Mustang Message
April 11, 2016
A Principal's Perspective
I don't know about you, but I enjoyed and learned so much from the literacy and math book studies! Two notes of interest that I have been thinking about from the last chapter of Math Exchanges.
First, the section on "Becoming a Reflective Teacher" was very timely for me. The author noted: "...devoting thirty minutes daily to thinking, reading, and writing with the purpose of reflection was key to good teaching. ...You can't be a good teacher if you're just racing ahead at full speed from one day to the next without stopping to consider if what you are doing is working for the kids and for you. You'll be a very busy teacher, but you won't be a very good one." This is a busy time of year! It is too easy to go, go, go this time of year. I hope that we all collectively practice this notion of stopping and reflecting on our teaching practices to consider what is working. Yes, even this time of year!
The second part of the chapter was important as well in order to be an effective educator. The section was entitled, "Living a Rich Mathematical Life" which the author challenged us to live a life full of experiences. Yes, it goes back to making sure we have a balance of work and home life. But her idea was to ensure that our life is full of enjoyable experiences that we can draw upon as we are teaching. Her thoughts are powerful as she quoted a passage in her book that she was personally reading: "'I am a more interesting person if I have stories to tell that are not just about school."' "...I pondered this thought and asked myself, "How can I teach my students to live a rich, full life inside and outside of the classroom if I am not doing this myself?'" Wow! Something for us to ponder as well as we teach, balance a busy time of year, and lead a rich, full life so that we too can use our experiences as a springboard to rich classroom lessons, stories, and discussions.
Be Legendary - See the possibilities!
Donna
Morning Duties of the Week
Morning Assembly (7:30): Simpson
Gym (7:20): Lindner
Cafeteria (7:20): Matthews
Bus (7:20 - Buses/ Cafeteria after all buses arrive): Marshall
Parent Drop Off Traffic: Williams
Parent Drop Off: Simmons & McGregor
Counselor Schedule: Small Groups
Librarian: GP
Week at a Glance
Book Fair This Week!
Monday: 1st & 2nd Grades switching CAMP times; GP Report Card Grade Due by 8:00 AM; Start of 6th Six Weeks! (WOW!)
Tuesday: 1st & 2nd Grades switching CAMP times; Faculty Meeting at 3:20 in Cafeteria (Paraprofessionals not required to attend); Fine Arts & Book Fair Night 5:30-7:30 (see below for more details)
Wednesday: Lounge Wednesday - Faculty meet, greet, and eat during lunch time in the lounge; ELA meetings - Kinder; Running Club 3:00-3:45; Open Tech Support with Parr 3:15-4:00
Thursday: SIT Group # 1 (Gibbs, Owen, Leblanc, Bingaman/Sullivan, Simmons/Hastings, & Cooper/McGregor); Awards Assembly (K - 8:30, 1st - 9:00, 4th - 9:30, 2nd - 1:15, & 3rd - 2:00)
Friday: Kindergarten Field Trip to Dewberry Farms; ELA Meetings 1st - 4th during conference times
News & Notes
- The CSISD School Board is seeking community input regarding future school boundary adjustments. Community meetings will be April 12th at noon at the CSISD Transportation Center.
- The PTO is putting on a Fine Arts & Book Fair night this Tuesday, April 12th, from 5:30-7:30. This is going to be a great night of entertainment, art, and books! Scheduled activities:
- All students will have their artwork framed and displayed in the gym.
- Spoons will be serving yogurt in the cafeteria.
- Painting With a Twist in the art room.
- Brazos Valley Troupe will perform songs from Shrek, the Musical.
- 1st graders will be performing at 6:30.
- CSHS Strutters will be performing at 7:00.
- Marble painting in the science lab.
- Book Fair in the library!
- A BIG THANK YOU for your participation and attendance at the rodeo Saturday! What an awesome, fun day! We are still getting the preliminary results regarding the financials. But, it looks like we made very close to $20,000. Remember that we moved the auction to Snow Bash so the rodeo amount is just ticket sales, BBQ teams, food, and a very small auction. With all proceeds from Snow Bash and rodeo, we are looking at roughly $38,000 for fundraising! How wonderful is that???!!! Our next Campus Council meeting will be Tuesday, April 26. Please bring needs/wants to request from PTO. The budget for PTO is typically around $25,700 which includes $14,850 for STAAR Snacks, 4th Grade Field Trip, Field Trips for all grades, Fun Fund, and Teacher Grants. What a great partnership with our staff and parents! Thank you!
Mustang Yee Haws!
- Congratulations to Nicole Vaughn, Stephanie Anderson's daughter, who is a Consol soccer player continuing on in regional playoffs! http://m.theeagle.com/brazos_sports/a-m-consolidated-girls-soccer-team-advances-to-regional-tournament/article_b31681f2-fbb6-11e5-a8e5-43674debc504.html?mode=jqm