Smoke Signals
We Are Family!
Week of March 12 - 16, 2018
Tuesday - IST/SST Meetings
Thursday - SIOP Trainings
All Week is PTO Teacher Appreciation Week!
There is no way that we could ever thank you for all that you do! Please know that we are beyond grateful for such an amazing staff and for the dedication you have to all of our students!
Dr. Nix, Karen, Curtis, Betsy, Brooke, Kayla & Becky
March 14th Walk-Out (Plan for Potential Demonstrations)
- Some national groups have planned for teachers and/or students to walk out of class on Wednesday, 3/14 from 10:00-10:17.
- Media Center 1 and Cafeteria 2 will be the locations for people to demonstrate. If students happen to say that they want to walk out, they are to go to the location of whichever building they are in.
- Teachers, if you plan to participate, please let a member of admin know so we can arrange for coverage for your class.
- If a parent comes in and would like to participate with their child, we will allow them to do so. However, if they wish to take them outside, we will ask them to sign their child out.
- We do not want this plan forwarded to parents and we are not going to share this plan with anyone over the phone. If a parent calls and asks if we have a plan, we will share that Sawnee has a plan to allow for students and teachers to demonstrate if they feel compelled to do so, but we cannot (due to safety reasons) share what that plan is over the phone.
- If someone insists, please direct that person to a member of the admin team.
Teacher and Media Specialist Opportunity - nErDcampGA
Join in some nerdy fun at nErDcampGA! Meet and learn from multiple authors!! nErDcampGA is a free, full-day literacy event for elementary, middle, and high school teachers, coaches, administrators, and librarians. The inaugural annual camp will be held on September 22 at Freeman’s Mill Elementary School in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Tickets are free and will be available for download in March. Click here for additional information and registration.
Cahill's Corner
I have found an explanation of rigor that, although long and wordy, really speaks to the heart of the matter:
Rigor matters because it imposes the cognitive load on students, forcing them to confront misconceptions, reconsider positions, separate the implicit from the explicit, and other critical thinking practices that distinguish shaky familiarity from true understanding.
There is no doubt that the driving force behind rigor is teachers! Please reach out and let us know how we can support you as you continually strive to serve our students.