Healing

I'm sure you all felt it, last week was a doozy!  Conversation after conversation showed me that everyone was feeling the pressure of the fourth week of school.

If last week reminded me of anything, it was that we have a lot of damaged children at our school.  We have a lot of students who are hurting, and the only way that they know how to deal with their pain is to act out.  And we're so stressed out and exhausted from the thousands of things on our plates that sometimes we react to their acting out in not the best of ways.

My encouragement for you this week is this....I have seen the work you've been doing.  We're making some incredible headway with some difficult students, but there is still much work to be done.  Our issues can seem so big in the moment, but sometimes we need to take a step back from the situation. Sometimes we need to take time for ourselves too and get rejuvinated by doing something that we love.  That lights our fire.  That builds up a passion in us.

We all have rough days.  We all have much more going on in our lives that what is seen on the surface.  The best thing we can do for each other is be patient and show love. I love this quote I saw this week... "Healing does not mean the damage never existed.  It just means the damage no longer controls our lives."

This week I encourage you to...

1.  Contact a parent you haven't spoken to since meet the teacher.
2.  Find time to appreciate a co-worker this week!
3.  Give lots and lots of high fives and hugs.

Book Talk

This Wednesday we have our newest book talk!  Make sure you're reading the chapter before our discussions so you can add some of your own individual input!

Staff Meeting

There will be a staff meeting on Monday (tomorrow) at about 3:45pm in the Cafeteria. 

Team Planning

Here's this week's Team Planning Schedule

Monday - 5th Grade

Tuesday - 4th Grade

Wednesday - Kinder

Thursday - 2nd Grade

Friday - 1st Grade

We will also have a MATH vertical meeting on Tuesday at 3:15pm in the library.  Please make sure the assigned representative for you team is present.

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans should be updated through October 2nd.

Weekly Video

Here's this week's weekly video!

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!

Technology Calendar

I will be sharing the technology calendar with you today!  You can reserve a set (15) of MacBooks or iPads for a day, or the computer lab by hour.  We have TWO sets of Macbooks and TWO sets of iPads.  If you're unsure of how to reserve a spot, let me know. We will also discuss at Staff Meeting.

Ratter Time

Rattler Time should still be being used.  We will discuss more specifics at the Staff Meeting.  Becky Harrison (our PSP) will be here on campus on Wednesday to observe alongside me to make sure it's taking place.

Twitter

Here's three awesome people to follow/connect with this week!  I will start giving out weekly prizes as well for teachers who are utilizing Twitter to share the awesomeness going on in their classrooms! (the first 10 people who tweet their favorite part of the school year so far, will get put into an extra drawing for a gift card to be given out tomorrow.  Must tweet today and use the #WebbElem hashtag)

Gary Abud - Educator in Michigan

Kayla Delzer - 2nd Grade Teacher in North Dakota

Louise Morgan - Instructional Technologist in Fort Worth

Blogs/Articles

Start Smaller, Go Farther

Powerful Formative Assessment Routine

Be A Champion

5 Alternative Ways to use KaHoot! In the Classroom

The Reading Bucket List

Rockstar Educators

We have two more rockstars to recognize this week!  Make sure you remind them of how awesome they are!

Brittney Taylor - Brittney is our nurse aide, and she is amazing.  Always a source of positivity and sunshine.  She works incredible hard and has such a huge heart for children.  This week she was faced with several different extremely difficult situations and she handled them so professionally.  I am honored to work alongside someone like Brittney!

Melissa Neumann - Melissa is truly one of a kind.  She's incredibly intelligent and passionate.  She works tirelessly to find the best resources and she is such a great leader on her 4th grade team.  Melissa also has such a great sense of humor and quite the cupcake chef as well!  So thankful to have someone as incredibly talented as Melissa on our campus!

Every single day we're given a choice.  We can choose to complain, to pout, to talk about how things aren't working, how terrible the kids are, how unsupported we feel, of the supplies we don't have, it's too hot, it's too cold, our internet doesn't work, it's raining, and so on.

Or we can choose to focus on the little moments.  The child who for the first time can write their name.  The teacher who finally feels like they belong on a team.  The brand new educator who for the first time feels like their head is above water.  The fact that unlike other schools across the world, we do have air conditioning and wifi.  

It's so easy to complain.  I'm so guilty of it too.  I often find myself getting lost in the things that have gone wrong.  I challenge you this week to smile more.  Laugh more.  Find even the littlest of things to celebrate.  Together we can do this.  Together we must.

I love this video below.  We never realize the impact we have.  Make a difference.

Be One

I don't know about you, but on some levels I really feel like we're beginning to hit our stride as a campus!  Don't get me wrong, we've got a lot of work to do, but I feel like pieces are starting to fall into place.

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

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

Story of a Young Life Turned Around By Great Teachers

The Power of Being Positive

We're Not Really That Techy

Global Read Aloud

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!

One Match

I often think about the power that doubt holds over us.  We have days that we doubt if we're a good spouse, or friend, or brother/sister, or parent.  We doubt if we're a good teacher.  If we truly know what we're doing.  If we were cut out for this.  We doubt our talents, our skills, our genius.

Doubt is one of those things that can rip us to shreds.  It can destroy us if we let it.  Every single one of us on the Webb Elementary campus matters.  You may hear me say things or tell you that you matter and think it's just a series of words I've decided to throw together.  But in reality I've seen first hand the power of understanding that each of us truly does matter.

We can't allow doubt to take root in our lives.  We must surround ourselves with others who will remind us when we forget.  Others who will lift us up.  Who will help us celebrate every single success.  Becuase even the smallest successes are worth celebrating.

Each of you makes an incredible difference, and we can quickly forget that.  I love these song lyrics that were shared with me this week by Lauren Neutzler....

Like a small boat

On the ocean

Sending big waves

Into motion

Like how a single word

Can make a heart open

I might only have one match

But I can make an explosion

Let's embrace our uniqueness and our genius, and let's light a fire in these children.  One that can't be extinguished.  Because if we don't, who will?

Birthdays

Wednesday, Sept 9, Sheila Nelms

Book Talk

This Wednesday we'll be discussing Chapter 4 "Play" from Kim Bearden's book!

Team Planning

Team Planning times continue this week!  On your assigned day, your students will stay in the cafeteria at 7:45am and you will meet in the Team Planning room with Kathy French.  Please remember to be on time to these meetings.

Monday - Kindergarten
Tuesday - 4th Grade
Wednesday - 3rd Grade
Thursday - 2nd Grade
Friday - 1st Grade

And our first Vertical Meeting is TUESDAY at 3:15.  It is the Reading Vertical Meeting in the Team Planning Room.

Becky Harrison

Becky Harrison is our PSP Coach.  She was assigned by the state of Texas when the schools were underperforming.  She will be here throughout the year to make sure that we are on track to continuing to stay out of trouble with the state.  Becky will be here WEDNESDAY on campus.  She will be working with our administration team and rotating through classrooms.  She will also be meeting with the staff right after the Book Talk.  We will be looking at some lesson plans as well.

Lesson Plans

Your lesson plans should be updated and created through September 18th

How I'm Getting Home Lists

Thank you so much to the following teachers for already getting me your list of students and how they're getting home each day!!

Colbert

Parker

Eisenrich

Alcantara

Lang

Brak

Desern

Day

Hinojosa

LaBlue

McHale

Aguinaga

Goss

Reynolds

Neumann

Griesbach

Colin

I need those ASAP from you the rest of you, HERE is the original document...

Student Forms

Those should have been turned in as we are figuring out what forms we still need.  Please make sure you have given those to the front office.

Library

According to the Library Schedule I received this week is a week for PreK-2nd Grade.  Haven also shared a document with you with lots of information about the library.  You can access that document HERE.

PD Opportunities

EdCampKaty (October 24) and TCCA (October 17) are coming up quickly.  EdCampKaty only has about 50 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!

I'm excited to let you know that I've officially booked three awesome guests (so far) to come and work with our staff this year.

Eric Sheninger will be on our campus October 20th to observe and help our administration team tweak things to help us all run at our best!  He may be doing a quick session after school as well, and he will also be the keynote speaker at the Education Foundation Dinner that night.

Erin Klein will be here on Dec 5th (yes that's a Saturday).  Erin brings a WEALTH of knowledge and expertise.  Erin's daily rate is $6,000 and she comes to us for free as a favor to me, so please mark your calendars to be here that Saturday.  We'll talk more specifics as the day gets closer because they day will be tailored around you and what you need!

Chris Pombonyo will be here Monday February 1st to work primarily with Prek-2nd grade teachers.

Fountas and Pinnell

F&P testing starts tomorrow (Monday).  Please make sure that you are completing this and with fidelity.  If you need help please reach out as we have several people on campus with experience.

Aaron Marvel has told me he would have the tests printed and organized in the workroom.

MobyMax

MobyMax math testing will begin on Monday.  You can find the testing schedule HERE (I hope I didn't leave anyone in 1st-5th off).  You must go to mobymax.com and input your students names before you take them to the lab.  The testing shouldn't take long.  MobyMax will give you their log in information when you add their names to your MobyMax roster.

Twitter

Here's a few awesome people to check out and follow and connect with this week!

Brent Clarkson - Educator in Texas
Jeff Veal - Administrator in Texas
Lisa Johnson - Technology Specialist in Texas

Blogs/Articles

Here are a few great blogs articles I saw this week.

"100 Black Men, wearing Suits, Greeted Kids On the First Day of School for a Vital Reason"

"5 Common Teaching Practices I'm Kicking to the Curb"

"You Never Know"

Rockstar Educators

We have two more Rockstar Educators to recognize this week!

Susan Stanfield - Susan is one of our PreK teachers.  Besides that fact that Susan is always loving on kids, what I am most impressed by Susan is her kindness to go above and beyond.  When Susan saw that maintenance didn't make it to Kimberly Tobola's room on Friday she spent her day Saturday with her husband helping Kimberly move all of her items out of her room and into Brule.  That right there is what family does.  That is what a great person does.  Thank you Susan!

Haven Wisnoski - The Queen.  Haven has been such a tremendous help in so many ways.  She also brings so much creativity and passion to what she does.  I am so thankful to have someone like Haven on our team who is always pushing others to be there best and who never complains when I ask her to help or step up in many different ways!

Please find time this week to give these two an extra high five or hug and let them know how appreciated they are!

Tomorrow we start another week!  We're given more opporutnities to change lives.  We're given second chances, fresh starts, and new beginnings.

I want to leave you with this video.  To me it's a powerful reminder that we all have a story.  We all have pain.  Let's bind together and find ways to help each other.

The Road Less Traveled

Well Team, we did it.  We officially survived Week 1 of school.  One of the most hectic and exhausting weeks of the year!

As I sat and reflected over the week, the Robert Frost poem came to my mind.  You know the one, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled, and it has made all the difference."

I think about the job we have before us here in Navasota.  There are so many factors that are working against these kiddos.  And working here isn't easy, by any means.  It's hard work, it's frustrating, it's heart-breaking work.  But you took the leap with us.

I think about our kids here.  Working in Navasota is more than a choice I believe.  It's a calling.  These kids NEED strong teachers.  They need love, compassion, forgiveness, examples to look up to.  By working in Navasota you are doing so much more than providing these kids with an education. You are changing lives.  I see it every single day.

My favorite part of the week this week, was Friday afternoon when I sent a Remind text asking you to send up a child to my office for me to call home and celebrate.  Aaron and I split the duties (and language barriers of course).  It was a powerful reminder to me, of why celebrating kids is so important.  I had two different parents cry over the phone. Why?  Because no one had ever taken the time to tell them their kid was doing a great job.  How have we missed that?  We can't.  It's too important.

But my favorite was a voicemail I had on my phone when I came back from car rider duty.  One parent was unavailable when I called and so I left a voicemail.  When she called back she left me a message that said (through tears), "Mr. Nesloney I just wanted to call you back and let you know how much that message meant to me to hear about my daughter.  My heart sank at first when you started because I just figured she was in trouble!  I have 4 children in Navasota schools, and I have never received a positive phone call about any of them.  You don't know the difference you made today".

We must find ways to celebrate.  We must.

I loved the story Cassie Reynolds (a 4th grade teacher on our campus) also shared with me on Friday about a student she was already having trouble with in class.  She said she called home on Thursday and left a wonderful message with his mother but she didn't tell the student that.  She asked the student to talk to his mom that night about why she called home.  The student was terrified!  He never got good calls of course.  The next day he came back with a big smile on his face and quite the different attitude because someone said something wonderful about him to his mother, who I can assure you only received negative phone calls in the past.  Every time we reach out to a parent we make a difference.

Birthdays

Sept 3 - Sue Meisel

Book Talk

This Wednesday we have our third book talk!  It'll be right after car/bus duty on Wednesday in the Cafeteria over Chapter 3!

Team Planning

Team Planning times start this week!  On your assigned day, your students will stay in the cafeteria at 7:45am and you will meet in the Team Planning room with Kathy French.  Please remember to be on time to these meetings.

Monday - 5th Grade
Tuesday - 4th Grade
Wednesday - 3rd Grade
Thursday - 2nd Grade
Friday - 1st Grade

EduHero

EduHero is due TOMORROW!

Student Forms

Please make sure you are collecting all those student handbook forms.  I will be getting you one more tomorrow that is technology usage form that was left out of the original packet.

Car/Bus/Walkers

This week we start Walkers! Students must have a note to be a walker.  PreK-2nd grade walkers will go to the First Grade hall where Ms. Gonzales, Ms. Longabaugh, and Ms. Robles will be.

3rd-5th Grade walkers will go to the 4/5th Grade Hall where Mr. Haliburton, Ms. Salazar, and Ms. Sanders will be.

As far as car and bus riders, please make sure you switch duties with your team mates between car and bus duty.

We will continue two lanes of cars on Monday and it is IMPERATIVE that all teachers are watching, helping, and walking students to cars.

We will release PreK & Kinder & All Walkers at 3:00pm, then we will release Car Riders at 3:05, Bus Group 1 at 3:10 and Bus group 2 at 3:15pm.

Bathrooms

Please remember that we should not be taking entire class bathroom breaks.  That's a huge loss of time.  Students should be allowed in class to go to the bathroom when needed.  If it becomes an overuse issue be creative and come up with solutions for that particular student.  Specials usually doesn't allow students to go to the bathroom since they see them for such a limited time.

PD Opportunities

There are two AWESOME PD opportunities coming up that you'll definitely want to consider attending.  Both are FREE!

One is EdCamp Katy coming up on Saturday, October 24th in Katy, Texas.  I LOVE EdCamps and will for sure be attending.  If we get enough people to go, we could even try and get a Navasota suburban if you guys are interested.  Please let me know if you sign up for this.  http://www.edcampkaty.com/register.html

The other is TCCA.  TCCA is in Aldine, and I have loved attending it every year.  They give lots of great prizes, have awesome sessions, and give you a FREE lunch!!  Again, if we get enough people to go, we could even try to get a Navasota suburban if you guys are interested.  Please let me know if you sing up for this.  http://tccaconference.weebly.com/registration.html

Twitter

I hope you've found some value in a few of the people I've suggested you follow.  Remember to reach out to these people too!  Share ideas, ask questions, have a voice!  That's when Twitter begins to TRULY make a difference.  I have LOVED watching what so many of you are sharing online!  Those things don't go unnoticed!  And if you haven't checked out the #WebbElem hashtag you should!

Ben Gilpin - Administrator in Michigan
Jon Harper - Incredible Blogger and Asst. Principal in Maryland
Felix Jacomino - Director of Educational Technology in Florida
Sarah Thomas - HS Teacher in DC
Nathan Lang - Educator in Tennessee

Rockstar Educators

A new section of the blog that's starting this week is Rockstar Educators!  People on campus who myself, or another staff member, have noticed being AMAZING!

These two people will get to park their cars up front (if they wish), they'll get their name and picture put up on our "Rockstar Educators" Wall that I'm working on, and they'll get a FREE lunch one day this week!

So without further ado, our two rockstar educators are....

T.J. Longabaugh - T.J. is a PreK Instructional Aide.  I have been impressed with T.J. from the moment I met her.  She is full of kindness and joy.  She has an ability to notice the little things and step up in places unexpected and without anyone asking.  T.J. took time to clean the outside trashcans by hand and wiped down all of the school windows out front because our school had to look great.  She is a joy to be around and one definitely deserving of this honor!

Angela Calkins - Angela is a first year teacher.  She is quiet and humble.  But when I observed her class this week, I saw one HECK of a killer teacher.  She was animated, active, engaging, and dead on with the material.  Angela teaches in 3rd grade and is definitely one to watch.

Congrats you two!  When you see these two on campus this week, let's find time to continually celebrate them and find creative ways to make them feel appreciated!  Let's work together to do this!

Blog Posts

Here are a few blog posts you can check out this week!

A Letter to Teachers from, "That Kid"

Math Activities for 5th and 6th Grade

The Power of Home Visits

A Walk to Remember

Give Out Lots of High Fives

Upcoming Important Dates this Week

Team Planning Starts this Week

Team meetings are during your conference on Wednesdays

Team Leader meeting Wednesday morning at 7:00am in Team Planning Room


And a video to end on (the one at 5 min and 30 seconds is my favorite)....

Better to give
My buddy called and asked if I'd like to go help him pay for people's groceries. What happened next was amazing...
Posted by JesusPainter on Sunday, July 5, 2015

Here....We....Go!

Well the time is here!  At this time tomorrow our hallways will be filled with children, adults, laughter, conversation, and probably a few tears!

The first day of school always felt sort of like Christmas for me. I always had trouble sleeping the night before.  I know that each and every one of you are ready to greet our kiddos tomorrow. And I can guarantee you, from conversations I've had with many parents, that they kids are READY to spend a day with you!

The biggest thing we can do tomorrow is love on kids and give them a glimpse at what this school year can be like for them.  They all come with clean slates, fresh starts, and more.  Let's welcome them with smiling faces, open arms, high fives, and fist bumps.

And as moments creep up on us that begin to stress us out or cause anxiety, remember that the kids deserve a calm and collected teacher.  Let's be patient through trials, forgive often, and always speak with love.

Birthdays this Week:

Today, Sunday, Doris Banks
Tuesday, Sarah Martin
Thursday, Olivia Aguinaga
Friday, Gloria Wilkinson

Here are some things for this week....

HERE is our "First Week Reminders" document with times and things throughout this week.

Our biggest goal day one is to greet kids warmly, feed them breakfast and lunch, and make sure they get home!  We will put class rosters in your boxes tomorrow morning.

Please make sure that you have split your kids up for specials, and put them into THIS document.

Don't forget to sign in and out every day in the front office!

We will have a Staff Meeting on Monday (tomorrow) as soon as all students are on their way home!

Fire Drill will happen Wednesday and Lock Down drill will happen Friday!

We will also have a Crash Course book talk over Chapter 2 on Wednesday after dismissal

Blog/Articles

You Only Get One First Day of School

Genuine Connections

35 Cheap and Ingenious Ways to Have the Best Classroom Ever

17 Ways to Help Students with ADHD

Webinars/Trainings

Using Games to ReDefine the Learning Experience

Science, You, and Young Children

20 Awesome Digital Tools and Apps to Kick Off the New Year

Twitter

My goal is to every week introduce you to a few more amazing people to connect with and learn from online through Twitter! 

Hope King - Teacher at Ron Clark Academy; and check out her AWESOME site http://www.elementaryshenanigans.com/
Chris Pombonyo - 1st Grade Teacher in Florida; and check out his awesome site http://www.famousinfirst.com/
Brad Gustafson - administrator in Minnesota
Shannon Miller - Teacher Librarian
Tony Sinanis - Administrator in New York

Final Notes:

Each one of you were brought to this place because you bring something exceptional to the table.  You are important.  You hold worth.  You have value. 

Tomorrow we get the opportunity to show our kids the same thing.  Your administrative team is here to support you at a moments notice.  Please don't ever hesitate to reach out!!  We're a team, a family, and we are here to help carry each other's loads.

This week is the week we start everything.  You only get one chance to make a great first impression, so let's do it right!

Here's a little video to start you out on the right foot...

Patience, Positivity, and Passion

I can't tell you enough how exciting it was for me to finally be able to bring this new Webb Elementary family together!  I just know, after many of the interactions this past week, that we are going to accomplish some incredible things together!

I have loved so much already getting to know each of you.  I have much appreciated your patience, loved seeing your positivity, and most of all enjoyed watching your come alive when talking about your students, this school, or kids in general!  You guys are passionate and that is just what we need!

I think about when I was working in my former school when I was a classroom teacher.  So many things are thrown your way and so many different unexpected things pop up.  As an educator, I always have the ability to choose to sit and pout or complain, or I had the ability to find a solution to make things better and find a bright side to every situation.  As we continue to stretch and grow and push ourselves this year, I hope each and every one of us can work TOGETHER to find the best solutions to problems that arise so we can be our best for kids.  No kid wants a sour, negative, pouty teacher.  They want life, fun, and love!  Our kids deserve it.

We've got another busy week ahead of us, and most importantly, we have Meet the Teacher this Thursday!!!  I can't wait to bring all our new students onto campus this week.

In case you needed a refresher, HERE is a link to our always changing schedule for this week.

A few things to note:

Remind

If you have NOT joined our Remind group you need to TODAY.  This is our emergency phone tree, and is not an option.

You can join one of two ways.  You can download the Remind app, click "join a class" and type in "@15webb"

Or you can text like below

This Year

If you have NOT shared a Google Doc with Aaron Marvel, please do so by the end of the day Monday.  These were due this past Friday.  If you need a refresher, here are the sentence starters.....

This year, I want...

My biggest hope for 15-16...

I wonder...

What if...

My students....

I commit to...

I’m going to work on....

EduHero and Insurance

Finish your EduHero trainings by August 31st!!  Don't wait until the last minute!

Make sure you have completed your online insurance sign up/denial.  Remember you will have time to meet with someone F2F at the Symposium if you wish.

Symposium

I would highly suggest you attend the symposium sessions over grant writing so that you can submit grants this year for things you may want!!  I will also be doing a Twitter 101 session Tuesday morning if you wanna learn more about Twitter!  HERE is a link to the entire schedule. And join the Symposium Remind group for reminders and door prizes! Join using "@nisd2015"

Crash Course

Most importantly, don't forget to read the introduction and Chapter one of "Crash Course" that you were given!  We will have a book talk Wednesday morning about it!

Your Genius

Make sure you submit your genius title by Monday afternoon so we can turn them into Cindy!  HERE Is where you can do that.

TECHNOLOGY!

In order for Cindy and me to update laptops and get the right technology into your classrooms, this is a reminder to fill this out for us as well.  HERE is the form.

Blogs/Articles

Here are a few of my favorite blogs/articles from this past week

Never Slam the Door

What Happened When Our School Stopped Assigning Nightly Homework?

Transparency

What's Your One Wish For Education?

14 Things Teachers Should Never Do on the First Day of School

A Few Ideas for Parent Engagement

Webinars/Trainings

Research Based Literacy Strategies for All Young Children

Transforming Your School into a School of Excellence

Twitter

My goal is to every week introduce you to a few more amazing people to connect with and learn from online through Twitter!  I will also be doing a Twitter 101 Session at the Symposium on Tuesday morning if you want to come!  Here are a few more of my favorites and feel free to tweet them, meet them, ask for ideas, opinions, advice. That's why we get on twitter to share our story, connect, get help:

Adam Welcome - Elementary Principal in California
Jennifer LaGarde - Digital Literacy Specialist (and Librarian) in North Carolina
Jed Dearbury - Educator in North Carolina
Amber Teamann - Elementary Principal in Texas
Kim Bearden - Author and Educator in Georgia

Upcoming Important Things!

Convocation is at 9am at Brosig Auditorium on Monday

Meet the Teacher is Thursday from 5:00-7:00pm.  You don't have to arrive at work until 11am that day!  Dress code is Webb Elementary Shirt

Finally,  we are working diligently to get you your class rosters.  As of now, we will NOT be sending home letters that tell parents who their teacher will be.  They will have to find out the night of Meet The Teacher.  We apologize for this, but there are many unforeseen issues with Skyward and the redistricting.  I will send a letter out on Monday to parents explaining.  We would rather not inform them yet of their teacher and then have to change it again later.  Please do not go into Skyward.  There are many changes taking place.

We expect to have lists out to you on Wednesday and will ask you to call families, inviting them to Meet the Teacher.

We will provide more insight into meet the teacher night on Wednesday with all staff.

Thank you guys so much for your hard work, patience, and more as we get this year started out!  I truly believe incredible things are going to happen this year and with all of us working together there really isn't anything we can't accomplish.

Here's to another week!

Here We Go!

Can you believe it?  We're already at that time of starting another school year!  I don't know about you, but my summer flew by incredibly fast.

I can't wait to see what we're going to do as a campus.  These next two weeks are going to be a fire hydrant stream worth of information.  Don't stress or worry if you can't take it all in, that's why we're here!  To help each other every step of the way.

I am so thrilled to finally be bringing this team together.  I know that this year, lives will be changed.  That we'll not only be able to academically educate kids, but that we'll be able to touch their hearts and leave lasting emotional memories that truly do make an impact.  It won't be easy, and it will take all of us working together, but together we can do this!

This blog is the place where I'll post our weekly reminders, blog links, videos, etc.  That way you don't always have to go searching out for an email for reminders!

I've shared with you all our tentative (and can still change) schedule for the next two weeks.  You can find a copy of it HERE.  The dress code as well as any free lunch opportunities are all listed on there!

Blogs/Articles

My goal is to find blog posts that encourage you, challenge you, and hopefully make you think!  Here are a few great blog posts I've come across the last week or so.....

"Technology Ideas for the First Day of School"

"Ditching the Teacher Desk"

"Reading Log Revolt"

and my most recent favorite, "The 2x10 Strategy"

Webinars/Trainings

EdWeb also does some great webinars!  Here are a few you can either watch the recording of, or register for!  Don't worry if you can't make the time of the webinar. By registering they put you on an email list to receive the recording afterwards!

"My Class is Out of Control, HELP!"

"Games and Apps for Supporting Young Students with Math Difficulties"

"Create and Share, Calling Young Authors Everywhere"

"Teaching with Paired Text: Solutions for Modern Classrooms"

The worst thing we can do as an educator is stop learning.  I always tell teachers as I travel and present, how dare we as educators walk into a classroom every day and tell our students to learn if we ourselves are not learning!!

Twitter:

I'll also share a few people each week that I learn A LOT from on Twitter so you can have a great place to start from on who to follow (some of whom may actually come visit Webb this year.....)

Donalyn Miller - Educator and Author of The Book Whisperer
Erin Klein - Educator (2nd Grade), Scholastic Teacher, Educational Trainer
Angela Maiers - Educator, Author of "The Passion Driven Classroom", founder of #YouMatter
Dave Burgess - Educator, Author of "Teach Like a Pirate"
Greg Smedley-Warren - Educator (Kindergarten), Kindergarten Smorgasbord, A Teachers Pay Teachers top earning teacher

Still confused about Twitter? Don't worry, I'm here to help!! And HERE is a great post to get you started!

As you come across exceptional blog post, articles, webinars, tweets, whatever, please share!  I'd love to include them in our weekly blog post!  Here's to a great week!!

Upcoming Events this Week:

8/10 - Monday - All staff returns!  Meet in Webb Cafeteria at 8am.

8/11 - Fountas & Pinnell Training for K-2 - Webb Cafeteria
           3-5 Grade Level Mtgs with Admin Throughout Day

8/12 - Fountas & Pinnell Training for 3-5 - Webb Cafeteria
          Specials and PK-2 Grade Level Mtgs with Admin Throughout Day

8/13 - CHAMPS, Forethought, and Campus Meeting - Webb Cafeteria - 8am

8/14 - Kagan Training - High School Cafeteria - 8am