Thomson Staff Newsletter
December 14, 2015
Important News & Notes
Christmas was down to 10 days and counting
You don't need me to tell you that the Christmas excitement is mounting, however, with this can come varied emotions from happy to sad, joy to anxiousness and our little ones are working very hard to keep their behavior in check. Remember, you may need to spend some extra time reteaching behavior (remember show, don't tell) and show more patience with our little ones. While the holidays are generally a happy time, as I shared last week we do not know what is always going on at home. The holidays can sometimes be a source of financial stress, emotional stress, and rushing from here to there. If a student is demonstrating behavior outside the norm, be compassionate and work to figure out what is really going on. Have fun with your kids these next seven days.
October & November Behavior Data
At the General Administration Meeting last Thursday, I received our monthly behavior data for October and November. Our behavior referrals were down 5 for the month of October, which is great because historically we have seen a spike in this month. However, for November our referrals were up 3. However, it should be noted that that we are still down overall for the year, let's keep that trend going. We will be going over this data more thoroughly at our staff meeting and discuss ways we can ensure our referrals stay down.
Cool to Care
One last huge 'thank you' for all your help with Cool to Care! From donations, to sorting, to promoting, we could not have reached 4,926 items and over $200 without you.
Lynn's Email
If you could, please make a note of Lynn's email. For most of us our email is the first letter of our first name and our last name, however, that was taken by Lorrie Smith at the middle school. Lorrie has been getting a lot of Lynn's email by accident. Our Lynn's email is lgsmith@davisonschools.org. Lorrie has been forwarding Lynn her email, but like many of you only has a limited time during the day to check and respond to email. I'd hate for something to get missed or to Lynn too late in the day. Thanks for your help with this.
Help Please!
As you all know, the office can be very busy at times with sick students, injuries, or the office staff trying to resolve something that has come up. While I know that everyone is willing to help, if the office appears to be very busy, please be sure to 'just keep moving through'. If the office staff needs assistance, we will ask. This will ensure that the office staff's attention can stay where it needs to be. Thank you for your help with this.
Mark Your Calendars
Please mark your calendars for Monday, December 21st. This will be the date of the staff Christmas Luncheon put on by the office staff. Please look for more information to come. This will also be 'Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder' Christmas Sweater Day...so break out those beautiful or ugly sweaters and as a little extra 'gift' you may wear jeans with your holiday sweater.
January is Right Around the Corner
January is right around the corner and we will really begin to evaluate our current School Improvement Plan, prepare for the Mini-QAR, and write our plan for 2016-17. We will also have our second Early Release Day on Wednesday, January 13th for all staff. Teacher Records Day will be Friday, January 29th and teachers may complete report cards from home if they wish.
DRA Assessment Windows
The DRA Assessment window will be from January 11-22 and all students in grades K-4 will be assessed during this window. A few things to keep in mind:
- Subs will be provided
- Due to the sub shortage, no more than three teachers will be allowed to request on any given day. Please look for the sign-up calendar that Melissa will be putting up in the lounge.
- Data should be entered into Illuminate by Friday, January 29th
- Blue Pre-Arranged absence forms may be turned in at any time.
Important Upcoming Dates
Monday, December 14th-Handsome Harry visits; DIP Meeting, 4:15-5:15 p.m.; PTO Meeting-Lisa and Leandra will be the teacher reps, 6:30 pm.
Tuesday, December 15th- Handsome Harry visits; Outreach East will come in the afternoon to pick up the baby items; ELA Meeting 4:15-6:15 p.m. at Gates-CANCELLED
Wednesday, December 16th- Staff Meeting, 7:35 a.m.(Agenda: SLOs (Student Learning Objectives), Behavior Data, & School Christmas Sing-a-long); Child Study Day
Monday, December 21st-Office Staff will provide a Merry Christmas Luncheon
Tuesday, December 22nd-School Sing-a-long!
Wednesday, December 23rd-January 1st-Christmas Vacation! Enjoy and Relax!
Quotes Worth Reading...
-While I'm not sure who the author of this quote was written by, it is one of my favorites!
Birthdays and Celebrations
Here are our upcoming birthdays: None this week...
Is your calendar marked for our Staff After-Christmas Party? The date is February 6th!