Bulldog Bulletin
May 1, 2016
Stand Up Mixers and PBL
Why do I tell you this silly story? It relates so perfectly to our PBL journey, We lived failing forward as we made pasta for the first time. We persevered and even gave ourselves permission to keep trying, and we learned a lot. As we continue to develop that growth mindset and venture down a new path, we all need to remember that there is much to be learned from the act of failing forward!
Thank you to.....
- The kindergarten team for doing an outstanding job organizing Kindergarten Blast Off! We had over 70 students, and parents and children were so positive about the experience. Way to go-you created an experience that was an outstanding welcome to our future kindergarteners! Thanks to all the staff who came to help out. Also thanks to Mr. Kennedy for making the awesome signs!!
- Kent for the extra effort in seeking out performance opportunities for our students. The Greencroft residents experienced a real treat!
- Erik for coaching the Model track team so we could be represented!
- Mark and others who reminded teachers about the TELL Survey.
- Marcia and her staff for going above and beyond her responsibilities to support our staff and students.
News from Central
Today’s Focus: Culture
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
– John Wooden
Reflections to Guide Your Journey
How do you practice positivity in your daily life?
What can you do to support your team in creating a more positive culture?
Some Changes at ECSEC
In February, the Governing Board of Superintendents for the Elkhart County Special Education Cooperative agreed that, effective at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, Life Skills paraprofessionals will be employed by the home school corporations that houses the Life Skills classrooms. In March, all Life Skills paraprofessionals were notified of this decision by Bev Krabill, Director of Special Education. For Goshen Community Schools Life Skills paras, there will be no changes to their assignments or pay or benefits. However, there may be some Life Skills paras who work in other school districts (within ECSEC) that may be seeking employment in a GCS school or assignment. As principals work to fill vacancies for the coming school year, please give these individuals consideration.
TAP Bonus worksheets
Please share with teachers: As administrators are meeting with teachers regarding the second part of the TAP bonus, there may be a question about the calculation. In some situations, when we pulled the data from the financial spreadsheet into the individual teacher worksheets, rounding took place and this makes some of the calculations appear to be off by $1.00. The actual amount for the TAP bonus will be to the penny.
Email Migration to Office 365
We will be transitioning our staff email system to Office 365. Student email accounts will continue to reside in our Google Apps Domain.
The primary advantages for us:
· It's free for education
· Way more space in your mailbox (50 GB)
· Larger attachments (150 MB)
· We don't have to maintain the system, Microsoft does
· Uses your regular username and password
· May continue to use Outlook as usual
With roughly 1000 mailboxes, this will take some time to do. While our initial testing has shown the process to be relatively smooth, that does not mean everything will work perfectly. So, in order for us to keep up with issues, we will be staging the migration. We will be sending an email to all staff once that schedule is complete and all technical staff are up to speed.
CPR/AED Class Offered
Susan Stiffney will be teaching a CPR/AED class on May 12 and May 18 at Goshen High School from 4 to 5 pm. It costs $20. You only need to attend one class.
If you are interested, please email sstiffney@goshenschools.org and indicate which day works for your schedule. Classes are limited to 20 people.
These are the last classes for this school year.
End of Year Celebration
This year’s End of Year Celebration will be on Tuesday, May 31. Retirees and their families are invited to an open house in their honor in the high school cafeteria. The open house will be from 12:45 PM to 1:15 PM immediately followed by the staff recognition in the GHS auditorium where employees will be recognized for their years of service at GCS. Please encourage your staff to attend to support their fellow employees.
“Jeans for Troops”
We hope you can join the dress down program to benefit military personnel and veterans, including recently returned Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as well as veterans of previous generations suffering from homelessness and other challenges. This year's national dress down day is May 26, the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, but you can change the date while registering if another day works better. After registering, you will be mailed all the program information/stickers to host a great Jeans for Troops Day. Please sign up on our Jeans for Troops Registration page.
We are grateful for your support. If you have any questions please reply to this email or call our main office at 866-389-4446.
Coming This Week
May 2 – 6 ISTEP Make-Up
May 2-3 ISTEP 5th Grade
May 2 – 5 IREAD Camp
May 2 Teacher Residency Planning 11:15-3:30
May 4 5th grade Orchestra @ GMS 3:45 – 4:45 pm
May 4 NIET Site Visit for TAP
May 5 PTO Staff Breakfast 7:00 am
May 5 JDRF Kid’s Walk Kick-off 1:30 pm in gym
May 6 1st Grade to Merry Lea 8:30 – 1:30
May 6 2nd Grade Zoo Mobile @ Pringle Park 10:00 – 1:00