Reset Behavior Expectations

 

Two weeks away from school. Staying up too late watching TV? Playing video games all day?  Sleeping in several extra hours? Taking daily naps? These are some of the ways that our students will spend their break, so it’s important to reteach your behavioral expectations when students return. You don’t need to spend several weeks reestablishing your classroom culture, but several days should be used to help students transition back into the routines of our school day.

For example, you can have discussions with your students about their own expectations. In the beginning of the school year, the students created a social contract. So, ask them what they expect their classmates to continue to do in the new year. Let your students lead these discussions by restating what we all expect now that we’ve had some time to get to know each other and some time away.

After a long vacation, how do you provide additional supports for your students during the transition back? Please share your best practices with your team.

Board Gift

 

Our wonderful Board will be providing the staff with lunch on Friday, January 13 from Qdoba as a part of our holiday gift. They always provide us with lunch in January to give us something to look forward to in the new year. 

Staff Lounge

 

Before you leave for winter break, please remember to retrieve your items from the fridge in the staff lounge. I will be cleaning the staff fridge at 3PM on Friday and throwing everything away. Please do not bring any holiday party items to the lounge.  

Lastly, turn off and unplug all electrical items in the classrooms and offices.  This includes lights, lamps, microwaves, space heaters, coffee pots, etc.

School Goals-Attendance

 

Since Tracy’s homeroom has spelled all three attendance words, the leadership team had to think of something new to spell. Robyn thought of breaking up our attendance slogan into two parts. The first part “Education soars” has 14 letters. Once that is spelled, you would move on to the remainder of the slogan “when you walk through the doors!” which has 26 letters. I love that we had to find new words to spell!

Affirmations

 

Jamie for organizing staff fun. I loved seeing the creative abilities of our staff.

Stacey Reed for organizing breakfast for the staff TWICE this week!  

Tameka for organizing the Merry Dip-Mas Potluck.

Stacey Ramirez for setting up the stocking stuffer activity.

Stephanie for always taking care of my heart!

Jen D, Cindy Conti, Kathleen, Tricia, Stefanie, Morgan, Tameka, Stacey Reed, Jen H, Stefanie, Stephanie, Stacey Ramirez, Deb, Gary, Jamie, Robyn, Monique, and Flo for my Christmas gifts. Thank you for thinking of me and bringing me holiday cheer.

The Week of January 9

 

Sunday, January 8:

    ·     Kristin’s Birthday

Tuesday, January 10:

    ·     SLT Meeting

Wednesday, January 11:

    ·     Perfect Attendance Prize Redemption

Thursday, January 12:

    ·     Purple Club

    ·     Y5s-8 ORF Benchmarking 2 (Jan 12-19)

Friday, January 13:

    ·     Qdoba Lunch from Board

    ·     Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Civil Rights Day)-Fletcher

Saturday, January 14:

    ·     Kathleen’s Birthday

Happy Birthday

 

Tricia: December 24

Emma: December 30 

Austin: January 1 

Mandy: January 3

Kayla: January 3

Danielle: January 7

Kristin: January 8:

Kathleen: January 14

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

Important Dates

 

January 16: MLK Day

January 17: Staff Meeting

January 17: Staff Meeting Snacks-Specials  

January 20: Progress Reports

January 20: Intervention Meetings

January 20: Payday Breakfast-6^th Grade

January 20: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Chinese New Year)-Shroff

January 23-27: 3-8 ELA Interim 2

January 23-27: K-2 Math Numeracy 2

January 24: PLC Meeting

January 24-February 17: NWEA Winter Testing

January 27: Staff Holiday Party

January 27: Spirit Day and Popcorn $1.00 each

January 27: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Black History Month)-Ancrile

January 31: Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna-4^th Grade

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

12 Days Before Break

 This Wednesday for the 12 Days Before Winter Break, we hope you participate in our Great Cookie Bake Off. You don’t have to actually bake anything, we’ve taken care of that for you. See below for the directions to the game.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three bakers (decorators).

Great Cookie Bake Off 2022 by embryjd on Scribd

Proactive Behavior Strategies

 Since you were unable to have a “date” with all 5 proactive behavior strategies during our staff meeting, the presenters wrote descriptions (see below) on how they utilize them within their own classrooms. 

We hope it will help you “get to know” the strategy a little better and provide you with additional resources. As discussed, we know that having a positive relationship is the most important strategy when dealing with student behavior, so I’ve included the steps below on how to build a relationship as a reminder.

Please reach out to the presenter, a team lead, or your dean if you need additional support with a repeat offender. 

Proactive Strategies for Repeat Offenders by embryjd on Scribd

Staff Attire

I wanted to remind everyone of our expectations for staff attire regarding dress down/casual attire. We are noticing a lot of people dressed in hoodies, leggings, and colored jeans without passes. 

1.           Colored jeans (black, grey, yellow, etc.) are still jeans, not slacks. So, all jeans should only be worn with a dress down or jean pass.

2.           Leggings need to be treated like tights and only worn with dresses/tops that come to your knees.

3.          Hoodies should not be used as a sweater over your professional top. Hoodies should only be worn with a dress down pass.

Our staff handbook states,

“The staff dress code is business casual. Leggings can be worn but shouldn’t be considered pants.  Instead, think of leggings more like tights, so the dress/shirt that you wear with them must be almost to your knees. Jeans, t-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts, hoodies, tennis shoes, flip flops, etc. are not acceptable business casual attire.”

Last, remember that your dress down or casual attire sticker must be visible by 8AM of the day that you choose to wear it. Please do not attached it to a lanyard because we have no way of ensuring it’s current. Instead, adhere it to your shirt. I have had no issues with my stickers staying on any of my tops. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me for clarification.   

ABCD Goal-Attendance

 

Congratulations to Tracy’s class for spelling the word ATTENDANCE! They are the first class to accomplish this! As a class, they had 21 days of perfect attendance. To see our 8^th graders embrace our school goal is truly a reflection of Tracy’s commitment. I am curious how she was able to motivate middle schoolers because we know that’s a “interesting” age. 😊  

Core Value Reminder

 

One of our Core Values is to “act with discipline to sustain our academic success and financial viability.” So, please only print color documents to the color printer. I’m seeing a lot of black and white documents coming from that printer. The ink for the color printer is more expensive than the other copiers.

As a reminder, make sure to pick up all the copies that you are making. There have been a lot of unclaimed papers in the copier room.

Affirmations

 

Alex and Emma for sharing a best practice at our staff meeting.  

Stephanie for knowing me so well and bringing me a tasty treat!  

Stacey Reed for updating the leadership observation tool AGAIN!

Mandy, Alex, Nikki, Ashley A, Teri, Josie, Diane, Cindy, Tracy, and Emma for answering a last-minute call to share a best practice at our staff meeting.  

Stacey Ramirez for so many things, but most importantly, always coming through for me!

Robyn for gifting me something from your appreciation. I cannot wait to use it. 

Tameka for assisting me when I needed help the most.

Stacey Ramirez for the thoughtful gift. I loved the personalization.

Glen for noticing our staff lounge table was unstable and fixing them.

Deb, Stephanie, and Stacey Ramirez for going above and beyond to make sure our building was ready for visitors.

Robyn for organizing staff fun! I always love watching our competitive staff engage in activities.

Jamie for going outside every day with middle school. You took on this additional task without anyone asking to ensure the safety of our students. 

Tameka for supporting your teachers with behaviors and contacting them on their behalf.

Jamie and Steve for attending a parent meeting to help support a repeat offender.

Jen H, Nikki, and Mandy organizing a staff outing. It was fun to spend time with the staff outside of school.

Eric for the work that you do with our kids every day that made them perform so well at the band concert.

Stacey Reed for the thoughtful gift that was delicious. 

This Week

 

Monday, December 19:

    ·     Stocking Stuffer: Come to the staff lounge to fill your stocking with self-care items.

Tuesday, December 20:

    ·     PLC Meeting

    ·     Jorvonna Out of the Building-Principal Meeting (Tameka Acting Principal)

    ·     Can’t Catch Me: Wear athletic clothing  

Wednesday, December 21:

    ·     The Great Cookie Bake Off: Come to the staff lounge to participate in our cookie decorating contest.

Thursday, December 22:

    ·     Only one more “wake up” day until winter break. Students and staff may wear school appropriate pajamas for free. 

Friday, December 23:

    ·     Social Media Post Due-3^rd Grade    

    ·     Spirit Day $1.00

    ·     Holiday Parties

    ·     Feliz Navidad: Enjoy a breakfast burrito 

Important Dates

 

December 24: Tricia’s Birthday

December 26-January 6: Winter Break

December 30: Emma’s Birthday

January 1: Austin’s Birthday

January 3: Mandy’s Birthday

January 3: Kayla’s Birthday

January 7: Danielle’s Birthday

January 8: Kristin’s Birthday

January 10: SLT Meeting

January 11: Perfect Attendance Prize Redemption

January 12: Purple Club

January 12-19: Y5s-8 ORF Benchmarking 2

January 13: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Civil Rights Day)-Fletcher

January 14: Kathleen’s Birthday

January 16: MLK Day

January 17: Staff Meeting

January 17: Staff Meeting Snacks-Specials  

January 20: Progress Reports

January 20: Intervention Meetings

January 20: Payday Breakfast-6^th Grade

January 20: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Chinese New Year)-Shroff

January 23-27: 3-8 ELA Interim 2

January 23-27: K-2 Math Numeracy 2

January 24: PLC Meeting

January 24-February 17: NWEA Winter Testing

January 27: Spirit Day and Popcorn $1.00 each

January 27: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Black History Month)-Ancrile

January 31: Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna-4^th Grade

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

12 Days Before Winter Break

This week for the 12 Days Before Winter Break, please make sure that you deliver your holiday card to your assigned colleague by Monday.

In addition, on Thursday we hope you participate in our Elf on the Shelf Scavenger Hunt. To ensure this is a fun activity for everyone follow the directions below.

• Please see below to read the poem for instructions. 
• Beginning at 7:30 you may hunt for a hidden elf!
• You may only find and take one elf.
• Do not be a bah humbug and tell others where the hidden elves are located.
• Do not allow students to assist you with finding elves. We ask that you don’t even tell them about the activity, so they aren’t tempted.
• Bring your elf to Mrs. Mallari’s office.
• The elf will have a number on the back.
• The number will correspond to a numbered gift.
• Unwrap and enjoy your gift!

Elf Instructions by embryjd on Scribd

ABCD Goal-Attendance

Congratulations to both Mrs. Turner’s and Ms. Cryder's classes for spelling the word, PRESENT! 

Congratulations to Mrs. Layton’s class for spelling the word, HERE! Due to Mandy’s communication (see below), she was able to get the last two letters just this past Monday and Tuesday. So, for those still working on the word HERE, don’t give up! 😊

          Good evening!

Our classroom won the hallway contest for the most completed lessons on Dreambox!  I am super proud of our class.  They voted to watch a 30-minute movie.  I will let you know when and what we will be watching soon.

We FINALLY got the "R" in the word HERE.  That means that today was the third day where everyone was here on time and stayed the entire day.  No one was tardy or absent!  Thank you all so much.  Hopefully, tomorrow we will get an "E" and there will be another reason celebrate! 

In addition, Ashley Ancrile does a great job using communication to partner with her families to improve attendance in her classroom. In the communication below she made a point to ensure students attended on our half-day which supports our attendance school goal. (See below).

Please make attendance a priority on Wednesday's half day. The morning will be heavy with new math and reading content. We are also looking to earn our first letter in "attendance". 

Both are great examples of school-home partnerships that positively impact attendance. How are you using communication and parental involvement to support our attendance school goal?

12.13.22 Staff Meeting

 

Starting at 3:45, please go to the staff lounge to sign in, pick up documents, and grab some snacks. Our staff meeting will begin promptly at 4:00 pm in the gym. We will be taking a staff picture after the staff meeting for a holiday card, so look your best! 😊

You may click here for the agenda.