The Key Notes : January 2024

Valentine's Day

You are welcome to plan a small Valentine’s Day celebration in your classroom on February 14. We request that this celebration take place the last 30 minutes of the day. If you would like to do Valentine’s Day themed academic activities throughout the day, you are welcome to do that as well.

Per our student handbook, “Students in grades K-5 may celebrate by bringing valentines for their classmates. Students who bring valentines must give one to each of their classmates.”

To maximize time, have your students only write who it’s from, instead of writing each student’s name on the valentines. If you do provide a class list to families, please make sure not to include last names.

Lunch

NHA has a partnership with Grand Canyon University. This partnership allows staff to pursue certification and/or degree programs at a huge, discounted rate. In conjunction with the partnership, GCU will provide the staff with pizza lunch on Thursday. There will be a representative in the staff lounge to answer any questions if you are interested in learning more.

Affirmations

Stacey Reed for providing breakfast twice this week. You are seriously one of the most thoughtful people that I know.

Stacey Ramirez and Stephanie for cleaning out the front office, copier room, and staff lounge.

Sandy for assisting me twice in the morning.

Alex, Tameka, Robyn, and Stacey Reed for all your work with scheduling and contacting families regarding the multi-media project.

Kim B for not hesitating to teach your class.

Stacey Ramirez for your assistance with the newsletter. I love your creative abilities.

Jen H, Stacey Ramirez, and Stephanie for gathering attendance data so quickly for my meeting this morning.

Emma for always being willing to escort a parent to morning assembly.

Andria, Ellen, and Cindy for conducting intervention meetings to make data-driven decisions.

Jessica W, Mandy, and Megan for welcoming a new student.

Nikki and Tracy for daily check-ins. Thank you for caring about me. It means so much!

This Week

Monday, January 29:

· Science Interim 2 (6 & 8)

Tuesday, January 30:

· PLC Meeting 4-5 PM

· Classroom Spelling Bee

Wednesday, January 31:

· Half-day

· Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna-4^th Grade

Thursday February 1:

· Purple Club

Friday, February 2:

· BHM Spirit Day-FREE

Important Dates

February 5: Kim B’s Birthday

February 5-9: Candy Gram -Mott’s Children’s Hospital

February 6: New Teacher PD

February 6: SLT Meeting

February 7-9: NHA Multi-Media Project

February 7: Perfect Attendance Reward

February 9: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Presidents’ Day)-Baker

February 9: Payday Breakfast-5^th Grade

February 10: Jessica W’s Birthday

February 13: Staff Meeting

February 13: Staff Meeting Snacks-3^rd Grade

February 14: Count Day

February 14: Show Some Love Spirit Day-FREE

February 15: Regional Y5s-1^st Grade Dance at Arbor Prep

February 16: Breanna’s Birthday

February 16: IAT Meetings

February 16: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Black History Month)-Fletcher

February 19: No School-Presidents’ Day

February 22: Schoolwide Spelling Bee 1:00 PM in Gym

February 23: Spirit Day $1.00

February 23: Bulletin Boards Changed

February 23: Math Con

February 23: Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Reading Month Kickoff)-Nelson

February 23: Payday Breakfast-7^th/8^th Grade

February 24: Stefanie’s Birthday

February 25: Lisa’s Birthday

February 26-March 1: School Leadership Appreciation Week

February 27: Wellness Day

February 28: Jessica G’s Birthday

February 29: Family Learning Night

February 29: Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna-5^th Grade

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

CEO & President Visit

NHA’s CEO (Jason Pater) and President (Nick Sheltron) will be visiting Keystone this Tuesday, January 23. They want to meet with the leadership team and then tour the school through classroom observations. Please make sure your student greeters are prepared to welcome them into your classroom. Greeting is an NHA initiative this school year that they want to see in action, along with high quality instruction that is student-led and engaging.

School Calendar Survey Results

Thank you for your valuable feedback regarding the 2024-25 school calendar. Majority of you voted to start school before Labor Day.

You also voted to have August PD the week before school starts and to continue to have parent-teacher conferences at the end of trimester 1 & 2 (November and March).

I will be working on submitting our calendar for approval. Tentatively, the first day of school would be Monday, August 26, with August PD being August 19-23. However, it’s not confirmed until our calendar is approved. The approval process takes several months, but I will provide you with the finalized calendar once it’s approved by NHA and our Board.

Staff Meeting

Due to the snow days, our staff meeting has been rescheduled for next Tuesday. So, starting at 3:45 on Tuesday, 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 technology room.

Click here for the agenda.

ABCDE Goals-Positive Behaviors

We set a goal of entering one positive behavior per student every trimester. We are halfway through the trimester, and I hope that you have majority entered. The purpose of this initiative is to decrease our attrition rate. This can only be done if the positive behaviors are genuine. If you try to enter all the behaviors in the last week of the trimester, it takes away from the authenticity. If you haven’t started, I strongly encourage you to start on Monday.

I am so grateful for each staff member that goes above our expectation. It truly makes my heart happy!

Black History Month

In preparation for Black History Month, I want to remind you of our expectations. Each homeroom needs to do an activity each week in honor of Black History Month. Please make sure to focus on the accomplishments and achievements of African Americans, instead of the difficulties that were/are endured. We would like to reserve those topics (slavery, Civil Rights Movements, etc.) for 5^th and 8^th grade where there are standards and resources to support the accuracy and sensitivity that is required to teach these topics.

Furthermore, I want to encourage you to go beyond African American athletics, actors, musicians, and those whom students are already familiar with (MLK, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, etc.). Instead, introduce students to scientists, lawyers, inventors, entrepreneurs, etc. that will broaden their knowledge of the contributions made by so many other African Americans.

Lastly, please invite me into your classroom when you are doing these activities so I can take pictures and include it in the Sunday night phone cast and on our social media pages.