Friday MM - Day "E"

Good Morning!

Let's make today's assembly AWESOME.  Participate and do your part to support PBIS with your actions, and the students will follow our lead.

Enjoy the three day weekend and return on Tuesday ready to serve our students!  

All classified employees please meet with me at 9:00 in the LTM room.

I will have a Tuesday packet parent information flyer in your boxes by 3pm today regarding arrival and dismissal.  We are using placards for student identification at the car rider area. 

GRADE   -       NAME -         TEACHER

4th - Wallace Grommit - McGee

Please get the flyer and two cards to each car rider in their TP.  This strategy will help increase both safety and efficiency in the dismissal car rider line.

Thursday MM - Day "D"

Good Morning!

I appreciated our staff meeting and break-outs Wednesday.  thanks for participating and being a part of the most important work being done in our community. 

PBIS Kick-Off assembly details

12:45 Kindergarten and First grade!

1:35 begin to call 2nd -5th.  Assembly @ 1:45.

I am still making the rounds and will come into your classroom soon for a 3-5 minute lesson on CWT and my role as the principal.  See you soon!

Wednesday MM - Day "C"

Good Morning!

I made the 1800 meters and was at work by 7:30!  Just a little pre-planning at night is my key to a happy morning and start to the day.  Life is complex at the Faullin house as we have Jack driving to Mount Tabor/Career Center and Joe as a freshman at Reynolds.  I enjoy viewing their school experience from the lens of both Parent and administrator.  I also work with our students through the same bifocal vision.  I have reflected that my attention to the needs of a 5 year-old who is afraid to ride the bus, as her first try resulted in hours on the bus and a return to school, is largely shaped by my role as a parent.  I am empowered to serve these students on an individual basis as I KNOW that each of you is doing the same for our students in need.  We all step up, THANKS.

Fire Drill at 10:00 today!  be.prepared

Faculty meeting will begin at 3:30!  Work with Dr. Stevens to help manage late car riders.  Hopefully our bus situation will continue to improve. (like today)

The agenda

• Social Worker Becky West will share about her role in supporting our families
• Instructional time - Communication issues
• Stacy Swanson will provide technology tips
• Deb Fidali will update us on our Media systems
• We will break into STEM/SIT/PBIS teams for a brief meetings to end the day

“J’aurais dû être plus gentille—I should have been more kind. That is something a person will never regret. You will never say to yourself when you are old, Ah, I wish I was not good to that person. You will never think that.”

― Khaled Hosseini, And the Mountains Echoed

Tuesday MM - Day "B"

Good Morning! 

I write this at night as I am trying to swim 1800 meters before coming to school in the  morning.  Our pool lap swim is still open and I think I can still get to Brunson at 7:30, yet that leaves no time to blog as arrival is critical these first weeks. 

Keep the interventions flowing!  I was in the lunch room all day and it was great to see kids enjoying themselves.  I also want to see them adapting to our culture.  Continue to encourage our students and remember

• Students will do exactly what you instruct them to do
• Students will do exactly opposite of what you assume they know.

Fire Drill is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday @ 10.  Please return from specials and do not begin the ten o'clock shift until the drill has finished.

 

Great work with our late buses.  We had too many transportation mistakes yesterday.  I dropped our last kindergarten student at his house around 7:00.  Data driven decision making is the  only way to proceed for the safety of students.  Continue to strive for 100% accuracy in this arena.

 

Last topic for today that I will address Wednesday at the faculty meeting.  Student engagement is the priority.

 

Enjoy day two and I am so happy to be here working with each of you to change the world.

Monday MM - Day "A"

Good Morning!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS  - Take this opportunity to set a tone for your classroom and our school:

Academics - EFFORT

Behavior - KINDNESS

As always, the best way to teach is by example. 

Have a fantastic Day

Friday EIE Professional Development

We are fortunate to have Liz Parry as a champion that believes in us.  She will work with all our new staff who did not participate in her original training from 8:30 -11:30 Friday in the media center.  

• Jennifer Castello
• Suzette Lopez
• Darcy Steele
• Sara Davis
• James Dorsett
• Stacy Swanson
• Nancy Smoot
• Angela Adams 
• Bridget Hollomon
• Brenda Coles 
• Charity Cota-Robles 
• Kyrie Gough 
• Jessie Spaciel 
• Jenny Orefice
• Scott Houston
• PLUS any and all who want a great refresher on the foundations of EIE

At 1pm the entire faculty will meet in the media center for STEM specific workshop with Liz.

Happy Wednesday

I hope your Rc Day was productive.  I look  forward to spending the day in Level meetings and then attending Joe's freshman orientation at RJR @ 1pm.  I sent an e-mail with the open house information and repeat that below.

OPEN HOUSE RESPONSIBILITIES

If you are willing, park on the street or in the back (only against the fence for fire code reasons) that will allow more space for our families.

All Classroom teachers will be in their classrooms welcoming students and their families. K-1 classrooms will have support form their shared assistants.

Damita, Silvia and Willie will assist folks in their respective offices.

Jenny, Jeff and Maria will staff the lobby and direct to classrooms/gymnatorium

In the gymnatorium we will have several areas set up to assist parents

• Transportation led by Andy with assistance from;
• Joel, Cindy, Stacy, Janet, Olga, Nicole, Natalie, Willie

• Cafeteria led by Heather & Kathy with assistance from
• Deb F, Deb G, James, Dorothy, Doris, Silvia,

• The Brunson PTA

• YMCA child care services

• Be Healthy School Kids from the Forsyth County Dept. of Public Health
   
• Boy Scouts

The Media center will be staffed with Patricia Vivanco and David Sisk to assist parents with the TBE waivers.  We will meet/eat in the media center from 4:00-5:30.

At 7:30 I will make an all call that our open house has ended.  Our work day extends to 8pm so please provide that extra spark of kindness as some of our families extend their welcome into the evening.

Summer Post #7

I have worked on Assistant responsibilities this summer and the new model we will employ will enable all our valuable classified personnel to impact student learning.

Kindergarten and First grade will be paired and share one assistant. 

Patricia Vivanco Jennifer Castello (Kinder) Marcela Zarate (First) Irene Rush Nancy Smoot (Kinder) Angela Adams (First) Earline Richardson Venice Hailstock (Kinder) Karon Kiger (First) Sue Ann Gillespie Wendy Binkley (Kinder) Michelle Gray (First)

Second Grade will be paired and share one assistant.

Deb Gray	Trish Gulledge (Second)	Bridget Hollomon (Second)
Jennifer Antonisanti	Suzette Lopez (Second)	Debbie Woodruff (Second)

The upper grades will combine and share one assistant.  These five ladies will also help to cover learning teams and duty-free lunch.

4/5 HAG	Natalie Newman
EC/Specialist	Dorothy Manigault
3rd/3HAG	Nicole Robinson
4th/5th	Maria Cook
ESL/Guidance	Doris Davis

I so look forward to watching these relationships between adults grow and build a foundation for student success.

Please READ this article before returning to school on the 19th.  for those of you who have followed the readings from the summer you can try on a 5th grade Common core standard.

• RI.5.5 COMPARE and CONTRAST the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts

Summer Post #6

Sorry for the Delay!  I have been in Learning Team Facilitator training this week and could not access my Blog account through my laptop.  I am going to trouble shoot that issue next week with our new Tech Facilitator, Stacy Swanson.

At the end of this post are a couple of announcements but the base of my communication this week is two-fold.

1. When you  should return to work.
2. Update from interactions with Dr. Emory.

Please report MONDAY, August 19th to the cafeteria for coffee and a light breakfast from our PTA.  We will eat and socialize between 7:45-8:15.  At 8:15 we will meet some new folks and release all to their rooms until the afternoon PBIS meeting at 1pm.  For a full week view of our schedule see Summer Post #4.

As for Dr. Emory, WOW!  Her presentation to the Chamber of Commerce Tech Council focused on teachers as the key to success in our district.  It was powerful and upon completion of her speech I was filled with a renewed sense of purpose.  I also was fortunate to learn from her at our Summer leadership retreat as he engaged us in an "open space" type of activity.  We worked in interdisciplinary teams to identify areas for improvement and propose solutions for district wide issues.  I hope we can secure her presence for a coming faculty meeting so we can align our efforts for student learning.

As a PostScript to the two pronged communication this week, those who are available to assist with welcome back to school letters for our students please come to the cafeteria @ 10am on Friday the 16th.  We want to mail the letters before 5pm that evening.




Employee Benefits Fair
Wednesday, August 21, 2013  
11:00am – 4:00pm
Career Center – 910 Highland Court, WS, NC

Insurance & 401K, 403B, 457, Financial representatives will be there to answer questions & for enrollment.
 
State Retirement System sessions with Kerry Crutchfield (time TBA) 

Meet the new State 403b vendor - TIAA-CREF 

Hourly Door Prizes and Give Aways!!

• Apply Now for 2013-14 Green Ribbon Schools’ Award - It is time for schools’ staff to begin preparing their applications for the U. S. Education Department’s Green Ribbon Schools’ (GRS) award. The GRS award recognizes schools and districts from across the United States that excel in three areas: reduction of environmental impact and costs; improvement to the health and wellness of students and staff; and, providing effective environmental and sustainability education, incorporating STEM, civic skills and green career pathways. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan started the program in 2011 to recognize these schools. In 2012, district achievements were added. Two North Carolina schools have received this outstanding national award. Principals should send their completed applications to the NCDPI. Up to four North Carolina schools can be nominated by the department and sent to the USED for national consideration. Additional information and applications are available online at www.SchoolClearinghouse.org under “Green Ribbon Schools.” You also may direct questions to Ron Collier at ronald.collier@dpi.nc.gov or 919.807.3562.

New Addition

Congratulations to Mariah and Charlie

Mary WelchJuly 12, 2013
6 pounds  9 ounces
20 inches

She will visit the morning of August 23rd