Wednesday, January 31, 2018 

Laurie is out today.  If you have any communication for her, please do so by email.

We still have absences without subs.  Here are the adjustments, thanks for the flexibility!

• Jenn Currin is out
• Green switches to technology
• Coles switches to Media
• Trish Gulledge is out
• Doris Davis subs in her class

Faculty Crew Learning targets

• I can collaboratively serve our community through organization and cleaning of a common faculty space at Brunson

• I can collaboratively serve our community through planning improvements to  a common faculty space at Brunson

3:30 - meet your Crew in @ the following location:

• Parrish - Lounge
• Coles - Lobby/Sign in
• Davis - Mail Room
• Woody - Be.cafe
• Currin - Copy room

Tuesday, January 30th

Schedule for today:

Period 4: 2nd grade

Period 5: 1st grade

Period 6: Kindergarten

Period 7: 4th grade

We based this on the classes that were "shorted" last week due to testing.  


"Establish and maintain a feedback culture that is Kind, Specific and Helpful."  

I am asking for you assistance to improve the quality of custodial services.  Please provide an e-mail before the end of the week with feedback that will lead toward improvement.  I am looking for enhanced processes resulting in a clean environment for all stakeholders.

Spelling Bee Finals @ 10:40

I will be off campus this afternoon to attend a title one update meeting.

Monday, January 29th

A rainy Sunday leads to a WET playground.  If you choose indoor recess consider some "energizers" to engage our students major muscle groups.  We can start to promote our Family Crew event on February 13th.

We have some sickness in the staff and will need to model flexibility to our students as some staff may be asked to step into different roles.

Faculty Crew is Wednesday.  Room locations and materials will be posted on Tuesday's Blog.  

Thursday MM

Happy Thursday CREW!

We have a request from Becky West for items to support families living at the Salvation Army Shelter.

• single/ twin bed sheets
• blankets
• pillows

These items can be used, but they should be clean and in good shape.
Item can be brought to Mrs. H's office. 

Wednesday MM

Community CREW today from 3:30-4:30 with these topics:

• Greeting ~ teamwork
• Resilience table conversation (make sure you've read the article referred to in the BLOG on Friday the 12th)
• Substitute information
• NEW report card dates (they've been extended)
• Feb 13th Family CREW ~ Save the Date
• Recovery conversation
• Good of the Order

Coming back after the lengthy break might be challenging for students.  Don't hesitate to positively review the HoCs.  

Tuesday MM

Our schedule for spring 2018 starts includes a new “line item,”  Media CO.  We have created a structure to get our Kindergarten, first and second grade students into the media center for check-out on a more regular basis.  I will use bullet points to outline to background and new process;

·       Media/Tech/Guidance rotate through the K-2 specials

·       The new Media CO slot is filled with the grade level classes without media as a special

·       Classes report at the beginning of the scheduled period with teacher and assistant

·       15 minute check-out period and then back to class

·       Mrs. Shepard will run the checkout

·       Teachers and assistants will facilitate book selection and student management

Report cards will be sent out one week late due to the snow days.  We appreciate your voice in voting this morning, but have heard the voice that says, we need more time.  Let's take this opportunity to reduce our stress and follow guidelines to send them out in the Tuesday packet of February 6th.

•  January 22th by 2:00 p.m. Specialists, EC, resource, etc. grades to classroom teachers

•  January 26th by 8:00 a.m. ~ Report card/comments to administrator: K-2 Sarah; 3-5 Susana; HAG Kathy

•  January 30th by 12:00 p.m. ~ Admin returns report cards to teachers 

•  February 1st by 8:00 a.m. ~ ALL 3rd-5th grade report cards to Katie
•  February 6th ~ All report cards go home

Specialist Schedule for Thursday:

• Period #1 - EOQ 

• Period #4 - FIFTH grade

• Period #5 - FOURTH grade

• Period #6 - THIRD grade

• Period #7 - SECOND grade

Specialist Schedule for Friday:

• Period #1 - EOQ 

• Period #4 - FIFTH grade

• Period #5 - KINDERGARTEN 

• Period #6 - THIRD grade

• Period #7 - FIRST grade

Long Weekend

No school on Friday, January 19th.  Below is the tentative schedule for the beginning of the week

Monday, January 22nd

• 8:00 - Community Crew in the media center - BRING A COFFEE CUP and A NAPKIN 
• 8:30 - EL Education PD in the media center BRING CORE PRACTICE BOOK AND YOUR CURRICULUM COMPANION If you have one
• 11:45 - Lunch Break
• 12:30 - open planning
• 2:15 - "Office Hours" with Gwyenth Hagen
• 3:30 - End of work day

Tuesday, January 23rd

• REGULAR DAY

Wednesday, January 24th

• REGULAR DAY

Thursday, January 25th

• EOQ Assessments for ELA

Friday, January 26th

• EOQ Assessments for Math

SNOW

I have been working my brain to seek multiple perspectives on the snowfall.  Connected to the work on resilience posted last Friday, I am taking this gift of time to think and consider angles that I typically rush past.

Enjoy thinking, reading and adjusting your pace toward sustainability.  

As soon as I hear about Friday, I will post, and e-mail, information on our schedule.

Tuesday, January 16th

Thanks to Natalie for the Test plan (check your e-mail.)  We will keep focused on the weather and make adjustments as needed.

Please welcome Judy Jones from Inspire 340 to campus this morning.  

Please finish your PDP MYR by the end of the week as Sarah and I look forward to productive conversations before February 2nd.

Spelling Bee class winners are due to Jeff by Thursday.   Our school bee is on Friday the 19th in room 13.  It is not open to parents or classes, just the representatives from each homeroom.

The 19th is also the WATCHDOGS breakfast.  Encourage your families to support our students through this act of service.

Friday, January 12th

As we head into the weekend that culminates with honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., please read this article as we will engage in a discussion protocol at Community Crew on resilience.

In addition Beth Payne writes;

This week we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man who brought hope and healing to America. Despite the challenges and risks he faced, Dr. King was highly resilient which allowed him to be flexible and adapt quickly, to collaborate well with others, make quick and effective decisions in a crisis, and persist despite adversity. Thanks to his resilience, Dr. King was able to accomplish goals that seemed impossible and out of reach. What made him such a resilient person and a leader who inspired resilience within the civil rights community?

Meaning and Purpose: Last year I visited Montgomery, Alabama, and was privileged to tour the church where Dr. King served as a pastor. I learned how much Dr. King looked to his religion for meaning and purpose. While having a religious belief is not required to be highly resilient, studies consistently show that various forms of spirituality, including religion, can enhance resilience. For many people, including Dr. King, religion provides the meaning and purpose that is the foundation of our resilience. Dr. King was also was passionate about his mission of achieving equality for all members of our society, a meaningful goal that kept him inspired during some of his darkest times.

Social Support: Dr. King reached out to his wife Coretta, the rest of his immediate family, and members of their church to support and encourage him during all the difficult years of his struggle. When I toured the house he lived in in Montgomery, they described the importance he placed on his family and how they would host social gatherings to draw support from friends in the community. Dr. King surrounded himself with people he could lean on and who helped him remain strong.

Taking Care of Himself: Dr. King's days were long and arduous and they took a toll him physically and mentally. What struck me when visiting his home in Montgomery was how he created a space for contemplation and recovery. He would spend hours in his office praying, reading, and contemplating. This allowed him to recover from stress and hardship. I don't know whether Dr. King also focused on sleep, good nutrition and exercise, but he did carve out time in an incredibly busy schedule to rest and recover.

Altruism: Dr. King strongly believed in helping others. When sanitation workers went on strike in Memphis, he gave his support because he wanted to help others in need. Staff at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis told me that Dr. King was tempted not to go to the church on April 3 where he gave his remarkable Mountaintop speech because it was pouring rain and he was tired. He went anyway because he wanted to give what he could to the striking workers. In this remarkable speech he explained that the question he posed to himself was not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question was, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?"

Thursday, January 11, 2018

The Watch D.O.G.S. annual event, Donuts for D.O.G.S. has been rescheduled for Friday, January 19th 
in the Media Center from 7:30-8:20. 
If you can assist setting up, serving, or cleaning up, 
please see Ms. H.

• Monday, Jan 15 ~ MLK Day No School
• Monday, Jan 22 ~ Reserved for School Day (EL PD 8:00-11:45)
• Tuesday, Feb 13 ~ Mark your calendars to be with us for Family CREW night