Friday MM - Day Zero

Good morning!

The 3rd grade Wax museum will be in the gym and cafe from 8:30-10:00, followed by a parade!  There will be an announcement 5 minutes before the start of the parade.

We WILL have a Fire Drill today.  If it is raining, We STILL WILL have a fire drill today. Our only AM opportunity is 10:30.  Afternoon will be between 1:30-2:15.  I will choose the time that is the least rainy, but be prepared as it will happen.

The building will be CLOSED on Monday and Tuesday next week.  For those that want to work. We will be open Wednesday - Friday.  You must check in and out with me in the office to receive confirmation of credit if you wish to replace one of the June Rs days.

Monday April 7th we will have two lead secretaries?  Bonnie Fogg will graciously help transition the office to Brenda Washam. She comes to us from the office of the mayor with experience in bookkeeping and office management.  Please welcome Brenda and thank Bonnie for her service.

The schedule for the rotations is on the shared drive 2013-14 Brunson specials 4th. We will start Monday the Seventh on "D" rotation

Report cards are due to the appropriate LTM administrator by the end of the day Tuesday April 8th.  Delivery in the Tuesday packet of April 15th.

Enjoy your vacation!

Subs:
Brendan Sullivan for Deb Fidali
No sub for Andy

  

Thursday MM - Day "C"

Good Morning!

3rd HAG Biographical Living Wax Museum parade will occur similar to the previous two parades at 10 am Friday.

Specials day Zero on Friday

• 8:30 - 9:15
• Assist 3rd HAG with wax museum
• 9:15 - 10:00
• First grade in classrooms
• 10:00 - 10:45
• Kindergarten in classrooms
• 10:45 - 11:30
• 2nd grade in GYM
• 12:30 - 1:15
• 4th and 5th in the Gym
• 1:15 - 2:00
• 4th HAG & 5th HAG in the Gym
• 2:00 - 2:40
• 3rd grade in the Gym

Before I lay my plan out to Assistant Superintendent Oates, I would like to hear from all our teachers who do not have a bank of Annual Leave days.  I will be traversing the school from 8:30-10:00 to gather information about weekend or spring break opportunities to work.  I will post the documents on the adjusted schedule in the Blog documents folder and have a copy to view in the office by noon today.

The next specials schedule will be on the blog documents Friday morning.

Below is the course that Andy and his band of 11 intrepid runners will attack this weekend in the Palmetto 200 - Go team Banditos



Subs:
No sub yet for Tanya Lovin
Brendan Sullivan for Deb Fidali

Tuesday MM - Day "A"

Good Morning!

EOQ Reading!  Specialists will be with their accommodations groups and will find you when they are able to take your class.  PLEASE do your part to prepare your class for level ZERO in our halls to see if we can pull that off. 

PTA birthday bash this afternoon

SIT tonight, we need to do all the stuff we talked about on Monday's Blog AND determine a school based plan to submit to the superintendent.  From Theo Helm;

• Schools may work out plans with their teachers to let them optionally work extra so that they don't have to work all of the workdays. This may mean documenting hours outside of their 7 hour 45 minute workday; it may mean opening your building over spring break or on a Saturday to let them work then. You must submit your plan to Steve and Carol BY WEDNESDAY before putting it into place. They will be reviewing the plans.
• The plan you develop for your school applies to certified staff. It does not apply to classified staff or those who must be paid overtime if they work over their regular hours.
• Once we get through this week, we'll have an updated calendar for all staff ready when everyone returns from spring break.

Subs

I am sick and will try to be in by noon.  Sorry

Monday MM - Day "F"

Good Morning!

Today the Downtown school will be in the gym to practice for their talent show tonight

Specials for the remainder of the week will follow the 3rd quarter schedule;

• Monday  - Day "F"
• Tuesday  - Day "A"
• Wednesday - Day "B"
• Thursday  - Day "C"
• Friday  - Day ZERO More info to come.

PTA GROUNDS were AWESOME! Thanks to the 14 faculty members who came out to demonstrate the T in PTA.

Faculty meeting Wednesday.

• Bring a pencil and paper
• Bring your cell phone to text for a survey
• Do NOT bring work
• Attendance is required as we will map out the remaining Wednesday PD

NC TWCS Window Is Now Open – Your Voice Matters 
The 2014 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey (NC TWCS) is now being administered statewide through Friday, April 4. The NC TWCS is an online, anonymous statewide survey of licensed school-based educators that assesses teaching conditions at the school, district and state levels. All NC public school-based, licensed educators and instructional staff, including administrators, are encouraged to take the survey

PTA Survey Request

For those teachers that have already responded to the PTA survey, thank you. For those who have not, please help the Council by responding to this brief survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LKJWNNZ

SIT Tuesday @ 3:30 to prioritize the short cycle methodology on dismissal and from Steve Oates;

• It is also the time of year to start planning for the next two year school improvement plan. I want to commend your School Improvement Teams as they have been doing a good job updating their SIPs at their quarterly reviews. Some of you even did an overhaul of your plan this year based on last year’s comprehensive needs assessment (CNA). 
• It is important that our 2014-2016 two year SIP plan be complete and ready to post when the 14-15 school year begins.  This means much of your work will need to happen this spring if you want to take advantage of staff still on the payroll. 
• Since most of you use EOG scores to base your goals on, I understand without the EOG data you will not be able to set realistic goals.  However, you should be able to do your CNA, school data and summary analysis, improvement strategies, action steps, and fidelity and progress indicators.  Please review the CNA information on the web portal for types of data that are available to you at this time.  Then once the scores come in you can pull a team to set goals.
• Please note that on the administrators web portal in the Accountability and Research section, you will find a tab titled “Comprehensive Needs Assessment” that contains all the templates, PPTs and other related materials that Judy Penny shared with us last year.  If there is a need I will see if she can come do a quick refresher.
• Also, for non STAR-3 schools it time to plan your 3^rd quarter review. If you think about it, this 3^rd quarter review should really be the kick off to your CNA. I believe STAR-3 schools will do their review with Wayne as usual.

Subs:
Rosemary  for Karon
TBD for Sara Davis pm only
 

Friday MM - Day "E"

Good Morning!

Wonderful conversations yesterday afternoon.  We are looking forward to the staff meeting on the 26th with progress reports from the VET.

There will be an announcement shortly after 10:00 this morning to alert you to the start of the Fairy Tale Parade. If you'd like your class to watch, please line up along the walls as you did for the Story Book Parade.

MANY visitors in our building today for the 5th HAG Fairy Tale  Ball.  Please be welcoming and aware. 

Cierra Belton for Allison Phelps
Timothy Fishel for Cindy Sanders
No sub for Irene Rush

Thursday MM - Day "D"

Good Morning!

EOQ testing for MATH today!  Specialists have accommodations groups so we will delay the start of specials until they are finished.

Two big announcements.

• PTA Grounds workday is Saturday from 9:00-12:30.  If you want to work and get a day of credit so that you do not have to come for one of the teacher work days at the end of the year.  with the latest snow day we may be here until Monday June 30th.  Send me an e-mail to confirm your desire to work Saturday and I will create a document to sign.
• 25% Legislation Q & A will be in mobile #38 @ 3:20.  Any certified staff member who has any questions or answers, are welcome to join this round table discussion.
• VET will meet in the mobile #38 after the 25% meeting.

Please welcome our SMO custodial employees

• Kendra Windham, our site manager will be here daily from 1 pm until 9 pm.
• Shanika Wilson, our custodial specialist will work daily from 4 pm until 9pm.
• Felipe Miranda is our site supervisor.  He appreciates any and all feedback as we transition to a new style of custodial services.  His expectation is that you will notice an improvement in the cleanliness of the building and always have a quick response to requests.
• Robert Kirby remains as our WSFCS day Porter working 6:00 am until 2:30 pm.  He will clean the office, the media center and mobiles 31, 32, 33 & 40.

Subs:

Cierra Belton for Allison Phelps

Hazel Fishel for Cindy Sanders pm only

no sub for Doris Davis

Wednesday MM - Day "C"

Good Morning!

EOQ testing this morning for 5th Grade Science!  They will be using the computer lab and additional accommodations areas.  Level zero must be adhered to in our halls for students and staff.

Systems thinking will conduct a WSFCS cohort session tonight in the media center from 4:00-5:30

HAG teachers will have PD with Paula Wilkins in Room 24 from 3:20-4:30

Teachers and students are invited to see the Fairy Tale Parade on Friday morning shortly after 10:00. Characters from fairy tales, mythology, and medieval hero tales will make a path from the gym down the 2nd/3rd grade hall, upstairs on the Hanes Park end, across to the lobby stairs, and exit through the K-1 hall. 

No subs today

Tuesday MM - Day ICE

Our winter of delays and closings continue.  My question to you is?

What will you CHANGE to focus your attention and energies to the growth of our students, so that when we look back at this year the weather will be a side note?

Stephen Covey is credited for the leadership mantra, "Keep the main thing, the main thing."  As we attend to the periphery of school work, slow or negligible student growth is shrugged off and lands on the multitude of external factors that we cannot control.  Courageous educators will answer the call and change their habits.  

What will you CHANGE to focus your attention and energies to the growth of our students?

Monday MM - Day "A"

Good Morning!

I am so glad to be here and have the Ice elsewhere.  Let's have a UNIFIED and GREEN day!

The Teacher Notification of Intent web site is now ready. The link is available to teachers via the “Employees” link of the WS/FCS home page. A flyer is posted on the board with directions to the web page.  All full-time teachers need to complete an intent form.  The deadline is March 28th. 

FAQ’s:
1. Q: What about PRT’s and part-time teachers?

A: These teachers are employed on temporary contracts that expire at the end of each school year, and are not guaranteed new contracts for the next school year. Once we finalize allotments, principals can offer new contracts to part-time teachers as they deem appropriate to their allotments and the needs of their schools. Part-time teachers wishing to transfer to another school may e-mail the principal at that school informing them of their interest. Part-time teachers wanting to move into a full-time teaching position in the coming school year should contact Sonya Weaks (elementary) or Brenda Bourne (secondary) informing them of that interest.

2. Q: What about teacher assistants and other classified employees?

A: Unlike teachers, classified employees can transfer at any time, not just during the breaks between school years. Classified employees interested in transfer or promotional opportunities may apply for any posted vacancies at any time. The lists of current teacher assistant and classified openings are posted on the “Employment” page of the district’s web site and are updated regularly.

If you have any other questions, please contact your HR Specialist, Sonya Weaks or Brenda Bourne. If you get and error message that says you are not eligible for transfer, you should also contact your HR Specialist. If you have any other technical problems with the web site, please contact the Technology Service Desk at 727-8300 (internal ext. 34560).

Brunson had a wonderful showing at the regional tournament for odyssey of the mind! Our three competing teams 'Drivers Test, Not-so-haunted house, and It's How we Rule' had a great time and enjoyed presenting their solutions to problems and sharing their team experiences. One of our teams, 'stackable Structure' decided to present their problem solution here at school. Our primary team presented their version of 'The Worlds first art show' to an enthusiastic audience. All of our teams represented Brunson wonderfully with great team spirit and problem solving!

Subs:

No sub yet for Nancy Smoot

Friday MM - Day "F"

Good Morning!

Dance party USA will be happening in the Gym this afternoon as we  Re-COG-nize our PBIS exemplars.

1st and 5th grade @ 12:30
Kinder and 3rd grade @ 1:10
2nd and 4th grades @ 1:50

Brunson’s “Spring Unity Day” Monday 3/17.  The color to wear will be (conveniently) green. We’ll all be wearing green not only for St. Pat’s but also to show we are a united front against bullying!

Thanks, Jenny! 

Subs:

No sub for Maria Cook

Rosemary for Paige

Gwen Sloan for Joel

Wanda Byerly for Suzette

Thursday MM - Day "E"

Good Morning!

I am at the Elementary Principals meeting this morning.  See you in time for the PTA board meeting at 1pm.

Congratulations to the Clinard Grant recipients!

• Deborah Fidali (reading)
• Darcy Steele 
• Lara Overby

Re-COG-nition envelopes need to be turned in this morning for the Dance party on Friday.  We need to produce the playlist and determine the costumes.

Subs:

Gwen Sloan for Joel Peddle

Willie Carson for Venice Hailstock

Rosemary for Paige

Wednesday MM - Day "D"

Good Morning!

Please join me in saying Good-bye to a legend.  Laverne Crews will move her custodial services to Hall-Woodward school beginning next week.  She has been working at Brunson for over 20 years and started as a sub in the cafeteria.  We will miss her presence on our campus, and wish her well in this new role.

Brunson’s “Spring Unity Day” Monday 3/17?  The color to wear will be (conveniently) green.  We’ll all be wearing green not only for St. Pat’s but also to show we are a united front against bullying!

Thanks, Jenny! 

See you at our meeting this afternoon. 

Subs:
Rosemary for Paige
Resaell Haynes for Donna McGee
No sub for Jeff am only - at PD until 10:30

Tuesday MM - Day "C"

LITERACY NIGHT!

Please come and support our students and their families.

I had an interesting meeting last night regarding

• Contracts to 25% of the WSFCS teaching staff in exchange for tenure
• 20 minutes of additional time to eliminate the 16th of June as a student day
• Benchmarks testing windows

Please be on time for Wednesday's meeting so we can hit these topics before we begin the Testing training.

Rosemary for Paige

Monday MM - Day "B"

Welcome BACK!

I am looking forward to our re-scheduled literacy event and performance by our 2nd and 3rd grade students on Tuesday!

Wednesday we have accommodations training from 3:25-4:30.  This is a "sign that you have received the training" event and is mandatory for all certified staff members involved in testing. 

NC TIES was Fantastic.  More on that at our next meeting.

Subs:
Deb Gray for Trish
Rosemary for Paige
No sub for Stacy

Friday MM, Day A

Boy, am I optimistic or what?  Might we actually come to school with the current forecast?  Fingers crossed.  No school tomorrow = June 16th A Day.

2 items:
1) Classroom teachers, please read my e-mail re: hours of attendance Tuesday evening.
2) Please be vigilant as students use the bathrooms upstairs and down.  This includes when classes are in as well as individuals.

No subs for Friday as of Thursday afternoon. 

Thursday MM, Day F

Jeff is gone for the next two days so I'll be your hostess for the Memo!

When the cat's away the mice will....do the same amazing job they do every day.  Thank you all for your flexibility and efforts as we deal with the impact of Mother Nature.  It's tough to get into a groove when you can't complete a week of school!

TUESDAY Night we will have our Literacy Night/PTA @ 6:00.

For those who are curious, members of the VET team had an informative visit to Evergreen (Asheville) on Monday.  Talk about culture and climate--the respect and love that students and teachers felt for each other was palpable.  There were certainly things in place that can't happen here because they are a charter school, but it was nice to see Investigations being used for math, CCES as a critical focus, mclass assessments, and NCDPI math tasks in place.  Doing things in a different way doesn't mean tossing everything as we know it.

Staff meeting next Wednesday will cover EOQ procedures as well as accommodations.

No subs as of Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday MM - Day "E"

Good Morning!

BOOK FAIR - all day long

PORTRAIT DAY - Be sure to sign up on the board.

HAG TOUR @ 8:30

TORNADO DRILL today @ 9:30 or so.  Once we are under the Warning, we will end the drill as soon as all areas have been monitored, approximately 2-3 minutes. 

Our literacy night and Musical performance by the 2nd and 3rd grades MAY be rescheduled for 6:00-8:00 Thursday night.  Stay tuned for more information as we collaborate to solve problems. 

Dismissal Solutions and Hypotheses

No particular order.  Each group from our February 26th meeting is represented together.  Please review and talk with your SIT representative as that team will discuss, prioritize and operationalize at our next meeting.

• Lock the gate to the alley
• Lock side doors and station safety patrol as gatekeepers
• Adult supervision at the BP fence opening
• More adults in car rider line
• 2:35 "Warning Bell"
• Synchronize clocks weekly

• Bus riders back in to the gym
• Assistants at car line
• Adult at K playground to watch 4th and 5th grade coming into building.
• Jeff at Car riders
• Kathy at buses
• Andy in gym

• Dismiss Kindergarten before upper grades
• Keep car riders in controlled location and use walkie-talkies to dismiss as parents arrive.  Parents would need a sign with Student names

• Define expectations then
• teach them to kids
• staff follows through
• Define Adult:kid ratio

• Move 1st grade out of Dirt and the center parent hang out to a safe spot on the side
• place bus riders in gym to centralize groups and increase number of adults outside

• Parents should not be allowed into the building for pick-up unless it is an emergency or they are early for an appointment
• Visitors should show ID before logging into the visitor system.

• Car riders dismissed in gym or by grade level
• Adults stationed close to doors

• Ratio should be 1 adult to each 15 kids
• Place an adult at bridge to supervise the back of the school

• Adults "place" students in car
• Choose one door to dismiss.
• Student hand over card to adult to before they leave to ensure transition from school to home

• Tags in car windows
• No chains to hold doors open
• Reduce # of places for Parents to meet kids

• Supervise end doors

Tuesday MM - Day "D"

Good Morning and happy snow day!

The March 4th Joint principals meeting will be Friday Morning. Agenda is in the Blog documents folder on the shared drive.     

I will keep everyone posted on the status of our Evening Event. I am contemplating a reschedule to Thursday?

Lunch

The following schedule is also in the Blog Document folder on the shared drive.

Lunch	Table	IN		OUT
Sipe	Science	10:00 AM		10:30 AM
Spaciel	Technology	10:05 AM		10:35 AM
Smoot	Engineering	10:10 AM		10:40 AM
Castello	Mathematics	10:15 AM		10:45 AM
Hailstock	Sustainability	10:20 AM		10:50 AM
Binkley	Environment	10:25 AM		10:55 AM
HAG Students	Eat in Classrooms	10:30 AM
Adams	Science	10:35 AM		11:05 AM
Gray	Technology	10:40 AM		11:10 AM
Kiger	Engineering	10:45 AM		11:15 AM
Zarate/Weber	Mathematics	10:50 AM		11:20 AM
Ray/ Cota-Robles	Sustainability	10:55 AM		11:25 AM
Mason/Phelps	CLASS	11:00 AM		11:30 AM
Gough/Holomon	CLASS	11:05 AM		11:35 AM
Lopez/Gulledge	CLASS	11:10 AM		11:40 AM
Woodruff	CLASS	11:15 AM		11:45 AM

Monday MM - Day "C"

Good Morning!

Let's have the best book fair ever!  Promote literacy and enjoy the "buzz" that accompanies this event.

Bonnie Fogg will be here as our temporary lead secretary while we interview and hire after the departure of Sarah.  I was fortunate to work with Bonnie for 10 years as she served the families of RJR high school in the same role.

HAYNES, RESAELL for Jessie Spaciel
DIEKEMA-ZUIDEMA, MARIA for Paige Sipe
GADDY-PERRY, CAROLYN for Sara Davis
Deb Gray for Brigette Hollomon