The Sun Sets on the FWR?

To be honest, I  wasn't sure I wanted to post a "Last Friday Weather Report" and thought about calling the May 21st post good. I determined that many of you had stopped taking my advice and suggestions a few weeks ago, but I just kept on giving it.  :-)  So in addition to continuing to give you suggestions and advice, I want to use my last post to thank you for all you've done the past couple weeks and, or course, five years.  With that, here are some parting suggestions, thoughts and appreciation.  I hope you can read it and apply it to your work and life in some fashion as you move forward this summer and into the next school.

Thank you.  I'll begin with simply stating, "Thank you."  It was just under five years ago that I moved to Red Oak with Jen, Charlie, William and our new baby boy, Lewis.  You all welcomed us with open arms and didn't (openly!) question my age or experience like many may have.  During the five years, you were patient with my adult-ADHD tendencies, were accepting of changes we tried on the fly, open to and willing to try new ideas, and worked together as a team - not as independent contractors we often find in education - to solve many problems.  We enjoyed many successes, consoled each other in losses, worked harder together when we didn't reach our goals and celebrated when we did.  The hard working family members of Washington Intermediate and the friends of Washington (district staff, parents, students, community members) are the main reason I've enjoyed success...I just thank you for allowing me to be along for the ride. 

Don't ever be satisfied with being good.  In Good to Great, Jim Collins wrote:

GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of organizations never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good-and that is the main problem.

As I look at what we have done and accomplished, I can confidently state you are good at many of the things you do - individually, as a team, building or district. Much of the conversation you had with your colleagues the last few weeks included what needs to be done to get to that next level - whether from good to great in how we teach and approach math or how to just get better at teaching literacy. Just like we want the bar set high for our students, set the bar at "Great" for yourselves in all you do. Then determine the path to get there.

It all starts with each individual teacher, para, secretary, custodian, cook, principal being passionate about being an educator (we are all educators!) and getting better at what they do each day.  Lost the passion?  Find a job that makes you passionate again.  Not interested in getting better?  Find something else to do with your life so you're not keeping kids from getting better.  From another one of my favorite books I've shared with you already, The Energy Bus, Jon Gordon states the goal isn't to be better than anyone else but rather be better that you were yesterday. If you've lost the passion to get better each and every day or you are not pursing your dream, the bus (i.e. the team, building and district) cannot move forward - you're one of those "energy vampires" who cannot be a part of a successful journey.  Want to continue in education?  Find the passion. Begin dreaming and pursue the dream.  Jim Collins states it better than I when he talks about passion and dreams:

Dreams make you click, juice you, turn you on, excite the living daylights out of you. You cannot wait to get out of bed to continue pursuing your dream. The kind of dream I'm talking about gives meaning to your life. It is the ultimate motivator.

Choose Joy - At the beginning of the school year, I talked about my friend, Sara, who has taught me as more from how she lives her life than anything I've learned in school or from nearly everyone else combined.  Even with the ills of life stacked against her, she has made the conscience effort to...

...choose joy.  This post entry may be more for me, but just like laughter is needed in education, joy is needed by every single child who walks into the building, your classroom, the gym, onto the playground this coming fall.  You hold the key - you have the power - to create a classroom full of joy, full of laughter and full of learning.  No one else has this power.  I've seen time and time again one person in the building 'choose joy' and the contagiousness of this choice is evident throughout the day and building. 

Keep a HABDF - I mentioned this one back in January 2009 but I feel it is worth repeating as you have all been a big part of increasing my HABDF from a thin folder in my desk drawer to scrambling to look for a leftover box from Amy's room big enough to pack it up and take it with me.  Your kind words, jokes, songs, students' work and notes and pictures from the past five years will get me through many tough days I'll face in the future.

As always, I close with reminding you,

Enjoy your summer.
Keep in touch.
Best wishes.

DB

May 21, 2010

Open House for Mrs. Sims! We'd like to take the time next Wednesday to welcome Mrs. Sims to Washington Intermediate so we have planned an Open House for her and I want to invite all WIS staff.  We will have it in the media center beginning at 3:30 pm.  Come as you are and welcome Barb as we get ready to bring the 2009-10 school year to an end. 

Purpose, Planning & Communication!  With many special events and classroom parties over the next week, please communicate your schedule with those who need to know!  I also hope you continue to find ways to plan engaging lessons and remind (and model to!) the kids that our last day is not until May 28th. We will have year end assemblies on Friday, May 28th.  The 4th grade will be at 8:45 am and the 5th grade at 9:30 am.  These will not be as long as previous years!  :) 

The last day for teachers is Tuesday, June 1st, unless you've talked to me about other arrangements.  Check out sheets will be in your box today (Friday). Checkout for teachers may be scheduled during the day and staff who have checked out may leave after 1:00 P.M. You may schedule a 15 minute time via Outlook appointment and this time will include reviewing your ICD plan so you need to bring documentation/data with you.

Track Meet – Thank you to Karen for organizing the event and to the Optimist, Hy-Vee and Fareway for providing lunch. It was a wonderful day at the track!

Orders and Budget - Teams/teachers should begin putting together your orders for the 2010-11 school year as these need to be turned in prior to checking out. Due to budget concerns, I need teams/teachers to make requests for items needed for the 1st quarter only. Think about what you need to get started in the fall and use this to guide your orders. This includes all teachers outside the general classroom too. After registration in the fall, we will have more definite student numbers and be able to make orders for the remaining year.  This is a change in process so if you have questions, you or your team needs to talk to me ASAP.  All "bulk" items (markers, erasers, etc.) should be on a separate list and turned in to Stephanie for her to compile numbers for our central office.

Summer Lunch Program will be held at Washington and Inman this summer.  Lunch will be served to any children ages 3 through 18 at both buildings from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.  This is free to any child in Red Oak and will begin June 5 and run through July 30 with July 5th being the only day the program will be closed.  This will make it even more important that you lock your classroom doors if you visit this summer as we will have a lot of traffic in the building this summer. 

Pandora.com'ing Education:  Students Choose Their Modality - We've all gotten used to the thrill of customization -- getting exactly what we want to make us smarter, richer, happier. Pandora Radio lets anyone customize the music he or she wants to hear. Could a New York City pilot program called School of One do the same thing for education?  Freakonomics Radio offers this very interesting podcast (click here) worth downloading and listening to over the weekend or summer.

It’s not about what happens. It’s about perspective.

I may not be able to change what takes place,

but I can always choose to change my thinking.

-- Michelle Sedas

One week and counting...

May 21 – 3rd Annual Reading on the Square
May 21 - Grade Cut-Off
May 25 - Grades due in office by 4 pm
May 26 – End of Year Picnic @ Fairgrounds
May 27 – Transition Day
May 28 – Assemblies; Last day 1:10 PM dismissal
May 29 – Work day for retiring staff (Mr. Barry not here)
June 1 – Work day/checkout for staff

May 14, 2010

PTO Carnival Friday was a great success!  Thank you to all your support and work on putting this year's carnival together.  Please be sure to thank any and every parent who was involved with the event - Christy Bennett and Leah Mensen did a wonderful job organizing their team!  It appears nearly $6,100.00 profit was made from the carnival...WOW!!!  Thank you notes should be completed by your students and turned in to the appropriate person. 

Your Individual Teacher Career Development Plan is due by the last day of school. All classroom/Title?SPED teachers  would need to have your Gates and ITBS data compiled (growth spring to spring for ITBS and fall to spring for Gates) before you schedule your meeting with me.  Teachers who do not have an academic focus for their ICDP should have appropriate data available for their conference.  These meetings can be set for the last week of school or on June 1st.  A reminder that I will not be in the building on Saturday, May 29th.  

ELL Teacher Hired - Lauren Finn from Glenwood, IA, will be recommended for a contract to fill the ELL position. She is a spring graduate from Iowa State University and has certification in ESL. Her experiences in ELL programs in Ames and Des Moines will benefit our ELL program in the years to come.  She hopes to visit the district soon to meet many of you.  This hire also means that Sonia will officially be approved to move to 4th grade and we all welcome Mrs. Kunze to the WIS family!


Odd's & End's - (1) If you're in the media center between 10:30-11:30 with a student, class or by yourself, please help us out.  We have 6-9 fifth grade students working independently on sixth grade math.  If the students are not on task, any adult may choose to take the students back to their classroom - classroom teachers will have the students remain in the room to work for a period of time.  (2) If you're at WIS after 5:00 pm and you hear footsteps on the roof of the building, please feel free to call our local police at 623-6500 - it is not Gene up there.  I have talked to a few middle/high school boys who I have caught on the roof after hours and explained we would call the police and I'd push for trespassing and theft as they get on the roof to take the balls that are kicked up there during recess.  Thanks for taking care of the building. 

Smath - An article, Talking SMath, from NSTA was posted in the lounge.  It is a very interesting read and something teams and/or individual teachers may want to try out the last couple weeks or begin in the fall.  It looks like PWIM for math/science.  For more information about SMath, vist Where is the SMath website.
http://communication.sdhc.k12.fl.us/whereistheSMath/

End of Year Checklist will be coming to a mailbox near you soon.  A few items I know you and/or your team will want to get a jumpstart on are...
__ SMART Goal for Reading (teams)
__ SMART Goal for Math (teams)
__ SMART Goal for teachers not on a grade level team
__ Student List of students to separate next year (emailed)
__ Yellow Student Cards filled out
__ Individual Career Development Plan Data
__ Supply/Order forms completed

Reading on the Square - We will take students to Square next Friday.  Fifth graders will begin walking over at 11:20 AM (use your Friday order).  Fourth graders should begin walking over at 11:30 AM.  Students must bring a book with them and we will expect them to find a place at noon and begin reading.  This year, if students are choosing to run around and not read, I'll take volunteers to take kids back to WIS early.  :)

Two weeks and counting...
May 17 – 5th grade spelling bee (1:40 pm)
May 17 – Board Meeting, 6 pm (5th grade proposal presentation)
May 18 – 4th grade spelling bee (12:40 pm)
May 19 – PLC Math Focus (follow this week's format)
May 20 – 3rd Grade Parent Orientation Night (6:30 pm)
May 21 – 3rd Annual Reading on the Square
May 26 – End of Year Picnic @ Fairgrounds
May 27 – Transition Day
May 28 – Assemblies; Last day 1:10 PM dismissal
May 29 – Work day for retiring staff (Mr. Barry not here)
June 1 – Work day/checkout for staff

May 7 , 2010

PTO Carnival Tonight!!

5- 8 pm @ IPS

PTO Carnival - Thank you to everyone who has helped prepare for tonight and to those helping after school and this evening. It is quite an event at quite a time of year! Rain or shine, I know we will have a big crowd this evening. Please talk to you students about the event tonight and how it helps us provide books, materials and technology to the classroom!

FORGOT TWO ITEMS... (added 10:00 am)
Summative & ITSC Conferences – I will be scheduling summative and ITSC (3-yr reviews) next week for all teachers under my supervision. The appointment will come from the office and it will include 10 minutes for summatives and 20 minutes for summatives/ITSC conferences. All summative conferences for classified staff who are under my supervision (including all paras at WIS) will take place the week of May 17. In addition to the summative review with classified staff, it would include a conversation about position and/or role changes for the 2010-11 school year.

FORGOT TWO ITEMS... (added 10:00 am)
ITBS Results – Individual student results will be shared with students the over the next couple weeks. We will identify a day the reports will be sent home with students after it is discussed with IPS & MS.
May 5th PLC minutes were emailed out by Jeannie.  I appreciate your discussion, suggestions and follow up with the items.  Everyone at Washington should take a look at the notes regarding the Tiger Behavior Plan as we are all involved in this program.  Individually or within your Monday/Thursday PLC time, please continue planning/discussing and then provide me additional feedback if needed.  I will have a "menu" of lessons that could be taught in the fall by classroom teachers for your team to review Monday/Thursday.  Please give your feedback as to what will be vital for everyone to teach each fall or semester.

May 12th PLC time will be focused on literacy data.  After seeing our ITBS scores, this is an extremely important afternoon for our staff and students.  Gates and fluency will be completed by then and the ITBS item analysis data will be available in my office.  Please complete the appropriate forms for your current students and the students coming to you next year.  I will email these to teams early next week.  This will also be the day to review your 2009-10 reading SMART Goal and structure your 2010-11 reading SMART Goal.  As the data indicates, a solid, team-driven plan for literacy next year will be vital to improving our students' achievement scores in reading.  Having both teams in the same room may be important as you review and set your SMART goals for next year.  This needs to be a building effort. 

Summer Curriculum Work - Our ICC leadership team will be meeting on Tuesday to discuss a two-day summer curriculum workshop to finalize curriculum (fix gaps and lay out essential skills by grade level), learn more about how to implement 21st century skills within the content areas and discuss a district-wide behavior plan (response to intervention).  From our building, Mark Haufle is involved in Tuesday's meeting.  More information about this summer's workshop will be out soon! 

The End Is Near? ...but we still have 14 instructional days left in the school year.  There is much left to be accomplished so please help make every moment count by providing engaging and meaningful lessons and activities! Providing some great hands-on learning experiences that are directly linked to your curriculum is a great way to keep student motivation and engagement high. I would also encourage you to continue being proactive, positive, yet consistent as we finish the school year. It is very important we do not let up on our high expectations for students...both academically and behaviorally!

Thank you to Jan and Melanie West for creating a commercial to promote our Third Annual Reading on the Square day on May 21st.  It is posted on our WIS website and will be on KCSI over the next couple weeks.

Dates to Notes can be found in our May newsletter on our webite.
May 10 – 4th Grade Iowa Day (History Center)
May 10 – 3rd Grade Parent Orientation planning mtg (Haufle's rm)
May 11 – ICC Leadership meeting @ IPS MC (3:45 pm)
May 12 – PLC Reading Focus
May 14 – WIS Track and Field Day (all day @ HS Track)
May 17 – Board Meeting, 6 pm (5th grade proposal presentation)
May 19 – PLC Math Focus
May 20 – 3rd Grade Parent Orientation Night (6:30 pm)
May 21 – 3rd Annual Reading on the Square
May 26 – End of Year Picnic @ Fairgrounds
May 27 – Transition Day
May 28 – Assemblies; Last day 1:10 PM dismissal

April 30, 2010

Keep on Truckin' - The last month can be a daunting one (this past week may have been a sign of things to come) but I know that we will continue to work and grow together as a family until that very last day.  Thank you in advance for being consistent and continuing to focus on the academics while you persist students be respectful, responsible and show pride in themselves, others and our school.  We have much left yet to do!!

Special Assembly - Just a reminder that we will have a special assembly this Tuesday, May 4.  Karen Gale, FBI Victim Specialist will be in the WIS gym from 12:30-1:30.  Fourth grade students should come in at 12:30 from recess and report directly to the gym.   Fifth graders should come down shortly before 12:30 to get seated.  This is the scheduled guidance for the week.  In addition to her assembly, Karen will be doing an online safety presentation to staff, parents, students and community members from 6:00-7:30 in the evening.  Join us there too!

Gates & Fluency - It was brought to my attention Friday that we are out of scantron sheets.  Due to the budget concerns, we will not be purchasing scantron sheets this spring.  My assumption was that classrooms would be using the Senteo to complete the Spring Gates.  If this is not the case in your classroom, you will need to see me to determine the best approach to completing Gates as we will not have scantron sheets available.  Mrs. Rea will begin pulling students this week to complete our spring fluency. 

May 5th PLC will be focusing on 2009-10 review and 2010-11 planning (schedules, programs, behavior plans, etc.).  An agenda will be developed Monday and sent out to staff Tuesday for review, edits and suggested changes.  We will begin in Sue Timmerman's room at 1:30 pm.  The SPED teachers will be with Monica Crouch at Webster.

Recruitment Updates - A team interviewed two ELL candidates on Friday and we have one left this week.  We hope to have a decision and board approval by May 10th.  Middle school principal and counselor candidate interviews will be taking place in the next week. 

PTO Carnival - Attending the PTO meeting last week, it appears we are all ready for the big date this coming Friday!!  I'm on the dunk tank around 5:30 so make sure to bring enough money to take your last shot at me!  Knowing this staff, it may take quite a few tickets to get me dunked once.  :)  There will be a special duet at the end of the evening by an up-and-coming local act, Buck & Barry.  Get the kids excited this week and pray for sun and no wind! 

Have a great week!

May 4 – Internet Tips and Education (12:30 @ WIS; 6:00 PM @ HS Aud)
May 7 – 5th Grade Oregon Trail; PTO Carnival (5-8 pm)
May 10 - 4th Grade Iowa Day (History Center)
May 14 – WIS Track and Field Day (all day @ HS Track)
May 20 – 3rd Grade Parent Orientation Night (6:30 pm)
May 21 – 3rd Annual Reading on the Square
May 27 – Transition Day

Memo from the week regarding schedule changes for PE...

May 5                    Early Out Day

Braymen & Timmerman to HS track together

-          Leave 9:30 & return at 10:30

-          Maynes & Rea go with to assist

-          If it rains, PE will be in gym at 8:30 & 9:07

May 12                 Early Out Day

Chelsvig & Haufle to HS track together

-          Leave 8:30 & return at 9:30

-          Dukes & Gilliland go with to assist

-          If it rains, PE will be in gym at 8:30 & 9:07

May 19                 Early out Day

No extra PE

May 26                 NO early out

No extra PE

April 23, 2010

PTO Meeting - The next PTO Carnival planning meeting will be on Tuesday, April 27th, at 5:30 pm in the Inman Primary media center.  It would be nice to have a representative from each grade level present.  I will be in attendance also. 

Spelling Bee - I am designating Mark Haufle & Sue Timmerman to decide when or if we will do a joint Spelling Bee contest like we have done in the past. I think it is a great event but will honor the concern about loss of classroom time if that is the decision made by the teams.  Please let me know by April 27th so I can include that communication in the May newsletter going out next week!!

Parent Technology Workshop - You should have received an appointment email from me regarding our May 4th visitor, Karen Gale, FBI Victim Specialist.  In addition to her online safety presentation to staff, parents, students and community members from 6:00-7:30 in the evening, she will present to students in an assembly at WIS (12:30-1:30) and the MS (2:00-3:00).  Please adjust your schedules to accomodate this needed and engaging presentation!

Spring Assessments - Spring fluency testing will be completed by Mrs. Rea the first week of May. She will be assessing any student who has been below grade level at any point (fall or winter) during the school year.  If teachers would like other students assessed, please talk to Mrs. Rea.  Both teams have set Gates testing for the first week in May.  Discussion needs to take place as when the end of year math assessments would be given.  We can make that part of our May 5th PLC discussion (see below).

May PLC Expected Outcomes & Curriculum Work - We lost 5 early out days this semester so we are tabling our curriculum work until this summer.  Mrs. Sims and I will be creating a schedule and contacting teachers when we set those dates, objectives and expected outcomes.  As for May, we will use the following outline for our three remaining PLC dates. The first date will be a building staff work session.

May 5th PLC
2009-10 Review and 2010-11 Planning

(schedules, programs, behavior plans, etc.)
SPED Teachers with Monica Crouch @ Webster


May 12th PLC
ITBS, Gates and Other Reading Data Review
Reading SMART Goals review and year end summary
Set 2010-11 SMART Goals


May 19th PLC
ITBS, Saxon End-of-Year Assessment, and Other Math Data Review
Math SMART Goals review and year end summary
Set 2010-11 SMART Goals

Transition Day was moved to Thursday, May 27th to keep it during the last week of school (original last day was May 24th!) . The 3rd Grade parent orientation will remain on May 20th.  I will communicate the evening parent meeting schedule with the 4th grade team (next fall's team) as we get closer to the date. 

Quote of the Week

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which,more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
~ William James

Good leaders surround themselves with good people,
who in turn become good leaders.
~Michael Nolan

I read these quotes this morning and it made me think about all the changes each of us will be faced with this coming fall.  The tasks at-hand will be daunting if we take it on individually as independent contractors and separate entities.  The underlying belief of living as and working within Professional Learning Communities is strong collaboration, teacher leadership and open communication.  You have developed as leaders within your teams and the building and I'm confident in your leadership decisions you make - and if I don't, you've been open to ongoing conversation and ideas.  :)  The staff at Washington Intermediate has tackled major changes before and I believe that will collaboration and positive attitudes, we will continue to learn, grow and provide our students and parents with the best educational opportunities possible.

April 16, 2010

ITBS Testing - Thank you to everyone for getting all booklets and answer sheets back to Jeannie in a timely manner.  After the last few barcode stickers arrive (my fault!!) on Friday, Etta Murphy will get them shipped off to Iowa City.  We hope to use our last two...

Professional Learning Community days (May 12 and 19) to analyze the data, review 2009-10 SMART goals and set new goals based on the data.  The data would also include Gates, fluency (first week of May so get those scheduled!), Skills Tutor math assessments and other data from ongoing assessments.  It is likely May 5 will be a building level PLC day too as a need exists at all levels to do some planning for the 2010-11 school year.  "So, what about our...

MISIC Curriculum work?" you might ask.  I have completed the grade span documents from team's curriculum work in January and we just need the time to get together and discuss/view the gaps.  The ICC team will be meeting on Monday to determine how to make up the PLC/Curriculum time we are losing during the month of April.  I hope to have more information for you next week.

PLC Time - During your weekly meetings, please refocus agenda items and discussion around our four critical questions.  Please see last week's post for more details.

PTO Carnival - Let me know what support you need in getting prepared for the upcoming PTO Carnival.  The next PTO meeting is Tuesday, April 27, at 5:30 pm (IPS MC).

"Thank you!" goes to...Jan and the social committee for organizing another wonderful retirement party last weekend.  Although the rumor is that Jan is retiring from her music composing gig, I doubt it. Also, thank you to Mark and Angie for supervising our Young Writers this week!

Optimist Skating Party - Is Saturday at 1:00 pm. Please announce this free event to your class today!

Dates to Note...
April 19 - Title I Night @ WIS (6-7 pm)
April 21 - Teacher Quality Mtg @ Webster (7 am); midterm cutoff
April 22 - SAT Mtg (3:20 pm)
April 23 - 5th grd performs for 4th grd (9:20 am); 4th quarter midterms due
April 26 - School Board Mtg (6pm); 5th Grade Music Program (7pm)
May 4 – Internet Tips and Education (student and parent assemblies) - more info to come!
May 7 – 5th Grade Oregon Trail; PTO Carnival (5-8 pm)
May 14 – WIS Track & Field Day (all day @ HS Track)
May 20 – Transition Day
May 21 – 3rd Annual Reading on the Square

Cancelled Early Outs & Specials

As mentioned, outside of the already scheduled PE classes, there will be no specials scheduled during the next three Wednesdays (14. 21, 28). This will allow us to make up some of the 22 hours of instructional time lost during the late starts/early outs.


If the teacher of the special wants to schedule a class, they will set it up with the teachers.

Already scheduled PE:
April 14: 8:30-9:13 Martinez; 9:17-10:00 Timmerman
April 21: 8:30-9:13 Guinn; 9:17-10:00 Montgomery
April 28: 8:30-9:13 Chelsvig; 9:17-10:00 Linn

<<< sent Tuesday, April 13, 2010 >>>

April 9, 2010

ITBS Week - It appeared students were fully engaged and giving their best effort this week with the assessments!  Please return all completed forms and materials to Ms. Bates as soon as you can.  Teachers should coordinate time and proctors for students that need make-up tests - this can be done in the classroom if the environment is conducive to testing.  Otherwise, please see Jan, Jeannie or I to assist.  Tests due to Jeannie no later than 4 pm on Monday!

Refocus PLC Work - This time of year we can tend to focus on the wrong 'end goal' - the last day of school!  Please continue to focus on the four critical questions both within the classroom and during your PLC meeting times.  I am seeing a lot more "nuts-and-bolts" items on PLC team minutes than expected.  Please use lunch 'meetings' to talk about field trips, track and field day and all those items.  Use your weekly PLC meeting to focus on instruction, formative assessment, classroom data and the "big four" questions.  Thank you in advance for refocusing the work and time.
1.  What is it we want our student to learn?
2.  How will we know if each student learned it?
3.  How will we respond when some students do not learn it?
4.  How can we extend and enrich the learning for students who have demonstrated proficiency?

Professional Development Changes - We will not be having PD on April 14, 21 and 28 due to making up one snow day. Please take note of this and plan your weekly meetings accordingly. Thank you!

Young Writer’s Conference will be on Wednesday, April 14.  We have 24 students attending from WIS and  Mark & Angie will be supervising the students at Graceland University in Lamoni, IA. They will be leaving from IPS at 7:00 A.M.  Teachers should provide students with the work they will be missing that day as instruction will continue even with so many students out of the building that day.  :) 

Good News Items - We are always looking to add good news items to the school board packet. If something is going on in your classroom, please email Stephanie or I a short article and a picture (if you took one). In addition to the school board packet, I have included good news items on the website when I can!

PTO Carnival - Thank you for stepping up and taking care of business with the upcoming PTO carnival.  I know your plates are full, yet you also realize the importance of being a vital partner in the PTO fundraising.  We have been fortunate to use the funding over the past few years to create 21st Century learning opportunities in our classrooms for students and teachers.  Since you've all jumped on board, in addition to the songs for the kids, maybe I'll karokee one of my favorite 'oldies' that night just for you.  :) 

Happily Retiring....but not quite!  We hope to see everyone on Saturday as we help the Guinn, Martinez and Redd clans celebrate their well deserved retirement!  Just remind them toward the end of the party, that it is only April 10th so they must return to work on Monday. 

Dates to Note...
April 10 - Retirement Party: Guinn, Martinez & Redd (2-4 pm)

April 12 – Board Mtg (6:00 pm)
April 16 – Comprehensive Portfolios Due for teachers on cycle!! - only received one so far!!
April 17 – Optimist Skating Party
April 26 – K-5 Science Fair (4pm @ IPS); 5th gr. Music Program (7pm @ MS gym)
May 4 – WIS Parent Advisory Mtg (7 pm)
May 7 – 5th Grade Oregon Trail; PTO Carnival (5-8 pm)
May 14 – WIS Track & Field Day (all day @ HS Track)
May 20 – Transition Day
May 21 – 3rd Annual Reading on the Square

April 1, 2010

ITBS Items - If you did not receive a schedule yesterday and will be involved in testing, please see me today.  A few items that were left off the ITBS information are:
- Melissa will spend next week testing students so she will not be following her regular pull-out schedule.  Please note that as you make plans for math and reading instruction next week.  She will communicate additional pull-out time for testing with teachers.
- I did not stress this, but a reminder that students with accommodations cannot have the reading comprehension and vocabulary sub-tests read to them.
- Keep homework to the bare minimum next week.
- We would like the tests back after school on Monday, April 12.  If you know it will be later, please give Jeannie a heads-up as soon as you can.
- If students need 'more focus' during testing time, Jeannie and my office are open for just those occasions. 


Spring Carnival - At Tuesday's PTO meeting, it was decided that each grade level would be responsible for one game at the carnival.  The team would 'staff' the game, coordinate parent/student/ community member volunteers to staff it.  The PTO games committee will bring the game and supplies.  Between the four teachers, there should be plenty of help and/or time to get volunteers.  There is also a sign up in the lounge - please take a look!!  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, but being present that evening would be best. The PTO has a couple more planning meetings before the May 7 Carnival night!


From the "Keep Forgetting to Ask" Department - Are teams planning on doing the spelling bee again this spring?  Discuss and let me know.


AT YOUR LUNCH TODAY...(from last week with no results) Spring Dates - Teams should list all their spring events/dates and turn these in to the office so we have a master schedule.  Spring gets busy so please communicate, communicate, communicate!!


Dates to Note (I will add your dates next week!)
April 1 – CANCELLED 7:15 am mtg for all classroom teachers
April 2 – No School
April 5-8 – ITBS week
April 9 – 5th Grade to Rose Theatre
April 9 – 4th Simply Electrifying Assembly (3rd grade visit)
April 10 - Retirement Party: Guinn, Martinez & Redd (2-4 pm)
April 12 – Board Mtg (6:00 pm)
April 16 – Comprehensive Portfolios Due for teachers on cycle!!
April 17 – Optimist Skating Party
April 26 – K-5 Science Fair (4pm @ IPS); 5th gr. Music Program (7pm @ MS gym) 
May 4 – WIS Parent Advisory Mtg (7 pm) 
May 7 – 5th Grade Oregon Trail; PTO Carnival (5-8 pm)
May 14 – WIS Track & Field Day (all day @ HS Track) 
May 20 – Transition Day  
May 21 – 3rd Annual Reading on the Square

March 26, 2010

ITBS Schedule - Thank you to Jeannie, Mark, Sue T, and Linda for meeting with me to discuss the ITBS schedule.  Mark and Sue will have items for teams to discuss at lunch today and from your feedback, I will put together a master schedule for ITBS week (April 5-9).   We will have a planning meeting on Wednesday, March 31st at 3:40 pm in Sue T's room. 

ITBS Rewards & Motivation- The student advisory met with me yesterday to brainstorm incentives for ITBS.  They are voting on those today so teams can use the results to decide what incentive they want to tie to reading and math.  I will be coming into classrooms next week (Wed-Thurs) to talk to students about ITBS, why we take them, what they scored before, our overall building scores from previous years and goals for this year.  Schedule your 30 minutes with me as soon as you can! I like the 5th grade's idea about setting goals based upon each classroom raising their scores by 1.0 GE and may look at setting the building goal upon that same concept.  This may be easier for students to understand and be motivated by to improve their scores. 

Saxon Discussion - See last week's FWR...has your team (and with the other grade level) discussed this yet?

Tutoring and Summer School - I have two people who have expressed interest in tutoring.  If you're interested, I'd like to meet with those teachers after school on Monday so we can begin soon.  If you're interested in summer school, please see me soon too.

Spring Dates - Teams should list all their spring events/dates and turn these in to the office so we have a master schedule.  Spring gets busy so please communicate, communicate, communicate!!

Food for Thought - Someone left an article on my desk entitled, "The End of Grade Levels?"  A very interesting read and something to think about as education continues the attempt to make changes to meet the needs of students in the 21st Century.  After reading the article, if you have feedback please click on the "Comment" link below and let us know. 

Dates to Note:
March 29 – 7:40 am mtg w/ Mr. Schmidt
March 30 – PTO Mtg @ IPS (5:30 pm)
March 31 – ITBS Planning Mtg for all involved @ 3:40 pm

April 1 – 7:15 am mtg for all classroom teachers
April 2 – No School
April 5-8 – ITBS week
April 9 – 5th Grade to Rose Theatre
April 9 – 4th Simply Electrifying Assembly (3rd grade visit)
April 12 – Board Mtg (6:00 pm)
April 16 – Comprehensive Portfolios Due for teachers on cycle!!

Website of the Week

Great interactive website for math, including a great one on fractions and decimals.

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate

March 12, 2010

Spring Break & Grades - Although the weather outside does not indicate spring, a needed break has arrived. Please find the time to reconnect with family and friends and get the needed rest you deserve. We will come back to 10 weeks of instruction which we all know will fly by us in a blink of an eye!  For teachers, Friday is individual PD and you may leave anytime after 2:30 pm. A reminder that grades are due, Tuesday, March 23rd. We will send grades home on Thursday, March 25th.

Saxon – Nita mentioned to me that the number of Saxon lessons remaining is less than the number of days left this school year. Next Wednesday’s PLC time may be a great time to map out math instruction for the last quarter. With ITBS two weeks after break, teams may want to map out Lesson days, testing days, and determine if there are days prior to ITBS week that teachers could focus on skills students have stuggled with so far this school year. The teams may come up with some building wide activities to mix students up too. Please consider days such as Track & Field day when you plan. This would be a great activity to do as a full team (or at least be in the same room so you can hear each other’s thinking) so Mark & Michelle will determine where the PLC meeting will begin on March 24th!

ITBS Week is April 5th-9th!! As always, this week sneaks up on us! Below is some useful information about the week. If I am missing something, please let me know.

* Scheduling * - Jeannie, Mark, Melissa, 5th grade teacher (??) and I will meet on Thursday, March 25, at 3:30 pm in the media center to plan a building ITBS schedule. We have had too many conflicts in prior years so this team will review the schedules to ensure it works for everyone.

* Incentives * - I will be meeting with the student advisory students on March 25th during lunch to brainstorm incentives for reaching their individual goals and the goals set by the state for reading and math. If your team has ideas they want on the list of possibilities, get those to me prior to that Thursday. Also, spending time this prior to then to brainstorm as a class would be great!!

* Goal Setting * - The week prior to ITBS, I will spend 30 minutes with every class going over the data (both grade level and individual students). We will talk about goal setting and if time does not permit during the session, students will take their scores back to the room to set the goals. We will collect those goals from the teachers so they can be entered.


DATES TO NOTE...
March 13-21 Spring Break!
March 22 – Board Mtg (6:00 pm)
March 23 – Barry absent; Bates is go-to person
March 25 – Bates, Haufle, Schafer, Barry & ?? schedule ITBS (3:30)
March 30 – PTO Mtg @ IPS (5:30 pm)
April 1 – No School
April 5-8 – ITBS week
April 9 – 5th Grade to Rose Theatre
April 9 – 4th Simply Electrifying Assembly (3rd grade visit)
April 12 – Board Mtg (6:00 pm)
April 16 – Comprehensive Portfolios Due for teachers on cycle!!

Website of the Week

I have sent this one out before, but worth looking at during your
PLC time next week. You can locate the skill your students are

lacking and the site lists vocabulary, resources and instructional

strategies to use. Questions – see me.

http://www.integratingstandards.com/index.html

March 5, 2010

Wireless Lab Sweepstakes - Any staff member can enter DAILY for a chance to win one of three grand prize packages including a 21st Century Classroom and a $5000 digital media grant from Discovery Education. Plus, over 20 additional technology prizes!  The first time you submit your entry takes 5 minutes - after that, it only takes entering your email.  Put this website in as your homepage until May 3!!  http://cdwg.discoveryeducation.com/wawl/index.cfm 


The Power of Touch - An article from the NY Times indicates a helpful touch can go a long way.  The evidence that such messages can lead to clear, almost immediate changes in how people think and behave is accumulating fast. Students who received a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not, studies have found.


The Media Center will be closed for book checkout March 10, 11 & 12. Please make arrangements with Jan for all checkouts on Mon and Tues if possible. Katherine will be available for emergency checkout but ask Mr. Barry first as she is workin one-on-one with a 4th grade student. The 6th grade math students should plan on working in the classrooms those three days.  Students may use the lab with teacher supervision and please make sure the lab is shut down for break.


Technology Update - Mr. Deter informed our Admin-Cabinet team of a couple upcoming items to note.  First, we will be updating our media management system over Spring Break.  Training will involve media specialist and media paras.  Infinite Campus will be our new student management system (replacing School Master) and Bob will be working on a training schedule – the who, when & what – as we transition to the new system in 2010-11.


PTO is having a Carnival Meeting on March 9th at 5:30 at Inman Primary! If you can think of anyone else who would want to help with the Carnival - let them know about the meeting or let me know! Thank you in advance for all of your help (from Mrs. Maynes)!


Guest Readers & Speech Contest - Thank you to Jan for organizing the celebrity readers for every classroom and for helping get the speech contest set up.  I appreciate the classroom teachers and Ms. Bates for taking the time to watch the speeches.  Please congratulate all seven students and wish Christian Horn good luck at the district contest.  I do hope this continues!


Thank you - After meeting with many of you yesterday after school, I want to hit on some things I feel I left unsaid or did not emphasize well enough.  My departure this summer does not change your mission and work.  As you continue living as professional learning communities (whether formal or informal), your hard work as an individual, within teams and as a building will continue to lead everyone in the right direction. This is the advantage of working as PLCs. The leadership you provide for each other and your students is vital in continuing the success we have experienced.  I said it before, yesterday and will continue to state it - you are a wonderful group of professionals who work smart and hard to respond to the critical needs of all students...and staff.  :)  I do appreciate your kind words and encouragement yesterday, but do know that I will continue to support our work and mission throughout the rest of this school year.  That will not change. 

As always - see me if you have questions, concerns or comments. 

Dates to Note...
March 8 - Barry @ Equity Workshop (Halverson AEA 13)
March 8 - School Board Mtg @ Webster (6 pm)
March 11 - SAT (3:25 pm)
March 12 - 2 hr early out (Indv PLC)
March 13-21 Spring Break!
March 26 - Jeannie, I, Melissa, and one team member schedule ITBS (TBA)
April 5-8 - ITBS week

Worth repeating even though it is below...

http://arcademicskillbuilders.com/ - Great free site from link below!!

http://blog.4teachers.org/ - great resources, links and help for teachers!

February 26, 2010

End of Quarter - The high school is still deciding about whether to move the end of the 3rd quarter and I hope to hear early next week.  As of today, the end of 3rd quarter is still March 10.

Focus on Essentials - With the weather-related loss of over 20 hours, teams and teachers need to revisit the essential learning outcomes and ensure the focus stays on those identified items.  Also, looking for ways to tie science and social studies content within your literacy block becomes even more important.  Continue working within your team to brainstorm ideas and help each other with this task.

Observations - There are just a few left to do!  Schedule your only/final one soon!! Spring Break is near.

Parent-Teacher Conferences - We had four classrooms with 100% attendance and 95% attendance rate overall!  We also had 81% of our students attend conferences which is an increase from the fall conferences.  Please let me know when you've made up the "missing" conferences on your roster.

Smoking Kills Lessons - Jean Nelson, “the Tobacco Lady,” will be with us next week to present her stories, data and information to our students. Jeannie has set the schedule as follows:
4th Grade:
- Same schedule as usual; location, MC
5th Grade:
- Monday: Linn and Timmerman, same schedule as usual; location MC
- Friday: Braymen and Montgomery, new day, time, and place (MC)

Celebrity Readers for Read Across America Day on March 2 have been set by Jan (thanks Jan!!). The readers will probably stay 15-20 minutes or however long it takes to read their books. You might ask them to tell a little about themselves, their profession and why reading is so important.

4th grade is 11:00 am except for 4-4 which is 11:30 am
** 4-2 Al Nelson - RO artist
** 4-3 Pat Nelson - retired RO teacher
** 4-4 John Blomstedt - YMCA
** 4-5 Terry Schmidt - Supt.
5th grade is 8:45 am
** 5-1 Fred Pilecki - First United Methodist Church minister
** 5-2 Joni Ernst - Mont. Co. Auditor
** 5-4 Dawn LeRette - Nelson Boylan LeRette Funeral Home
** 5-5 Marilyn Dietz - KCSI

Dates to Note
March 3 - WIS Students to see Cinderella (8:45-10:50 am)
March 3 - 2 hr early out - Bldg PLC; 5th Grade Speech Contest
March 4 - WIS Parent Advisory Mtg (7pm)
March 8 - YES Mentoring Tip Night @ Pizza Ranch! (5-7 pm)
March 8 - School Board Mtg @ Webster (6 pm)
March 11 - SAT (3:25 pm)
March 12 - 2 hr early out (Indv PLC)
March 13-21  Spring Break!

Website of the Week

http://arcademicskillbuilders.com/ - Great free site from link below!!
http://blog.4teachers.org/ - great resources, links and help for teachers!

February 19, 2010

PLC Gut Check - Monday's visit from Anthony Muhammad was my "PLC Gut Check" and, at least for me, a very needed February pick-me-up.  :)  A few items I noted are below - I am strongly encouraging teams to revisit Dr. Muhammad's presentation and information during this coming week's PLC time.  What should your team's next steps be?  Building?  K-5?  District?

Back to the Basics - A Professional Learning Community is a group of educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research in order to achieve better results for the students they serve. PLC’s operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous, job-embedded learning for educators

Nine Core Beliefs - Starting with, "Schools are places built for the education of children, not for adult employment," Dr. Muhammad's list of beliefs made me think differently about what our mission really is.  We are here to serve our students, parents and community - not vice versa.  I've decided that revisiting the core beliefs on a regular basis would be important.

I should slow down - sometimes :) - As Dr. Muhammad discussed Levey MS's three year process, I kept thinking about my impatience and "change things now!!" attitude (someone from the table confirmed my thoughts - thanks, Jeannie).  Research, collective inquiry and experimentation should be placed before implementation and I will assist teams as best I can to consistently use this process as we move forward.  How would the Tiger Behavior Plan look if we had run it through this process?  Not that what we have is 'bad,' but maybe something we can run through the process as we move forward.



Vocabulary Instruction - In Marzano's "Getting Serious About School Reform:  Three Critical Commiments," he spoke about six steps for effective vocabulary instruction (p35-38).  For those of you involved in Reading First, this reinforces our own prior learning.  MISIC standards and benchmarks identify the vocabulary terms necessary to building those the background knowledge vital to the academic success of students.  On ASCD, Marzono has additional suggestions about which of the steps are key to effective vocabulary instruction and give a great example using the terms mutualism and symbiosis.  This is a short article and well worth the read.

PT Conference Data - I still need conference data from 4 teachers (you know who you are!). Please turn it in to Steph today!!

Monday's Board Meeting - The board will be making final decisions about 2010-11 staffing Monday night. They are welcoming input from staff, parents and community members so please attend if you want to share your thoughts. The meeting begins at 6:00 pm.

Observations - As mentioned, some teachers have 1 observation to complete before Spring Break which is only three weeks away. If you're not on cycle, you must still complete one formal observation and it is your responsibility to schedule the observation.



Gifted Conference – Thursday, I attended the first day of the NAG’s (Nebraska Association for Gifted) annual conference. In addition to some great information about encouraging achievement in the 21st Century (parent workshop coming!), humorist, T. Marni Vos spoke about the research on creativity, humor and laughter. I wanted to leave you with a few of her quotes…

- Research shows that when people fall in love, their immune system is at it’s highest.
- When people love what they do, they have a much higher immune system.
- Studies show the most common time for a heart attack to occur is Monday morning (heart attack victims usually indicate a dissatisfication in their work)
- Students indicate humor in the classroom helps them learn better.
- In a recent study, 284 teachers were evaluated. Those that ranked at the top in teaching ability averaged 3.95 on the humor scale. The poorest teachers ranked 2.36. Through incorporating more humor into the classroom, both teacher and student will benefit. It is not just about a subject. It’s about relationships.
- Stress is not an event, it is how we choose to perceive an event

Upcoming Dates:
Feb 24 - 2 hr early out - Bldg PLC
March 3 - 2 hr early out - Bldg PLC; 5th Grade Speech Contest
Mar 12 - 2 hr early out (Indv PLC)

Board Meeting Update

I did not include the summary of the February 8 Regular Board of Directors Meeting in my FWR, but had several ask me about the outcome on Thursday.  The board listened to Mr. Schmidt and some public input but chose to table the personnel decisions until February 22.   These topics will be discussed further at the Feb. 22nd meeting in order to maximize input from staff and community since there were several conflicts (parent/teacher conferences & bad weather conditions) which kept some people from attending tonight’s meeting.  The entire summary is located on our website.

Friday Humor...

Received this from a parent this morning...   (click to read)

...I know we all feel like Mr. Doyle sometimes.  :)  Keep laughing & learning.

February 12, 2010

Guidance Surey - Thank you to the 6 WIS staff members who completed the Guidance survey for our K-12 Guidance team.  We only had 3 of 7 classroom teachers complete it even after an additional reminder - this information would be extremely useful as they begin to plan for next year and determine where support is needed.  The survey is located here.

Anthony Muhammad’s Visit – An email will be sent out later today with Monday’s agenda and details. Please review it before you head home for the weekend.

Absences – Ms. Bates will be at a TAG conference on Thursday & Friday of next week (Feb 18-19). I will be at the same conference on Thursday. In our absence, Mrs. Sims would be ‘on call’ if the need arises. You are all very effective classroom and building managers so I assume the need will not arise!

Holland Center Field Trip – 4th Grade will be traveling to the Holland’s Performing Arts Center on Friday, February 19. This has become a WONDERFUL annual field trip and experience for our 4th graders. We could not do this without the PTO’s support!!

Speech Contest – Jill McManis of Modern Woodmen, spoke to 5th grade students on Thursday about our upcoming speech contest. This year’s theme is “If I were the President” and will be held after school on March 3rd. Jan Burnison and Elizabeth Dilley (board member) have already ‘volunteered’ to judge again this year. We hope to have several open houses after school over the next two weeks to allow students to work on or practice their speeches. If you’re interested in helping them (anyone can!!), let me know.

 
A Rebirth of Commitment to Children

from Who’s In Charge?: All of Us!

by Anthony Muhammad

We live in a day and time that demands that we pay close attention to the development of our children. The ever-shrinking world has become more complex and a nation’s ability to prepare their children for this new world will determine the viability of the community for the future. The old, divisive hierarchy of schools, which oft-times placed the concerns of the adults ahead of the concerns of children, must die. Our organizations have to be quick and nimble, and change will probably be the only constant in schools for some years to come. Don’t fight it, embrace it! Schools have to look and operate very differently than they have in the past and our future is counting on our coöperation. We can no longer waste time arguing about who is in charge because the answer has to be All of Us.

Happy Para-Educator Month! 
Thanks to all our paras who make the world (and school) go round!
We couldn't do what we do without your VITAL support!!

Quote of the week - from the KCSI.FM interview Monday morning.

Barb Sims:  "We couldn't get along with out you (para educators)."

Jan Burnison:  "You could, but it wouldn't be very good."

Proof: The Monkey isn’t always in the middle.

…but does she REALLY need a mic?

DATES TO NOTE:
Feb 12 - No School
Feb 15 - No School – PD
Feb 18 - SAT Mtg
Feb 19 - 4th Gr field trip; Holland Center, Omaha, 8:25 – noon
Feb 24 - 2 hr early out - PD
March 3 - 5th Grade Speech Contest

February 5, 2010

*** Next Monday through Wednesday ***
Ms. Bates is the 'go-to' person in the building if needed. 
Mrs. Sims is available also. 
Thanks for taking care of business while I'm out of the district!

CONFERENCE WEEK REMINDERS

1) Specials - Wednesday will be a “Friday” schedule. Classroom teachers need to work with the special teachers if you are attempting to schedule or make-up a class next week on an early out day. COMMUNICATE!!!...please. . Monday and Thursday's only scheduled special is PE. Click on the image below to enlarge.

2) Time - I want to make sure we are all on the same page about times that week. Many of you set up conferences outside the times on the calendar to meet the needs of parents. I appreciate this and I'm sure the parents do too. Know that Friday is an 8-hour comp-day so you must be in conferences or be working within the building that week for 8 hours outside the 8am-4pm work day.

3) Schedules - I do need your conference schedule and "office hours" (see #2) before you leave this Friday. Emailing them to Stephanie and I would be fine. Please let me know if you need me at a specific conference - otherwise, I will drop in at random.

4) My Schedule next week is crazier than the specials’ schedule! Linda G, Sonia K, Debbie G, and I will be leaving early Monday morning for the annual Iowa Culture and Language Conference. We will be returning Wednesday afternoon/evening. If you need a sub for any of those three days, please contact Stephanie.

5) Needed Data - Last fall's conference data can be found here.  I would need the same data turned in to Stephanie after conferences.  Shoot for 100% student involvement!

Skills Tutor Reports - Sharing student reports and progress from the Assessment Center or Skills Tutor at conferences is a great idea! Jim Lippold sent me the following about Assessment Center reports (specific to math and literacy benchmark tests): To look at a single student's progress, you want to log in as the teacher and choose the "Student Performance" report, NOT the Overall Student Performance report. Choose the two assessments you want to compare and click on show report. If you want to look at all of the students, you want the "Compare Assessments" report.

Deb Karwal Needs Our Support!!  - A letter from Deb Karwal was placed in classroom teachers' boxes on Thursday.  She met with me to request letters of support for her program as budgets are tightened and we do not want to lose her programs in our schools!  I would hope that you find time over the next week to write a letter to our Montgomery County Board of Supervisors in support of Deb, Anderson Conservation Area and of the Environmental Education and Interpretation programming we have in our classrooms. If you ask any student in our district what they most remember about school and science, I know Deb’s name would be at the top of the list. She is vital to our science education and has been a wonderful partner for our school district. Please send the letters to Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, PO Box 469, Red Oak, IA 51566. 

Belin-Blank Fellowship Program - is a unique opportunity for teachers to learn more about the area of gifted education. Its purpose is to help teachers learn better methods for working with gifted children in their classrooms. This is an awesome opportunity to learn from the Who's-Who in education and gifted education in our own backyard (Iowa City) and do so at minimal cost (paid for!)!  Teachers may enroll in 2 graduate credits and receive an automatic tuition scholarship that covers half the cost. The program is designed to:
• help teachers provide appropriate education for gifted students;
• develop in students a heightened sense of social responsibility in the use of their talents
• provide leadership in gifted education.
To learn more or apply, visit their website.

Dates to Note…
Feb 8 - 2 hr early out – P-T conferences; Board Mtg @ 6pm
Feb 11 - Valentine parties – after lunch
Feb 11 - 2 hr early out – P-T conferences
Feb 12 - No School
Feb 15 - No School – PD
Feb 18 - SAT Mtg
Feb 19 - 4th grade field trip to the Holland Center, Omaha, 8:25 – noon
Feb 24 - 2 hr early out - PD
Feb 25 - Country Critters (PM); Board Mtg @ 6pm

January 29, 2010

Board Meeting - At the Wednesday night board meeting, Mr. Laughlin and I shared our staffing plans for the 2010-11 school year. No decisions were made that night and the board will meet next on February 8 to take public comments and possibly make decisions. As mentioned in our staff meeting, our admin team hopes to have final staffing decisions in February. If you have specific questions or did not get a copy of the staffing proposal, please see me.

Rooms & Computers – We have had several evening activities at Washington the past few months – including last night. Before I left yesterday, six rooms were unlocked and all the rooms had laptops and/or computers in them. After some recent theft issues in the district, this would be a good time to remind all staff to lock your doors when you leave for the evening. Thank you for making sure this happens.

Grant - The Pepsi grant application is on Google.docs for anyone to edit. So far, only one person has added ideas!!  Please help when you can!

Parent-STUDENT-Teacher Conferences  - A reminder that I would like for all your students to be involved in conferences by making an effort to get the students involved. Info about student led conferences can be found here. See last week’s memo, but I will not be available the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of conference week.  I do want to attend at least one conference with each teacher. Thank you!

Valentine’s Parties -Have you called your parent helpers yet? The party is scheduled for Thursday, February 11 – after lunch recess.

PLC Update - February 3 will be a building PLC day. We will meet as a building team at 1:45 pm in Mrs. Timmerman’s room – please bring your Anthony Mohammad book with you as we will share out some of our “ah-hah’s” in preparation for his February 15th visit. Since both teams were close to having the MISIC benchmark work completed, I would like for teams to complete that during your weekly PLC time if possible. Our administration team and/or ICC team will discuss when we will find the time to come back to the curriculum work. The weather has not been kind to our PLC work this month!!

Scheduled your last or only observation with me yet? If not, please do so today.

Upcoming Dates to Note...
Feb 1 - Barry at ICC meeting
Feb 3 - Bldg PLC; TQC Mtg @ 4 pm
Feb 8-10 - Barry, Kunze, Guerra & Graber at ICLC (DSM)
Feb 8 - PT Conferences (Early Out)
Feb 11 - PT Conferences (Early Out)
Feb 12 - No School
Feb 15 - No School (All day PD @ HS)

Anthony Muhammad Resources

Dr. Muhammad's Facebook page

Very interesting "Focused Conversation with Anthony Muhammad"

Every Child Can Learn

"The whole concept of PLC is to bring teachers together, structure that conversation and to share those ideas that work in someone else's classroom so you can use them and they'll work in your classroom and of course to "work" means to get every kid learning," McNeece said.

And in the end, Dr. Muhammad believes it's going to take belief among each school team to do whatever it takes in assuring all students learn at the highest level possible.

"If you follow a traditional method and nobody learns, but you've taught them, then teaching doesn't necessarily mean learning, Dr. Muhammad says. "In the PLC movement... we strive to mesh the two that good instruction is justified by student learning."

January 22, 2010

Board Meeting - At Monday night's board meeting, Mr. Laughlin and I will be presenting our proposal for elementary staffing next year. After school on Monday (3:40-4:00 pm), I will meet with any staff who would like to hear what will be proposed that evening. Mr. Sherman will be presenting their proposal for the high school the same evening. Our presentation will begin after 6:30 pm and is open to anyone.

Grant - The Pepsi grant application is on Google.docs for anyone to edit. Anyone should be able to edit - if you cannot, see me. Please begin to put down your ideas and or improve on other ideas if they are already written down. I would like to submit it the first week of February. After I submit it, we can begin to promote it!  **Remember, anyone who gets this memo can help work on the grant - not just those who came to the meeting Wednesday!**

Parent-Teacher Conferences letters were sent home with students Monday and should be returned by Wednesday, January 27.  Scheduling with the IPS staff will the same day at 3:45 P.M. in the WIS media center. Please bring with you the information needed for scheduling purposes. I will be at the Iowa Culture and Languge Conference Monday morning through Wednesday afternon of conferences so please schedule any conferences you want me to attend during the week prior or Wednesday/Thursday of conference week.  I want to attenda at least one conference with each teacher.  Thank you!

Valentine’s Parties are scheduled for after lunch recess on Thursday, February 11.  Please begin talking to parents now so they can make plans if they need to be here.  See Mr. Haufle for party ideas as this is his favorite holiday of the year. 

PLC Update - Thanks to the wonderful weather, our PLC schedule has been changed multiple times. To find the current schedule, visit the Curriculum blog.



Printing - We are printing lots of unnecessary material. Please monitor your own printing and that of your students. Sending students to the lab is great but please do with specific data/information collection tools and directions about what they can and cannot print. Student should also be given specific sites to visit.

Graphic organizers (there are 1000's out there on the web)

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/geography/

My favorite one - an editable word document that forces kids to give credit to the source!

Scheduled your last or only observation with me yet? If not, please do so today.
 
Iowa Core Curriculum Update - Our ICC team (Gilbert, Allensworth, Sims, Sonntag & Fast) will be meeting several times over the next few months as we continue to learn the state's expectations for the implementation plan due this summer. I have an afternoon planning session this afternoon and a full day Iowa Core meeting on Monday, February 1st.  Thank you for your work with the MISIC standards and benchmarks. Our ICC team will be using this data between now and the end of this summer!


Upcoming Dates to Note...

Jan 25 - WIS Staff Mtg (3:40 pm)
Jan 27 - Curriculum PLC & 4th grade Life Skills Discussion
Jan 27 - PT Conference Planning with IPS (3:45 pm @ WIS)
Feb 1 - Barry at ICC meeting
Feb 3 - Bldg PLC; TQC Mtg @ 4 pm
Feb 8-10 - Barry, Kunze, Guerra & Graber at ICLC (DSM)
Feb 8 - PT Conferences (Early Out)
Feb 11 - PT Conferences (Early Out)
Feb 12 - No School
Feb 15 - No School (All day PD @ HS)