowship that was our staff social.  The cookie exchange is an added treat.  When you see members of this team today, please extend your appreciation.

Thanks to Mary Lauren and the 4th and 5th grade teams for "The Big Chill."  A well attended event that provided many smiles for our students and their families. 

Thanks to Linnea and Andy K. for setting up a SKYPE visit with Astronaut Tom Mashburn.  He took EIE to a "higher " level.

Thanks to the PTA for providing the Teacher appreciation Luncheon today.  Food will be served on the stage and the Art room is reserved for Teacher dining.  Admin and Parent Volunteers will supervise the lunchroom, while Cindy has graciously agreed to Art on a Cart for the lunch schedule.

Thanks to Deb Fidali for writing a $6000 grant to supply the media center with materials for STEM.  Let's all send thoughts of support and hope it comes to fruition.

Thanks to SIT for working on our Magnet talking points for the tour and Magnet Fair on January 7th.  We wanted to and were able to align what we market, to the goals/strategies in our SIP.

Subs:
No sub for Dorothy Manigault
No sub for Nicole Robinson
No sub for Irene Rush
No sub for Lynn Vernon
Rosemary Hazy for Lisa Weber
Shirely Porter for Earline Richardson

Thursday MM

BIG DAY!

4th and 5th grade will practice at 1:30 and perform at 6:00.  The musical is fun and entertaining so please consider sticking around to support the students and their families.  We will have a school-wide assembly for the performance on Monday at 8:30!

Staff Holiday Social begins at 3:20 in the media center.  Bring your 3 dozen cookies to participate in the exchange, and enjoy some good food and friendships.

http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/domain/7153

Subs:
Rosemary Hazy for Julie Laplante
A custodial Sub is here this week for Mr. Sawyer as he is under his doctor's care for some pulmonary issues.

 

 

Journalism club has developed a news website called Be. news. Our stories are wide-ranging and completely student-driven. Look for new "news" about every other week. This webpage can also be reached from the Brunson homepage > Activities > Journalism Club. Check out the department tabs at the left of the page.

Wednesday MM

Good Morning!

Our safety drill to simulate a lock down will occur this morning before the first lunch.  We appreciate having Officer Basco here as our SuperKids representative to help us evaluate our response.

SIT will meet at 3:25 in the media center. 

CCES module delivery begins Wednesday with 5th HAG working on Module One in 6th grade reading and math.  In the afternoon Kim and Mariah will stop talking about her ENGAGEMENT RING long enough to share module one for third grade ELA and Math.  Again I want to encourage each of us to

Be.present
Be.engaged
Be.responsible for the outcome of this learning experience.

EOQs start pretty quickly after break, so Kathy wanted to go ahead and get these dates out.

Jan 13 (Fri) Reading

Jan 17 (Tues) Math CI

Jan 18 (Wed) Math CA

Jan 19 (Thurs) Science

Subs:
Rosemary Hazy for Donna McNatt
Nelida Faltow for Betty Jo Moore
Joey Stone for Suzanne Sarfert

Tuesday MM

Snack attack today courtesy of Silvia, Andy, Irene, Damita, the other Andy, Kathy, Angela, Laverne, Donald, Edwin and Jeff.

SIT meeting Wednesday

Faculty Holiday Social and Cookie exchange is Thursday followed by the 4th and 5th grade musical presentation at 6pm.

PTA teacher appreciation Luncheon will be served on the stage Friday and we will have parents in the cafe so you all may enjoy duty-free lunch in the Art room.

Next Monday we are starting our day with a school-wide assembly in the gym to enjoy the 4th and 5th grade musical. 

Please limit your class holiday parties to the afternoon of either Friday or Monday. 

Monday MM

Good Morning!

Seven days of JOYFUL education await us and our students before the holiday break. 

I had 21 Data meetings last week and enjoyed learning about our "ownership" of the numbers.  I will schedule those who I have missed this morning as I make some instructional rounds collecting CWT data.

From Mary Lauren;

There will be a joint rehearsal for all 4th and 5th grade students on Wednesday, December 14th, and Thursday, December 15th from 1:30 - 2:30pm on both days to put the finishing touches on the program. I will need your assistance in arranging your students from shortest to tallest and placing them on the steps/risers and also with discipline during the rehearsal.

Thank you for all your help and for everything you do for our students!

From Stephanie Smith:

Currently we have 10 NEW laptops for check out from Mrs. Smith:

We will be checking them out in sets of 5 per classroom on an as needed basis:

If you would like to check out a set of 5 laptops for your students to use in the classroom or an activity please contact Mrs. Smith to do so. Thanks!

Friday MM Day 4

Good Morning!

Our LTM meetings will be focused on CCES modules for the next 4 rotations (Beginning December 14th - Day One).  To view the document, "CCES Plan" go to the Blog Documents folder on our "S" drive. Kathy will make rounds Monday and Tuesday to touch base with hose who are presenting.  Let's all make this meaningful and learn from our time together. 

Here is an objective for our training as crafted by Demarie, "CCES modules should allow teachers to learn about, plan for, and reflect upon the new standards"   Great job by the Team to embrace and lead our school! 

Janet Wilson is here today for Debbie Woodruff as she is traveling to Georgia due to a death in the family.

Olga is also out today and her sub called in sick.  we are still searching for a sub for this position.  the ESL assistants will teach with the help of Janet and Stephanie until a sub is secured.

Thursday MM

Good Morning!

I appreciate all the mental effort exerted in our "Open Space."   I am interested in our next meeting to determine if we can define "Action."  Our excellent new Associate Superintendent, Mr. Steve Oates, is an expert on shifting School Improvement PLANS into ACTION.  He will be visiting us for a SIT meeting and add to our open space as a collaborative presence. 

Today I am at the Joint Principals Meeting and will return to a PTA board meeting at 1pm. 

I am not able to attend the Author visit but want to thank Deb and the staff who are helping to make this opportunity rich and rewarding for our students.

Ernest is our Cafe worker who usually mans the dish station, if you want a hot sudsy rag to clean a teacher table, please ask and he can help.  this is for Adults only, kids must only use water and paper towels.

Our CCES training will begin in LTM meeting times beginning on our next day one - December 14th.  The Plan for the first two modules will be posted on the Blog Friday and in the shared folder - "Blog Documents."

Subs:
Crystal Rook for Stephanie Smith

Wednesday MM

Good Morning

I am so looking forward to our Open Space meeting this afternoon.  We will make an announcement at 4:00 to convene in the Media Center for the TOY vote and Good of the order.  Thanks for bringing your best self to this exciting process.

Data conversations & other meetings on my schedule today are as follows;
7:30 - Grisette
8:30 - McNatt
9:15 - STEM Action Group at CO

11:30 - Binkley

12:35 - Observation

1:20 - 5th Grade LTM

3:20 - Open Space then TOY vote

Here is the text of an e-mail I received today from our new Associate Superintendent;

Just a Reminder: Any videos shown in classrooms should be instructional and have the appropriate "rating" if they are "entertainment-type" videos.  Any video shown in our schools that is not owned by the school or school district does need to be approved by The Principal (school board policy) BEFORE showing it.

If you have questions, please contact Jackie Pearson. She will be glad to answer any specific questions.

For our Brunson video issues, Please contact Deb Fidali, as she has all the forms needed. 

Lisa Fowler for Paige Sipe

Shirely Porter for Earline Richardson

Teacher of the Year

We will be voting for our Teacher of the Year at the staff meeting on Wednesday. I am including the nominees here so that you can put some thought into your vote. If you cannot be at the meeting, you are welcome to stop by Kathy's office on Tuesday or Wednesday to fill out a ballot. We will announce our school winner at the faculty meeting.

____ Venice Hailstock
____ Allison Phelps
____ Michelle Gray
____ Mariah Lee
____ Kim Mason
____ Julie LaPlante
____ Suzanne Sarfert
____ Betty Jo Moore
____ Annie Campbell
____ Demarie Anderson
____ Lara Overby
____ Cindy Sanders

Monday MM

Good Morning!

Keep focused on Student learning and let's create an atmosphere in these 12 days before the Break which compels our kids to look forward to their return on January 3rd!

Data conversations & other meetings on my schedule today are as follows;
7:30 - Sipe
8:30 - Observation
9:15 - Sarfert
10:00 - Anderson
11:30 - Post-Observation
1:15 - Zarate
2:00 - Weber
3:30 - CCES meeting in LTM

From Bud on the CCES

Please share with your staff that the materials shared for Reading/ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies on the October 31 RC day may now be accessed in Learning Village.

The resources can be located by clicking the blue box at top of the Learning Village front-page. The link is entitled "Common Core/Essential Standards Training and Resources."

Subs:

Denise Jennings for Anne Campbell

Friday MM - Day 5

Good Morning!

Thanks to the 15 teachers who have signed up for a data conference next week.  Please attempt to find a slot that serves you before you leave for the weekend, as the calendar is on Silvia's Desk.

From Deb Fidali:

Save, save, save on shopping this Saturday, December 3. Teachers save 25% both online and in stores!

Please use a voucher either online or in the store and gift the media center with a percentage of the sale! Also, each Brunson educator or student who comes by my table on Saturday can enter a drawing for a $25.00 gift card. See Brunson students perform at 2:00.

From Stephanie Smith;

There is a new way to request time in the computer lab. I have taken down the sign up sheets off the door and transferred that information onto the schedule on Brunson's webpage. Having said that you now have to ability to schedule your class for the lab using the web page. Here is all you need to do:

1. Go to WSFCS homepage

2. Under user options select sign in (log in)

3. You are now back at home page, go to user options again, select SITE MANAGER

4. This will take you to your web page

5. On the left had side you will have an option to select Computer Lab sign up

6. Select the calendar tab

7. When calendar appears select date, double click, type in event name (your name), then start time, end time.

That's it! Your done. If you have any questions I am here to help!

From the PTA:  We Appreciate YOU!!!Teacher Luncheon will be served on December 16th on the Stage.  Soup, Bread and Salad to be enjoyed in the Art room while your students eat under the watchful eye of parent volunteers.

Enjoy the weekend

Subs:

Shirley Porter for Earline Richardson

Rosemary Hazy for Kim Mason