September 14, 2012

GO PANTHERS!!

ITPDPs (SMART Goals for both academic and behavior) for all certified staff are due on Monday, October 1st.

Fall Assessment - As you complete benchmarking, please add the information to your grade level Google.doc. Please have your students' benchmarking information entered by next Friday, September 21 [this is a change]. MAP data should be entered following students taking the assessments.

...also a remember the computer lab will be closed during MAP assessment. Please refer to Carrie's schedule for more details.

EDM Online Resources - Diann and I loved seeing the EDM resources used in the classrooms the day after our PD!! Wow!! Way to jump in and use it! If you need ongoing support, please work with each other, Leslie, Diann or I. Continue to discuss and SHARE!!  Teachers are expected to share student login information with parents by next Friday (9/21). I will be blogging about the new resource and putting a link on our main page to help parents/students find the resource!

Parent Contacts - I know it can be a challenge, but returning parent phone calls or emails within one day should always be the goal. Our conference rooms should now allow for long distance phone calls (since we have so many parents...and me...with long distance cell numbers) and quick emails letting them know you received their message and a good time to reach you work well too. If you need to problem solve parent questions or messages, Diann and I are available!

Fire & Tornado Drills - With the number of students in the building, we may need to make adjustments to our plans. Anne Franklin from WMS will be reviewing your responses from the following mandatory safety survey to make needed adjustments. New maps will be printed for those who need them! Please click the link to respond ASAP.  Adjustments needed after today's drill (which took 3:25 minutes) are...

• Doors cannot be left propped open. 
• Please use both sides of exit doors when leaving.
• Teachers with walkies in their rooms should always take it. That ensures we have a walkie at EACH exit to help with communication.

Upcoming dates to note...

• Friday - Barry @ Mandt training; Williamson @ MGE
• Spirit Week!  To allow the students to help celebrate Homecoming week, our social committee will email out dress up days but they include
• Wednesday - Hat day
• Thursday - PJ day
• Friday - Spirit day 
• Monday - SPED PLC mtg (7:45am); OWLS Nest opens in rm 415 (across from Koenigs)

Teachercast is a great site to bookmark (or follow via Twitter @TeacherCast). Links to wonderful resources and podcasts you can download and listen to on the go. One example is his podcast about PBIS Kids.

Schooltube.com has updated their website this week and is worth taking a look at if you have not done so lately. The videos from this site have gone through a review process prior to being posted (still good to be safe though) unlike Youtube. Schooltube.com does include some 'old school' School House Rocks videos from my childhood Saturday cartoon days...

Final Thoughts for the Week

Where I keep typing/talking and you

don't necessarily have to keep reading/listening.

This month, we will highlight a 2nd rule from The Engery Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy. One of Jon Gordon's summer blog posts, Five Ways to Be Happier at Work, is worth the read AND includes a testimonial about The Energy Bus and The Energy Bus for Kids from a teacher in Cedar Rapids. She explains how she engaged students in the 10 Rules within her classroom. I know that Stacey Roberts was contemplating reading and using that book with her students this year. Our BLT discussed that either book may be a good "read aloud" for your students. Let me (or your team) know if you give it a try!