Founders Weekly
October 28th to November 2nd
Shout out!
So many great things happened this week! I want to recognize a few:
- Mrs. O'Donnell for her ability to provide firm and compassionate guidance to students all day, every day!
- Ms. Wardwell for going above and beyond the expectations of her position!
- Mrs. Esty for always offering to jump in to help students and adults whenever she sees the need!
Staff Appreciation
Emote
Staff Concerns and Feedback
Sensory Room
- Karen and I will be extra vigilant in monitoring and clearing the space this week to set a tone and reteach the use of this space
- No student should be taking more than a 10 minute break unless in crisis and working with a staff member elsewhere. Please call the office if a student has been gone for longer and we will track them down.
- Lunch bunches will be either with Ms. Mann in her office or in Nurse Mary's office
- Please call the office immediately to report any abuse of the space that you witness
Study Block Staff Meetings
My office is free during lunch and the office is closed to students so it will give you quiet, uninterrupted time to work.
Meeting Expectations
Staff Room Culture
Town Meeting Expectations
Town Meeting is an important part of our school and a place to celebrate and build community. It is important that the staff models the expectation for students. In addition, all staff needs to be actively supervising students among the crowd. Several inappropriate actions have been reported that took place at town hall (both seated at CYO and out in the crowd in the grassy knoll) that adults could have intervened in if they were interspersed with students. I know that teambuilders feel awkward, but they work. Please step out of your comfort zone and participate or encouraging and helping students participate. I am open to different teambuilding ideas if you have them.
Improving Culture and Climate
In the Culture and Climate survey administered at the end of last year, significant drops were reported. Among top concerns to the SIT Committee were a large drop in both perceived safety and teacher student relationships. My intention is to reverse that with initiatives that we have started to put in place and more we will roll out as the year goes on.
I know that we can make Founders better. I think we already have. It takes ALL of us. We have the overwhelming support of the district, the families, and students to do what it takes to make Founders a safe and happy place to learn. Let's keep pushing the momentum forward!
6th Grade Roster changes
Students will be informed first thing tomorrow morning and will immediately follow their new schedules. We anticipate that their will be pushback. The special ed team is prepared for that. Karen and I will both be as available as we can be to support with this transition.
Out of Class
Some staff have suggested that we send kids home who aren't in class. There are a couple problems with this.
1. We have students with IEP goals of getting to school. Period. Class is a next step. It would be illegal to send them home.
2. It is RI State Law that time out of class cannot be punished with more time out of school. We cannot send kids home or suspend them for missing class.
It is in all of our best interest to support kids in getting back to class. This is easier said than done. All of our staff is being pulled in multiple directions and must triage needs in order of safety many times. We will keep at it!
Bullying Seminars
Both were hosted by different groups and had different tones but the message was the same. Students felt connected to the Beacon students and heard.
This week, an 8th grade student that I have no relationship with showed up in my office and stated "I'm here because the Beacon kids said it's not snitching if you're helping someone." That meeting helped prevent a dangerous situation.
Murphy and I are working to increase the collaboration between our 2 schools and students.
Peer observations-Pineapple Chart
Shadowing: Beacon and Founders staff will be shadowing one another! We will provide a sub, teachers will spend the entire day shadowing their colleague at the opposite school. We hope that this supports cross-school collaboration, peer-to-peer learning and draws upon the many talents and strengths of Beacon and Founders staff to help us all improve our practice! We will be starting with Founders staff shadowing at Beacon.
Crisis Team Meeting Notes
Evaluations
Upcoming dates:
Founders Halloween Celebration Tuesday 10/30 2:45 to 4:30pm
Quarter 1 Ends Thursday 11/1
Beacon and Founders Professional Development Day Tuesday 11/6 8am at Beacon
Veteran's Day-No School Monday 11/12
Parent Teacher Conferences Thursday 11/15
Hunger Banquet at Millspace hosted by Mr. Mahmud Monday 11/19 Time TBD
Thanksgiving Break Thursday and Friday 11/22 and 11/23
Culinary Arts Night Tuesday 11/27 Time TBD
NPIN Team out for Seminar Wednesday and Thursday 11/28 and 11/29