October 12, 2012

We are out of penguins. :-( We will let you know when they arrive. Steve

had a family emergency so we are being patient.

Keep track of who you "owe" at this point.

Attendance has not been good and our subs are not reporting PM attendance either. PLEASE know how important it is to record accurate and timely attendance. When we move to automated attendance in the near future, the calls will be based on what is entered in the classroom and will reflect this. Thank you for giving this attention today and beyond.

Conferences - You do not need to turn schedules in to Paula. She has access to them online. If you have students who need added, any special educator teacher, Jen Kirby, Paula or I can add them. The parent window will open on October 22nd. The timeline and more information can be found by clicking the "P/T Online Scheduler" tab above. 

Professional Development - The conversations from Wednesday were great! The article we read is located online here. For those of you interested, the 11-12 BLT Action Planning sheet mentioned can be viewed here. As I get through and record your feedback (green sheets), I will get those back to you. BLT will spend time looking through the feedback and using it to decide next steps in PD.

Our first PBIS Assembly will be this coming Thursday, Oct 18th. We decided to split the assembly into two groups just based on shear numbers. The focus will be on "caring."

Upcoming PD will include Instructional Use of My iPad in the Classroom (10/31) and the first of three district wide PDs focused on math starting on 11/28 (see description here).

Dates/items to Note for Next Week and Beyond....

• There will be a fire drill next week...if all cooperates. :-)
• Mon: PTO Meeting @ 7pm
• Tues: Fundraising ends :-)
• Tues: 3rd/5th PLC+
• Wed: Last Boundary Committee meeting (6:30-8:00p)
• Thurs: Staff celebration in the library at 8:00am
• Thurs: PBIS Assembly (3-5 @ 2:10p; K-2 @ 2:50p) EARLY OUT SCHEDULE
• Fri: Rick Wormeli workshops and teacher workday
• Oct 22: PT Schedule opens online (through Nov 2)
• Oct 22-25: Reading week (see Pam's email)
• Oct 25: K/1st PLC+
• Oct 26: Harvest Parties! (2:30-3:15p) EARLY OUT SCHEDULE
• Oct 26: Related Arts PLC+
• Oct 31: PD will be focused on using iPads in the classroom

October 5, 2012

REMINDER - Picture retakes are this morning. Paula will make an announcement when they are ready for you to send students down. Our fundraiser kickoff is today at 3pm. We will call grades down beginning at 2:50pm and will last 15-20 minutes. If a Friday, all school assembly doesn't put you over the edge, come join the MGE crew for a social at El Rodeo. :-)  

Teacher meeting was moved to next Thursday. This will be the online conference scheduling meeting so please bring your computer and conference times. You should have already shared you conference times with the ESL/SPED teacher who works with you (if applicable). For more info, click here.

Parent University Night - Nicole, Shanlyn, Diann and I are in the beginning stages of planning a "Parent University" to be held at Maple Grove on Thursday, January 17th. We'd like to offer parent and student classes/workshops that evening and PTO will be sponsoring dinner. If you are interested in helping plan this event (it will take more than us), see Nicole or Shanlyn to sign up! If you have some ideas for classes you'd like to "teach" (educational, fun or informative), you can sign up online anytime!

Attendance - We will be moving to automated calling for NV (non verified) students later this month. It will become even more important to mark attendance by 9:15a and 1:15p so Mrs. Roboto does not make incorrect calls. :-) You will be getting more information about this and SchoolMessenger from Nicole Lawrence in the near future.

The Fridge - It scared me Thursday night. Not sure what it is, but it smells. Please mark anything you want to keep in the fridge over the weekend as I will empty it of its contents today after school.

Dates/items to Note for Next Week....

• There will be a fire drill next week.
• Thank you to Kassie Winter and Megan Kearney for spending the fall student teaching with us! Enjoy your last week with us and good luck to the both of you in your next placement!
• Monday - We have 12 Grandview students coming for the day. I'll let you know today if they are coming to your room! 
• Monday @ 7pm - PTO Meeting
• Friday PM - Barry at Elem Admin meeting; Diann @ MGE

Link of the Week: Calvin and Hobbes Search Engine

http://michaelyingling.com/random/calvin_and_hobbes/

No boy-tiger duo made me laugh and think more than Calvin and Hobbes

did as I grew up. From my early double digits until college, the duo was the

reason I read the paper each Sunday and maybe a little bit of the reason my

humor, today, is viewed from some people as "odd" or "confusing." I had

to share my Twitter-find, the search engine and the comic which sums up my:

"He who laughs, lasts" tagline...

September 28, 2012

Academic and Behavior ITPDPs (SMART Goals) are due Monday morning. These can be emailed as a team or individually. A signed copy is not needed.

Our fundraiser kickoff is next Friday, October 5th at 3pm. We will call grades down beginning at 2:50pm and will last 15-20 minutes. Like last year with the frogs, we will want to build a little excitement prior to the kickoff.  Penguin posters, lanyards and penguin keychains arrived this week. We will have the posters up by Monday of next week and also have the staff start wearing penguins on lanyards starting Monday and throughout the sale. Thank you in advance for helping with this fundraising event. We were able to raise nearly $17,000 last year and used the money to finish installing projectors and purchase 60+ iPads.

Friendly Recess Reminder - Until it gets cold, teachers should go outside to pick up their students from recess. This helps our associates get to their next duty more quickly. It is not the first reminder so please stick to it until the weather requires a coat.

Promote Maple Grove - Help! Help! Help! One great way to engage our parents and community members to be partners in a meaningful way (from Waukee's Theory of Action) is to have information posted in our newsletter and local newspaper(s).  If you have an upcoming event you'd like to highlight or want to share a neat learning activity your students have been involved in, please get those articles (with pictures if possible) to Paula by Tuesday afternoon.  We will include the information in our building newsletter and/or submit it for the "Every School - Every Thursday" article on the Des Moines Register.  If you've posted that type of information on your blog and would like to push it out to more people, just copy and paste the link/information in an email to Paula!!  

Conferences Timeline - Please see the memo on this blog (PT Conference tab) regarding our upcoming conferences. I will be adding information to this tab (i.e. reminders about the content/requirements of the conference, supporting resources, etc.). Our timeline includes...

Sep 28 - Barry meets with ESL/SPED to go over admin/scheduling procedures
Oct. 1  - All data imported and ready for teachers and staff.
Oct. 3  - Staff meeting (MGE) to enter schedules online (8am)
Oct. 15 - This week, link emailed to parents:
* http://www.waukee.k12.ia.us/2012/09/online-conference-scheduling/
Oct. 20 - Last day for ESL/SPED to enter conference times
Oct. 22  - Parent window open until Nov 2
Oct. 29 - Email reminder
Nov 2 - Close window; teachers contact parents who have not scheduled
Nov. 10-16 - Conferences 

Laminator PLC - Congratulations to Strack, Latcham, Miller, Umphress, Foxhoven and  for making it through the stringent interview and application process for being on the Laminator PLC (Perilous Lamination Crew). If anyone else would like to join this elite bunch, please see Paula or I. Screening question to ask yourself prior to applying in person: Have I caused the laminator to be shut down for longer than 30 minutes? ;-)

Dates to Note...
- Mon:  ITPDPs due.
- Wed:  Walk Across Iowa day (see Whipps email for the week)
- Wed:  8:00am Teacher meeting in library
- Wed:  6:30pm Boundary Committee mtg @ DO
- Thur:  7:45am Flu clinic @ MGE
- Fri:  Picture retakes
- Fri:  3:00pm All school assembly for Fundraiser kickoff

An online activity to share with kids or just for fun on your own...
Tired of political campaigns? 
The last one you need to watch before you vote...