May 22, 2009

Last 08-09 FWR - I have run out of things to say. :) As mentioned in our meeting this week, thank you for pushing to the end and keeping the focus on instruction and learning. You have managed change this year and done an extremely effective job with our students this year. After Thursday of next week....enjoy your summer to it's fullest!! I will be posting summer items to this site in case you're out there wondering what I'm doing this summer. :)

Our last day of school is on May 27, with a 2 hour dismissal. The district picnic will also be held on this day beginning at 6:30 P.M. This will be held in the white fair building.

The last day for teachers is next Thursday, May 28. PTO will have their luncheon at the Firehouse, from 11:45-1:00 P.M. Those being recognized will receive an RSVP invitation. Checkout for teachers may be scheduled during the day and staff who have checked out may leave after 1:30 P.M. You may schedule a 15 minute time via Outlook appointment and this time will include reviewing your PD plan so you need to bring documentation with you.

Summer Planning - The teachers attending this summer's PLC Institute and Sue Chelsvig will be meeting with me the morning of June 1st to do some pre-planning for the 2009-10 school year and then meeting again in late July/August. I will use this blog to post any relevant information about our discussion and/or direction for the next school year.

Turn Around Schools Blog - An interesting website (click here) I was sent this week I wanted to share with you. Their mission statement: We believe schools are responsible for ensuring that all children are prepared to attend college. This blog is for courageous teachers and tenacious principals who embrace that moral imperative, and who seek strategies to make that daring dream a reality. You can view a short video explaining the concept behind the network of schools (you may need to view this one at home as it is a YouTube video).

Something to think about - I'd like to here your thoughts.

A few congratulations and thank you's go out to...
...Holly for her patience with kids who need adults to be patient with them.
...Connie for helping students experience successes with many small steps this year.
...Linda for being flexible and managing multiple schedule changes to make it better for kids.
...Robin for being the 'rock' in our Success Room. You deserve a break!
...Janet for coming on board and helping all around the building when called upon.
...Stephanie for putting up with me for four years and doing a great job in spite of me! My adult ADHD is frustrating for me...I cannot imagine how you handle it day in and day out.
...Brenda for jumping on our bus and not missing a beat. Your dedication to the students, staff, parents and our school is noticed by many.
...Barb for wearing the multiple hats of para-educator, parent, and student and keeping sane. Most days. :)
...Angie working with students who need consistency, yet a soft hand once in a while to hold!
...Karen for surviving her first year with 4th and 5th grade students AND 4th grade lunch duty. If you can do that, you can do most anything.
...Sonia for her solid communication with multiple buildings, multiple teachers and many kids too!

May 15, 2009

4th (4-6) and 5th (5-2) Grade "Got Math?" Champions!

PTO Carnival - Wow! Thank you to each and every staff member who helped set up and/or work during the evening. It was a great turnout and a fun night for everyone. Thank you to Jen Bruce and Sara Johnson for organizing the event - it was quite a task, but they did a wonderful job putting it all together!

PLC Days - Can you believe next week is our last PLC date?? Items to tackle: ITBS item analysis, review of SMART Goals and using your SMART Goals, please edit/modify your action plans for the 2009-10 school year. If time permits - I need a list of "kids to separate" for the following year from each team. If your team needs assistance, please let me know.

MAP - Measures of Academic Progress is officially over - 5th grade will take part in two learning sessions next week after school to better understand the data available to them.

Monday Assemblies - Next week is our last "Monday Assembly" and will be for 5th grade only, but it will be moved to Thursday. Mrs. Timmerman's students will present their PowerPoints. Please have students seated by 2:55 pm!

Year End Events - We have had many activities to end the year! We have a few left to go too (all inclusive list)! Tuesday is our transition day. Third grade students will be here around 1:30 pm and we will all start in the gym again. I will once again have 3rd graders come with questions for our opening activity. Fifth grade students will head to the middle school around 1:15 (walk). Teams should plan before then. Next Friday is our Walk Across Red Oak. Activities tied into our 4th and 5th grade health curriculum will given to teachers by Wednesday - we will have students produce posters again to be read by students as we walk across Red Oak. Unless someone objects, our year-end assembly will be at 8:45 am on the last day of school. Plan on 45 minutes.

A few congratulations and thank you's go out to... (the rest to come next week!!)
...Nita for bringing a FREE bike-give-away program to Red Oak. Over 15 kids at Washington and Inman Primary have been selected to write an essay to earn a free bicycle!!
...Sue T for being Mrs. Consistent with three to four of her students who have needed nothing but consistency in order to survive this year. Day after day, her room has students in it from 8:00 am to after 4:00 pm.
...Geoff for covering teachers all over the building when needed and being willing to do so.
..Susan for finishing another fine year of monthly newsletters and 1000's of pictures posted to Artsonia.com.
...Sue C for her leadership and help this year with our work with and as a Professional Learning Community.
...Christie for always bringing Corey to my office to make me laugh, share a one of his successes or just to see if I'm alive and kicking.
...Rhoda for organizing a wonderful Success program and signing on to do it all over again next year.
...Lisa for putting together another top-notch 5th grade performance. It just proves that if you set the bar HIGH, kids respond.
...Jan for producing another successful retirement party. Has anyone starting planning her's yet?

May 8, 2009

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! It appears the weather will cooperate and 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!

Media Literacy Survey - Teachers should have received a survey from Ann Petersen in your box. When you complete the survey, please turn it back in to the office. Looking at the questions, it may be helpful to have your name on the survey in order to provide help to the right person down the road. :) Monday's meeting will be in Jessica Braymen's room and will begin at 3:15 pm.

ITBS & PLC Days - ITBS test booklets arrive in my office today so next Wednesday teams can begin item analysis using your student data. I will have forms available to record findings. You will use your SMART Goals to edit/modify your action plans for the 2009-10 school year. If your team needs assistance, please let me know.

Schedule Updates - Thank you to the teams and Stephanie for getting the year end dates organized onto one sheet! Also, thank you to Brenda for posting it on our website and regularly updating it. It helps a TON with communication!!

MAP - Our first attempt at using the computerized assessment, Measures of Academic Progress, went well. Thank you to Jan and Geoff for assisting with the process. We still have a few makeups available. Science and Language assessments will be given this coming week. I can work with the 5th grade team next Wednesday to look at the math and reading data.

Monday Assemblies - Only two Monday's left! Final assemblies: May 11th - 4th grade; and May 18th - 5th grade (both at 2:55 pm).

The End Is Near - but we still have 12 instructional days left in the school year. Please help make every moment count by providing engaging and meaningful lessons and activities! I've talked to a few teachers who have some great hands-on learning experiences built into their final two weeks of school. 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!

A few congratulations and thank yous go out to... (more to come next week!!)

...Michelle for being awarded another FREE item from DonorsChoose.org as she earned her classroom a interactive whiteboard!

...Gene for getting our NEW United States flag AND an Iowa flag up on our pole. He fixed the rope so we can now have students put up the flag each morning when we get that set up!

...Linnea for starting her summer break early, but for a great reason! We wish you best of luck as you enjoy motherhood (again!).

...Jessica for completing her summative and comprehensive evaluation AND getting my signature on the DE form to allow her to get her standard teaching license! She's worked hard the past two years to earn it.

...Mark & Sandra for noting we need to all be responsible for teaching students life and social skills and committing to attending a training to allow us to earn free curriculum to bring back to 4th grade...even though it is during a busy time of year!

...Jeannie for volunteering to be out on the playground to assist 4th grade students with trying to 'get it right' on a more consistent basis.

...finally, Pat, although he officially has 13 days left to work, he will enjoy his retirement party this Saturday (2-4 pm). This is well deserved...so please show up. :)

Please send me your thank you's and congratuations so I can include them in my last TWO FWRs.

May 1, 2009

Happy May Day!

Fluency & Gates - Fluency testing will be on Monday and Tuesday for 4th grade and Tuesday and Thursday for 5th grade. 4th grade teachers should send out their Gates schedule to all Washington staff today.

Monday Assemblies - There will not be an assembly next Monday. To finish the year, I will do grade specific assemblies the last two Mondays: May 11th - 4th grade; and May 18th - 5th grade (both at 2:55 pm).

Media Center Program - Ann, Janelle, Jan, Darla and Jane have been meeting to discuss changes to help improve our K-12 media program. On May 11th, Ann Petersen would like to meet with the 4th and 5th grade staff to discuss your ideas as to how to improve media literacy for our students. The meeting will begin in our media center at 3:15 pm.

Earth Day Winners - Washington students brought in over 3000 recyclable items!! Mrs. Guinn's class will be taking the field trip during the afternoon of Monday, May 11th. I will be picking up the reusable bags for the 4th graders from Fareway today. Thanks to Jenni Horner, Gene and Rick for helping recycle all those items!!

CGI Training - AEA 13 will be having a year 1 Cognitive Guided Instruction (CGI) training in Council Bluffs, June 15-18. If you notify me before signing up, the district will pay for the training. 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.

PLC Update - Thank you for your participation in our curriculum PLC meetings. During the two meetings I was a part of on Wednesday, conversations were good and beneficial to those involved. The math team has settled on series to adopt: K-5 Saxon and 6-8 & Algebra, Algebra II and Geometry from Holt. The K-5 adoption will take place over two years with K-2 receiving materials and resources for this fall while 3-5 will receive resources and materials summer of 2010. The remaining PLC dates are for you PLC teams - I will need to meet with both teams together this week for 30 minutes to discuss a few items teams should consider/discuss as we end the school year.

PTO Carnival - As mentioned before, if you are available Next Friday night, I would hope you're in attendance and helping during the carnival. If not, please help out at IPS next Wednesday after PLC time.

Next Week's Changes - With Oregon Trail moving to Monday, 5th graders will be completing their MAP assessments on Tuesday and Wednesday and fluency Tuesday and Thursday.

Transition Day - May 19th is transition day. Your team may want to look at your schedule for that day. Make sure to note 3rd Grade parent orientation is also that evening.

Dates to Note - Click here to access the updated "Dates to Note."

Swine Flu Update:

Mark Pearson, WHO Radio farm director, is telling swine to

avoid humans in order to avoid actually getting the

swine flu from the humans.

Pictures from Reading on the Square

Shutterfly Shared Picture Detail - thanks for Lonnie Hartstack for the pictures!

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

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

Students & adults can now play the Oregon Trail game online!

The old version: http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html

New: http://woz.commtechlab.msu.edu/courses/447sp04/oregontrail/play.htm

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.

- Homer Simpson