Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pictures from Reading on the Square
Shutterfly Shared Picture Detail - thanks for Lonnie Hartstack for the pictures!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
April 24, 2009
Thoughts & Prayers - Please keep Courtney Leming's family and friends in your prayers. Be aware of students in our building who are troubled by the loss and/or want to talk about it. Jeannie will be gone Friday so please refer students to the office if needed.CGI Training - Thank you to the four teachers who allowed Donna McClain to visit your classroom last week. They will be having a year 1 Cognitive Guided Instruction (CGI) training in Council Bluffs, June 15-18. There will also be some follow-up days through-out the school year. There is a cost of $200 per teacher to participate which covers the cost of the instructor, all materials needed, and lunch. Teachers can sign up on the AEA13 website, but there is a limit of 30 teachers so if you are interested we will want to get signed up soon.
Curriculum PLC - Our last curriculum PLC for the year will be next Wednesday. I am still going through minutes from last week's meeting and responding to those. Rough outline agendas will be sent out early next week. If you have suggestions, please let me know.
PTO Carnival - Please see Jen Bruce's email regarding the dates for putting the baskets together. If you signed up to help before the carnival date, this would be your opportunity to do so. If you have questions, email Jen or Teresa.
Optimist Skating Party - Is Saturday at 1:00 pm. Please announce this free event to your class today!
Dates to Note - Both teams have put year end events onto one sheet. Stephanie will finalize the the sheet and get it emailed out to staff today. We will also post a copy near the copier and in the lounge. We are busy!
One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.
Chinese Proverb
Monday, April 13, 2009
April 17, 2008
Midterms - Grade cut off date for midterms is April 22nd. You may use your individualized professional development time (1:15-3:30 pm) on Friday, April 24th to complete your grades. Grades will be due before you leave on the 24th and we will send grades home with students on Tuesday, April 28th.
PTO Student Helpers - please identify students in your classroom (1-2 in 4th & 2-4 in 5th) who are responsible enough to work a 30 minute shift during the PTO carnival and/or help clean up following the carnival. Give me the student names today as I will meet with the students on Monday. I want to treat it as an honor or award for being so responsible! This will help the games committee staff the games as they do not have enough parent, community and teacher volunteers as of yet.
Curriculum PLC - I am about 1/2 way through the team minutes and it appears there was a lot of good discussion and productive work. If you have questions or concern from your meeting this week please see me. I will be posting the minutes on our website so all teams have access to each other's information. The K-5 math team has the adoption process narrowed down to 2 series. Please talk to Michelle or Mark if you have questions or feedback. This team will meet again next Wednesday after school.
Message from Betty Brummett - I want to share some preliminary information about Summer Literacy Institute which will be held August 10 & 11. The focus will be on speaking, listening, and viewing (the other literacy components found in Iowa Core Curriculum). Dr. W. Christine Rauscher will be the main presenter for the two days. LEA participants will receive $75/day, notebook with materials, and a professional book. This is on Go Sign Me Up now -- there is a limit of 75 participants. Please share this information with your staff. There will be a flier on the web site with more information in the near future.
New 2nd Assessment - A reminder that we will not be doing ICAMs this spring as we will be moving to a new 2nd assessment, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). The 5th grade will be piloting this new computer based assessment the first full week of May. On April 27th, Sue and Jessica will be involved in a full day training to learn more about the assessment.
Congratulations go out to Jan & Lowell for being new grandparents (again)! I know Jan will have fun hanging out with her new "little" grandson next week. Also, a belated congratulations should be extended to a former Washington family member, Nate and Sarah Perrien, as they welcomed their 2nd child earlier this month!
Thank you to Mark and Sandra for attending the PTO planning meeting this week. The next PTO planning meeting is at 4:30 pm on Monday, April 27. A few items all teachers should note from this week's meeting:
- Teresa Euken is in need of ribbon (any size & type) for the baskets. Contact her.
- Staff helping before the carnival will be asked to help put the baskets together sometime after school next week and the following week.
Dates to Note
April 17 - 2nd Annual Reading on the Square
April 20 - 2:55 Assembly (Fehring students present?); PLC Time
April 23 - 5th Grade Music preview for 4th grade (9:20 am)
April 24 - 4th Grade Iowa Day (8:30 am - 12:45 pm @ History Center)
*April 24 - Individual Professional Development (Grades due)
April 27 - PTO Planning Mtg (4:30 pm @ IPS)
*April 27 - 5th Grade Music Program (7 pm @ MS)
April 29 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC
May 1 - Oregon Trail Day (all day)
May 6 - Building PLC
Marge, don't discourage the boy. Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals!... except the weasels.
PTO Student Helpers - please identify students in your classroom (1-2 in 4th & 2-4 in 5th) who are responsible enough to work a 30 minute shift during the PTO carnival and/or help clean up following the carnival. Give me the student names today as I will meet with the students on Monday. I want to treat it as an honor or award for being so responsible! This will help the games committee staff the games as they do not have enough parent, community and teacher volunteers as of yet.
Curriculum PLC - I am about 1/2 way through the team minutes and it appears there was a lot of good discussion and productive work. If you have questions or concern from your meeting this week please see me. I will be posting the minutes on our website so all teams have access to each other's information. The K-5 math team has the adoption process narrowed down to 2 series. Please talk to Michelle or Mark if you have questions or feedback. This team will meet again next Wednesday after school.
Message from Betty Brummett - I want to share some preliminary information about Summer Literacy Institute which will be held August 10 & 11. The focus will be on speaking, listening, and viewing (the other literacy components found in Iowa Core Curriculum). Dr. W. Christine Rauscher will be the main presenter for the two days. LEA participants will receive $75/day, notebook with materials, and a professional book. This is on Go Sign Me Up now -- there is a limit of 75 participants. Please share this information with your staff. There will be a flier on the web site with more information in the near future.
New 2nd Assessment - A reminder that we will not be doing ICAMs this spring as we will be moving to a new 2nd assessment, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). The 5th grade will be piloting this new computer based assessment the first full week of May. On April 27th, Sue and Jessica will be involved in a full day training to learn more about the assessment.
Congratulations go out to Jan & Lowell for being new grandparents (again)! I know Jan will have fun hanging out with her new "little" grandson next week. Also, a belated congratulations should be extended to a former Washington family member, Nate and Sarah Perrien, as they welcomed their 2nd child earlier this month!
Thank you to Mark and Sandra for attending the PTO planning meeting this week. The next PTO planning meeting is at 4:30 pm on Monday, April 27. A few items all teachers should note from this week's meeting:
- Teresa Euken is in need of ribbon (any size & type) for the baskets. Contact her.
- Staff helping before the carnival will be asked to help put the baskets together sometime after school next week and the following week.
Dates to Note
April 17 - 2nd Annual Reading on the Square
April 20 - 2:55 Assembly (Fehring students present?); PLC Time
April 23 - 5th Grade Music preview for 4th grade (9:20 am)
April 24 - 4th Grade Iowa Day (8:30 am - 12:45 pm @ History Center)
*April 24 - Individual Professional Development (Grades due)
April 27 - PTO Planning Mtg (4:30 pm @ IPS)
*April 27 - 5th Grade Music Program (7 pm @ MS)
April 29 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC
May 1 - Oregon Trail Day (all day)
May 6 - Building PLC
Students & adults can now play the Oregon Trail game online!
The old version: http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html
Marge, don't discourage the boy. Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals!... except the weasels.
April 13, 2008 - Monday Rainy Edition
I hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend and found some family time and rest (sometimes those two don’t work together well). A few items for your rainy Monday morning… J
He who laughs, lasts
DB
I have the following schedule set up for CGI lesson demonstration by Donna McClain. If you’re not on the list and want to see the demo, you can sneak into one of the classrooms below or talk to me about a time that might work for you. Also, please ensure the topic is correct as she will tailor the lesson for you.
9:30 am Angela Montgomery - 4th - long division
10:50 am Michelle Linn - 5th - 2 digit division (reinforcement)
12:50 pm Mark Haufle - 4th - long division
2:05 pm Sandra Guinn - 4th – fractions
The PTO meeting this evening is at 4:30 pm at the IPS cafeteria. I would love to have some staff members present with me to make sure the PTO knows we are ready and able to help make the carnival a big success!
There will be no Title I this afternoon. Mona Swenson will be subbing this morning, tomorrow and possibly Wednesday morning.
He who laughs, lasts
DB
I have the following schedule set up for CGI lesson demonstration by Donna McClain. If you’re not on the list and want to see the demo, you can sneak into one of the classrooms below or talk to me about a time that might work for you. Also, please ensure the topic is correct as she will tailor the lesson for you.
9:30 am Angela Montgomery - 4th - long division
10:50 am Michelle Linn - 5th - 2 digit division (reinforcement)
12:50 pm Mark Haufle - 4th - long division
2:05 pm Sandra Guinn - 4th – fractions
The PTO meeting this evening is at 4:30 pm at the IPS cafeteria. I would love to have some staff members present with me to make sure the PTO knows we are ready and able to help make the carnival a big success!
There will be no Title I this afternoon. Mona Swenson will be subbing this morning, tomorrow and possibly Wednesday morning.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
April 9, 2009
Curriculum PLC - An email will be coming today with more details about our April 15th and 29th curriculum PLC dates. Please respond to the email to assist with the process.
CGI Math - Donna McClain (AEA) is willing to model a lesson in any teacher's classroom on April 17th (see last week). Contact me if you want her to model a lesson in your classroom or I will schedule Donna in classrooms I feel would benefit from seeing a CGI lesson.
Spring Carnival - Please contact Jen at 623-4878 or email her at djbarry98@msn.com to let her know which of your parents are going to volunteer at the Carnival. Once again, I do want to strongly encourage teachers to be a part of the carnival night anyway you can.
Summer Tutoring - Please begin thinking about who in your classroom would benefit from summer tutoring. Turn a ranked order list in to Stephanie with the highest need students at the top. We will compile a list of 5th graders for the middle school and IPS will compile a list of 3rd graders for our us. Also - please contact me if you're interested in teaching this summer.
Dates to Note...
April 13 - Burnison, Porter & Behrens on KCSI (6:15 am)
*April 13 - 2:55 Assembly (Earth Day Contest Introduction); PLC Time
*April 13 - Everyday Math presentation (3:30 at IPS Cafeteria)
*April 13 - PTO Meeting (5:30 at IPS Cafeteria)
*April 13 - Board Meeting (6:00 PM @ Webster)
April 15 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC; Young Writers
*April 15 - Teacher Quality Mtg & PLC Summer Institute Orientation (3:30 Webster)
April 17 - 2nd Annual Reading on the Square (11:15-12:30)
CGI Math - Donna McClain (AEA) is willing to model a lesson in any teacher's classroom on April 17th (see last week). Contact me if you want her to model a lesson in your classroom or I will schedule Donna in classrooms I feel would benefit from seeing a CGI lesson.
Spring Carnival - Please contact Jen at 623-4878 or email her at djbarry98@msn.com to let her know which of your parents are going to volunteer at the Carnival. Once again, I do want to strongly encourage teachers to be a part of the carnival night anyway you can.
Summer Tutoring - Please begin thinking about who in your classroom would benefit from summer tutoring. Turn a ranked order list in to Stephanie with the highest need students at the top. We will compile a list of 5th graders for the middle school and IPS will compile a list of 3rd graders for our us. Also - please contact me if you're interested in teaching this summer.
Dates to Note...
April 13 - Burnison, Porter & Behrens on KCSI (6:15 am)
*April 13 - 2:55 Assembly (Earth Day Contest Introduction); PLC Time
*April 13 - Everyday Math presentation (3:30 at IPS Cafeteria)
*April 13 - PTO Meeting (5:30 at IPS Cafeteria)
*April 13 - Board Meeting (6:00 PM @ Webster)
April 15 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC; Young Writers
*April 15 - Teacher Quality Mtg & PLC Summer Institute Orientation (3:30 Webster)
April 17 - 2nd Annual Reading on the Square (11:15-12:30)
Local Celebrities...
Although I'm sure at least one of the students already told you, visit KCSI's website to see our lucky Golden Egg winners! I'm sure they will share with their favorite principal.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
April 3, 2009
CGI Math - This past summer, four IPS teachers (Nielsen, Dentlinger, Kelly, & Vannausdle) started being trained in CGI (Cognitive Guided Instruction) math and have continued training during the school year. There is an opportunity for additional staff members to be trained in Council Bluffs this summer and continued support from Donna McClain (AEA) throughout next year. From talking to the IPS teachers involved, they would not only recommend more teachers doing the training, they are trying to recruit a grade level teacher to sign up! Donna McClain is willing to model a lesson in any teacher's classroom on April 17th. You may also read more about what CGI is (easy read) online, CGI Math Encourages Ingenuity and Reasoning. If interested in the training, see me to request Donna to visit your classroom and see me about training dates!
Spring Carnival - Teachers and staff who wrote their name down on Carnival sign up received an email from Jen regarding how you can help. If you have questions, please contact her at 623-4878 or email her at djbarry98@msn.com. She appreciates your support in getting parent volunteers! Because PTO has done so much for us, I do want to strongly encourage teachers to be a part of the carnival night anyway you can. Helping beforehand is good, and being present would be great. The PTO has a couple more planning meetings on the following dates: Monday, April 13, 5:30 P.M and Monday, April 27, 5:30 P.M.
ITBS Week - Thank you for allowing me to meet with every class the past two days! If you had students who were absent or did not turn in the student goals yet, please get those to Stephanie. Next week, please make me aware of any issues that arise during testing. If students need 'more focus' during testing time, I'm leaving my office desk open for just those special occasions. Also, thank you to Sharon Foote for providing us juice for both Monday and Tuesday!
Reading on the Square - You should have received the appointment-email for our 2nd annual event on April 17th. Please note the schedule for the day and we will be collecting change all week to raise money for the public library. I'll be working with the April student advisory students to get more information out to all students and staff.
Thank you - I appreciate all the extra things many of you do. From taking on "Rocket-math" groups of students who are not specifically your students, to always turning in your homework sheets each week, to working with students before and after school, to making the extra parent phone calls, to continuing to do-what-you-need-to-do in my absence, many of you go the extra mile each and every day. Although I know I don't always tell each of you, I appreciate your hard work and dedication to our students.
Dates to Note...we're busy, aren't we??
April 6-9 - ITBS Week (Make up on April 9 & 12-13)
*April 6 - 2:55 Assembly (Braymen's students present PowerPoint)
*April 6 - PLC Time
April 9 - Gene gone (keep Nadine & Gene in your prayers)
April 13 - Burnison, Porter & Behrens on KCSI (6:15 am)
*April 13 - 2:55 Assembly (Earth Day Contest Introduction); PLC Time
*April 13 - Everyday Math presentation (3:30 at IPS Cafeteria)
*April 13 - Board Meeting (6:00 PM @ Webster)
April 15 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC; Young Writers
*April 15 - Teacher Quality Mtg & PLC Summer Institute Orientation (3:30 Webster)
April 17 - 2nd Annual Reading on the Square
April 20 - 2:55 Assembly (Fehring students present?); PLC Time
April 24 - 4th Grade Iowa Day (8:30 am - 1:00 pm @ History Center)
*April 24 - Individual Professional Development
April 27 - 5th Grade Music Program (7pm @ MS)
April 29 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC
May 1 - Oregon Trail Day (all day)
May 6 - Building PLC
Spring Carnival - Teachers and staff who wrote their name down on Carnival sign up received an email from Jen regarding how you can help. If you have questions, please contact her at 623-4878 or email her at djbarry98@msn.com. She appreciates your support in getting parent volunteers! Because PTO has done so much for us, I do want to strongly encourage teachers to be a part of the carnival night anyway you can. Helping beforehand is good, and being present would be great. The PTO has a couple more planning meetings on the following dates: Monday, April 13, 5:30 P.M and Monday, April 27, 5:30 P.M.
ITBS Week - Thank you for allowing me to meet with every class the past two days! If you had students who were absent or did not turn in the student goals yet, please get those to Stephanie. Next week, please make me aware of any issues that arise during testing. If students need 'more focus' during testing time, I'm leaving my office desk open for just those special occasions. Also, thank you to Sharon Foote for providing us juice for both Monday and Tuesday!
Reading on the Square - You should have received the appointment-email for our 2nd annual event on April 17th. Please note the schedule for the day and we will be collecting change all week to raise money for the public library. I'll be working with the April student advisory students to get more information out to all students and staff.
Thank you - I appreciate all the extra things many of you do. From taking on "Rocket-math" groups of students who are not specifically your students, to always turning in your homework sheets each week, to working with students before and after school, to making the extra parent phone calls, to continuing to do-what-you-need-to-do in my absence, many of you go the extra mile each and every day. Although I know I don't always tell each of you, I appreciate your hard work and dedication to our students.
Dates to Note...we're busy, aren't we??
April 6-9 - ITBS Week (Make up on April 9 & 12-13)
*April 6 - 2:55 Assembly (Braymen's students present PowerPoint)
*April 6 - PLC Time
April 9 - Gene gone (keep Nadine & Gene in your prayers)
April 13 - Burnison, Porter & Behrens on KCSI (6:15 am)
*April 13 - 2:55 Assembly (Earth Day Contest Introduction); PLC Time
*April 13 - Everyday Math presentation (3:30 at IPS Cafeteria)
*April 13 - Board Meeting (6:00 PM @ Webster)
April 15 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC; Young Writers
*April 15 - Teacher Quality Mtg & PLC Summer Institute Orientation (3:30 Webster)
April 17 - 2nd Annual Reading on the Square
April 20 - 2:55 Assembly (Fehring students present?); PLC Time
April 24 - 4th Grade Iowa Day (8:30 am - 1:00 pm @ History Center)
*April 24 - Individual Professional Development
April 27 - 5th Grade Music Program (7pm @ MS)
April 29 - Curriculum & Instruction PLC
May 1 - Oregon Trail Day (all day)
May 6 - Building PLC
This quote made me think of our "Washington Family" this week...I'll let you decide who's who.
Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.
~Author Unknown
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