Christmas Time Is Here

We'll keep this blog as short as possible this week! Lots going on!

Monday - Staff Meeting - 3:45pm - Cafeteria

School Board Meeting - 6:30pm

Tuesday - Family Christmas Movie Night - 5:30-7:30pm - Gym

Wednesday - Spelling Bee - 8:30am

Staff Christmas Party - The Western - 5-7pm

Thursday - Early Release - 12pm

NO CAMP

House Meetings - 7:45am

Staff Can Leave At 3pm

Christmas Program - 5:30pm - Brosig Auditorium

Friday - Early Release - 12pm

NO CAMP

Christmas Parties

End of Report Card

Staff Can Leave at 1pm

Team Planning

This week there will be no TP time.  Our Camp teachers will be rotating through classrooms during this time to read picture books to classrooms.

Staff Meeting

There will be an all staff meeting at 3:45pm on Monday in the Cafeteria

Staff Christmas Party

The staff Christmas party is this Wednesday at 5pm at the Western.  Please make sure you turn in your $5 to Walker if you plan to attend.  Since we are paying for 1/2, this year we don't have enough money to pay for spouses, so it will just be staff.

Please come ready to announce your Secret Santa and bring a $6 (or less) ornament wrapped up for the ornament exchange.

Early Release

Thursday and Friday we get out at Noon.  HERE is our 1/2 day lunch schedule.  We will start calling for walkers at 11:55am.

Inputing Information

Please make sure all of your F&P scores are inputed into Eduphoria BEFORE you leave for Christmas break.  All of your scantrons from 9 weeks assessments also need to be scanned in.

Staff 1/2 Days

On Thursday afternoon it will be a work day for you to get things wrapped up.  ALL IAs are to report to Nesloney for assigned duties. All staff may leave at 3pm.

On Friday all staff may leave at 1pm.

Christmas Movie Night and Christmas Program

PTO and Mr. Haliburton have been working hard to plan two different events.  We hope you can come!  PTO has planned Family Movie Night on Tuesday and will be showing "The Santa Clause".  Mr. Haliburton has planned a fantastic christmas program on Thursday night at Brosig Auditorium. Come support our kids!

House Meetings

Thursday morning we will have house meetings.  Houses will be meeting to see how their random acts of kindness went this month and if they need to do anything else to complete their kindness before Friday!

Birthdays

Dec 22 - Cewilla Thomas

Dec 24 - Sandra Smith

Morning Duty (yes you are asked to have duty TWICE this week)

Monday - Kinder (Car) First (Inside)

Tuesday - Second (Car) Third (Inside)

Wednesday - Fourth (Car) Fifth (Inside)

Thursday - all 2-5th Math/Sci Teachers and all Kinder (third math does Car)

Friday - all 2-5th ELAR Teachers and all First (Car)

In Closing...

Let's make this a great week.  I hope you take time to read THIS article written by my good friend Trevor Muir. It's very timely.

Remember that we need to keep instruction going up until the last day. We have no time to waste!

Finding Peace Within

This week, rather than start this post with something I've written, I was reminded of a simple truth this morning and wanted to share it with you...

Finding Peace Within

BY MADISYN TAYLOR If we are to have true peace in the world, we must first find it within ourselves. Most people agree that a more peaceful world would be an ideal situation for all living creatures. However, we often seem stumped as to how to bring this ideal situation into being. If we are to have true peace in this world, each one of us must find it in ourselves first. If we don't like ourselves, for example, we probably won't like those around us. If we are in a constant state of inner conflict, then we will probably manifest conflict in the world. If we have fighting within our families, there can be no peace in the world. We must shine the light of inquiry on our internal struggles, because this is the only place we can really create change.  When we initiate the process of looking inside ourselves for the meaning of peace, we will begin to understand why it has always been so difficult to come by. This in itself will enable us to be compassionate toward the many people in the world who find themselves caught up in conflicts both personal and universal. We may have an experience of peace that we can call up in ourselves to remind us of what we want to create, but if we are human we will also feel the pull in the opposite direction--the desire to defend ourselves, to keep what we feel belongs to us, to protect our loved ones and our cherished ideals, and the anger we feel when threatened. This awareness is important because we cannot truly know peace until we understand the many tendencies and passions that threaten our ability to find it. Peace necessarily includes, even as it transcends, all of our primal energy, much of which has been expressed in ways that contradict peace.  Being at peace with ourselves is not about denying or rejecting any part of ourselves. On the contrary, in order to be at peace we must be willing and able to hold ourselves, in all our complexity, in a full embrace that excludes nothing. This is perhaps the most difficult part for many of us, because we want so much to disown the negative aspects of our humanity. Ironically, though, true peace begins with a willingness to take responsibility for our humanity so that we might ultimately transform it in the light of our love. Week at a Glance Monday - 9 Weeks Assessment Window BeginsF&P Testing Begins/Continues Tuesday - Classroom Champions Call - 11:00am - Sign Up HERE Wednesday - Picture ReTakes Friday - Face Painting  House Games 9 Weeks Assessment Window Opens 3rd-5th Grade teachers, please make sure over the next two weeks that you plan ample time to get your 9 weeks assessments taken AND scanned in before we leave for Christmas break. Instructional Rounds Thank you so much for doing our first round of Instructional Rounds last week.  I hope you gained a little insight into some more great ideas and practices. We will be doing these once a month.  Please during your team meeting this week, create a Google Doc (as a team) and have each person submit what they learned in that singular google doc. TP Time Team Planning time this week will be a look at lesson plans.  I need all Kinder and 3rd Grade teachers to bring their lesson plans (and 10 copies).  We will dive into lesson plans, see what's happening, and how we can make the process easier. Staff Christmas Party Right now our plan is to have our Staff Christmas Party on Wednesday, December 20 at the Western Club.  We will get more info out this week! Morning Car Duty Monday - 1st Grade Tuesday - 4th Grade Wednesday - 1st Grade Thursday - 4th Grade Friday - 5th Grade Kids Deserve It Don't forget to get your KDI shirt if you want it this month, HERE.

Blogs/Articles

4 Things Every Writer Can Learn from Charlotte's Webb

The Best Children's Books of 2017

Relationships with Students Matter

The Great Gingerbread House Project

In Closing...

This week I challenge you to find your inner peace. To take time to share your struggles with others.  We have sooooo many staff members who are struggle with loss, or sickness, or heartache right now.  We are in a season like no other.  My hope is that we all reach out and show a little more compassion this month.

My friend Adam Dovico and I, got with a couple of our principal friends and tried to create a little lighthearted video of what principals really do during Christmas break! A few Webb students even make a brief cameo! Hope it brings a smile to your face!

December? Already?

It's hard for me to believe we're already in December! It seems like a lifetime ago that the Hurricane hit and we were starting late.

As the holiday gets closer and closer we're going to begin to see more and more kids act out in different ways.  It's important for us to remember to keep our expectations high, instruction active and engaging, and that we forgive often.

Week at a Glance

Monday - Short out at Region 6

Tuesday - Short out at Region 6

Wednesday - Instructional Rounds (info below)

Team Leader Meeting - 7am

PTO Meeting - 5:30pm

Thursday - Delic on Campus

Friday - Kona Ice

End of Progress Reports

Instructional Rounds

Since Wednesday are Team Meeting days, this Wednesday will look a little different. We're going to start doing instructional rounds once a month. Some of you may remember this from a year or two ago.

I will email you who will go into what rooms, and for the first 15 minutes of your conference time you will observe 3 classrooms for 5 minutes each. You will take sticky notes and leave one piece of positive feedback for each class you go into and leave it on their door as you leave. Then you will all get back as a team, have your team meeting, and debrief from what you saw in those instructional rounds!

We have so many great things going on that we can learn from each other!

Delic on Campus

Delic will be on campus on Thursday. Please have your newest data, be ready to talk individual students, and have your bulletin boards outside your rooms updated.

T-TESS

T-TESS Evaluations are in full swing.  What that also means is that your admin team may not be able to come when they're immediately called as we may be busy in observations!

TP Time

This week in TP time we will be looking at the most recent data from 2nd Grade Reading/Math Unit Assessments and from 4th Grade Reading/Writing/Math Unit Assessments.  Teachers need to come prepared with their data and at least 10 copies of their data.

Morning Car Duty

Monday - Kinder

Tuesday - 3rd Grade

Wednesday - Kinder

Thursday - 3rd Grade

Friday - Any who can help

Friday

This Friday we will be keeping no students.  So all students will come down at 7:35am. If you're free, and could help with morning duty that would be great!

Birthdays

Tamera Boyd - December 4

Kids Deserve It

Shirts are back up for sale HERE. You can see all the different kinds!

Blogs/Articles

7 Strategies to THRIVE at the End of the Semester

Stop Blaming the iPhone for "non reader" Teens

How to Make a Teacher Smile

20 Kid Approved Books for Advanced 2nd and 3rd Grade Readers

In Closing...

With our challenge for houses this month being the Random Acts of Kindness, how can YOU should kindness to someone on your team, in your classroom, and on our campus?

My good friend Nicholas Ferroni, is heading up a new series with SoulPancake to celebrate teachers! Here's their amazing first clip