Friday Focus - February 23, 2018

Thank you all for all you have done to step up and improve safety at CCES.  Several parents have commented about how they appreciate the new measures that have been taken.  I know it has put more responsibility on everyone - thank you again!

Please remember to add slides to the Chromecast Slideshow.  This is a great way to remind students of upcoming events and showcase all that is going on in our classrooms and school.  I also added a link to the slideshow to the Living Calendar at the bottom of the page.

Kara made Google Slides where each action team can put their notes from the meetings for everyone to see and stay informed.  Each action team needs to go in and add their notes from the meeting on Wednesday.  You can access those notes here:  Action Team slides.  Thanks Kara!

This will be the first afternoon for Panther Pals to meet!  

Five weeks until Spring Break and nine weeks until KPREP testing.  The countdown is on!

Next week is Read Across America Spirit week!  Share with students and families.  

Next Week at a Glance...

Monday - Good luck to FPS team competing at Region today!

Tuesday

Wednesday - Spring Picture day - Box Top War Ends!  Book Swap day!

Thursday - 5th grade Reading Live Scoring - Book Swap Day

Friday

CCES Academic Team competes on Regional competition on Saturday!  Good luck!

Friday Focus - February 16, 2018

Just like all of you, the recent school shootings have shaken me to my core.  It seems like sending reminders about school safety has become a weekly routine and that scares me too.  But I cannot go without saying it again, be diligent and observant when it comes to safety.  Every time you walk by an exterior door, check to make sure it is closed all the way.  If you find one unlocked, we should make a big deal about that.  I watched Braden run and jump over our chain link fence on Wednesday and it made me think about how easy it is to do that.  However, locked doors stop people or at least slow them down. 


Also - talk to your students about opening classroom doors.  I understand that they have to do that and it is fine as long as it is another student or a teacher.  However, students should know not to open a door to anyone else - a parent, community member, etc.  They should tell the teacher and let them open the door.  Please talk with students about this.  I plan on addressing it next week at morning assembly.

Please ensure that students are taking the absolute best care of our technology.  Chromebooks are especially delicate.  If students are taking them out of a room - they should be carried in their case.  Make sure students are not carrying them by the screen or being careless in any other way.  Also - please heavily monitor students when they are in the computer lab.  Make sure they are not playing with the keyboard, mouse, headphones, etc and make sure they put everything back in its place when they are leaving.  We want to be able to maintain the level of technology that we have but we all have to work together to get the most use out of everything we have. 


*Each grade level should select one homeroom that has had the best behavior this week and email me that information.  They will get to spin the wheel on Monday morning.


NEXT WEEK AT A GLANCE....


Wednesday - Action Team meeting at 3 pm
Thursday  - Olweus visitors will be here to observe our bullying meetings during Leadership time. Be prepared for that.
Friday  - Science TCT's due today

Friday Focus - February 9th

Family Learning Night/Student-Led Conferences was a huge success last night with well over 200 students and their families attending.  Many parents made the comment about how impressed their were with their child's leadership notebook and how much they knew about their own learning.

We've been in school 3 whole weeks - that is an accomplishment!  

The countdown is on - we have SEVEN weeks before Spring Break and FOUR weeks between that break and KREP.  ELEVEN week of instruction left!  

Several teachers have mentioned wanting to do Panther Labs again this year.  For those who don't know, Panther Lab is a volunteer program we run after school during February and March.  We target 3rd, 4th and 5th graders who need extra help in the tested areas.  This is totally voluntary from staff but greatly appreciated.  It is also voluntary with the students but we usually reward those students who attend a majority of the sessions with a special trip at the end of the year.
-I need to hear from staff members who are willing to volunteer to tutor during that time.  It can be Monday, Tuesday or Thursday from 3-4 pm.  You will receive planning time for this.  Please email me the day and grade level/subject area you would be comfortable with if you are willing to volunteer.  Please let me know at the beginning of next week.  

-Don't forget to turn in ONE STUDENT'S complete SLED day work for each SLED Day 2-8 per grade level.  I need your highest quality work.  I have to turn that in to be submitted to the state.  
-Also, at PLC's this week it was suggested that we move the 4th round of STAR testing back to the first week of March.  I have made this change on the Living Calendar.  

A teacher had mentioned that they were doing Valentine's for their pod members.  Definitely not mandatory - but thought it was a good idea and I wanted to share.  

********5th grade Mini Society Next Week

Next Week at a Glance....
Monday - SBDM meeting at 4 pm
                 Kidz Klub at 5 pm
Wednesday - Valentine's Day special snack
                       House meeting afterschool for those who                           want to stay and plan - 3 pm
Friday - Super Reader Ballgame

Have a great week!

Friday Focus - February 2nd

It was a great week for CCES Jr. Beta - they had more wins than ever before!  I know last week was tough with so many teachers being out of the building.  Thank you to everyone who pitched in to make the week go smoothly.

We will be having Panther Time and PLC's this week so be prepared for those.

Good luck to our CCES Academic Team who will be participating in District Governor's Cup on Tuesday and Friday.  

Last week for Book Fair.  

Also - no 21st Century this week so make sure those students know how they are getting home each afternoon.  

Next Week at a Glance...
Monday - Shine Brighter Day
Tuesday  - Shine Brighter Day 
                -  FPS and Written Composition students                        compete
Wednesday - CCES Microslicing - district                                      administrators will be in the building                          doing brief observations
                     - Lighthouse Team meeting at 3 pm
Thursday -   Family Learning Night from 4-6 - 
                    Send home reminds about this and                            encourage students to attend.  
                   - Circus Field Trip for a select group of                        students
Friday -        Baked Potato Bar fundraiser for                                Sunshine Committee - more details to                      follow later

Have a great week!

Friday Focus - January 26, 2018

Finally - our first full week since before Christmas!  I know that is has been a huge task getting all of the SLED work for 6 days but I hope that has been accomplished.  Please turn in your paperwork to me by the end of the day.  The questions from the book study should be emailed to me and the two data forms for each need to be put in the folder on my back table.  I have to turn those in to the central office.

With the Marshall County tragedy, I can not reinforce how important it is to keep your doors locked at all times.  Students being behind locked doors is one of the best things we can do to protect our kids.  

Below is a video I would like you to take the time to watch.  It is excellent. We are going to be trained more on the Run, Hide, Fight model but this video is great.

Surviving a School Shooting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMgdn5JV9cU

Monday our Leader in Me coach Tara Beasley will be here.  We will be on normal schedule. 

Also - no Panther Time next week due to Beta Convention and so many people being out of the building.

Beta Convention will stretch us thin next week.  Fifth grade will be reduced down to two classrooms as well as fourth grade.  All other teachers that are missing has subs - as of right now.  Please keep in mind though that this is two instructional days that we have gained back.  They are so important!  Use those days as best you can even though we may be out of pocket a little.




With our Wizards money we have purchased a Chrome cart and TV.  We will have this TV in the cafeteria playing each day during lunch and then out in the front hallway playing the rest of the time. 


I have created a SLIDESHOW that all staff can contribute to.  You can put in slides as reminders to students, share pictures of things in your class, add motivational quotes, etc.  We all have access to this and can work together to keep it updated.  Here is the link to the SLIDESHOW. You remove the slides as you need to as well.  I would like all teachers to contribute but the first 5 teachers to insert a slide and contact me will win a $10 gift certificate to the Book Fair!

BOOK FAIR BEGINS NEXT WEEK



Next week at a glance...
Monday - LIM Coaching Day with Tara
Tuesday - Shine Brighter Day
Wednesday - Jr. Beta leaves for state meeting
                  MID-TERM ENDS
Thursday - grades need to be entered by the end of the day
Friday - Beta returns at the end of the day


****District staff will be in the building on February 7th for microslicing.  This are just five minute observations to help us improve! 

Friday Focus - January 19th

Hopefully all the sickness is gone after this long break.  I hope you and your family are healthy and have been able to enjoy the snow.    We have now used SLED days 2-6 (as of Thursday the 16th) - please remember to submit your responses to the questions associated with each days' reading of What Great Teachers Do Differently.  

Also please ensure that you are gathering student SLED work upon our return and having students complete that who haven't already done so.  Please keep all work as we may be asked to turn that in as documentation.  

Please check the Living Calendar - several updates due to rescheduling.  

Also - remember to make a list of students who completed the Panther Snow Day Challenge on Wednesday the 15th.  These students should have 60 minutes on Lexia and completed 12 units on that particular day are eligible for the snow cone.    

You will notice some new faces hanging around our building at morning assembly beginning next week.  We have unofficially named this group "Pa Patrol."  There are a group of men (dads and grandpas) who have volunteered to come to morning assembly one day a week to be an extra set of eyes and ears and help ensure our safety during this time.  Many of them are law enforcement officers as well.  I wanted you to be aware of why these people were here and if you have the opportunity - thank them for volunteering.  

I understand that CPA week was disrupted.  Please try to finish CPA 2 as quickly as you can when we return.  When graded, please enter the CPA data into the Data Tracker.  

CPA data should give us a clear picture of content that we have covered that students haven't mastered.  Using this information is a great tool to help us go back and reteach those things that students still need.  In this aspect, CPA data is more beneficial than MAP data because it is only on content you have already taught.   Both assessments are useful and help us make instructional decisions.  But using the data is critical.  We will be discussing CPA results at upcoming PLC's.  

****We will not have Panther Time/PLC's next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  We will have them on Thursday and Friday to finish 4th and 5th grade from last week.  This will put us one week behind.  We do not have Panther Time scheduled for the week of 1/29 - Beta week.  We will have the Spring Panther Time spreadsheet updated in a few days.  

Also - here are the updated student recognitions beginning next week at morning assembly.  

Next Week at a Glance...

Monday - Sam's Club rep will be here until 1:45. 

Tuesday  - Shine Brighter Day

                  3:00 Action Team meeting

                  *Deadline for Job Applications

Wednesday - Shine Brighter Day

                    3:00 Stephanie Glidewell's baby shower

Thursday - Shine Brighter Day

                    3:00 Meet to hire school wide jobs 

Friday - Shine Brighter Day

              Baked Potato Bar  - more details to come

Friday Focus - January 5th

2018 is here and we have started on the 2nd semester.  Now is the time to kick in the next gear and get the most out of every day.  I will try to limit interruptions to your class as much as I can.  Keep up the good work - STAR scores and MAP scores indicate that we are at a better place than we have ever been before at the mid-year point.  That's to be celebrated!  But don't give up - keep pushing students to be their best and learn all they can.

Family Learning Night is just over a month away - February 8th.  We will be doing student-led conferences that night using the Leadership Notebooks so please make sure that those are in order and students are using those.  Also remember those items that were discussed last month at the Action Team meeting - such as teaching the habits, leadership roles, etc. and what your grade level committed to do.   

Next week at PLC's we will be doing our 6 week RTI meetings so please bring all student data.  Jani, Tammy, Sharon and Angela - please plan to come to the meetings of all grade levels you work with next week.  

Please send me nominations for Leader of the Month for December by Wednesday, January 10th.  

2nd round of CPA testing next week!

Next Week at a Glance....

Monday - SBDM meeting at 4pm

                Kidz Klub meeting at 5 pm

                Shine Brighter Day

Wednesday - 3:00 Lighthouse Team meeting

                Shine Brighter Day

Friday - Go 365 Health Screenings

              Shine Brighter Day

Have a great week!!!!!