February 8, 2013

Valentine's Parties are next Friday and will run from 2:30-3:15 pm. Parents who are helping with the parties will be allowed to come down to the rooms at 2:20 pm. Please do not tell parents otherwise so we provide a consistent message. We will run an early out schedule that day as well.

Staffing Update - Kelly Coffman has accepted the 1st grade position for the 2013-14 school year. We are excited to have her as part of the team next fall. At this point, we have all certified positions for the upcoming school year filled.

Iowa Assessments are next Tuesday through Thursday AM. Please remind students to be as quiet as possible in the hallways (2nd grade team - leave notes for subs to remind students!!)

Related Arts will cover bus duties on the Wednesday and Thursday of conference week again so teachers can get a bite to eat and get ready for conferences. THANK YOU RA TEAM!

PBIS Calendar Sign-Up can now be found online!! We realize many of you want to sign up but don't find the time (or like me, forget!!) to go to the Owl's Nest to put your name down. The PBIS sub-committee will transfer your name from the e-calendar to the hard copy. CLICK HERE to access and make sure to click on the correct month. :-)

Planning a field trip? Be sure to get bus request forms in EARLY and indicate any special needs on the form. Also be sure to work with Jill and our nutrition department at least 2 weeks in advance.

He who laughs, lasts... Ran across this article and thought I'd share it with you: What's So Funny About Teaching?!? If you don't have time to read the entire article (not a long one), I'll leave you with this quote:

Being able to survive and thrive in these contexts depends on the ability to detach, see the absurdity, not take oneself too seriously, not personalize, not become defensive and, as much as possible, laugh with some degree of frequency.

Looking ahead...

• Feb 11: BLT 8am in the library
• Feb 12-14 is Iowa Assessments; 
• Feb 12: 2nd/K PLC+
• Feb 12: SMS 5th Grade Parent Night (6-7p)
• Feb 13: 1st PLC+
• Feb 15: Staff Potluck! Valentine's Party day (2:30-3:15p). RA district PLC 2-4p
• Feb 18: 5th grade Band Solo Night (after school)
• Feb 19: 4th grade Fine Arts Night (@ WHS)
• Feb 20: Early Out; last day of across district math PD
• Feb 21: MGE will host district Instructional Rounds. More to come!
• Feb 22: No School (work day)
• Dr. Suess Reading Celebration Week is 2/25 through 3/1. More info to come.

Online Literacy Coaching Certificate
Iowa State University

The School of Education at Iowa State University is now accepting applications for the Online Literacy Coaching Certificate program that starts this summer.  This 17-credits, totally online program is designed to prepare classroom teachers, instructional leaders, and other school personnel to serve in literacy leadership roles with the goal of improving teacher practices and student achievement in diverse Pre K-12 school settings.

It is a unique opportunity to develop deep expertise in literacy research, policy, practice, and leadership skills. The admission process is limited. 

Application deadline for Summer Cohort is March 1, 2013. 

Detailed application information can be found at the program website (http://www.education.iastate.edu/literacy-coaching) or request additional information at literacy-coach@iastate.edu.

February 1, 2013

So cold you need to laugh?

I found 400 "It's so cold..." jokes on this site. 

Enjoy...and stay warm

Assembly today! Reminder that our 3rd-5th will be going first (2:10p) and K-2 later (2:45p). Early out schedule too!

Please send home the MGE Family Movie Night flyers with students (in your boxes) on Friday!! A correction was emailed to parents and posted to Facebook (changed movie to Madagascar 3 but the time remains the same). If you or your family want to come watch the movie, please join PTO that evening!

Iowa Assessments will be Feb 12-14 for grades 3rd-5th. Please be quiet in the hallways between 9:00-10:30am as students will be testing all over the building!

Conference Scheduler Update - Special education and ESL students (and their siblings are being scheduled until February 8. From February 11th -24th, parents will be able to schedule online. An email will go out next week with directions for parents. More information can be found on the Conference tab above.

Update from ELA Curriculum Team: We just finished our 2nd curriculum meeting and wanted to share a few updates from our work.

1. We have completed our work on the writing supporting documents.  They are ready for use within PLC teams. 
2. The Common Core Language Standards have been placed on the wiki by grade level.  A position statement has been drafted by the committee for integrating these into reading, writing, speaking and listening. This statement will be finalized and posted on the blog in April.
3. Our revisions for progress report statements and rubrics will be finalized in April.  Any suggestions that you find during the next reporting period will need to be shared with a committee representative or your instructional coach.

Let us know if you have any questions.Thanks, K-5 Curriculum Team

4th grade will be using the Star Lab in the 3rd grade pod on February 7th. This will be in use all day. Students should keep a zero to whisper voice in the pod when classes are in the lab. Restrooms in the pod will still be in use that day.

Looking ahead...

• February 4th will be our 2nd Pizza Ranch Night (1st/4th grades). Thank you in advance for helping!
• February 5th will be the last day for Pennies for Patients.
• Feb 12-14 is Iowa Assessments. 
• February 15th is our Valentine's Party day (2:30-3:15p).
• February 21st - MGE will host district Instructional Rounds. More to come!

Another Mindset Video - Maybe a bit more fixed....

I was told that this exact teacher-student interaction took place

in one of our classrooms when the teacher emailed me this 

video. ;-) I've seen it before but still laughed-out-loud. I'm guessing

this teacher has started a PS packet...

January 25, 2013

Bench Press - Update the reading benchmark board in the copy room as appropriate. Sticky notes are in Leslie's office in the window sill.

ID Badges - Please be sure to always have your ID badge on while you're in the building. Also, never hesitate to question another adult in the building who is not wearing a district ID badge or a visitor's sticker.

PD Update - I have received several SMART goal updates from teams and I appreciate it! Our Problem Solving Core team met Wednesday morning and discussed how we can continue work, learning and collaboration around feedback and mindsets during our February 6th PD. I look forward to the continued conversation! Several of you have shared some wonderful videos, student resources and ideas with each other - continue to share and bring those ideas/resources to our February 6th PD too! A couple links worth sharing now came from Samantha Gregory and can be found on the intervention tab on the FWR. Check them out!

Doors - Mark Irvin took a look at the 1st grade pod doors and said they should stay locked if closed properly. Please be sure to pull/push any exterior door shut when you are coming/going. For the mornings, Shelley will begin unlocking the 1st grade pod door at 8:20am so breakfast students can enter. Kris will lock the doors after duty. I have also asked bus 21 and 4 to stagger release of students coming in for breakfast so we hope that helps too.

Summer learning opportunity - The district ESL teachers are excited to offer an exciting summer learning opportunity for teachers who work with our ELL students. The 1/2 day Digging Into Differentiation: Supporting English Language Leaners will take place on June 4th. Teachers who attend will receive a $32 stipend per hour for attending. To learn more (visit here) and click here to sign up.

Looking ahead...

• January 29 - A team of 10 from MGE will be at the Love and Logic workshop. Diann will be at MGE. Our 2nd grade music program will be at 6:30 pm at the HS Auditorium
• February 1st will be our next PBIS assemblies (Change due to 2nd grade field trip: 3-5 is 2:10p and K-2 is 2:45p). Focus is responsibility. We will run an early out schedule. It will also be MGE/EE's Night at the Field House. Information from our website will be emailed to parents today but please promote it with your students too.
• February 4th will be our 2nd Pizza Ranch Night (1st/4th grades). Thank you in advance for helping!
• February 5th will be the last day for Pennies for Patients.
• Feb 12-14 is Iowa Assessments. These will take place 9:00-10:15am each of those mornings. Please be aware that our 3rd-5th grade students will be testing and other grades should be aware of this if passing in the hallways.
• February 15th is our Valentine's Party day (2:30-3:15p).
• February 21st - MGE will host district Instructional Rounds. More to come!

VIDEO and WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
There is a lot of information around Mindsets on the web, but a great place to start is http://mindsetonline.com. If you have other useful sites, let me know.
Also, a video shared with me that is worth watching or sharing with others (friends/parents):