Grant Gazette
September 30, 2016
Read Aloud Norfolk Grants due Today (Friday!)
APL Training was great!
I enjoyed many parts of the presentation, but I think some of the most important take-aways I got included:
- We need to MAKE our students look good in front of their peers. That's how real change will happen in our classrooms and schools!
- Success comes BEFORE motivation! And it comes in small increments, not major leaps!
- Great reminder about closure---Closure is NOT a teacher summary! It is a STUDENT summary!
- Has anyone read GRIT? I have it on my to-do list. The book was referenced a few times at APL training. A person has GRIT if:
- they finish what they begin
- they try very hard, even after failure
- they can work independently with great focus
- Do you know the average number of minutes PER WEEK that parents are involved in conversations with their children? The answer is at the bottom of this newsletter.
Tweets of the Week: The Productivity Issue
This week's Tweets are articles about time management, workflow, and productivity. This is about the time of year that we all begin to feel a little frayed with the many demands of our work. Our students begin to become stressed, our teachers a little short on patience, and our principals begin to lose the focus of the start of the year. Is there ever enough time?
I don't present these articles to add to your stress. Read the articles which appeal to you in the hopes that they can help you organize your time and efforts around accomplishing what is most important. I certainly hope you don't become discouraged by what you're not doing!
Usually when I'm stressed I find that there is some project or person that I'm failing to confront. We can't allow ourselves to feel powerless and unable to confront what is stressing us. I encourage you to find a way to tackle that which is stressing you out. I hope you find an article which suggests a new strategy in order to make you happier and more more effective.
The 3rd article mentions "decision fatigue" which many of us suffer from at certain times in our lives. As I read the article, it reminded me of buying barbecue sauce at Hy-Vee. Have you purchased barbecue sauce at Hy-Vee lately? There's about 400 different kinds and styles to choose from. I was physically tired after picking one out!
The last article is called "What College Never Taught Me about Teaching." It's the words of a first-year teacher with responses from her college professor.
Burger King Incentives
Let me know your thoughts and how we could/should use this program at Grant.
Building PLC on Wednesday, Oct. 5
Please contact Mickie directly to set up a time to work with her on Oct. 12.
Video of the Week
Final Thoughts:
I am leaving around 2:30 today. My family is headed out to McCook to watch my niece (Dance Team) and nephew (Football) perform on Friday night. And then we'll watch the Panther softball team in the GNAC tournament in McCook.
Evacuation Drill at Grant: 1:10pm on Monday, Oct. 3.
Wellness Committee will meet briefly at 3:30 in Julie Morgan's room.
Positive Discipline committee also meets at 3:30 (Julie Curry's office?)
Picture Retakes are Tuesday, October 4.