Mark's Monday Morning Memo
August 22, 2016
Welcome Back!
I'm excited for the 2016-2017 school and to have you back! I've been getting ready for the new school year since July 25th (well, really since I was offered the position on April 29th!) and Gatewood already feels very comfortable to me. I've spent time walking around the inside and outside of the school absorbing things, getting oriented, and looking at ways I can make things better. Did anyone notice changes to the stop signs at the exit of our school?
My Focus Areas
In my welcome back-to-school video I shared the themes I learned from listening to you and what my priorities for the year will be. I have identified my focus areas as Community, Collegiality, Communication, and Consistency. Because this Monday Morning Memo is one of the tools I use to communicate with all staff members, I want to reaffirm two of the areas I'm working to insure consistency. One of them is work hours and the other is dress code. The contract for HEA members indicates the normal duty day shall be eight consecutive hours and the hours for the scheduled duty day shall be identified and posted. For the 2016-2017 school year, the duty hours are 8:15-4:15. If a licensed staff member needs to deviate from that, please communicate that with me. I'm also asking that hourly employees communicate with me if you need to deviate from your scheduled work hours. In this way we are establishing consistency, meeting our contracted and district expectations, and know where staff members are when we need to contact you. The second area I am proposing consistency with is the dress code. There is a student dress code in School Board policy and in the Gatewood School Parent Information Handbook and I'm asking that we staff members model that dress code ourselves. If you have any questions about these, please see me and thank you for your support with these practices.
Traffic Flow and Parking
I met with representatives of our district's Buildings and Grounds and Community Education Departments this summer to review signage, traffic flow, and parking. I'm trying to make things safe and easier to manage. You might experience some of these changes and I thank you in advance for supporting these. The upper parking lot will be designated for parents, guests, and visitors. I'm requesting that staff park in the lower or north lots. The parking spaces at the side of the school by the dumpsters will be reserved for custodial and kitchen staff and for work and delivery vans and trucks. I'll pay attention and monitor the traffic patterns and flow and make adjustments where needed.
New Staff
Be sure you give these new staff members a warm Gatewood Gators welcome. Please introduce yourself and welcome them to Gatewood! Billy, Barringer, Phy Ed; Brittney Begin, Grade 5 long-term guest teacher; Grace Brown, Spanish; Chelsie Curry, LTL Para; Dione DesLauriers, Spec. Ed Teacher; Nicole Ehrenberg, Social Worker; Jon Feulner, Vocal Music LTL (.1 position); Kate Gjerde, ELL; Monica Grubb, Grade 5; Danielle Hackney, Special Ed Evaluator; Deb Lund, O/Therapist; Abbie Miklos, LTL Teacher .8 / Special Ed Teacher .2; Madison Morrow, Special Ed Para; Victoria Rachmaninoff, Ready 4 K Para; Jessica Rooney, Special Ed Para; Anna St. Andrew, Kindergarten Para; Vanessa Walters, Grade 5.
#GoodNewsCallOfTheDay
During the summer of 2015, I was in a Twitter chat and a teacher described that she made a positive phone call home for one of her students each day. I thought, "I have 650 students, I can do that!" So, last year I made 130 different #GoodNewsCallOfTheDay phone calls home to parents. It was one of the most rewarding things I did. I am carrying that practice to Gatewood this year. I will identify a student each day I am here and make a #GoodNewsCallOfTheDay to their parents. I also take a selfie with the student and Tweet it. This year I'm adding giving the student a wrist band as a remembrance. Since I don't have knowledge of or history with students yet, I'm asking you to recommend students who deserve a positive phone call home. You can find nomination forms in a folder on my office door. Simply complete the form, recommend a student, and they may be selected for a future #GoodNewsCallOfTheDay phone call!
Mark's Commitments
I will list my out of school meetings, trainings, and commitments in the weekly bulletin so you are informed about where I am and what I am doing. I am in my second year as President of the Minnesota Elementary Principals' Association and you will see when I have commitments for MESPA board, professional development, and outreach meetings I attend as President.