Week of May 2nd - 6th

It's easy to make a buck.  It's a lot tougher to make a difference.  ~Tom Brokaw

As we head into Teacher Appreciation Week, please know that what you do matters to the kids at Jefferson!  You plant seeds in kids lives and then each day you warm them with your greetings and water them with your hard work.  We may not see the fruit for a long time, but don't doubt that your efforts are making a difference.  Thanks for all you do!

This also happens to be Children's Book Week, so a little later this week, I hope you will enjoy a small token that blends the two celebrations.

Also, there's nothing like the giving, so I would encourage you to reach out to a teacher who invested in you too!  A quick note or a post on Facebook can make all the difference!

Have a great week!  Thank you for what you've chosen to do each day!

A Small Token

As a small token of appreciation, Friday will be a Blue Jean Friday! Enjoy!

Note of Appreciations from a Staff Member to Another

Thank you Valerie and Chelsey for letting us borrow Nicole for the day to help with [Student}.  She has such a caring, thoughtful manner with Jefferson Students and clear boundaries with the students she interacts with. [Students} and all the students enjoyed hanging with her today.   Nicole's  help today was so appreciated!!! 

Final Progress Monitors
Please make sure that you get final MCOMPS into the spreadsheet as well as Mileposts.  The MCOMPS should be posted by this week, but there is a bit longer to ensure they are in Mileposts.  Also, Misty will be finishing up ISATs and make ups this coming week, but there should be some spaces available at the end of the week.  Please touch base with her to see if your spot will be open.  She can help you with Star and Star Early Lit. testing.

Ordering and Student Supply Lists
Please remember that your grade level ordering needs to be in to Anne by Friday.  Also, please have your team look over the grade level student supply lists.  Because of new legislation and a court ruling, please keep the following in mind as you revise the lists:

• Items should not be for general collection and use  (i.e. pencils can be on a supply list, but should be used by that individual, not  a supply for the class)
• Don’t require specific brands.  A brand may be recommended with an explanation of why, but not required (ie, Band-Aide, Kleenex, Ticonagroga)
• Review lists to make sure items are necessary and not just there because they have been in the past
• Keep the cost reasonable

Calendar Expectations

In the next few weeks, Anne and I will be setting up calendar dates for the 2016-2017 school year.  Please ensure that you 'accept' each of these so that show on your own calendar.  Our hope is that by planning ahead you will also be able to make some of your own personal arrangements and plans for next fall and winter.

Please Review Bathroom Expectations

Lately there have been a number of issues in the bathrooms with toilet paper on the floors, writing on mirrors with soap and urine on the floor.  :S  Please take a few minutes this week and review bathroom expectations with students.  We will try really hard to narrow down who might creating this mess, but hopefully a reteaching time will help.

Week of April 25th - April 29th

Tuesday and Wednesday are big days for Jerome families with kindergartners!  I wish that each of you could join me to see the pure joy and anxiety that accompanies the process of registering students to begin their public education.  It is a highlight of the year for me.  I count it a privilege and a responsibility to meet our newest students and their parents and reassure them that we will do our very best to keep, teach, and care for the most precious members of their families.

This year, the kindergarten teachers will be joining us (2 a day), to meet and assess their incoming students.  Anne will also be out next week with her family, and Emily will be with me helping process registrations.  Emily Merritt has graciously volunteered volun-told to help us.  She will have a sub in the library.  Shawn will also be helping in the office at the beginning and end of the day, but Maria and Maria will be helping us translate at the District Office.  Please help all of us as much as possible by handling as many recess issues as possible and calling parents when needed.  It takes a community and this will be especially true this Tuesday and Wednesday.

Evaluations

I've heard back from over half of you and have scheduled your evaluations, but I haven't heard back from everyone yet.  Please remember that I need to meet with you next week.  I wanted to have all of the evaluations done by Wednesday, but since I will be out Tuesday and Wednesday, I have extended that to Thursday.  Please let me know when you are available as soon as possible.

Photo Shoot

St. Luke's will be featuring our grant and future walking path in their Annual Report.  They will be here Thursday taking pictures in the morning.  We have asked a dozen kids and families for permission to include their children.  Please just be aware of this happening.  The great thing for us is that we will have access to the photographs afterward too!

All Staff Collaboration

Next Friday is an all school collaboration.  I want your team to plan on sharing what you are planning for the Lucy Calkins writing units.  It is OK if you have questions and struggles as a team.  I won't have all the answers, but I want to get all of your ideas, questions and concerns on paper as we try to plan for training, collaboration and implementation next year.  This is a messy, but worthwhile process.  Hang in there with me.

School Beautification Teams

The next staff meeting is May 12th.  Please plan to share out your ideas from your teams at this meeting.  Please remember to come with a couple of possibilities to share so you can get feedback from the staff.

Email/Calendar/Events/Appointments

It is more important than ever that we have you read and respond to email and accept calendar appointments.  It is a very busy month coming up and will won't be able to meet in person on everything that is needed.  Thank you for using email so that we can be as efficient as possible.  Also, you will begin to see Anne sending out appointments for next year's events.  Please 'accept' those so that they are added to your work calendar as well.

Have a great weekend!

Angie

Week of April 18th - April 22nd

Grateful!

I am incredibly grateful for Anne and Emily.  I'm not sure how many folks realize the incredible number of things they do each day to help keep Jefferson running.  They have to be specialized in a lot of different information about kids to keep them safe (medications, custody, allergies, attendance, food shortages, discipline, etc.)  I count on them for so much, as I know many of you do too.  This week is Secretaries Week.  It is a week to thank them for all that they sacrifice and give (especially lunch breaks) on our behalf.  On Tuesday, the district will be celebrating all of the secretaries with a special breakfast.  Emily Merritt will be helping in the office.  Please be aware so that you can help with some of the discipline during AM recess.  Please also take a minute to recognize them for the many ways they help all of us keep our school an organized, safe, and joyful place for kids.

Exciting News for Kids Last Week
Last week I got a very exciting call from the United Way.  They will be including us in a 3 year grant that will send each student home with 2 brand new books each summer!!  We think there is a strong chance we will get to offer this to our kids this May.  Stay tuned for more details.

IRI This Week
This is a big week for our kids.  Please remind your kids to do their best, but not to stress out.  Please encourage them to get a good nights sleep and eat a healthy breakfast.  Please also help us keep track of kids who may miss and need make-ups.

MCOMP Next Week/Star Testing to Follow
Please plan for the Spring MCOMP next week with your class and score recorded by the following Monday.  You can hold off on Star Testing until we have completed ISATs so that it can be done in the lab.

Evaluations
There are just final touches for evaluations.  I will be bringing you student achievement data to you review and make sure it's correct.  Please let me know a good day and time between Monday the 18th and Wednesday the 27th to meet and go over your evaluation.  Please plan for about 20 min.   FYI - after school is very busy Tuesday, Wednesday, and this Thursday.

New Computer Cart
Please remember to work with your team to flexibly use the new cart during your scheduled computer times.  I know it can take a bit of practise getting the kids to turn the machines off and on and get them back in the cart.  It may be more beneficial to have the cart once a week for an hour instead of 30 mins.  Please just help me ensure they get to the next classroom  however your team has agreed to organize their use.

A Fun Summer Opportunity with the Boise Art Museum
I have heard these are really fun, engaging and educational classes.

What do Do with Old Reading Curriculum
The new reading curriculum will soon be arriving!  In coordination with the DO, we will be marking all of the old books with a discard stamp.  At the end of the year, kids will be allowed to buy the books for a quarter to take home and keep.  We will soon have stamps for the grade levels to share.  If there are leveled readers that your team has found beneficial, we can keep these as an intervention resources.

School Beautification Groups
Please plan to meet as a group as soon as possible.  Please also remember all ideas are good ones when you are brainstorming.  Try to be open to new possibilities.  Eventually we'd like the group to present two different ideas to the whole staff at an upcoming faculty meeting.

Here are the groups.  Please let me know if I've missed someone and please have the group facilitator let me know when you plan to get together.

Entrance Group
Kayleigh -Facilitator
Shawn
Anne
Barbara
Ashlee
Daphne
Emily Merritt
Lisa

Blacktop
Deb-Facilitator
Alan
Mary
Barb
Crystal

Commons/Gathering Place
Aleasa - Facilitator
Mary
Patti
Chris
Rhett
Anne

Hallways A: Grade Level Signage and Paint
???? - Facilitator
Tawna
Peggy
Rhett
Chris
Barbara

Hallways B: Teacher Room Designation and Directionality
Chris - Facilitator
Terra
Crystal
Sindy
GayLyn

ASCD Articles on Classroom Management
I thought this was timely as you begin to think about your professional goals for next year.

Week of April 11th - April 15th

We have a short, but full week this coming week.  Here are a few details.

Parent Teacher Conferences
Please remember a few items:

• Dinners will include soup and break bowl (Tuesday) and Tiger Stop Burritos (Thursday).  Thank you to Anne for helping organize and to the PTO for always generously taking care of us.
• If you need me, I'm glad to attend a conference with you.  Please let me know in advance.  I will be leaving a little early on Thursday for a Friday morning Dual Language Immersion meeting in SLC on Friday morning.
• Please make sure to let me know if you are planning to talk with a parent about possible retention.
• Please don't forget your summer school permission slips to give to parents.  Make sure to fill out one per student who qualified, even if you not plan to recommend them.  We need to keep track of this for state verification.
• Plan to enjoy your Friday off!!

Toilet Paper Unrolled
We have had an issue in the 1st Grade Girls Bathroom recently.  Someone is unwinding the whole roll while using the restroom.  Please help us keep tabs on who may be coming and going and ask your kids to report if they see this as soon as possible so that we can narrow down the time frame.

IRI and District Screeners
The IRI will be the week of April 18th.  We will start with 3rd grade and will do our best to give you advanced notice of testing for your class.  Paras will be testing so they will not be available for intervention, but will be the following week.  The MCOMP should be the following week.  Star testing can wait until the week we finish with ISAT.


Unsolicited Kind Observations and Appreciations from a Colleague to Our SPED Staff
As a special shout out to our resource staff; we would like to thank Nicole for her amazing work with Dakota. Thanks to Nicole’s amazing patience and love, Dakota is now going to her specials all by herself! We all understand how rewarding it is for a student to suddenly be able to do things on his or her own and that it is also a bittersweet feeling as we don’t always feel as needed. Yay, Nicole!

Jenna for her work with McKoy. Jenna has unending patience for this young man and speaks to him with the kindest and calmest voice. She never has a cross word or expression and shows him only her gentle nature. Wahoo, Jenna!

Melody for her work with Benjamin. After Melody’s time and patience with Benjamin he is now able to go down to the library and choose his own library book. Way to go, Mel!

Chelsey and Val for being the most amazing and loving teachers to our students and also for handling difficult situations in meetings with parents and with other staff with nothing but grace and style. We love you ladies and will miss you terribly.

You five ladies do amazing things for and with our most tender of students we are forever grateful for your loving hearts. 

To Do List:

• Get your Book Fair Wish List to Emily

Up Coming Events:

Building Meetings
Building Culture Team - 18th, 25th
Building Leadership Team - 26th
MTSS -  April 13th, April 20th, April 27th
Staff Meeting - April 21st
All School Collaboration - April 29th

School Events
Ready Kindergarten (Hosting) -  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 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!