On Friday, I sent you a link to a song that was just released that I absolutely love. It's called "Be One" and it's by Natalie Grant.
One of my favorite lines is, "we pray but never move, we say but never do. It's time to get our hands dirty". When I heard that line it hit me like a ton of bricks. How often do we sit there and pray for something better to happen, for our problems to dissolve. But then we wait. We wait for God to do all the heavy lifting. We have to make sure that we are doing something as well. We can't talk about being kind to others, but never follow through. We can't pray for solutions, and then sit around. We have to do the work too.
We have to get our hands dirty. We have to stand up and do something.
"Be love there's a whole lot of hurting" was another line that I loved. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle. Everyone is in some kind of pain. We can so often get so caught up in our own that we forget. But I have to make it a daily decision to have my choices reflect love, because I don't want to be someone who is adding more hurting to the world. And I'm not perfect, and I make painful mistakes every day. But I try to continually keep those words at the forefront of my mind. Be love, there's a whole lot of hurting.
And finally the words, "why sit around and wait for a miracle to come, when we can be one". Wow. Could that be any more true?
We have the ability to change lives. We have to opportunity to be a miracle in someone else's life. I've seen it time and time again as an educator. Every day is another amazing chance to change someone's world. We can't miss our opportunity.
It's our time to stand up. To spread love. To not wait for a miracle, but to be one. #BeOne
Weekly Video
Every week I am going to try to produce a short video to send out to parents about our week! The kiddos LOVED helping me this week, and I've got more plans as we continue! I got quite a few messages and emails from parents as well of how much they enjoyed this! Here's this week's if you missed it...
I still have teachers who haven't turned in ANY student forms. These were due two weeks ago. Please turn in what you have and use your checklist to collect the rest. Let us know if you need help.
EdCampKaty (October 24) and TCCA (October 17) are coming up quickly. EdCampKaty only has a few spots left! If you've signed up to go let me know, as I will also be at both events and if we need to carpool we can! So far I've only heard from Haven, Cassie, and Jessica about attending.
Remember to set your standards high for our kids. Expect them to rise to our expectations. Because when we set our expectations low, that's exactly what we're going to get.
We have to get our hands dirty. We have to stand up and do something.
"Be love there's a whole lot of hurting" was another line that I loved. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle. Everyone is in some kind of pain. We can so often get so caught up in our own that we forget. But I have to make it a daily decision to have my choices reflect love, because I don't want to be someone who is adding more hurting to the world. And I'm not perfect, and I make painful mistakes every day. But I try to continually keep those words at the forefront of my mind. Be love, there's a whole lot of hurting.
And finally the words, "why sit around and wait for a miracle to come, when we can be one". Wow. Could that be any more true?
We have the ability to change lives. We have to opportunity to be a miracle in someone else's life. I've seen it time and time again as an educator. Every day is another amazing chance to change someone's world. We can't miss our opportunity.
It's our time to stand up. To spread love. To not wait for a miracle, but to be one. #BeOne
Book Talk
Our book talk chapter this week it so timely. I can't wait to talk about this next chapter on Wednesday!
International Dot Day
International Dot Day is Tuesday! Make sure you've shown the video of me reading "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds (or you can read it yourself) and have your kids design their own dots on the plates provided by Haven. We've got some cool plans.
Also think of ways you can celebrate with your class or grade on Tuesday. Encourage your students to wear lots of dots on Tuesday too! We're gonna be sharing photos with the world! I just love the moral of this story!
Team Planning
Here is this week's Team Planning Schedule
Monday - 5th Grade
Tuesday - Kinder
Wednesday - 3rd Grade
Thursday - 2nd Grade
Friday - 1st Grade
We also have a WRITING vertical meeting on Tuesday at 3:15pm in the Library. Please make sure that the person on your team who is the rep for writing is there.
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans should be updated through September 25th
Weekly Video
Every week I am going to try to produce a short video to send out to parents about our week! The kiddos LOVED helping me this week, and I've got more plans as we continue! I got quite a few messages and emails from parents as well of how much they enjoyed this! Here's this week's if you missed it...
Grades
Grades are due Sunday at Midnight. Please make sure you have 2-3 grades in each subject.
Student Forms
I still have teachers who haven't turned in ANY student forms. These were due two weeks ago. Please turn in what you have and use your checklist to collect the rest. Let us know if you need help.
This Week Changes
This week Library will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. Nurse Becky, Haven, myself, and Terry will be out both of those days at CPI training.
PD Opportunities
EdCampKaty (October 24) and TCCA (October 17) are coming up quickly. EdCampKaty only has a few spots left! If you've signed up to go let me know, as I will also be at both events and if we need to carpool we can! So far I've only heard from Haven, Cassie, and Jessica about attending.
Fountas and Pinnell
Testing ends Friday!
MobyMax
ALL MobyMax testing for grades 1-5 should have been completed last week. If you missed your time I need to know ASAP. We must report that data in.
Rattler Time
Starting this upcoming Monday, Rattler Time is non-negotiable.
We will explain more what intervention times will look like in the next few weeks.
BUT, what you should be doing is modeling during that time. Having kids rotate through stations, pulling kids, and re-teaching during that scheduled time starting on Monday.
I know some of you are still completing F&P testing, so that is a great time to continue that as well.
SPED is pulling based on that schedule as well as others, so we need to abide by it.
Terry, Aaron, Kathy and I will be rotating through starting on Monday to ensure that during that time you are using Rattler Time to re-teach and work in small groups.
Twitter
Here are a few people for you to check out and/or follow on Twitter! Don't be afraid to reach out and connect with them!
Jeff Herb - Middle School Principal in Illinois
Joli Barker - Awarding Winning Educator in McKinney, TX
Jennie Magiera - Educator in Illinois
Blogs/Articles
Rockstar Educators
This week we've got two more rockstar educators on Webb Elementary to recognize!
Joni Leonard - Joni is our PE Teacher and she is one heck of an awesome one. What I admire most about Joni is the fact that she gets out there and gets into the activity with the students. She also always has a great attitude about things and is never afraid to talk about how there could be a better way to do things! She's also not afraid to try new things, and man does she have the Whip and Nae Nae down :-)
Jeanette Robles - Jeanette is our campus bilingual aide. She has also been someone on campus who has been put into a thousand different jobs this and she has yet to complain once. From testing, to covering classes, to working in the front office, to pulling students, she's everywhere. She always has a smile on her face and it is so crystal clear how much she loves working with these kids. We are so blessed to have Jeanette on our campus!
Make sure when you see this week's rockstar educators that you give them a high-five, hug, or congrats on the great work that they're doing!
Upcoming Important Dates
Monday, September 21 - Staff Meeting after School
October 15th - Hispanic Heritage Month Music Performance (evening)
October 20th - Eric Sheninger on Campus and at Education Foundation Dinner
October 28th - School Photos
Saturday, December 5 - all Teaching Staff Training with Erin Klein
We've been given such an opportunity to have the ability to work with kids every day. To build them up, to remind them of their worth, and to educate them.
Remember to set your standards high for our kids. Expect them to rise to our expectations. Because when we set our expectations low, that's exactly what we're going to get.
Remember to teach to your standards and don't water them down. To find time to play with your students, to get to know them, to go their games.
Are you having a difficult student? Use the 2x10 method. Spend two minutes a day, for ten days, talking one on one with that student and get to know them! If you need any help (instructional or behavioral) let us know! We are here to help you be the best that you can be so that our kiddos get the best teacher imaginable!
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