The admin team is looking
forward to doing collaborative observations; all of
us observing teachers together, again during our remote learning days. Please remember the purpose of
these observations is to provide consistency with our
expectations and further our development as leaders.
Please know that we will try to notify you in advance if the entire
admin team will be joining your synchronous sessions, but it may not always be
possible.
If you are
taking any time/days off during remote learning, you will need to get approval
from your dean first and then submit your time/days in Lawson.
We will not
be having any snow days during remote learning, so any teachers who will be
working in the building, will need to make sure you take your computer home
every night in case the roads become too bad to drive into work.
We had 21 staff members participate in the Gratitude Challenge last week. If you
are participating in our final week (November 22-28 AND 29 & 30) of the Gratitude
Challenge, please email me your list by Monday, December1. Thank you to everyone who
participated this month! I hope you were able to reap some of the benefits of
expressing gratitude with your emotions, personality, social
dynamics, career success, and/or most of all your health.
Per our retention guidelines, forms need to be filled out for each student recommended for retention and submitted to administration by December 18 for Stage 1.
If
you discussed retention at conferences, please make sure that you send me your
list by the deadline so those students’ names can be entered into MyNHA as
possible retention candidates. Thank you to the 8th grade team for
already submitting your names.
Tricia and
Jen D for my Christmas gifts! I was totally impressed that you
were that organized because I am still working on getting gifts for everyone.
Stephanie and
Jen H for cleaning up the staff room after conference lunches and emptying the
fridge before break. It’s not often that someone takes it upon themselves to
clean up without being asked.
Robyn and
Jamie for figuring out extra recess and creating a schedule with coverage.
Ashley H for volunteering
to do recall at dismissal. You saw a need and filled a need without being
asked.
Lisa for taking down the cultural awareness bulletin board.
Laura D for subbing in second grade.
Monday, November 30:
·
Remote Learning Begins
Tuesday, December 1:
·
Gratitude Challenge-Week 4 (November
22-28 AND 29 & 30)
Friday, December 4:
·
Due: Morning Assembly
Presentation-Fletcher
(National Human Rights Month)
There is a special gift
in the mailboxes of all the people who celebrate their birthdays in December
and January.
Please view the right side of the blog for important dates in December and January!
*If you have an event to add or something has been forgotten, please
let me know!
The
admin team would like to gift one free school store voucher to each staff member. You can pick one of the following to
wear on Monday: dress down, pajama, crazy hair,
sweater/sweatshirt, sneaker, hat, and/or crazy socks. I’m almost positive that
I know which voucher 90% of the staff will choose. 😊
We are excited to announce that we have been approved to hire another dean for a total of 4 deans! This position will be posted soon, and we plan for the new hire to start mid-January. We will keep you posted once we have selected our newest staff member and we have figured out new dean assignments.
I wanted to share something personal that I hope will help some of you. This past summer was extremely difficult for me professionally and personally. The deans and I spent the entire summer preparing and planning for the upcoming school year. We would meet for 8 or more hours every day and as soon as we finished a meeting feeling like we made “some” progress, we would receive communication that would change everything that we just did. Can any of you relate? 😊
This didn’t just happen
once or twice, but multiple times throughout the summer. It led me to
constantly feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and disheartened. I would go home and
tell Jason, “I am so overwhelmed because…” or “I am frustrated because….” Since
I was so consumed with my negative emotions, it made being a wife and mother
difficult. I KNOW the importance of sharing how you truly feel and not
suppressing emotions. You all know I believe in being transparent and honest about
how I feel (good, bad, and ugly), but I also believe there should be a balance,
so we don’t magnify the negative.
Reading the article
below helped me to process my range of emotions and find balance when dealing
with difficult situations which helped me to become a better mother and wife.
The article captures a conversation between Oprah and Pastor Joel Osteen that
speaks about the principal of ‘I AM.’ It states that whatever follows the
sentence starter, “I am,” will be invited into your life. I love how he states,
“It feels like when you understand that whatever follows “I am” is going to
eventually find you…” This principle makes me more intentional about finding
the good in any situation. This does not mean my positivity is toxic.
It’s my positivity that is keeping me from becoming toxic as I continue to
manage and oversee all the change that we are experiencing this school year.
Please note that although this conversation
mentions God, my desire in sharing this is not connected to religion, instead I
hope it inspires or helps someone with the message of I AM.
You can watch the entire 30 minute interview by clicking on the YouTube video at the top of this post, but the first four minutes of the conversation are scribed in the document below with my highlighted notes.
The Power of I AM by embryjd on Scribd
Just a few reminders as we prepare to launch into remote instruction…
1. All students should
have their cameras
on for
the entire synchronous session. We need to know that they are present and
engaged in learning. If you have concerns about the background or the living
situation of the child, you can have them blur out their backgrounds.
2.
Although
we are running a schedule similar to a regular school day, some parents may
have to make arrangements for childcare that will not permit consistent virtual
participation within the school day. Not all our families are
fortunate enough to have a family member at home and, in some cases, children
will be placed into daycare or with an elderly family member. If you notice a
student is not attending regularly, please reach out to the family to offer
assistance. Furthermore, you should plan to record your lessons to allow ALL students
access to instruction.
3.
Morning assembly will continue on its normal schedule.
Please continue to submit your presentations to Robyn.
4.
Please
be sure to communicate your office hours to parents and explain the purpose of
office hours.
5.
While
we are teaching remotely, engaging our students can be challenging. A
group of principals were brainstorming ways to engage learners from home and we
came up with the following list of ways you can engage your students and check
for understanding without just one to one calling on students to respond to
questions / provide answers.
·
Use
dry erase boards or a piece of paper inside a plastic sleeve and have your
scholars write out their answer and show you.
·
Use
hand gestures to physically engage your students (thumbs up, etc.).
·
Use
manipulatives they can find around the house ... crackers or noodles make great
counters, small toys/blocks, etc.
·
Take
brain breaks! Who doesn't love a "Go Noodle" dance video?!?
·
For
phonics and the alphabet with younger students - have them do a scavenger hunt
and search for something with the proper sound/letter.
·
For
older students, use online resources like Kahoot to engage your students in
meaningful review.
We had 30 staff members participate in the Gratitude Challenge last week. Some of the submission last week had me laughing. If you are participating in our final week-Week 4 (November 22-28 AND November 29-30) of the Gratitude Challenge, please make sure to turn in your gratitude jar to me on Tuesday, December 1. Since we are remote, you can email me your list.
This week I was grateful for…
· November 15: Family Movie Night. Jingle
Jangle was a great movie.
· November 16: Deb for just being someone that
I know I can always count on to help me solve problems.
· November 17: Liz, Amelia, and Morgan for being
so understanding and flexible.
· November 18: Seeing our K-6 teachers preparing
our students for remote learning.
·
November 19: Deans who allow me to be vulnerable and REAL. Not everyone could handle
me being as real as I am with all of you. Thank you for being my safe haven.
· November 20: Not having to finish the blog or
phone cast today because I did it on Thursday!
·
November 21: Putting up our Christmas decorations a week earlier than normal.
Keystone staff for providing
our students with high quality virtual instruction. I loved popping into
classrooms seeing all of you in action.
Jenaca, Kayla, Christina, Lindsay,
and Nicole for dealing with last minute remote learning
schedule changes.
Diane and
Jena for providing advanced opportunities to our students.
Tully and
Tracy for advocating for all students, even those who don’t want an advocate. 😊
Liz, Morgan, and Amelia for
smiling through some shocking news, instead of complaining.
Deb for making choices that are in
the best interest of the school, even at her own sacrifice.
Jen H for being
the best gym teacher EVER!
Stephanie and Ashley
H for taking
on additional responsibilities to help the admin team.
Monday, November 23:
·
School Store Vouchers Redeemed
· Gratitude Challenge Week 3 (November 15-21) Due
· Steve’s Birthday
·
PT Conferences 4-8 PM
Tuesday, November 24:
·
½ Day of School-Dismissal at 11:20
· PT Conferences 12-4 PM
Wednesday, November 25-27:
·
No School-Thanksgiving Break
Friday, November 27:
·
Due: Morning Assembly
Presentation-Cryder
(American Indian Heritage Month)
In preparation for remote learning, we need all in-person teachers to complete the Google form by this Sunday, November 15: https://forms.gle/3yaCZzwQgimMT2AF7 identifying which subject (ELA or math) you will be teaching virtually in your classroom all next week. During the lessons, we expect the following:
· Blocksi being utilized for classroom management
· All asynchronous classwork and assignments being posted to Google Classroom (no worksheets) for students to access
· Students accessing the Google Meet link independently
· All students utilizing their Chromebooks the entire lesson
In addition, as we prepare for “unscheduled” remote learning, please ensure:
· 2nd through 8th grade assessments are being taken through EdCite.
· Students take home their Chromebooks every night.
Sunday, November 15
·
Complete Remote Learning Link
Monday, November 16:
·
Gratitude Challenge Week 2 (November 8-14)
Due
· Send Intro Letters to New Tri 2 Families
·
Send Tri 2 Remote Schedule to All
Families
Tuesday, November 17:
·
Purple Club for Middle School
Wednesday, November 18:
·
All Grades Entered
Friday, November 20:
·
Trimester 1 School Store
· End of Trimester 1
· Reports Available on the Parent Portal
·
3-8 ELA Interim 1 Scan-by Date
Keystone staff for working
so diligently on creating remote schedules and student groupings.
Steve, Diane, and
Jena for doing a wonderful job with our Veterans Day assembly and wall.
Lindsay, Nicole, and
Christina for all the time and effort that you devoted to determining what’s
best.
Sloane for coming
to me with a solution before it could become a problem.
Deb, Sarah D, and Gary for setting
up the gym for the Board meeting.
Tully and Kari for providing
content for dean development.
Sarah D for technology
inventory, distribution, and support to our staff and ME.
I know each of you have a lot that is required of you right now. There
isn’t a lot that I can take off your plates, but here are two small things that
I can offer you:
·
You are no
longer required to change your bulletin board by Wednesday. As long as it's not the same one from the beginning of the school year. 😀
·
You do not
have to print report cards. I am informing families that they can
view them from the Parent Portal and can call the office if they need a printed
copy.
We had
34 staff members participate in the Gratitude
Challenge last week. I enjoyed reading the things that you value and
appreciate. If you are participating in Week 2 (November 8-14) of the Gratitude
Challenge, please make sure to turn in your gratitude jar to me on Monday,
November 16. This week I was grateful for…
· November 8: My college “girl squad” calling and checking on me. It was great to
catch up.
· November 9: My daughters being independent and packing their own lunches.
· November 10: Meeting my weekly quota for working out.
· November 11: My husband always willing to help.
·
November 12: Staff
that continue to give their all despite the circumstances.
· November 13: For the weekend!
·
November 14: Spending
time with sister. My daughters love their Titi.
