Our first 5 day week with students is in the books! Wow, nothing compares to the first week(s) of school. It is an exciting and fun time that can be physically and emotionally draining. We experience the joy of seeing students and the excitement of the new school year, yet must also navigate (both the good and the bad) of new schedules and new routines. The things that are out of our control can present some of the greatest challenges- late buses, snow (when you begin a school year in January), the need to have inside recess the first week of school, and this year, experiencing the realities of the student physical distancing guidelines we must follow and how it impacts us. It can be a test of patience. Thank you for all your hard work, being flexible, and giving others grace.
The number of substitutes available this year is extremely limited. If you know of a date in the future you will need to be gone, please arrange for your sub ASAP.
The February PTO Meeting is on Thursday, February 4th via Zoom. Thank you for sending me your grade level report of what students in your grade are learning in reading, math, and writing by Wednesday at 4:00. Feel free to keep it brief and I will share at the meeting on Thursday.
Communicating with each other. Thank you for continuing to be thoughtful in your communication and considerate of the volume of email that lands daily in others mailboxes. Below are some key ideas to keep in mind:
- If you have a question and you don’t know where to direct it, send it to Lybe or I rather than sending it out into the email stratosphere (ie. sending it to all Lava Ridge Staff)
- If you receive an email from a colleague and you have a question, clarification, disagreement, etc. Please DO NOT “REPLY ALL.” Reply only to the sender.
- If you are sending a long email with anything but information (emotion, arguments, etc.) delete the email. Then make the time to discuss the issues you addressed in the email in person.
We are getting closer to Valentine’s Day! This year Valentine cards should follow the same safe handling rules as we do for other materials. As you work on plans, encourage students to bring their Valentines to school and distribute them to individual boxes by Tuesday, 2/9. Valentine’s boxes can then sit until Friday, February 12th, when students can open them at Valentine parties.
•Any candies brought need to be sealed airtight – i.e., foil-wrapped Hershey Kisses are not airtight.
•If students bring their Valentine cards with less than 72 hours to sit, their cards can be laid out on a table and misted with the electrostatic machines.
AM Duty Schedule for February 1-12th
