This and That:
Art Workshops: Art workshops start THIS WEDNESDAY and will take place on Wednesdays, March 4th, March 11th, and March 18th. Below are a few details you will need to know:
- There will NOT be specialists on these days. Instead, there will be a K-2 recess and a 3-5 recess to cover prep times. See below for schedule.
- Many staff use the 9:15-9:30 time for their homeroom students to help clean the classroom before the break so the classroom teacher can (hopefully) have a real break during the 30 minute recess.
- When signing up students in the google doc, please be sure to use both first and last name and teacher name in parentheses… i.e. Joe Smith (Variel)
- Name tags with the location of the workshop are helpful and recommended.
- Do not release students early from your workshop… even if you are done early. Everyone should release students to go back to their classrooms at 9:15.
- Schedule:
- 8:15-9:15 – Workshops
- 9:30-10:00 – K-2 Recess/ Prep
- 10:00-10:30 – 3-5 Recess/ Prep
Conferences: Some more details about conferences:
- A letter to all parents will be put in your box this week requesting their time preferences for conferences.
- Grade level teams… be sure you are calibrating what conferences will look like at your grade level.
- Follow this link for some conference ideas… data forms for parents, “how to support your child” information sheets for parents, student self reflections, etc…. Thanks to those of you who have shared these with me. If anyone else has anything to share, send them my way and I will add them to the google folder. No claims that any of these documents are perfect, but they might help get the creative juices going for your team.
- Siblings and families that need translators should be scheduled first. Melinda will be coordinating this over the next few weeks. THANK YOU, Melinda!!!
- We will schedule sibling conferences on Tuesday, March 17th in the media center at 2:45. Please come to this meeting with an empty schedule (besides your conferences that require translators).
- Out of courtesy to your colleagues, please do not schedule a sibling conference outside of our “sibling zone” (Wed 3:30-7:30, Thur 11:30-7:30) without talking with the siblings’ teachers first.
Students in the Office: Please remember to give the office a call when you send a student to the office for behavior reasons. We need to know if they are there for a “break,” a “time out,” to get work done, etc… how long, and any other important details. We have had increasing numbers of students showing up in the office with unknown plans and it makes it hard for us to support you and the student well when we don’t have the information we need.
Classified Staff Appreciation Week: This week is officially “Classified Staff Appreciation Week.” For those of you that are new to Elk Meadow, I want to make sure you know that since we are all part of ONE staff, at Elk Meadow, we celebrate STAFF appreciation week in May (instead of separate certified and classified weeks). In the meantime, please know that you are SO appreciated for all you do for our students and our Elk Meadow community.
4/4 SIW Plan: This Wednesday will be the second of two days for your chosen district SIW class.
Relationship, Responsibility and Regulation Quotes:
“Every behavior is an expression of a need. Emotional need. Relational need. Physical need. Control need. When we start to look at the behaviors as a means to an end- an attempt to get an need met-then we can began to respond with more patience and tolerance.”
Article of the Week: Is homework bad for kids?
“If homework can be designed to provide practice opportunities that foster skill mastery and provided in a dose that makes completion probable and quick, I say keep it! If that can’t be achieved, maybe it’s time to throw this baby out with the bathwater.”
To Do:
Read-a-thon: The read-a-thon will be March 9-13 with Dr. Seuss inspired spirit days each day of the week. Packets were in your boxes on Friday; please ensure they are sent home with students no later than Friday, March 5th. There will be some information provided in the Eagle News this week and a kick-off at the assembly on Friday. 100% of the money raised will go to support the arts at Elk Meadow. Dr. Seuss hats will be sold in the office for $3.00 starting this Thursday, March 4th. Please do what you can to promote and encourage participation.
Reminders For This Week:
- Monday: Yellow
- Tuesday: Red, Staff meeting
- Wednesday: Yellow, Art workshops, Site Council, PTO Meeting
- Thursday: Red, Grade K EBISS
- Friday: Yellow, Eagle Spirit Assembly
SIW Schedule:
- 3/4 District (choice)
- 3/11 PLC
- 3/18 Individual
- 3/25 Spring Break