Gratitude Challenge

 

2020 has been quite the year for all of us-as a school, country, and nation.  In the midst of it all, though, I know that it’s possible to feel the heaviness of what’s unfolding AND also allow ourselves to feel gratitude for what’s going well in our world. The two are not mutually exclusive! With gratitude being our moral focus virtue this month, I would like to invite you to participate in a 30-day gratitude challenge. There are many versions of the gratitude challenge, but to keep things simple, all you need to do for the Keystone Gratitude Challenge is to write one thing that you are grateful for every day-for a total of 30 things.

 

There are many benefits for expressing gratitude. Psychology research has shown that gratitude touches on many aspects of our lives. Our emotions, personality, social dynamics, career success, and most of all our health.

 

In addition to seeing an increase in our moods and well-being, all participating staff members will receive a jean pass for every week that they participate for a total of 4 jean passes. You will turn in your weekly gratitude list to me every Friday for the month of November. If you feel that it’s difficult to find 30 different things, google ideas and/or calendars. I will be using the image below to assist me on days that may be difficult. 😊

Mandatory Trainings

 

NHA’s Safety & Health team has started transitioning training programs from OnCourse to Safe Schools. The first set of programs sent were the OSHA Training that included two modules: Bloodborne Pathogen and Hazardous Communications. Both courses must be completed by Oct. 30, 2020, which is TODAY.

In an effort to balance state training compliance with the impact of education during the COVID interruptions, NHA is trying to stagger the trainings. The next set of training will be sent out on November 1 and are due on February 15: Child Abuse Identification & Intervention (24 min.) and Mandatory Reporting Child Abuse (20 min.).

Please help me by completing all trainings by the due dates, so that I don’t have to follow up with people. 

You may access the links to the training programs through the Safe School app in myNHA. 

Core Values

 

One of our Core Values is “Act with discipline to sustain our academic success and financial viability.” Please be mindful of printing to the color printer. The ink for that printer is much more expensive than our black printers/copiers. I’ve noticed some people have it set as their default printer and are printing everything to our color copier, even when the document doesn’t have any color. Please DO NOT set your default copier to the color printer and only print necessary documents to that printer.

Shout Outs

 

Ashley H for having my back.

Ashley B for embracing feedback and working to improve workshop.  

Michelle for feeling comfortable to express concerns.   

Tully for organizing a staff book club.

Stacey for embracing change.

Megan and Mandy for sharing your positive outlook and making my day.  

Stacey, Megan, and Tracy for figuring out a way to get our Commitment to Excellence form to our virtual students.

Deb for cleaning up my mess…always!

Ellen for being honest and transparent.

Jenaca and Ashley B for sharing best practices with your colleagues.

Stefanie for providing our families with a fun activity/competition. Thanks for being creative!

Robyn for holding down two full-time jobs. I know being a teacher and a dean at the same time is not easy, but you handle it well.

Lindsay, Christina, and Nicole for great workshop and planning conversations.

This Week

 

Monday, November 2

·    No School-PD 8:30-3:30

·    Lunch Provided

Wednesday, November 4:

·    SpEd Open House

·    PTO Meeting 4-5 PM https://meet.google.com/mnh-btzf-nmc

Friday, November 6:

·    DUE: Morning Assembly Presentation-Lauren (Veteran’s Day)

·    Trimester 2 Instructional Model Deadline

November Birthdays

 

There is a special gift in the mailboxes of all the people who celebrate their birthdays in November.

Monday Preparation

 In preparation of Monday, please note the following:

·      Lunch: while eating all students should do it silently to help reduce exposure while their masks are off. When students are done eating, they need to put their masks back on to socialize with other students who have their mask on.

·      Assembly: morning assemblies will go back to our original days-Mondays and Fridays.

·      Digital Platform: please continue to use the various digital platforms with students in your classroom. You can have them do an activity or worksheet on Classkick, take weekly assessments on Edcite, etc. It’s best to keep students exposed and familiar with the various platforms in case we have to go back to hybrid and/or completely virtual. We know that we have to be prepared for anything this school year.   

·      STARS: STARS Before & After Care will be in the gym in the morning and the Young 5s classroom in the afternoon.

Staff Meeting

 

Instead of a PLC meeting this Tuesday, we will have a staff meeting.

October 27 Staff Meeting Agenda

1.    Icebreaker

2. Good News

3. Best Practice Share Out

4. Trimester 2 Instructional Model

5. Parent-teacher Conferences 

6. Q & A

7. Launch

 

*You will be attending the meeting from your classroom using the Google Meet link in the calendar invite. Starting at 3:45, please go to the staff lounge to sign in, gather the documents that we will be discussing, and grab some snacks.

*Meeting begins promptly at 4:00.

November 2 PD

 

See the agenda below for November 2 PD. The attire is comfy, so please feel free to wear leggings, joggers, etc.

8:30-9:00         Virtual Teacher Collaboration

9:00-11:30       Morning Breakout Sessions

11:30-12:00     Lunch: Taco Bar from Hidalgo  

12:00-3:30       Unpacking Upcoming Units & Lesson Preparation

*Deans will be emailing their direct reports their AM breakout session topics and locations.

*Beginning teacher PD will be in the art room.  

Shout Outs

 

Megan, Sandy, Sarah Z, Laquanda, Robyn, Jamie, Stacey, Ashley, Jen H, Deb, Tricia, and Stephanie for my Bosses Day gifts. Thank you for making me feel special.

Stephanie for taking care of all my last-minute requests.

Sheila, Michelle, Anne, Diane, Tully, and Jamie for accepting new students without any notice. Thank you for making the students feel welcomed on their first day of school.  

Deb for seeing a need and filling a need. I appreciate you volunteering for a second picture day distribution.   

Ashley for anticipating needs and making sure the office runs smoothly.

Mechelle for fixing my Google form.

Kim B for stepping in and assisting when needed. I appreciate you being willing to sub whenever needed.

Tracy and Jessica for dealing with disturbing student behavior.

Jamie and Stacey for working hard to resolve a difficult situation.

This Week

 

Sunday, October 25

·    Kim J’s Birthday

Tuesday, October 27:

·    Staff Meeting 4-5 PM

Friday, October 30:

·    DUE: Morning Assembly Presentation-Patton (American Indian Heritage Month)

·    Pay Day Breakfast-Specials

   Spirit Day-students may wear black or blue jeans with a Keystone, solid red, or solid black shirt for $1. 

Happy Birthday

 

Kim J: October 25

Important Dates

 Please view the right side of the blog for important dates in

 *If you have an event to add or something has been forgotten, please let me know!  

Board Gift

 

Every year, our board gives us a gift for Christmas. This gift has to come out of their marketing budget, so it usually contains either our school’s name or logo on it. This year, they want suggestions from the staff. Please complete the survey: Board Gift Survey if you have any ideas for this year’s Christmas gift.

FAQ

 As we prepare for October 26, NHA has provided answers to some frequently asked questions regarding increasing in-person days (social distancing, COVID risks, etc.). I encourage you to read the document below.

School Learning Model Change FAQ by embryjd on Scribd

Observations

 

Starting October 26, the admin team will NOT be doing any observations for two weeks (October 26-November 6). We know the importance of having that time to build relationships and re-establish routines and procedures when you merge your A and B groups.

November 2 PD

 

November 2 is our first Regional PD Day. NHA has decided that each school will host their own PD for safety.

More information will be sent out soon, however, plan to be on-site from 8:30 to 3:30. We will be providing lunch from Hidalgo Mexican restaurant.

Shout Outs

 

Ashley for helping to keep the workroom clean and clutter-free.   

Stacey, Ellen, Andria, Jen D, Jen H, Laquanda, and Cindy Conti for providing our students with educational opportunities beyond the classroom. Our first virtual Family Science night was a success!  

Jenaca, Monique, and Christina for conducting science experiments with our students for science night. Thank you for spending an evening with our families. 

Ellen for assisting the admin team with communication regarding IAT meetings.  

Steve for inviting me to lunch. I feel honored for the invite and I’m look forward to spending some time with the 7^th grade students.

Jen H for being willing to assist colleagues beyond your job responsibilities.

Lisa H for covering me in the mornings.

Robyn for making sure that our students had adequate grades and the numeracy assessment available.

Stacey for upholding your expectations despite circumstances.

Tully for collecting and counting anti-bullying money.

Stephanie for arranging flu shots for our staff.

Emma for providing our students with a virtual art club.

This Week

 

Thursday, October 22

·    Nancy, DSQ, visiting 12:30-2:30

Friday, October 23:

·    DUE: Morning Assembly Presentation-Chuang (Anti-Bullying)

Interim 1

 

Did you know that Interim 1 is now available on Edcite? Our 3^rd through 8^th grade students take the ELA assessment the week of November 9-13. Please take the time to review the assessment prior to administration. I would encourage you to follow our workshop cycle (see image above) from last year. All interims will be entered into gradebook to count towards overall grades. We don’t want our students taking an assessment that contains content that hasn’t been taught.

Attendance Expectations Beginning October 26

 

As we prepare for October 26, I wanted to let you know about attendance and gradebook.

     ·     In-person teachers will NOT have to track participation.

     ·     In person teachers will NOT have to track 2-way communication.

     ·     In-person teachers WILL have to continue taking attendance in two different rosters for Group A & Group B until Trimester 2.

     ·     In-person teachers WILL have to continue to use two different gradebooks for Group A & B until Trimester 2.

15-Minute O3

 

It’s that time again where I would like to have a 15-minute O3 with every staff member.

This gives both of us an opportunity to connect. As often as I am in classrooms seeing the great things that you all are doing, I don’t get to hear how you are feeling about everything. Please come to the O3 willing to share with me one thing that you like about Keystone and one thing that if we changed would improve Keystone.

I am asking ALL staff members to please use the link: 15-Min O3 Sign Up  to sign up by Monday, October 12.

The 15-minute O3s will occur over the next two weeks. Please make sure that you select the correct tab at the bottom of the document. I will be sending out calendar invites on Tuesday. I look forward to spending this time with you!

Staff Meeting

 

We do not have a staff meeting this week. However, the specials teachers can still provide their snacks on Wednesday for the staff to enjoy throughout the day! 😊

Shout Outs

 

Andria and Jamie for helping to make our hallway beautiful.

Jen D for providing Jamie, Andria, and me with a much-needed supply.  

Tully and Sloane for providing me with feedback so staff is aware of safety measures.

Jamie and Robyn for doing double duty this week with subbing in classrooms, while still maintaining your dean responsibilities.

Jamie for volunteering to sub for someone other than her direct report.

Liz for assisting with a 504 situation.

Deb for donating candy to the jar.  

Nikki for helping a colleague put out a fire.

Stephanie for washing the dishes in the sink.

Jen H and Stephanie for cleaning up the staff room on a consistent and ongoing basis.

This Week

 

Tuesday, October 13:

·    Anti-Bullying Spirit Day (Group A)-ALL students may wear an orange shirt with jeans (no rips or tears) and gym shoes for $1 to support Stomp Out Bullying.

*Teachers may participate on both days!

Wednesday, October 14:

·    IAT Meetings

Thursday, October 15:

·    Mechelle’s Birthday

Friday, October 16:

·    Commitment to Excellence Due

·    DUE: Morning Assembly Presentation-WEBER (Anti-Bullying)

·    Anti-Bullying Spirit Day (Group B)-ALL students may wear an orange shirt with jeans (no rips or tears) and gym shoes for $1 to support Stomp Out Bullying.

*Teachers may participate on both days!