December 28, 2012

Happy New Years!

We will come back to school on Wednesday, January 2nd

It will be a Day 3.

In addition to a number of new students who will arrive on January 2nd, please welcome Brianna (Bree) Phillips to our Maple Grove family! She will begin as an associate in Jen Latcham's program and often be found in Michelle Crannell's kindergarten classroom. Bree comes to us with student teaching and substitute experience in area metro districts, has worked with special needs students from birth to school age and has spent time tutoring students. We are excited to have her join us!

Other calendar changes include...

• Semester Two will begin on Friday, January 4 (PM duty purposes)
• The last day of school will be May 23 (updated district calendar).

Bus Duty Items - Please review the scheduled duty changes that will take place on Friday, Jan 4, as this is the end of our semester (see AM/PM duty link to the right). Other items to note:

• The new bus (#46) should begin the first day back. We did have some parents call me over break with mistakes but I hope those are corrected and we are ready to go! If for some reason, you did not send those notes home prior to break, they should go out ASAP!
• Unless we announce otherwise, we will line up outside. Students should dress appropriately! Please follow the procedures in place (i.e remind 3rd-5th grade to exit the EAST doors) and keep students on the side walk. If issues/concerns arise, let Diann or I know.
• A "cheat sheet" of outside duties is below. ALL STAFF should be in the hallways after school to help support PBIS expectations. Please help make sure this happens.

Teaching Openings - As the shuffle or "dance" continues, please know that positions at Maple Grove and across the district will be posted on our district website (Career Opportunities). Positions will be open internally for 5 days prior to being posted for outside candidates. See me with questions.

Counselor Support Increased! Shanlyn will be coming to MGE one more day per week starting January 2nd. She will be at MGE on Mondays, Thursdays and every other Wednesday. During her maternity leave, Mrs. Tjaden and I are planning on bringing in a long term sub who will then stay on for the extra days as Shanlyn returns in her current 1/2 time roll (Thursdays and every other Friday).

Security Questions - As a result of the tragedy in Newtown CT, we have had a lot of questions from parents and staff. Please know we are continuing work and discussion around ensuring we are providing a safe-as-possible environment for students and staff alike. A few items you may share include:

• Terry Hurlburt, Scott Shumaker and I met with the West Des Moines Chief of Police and have scheduled a security and building walkthrough on January 9th with an Homeland Security agent. We look forward to the learning and observations/recommendations that will come from it.
• A district team has put together a timeline to review the existing emergency as well as creating an outline for additional steps to be taken in the future. 
• The district team intends to develop a comprehensive emergency preparedness overview for staff that will focus on readiness and response elements within the planning process.

Dates to Note... (dates to remember document - please add if you see something missing)

• Thursday (1/3) - Barry @ DO in AM)
• Friday (1/4) - end of semester; PM duties change
• Friday (1/4) - BLT meeting; 8am in library
• Friday (1/4) - TQ Plans form due from BLT member
• Monday (1/7) - PSC Mindset Subcommittee meeting; 8am in library
• Wednesday (1/9) - Building PD; 2-4pm

------------------------------------------------------

When students can line up outside

1st Semester Outside (number needed outside)

Kindergarten (2)

1st grade (2)

4th grade (2)

2nd Semester Outside (number needed outside)

2nd grade (2)

3rd grade (2)

5th grade (2)

When 2-3 bus lines remain, two teachers per bus-line stay TO SUPERVISE students. When one bus (usually bus 18) remains, there should be two teachers outside next to them. I will expect those on duty to come up with a fair rotation. If bus 18 is late, those on duty may choose to bring them in the kindergarten wing and be seated until the bus arrives.

December 21, 2012

We had no school on 12/21....

:-)  Today is 12/21. It is a Friday. It is a Day 3.  :-)

:-)  Early out schedule due to Winter Parties!  :-)

Our last office "Winter Wish" video to you...

Some more penguins have arrived in the office!
Have a happy holidays everyone!

Holiday Schedule - My plan is to be in the office next Thursday (12/27) and Friday (12/28) during the mornings if you need anything. Otherwise, I will be taking vacation over the break. I hope you find time to get away to enjoy time with family and friends! I will send out a FWR next Friday to update you on January events and dates to note. School starts on January 2nd. 

Moment of Silence - As you may have already heard through the local and national media, many are observing a moment of silence on Friday at 9:30a.  At the building level, we will NOT be observing this with students due to not knowing the understandings of each student, family discussions and wishes.  If you as an adult would like to do so, feel free to arrange your classroom schedule so it is a quiet learning time at 9:30a on Friday.

Continued Safety Questions - I appreciate the feedback you have provided and questions you have asked us over the past week. After conversations with you, parents, Shelley and the West Des Moines police chief and lieutenant, we are continuing to put things in place to make sure we are providing a safe learning environment for everyone. In addition to a Homeland Security walkthrough I have set up for early January, the district will be taking a look at all facilities across the district to ensure the safety of staff, students and visitors alike. Continue to ask question and provide suggestions.

My Editorial - It's Time to Step Up

The views below are just mine as a dad, a husband and an educator.

...as always, take it or leave it. 

I'll be honest. My focus has not been on effective feedback and improving student achievement this week. It has been on the tragic events of Newtown, CT. It has been on the moms, dads, brothers, sisters and grandparents of the those who lost their lives senselessly last Friday. It truly has not been on the "why" of what happened, but rather has been on the "what now" of the issue at hand. It has been on what can I, one person, do to ensure something like this does not happen in our building, in Waukee, in Iowa or anywhere for that manner - not tomorrow, not next year, not 15 years from now. It has been about what can I do to make a difference in the life of a 7 year old TODAY who may one day think the only way to kill the pain, sorrow, hurt, etc.... is lash out in this violent manner? I've gone past the age of being politically correct or "soft" in order to not upset everyone. For example, I share my views and beliefs that violent video games are not healthy for any child. Not in any circumstances, I believe. I share with my family and friends how important it is to build relationships with your own children first (put down the iPhone, the computer, the video game) and then develop positive relationships with other students and adults. Welcome people. Smile at people. Help someone you don't normally help. I must admit, I need to get better and more consistent at this myself. I need put my family first - my kids are growing up quickly. I need to support your learning and development as front-line educators in a sometimes harsh and brutal society. I need to help you develop positive and proactive relationships with each other and your students. I need to let you know on a regular basis that you do make a difference. You are important. By choosing your profession (teacher, associate, nurse, custodian, nutrition, etc.) within a school, you have already stepped up and put yourself in a position to make a difference. Our potential is endless. Together we can make a difference. We can change society one child at a time, one parent at a time, one community member at a time. We can go beyond just stepping up and potentially making a difference.  Thanks for stepping onto on our bus and making a difference every day.

2012 12-17 Staff Meeting Notes Link

Click here for the staff meeting notes (12-17-2012)

December 14, 2012

Congratulations to Mr. Graziano and Mrs. Seeley for a putting on a wonderful student performance yesterday. The kids did a great job and it is always fun to get together as a family and share our talents!

Professional Development - We appreciate your conversation, sharing and feedback from our PD this week. Next steps will be planned using your exit slips. Several of you asked for the one of the other articles. They were emailed out on December 4th but I've also included links to them here:

• Purposeful Classroom (Chpt 6 - Identifying Outcomes Related to Purpose)
• Seven Strategies (Chpt 3 - Effective Feedback)
• Advancing Formative Assessment (Chpt 3 - Feedback that Feeds Forward)

Thank you to Morgan Singleton for being with us over the past few months as our art teacher. We appreciate the time and effort you put in at MGE and wish you the best of luck at WE after the break! Also, thank you to Abbey Doering for being a part of MGE the past eight weeks as Meggan Jone's student teacher. Good luck to you and congratulations on graduating!

Family University is set for Thursday, January 17. Registration for parents, students and community members will be going out next Thursday or Friday. We have posted the event on our website and Facebook. Please find ways to promote it among your students and families as the event nears.

ALL STAFF: AESOP - PLEASE, PLEASE check out your AESOP settings today or this weekend. Staff may mark their preferred subs accordingly but please do not exclude all but your preferred list. This makes it very hard (nearly impossible) to fill a job through the automated process. If you have or are going to exclude a sub, you need to let Diann and I know who it is and why so we have record of it. If a number of teachers have excluded a sub, we may need to make a decision at the building level.

CHANGE: Our all-staff holiday meal will be on Tuesday (not Friday) of next week. The Olive Garden will be served for lunch starting at 10:40am.

Today - SPED PLC (7:45-8:30am in Library)

Tues    - Staff Lunch; Code 411 Graduation @ 2:30pm

Wed    - 5th Grade PLC @ 2:45p (CHANGE)

Fri       - Winter Parties @ 2:30p (early out schedule)

Fri       - Related Arts District PLCs (2-4p)

Students may need that extra smile next week. Bring it. Wear it. Use it.

Optional Assignment

Take time with your team and your students next week to reflect upon the 2012 year. We have seen many changes and much growth in ourselves, our building, district and world. The end of the calendar is a great time to reflect and set goals for next year. As the 1/2 way point of the school year nears, it would be a good time to do the same for the 2nd half of the year. There are a number of "year in review" websites and videos out there you may also be able to use in your classroom to help kids reflect upon the world outside of Waukee and that could be a great entry point for engaging reading, writing and social studies lessons this "crazy" last week before the Christmas break. Here is one my brother sent me this morning to get you started...

December 7, 2012

Professional Development is next Wednesday. Please read your article and complete the top portion of your graphic organizer before Wednesday. Thanks!

Please update The Bench Press throughout the next week or so to reflect current reality. If you have new students to put up on the board, the sticky notes are located in Leslie's window in the blue bucket. Please update/add your child before you leave for break. All data should be entered on the Google.doc by December 19th.

Fall 2012 Current Reality

Busing Items to Note

• Construction has been the cause of Bus #18's tardiness. I called yesterday and construction should be done over the weekend. This will help with on-time arrival. :-)
• A new bus will be added starting December 17. I will have a new line-up map out so all teachers can show the students prior to the 17th.
• Speaking of new line-up maps...we will continue to lineup outside even if snow (what's snow?) is on the ground. The map will indicate where students will line up on the sidewalk to avoid the snow. Please communicate issues that arise and as we approach the cold weather, I'm open to new ideas too.

Band/Chorus Assembly will take place next Thursday (12/13). Students should be in the gym by 2:50 pm. We will call down grades from the office. Please note it will be tight seating so prep your kids ahead of time about being good listeners during a music program. We will NOT run an early out schedule and I'm requesting related arts teachers work with 2nd grade teachers and affected 1st grade  teachers to make up or adjust the class (day before, of or after is fine). The made up class may be shortened if time does not permit. Option 2 is running a third early out in a just over a week so thank you to EVERYONE for being flexible as times may have to be adjusted for others too

Printing - A message from the office Grinch :-) We went through a lot of paper within the building the past two weeks and it would be a good time to bring back my yearly reminder of "thinking before we copy/print." Copies should be based on need and using reams of paper for student coloring is not a good use of paper/resources (scrap paper is aplenty around the building). Being conservative with our paper resources and copying allows us to spend money in other areas.

Dates to note

Tues - 5th Grade PLC @ 2:45p (CHANGE)

Tues - 1st Grade Music Program @ MGE (6p and 7p)

Wed  - Hearing Screening starts

Wed  - Building PD (early out / schedule)

Thurs - Instructional Rounds @ HS (Barry/Williamson)

Thurs - ALL SCHOOL assembly for Band/Chorus (2:50p - NO EARLY out schedule)

Fri     - SPED PLC

Dec 18 - Code 411 Graduation @ 2:30pm

Dec 19 - 5th Grade PLC @ 2:45p (CHANGE)

Dec 21 - Winter Parties @ 2:30p (early out schedule)

Dec 21 - Related Arts District PLCs (2-4p)

The Holiday Season - Part II

I know I've already included my annual community-service-message (last FWR post) about being sensitive to students' needs around the holidays, but I wanted to plug it again after what has been an emotional week for a number of our students at MGE. Nicole and I were visiting yesterday after school about the noticeable up-tick in student emotional needs and I do believe there are multiple factors. I know in my own home, the stresses of the holidays can bring my patience with my boys to a bare-minimum at times...and we are doing okay (some could argue that, but relatively speaking). Throw on top of that, continued economic hardships, changing families and the recent news many of our students are just finding out...they will be going to a different school next year. Our kids have many different stories and many different home/community experiences. Over the next two weeks, please take time to give extra hugs/high fives, listen a bit more, make a few extra positive phone calls home and know that Shanlyn, Nicole, Diann and I will support you and your students anyway we can.

...and if you're looking to ease some stress yourself, nothing helps during the

holiday season like a little Clark Griswold.

If you don't have the movie at home, here is our families favorite scene.