Monday Memo
March 13th - 17th
“After every difficulty, ask yourself two questions: “What did I do right?” and “What would I do differently?” – Brian Tracy
I hope that you had a wonderful week filled with all of the things that bring great joy to your life. If you are anything like me, a few more days would be lovely, but I did enjoy the time away. I would love to share pictures of how you spent your week in the next newsletter. If you would like to share any, please email them to me when you get a chance.
Our Faculty Meeting on Wednesday is for STAAR Training. If you have not already done so, please make sure that you register to attend. Regardless of what grade you teach, you are expected to attend the training. Life is unpredictable, and there have been times that we need to pull a K-2 teacher at the last minute to administer the test. While our goal is to give you as much notice as possible, at times, it is just not within our control.
Our next Team Leader Meeting will be on Monday, March 20th. If you would like to add anything to the agenda, please click on this link and submit the agenda item.
Isn't the attached picture just too precious!?! Jaime sent Sylvia and I an updated picture of Peyton Grace right before the break, and I could not resist including it in the newsletter. Jaime, Dustin and Peyton are all doing well, and as you can imagine, Jaime is enjoying every minute she gets to spend with her.
While I am not one to count down to the last day of school, I did note that we have 12 weeks left of this school year. In short, this means there is not much time left for you to fulfill your purpose in the lives of each of he students you teach. My point is not to cause you stress; It is to stress the importance of each minute you have left with your students. Be purposeful in how you spend your time. Be present in all that you do. Continue to uphold the values of your classroom community. There will be many distractions over the upcoming weeks that can distract you from your purpose. Do not let them. There is much work left to be done, and I want us all to finish this race stronger than we started. We have grown so much this year and have too much to be proud of to quit the race too soon.
Make today count,
JL
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Day 1
June 21- 6 hours GT credit
Keynote speaker: Monica Martinez- Google Guru Latin America and the Southern US
Makerspace, door prizes
Focus on Blended Learning
Break out sessions
Choice for day long academies for both Google (level 1 certification prep) and Canvas
Day 2
June 22- 6 hours GT credit
Keynote speaker: George Couros- author Innovator's Mindset
Break Out sessions
Makerspace, door prizes
Focus on classroom innovation at all levels
Principal lunch and learn session with George Couros
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Shoparoo
Did you know that each week I give out jeans passes to the three highest scoring staff members on Shoparoo? I know that many of you have already joined, but if you haven't, it is not too late. Simply go to www.shoparoo.com to create your account. If you use veft4467 as a referral code, McGowen will earn money for you just signing up. Please feel free to push this information out to your parents as well. Once you sign up, Shoparoo will give you a referral code for your parents to use when they sign up. Schools with just 40 supporters are earning an average of $1,000 every year.
Congratulations to Barbara Peebles, Krista Daniel, and Donna Fabian for being the highest three staff contributors to Shoparoo this week!
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Focus for 2016 - 2017
In order to help every child their personal best, McGowen teachers and staff will:
- Knowledgeably speak about our current practices that contribute to McGowen becoming a Level 1 Certified High Reliability School.
- Actively participate in grade level and content Professional Learning Communities.
- Engage in collaborative team planning and lesson design that addresses the four essential questions of a PLC.
- Present lessons in such a way that students understand and can speak knowledgeably about posted learning and language targets.
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Remind for Staff
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Appreciations
- SL - Thanks for creating a new Jeans Pass design. -JL
- Peebles - Thanks for being my Bueno Fairy. I appreciate you thinking of me. -JL
- Trisha – Thank you for the Chick-Fil-A on Friday. It really was a nice surprise to end the stressful week. I feel so lucky to have Jovie in my class every day. You have such a great kiddo! -AE
- Michelle & My 3rd Grade Team - Thank you for helping me out on Tuesday night and for the great discussions during Kid Chats. -AE
- Marley – I appreciate everything you have done for our team all year long. Thank you for the Starbucks and muffin on Friday. There is no replacing you while you are gone, but we will try to fill in for you the best we can. We will miss you so much! I am so excited to meet baby girl Callie! -AE
- Jean – Thank you for always being there to always support me with our students this year. You are an amazing teammate and teacher! -AE
- Lora – Thank you for all you do for our math/science team daily. You always have great ideas/advice! -AE
- Carin & Ashley – I feel so lucky to be on a team with you. I look forward to going to work daily because of you and our team. Love you guys! -AE
- Jessica – Thank you for all your help on Friday! :) -AE
- Melanie – Thank you for having our kids for Makerspace during 3rd grade flex grouping. They really enjoyed it, and I am excited to send them again after Spring Break. You do a great job making things fun and challenging for our kids. -AE
- Lynn – I think you did an amazing job with setting up the book fair. I know a lot of work goes into that, and we appreciate all you do! -AE
- Thank you Krista for all you do for our team!!!!
- Martha- We appreciate all that you have invested in a special family! SL
- MC & SdL- Thank you for all of the work you have put into our upcoming referrals! SL
- Stacie- Thanks for helping me with the ESL paperwork! SL
- Tracey & Rico- Thanks for meeting after school to discuss your RtI students! SL
- Marilyn- Thanks for getting the middle school transition information ready! SL
- Maria~ I can not thank you enough for both an ARD, and morning duty for me, so that I could get ready after a sub, without me even asking…that was so kind! ~KT
- 2nd Grade~ Thank you so much to my team for being so patient and supportive when I had absolutely no voice at all! ~KT
- Coach McKeen~ Thank you for giving me hallway behavior advice whenever I ask!!! You rock!!!!! ~KT
- Valerie~ Thanks a million for explaining the fractions on a number line sheet! Love you! ~KT
- Michelle H.~ A huge thank you for being willing to represent 2nd grade at the writing PLC! Love you! ~KT
- Trisha~ Thanks a ton you for switching morning duties with me at the last minute! Love you! ~KT
- Melanie and Lynn~ Thank you so much for the book fair snack bar! ~KT
- Melanie~ Thanks for setting up my computers for Open House! ~KT
- Lynn~ Thank you for being so patient with me when returning our state books! You have such a big job!!! ~KT
- Stacie- Thank you for waiting with my friend after tutoring! ~Valerie
- Melanie B.- Thank you so much for all of your help with the 2nd grade technology projects. It wouldn’t be possible without you! ~Valerie L.
- Thank you Lynn for always pulling our grade level books so fast!
- A-Team – Thank you for lunch on Tuesday! It was so nice to not have to think about packing a lunch! lp
- A Team and Sunshine Committee – thank you very much for the delicious lunch and dessert on Tuesday. We appreciate all you do. Gaby
- First Grade Team-Thank you for splitting my class on Monday so I could go home. I know it's never easy to add 3 or 4 more kiddos in your room!-Laura G.
- Krista, Quinn, & Laurie L.-Thank you for offering to do sub plans so I didn't have to come up to school on Tuesday and Wednesday. I know everyone had a lot on their plates this week!-Laura G.
- Maria-Thank you for covering my morning duty, I really appreciate it!-Laura G.
- Stacie-Thank you for contacting a parent about cancelling tutoring for me when I was out!-Laura G.
- JL & MC-Thank you for the kind words when I was out with the flu this week!
- Donna-Thank you for checking on subs and offering to put a job in the system for me.-Laura G.
- McGowen Family – Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers I received while I was out recovering from surgery. They brought joy to me every day while I was home. – Love, Stacie
- Valerie~ Thanks a million for explaining the fractions on a number line sheet! Love you! ~KT
- Michelle H.~ A huge thank you for being willing to represent 2nd grade at the writing PLC! Love you! ~KT
- Maria~ Thank you very much for covering my ARD when I was out! Love you! ~KT
- Trisha~ Thanks a ton you for switching morning duties with me at the last minute! Love you! ~KT
- Melanie and Lynn~ Thank you so much for the book fair snack bar! ~KT
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Bad Dude
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GT UPDATE OPPORTUNITIES - TAGT
The district is providing you access to the TAGT Learning On-Demand, a library of online courses for professional development. You will be able to select six hours of courses. Please note that the library includes 1-hour, 3-hour, and 6-hour courses.
To begin, you will need to acquire a username and password. To do this, click the link below and use the registration code to complete the form.
Registration Code: 5491mck9544
Link: http://txgiftedcourses.responsivelearning.com/SelfRegistration/
IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is essential that you disable your popup blocker. The courses are not compatible with smartphones.
We find that Google Chrome tends to provide the best user experience. You may download Google Chrome here: https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/.
If you need assistance, email support@responsivelearning.com and a support team member will be happy to assist you.
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McKinney ISD's Vision, Mission and Beliefs
Any time we have an idea, concern, solution and/or comment, this is the filter through which we should speak. Let's help each other live up to our vision, mission, and beliefs.
Vision:
We are a cohesive, diverse community providing engaging learning experiences for all.
We will provide engaging learning experiences so students can become effective communicators, quality contributors and socially responsible citizens.
Beliefs:
- Partnerships between students, parents, community members and staff are foundational to educational success.
- Positive school culture and a safe environment foster growth.
- Everyone has inherent value and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Learning is an active process requiring engaging tasks and engaging minds.
- Relevant and authentic experiences ignite continuous, deeper learning.
- Meaningful relationships enrich learning.
- Confidence fuels risk taking and higher achievement.
- Financial stewardship ensures a tomorrow for education.