October 21, 2011

Instructional Rounds - It was a great morning and afternoon for our district team here at Maple Grove. We saw lots of wonderful things going on in the classrooms and the team members had some good feedback and ideas for our MGE team as we move forward. After organizing the data and information, BLT will determine how to get the information out to all staff and use the feedback to improve our own practices. It was a fun to let you and the students all shine for the day but I will be honest and tell you that I'm glad it is over. :-)  Thank you for all you do.

Technology - I will be meeting with Amanda and Pam early next week to determine the best process to get the iPads we currently have ready for classroom use. Please be in communication with them if you know you want to use one or more in your classroom as part of your reading or math blocks. I know a few of you are already using them in the classroom and we hope to create time on a regular basis to share some of the neat things you're doing with iPads and projectors so others can repeat your success and/or provide additional ideas. We had a parent make a donation last week for an additional 5 iPads!!! Wow.  We are very close to having that full set and the cart being available to wheel in to a room for full classroom use!

PowerSchool Portal is not scheduled to be closed until next Friday (my mistake). At this mornings meeting I will get the pulse of the staff as to if anyone is entering information today and next week in order to decided whether to wait of close it today. I'm good either way. As mentioned, Term 1 reporting period ends on Friday, November 11th.

Fire Code Violation - Today, please remove any items on the top of your shelves/cabinets that come within 20 inches of the ceiling tiles. I am still waiting to hear back about posters/number lines on your walls to make sure we are okay. For now, leave them up.

BINGO for Books is on Friday, November 4th. It was a great event last year so hopefully you can make it. The kids love seeing teachers read off numbers so please contact Abby Smull to volunteer. I will be at an early extended family Thanksgiving celebration that evening in Chicago and have talked to Abby about using Skype to show off our new gym projector so if you're attending and would like to help me "call in some numbers," let me know.

Next Week - A few "dates to note" next week:
Monday - Co-Teaching PLC (8am)
Wednesday - Early Out PD - PBIS/PSC/Tech (2pm)
Thursday - SPED PLC (8am); Chess Club starts
Friday - Fall parties (2:30-3:15pm); Yvonne's last day with us :-(

2nd Annual Office Snow Pool- We almost saw snow flakes this week so get your guess in now...Back by no-demand is our "Let It Snow Office Pool."  Why?  ...because I am still a competitive person and heard my first, "I can't wait for snow!" today.  The person who correctly guesses (closest to) the time and day of our first snow will get a wonderful prize - for real this time!  Same rules as last year: No complicated rules - it will be the first snow flakes I see out my window...not "first inch" or "first ground covering snow." You don't have to be a MGE employee to enter. :-) Place your guess here.  Deadline: November 1st.






At-Bat Song Contest - Group B (October)!Two more songs this week and two next week. An extra video this week tohelp motivate the teams not to be last. :-)

The Things We Forget - Marks Wills	Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Can the MGE non-winning team do better than this trio?	Group B includes: Beavers, Bode, Broich, Dirksen, Graziano, Harvey, Huisman, Jones, Pals, Swyter    ANTI-PRIZE Motivator:  The team with the lowest score for the year has to sing one of the songs chosen by the winning team at a spring staff meeting!!