Thank you!- Thanks to our PTA (Wednesday) and Becky (Thursday) for fantastic lunches the last two days. On those 12+ hour days, getting home and making a lunch for the next day is not first on the list of priorities, so having them ready- and so tasty to boot- is a blessing. Thank you PTA and Becky for taking care of us!
Thank you x 2- Thanks to Margaret who greets parents of nearly 400 students for 2 days straight. Those hundreds of people come in waves that make every half hour seem like another start of the school day with crowds flooding through the front door. Overheard about 400 times in the last two days, “Well, hello, good to see you again, have you signed in before, do you know where you’re going today, make a left at the corner…, check the lost and found…have a great day…” Thanks for welcoming everyone, Margaret.
Conferences- Thank you for all of the effort, time and care you put into conferences. I was able to sit in on several and was pleased with the level of trust parents showed and the positive partnerships and relationships I saw. The few parents who wanted to speak with Jon or me is a positive indication of how well conferences went, but also how much you are doing every day to build relationships with your students’ parents.
I believe we are currently in the midst of the greatest divide, or chasm, between school and parents in my career (and you know I didn’t start last year). Obviously, two years of not allowing parents in our buildings has contributed significantly to the wedge. I’ve also seen schools take on a role of authority and become more and more resistant to working with, listening to, and partnering with parents. This trend only serves to widen the gap and disintegrate the parent/school partnership that is critical to student success and makes our jobs harder than they need to be.
Conferences were a great step in the direction of building back that partnership. Thank you for all you did the last two days and let’s continue to build on that foundation. Strong parent/ school partnerships and parent involvement are absolutely necessary for our success. Thank you.
Character Education Assemblies- We will hold our October character ed assembly on Thursday, October 27. Grades 3-5 will be at 12:35 and K-2 will be at 1:35. We will have cones to designate seating. Remember this is the first assembly in 2 1/2 years for most students and for k-2, it’s probably the first assembly they’ve ever attended. Please discuss expectations for students and do your part during the assembly to hold students in your class and others accountable. We will go over expectations to start the assembly and do our best when hosting to hold students accountable, but will not be able to do it without teachers being vigilant and helpful the entire time.
- Sit on bottom so everyone around you can see
- Leave hats in room
- Voices off from beginning of assembly until dismissal. Students may chat quietly upon arrival until hosts call for attention. At that time voices must be turned off unless they are asked to use voices.
- Please clap at appropriate times (when asked by the host or when other students receive recognition).
- Refrain from yelling or screaming. Get quiet immediately when hosts direct.
Harvest/Halloween Parties– Just a reminder of Harvest/halloween party expectations that Jon sent in newsletters. Please remind students.
We will be having Halloween/Harvest parties on Monday, Oct. 31st in the afternoon. Students are welcome to wear costumes during the day if they can participate in school activities. This includes being able to go to recess, run in PE, etc. Other types of costumes need to be put on at lunch time. Please make sure costumes are school appropriate. This includes no blood, no gore, no weapons, etc. Thanks.
Goal Teams- Thank you for your work on goal teams. Typically, we like to let people join the group they are most interested in. That being said, sometimes we get a little bit heavy or light representation on a group or two. This year, our PBIS team has a lot of people and our STEM and PLC teams are a bit underrepresented. We are asking that some of you on PBIS consider a move to PLC and/or STEM to help balance things out and lighten the load for the few on those two teams. We value giving choice and allowing folks to choose. But, if we can’t get a little more even representation, we may be need to just assign groups in future years.
Have a great three-day weekend. You deserve it!
Upcoming Events
October 26- SIW-PLC Review
October 27- Character Ed assemblies- Grades 3-5 @ 12:35 and K-2 @ 1:35
November 2- SIW- Teacher Prep
November 9- SIW STEM
November 11- Veterans’ Day- No School
November 16- SIW- Educator Network Day
November 18- Fire Drill- 12:55
November 21-25- Thanksgiving Break- No School
June 16- Last day of school 😁