Week of December 7th - December 11th

We have a big couple of weeks coming up.  Thanks ahead of time for all of the work you will be doing with and for kids.  This can be a stressful time for all of us, but also a time of joy if we can put the 'big rocks' in the proper order.  Please let me know how I can help!  Here is a quick video and blog about how other teachers are standing for greatness for their students, like all of you.  I hope if gives you a surge of energy as we press ahead.

All School Progress Monitor This Week
Please use the Progress Monitor that is scheduled for this week.  Let us know if you need help.  Please record all of the scored in the spreadsheet on the shared drive by the weekend.

Family Health Clinic
This clinic is being offered to families December 9th from 5-7 at the high school. Just an FYI.

District Food Pantry
Our district food pantry is open and full!  The pantry is open to anyone who may be struggling with food security, including staff who may be financially strapped for a number of reasons.  If you know of a student or family who might need the assistance, please let Anne or Debbie know.  Staff can touch base with me or Brendalyn Love for help.

Christmas Concerts
It would actually be very hard for us to have all the classes in the audience at all of the Christmas Concerts this season. Our audiences are usually very large.  Plus, that's a lot of time out of class.  If you would like to have your class attend a concert for a different grade level, please let me know.  Also, please do not be surprised if families checkout an older or younger sibling to attend with the family.  We usually honor this request and students head back to class as soon as the concert is over.  Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Blue Jeans Friday
Because we will be having Christmas Concerts the final week of school, and we will be having a number of patrons in the building, we will have a Blue Jeans Friday this week.  Additional prizes for those who participate in an ugly sweater competition. We'll do our Spirit Day for kids this Friday as well so they can wear their new gear from the PTO.

Jefferson Christmas Fun
It is a busy time of year, but we still want to celebrate the season together with a little Christmas fun on Friday the 18th from 3:00-3:30 so that we can enjoy some time with our paras. Let us know if you could bring a favorite goodie to share.

Conferences Coming!
The 2nd Week after we are back from break we have Parent Teacher Conferences!  It will be very fast after we get back so we are doing a little pre-planning.  As you know, Anne has been trying out a new online conference scheduler.  It has been very slick!  Families can go to the school web page for the link or call the office if they don't have use of the Internet.  We will use the schedule that is developed by next week and then fill in the gaps for the families we haven't heard from.  We will have conference reminder notes to you early next week so that those can go home before the break.  It will be a busy week so I appreciate you doing this.

More Books for Sharing the Habits
John Flokstra, a trainer for the Leader in Me, recently shared this list of books that share the habits and give students an opportunity to have conversations about the characters and develop their understanding of the habits in their lives.  See a title you'd like to have in your classroom?  Let me know!  Or, suggest a different title that I can share here.  We will start adding these books to our classroom libraries as you request.

Fire and Evacuation Maps
One of the requests of our Fire and Building Safety Report was that we ensure that all Evacuation Maps are oriented to the Building.  Would you double check to make sure that your map is oriented so that if it was read by a substitute that they would be able to head in the right direction and right outside.  Please let me know if you need further help with this.

Food Service Meeting
I recently met with Superintendent Layne and folks from JSD Food Service.  They had a request and a few reminders that they asked me to share.  First, they have had a request from the bus company that snacks not be sent out to the bus lines.  Please make sure your students have eaten their snacks sometime during the school day to help with this.  Also, they have had a number or questions about condiments and other items on the food menu.  The biggest factor in whether or not those are put out for students is calculated o the sodium intake of the entire menu for the day and for the week.  Lastly, the wanted to have teachers remind and encourage students to ask for more fruits and veggies when they are in the line.  Students can always ask for more when they go through the line and they can go back through the line for extra fruits and veggies as well. They were very open to questions and concerns.  If any come up for you or other staff, please let me know and I'll pass them on.

A Quick Legal Reminder

I get reminders forwarded from Dale, but I thought this was a good reminder to all of us that our email is a public record...all of it.  The reminders always help me remember to filter what I share through email.

Idaho Public Records Act

In most cases, email is considered a public record under the Idaho Public Records Act.  Email messages that contain information about a school district's activities, decisions, and policies, as well as those that function as evidence of business transactions, qualify as "public records" of the school district.  Email and other electronic documents that meet this definition must be treated like paper documents for the purpose of the Idaho Public Records Act, including complying with any applicable retention schedules.  Elaine Eberharter-Maki, District Counsel

Informational Writing - Text Structures 
Here are some of the resources and YouTube videos we talked about during all school collaboration last Friday.  And more great ideas from Beth Newingham and Scholastic.

Writing Anchor Charts for Writing
Here's a Google Folder.  We'll keep adding more to it over the year.  Do you have something to share?  Please send it and I'll add it.

Habit #5 - Seek to Understand
Deb's PowerPoint - Thanks Deb.

BoxTops!
Keep up the great work on BoxTops $826.60 so far.

Upcoming Events

Dec. 6th, Dec. 13th - Building Culture Team @3:30

Dec. 9th, 16th - MTSS Meeting @ 3:30

Dec. 8th - BLT @3:30
Dec. 10th - Staff Meeting - Habits #6 and #7
Dec. 11th - Spirit Day
Dec. 16th - 10:30AM - Kinder Concert, 2:30PM - Kinder PM Concert
Dec. 17th - 10:30AM - 2nd Grade Concert, 2:30PM - 1st Grade Concert
Dec. 18th - 10:30AM - 3rd Grade Concert
Dec. 18th - Staff Christmas Fun - 3:00-3:30 PM
Dec. 18th - Tiger Award Luncheon

To Do

• Plan a Dual Immersion Field Trip with your "Crew" - Send 2 possible dates to Angie
• Get your Tiger Awards in by Wednesday, Dec. 16th.

Week of November 30th - December 4th

Did you rest?  Did you eat lots of great food?  Did you find time to shop Black Friday specials?  Whatever you did with your Thanksgiving holiday, I hope that you had a little time to recharge your batteries.  Three more fun and exciting weeks of learning before a much bigger break for all the hard work you invest in our kids!


Visits to Harrison
Please see the email and attachment sent out for the schedule.  We have subs for you, no need to put one in AESOP.  Enjoy your time at Harrison.  I'm looking forward to hear what you noticed and hearing your questions about the Leader in Me and the reading program.

Rolling out Habit #3 This Week

Stay tuned for more teaching ideas here!  There's not better time of the year to stop and take a minute to consider the "big rocks" in your personal and professional like.  I can't wait to hear how you rolled out "Putting First Things First" with your kids.

What's Your Yet?

I've been thinking a lot about my yets, Jefferson's yets, and the yets of our kids.  I love how beautifully Habits#1 and #2 help all of us learn how to focus on who we are becoming, no matter what age we are.  As a challenge, and I know if might be a challenge for some, I would like you to think about your professional and personal yets.  Tweet one to me @wonder2wisdom with the hashtag #growthmindset.  I will respond with some fun and support!  In the meantime, check out this video by Carol Dweck.  It had me thinking about not "wasting life."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-swZaKN2Ic&feature=youtu.be

A Step Closer to Being a Leader in Me School!

This was a letter to Dr. Love, who submitted this grant on our behalf.  Thank you Brendalynn!

Congratulations! It is a pleasure to inform you that your organization has been chosen to receive a grant of $1,000.00 from the Statewide Education Philanthropic Gift Fund, and the grant has been approved by the Idaho Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. The grant is to be used to purchase the supplies needed to help implement a student centered leadership program within an elementary school, as outlined in your 2015 Southwestern Region Competitive grant proposal. 

Mentor Texts for Habits #1 and #2
Mr. Schu has some great book selections!  In this post he gives three examples of books that show persistence toward dreams and goals.  He even links the youtube book trailers!  I will give one copy of each book away to the teachers (1 per teacher) who read the post, sends me the title they want, and give me a one to two sentence description of how they will use it with their class!  Merry Christmas early!
http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2015/11/december-sharpschu-book-club.html

Teaching the Narrative Standards After Christmas?
Plot.  That can be a tough concept to teach young kids.  This blog post does a nice jog of developing an activity around Henry and the Freedom Box that could be used as an "I do, We do" activity.  Not all books and plots are "neat", but this would be an easier entry into the concept.  If you don't have the book, let me know.  I have a couple of copies to loan.
http://www.gottoteach.com/2015/09/teaching-plot-with-picture-books.html

Classroom Technology Grant Opportunity - HURRY!  Deadline at the End of the Week!
The Idaho Education Technology Association (IETA) believes that education technology provides great opportunities to our students and educators around the state. IETA grants give Idaho technology leaders the opportunity to fund innovative ideas and initiatives within their school and district. IETA grants are open to any member of IETA who is in good standing with the organization. Grants applications are available in a variety of categories and are evaluated using our grant rubric.Visit our website to access the grant application and scoring rubrics. http://www.idahoedtech.org/announcements.html
TimelineSubmission 
Deadline: Friday, December 4, 2015 at 5:00 P.M. Mountain
Grant Awards Announced: Monday, December 14, 2015
Grant Expenditure Deadline: Thursday, June 30, 2016
Documentation Submission Deadline: Thursday, June 30, 2016

Upcoming Events

Nov. 30th, Dec. 6th, Dec. 13th - Building Culture Team @3:30

Dec. 2nd, 9th, 16th - MTSS Meeting @ 3:30

Dec. 1st, Dec. 8th - BLT @3:30

Dec. 3rd - Staff Meeting & Skype with Orchard Elementary (BLT and Culture Team)
Dec. 4th - All Staff Collaboration

To Do

• Plan a Dual Immersion Field Trip with your "Crew" - Send 2 possible dates to Angie
• Please let Angie know if there is an issue for your scheduled time to go to Harrison

Week of November 23rd - November 25th

I am incredibly thankful for each and every one of you!  I'm thankful for:

• the fact that you are part of the staff at Jefferson!
• the time, energy and creativity that you put into our students' learning.
• your tenacity and investment of love into our profession.
• the way that you care for each other.

The list is much longer, but I am privileged to work and grow alongside each and every one of you.  I hope that the long weekend is rejuvenating and a time to truly count your blessings.

Quick Reminders

• Make sure to schedule a time with Jorma to have a para help you with updated assessments (CORE Phonics, Sight words, etc.) as needed
• Help out with the American Legion Christmas Cards if you can
• We will meet with Dale at 8:00 on Wednesday morning.

Pre-Focus - Week of Nov. 24th - Nov. 25th

Writing is Exciting!


Author Gary Hogg will be here next week.  He does a great job keeping kids enthralled with storytelling, as well as inspiring them to write!  After visiting with Gary and BLT, here is a quick run down of the schedule for Monday.  Please let me know if you have questions.







1.  All activities will take place in the gym.  The assemblies and workshops will disrupt your specials schedules.  Chris is willing to do a "push in" lesson in your classroom, if you would normally have P.E. and you don't have to be at an assembly.  Please see her for further arrangements.

2. Kids will need to bring a whiteboard or clipboard, paper and a pencil to the workshops.

3.  Gary will be selling and autographing books for kids.  A yellow flyer is in your box to send home with kids. Teachers may also get books...at a discount.  Your flyer is pink.

3.  Want to know more or give your kids a preview?  Check out his website:  http://garyhoggbooks.com/

Now...Here's the Schedule...

8:30-9:30 - Assembly - 3rd, 2nd, and Kinder AM
9:45-10:30 - Workshop - 3rd Grade
10:45-11:30 - Workshop - 2nd Grade

12:45-1:45 - Assembly - 1st and Kinder PM
2:00-2:30 - Workshop - 1/2 of 1st Grade
2:30-3:00 - Workshop - 1/2 of 1st Grade

Friday Focus - Week of Nov. 16th - Nov. 20th

You may have noticed that this quote is on many of the papers I've handed out over the first couple of months of school.  This quote and the theme "The Power of Yet," had me thinking all summer.  I was reflecting about my own goals and the hopes and dreams for Jefferson, as a school, and for every little person who learns here each day.  I might also ask all of you...
Do you have a current goal? Professionally? Personally?  What are your aspirations?  Please be thinking about these and how I can support you, how we can support each other, and how we can support our students.



Habit #2 - Begin With the End in Mind - Ideas for Your Classroom
Thank you Kayleigh for these fun ideas.  It's not to late to join the class after school on Monday!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/545287467362572511/

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Planning-Out-My-Goals-532264

Habit #3 - Put First Things First
Thanks Sarah!  I think this is the correct link to your video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmV0gXpXwDU
**Remember to go the home page at Jeromeschools.org and finding "Content Filter" on the right-hand side of the page before trying to log on to a video.  And like Kayleigh said, fast forward through the ads.   :D

Building Safety and Fire Inspections - Monday
Speaking of putting first things first, thank you for your help ensuring that our building is as orderly as possible.  If you have misplaced the checklist of things to consider, please check in with Anne.  She has extras.

BoxTop Awards
Sandra and Walt Cooley will likey be at Jefferson on Monday to hand out BoxTop awards for the first trimester.  They'll swing by your room.  I'll let you know as I have details, but thanks ahead of time for your flexibility when they stop by.

Family Reading Night - Curl Up With a Classic
Thanks to all of your efforts (especially Emily Merritt) for organizing this event.  It looks to be a great time! Please talk this up with your students.  Free hot dogs for dinner are an added bonus.  See you Tuesday night.

Vision Screening Thursday
The Lion's Club with be here all day.  Because of the number of kids that we have, they traditionally screen 1st and 3rd graders.  If you have a student in Kinder or 2nd that you have a strong concern about, please visit with your MTSS/RtI Team Member.  They can visit with Anne to try to find a spot for your student to be screened.

New Staff Shirts
Come swing by the office and see the new staff shirts.  They were ordered in XL so you can make a determination about what size you might want.  Each option comes in S-XL, 1X-4X.  We weren't able to fund the whole shirt this year, but we are offsetting the cost of the embroidery.  We will place the order on Wednesday, Nov. 25th.  You are welcome to post-date a check for the November payday if you would like.  Place orders with Anne.
***Guys, please see Anne about options for you.

Barnes and Noble Fundraiser
Mark your calendars!  Saturday, December 12th is our Barnes and Noble Fundraiser.  We will send teams of 2-3 to be at Barnes and Noble to wrap gifts for donations.  It is actually a lot of fun, and we make a portion of every sale that customers indicate is for us.  Plus, we also make tips!  Last year we split the proceeds with folks who could volunteer that day.  You of course get paid in books for your classrooms.  Please consider if this might fit your schedule.  We'll have sign ups soon.

Students with Behavior Issues?
Check out this great website for ideas to try with students who are exhibiting specific behaviors.  It's really excellent and easy to use!
http://www.pbisworld.com/

Gary Hogg - Writing is Exciting! - Monday, November 23rd
Still waiting to hear back from Gary.  Planning on two smaller assemblies and four workshops.  Hope to have more details soon.

Kinda Cool to See Our Name on the Map!
Thanks Emily Merritt for your work to make this happen.
http://libraries.idaho.gov/files/SLA-Mini-Grants-2015-2016-Map.pdf

Upcoming Events

Nov. 16th - Leader in Me Book Study @3:30 in the library
Nov. 17th - Family Literacy Night and Cookie Dough Pick Up
Nov. 18th - Picture Retakes
Nov. 18th - MTSS Meeting @ 3:30
Nov. 19th - Vision Screening
Nov. 19th - Student Loan Forgiveness Meeting - JMS @3:45
Nov. 19th - Seizure Training - JMS @ 4:30-5:00
Nov. 20th - Jefferson Spirit Day/Tiger Award Luncheon
Nov. 20th - Fat Friday
Nov. 23rd & 24th - Writing Extravaganza
Nov. 23rd - Gary Hogg Assemblies and Workshops
Nov. 23rd - Building Culture Team @3:30
Nov. 24th - Building Leadership Team @3:30
Nov. 25th - Dual Immersion Meeting with Dale 8:00-8:30
Nov. 25th - 1/2 Work Day 8:00-11:45

To Do

• Plan a Dual Immersion Field Trip with your "Crew" - Send 2 possible dates to Angie
• Make sure to let Angie know if you want and LIA student ASAP
• Please let Angie know if there is an issue for your scheduled time to go to Harrison

Friday Focus - Week of Nov. 9th - 13th

"...we will define a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. 

• Knowledge...what to do and why
• Skill...how to do
• Desire...the want to

In order to make something a habit in our lives, we have to have all three.   Stephen Covey

7 Habits Roll out at Jefferson

This week we will be focused on Habit 1 - Be Proactive.  Please make sure to plan at least one small activity that will help kids understand what it means to be proactive.  I will also be focusing on this during morning announcements.

"Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility.  They do not blame 

circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior."

FluMist - Monday, Nov. 9th @ 8:45AM

Please collect the consents forms and keep them in your classrooms. SCPHD will then go to each class, call a few students out at a time, and will administer the inhalant in the hallway. It will take only a few second per student. Once a classroom is completed, they will move to the next classroom until all classrooms have been completed. 

Writing Extravaganza

I hope plans are coming along for all kinds of writing fun on Monday, Nov. 23rd and Tuesday, Nov. 24th.  Please consider using part of Wednesday, Nov. 25th as a norming meeting to see what your kids have created.

Composing 10

Can't get enough of this blog and the interactive games this lady finds!  This one is for the interactive white boards.

http://www.mathcoachscorner.com/2015/05/22/composing-10-online-game/

Veteran's Day - November 11th

Please find even a small way to bring this to your students' attention.  These small lessons at an early age build a big appreciation later.

Counseling Groups

Please don't forget to recommend your students to Deb for small groups.  Send her names and concerns (put please leave the names out of the memo line of emails for FERPA reasons...just the body of the email).

Upcoming Events

October – T-shirt Sales - PTO
Nov. 9th - FluMist @8:45AM until done
Nov. 9th - Culture Team Meeting @3:30
Nov. 10th - Building Culture Team @3:30
Nov. 11th - MTSS Meeting @ 3:30
Nov. 11th - Ready for Kindergarten Class hosted at Jefferson 6PM
Nov. 12th - Staff Meeting 3:30-4:00 - 7 Habits Focus
Nov. 13^th – Jefferson Gives Day – Food Bank donations
Nov. 16th - 7 Habits Class 3:30-4:30

Nov. 17^th – Jefferson Literacy Night & Cookie Dough Pick Up

Friday Focus - Week of Nov. 2nd - 6th

“The future depends on what you do today.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Great things are happening this week as we move toward our goal to be a Leader in Me School.  First, we will be taking another round of folks to a Leadership Day at Harrison Elementary on Thursday.  Our Building Leadership Team will be attending (along with Denise, our new Culture Team Member), as well as Lydia Jackson, our PTO President, Brendalyn Love, Janet Avery, Lori Johnston, and a couple of guests from the United Way.  We were also asked if we would host an administrators' day.  So Wednesday we will be hosting about 30 area administrators at the District Office.  All of these things, plus the work you are doing at staff meetings and with the book study are putting us in a very good position to apply for the grant next month!  As part of that work, we will also begin the formal roll out of the habits at Jefferson next week.  Please begin planning with your team about how this might look.  I've put a new spot on the right side of the blog as a reminder of when we will aim to all focus on the same trait.

I am very thankful for all of you and the way that you keep planting for the future of our kids.

Angie

Dual Immersion Dinner
El Sombrero from 5:00-8:00PM

Progress Monitoring this Week
Reading and Math this week.  Please report no later than Sunday, Nov. 8th.  We will be trying to pull reports for data teams and RtI.

Dual Immersion Dinner
This Thursday is the Dual Immersion Fundraising Dinner.  Please let me know if you plan to attend.  We would love to have your support, plus, you get someone else to cook dinner for the night!

Playground Doors - Bathroom - Unlocked, Relocked
Please remember, we need one person to ensure that the outside doors for access to the bathrooms are unlocked for students and then relocked and pulled tight after recesses.  2nd/3rd Grade Staff:  It is ok to leave the 'outside' bathroom doors unlocked and just unlock and lock the breezeway door by the cafeteria.  This will help a bit with keeping the hallways warmer as the temperatures drop.

Veteran's Day - November 11th
Veteran's Day is coming soon.  There are some great picture books that are a nice way to introduce this topic to your children.  Please take a few moments to acknowledge the day.  This is a very big deal to our locals posts and an easy way to help teach kids to honor those who have paid a high price for their freedom and ability to learn.

Counseling Groups
Please don't forget to recommend your students to Deb for small groups.  Send her names and concerns (put please leave the names out of the memo line of emails for FERPA reasons...just the body of the email).  We will also be looking at the Office Discipline Referral data to make sure we have tier 2 behavior supports in place for our kids showing patterns, thought many of you are already working with Deb for these kiddos.

New Apps
Chris as pushed some new apps.  These are primarily for letter name/sound recognition, but might work as an intervention for the right students.

• Letter School
• Star Fall ABCs
• EPIC

Number Sense Progression
A really nice easy to read list about number sense and how it builds for kids.

http://www.mathcoachscorner.com/2012/09/07/place-value-building-meaning-behind-the-numbers/

3rd Grade Only
We need to visit about getting all of you through the TA Certification Course (SBAC) before Christmas Break! This course is mandatory this year for all Test Administrators. Once individuals complete the course, TIDE will automatically be updated to indicate course completion and access to administer test sessions. I'll visit with GayLyn about this in the next week.

Upcoming Events

October – T-shirt Sales - PTO
Nov. 2nd - Culture Team Meeting @3:30
Nov. 4th - MTSS Meeting @ 3:30
Nov. 4th - Dual Immersion Fundraising Dinner - El Sombrero

Nov. 13^th – Jefferson Gives Day – Food Bank donations

Nov. 17^th – Jefferson Literacy Night & Cookie Dough Pick Up

To Do

• Turn in Professional Development Goals by Nov.2nd
• Turn in Weekly Class Schedules

Friday Focus - Week of Oct. 26 - Oct. 30

Fun is in the air!  It should be a busy, but exciting week for kids at Jefferson!  Please come down to the office for a chocolate when you need a small dose of patience.  This is such a fun, but energy filled time for our little ones.

Kids Without Costumes
If you start to feel like one of your students may not have a costume this year, please let Deb or I know.  We have a few connections that might help a kid feel included in our school festivities.

Progress Monitoring on Thursday
For this week, we will cancel interventions on Thursday and use the day for progress monitoring.  We realize you missed a couple of Friday's in a row.  There was a bit of schedule confusion last week. We will work to put the actual schedule on paper and will get you a copy ASAP.

Halloween Safety Presentations
Officer Clayton will be here throughout the week doing Halloween Safety Presentations.  Please make sure to check the Jefferson Elementary Events Calendar if you need to double check a time.

Pumpkin Decorating Contest
If a student brings in a decorated pumpkin, please have them put it on one of the tables in the hallway.  These will be judged later in the week.  A participation prize will be given to each child who participates.

Halloween Celebrations on Friday

• DARE Concert - 8:30AM in the gym.  Please come to the gym as soon as you have taken attendance.
• AM Kindergarten Costume Parade @ 10:15AM.  Other classes will watch in the hall outside of their room.  New teachers, please check in with a veteran who can explain how this tradition works.
• Costumes and Parties after lunch
• PM Kindergarten-3rd Grade Costume Parade @1:15.  Watch for a map of how this works in your boxes.

Collaboration This Friday

With  your teams

FUN Free Ten Frame Game from Greg Tang
http://www.mathcoachscorner.com/2015/08/19/ten-frame-mania-free-app/

BSU ED Tech Scholarship
BSU is offering $1000 scholarships to teachers who enter their program for a master's in Technology Leadership.  If you are interested there is more information on the whiteboard in the office.

Ready for Kindergarten
We are SO pleased that the Ready for Kindergarten Program will be hosted at Jefferson on Nov. 11th from 6:00-8:30.  This is a super program for the families of toddlers and pre-schoolers.  They get amazing books and resources for attending.  You won't have to do anything, but we would like you to help spread the word.

Upcoming Events

October – T-shirt Sales - PTO
Oct. 26th - Culture Team Meeting @3:30
Oct. 27th - Building Leadership Team @ 3:30
Oct. 28th - Tiger Award Luncheon - All Students - 11:30
Oct. 28th - MTSS Meeting @ 3:30
Oct. 30th - DARE Concert @ 8:30
Oct. 30t - Halloween Costume Parades - K AM 10:15, K-3 1:15, Parties in the afternoon

Nov. 13^th – Jefferson Gives Day – Food Bank donations

Nov. 17^th – Jefferson Literacy Night & Cookie Dough Pick Up

To Do

• Turn in Professional Development Goals by Nov.2nd

Friday Focus - Week of Oct. 19th - Oct. 23rd

Bear and Good News!

A sweet picture of the bear we sent to our first grader who was in the car accident last week.  And great news.  I called St. Al's Friday afternoon to get an update and they couldn't connect me to the room because she had been discharged!  YEAH!  No further information, but hoping to hear from the family this week.







Becky Honored for 'Americanism and Patriotism'
On Saturday night Becky was honored by the local American Legion Auxiliary for the Memorial Day Hero's Program performed by our 3rd Grade Choir students each year.  This was a lovely surprise for Becky and it means a great deal to our local veterans.  Congratulations Becky!






Boss's Day Thank You
Thank you all for the great Starbucks basket, coffee, travel mug, gift card and goodies.  I'm afraid you know me too well!  I am grateful for the chance to work beside each of you!

Walk and Talk Group
In an effort to support staff wellness, the District Office folks are looking for ways to encourage us to walk and make connections,  Every Monday and Wednesday beginning Oct. 19th, folks will be getting together between 4:30 and 6:00 to walk.  They will start at the corner of 3rd and Lincoln (DO) and will make loops.  The cool thing is, you can join at any time and for any length of time.  You can arrive at 4:45 and stay for 30 mins.  Please contact Michelle Keller our school nurse if you have questions.  A flyer is on the counter in the office.  Look for more options (Yoga, Zumba, ect..) coming soon!

Gary Hogg and Two Days of Writing
Gary Hogg, a semi-local author and presenter will be back at Jefferson on Monday, November 23rd.  He will performing for an assembly and then doing grade level writing workshops throughout the day.  The Building Leadership Team also talked about making this Monday and Tuesday (short week before Thanksgiving) a fun couple of days with a focus on writing!  We will cancel interventions for those two days and will ask Jorma, Shawn, Chris, Becky, Misty, Emily and I (sshhh, don't tell them I haven't talked to them yet) to be possible quest readers and writers in your rooms.  Put it on your calendar and stay tuned for more details.  http://garyhoggbooks.com/

Jefferson Motto
Over the last year the Building Leadership and Culture Teams worked to create a new motto for Jefferson.  We interviewed staff, parents and business leaders for words they wanted to describe our students when they are grown.  We came up with this Wordle...

From the Wordle staff developed possible mottos.  To ensure everyone had a voice in the final selection we used Light Voting to narrow the choices down to 3 which were all within 1 vote.  After much discussion at BLT, the team felt that of the 3 choices, there was one that best fit what we are trying to communicate to families, the community and ourselves about what we are trying to accomplish at Jefferson.  So, after much time and discussion, we will be working with the motto...

"Cultivating successful students through the wonder of learning."

We'll talk about this more in the upcoming year.

Family Literacy Night

A Note from Emily Merritt:  

We’re gearing up for Family Literacy Night on Tuesday, November 17^th. Our theme is “Curl Up with a Classic”. There are a few things I need from you. If you haven’t sent me your favorite childhood classic book, please send me an email with the title and author. I’m coming up with a fun activity for that night.

I need volunteers for who would like to be in charge of an activity for Literacy Night. Usually you choose between helping with Literacy Night in the Fall or STEM Night in the Spring. I’d like to have a meeting on Thursday, October 22nd to figure out who would like to help and discuss ideas!

Those that choose to help with Literacy Night, I would like you to be thinking about a classic book that you can base an activity on that will be held that night in your room. I’ve attached a link with ideas or you could definitely come up with your own ideas! We’ll discuss these at our meeting.

http://libraries.idaho.gov/files/Activities%20for%20Family%20Reading%20Week%20that%20extend%20storybooks.pdf

Chelsea had a great idea that we would like to incorporate for our Family Reading Week (which is held the week of Literacy Night). Each class and teacher chooses a favorite children’s book and they decorate the outside of their door to represent their book. The class can help as much as possible and we’d like these done and decorated by Friday November 13^th. Then we will have some sort of voting that can be done the night of Literacy Night (when the kids bring their parents) and the class that wins the best decorated door will win a prize!

We are planning that since the theme is “Curl Up with a Classic” that this will be a PJ night, so get your most awesome pajamas ready for that evening!

Thank you Emily for taking the lead on this!

Problems with AESOP
If you every find yourself home sick, and for strange and unexplained reasons, you are unable to log on to AESOP through Skyweb, please make sure so call Tammy Cooley at (cellphone) 208-308-7327.  This is a district number that you can call or text anytime to request a sub if you are having trouble with the technology.  Please make sure to do this to ensure that you have a sub.

Halloween Details  

On Friday, October 30th we have a very busy day at Jefferson.  Here are the basics.  More details will be coming.  Notes will be sent out to families this week.  Here are the basics:
8:30 - DARE Concert in the Gym
10:15 - AM Kindergarten Halloween Parade
Parties and costumes after lunch
1:15 - K-3 Halloween Parade

Parents will be reminded: No Gore, No Weapons, No Masks

I do encourage grade level teams to come up with their own themes and costumes.  Join in the fun!

Collaboration with Melisa
Collaboration this Friday will be lead by Melisa.  She will be reviewing the Charlotte Danielson Model for evaluation, our school focus on engagement (selected last spring) and how to write your professional goals.  Because attendance court will be held in the library, we will be holding collaboration in a different location.  Stay tuned for that detail.

Reading A-Z
Reading A-Z has now expired.  Please let me know ASAP if your intervention team plans to continue using this program.

Leader in Me Habit #1 -  Be Proactive Activity
Some of you asked for cards that were on the table at the staff meeting.  Here is the link.  A black line master is on the whiteboard in the office.
http://theteachingthief.blogspot.com/2011/09/habit-1-being-proactive-with-freebie.html

Leader in Me Credit Option
If you would like to sign up for the 1 credit class for the Leader in Me, please link here at anytime.

EDLD53711 - Investigating the Leader in Me - http://pdlearn.nnu.edu/modules/shop/index.html?action=section&OfferingID=2959&SectionID=7095

City Construction on Fillmore
Staring Monday, November 2nd, the City of Jerome will be closing North Fillmore between 2nd and 3rd for a sewer improvement project.  Please plan accordingly if this impacts your direct route to school.  This detour will last for approximately 3 weeks.

Staff Meetings on October 22nd and 29th
We rarely have so many staff meetings in a row, but these are good ones.  This week, we have a guest from Imagine Learning.  Lori Piccolo will be sharing a TON of free resources staff can use with ALL kids, not just those logging in to the program.  On the 29th, there will be a short staff meeting with Beth Mower.  Beth is a PTO mom and local realtor.  She is a member of the Jerome School District Education Foundation.  She will be sharing about the foundation and their plans for the future.  This will likely include information on their vision for small teacher grants.

Upcoming Events

October – T-shirt Sales - PTO
Oct. 19th - Leader in Me Class #1 - Library, 3:30
Oct. 21st - MTSS Meeting
Oct. 22nd  - 2nd Grade Fieldtrip to Boise
Oct. 22nd  - Staff Meeting, Lori Piccolo, Library, 3:30
Oct. 23rd - Fat Friday &  Jefferson Spirit Day
Oct. 23rd - Tiger Award Luncheon - All Students - 11:30
Oct. 23rd - All Staff Collaboration with Melisa on professional goals
Weekend - One final push on the cookie dough sales
Oct. 30th - DARE Concert 8:30
Oct. 30t - Halloween Costume Parades - K AM 10:15, K-3 1:15, Parties in the afternoon

Nov. 13^th – Jefferson Gives Day – Food Bank donations

Nov. 17^th – Jefferson Literacy Night & Cookie Dough Pick Up

To Do

• Turn in Professional Development Goals by Nov.2nd

Friday Focus Week of Oct. 12 - Oct. 16

Thank you for conferences.  You are all amazing at the way you encouraged, set goals, and shared concerns with great care.  YEAH to the 1st year teachers for not just getting through conferences, but rocking them!  I appreciate you all very much.

Now..for a few details you may just need this week....

Picture Day
Tomorrow is picture day!  Dorian will be setting up at 6:45AM to be ready for staff pictures at 7:30AM.  You will also get your new school ID.

Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser
Please encourage your students to participate in the cookie dough fundraiser.  This was a great resource for us last year.  It helps ensure assemblies, field trips and also some great resources we couldn't otherwise have access to.  Also, please feel free to share this with your own friends and family.  This is a great product and if they purchase online, it will be shipped directly to them.  Thanks for your support with this!

www.clubschoicefundraising.com  Code: JEFF64

School-wide Progress Monitor
We are doing the reading progress monitors for every student this week.  Please complete these by Friday, Oct. 16th.  If you need a little time over the weekend to put the data into the spreadsheet on the Commons drive, please just let me know.  You DO NOT have to do the CORE Phonics assessment or the MCOMP this time.  Thanks for the data you are collecting.  It will be tremendously important to the MTSS (RtI) Team.

Every Kid Deserves a Refrigerator
When I was a kids, the place to put school work that reflected great effort was the refrigerator.  It hung there with a magnet for friends and family to see until the next piece of learning arrived.  In our office, we have a spot like that.  The clips over the chairs are to celebrate kid's successes.  This doesn't have to be perfect work by any means.  Just send a student down with their writing, art work, or other learning and we'll praise them up and down and then post the work for all to see.

Janitorial Supplies
Tara and Michael are doing a great job keeping up with Jefferson, which is no small task with this old girl.  If you find that a paper towel dispenser has run out, or you have some other need, please make sure to send Tara tara.sears@jeromeschools.org a quick email.  She and Michael are Johnny-on-the-Spot when they know something has run out.

Conference Numbers
Please don't forget to send me your conference numbers.  I need to turn these in to Dale.  Go ahead and send me what you have currently and then send me an update if you are able to get a few follow ups.  And thank you for the calls and extra meetings you are making to ensure parents are on our team!

Congratulations Jorma!

Check out the books he got off of a small grant! (Please let me know when you put in for grants for your classroom so we can celebrate...and know who to borrow books from.)





Leadership Teams
At Jefferson we have 3 leadership teams: Building Leadership, Culture Team, MTSS (RtI).  Each team has their own purpose, but the primary job is communicate the work of the committee to you as a staff and to bring your thoughts and ideas to the committee.  You will notice a bit of overlap in membership.  This is purposeful to help ensure that the committee work is coordinated.  Please see the purpose of the committees and who will be representing Jefferson this year.

The focus of the Building Leadership Team is to support the principal and faculty with strategic planning, goal setting, and resource support.  The team will represent the grade levels in communicating to the team and back out to the teachers.  The representatives are:  Jorma Fletcher, Shawn Silva, Lisa Henderson, Patti Jeffery, Melisa Bennett, Gaylyn Hall.

The MTSS (RtI) Team will provide school-wide data review, goal setting and monitoring as well as problem-solving and resource support to staff when a student is referred because of a lack of growth with tier 1 & 2 interventions.  Jefferson will be represented by:  Chelsey Clixby, Valerie Whitby, Jorma Fletcher, Shawn Silva, Chelsey Clixby, Valerie Whitby, Liz Elison, Tammy Munk, Patti Jeffery, Mary Kinney, Deb Suhr.

The Building Culture Team will be focused on the overall culture of the school for students and staff.  They will lead the charge in communicating about the Leader in Me processes, schoolwide expectations and other cultural needs.  The team is:  Sara Sauer, Aleasa Herman, Kayleigh Witkowski, Deb Suhr, Denise Baugh, Chris Perry

A Great Article on Sight Words from Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-sense-words-that-dont-kelli-sandman-hurley

Upcoming Events

October – T-shirt Sales - PTO
October 12th - Building Culture Team @ 3:30PM
October 13th - Individual Student Pictures - Staff beginning at 7:30AM
October 13th - Building Leadership Team @ 3:30PM
October 15th - Staff Meeting @ 3:30PM in the library
October 16th - MTSS Upload all day
October 16th - Fire Prevention Assemblies
October 16th - All Staff Collaboration @ 2:30 in the library

Nov. 13^th – Jefferson Gives Day – Food Bank donations

Nov. 17^th – Jefferson Literacy Night & Cookie Dough Pick Up

To Do

• Turn in Management Plans to Angie
• Turn in Teacher Artifact Bags and Theme Song

Friday Focus - Week of Oct. 5-8

Thank you so much for your participation, energy and questions over Thursday and Friday.  I left feeling so blessed to have you as a staff!  Your dedication and willingness to learn on behalf of our students is awesome!  As I read your exit tickets I could see lots of new ideas and lots of questions.  One common question was "Where will writing fit in my schedule?"  This is a great question and one that you will spend your profession learning to balance.  As we spend more time with these new materials, I hope it becomes more clear for all of us.  I do still here Cristianne Lane's advice, "When they become better writers, their reading improves too."  Both reading and writing are so intertwined.  Please continue to ask this question  and others of yourselves and colleagues as we begin unpacking the standards and these writing resources.

This is a very busy week!  Here are a few details to keep you in the loop.



Parent Teacher Conferences
Tuesday and Thursday are parent teacher conferences. Here are a few things to remember.

• Dinner will be provided for teachers and other helpers beginning at 4:30 in the teachers lounge. 
• Contract time is until 8:00PM for everyone.
• Friday is off for everyone because of these evening hours.
• Remember to smile, work on positives and team building with the family and share 2-3 things you think they can realistically do to help you at home.
• Lations in Action (LIA) students will be available in the lounge to help with translation.  Just call the lounge extension to request help.
• Let Angie, Shawn or Jorma know if you will need our help at a conference.
• Remember - Be an 'eye-smiler'!! Students and families recognize care and sincerity even in tough discussions and even if they don't react the way you would hope.

“I was glad my father was an eye-smiler. It meant he never gave me a fake smile because it's impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren't feeling twinkly yourself. A mouth-smile is different. You can fake a mouth-smile any time you want, simply by moving your lips. I've also learned that a real mouth-smile always has an eye-smile to go with it. So watch out, I say, when someone smiles at you but his eyes stay the same. It's sure to be a phony.”

― Roald Dahl, Danny the Champion of the World

Lations in Action

We are very fortunate to have the help of an association from Jerome High School called Latinos in Action.  This group of kids is truly amazing.  They support our translation needs through conferences each year.  They are very professional and they sign confidentiality contracts to show an understanding that what is shared between you and families is private.  They will be available in the Staff Lounge if you are to need help.  Please welcome them to Jefferson and help them feel at home and appreciated.

Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough Fundraiser

This Thursday begins the cookie dough fundraiser.  Please plan to send packets home Thursday.  This was very successful last year and we are hoping for the same support from our families and the community in the next few weeks.  Please talk this up, but encourage kids to only sell to family and friends.  We do not want them selling in their neighborhoods unless they are with a parent.  Also, this year there will be an online option for purchase that will be delivered directly to customers.  Please consider sharing this on social media and with your own family and friends.

A Great Resource for Mentor Text and Writing Lesson Ideas
This one was started by the North Nevada Writing Project.  A great one to get notifications from.
http://writinglesson.ning.com/m/blogpost?id=3025388%3ABlogPost%3A182049

Project Learning Tree Workshop Coming Soon
Project Learning Tree is offering a workshop for teachers on Nov. 6-7th in Twin Falls called "Focus on Literature with WILD, WET & PLT."  If you are interested in more information, you can make a copy of the flyer hanging on the whiteboard in the office.

Upcoming Events

Oct. 6th & 8th - Parent Teacher Conferences

Oct. 6^th & 8^th – Fall Book Fair (Part of Parent Teacher Conferences)

October 8^th – Cookie Dough Kickoff - No Assembly

October – T-shirt Sales - PTO
October 13th - Individual Student Pictures

Nov. 13^th – Jefferson Gives Day – Food Bank donations

Nov. 17^th – Jefferson Literacy Night & Cookie Dough Pick Up

To Do

• Turn in Management Plans to Angie
• Turn in Teacher Artifact Bags and Theme Song