February 10, 2012

Kathy Richardson math assessments viewed during a previous PD have been ordered (click here to read more about them). When they arrive, I will let teams know. We may have future PD devoted to collaboration and questions around this resource if there is need. Please communicate this with your BLT member.


Iowa Assessments for 3rd-5th graders start on Tuesday (why not on Valentines' Day, right?) so all students should move through the halls in a mindful and quiet manner to help keep our students focused! Testing will take place from 9:00-10:30 am Tuesday-Thursday but there will be pockets of kids testing throughout the building each day.


Pizza Ranch night is approaching: February 27th! Thank you to those who signed up for the first shift! We are still looking for 3-4 more for the 2nd shift (6:45p-8:45p). Please sign up here. PTO is using the funds to help us purchase additional iPads for the classroom.


Know what's really embarrassing?  Yes...wearing a checker design on the back of your head all weekend and to the Eason carnival, but even more embarrassing is calling a parent to ask them if their child is home sick and finding out the child is at school that day. This has happened several times in recent weeks and it is something that should be prevented. If you mark a child absent and they show up without a pass, you must call down so Paula can make the necessary changes.


Please complete the online training for the Overview of State Requirements Regarding Seclusion and Restraint prior to March 2nd. Start here. Give completed form to Paula.


PLC Institute - Those signed up to attend should receive an email confirmation of your registration sometime over the next week or so. ALL Teachers: we have a few teachers attending who may end up having a conflict with the June dates. If you're interested in being on the "waiting" list to attend (whether you've been before or not), please email me today so I can add your name.


Recess Odds-n-Ends - I will have all the balls filled up over the weekend and add new balls to the mix! This is a must: DO NOT stand next to the other person on duty at recess. This is a supervision and a liability concern. Those on duty should be moving around the playground throughout recess. Thank you for following through with this starting Monday. I'm not a fan of Inside Recess but it does take place on occasion.  To assist our recess associates and other staff who may move from one duty to another, teachers, please be back in your room at least 3 minutes prior to the end of recess.  

February At-Bat Songs!

The office team had a banner month in January with 8 correct matches plus

the bonus point for getting their card in on time! Results found here.

This month's contestants include:

Miller, Steenhoek, Whipps, Schleisman
Arp, Goerend, Millsap, Marron

Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

Dream Life, Life - Colbie Caillat

Good Times Bad Times - Led Zeppelin

February 3, 2011

Please welcome to Nancy Doughty! She starts this afternoon in Kelli's

room as her long term sub!

Conference Scheduler window opens on Monday, February 6th and will be open until February 17th. Our office will encourage parents to complete the signing up for conference from home and we hope to have a spare laptop in the office starting Monday morning. If you have questions during this process - do not hesitate to ask! After February 17th, teachers should contact remaining parents to set up any needed appointments.


Thanks-a-Latte! - Horace Mann will be selecting a teacher at our February staff meeting (2/24 @ 8am) to win their "Thanks-a-Latte" prize. Please take time before then to pat your colleagues on the back by filling out a note and putting it in the box. Following the drawing, we will post the kind notes! Thank you in advance for filling your colleagues buckets during the month of February.


Valentine's Party - We wil run an early out schedule on Thursday, February 9 (work day 2/10). Please ensure your parents are aware of the date/time of party (2:30-3:15p) and any other communication that goes along with the party for your classroom/grade level.


Tuesday is our 4th grade music program. 4th and 2nd grade are swapping lunches to allow 4th grade to get to the high school. Lunch duty would remain the same time (i.e. 2nd grade lunch duty staff would help with 4th grade lunch). We would need one volunteer to help with 2nd grade lunch from 12:55-1:15pm.


Iowa Assessment begins February 14th. Everyone should be aware that we will be assessing students Feb 14-16 from 9:00-10:15am. Please limit disruptions to our 3rd-5th grade classrooms and in the hallways as we will have students testing all over the building in our extra rooms.


Money Smart Kid Contest - Money Smart Week Iowa sponsors a poster contest for children in grades 2-6 in order to help students improve their financial literacy skills. The winner of the poster contest will receive a $200 prize. More information can be found online.

Some of you Simpson fans had asked to see the entire video

we showed last Friday. Here it is... gotta love Bart.

February At-Bat Songs!

The office team had a banner month in January with 8 correct matches plus

the bonus point for getting their card in on time! Results found here.

Although February is our last month on the recording card, we will do

a bonus month (March) with all new staff and staff who didn't get in the first round! 

Winner takes all! Losing team sings in front of all!!
This month's contestants include:

Miller, Steenhoek, Whipps, Schleisman
Arp, Goerend, Millsap, Marron

A couple flash-backs to get us going this month!

Regulate - Warren G

Don't Stop Believing - Journey

January 27, 2012

PBIS Assembly Today!

Room 407 - Running record forms have been replenished. Please let me know if they get low again or if other items are needed. 


February 1st PD agenda can be found on our 2011-12 PD document google document. We will be revisiting teacher blogs, introducing the online conference tool, allowing teams to share PLC goal process and time for teams to continue their work. Please review the agenda prior to Wednesday.


Attendance - Take attendance twice a day and only mark NV if a child is not there when you take attendance. Even if you have a parent email or the student is tardy - Paula takes care of determining this for consistent communication purposes. Remind parents to include Paula in on attendance emails that come directly to you. Finally - please review Paula's email from last Friday for more information. Thanks!


Budget Odds-n-Ends - Everyone should have their remaining 2011-12 budget and the deadline is March 2. I visited with several teams, but not all, regarding lamination. We have run through 3 rolls of lamination in the past month and cannot continue to purchase lamination at this rate. When deciding to laminate, please only focus on "need" versus "want." There will be times this spring we will not have lamination so please be aware. Several staff members told me the new method of hanging the clips has worked but wastes lamination. Agreed! ...but the gentleman who came to repair our laminator several times was 5x more expensive than an entire roll of lamination. I appreciate you continuing to look for ways to make our processes better and more efficient!


Valentine's Party - We wil run an early out schedule on Thursday, February 9 (work day 2/10). Please ensure your parents are aware of the date/time of party (2:30-3:15p) and any other communication that goes along with the party for your classroom/grade level. Kara will send an "allergy reminder" out through our parent listserve but that also is good practice within your own communications!


PLC Institute - We have several teachers attending this summer's institute in St. Louis who may have a conflict so we will need to have some MGE teachers on a waiting list in case we need to fill some spots. Please email me if you are interested in being on that list (date: June 6-9). This would include those who have and have not attended. Those set to go this summer include: White, R.Broich, Grote, T.Broich, Van Meter, Masters, Goerend, Jones, Richer and Koenigs.


2012-13 staffing discussions have started and the one thing we know is that Maple Grove will have more students and staff next year! Decisions will be made in February by our school board so watch the school board reports this coming month and I will keep you posted.

                     2011-12 Current Enrollment

- Grade -	- Students -	11-12 Sections	12-13 Sections*
K	145	6	6
1st	113	5	6
2nd	124	5	5
3rd	106	4	5
4th	96	4	4
5th	99	4	4

* Proposed

January At-Bat Songs - Last Week!

There will be a bonus point for teams who hand their card in 

by the dead-line this month!
At-Bat sheets due by February 1st!!
This month's contestants include:

Coulter, Craig, Barry, O'Neill, Mefford, Poll
Roberts, Shwery, Van Meter, Williams

Cha Cha Slide - DJ Casper

We Are - Jari Kobe