Friday MM - April 29th

Good Morning!

FIELD DAY for 3rd - 5th

• Listen for announcement to dismiss to Hanes Park. 
• approx. 9:10 for Patrick, Overby,McNatt, Ray, Phelps Cota-Robles & Parrish
• approx. 9:15 for Anderson, McGee, Davis, Coles Grisette & Steele
• approx. 9:20 for Loy, Weber, Johnson, Woody & Sayles
• I will monitor the gate
• Dr. Stevens will monitor the bridge
• We have 18-20 Volunteers to make this day special for our kids, we all need to collaborate to stay focused on JOY
• You are in charge of your class
• Treat the station leaders with respect and provide support
• Lunch schedule begins @ 11:40
• Talent Show for 3rd grade from 12:15-1:00
• Talent Show for 5th grade from 1:05-1:50
• Talent Show for 4th grade from 1:55-2:40

I have a questions for all of us;

• What role do we play in creating purpose and meaning for field day? (El Dimensions of Student Achievement)

Students

• Develop the mindsets and skills for success in college, career, and life (e.g., initiative, responsibility, perseverance, collaboration)
• Work to become ethical people: treat others well and stand up for what is right (e.g., empathy, integrity, respect, compassion)

Teachers and Leaders

• Elevate student voice and leadership in classrooms and across the school
• Model a school-wide culture of respect and compassion
• Prioritize social and emotional learning, along with academic learning, across the school

More reasons from the 10 design Principles of EL Education;

4. Empathy and Caring

• Learning is fostered best in communities where students' and teachers' ideas are respected and where there is mutual trust. Learning groups are small in EL Education schools, with a caring adult looking after the progress and acting as an advocate for each child. Older students mentor younger ones, and students feel physically and emotionally safe.

5. Success and Failure

• All students need to be successful if they are to build the confidence and capacity to take risks and meet increasingly difficult challenges. But it is also important for students to learn from their failures, to persevere when things are hard, and to learn to turn disabilities into opportunities.

6. Collaboration and Competition

• Individual development and group development are integrated so that the value of friendship, trust, and group action is clear. Students are encouraged to compete, not against each other, but with their own personal best and with rigorous standards of excellence.

Subs;

Rosemary Hazy for Lisa Weber

Chelsea Oakes for Nancy Smoot
No sub for Doris Davis
No sub for Sue Ann Gillespie

No sub for Kathy Wilheit

No sub for Sarah Huddleston

Thursday MM - April 28th

Good Morning!

We are on normal schedule today(exception - no PLT today)

Friday we will be on the 3-5 field day schedule that was posted for the 28th.

On Friday May 13th, we will run the K-2 field day schedule.

Thanks to our Faculty CREW!  After we finished, the leaders collaborated and created actions to be communicated in the blog posting on Tuesday May 3rd.

My call is for all of us to honor the contract with our public.  Only TOGETHER can we create the conditions to care for all domains of our students education.

Subs:
Tom Radulovic for Jen Davis
Chelsea Oakes for Nancy Smoot
No sub for Kathy Wilheit
No sub for Sarah Huddleston

Wednesday MM - April 27th

Good Morning!

WELCOME to our rising Kindergarten class and their parents who are on campus today for orientation from 9:00-10:00 am.

Field day will NOT happen Thursday.  Too much rain in the forecast. 

• 3-5 Field Day WILL happen on Friday as the weather looks GREAT
• 9:30-11:30 with Talent Shows in the afternoon.  
• Lunch schedule that was 4.28 is now applicable on Friday 4.29
• NEW date for K-2 Field Day, Friday May 13th.

Faculty CREW this afternoon at 3:30 in the media center.  

Subs:

Carol Sumner for Happy Bell

No sub for Pam Chambers
No sub for Anna Stopplebein 

Tuesday MM - April 26th

Good Morning - Week "B"

We are exploring alternate plans for field day(s) since the weather forecast for Thurs/Fri is ominous.  Stay tuned to the Wednesday blog for a final decision.   

I have a YMCA luncheon today followed by a K-3 assessment meeting at Central office.  Jack Smith will cover my car rider supervision today.
No sub today for Pam Chambers

Monday MM - April 25th

Good Morning - Week "B"

Tuesday is our Classified staff appreciation event! 

Just a friendly reminder to bring your items for the snack celebrating our school support staff set things up before 8:00. 

-Thank you! PBIS Hospitality

The following students will be competing in the eBoB competition on Monday. Competition arrival is 8:00 AM, so our students are going directly to the Education Building. We will dismiss from there as well. Wish us all luck!

• Malvika Bhatia
• Jay Bland
• Lucas Bradley
• Zeke Bradley
• Kaylee Eager
• Ada Farmer
• Justin Ju
• Jocelyn Sarmiento-Gracia
• Ellie Reynolds
• Victoria Sabanao
• Asmithaa Vinukonda
• Zoey Yeboah
• Maxwell Weber

Subs:

Carol Stewart for Marina Bonomo

Rosemary Hazy for Lisa Weber

No sub for Tom Radulovic

Friday MM - April 22nd

HAPPY EARTH DAY!  

Enjoy the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon and apply the norm of "time-consciousness" as our volunteers in the cafe' would like to move classes out at the appointed time.

From: PBIS Hospitality;

To: Classroom Teachers and Specialists

• Just a friendly reminder to bring your items for the snack celebrating our school support staff next Tuesday, April 26 and set things up before 8:00. Thank you!

FIELD DAY Schedule 

Thursday, April 28th

• 9:30-11:30 3rd- 5th grade all at Hanes 
• 12:15 - 1:00 3rd Talent show in the gym 
• 1:05 - 1:50 5th Talent show in the gym 
• 1:55 - 2:40 4th Talent show in the gym 
• Adjusted lunch schedule in blog docs 
• No specials/No PLT 

Friday, April 29th

• 9:30 - 11:30 Kinder – 2nd grade all at Hanes 
• 12:30 - 1:10 Kindergarten Talent show in the gym 
• 1:15 - 1:55 1st Talent show in the gym 
• 2:00 - 2:40 2nd Talent show in the gym 
• Adjusted lunch schedule in blog docs 
• No specials/No PLT 

Field day and talent shows are a joint effort by our amazing specialists.

• Joel Peddle 
• Cindy Sanders 
• Marina Bonomo 
• Carol Stewart 
• James Dorsett 
• Jenn Currin 
• Stacy Swanson

Subs for Today

1. Rosemary Hazy for Demarie Anderson
2. Barbara Byington for Donna McGee
3. Natalie Newman for Sara Davis
4. Carol Sumner for Lindsay Woodhouse
5. Betti Longino for Robin Phelps
6. Tom Radulovic for Jenn Davis
7. Chelsea Oakes for Nancy Smoot

Thursday MM - April 21st

Good Morning - Week "A"

I am thrilled with our initial Faculty Crew session!  Thanks to our leaders for excellent facilitation.  Continue to grapple with the "look, sound & impact" surrounding our norms;

• Growth-oriented
• Purposeful
• Time-conscious
• Collaboration
• Solution-oriented

I was able to touch base with Dee yesterday afternoon and her daughter has an infection that is being treated. (good news is that it was not her appendix)  She looks forward to next Wednesday.

Subs:

• Rosemary Hazy for Stacy Swanson
• Paige Sipe for Lindsay Woodhouse pm only

Wednesday MM - EARLY RELEASE DAY April 20th

Good Morning - Week "A"

Please click the link below and follow the directions to register your voice before we meet this afternoon.  The results from this poll will inform our work.

http://www.dotstorming.com/topic/5716692882e8a6f4004c9f54

I am looking forward to EVERYBODY enjoying some cookies and milk from our PTA @ 1:30 in the media center.  This will begin our PD on a "sweet" note, BUT WAIT, it will only get better as the PD was developed by teachers under the facilitation of Dee Duncan!  We will work together, Teachers, Assistants & office personnel until 3:30. 

Tuesday MM - April 19th

Good Morning - Week "A"

Welcome Dee Duncan to campus for the next TWO days!  Today she will work with Sarah in the morning and spend the afternoon planning for our Early Release PD with Jen, Lindsay and Brandi.  BIG thanks to Tom, Natalie and Maria for subbing while they collaborate on this valuable lesson.

I am at an Elementary Principals meeting until noon and then a NC STAR data meeting for the focus and priority schools from 1:00-3:00.  Stacy will join me in the afternoon and head to Asheboro on the 21st for additional PD concerning NC STAR.   The agenda for the first meeting is in the blog documents folder.

• We are having a slow response to the call for volunteers for the Field Days next week. Cam from the Y says they can provide about 5-6 people but Joel has asked for 18 for Thursday and 12 for Friday. Can you ask the teachers to add this link to their communications with their classes to see if we can generate some more help?
• http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4ba5a82da75-field

Thanks, Maggi

Subs:
Evelyn Howie for Tonya Lovin
No sub for Kim Burch

Monday MM - April 18th

Good Morning - Week "A"

PTA Teacher Appreciation Week!

• I want to echo the sentiments of the PTA as we appreciate all the efforts and actions of the amazing instructional staff at Brunson.  Thanks for all you do!

Grounds beautification went well Sunday and we had many families supporting our efforts to spruce up Brunson's curb appeal.  Encourage your students to think about how surroundings affect human feelings and behaviors.

Happy Birthday to my Mom, Linda Faullin!  The digits match in the tens and ones - 77 years young!  

Communicate with ALL students and families that April 20th is our final Early Release Day of the year.  The adjusted Lunch & Specials Schedules are posted on the board and in the blog documents folder located in the shared drive. (My printer is acting up - I will get a better copy later Monday)

Subs:
No sub for Irene Rush

Friday MM - April 15th

Good Morning - Week "B"

Enjoy this beautiful weekend and return Monday to TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK.

April 15th brings to mind taxes and the role of the government.  From the macro level of the United States of America to the micro level of one Literature Circle, we rely on structure and systems.  Today I want to thank each of you for being a leader in developing and maintaining the structures and systems that allow our students to thrive.  You are AWESOME!

Subs:
Ashley Evans for Cindy Sanders
Willie Mae Carson for Bridgette Hollomon
Natalie Denny for Brenda Coles
No sub for Kathy @ a CC meeting

Thursday MM - April 14th

Good Morning - Week "B"

Welcome Dee Duncan to campus today. She will work on EL structures with Leadership in the morning and go on a Learning walk in the afternoon,

• It's National Library Week. Thank you, Marina and Carol, for making Brunson's media center a welcoming, vital, high-functioning part of our school.
• Classroom teachers and specialists, remember to sign up to provide something for School Support Staff Appreciation on April 26. The signup sheet is on the sign-in board. Thanks, PBIS Hospitality
• Teacher appreciation week begins Monday the 18th.  Refer to the agenda on the board for activities and events.

Subs:

• Corena Moore for Nancy Smoot
• Carol Sumner for Happy Bell
• Ashley Evans for Cindy Sanders
• Barbara Byington for Kim Woody
• Jose Rodriguez for Marcela Zarate
• Betty Johnson for Tonya Lovin

Wednesday MM - April 13th

Good Morning - Week "B"

There is a Poetry workshop this afternoon facilitated by Kathy.  Rather than write a short section for you, I want to share an excerpt regarding my current favorite author.

As the journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates has become a household name over the last year with his National Book Award–winning memoir Between the World and Me and his MacArthur Fellowship, he has often been compared to James Baldwin. That comparison—made by the likes of Toni Morrison—is thanks to Coates’s intellectual dexterity, the elegance of his prose, and his uncompromising moral vision. But the two men have something else in common: poetry.

Coates started writing “bad poetry” (his words) in high school, but he took it up with more seriousness in college. When he arrived at Howard University, whose community he calls “the Mecca,” he fell in with poets that included E. Ethelbert Miller, Elizabeth Alexander, Joel Dias-Porter, Terrance Hayes, and Yona Harvey. Coates became a journalist, of course, not a poet. But in Between the World and Me, he writes about how understanding poetry taught him to write: “Poetry was the processing of my thoughts until the slag of justification fell away, and I was left with the cold steel truths of life.”

Our SIT is making improvements to the process and structure of our meetings. We will post the agenda for our Monday meetings on the Wednesday prior, via google docs.  Check your e-mail today for the link.  Our next meeting is April 18th @ 3:30 in the computer lab. 
  

Subs:

• William Newell for Lindsay Woodhouse
• Evelyn Howie for Jenn Davis
• Veronica Scales for Brandi Burroughs
• Please keep Damita in your thoughts as her Mother-in-law passed away this week.  The service is Saturday and Laurie has  the details.  (She will return to work Monday) 

Tuesday MM - April 12th

Good Morning - Week "B"

Check out this article on Grit. It has a direct connection to what we discussed in Game Changer PD and our EL education work. I had an outstanding start to a conversation on student expectations with a teacher yesterday that had me referring back to this article and the Core Practice book. Thanks to all of you for "messing with my mind" and causing me to think.

Report cards go home today in the Tuesday Packets. I will be available between 10:30-12:30 to print report cards in my office.

Subs:

• William Newell for Lindsay Woodhouse
• Evelyn Howie for Jenn Davis
• Veronica Scales for Brandi Burroughs
• Ashley Evans for Allison Phelps
• Betty Longino for Elizabeth Johnson

Monday MM - April 11th

Good Morning - Week "B"

I am happy to rejoin the Brunson team after two days with Eric Jensen.   We learned and acknowledged that change is hard.  But wait...we also learned and practiced strategies to reduce the "pain" of change and thus allow our work to be productive, meaningful and focused.  As we move forward with EL Education, I am thrilled to have this new set of tools.

Brunson Spinami Rules

(collaboratively created after feedback from 6 of our 9 groups)

• A maximum of 6 students on the ride at one time 
• Feet are placed on the yellow platform 
• Remain in position once spinning 
• One student spins 
• Wait your turn at a safe distance and in line 
• No jumping from the equipment 
• Supervising adult must be present to ride 

Grade level options:

• Assign a specific time each grade level rides 
• Assign a certain day each class can use the equipment 

Subs:

• William Newell for Lindsay Woodhouse
• Evelyn Howie for Jenn Davis
• Veronica Scales for Brandi Burroughs

Friday MM

Happy Friday great Bruson staff.

Reminders:
Saturday from 9:00 - 12:00, Mrs. Wilheit is holding an  EL ELA exploratoration time.  This is only for 3rd through 5th grade teachers.  At the completion of the time, the group will determine if more research time is necessary.

The PTA has decided to postpone tomorrow's Clean Up Day to Sunday, April 17th from 1:00-4:00.  The forecast has the wind chill in the low 30's tomorrow and it was looking like many attendees were unable to help due to the weather.  With the chance of frost on Saturday night, they wouldn't have been able to plant anything.  
The PTA plans to do another robocall and send an email through PTA informing parents of the change.  

From Wednesday's Staff Meeting: Grade level teams~ Please remember to send Mrs. H your Spin-nami grade level rules and restrictions by 5:00 today.

Mr. Faullin remains at his PD...he's getting SO SMART!!  :-)
If you need anything, see me (or Dr. Stevens).

Encourage others to read the blog! Daily only 10-20 staff read the announcements placed here.

Thursday MM:

Good morning, staff.  Happy Thursday!
   
     Thanks to each and every one of you for your assistance with photo day.  Laurie could not say enough about your cooperation and timeliness.

     Mr. Faullin is away from the office today. If you need anything Dr. Stevens and I are in the building, so reach out to either of us for support. I can't wait to hear what he learns as he spends the next 2 days in PD with Eric Jensen.

     PDQ will be the vendor providing food for Spring Fling on Friday, May 6th from 5:30 to 7:30. We hope you enjoy your gift card and then share with others how wonderful it was.

Wednesday mm - April 6th

Good Morning - Week "A"

I look forward to 

• Picture DAY!
• TAC meeting this morning!
• Summer school meeting @ 9am
• Meeting with Artist CORPS @ 11am
• Meeting for SIP planning @ noon
• Meeting with YMCA @ 1pm
• Faculty meeting after-school today
• Please bring the core practice book and a growth mindset

We will have guest blog writers Thursday and Friday as I will be at CO for "Game Changers" PD with Eric Jensen.

Tuesday MM - April 5th

Good Morning - Week "A"

• This morning I am at a Joint Principals Meeting - Agenda is posted in the Blog docs folder
• Paige Sipe is here today as a roving sub, assisting teachers who will attend IST meetings
• Technology PD today after school
• Wednesday we have a faculty meeting after school

Enjoy the day and thanks for the leadership and instruction on the playground.

I am looking for our International Flags we used to use for the Parade of Nations, Thanks!

Monday MM - April 4th

Good Morning - Week "A"

Welcome back to the 4th quarter.  The new equipment on the playground courtesy of our amazing PTA needs some introduction;

• A cross between a spinner & tsunami - Spin-nami
• Developmental Benefits
• Sensory: Vestibular +, Proprioception
• Motor Skills: Balance, Core Body Strength, Upper Body Strength
• Cognitive Skills: Problem Solving
• Social/Emotional Skills: Cooperation, Social Skill Development, Imaginative Play
• SUPERVISION REQUIRED
• Limit speed and time on the equipment
• One grade level only; i.e. 4th grade pushing 1st grade is not acceptable
• The playground is a classroom, teaching and learning is expected
• If a student is on the new equipment, a staff member will be present and engaged in supervision

I so appreciate all the K-2 report cards that have been sent to me over the break.  I need them before Mid day Tuesday as I will be off-campus at "Game Changers" PD on Thursday and Friday.

Duty Free Lunch supervision begins this week.  Be sure you communicate with the staff in the cafe in advance.  There will always be communication between the adults when supervisory responsibility is transferred.   

Subs:

• Roberto Figueroa for Marcella Zarate
• Sadie Best for Kelsey Loy
• No sub for Tonya Lovin am only
• No sub for Kathy Wilheit @ Scaling STEM conference
• Mrs. Brown for Miss Burroughs