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!

Week of February 29th - March 4th

 You all continuously amaze me with your leadership, respect, kindness and patience that you extend to your students, colleagues, and to me.  Please also remember to extend these same courtesies to yourself.   It is easy  to wear thin this time of year, but I would encourage you to stand tall!  You do an amazing job for our kiddos!  Let the small things go and consider the kids who have made great gains in their learning, because of your investments as an individual and as a team. 
Thank you to all of you!

Please help us with one last push for the Jefferson Carnival this week.  It really does help to talk up the events, activities, and raffle sales.  We have been blessed with an incredible PTO.  They work so hard for us and what they do makes a huge difference in the programs and resources we are able to provide at Jefferson.  Many of them are our own colleagues.  Please give them a smile and a thank you when you see them popping corn and making cotton candy this week.  And thanks to all of you who have added all of the extra pieces (baskets, raffle tickets, notes home, game volunteering, etc.) to your day to help make this happen!  It's going to be a ton of fun and know that I appreciate your help very much!

Jefferson Expectations and Reteaching
Currently, there are approximately 610 students at Jefferson.  That's a lot of little bodies.  Right now we have about 1-2% with extra behavioral needs and supports.  The other 98% of our kids are doing a great job most of the time.  But, there has been a lot of high energy building, especially at recess and in the halls during transition times.  First grade recently shared in their collaboration notes that they have come up with a plan to reteach and acknowledge kids and classes who are doing a great job!  I'd love to hear what the rest of the teams are doing as well.

 I'd like to ask that all of us do the following:

• With your grade level team, please choose one Jefferson Expectation a week to reteach our students.
• Spend 5-10 minutes reviewing and practicing this expectation. (A fun way is to have kids show you good examples and bad examples, but always remember to end with another good example.)
• Consider ways that you can acknowledge the kids that are meeting the expectation.

Sub Support
We are sad to see Tammy Cooley leave the district office, but we are excited for the new adventure she is on moving to Arizona.  We wish her the best!  But, as the district reorganizes and hires, Gina Cakebread will be the new sub planner.  If you have glitches, she will be your new contact.

Helping Students Focus
Last week I read and article (I'll share it with you soon.) that said I need to get over the idea that I can multi-task (Yes, it did speak directly to me :-) ).  We all have 'neural limitations.'  Considering this idea, I thought you might enjoy the strategies in this article for helping with both energy and calm in the classroom.

For those of You Working n Informational Writing or Nonfiction Text Structure
An article with ideas from Nell Duke



More Comments from the Parent Surveys

• I appreciate her pushing my child farther. She is very positive toward my child
• Amazing teacher with a great love for her students!
• Goes above and beyond the call of duty to help my child succeed.
• As a parent I am completely happy with my boy's teachers and the staff at Jefferson Elementary School.
• Everyone does an amazing job and sometimes doesn't get enough credit for it!!! To the Principal to the Vice, the Staff Members and all the Teachers!!! Amazing job for our kids.
• The speech and reading helpers have made a huge difference in my child's life both at home and school. He has come a long way in a short time because of these wonderful people.

Upcoming Events

• Building Culture Team - February 29th, March 7th, March 14th
• TLIM Book Study - February 29th, March 7th, March 14th
• Building Leadership Team - March 1st, March, 15th
• MTSS/RtI - March 2nd, March 9th, March 16th
• Classroom and Individual Picture Day - March 4th
• Jefferson School Carnival - March 4th
• Times News Spelling Bee - March 7th
• Daily 5/CAFE Book Study - March 10th, March 17th
• Jefferson Spirit Day/Tiger Award Luncheon - March 18th
• Spring Break - March 21st - 25th

Week of February 22nd - 26th

A Short and sweet blog post.  I hope you had a great weekend.
Angie

Tomorrow's Schedule

Writing Training - Library
8:15-9:45 - 2nd/3rd Grade
11:00-12:30 - 1st Grade
12:45-2:15 - Kindergarten

Please bring your box of materials.

Imagine Learning - Shawn's Room
8:30 - 9:15 - 1st Grade
9:15 - 10:00 - Kindergarten
10:00-10:45 - 3rd Grade
10:45 - 11:30 - 2nd Grade

Outside of these scheduled events, the rest of the day is for you and your team.  It is a full contract day and I know many of you are staying for a book study afterwards.  I hope you find it a productive time!

Carnival - Friday, March 4th

The Carnival is just around the corner.  Please encourage kids to sell their raffle tickets (They can have more.) and to bring in basket items.  Thanks to all of you who have signed up to help!  This is a big fund raiser for Jefferson and Lydia Jackson and the other moms put a TON of time into this even for all of us.  Please watch for more details coming soon.
World Read Aloud Day - Wednesday, February 16th


I hope you will consider taking part in World Read Aloud Day. If you go to their website you can register for a chance to win a class set of "How to Read a Story" by Kate Messner.  They also have a number of resources that look good.

1st annual Daddy/Daughter Dance 

The Jerome High School HOSA (Future Health Professionals) will be holding the 1st Annual Daddy - Daughter Dance for girls pre-school through 5th Grade.  In order to help promote the dance and get the girls excited, three of the high school girls will be at lunch all dressed up.  This should not impact instructional time, but I'm sure it will create some excitement.

Upcoming Events
Feb. 22nd - Teacher PD/Work Day
Feb. 24th  - MTSS
Feb. 23th - BLT



To Do List
Get your name to Angie and Anne if you were the driver for the Rigby trip.

Week of February 16th - 19th

Welcome to the Jefferson Family

Brody Michael!

Sarah and her family are doing very well and Weston seems to really like his new brother!

We can't wait to meet this little guy in person.

In the meantime Sarah, rest up and enjoy this time!

A Few Comments From the Parent Survey

"We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the Jefferson staff and have had kids here for the past 9 years."

"Jefferson Elementary's Principal and staff really do care about the safety and learning of all the students who go to here.  Thank You for all of the support."

"My daughter raves about all of the teachers and staff she interacts with and I am so appreciative."

Idaho Theater for Youth
Our assembly on Tuesday will begin very close to 1:00.  Please have your students ready to go around 12:55.  We will call grade levels to the gym. We may also call the last kids in from recess a little early.

If you can, please call and remind your workshop nominee's family about the 4:00 pick up after the workshop.

Requesting Subs - Please Watch the Times
It is important that when you request a sub that you use the preset hours or your official contract hours, which are 8:00AM-3:45PM.  Many of you are very diligent and ask subs to arrive at 7:45AM so that they can review your plans.  But, we can not work subs over 30 hours a week in district.  To make the most of our best subs, this mean just under 7.5 hours a day for 4 days a week.  We can have them work your contract hours (lunch does not count in those hours) or slightly less and keep within the limits.  Thank for helping with this when you put a sub in AESOP.

Did You Drive to Rigby?
If you were the driver for your Rigby trip, please see me about mileage reimbursement.

Virtual Field Trips
Cools ideas from Brendalynn about available virtual field trips.  Please invite me to chaperone if you go on one!

Word Wall Ideas I love to see other teachers creative ideas for word walls.  Check these out!
Evaluations-Communicating with Families - Domain 4 -c As I'm working on evaluations, I'm realizing that one of the hard components for me to answer is on your communication with families.  If you have an artifact, like a weekly or monthly newsletter, please drop a copy off in the office so we can be aware of all the great things you are doing! February 22nd - Imagine Learning and Writing Unit Work Next Monday we will be spending time in teams working on the Lucy Calkin's Writing Units.  These pieces of curriculum will continue to be using, even with the new reading adoption.  In fact, we are coming to a point when we really need to determine the "tight" and "loose" pieces and a schedule of when we will teacher different sections with our students next year.  Please come to the time with your writing samples (as discussed with your BLT grade level leader), your box of grade level resources and an open mind! Also, Lori Piccolo will be in Shawn's room for a 30 min. discussion of the free resources available to you.  Specific grade level times to come soon. Do You Know Someone Who Sews? I have a project for Jefferson and can supplies $$ for materials and time.  Please let me know.  Thanks! Digital Learning Day Did anyone see Janet's email about Digital Learning Day?  Did you register an activity?  I'd love to know about it and get pictures! Upcoming Events Feb. 17th, 24th  - MTSS Feb. 16th, 23th - BLT Feb. 19th - Blue Jean Friday Feb. 19th - PTO - Jefferson Gives - Crazy Hair Day Feb. 22nd - Teacher PD/Work Day To Do List

Week of February 8th - February 12th

this week as we head into Valentine's Day Parties!  Enjoy every moment and remember all the memories you are helping them make!

Happy Valentine's Day! 
(Don't forget your Secret Valentine!)
Angie




Mark your calendars! February 24 it's World Read Aloud Day. "Created by Pam Allyn, the founder of LitWorld and an ambassador for the Scholastic Open a World of Possible literacy initiative, World Read Aloud Day calls attention to the power of reading aloud, and connects the world as a community of readers."
Please talk to your teams.  I'm wondering what we might dream up for our kids on this day.  I know I would love to come read to your classes.  Maybe guest readers?  Leaders from our community?



Extra Food in the Cafeteria
A couple of quick reminders..

1. Kids are allowed to have food that their parents have sent from home in the lunchroom...even if they are also having hot lunch.  We legally can not limit this.  It it becomes an issue with a particular student, please let me know and we will address it with the parent.
2. Kids are allowed unlimited fruits and veggies.  They can also have an extra milk from the shared table. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about this.

Idaho Theater for Youth - Next Week
Please remember to get your student nomination to Anne ASAP!  Please also make a call to the student's parents to let them know we will need to have permission by Wednesday.

Also, if you would like to, but no pressure, here is the student guide for giving the kids an idea of what they will be viewing during the performance.  With young kids, this can be helpful for their understanding. Shakespeare Stealer Study Guide

I LOVE Infographics
I thought this was an especially thoughtful and simple explanation of differentiation.  Enjoy!


Upcoming Events
Feb. 10th, 17th, 24th  - MTSS
Feb. 9th, 16th, 23th - BLT
Feb. 15th - No School
Feb. 19th - Blue Jean Friday
Feb. 19th - PTO - Jefferson Gives - Crazy Hair Day
Feb. 22nd - Teacher PD/Work Day

To Do List
Please turn in your nominations for the Idaho Theater for Youth Workshops.