Week of March 28th - April 1st

Welcome Back!  I hope your break was wonderful and that you are feeling refreshed and ready to take on the spring!  We have a lot of wonderful learning opportunities coming up in the next 8 weeks for our kids.  Here are a few of the pieces you will need to know about for the upcoming weeks.  Make sure to check out the calendar at the end of this blog entry.

Student Expectation Review
Please take a few minutes and review the school-wide expectations this week with your students.  They will likely be coming in very energetic and possibly forgetful after the break.  It's important that we reset our expectations and give them a chance to practice once again.  Thank you ahead of time for lovingly helping them set good habits!

Dual Immersion Parent Meetings
The Dual Language Immersion Program is moving ahead.  Parents have been notified if their child has a spot or is on the waiting list and we will have two parent meetings this week:  Tuesday - Spanish Speaking Families, Library, 6PM. Thursday - English Speaking Families, Library, 6PM.  You are welcome to attend.

ISAT - April 4th - 29th
The 3rd Graders will be taking the ISAT beginning on April 4th.  I had hoped that a new cart of laptops would be here in time to test them in the classrooms, but we will be using the computer lab again for this testing.  Misty and I will be proctoring this year.  On the upside, we do anticipate that the new mobile lab will be here this week and it will be available to you during your computer lab times for projects with your students.  Please let me or your BLT Grade Level Leader know if you have further questions.

Book Fair and Conferences April 12th and 14th
Last set of conference coming up!  This is also the 'Buy One, Get One' book fair.  The PTO has requested that the teachers do book wish lists for parents to see.  Watch for these lists coming soon to your mailboxes and thank you Emily for helping with this!

2nd Grade Field Trips to the Discovery Center
For those of you who might now be aware, the school received a special grant this year for the Discovery Center to visit our 2nd Graders (earlier this winter) and for them to visit the Discovery Center.  They will be splitting their team to attend on two different days (29th and 6th.)   We have worked out a schedule for our paras to attend.  Duties will still be covered.  This caught up with us really quickly!  I will be checking in with teams Monday to see who will keep interventions going and who plans to skip a day.

ACCESS Testing is done!
Thanks to Shawn, Maria, Maria, Vanessa and Brendalynn for their persistence in seeing our kiddos through this testing for the first time!  Thanks to all of you for the way that you rearranged your interventions to allow for these ladies to test.  Regular intervention groups should be starting Monday (today).

Jefferson Family STEM Night - April 19th
This evening is coming very quickly!  Jorma will be organizing this event for us.  If you planned to help with this event for your grade level team (those who opted out of Family Literacy Night), please touch base with Jorma ASAP.  We will be getting the word out to families soon.

PTO Carnival Support
The PTO has graciously set aside $5000 for us to put toward school beautification.  We will be looking for opportunities to share ideas and consider how to spend this money in the upcoming weeks.

Leader in Me
Is there anyone who still has not had a chance to visit Harrison Elementary to see TLIM in action?  Please let me know ASAP.  We are hoping to hear on the grant very soon.

Some GREAT Ideas for Counteracting Poverty
I was please to see a number of things we already do at Jefferson.  What other great ideas does this article spark with you?

How does poverty affect classroom engagement?  Check this quick article out for some great reminders.

Send me a quick 2-3 sentence reflection on either of these articles for a fun appreciation!

To Do List:

• Evaluation Evidence to Angie by April 15th (See email for more info.)
• Details about upcoming field trips to Anne, Lunch Room Staff and Bus Barn
• Visit with Jorma if you are a STEM Night Rep for your grade level
• Watch for the Book Fair Wish List and return to Emily

Up Coming Events:

Building Meetings
Building Culture Team - March 28th, April 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
Building Leadership Team - March 29th, April 12th, 26th
MTSS - March 30th, April 6th, April 13th, April 20th, April 27th
Staff Meeting - April 7th, April 21st
All School Collaboration - April 29th

School Events
Ready Kindergarten (Hosting) - March 30th, April 27th
Book Fair - April 11th - 14th
Parent Teacher Conferences - April 12th & 14th
No School - April 15th
Jefferson Family Stem Night - April 19th
Kindergarten Registration - April 26th (8:30-7:00), April 27th (8:30-3:30)
Spirit Day and Tiger Awards - April 29th

Week of March 14th - 18th

This is one of my favorite quotes!  It's so true.  Have you noticed the crocus coming up on your commute to work?!  There is such joy in watching our 2nd graders stop and take a minute to check out their trout and give me updates about their growth cycle as I walk by.  How fun to consider the little 2nd grade girl who is constantly smiling and growing in her language by leaps and bounds as Shawn and I reminisce about how I had to peel her off of her daddy at the beginning of her first grade year.  This is the time of the year that we are reminded that there is hope in what we plant.   Here's an oldie, but goody that a friend recently posted.  My grandmother had it hanging on her refrigerator.  I hope you will take a minute to reflect on all that you are planting, physically and metaphorically, this spring!  

Angie

A Garden of Daily Living

 Plant Three Rows Of Peas
1. PEACE Of Mind
2. PEACE Of Heart
3. PEACE Of Soul

Plant Four Rows Of Squash;
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

Plant Four Rows Of Lettuce;
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

Now No Garden Should Be Without Turnips;
- So Plant 3 Rows Of Turnips;
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

Finally, Your Garden Must Have Thyme;

1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends
4. Thyme for your self

Water Freely With Patience & Cultivate With LOVE.
There should be much fruit in your garden.

A Great Post From the Leader in Me This Week

If you'd like to know my heart and why I am in education, then read
this post. 

Update on Instructional Rounds
The Building Leadership Team had a great time exploring and looking for patterns in our classrooms last Friday.  We saw some great stuff!  Watch for a summary from the team early next week.  BLT will also be developing a plan so that the rest of the staff can go on instructional rounds as well.  Stay tuned!

Practice for Emergencies
We will have two practices this week. First, there will be a fire drill and you may be required to use your secondary exit.  Please make sure to freshen up on this route.  Also, the bus evacuation practice should take 15-20 min. on Friday.  We will have you go out the bus lanes. Bus drivers will have each class load onto a bus to practice with them.

Tiger Award Luncheon/Fat Friday/Blue Jeans and Spirit Shirts Friday!
Please make sure to get your Tiger Awards in to Anne by Thursday.

I hope your Spring Break is refreshing and rejuvenating!

Angie

Week of March 7th - March 11th

Carnival Thank You!
Thanks to all of you for your help with the school carnival!  There was a huge turnout and more silent auction baskets than every before!  Our exhausted PTO ladies left last night feeling that it had been a very successful event.  Thanks to all of you who got ab workouts bending over to pick up pins, got sore thumbs from arm wrestling and may have blisters from the many prizes you pinned on fishing lines.  There are many benefits to our annual carnival, but one of the biggest is the sense of community that it builds for our kid and their families.  Much appreciation to all of you!!

Instructional Rounds Friday
On Friday, the Building Leadership Team, along with Janet Avery, will be doing Instructional Rounds at Jefferson.  Please do not plan anything out of the ordinary.  Instructional Rounds are a set of protocols and processes for observing, analyzing, discussing and understanding instruction and student learning.  They are not walk-throughs or observations.  They are a 4 step process where a group of educators:

1. Identify a problem of practice from a theory of action that is guiding our work.  (As a staff last year we identified Engaging Students in Learning (3c) from the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching)
2. Observing Classrooms, as individuals or in small teams, gathering descriptive  non-evaluative evidence.
3. Debriefing using the ladder of inference.
4. Focusing on the next level of work.

Instructional Rounds are for all staff members.  This process is starting with your Building Leadership Team so that they can experience it and then share with you what they have learned.  With the information they gain, we will be developing a plan to train everyone and give all of you a chance to go on Instructional Rounds.  We hope that the patterns we begin to uncover will help us move forward as we improve learning opportunities at Jefferson.  If you have questions, please ask Angie or your BLT Rep.

SCARF: A Brain-Based Model
In your boxes this week, you will find an article on the SCARF Model.  SCARF stand for:

• Status- is about relative importance to others
• Certainty - concerns being able to predict the future
• Autonomy - provides a sense of control over events
• Relatedness - is a sense of safety with others
• Fairness - is a perception of fair exchanges between people

I found this article very insightful about how we work with one another and the awarenesses we need to have about ourselves.  One quote summed up the premise of the article for me:

"The model enables people to more easily remember, recognize, and potentially modify the core social domains that drive human behavior.  Labelling and understanding these drivers draw conscious awareness to otherwise non conscious processes..."

I hope you find the article full of things to consider for yourself and your teammates.  I found lots of things to consider and thoughtfully 'chew' on.

Teach Like a Pirate Author to Keynot CSI - P20 Conference
Dave Burgess, trainer and author of Teach Like a Pirate will be keynoting at the P2o Conference on July 12-13 at CSI.  For more information, check out this link.  Another one of Dave's books is P is for Pirate:  Inspirational ABCs for Educators.  Here's on of my favorites:

"Savvy pirates don't sail alone; a crew is essential for success.  Connecting with educators, building a professional learning network, and collaborating with a diverse group of mentors, supporters, and peers is critical.  Embrace the synergy of a great team.  Surround yourself with people who inspire and challenge you!"

Spring Ordering and Purchase Requests
Each year in the spring, each grade level team will be given a budget to make purchase for the next fall.  Usually this is around $100 per classroom, but I ask you to work as a team to maximize your spending power.  You do not need to budget for copy paper, construction paper, dry erase markers (unless you want a special kind), or other basic office supplies.  If you have questions about specific items, please ask your BLT or me if your have specific requests.

Note:
Our budgets at the school level are lean and complex.  Some monies can only be spent for PD, others can only be spent for Title 1.  We get a school budget that runs from June to June and we have to make it last.  There is also no carry over.  For example, though I set a budget for certain large items like copy paper, our actual usage can limit spending in other areas, because it just would not be good to run out of copy paper. :-) There are lots of mitigating factors to budgets and we try to make the most of all of them to provide what is needed.  Please always error on the side asking what you would like or need.  If you have something small like a stapler or scissors, don't keep using the old thing that jams and wastes your time.  Just let us know in the office.  If it is a big grade level curriculum purchase, I might not be able to accommodate the request immediately, but have your BLT rep. let me know what you are needing (any ordering information and estimates help) and how it meets the needs of our kids.  I will look for an opportunity to support the purchase as soon as I am able.  Having it on my radar is always best.

Help us Share the Great Stories
PLEASE help share great things going on at Jefferson.  If you have an engaging activity or learning happening in your room, snap a few pictures (make sure to watch for kids in your rooms who can't have pics shared), write a few lines about what was happening and send it to my email.  I'll have folks at the district office share what's happening on our Facebook page and school website.

More Comments from the Parent Survey

"My son's teacher has helped my son improve in so many areas in such a short time that it just astounds me. My son looks forward to coming to school every day, and his teacher makes the difference."

"Since we moved to Idaho we have had nothing but great experiences, especially with this school and all of the teachers."

Intentional Leadership - A Lesson for All of Us
Check out this article from The Leader in Me Blog

Kids of Hope - Diego's Message
A Link to a video Janet sent to administrators.  It is a great reminder.

Have a great week!