May 24

A note this week of encouragement for you from Carole Nase…This isn’t a teaching tip this week. It is an encouragement. A true story. During the toughest year of my life multiple things happened. I was on bed rest for six months. My daughter was born and put into intensive care. Three months later, I had a surgery that went bad. I was put into intensive care. It was one of those years when I was hit hard with stress. I was the lowest I have ever been physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Rock bottom. One thing that really helped me during that time was writing down what I was thankful for that day. Just a few things a day of what was going right. That simple shift in focus gave me energy and I began to heal. Sometimes in teaching, in life, we try so hard to improve, and to solve problems. Sometimes we just need to stop and reflect on what is right and true and good. It is in those quieting moments that I find rest. In rest, I find strength. So my encouragement is just that you know that you are valuable. You are making a difference. There are many things that have happened this year that are good. It is a purposeful shifting of our focus. And with that, have a restful weekend.

As requested, I reached out to Jay Mathisen for clarification on the certified close of the year and grading day. Jay’s response is below and is similar to what we discussed on Wednesday. As I shared with you, I will be ready to finalize check-out for you on Friday or Monday, whichever date is best for you. Also, please let me know if there is anything I can do to make this unique end of the year go well for you.

Friday, June 14^th was the originally calendared last teacher day, the day when grades are typically entered. Due to the decisions to make up some of the lost days of school, Monday the 17^th is now that day. However, flexibility does exist for teachers who want to complete report cards, enter grades and other year-end duties to complete those tasks prior to Monday the 17^th as long as they check out with their principal. In other words, the hours on the 17^th can be flexed with principal approval and check-out.

One of our Kindergarten reading groups working and smiling away. 🙂

Remaining SIW schedule:

May 29-Time for class list development
June 5-Work in Classroom Time

Time! Often our most valuable asset…Your grade level has my support to use PLC time for the remainder of the year for items of your choice including working in your classrooms.

Some of our Lions completing the Resiliency Survey in Discovery Falls

At Site Council we discussed some upcoming dates. I thought they would be helpful for you and potentially save you time checking the master calendar.

I learned this week that Chris Stoaks will be returning to other police duties at the end of the school year and will not be a SRO next year. I will keep you posted on who will be our SRO for 2019-20.