Maple Grove Staff, As of Sunday evening, we are still in the process of filling open associate positions. We have four 3-hour associates that will be in the kindergarten classrooms in the morning. Three candidates have have accepted offers but the associates cannot start until we have background checks back. The fourth position has not been offered yet and interviews are still pending. I am also in the midst of interviewing for the one 2.5-hour recess associate. This position has not been offered yet. To help help with some high-needs in our kindergarten rooms and holes we have in our recess schedule, we will be bringing in 2 sub-associates this week. These two associates will help until we have the positions filled. The associates will be in the kindergarten rooms except for when they are covering 1st, 4th and 5th grade recess duty - and taking their own lunch. Except the 4th & 5th grade classroom teachers not having recess duty, all current duties for staff will remain the same at this point. I will have an updated recess/lunch schedule for staff before the recess associate starts his/her first day (sometime in the next 1-4 weeks). Thank you for your patience during this process! The extra support will be great when we get it in place. He who laughs, lasts Doug
Monday, November 1, 2010
Associate Hiring - Update
Thursday, October 28, 2010
October 29, 2010
MAP Reports and RIT Reference Charts - District office has printed individual student MAP reports that I will pick up Thursday. They have also provided reference charts for all 3rd grade parents and new to the district 4th and 5th grade parents. Both documents are available for "pick-up" in my office on Friday. The reports and reference charts (for 3rd graders and new 4th/5th) should be given to parents during P-T Conferences. We will not be getting or giving out DIBELS reports to parents - having the conversation with parents about DIBELS, sharing scores and child's progress is very appropriate even without the reports. Teachers who used the updated Excel data sheet I sent them would have the option to print individual updates (last tab) and I would be happy to assist teams with an assessment update handout for parents if I did not update your Excel data entry sheet.
Progress Reports - Leslie and I have started posting (hopefully) useful information on our Wiki about progress reports. You may submit questions and we will attempt to answer them. On Friday, please access the Wiki to post questions and provide help to each other. Even though you will all be working independently, it would be helpful to ask and respond to each other's questions. We will keep this information on the Wiki - and add to it - throughout the year.
The Parent Portal to PowerSchool has been shut down until after school on November 12th. When parents attempt to log in, it will state "Invalid User Name or Password." We have posted a message to parents on our website (see the daily bulletin link) and we will include this information in our building newsletter next week. After school on November 12th, parents will be able to log in and view students' progress reports!
Teacher Quality Resources - Our building was allotted $5266 for professional development for the 2010-11 school year. The BLT met Thursday morning to discuss several different options as to how to best meet the academic needs of our students and the instructional needs of our staff. The team decided to develop action plans by grade level/PLC teams and use the money to continue each team's progress toward our SMART/building goals. When teams have reported their plan back to me, I'll compile those plans to develop a building plan - this will be communicated with everyone late next week. More information about the teacher quality funds can be found on the blog.
Barry in a Dress Clarification - I'm sorry to say, but the only way students (and staff) get to see me in a dress is if we reach our fundraiser goal. As this went to print, we were about 200 Entertainment Books short of our goal of 575 books.
Parent Teacher Conference Info - We are printing conference reminder notes for teachers to send home the end of next week. These half-page forms will be placed in your box next week.
Problem Solving Updates for the month of October are due to me by next Monday. Please get the list of students in your room to your Problem Solving Core team member this week so she can get the list compiled and emailed to me next Monday. Last month we did not have a complete picture of who and how many students we had involved in the process so please help us paint a more accurate picture!
PBIS Sheets - As mentioned (but I forgot to include it last week) in our October 20 PBIS PD, please mark "A" for adult and "P" for peer in the last two columns (Gain and Avoid). I ordered more copies of the correct recording sheets.
Doors - Please, please ensure doors are fully closed if you're coming in on the weekend. The main doors on the north and west were open this past Sunday evening and the west ones were open the previous Sunday. If you're coming in or leaving through any door, you must push or pull until you hear a click. Thanks for helping us out with this concern!
Books for BINGO - PTO will be hosting their annual Books for BINGO night at Maple Grove on Friday, November 12th. It will be held in the gym from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. The PTO needs 3 more teachers to help call out numbers - please contact Carrie Foster to volunteer only 15 minutes of your time for this great event.
Box Top Contest - We will running a Box Top contest from November 5th-19th. More information will come from our PTO next week but winning classrooms at each grade level will earn extra recess/gym time for their class!
Fall Harvest Review - Whoa.
Revisiting a prior post - Has anyone set up their classroom on Donor's Choose? I would be more than happy to help you. Here is what I wrote two weeks ago:
Classroom Supplies - Feel like you've taken out a second mortgage to set up your classroom? Remember each classroom has a small budget from our building budget to start. If you've forgotten yours or would like an update on how much you have spent, see me. There are programs out there such as Adopt-A-Classroom, Donors Choose, Classroom Wish List, andIloveschools.com that allow potential donors to browse needed classroom items and fund teacher requests. Teachers at my previous school brought in over $3000 worth of classroom materials through Donors Choose! Sign up and try it out.
Office Bulletin Board and Snow Guessing Contest - . See last week about the "snow pool" but place your guess here by November 1st deadline. ....and because I have gifts to give....any staff member who has their family picture up on our office bulletin board by November 5th will be in a drawing for a fun prize too. I'd like that board filled up by conferences and the holiday season.
Dates to Note - Wow...where or where did October go?
- K-2 PLC (8am)
Wednesday
- 3-5 PLC (8am)
- Early Dismissal; Teacher worktime
Thursday
- District Admin Mtg (Barry AM)
Friday
- Teacher Workday (NO School)
- Elem Principals' Mtg (PM)
- PBIS Assembly (early out schedule)
November 11
- Book Fair begins
Progress Reports II - I have thought a lot about our summer retreat building-a-plane-in-midair analogy lately. Although the process of progress reports may have caused some stomach pains and sailor-type language over the past couple weeks, the conversation I keep hearing during PLC meetings and post observation conferences has been invaluable. We cannot secure our tray, tighten our seat belts and land the airplane to work on progress reports. The end product in this process will be great for the students, parents and teachers of the Waukee School District. I had one teacher tell me that through her PLC discussions, classroom discussion and own new understanding of the grade level curriculum and expectations - she knows each of her current students' needs, progress and abilities better than she has ever in her career. The work you are doing - I can honestly say - is not the standard in many districts across this country. Thanks for choosing to be a positive part of the process and an important member of our Maple Grove family. I've taken the seat belt sign off - you're free to move about the cabin. Enjoy the flight.
Progress Reports - Leslie and I have started posting (hopefully) useful information on our Wiki about progress reports. You may submit questions and we will attempt to answer them. On Friday, please access the Wiki to post questions and provide help to each other. Even though you will all be working independently, it would be helpful to ask and respond to each other's questions. We will keep this information on the Wiki - and add to it - throughout the year.
The Parent Portal to PowerSchool has been shut down until after school on November 12th. When parents attempt to log in, it will state "Invalid User Name or Password." We have posted a message to parents on our website (see the daily bulletin link) and we will include this information in our building newsletter next week. After school on November 12th, parents will be able to log in and view students' progress reports!
Teacher Quality Resources - Our building was allotted $5266 for professional development for the 2010-11 school year. The BLT met Thursday morning to discuss several different options as to how to best meet the academic needs of our students and the instructional needs of our staff. The team decided to develop action plans by grade level/PLC teams and use the money to continue each team's progress toward our SMART/building goals. When teams have reported their plan back to me, I'll compile those plans to develop a building plan - this will be communicated with everyone late next week. More information about the teacher quality funds can be found on the blog.
Barry in a Dress Clarification - I'm sorry to say, but the only way students (and staff) get to see me in a dress is if we reach our fundraiser goal. As this went to print, we were about 200 Entertainment Books short of our goal of 575 books.
Parent Teacher Conference Info - We are printing conference reminder notes for teachers to send home the end of next week. These half-page forms will be placed in your box next week.
Problem Solving Updates for the month of October are due to me by next Monday. Please get the list of students in your room to your Problem Solving Core team member this week so she can get the list compiled and emailed to me next Monday. Last month we did not have a complete picture of who and how many students we had involved in the process so please help us paint a more accurate picture!
PBIS Sheets - As mentioned (but I forgot to include it last week) in our October 20 PBIS PD, please mark "A" for adult and "P" for peer in the last two columns (Gain and Avoid). I ordered more copies of the correct recording sheets.
Doors - Please, please ensure doors are fully closed if you're coming in on the weekend. The main doors on the north and west were open this past Sunday evening and the west ones were open the previous Sunday. If you're coming in or leaving through any door, you must push or pull until you hear a click. Thanks for helping us out with this concern!
Books for BINGO - PTO will be hosting their annual Books for BINGO night at Maple Grove on Friday, November 12th. It will be held in the gym from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. The PTO needs 3 more teachers to help call out numbers - please contact Carrie Foster to volunteer only 15 minutes of your time for this great event.
Box Top Contest - We will running a Box Top contest from November 5th-19th. More information will come from our PTO next week but winning classrooms at each grade level will earn extra recess/gym time for their class!
Fall Harvest Review - Whoa.
Revisiting a prior post - Has anyone set up their classroom on Donor's Choose? I would be more than happy to help you. Here is what I wrote two weeks ago:
Classroom Supplies - Feel like you've taken out a second mortgage to set up your classroom? Remember each classroom has a small budget from our building budget to start. If you've forgotten yours or would like an update on how much you have spent, see me. There are programs out there such as Adopt-A-Classroom, Donors Choose, Classroom Wish List, andIloveschools.com that allow potential donors to browse needed classroom items and fund teacher requests. Teachers at my previous school brought in over $3000 worth of classroom materials through Donors Choose! Sign up and try it out.
Office Bulletin Board and Snow Guessing Contest - . See last week about the "snow pool" but place your guess here by November 1st deadline. ....and because I have gifts to give....any staff member who has their family picture up on our office bulletin board by November 5th will be in a drawing for a fun prize too. I'd like that board filled up by conferences and the holiday season.
Dates to Note - Wow...where or where did October go?
Monday
-
Tuesday-
- K-2 PLC (8am)
Wednesday
- 3-5 PLC (8am)
- Early Dismissal; Teacher worktime
Thursday
- District Admin Mtg (Barry AM)
Friday
- Teacher Workday (NO School)
- Elem Principals' Mtg (PM)
- PBIS Assembly (early out schedule)
November 11
- Book Fair begins
Final Thoughts for the Week
...my new addition to the FWR where I keep talking/typing and
you don't necessarily have to continue listening/reading.
Progress Reports II - I have thought a lot about our summer retreat building-a-plane-in-midair analogy lately. Although the process of progress reports may have caused some stomach pains and sailor-type language over the past couple weeks, the conversation I keep hearing during PLC meetings and post observation conferences has been invaluable. We cannot secure our tray, tighten our seat belts and land the airplane to work on progress reports. The end product in this process will be great for the students, parents and teachers of the Waukee School District. I had one teacher tell me that through her PLC discussions, classroom discussion and own new understanding of the grade level curriculum and expectations - she knows each of her current students' needs, progress and abilities better than she has ever in her career. The work you are doing - I can honestly say - is not the standard in many districts across this country. Thanks for choosing to be a positive part of the process and an important member of our Maple Grove family. I've taken the seat belt sign off - you're free to move about the cabin. Enjoy the flight.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
October 22, 2010
Welcome back, Mrs. Harvey! Thank you and enjoy a little break, Mrs. Fay!
Friday Staff Meeting - (this part may be late as my intention was to get the FWR out Thursday afternoon) We will have a brief team-builder (1st grade) and then split into the intervention groups we were going to have during our Wednesday PD. Please be ready to go at 8am!
Fall Harvest Parties - Parents helping with Fall Harves parties will be allowed to come down to the rooms at 2:20 pm to begin setting up. I shared with Allison Hamling (overall coordinator) that classrooms will be involved in instruction until 2:30 pm. I will announce at 3:10 that clean-up needs to get wrapped up so we are done at 3:15 pm. Parents who want to take their child at that time may do so. If anyone has any questions or additional feedback prior to next week - please let me know.
Additional Support II - Some more good news to share after last week's announcement about additional support. Pam Swanson, Kelley Neumann and Cynthia Bugg will be joining our kindergarten team in the near future as they have accepted positions as 3 of our 4 three-hour associates. We have also been given the go-ahead to hire one lunch room/recess associate to help ease some "tight" spots in our schedule. I appreciate the support from our district office in providing support for our students as we continue to move toward our behavior and academic goals!
Progress Reports - I have a few questions regarding progress reports and the parent access to them. I will get information to staff next week regarding these two questions.
ISU Role Model Program - I added some information about a neat program teachers can take advantage of below. I'll support any teacher/team moving forward with this. Please email me and the BLT members if you're moving forward on this so we don't all set up times for them!
Edutopia - A great resource for any educator is Edutopia. Full of video and downloadable resources for you and your continued learning. The George Lucas Educational Foundation is dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative, replicable strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives. Additional Edutopia resources can be found on their Youtube and Facebook pages.
Power Cord - I learned something new this week...if you didn't get a chance, please read and watch! (from IT support) Please take a minute to watch this humorous educational video from tested.com regarding the suggest way to wind the power cable on your MacBook power supply. It can cost us as much as $85 to replace a MacBook power supply so simply winding up the cable in a different manner can save the district money. If you have questions regarding this email please talk with your building technician.
Free Office Pool- ...I will organize our first (and maybe last?) office pool. Why? ...because I am a competitive person, I'm enjoying the warm weather and the kids keep asking me the question at lunch: "When do you think it will snow, Mr. Barry?" The person who correctly guesses (closest to) the time and day of our first snow will get a wonderful prize from my prize box (TBD). No complicated rules - it will be the first snow flakes I see out my window...not "first inch" or "first ground covering snow." You don't have to be a MGE employee to enter. :-) Place your guess here. November 1st deadline.
Kudos go to...
- I'd just like to extend kudos to Kara Hedrick. Her office is like Grand Central Station, and yet she is always calm, cheerful, and compassionate to all of our little friends, no matter how large (or - let's be honest - imaginary) their "owies" are. I know this is her first position in a school setting, but she is a natural and we are lucky to have her. :)
- Congrats on looking so studious, MGE teachers!
Please keep Tara Broich, her son Jackson and her entire
family in your thoughts and prayers. I appreciate everyone
stepping up in Tara's absence so she can focus on Jackson.
Monday
- BLT Regular Mtg (8am)
- K-12 Technology Mtg (PM)- BLT Regular Mtg (8am)
Tuesday
- K-2 PLC (8am)
- PLC+ 3rd/K
- District Soc Stds Mtg
Wednesday
- 3-5 PLC (8am)
- PBIS PD @ 2:05 pm
Thursday
- BLT Mtg TQ$ Discussion (7:45 am)
- District Math Mtg
- Fall Harvest Party 2:30-3:15
Friday
- Teacher Workday (NO School)
- Elem Principals' Mtg (PM)
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