Points of Pride
Back to School 2018
Instructional Focus:
I hope you all had an amazing summer and were able to catch up with loved ones. I was able to get a couple of weeks off to relax. My phone actually died while I was vacation (no, really) so I really got a chance to unplug a bit. The family and I went to Coronado Island for a few days last weekend. It was so much fun, I got to teach my son how to Boogie Board, and we went to the San Diego Zoo. This weekend I am going to Show Low, and look forward to one more weekend of quiet before the "Back to School Sprint" starts. I can't wait to hear about all of your summer adventures!
I can't wait to start our second year together! I know that I learned SOOOO much last year and I feel very confident about the trajectory that we have set for the 18/19 school year.
Please read this message thoroughly. Information from district is coming at me fast and furious, and I want to ensure that we are all "on the same page" prior to starting school. Again, I try to avoid sending out all staff emails during the week and save it for these, so it's essential that you read these thoroughly. Especially important this week is the information about Google Classroom, as I will be adding duty lists and a lot of other information this week. If you don't want to be totally overwhelmed on day 1, I recommend starting to check your email every couple days.
Robert
Take Note Board!!
During "Meet the Teacher" they are going to try and get as many people as they can to take something from that board, so please fill it up.
Google Classroom....
I started a Settler's Point Staff Google Classroom. I sent out a invitation for you to join earlier this week. Once you sign up, every time I post something, you will get an email.
My goal is to make this a "one stop shop" for things to make your life easier. I have already posted a lot of our scheduling documents, as well as, our most recent parent newsletter. I thought putting past parent newsletters and staff newsletters would help in case you needed to go back to review something.
If you didn't get an email update, go to Google Classroom (it's part of the "waffle" at the top of your email banner), and the Google Classroom logo should be there. When you get in, my invite should be waiting for you. At that point you should be able to "join."
Meet the Teacher....
I decided to try and split up Meet the Teacher a little bit. You know as well as I do, it's usually slow for awhile, and then all of your students come in at one time. While you get to meet people, you don't really get to start a relationship.
I have asked that students with a last name starting with letters A-L come from 5:30-6:30, and students with a last name starting with letters M-Z to come from 6:30-7:30. I told them if they couldn't make it to their assigned time, that was ok, but I am trying to be more intentional with our efforts.
New Staff Members:
- Colleen Fierro is joining the kindergarten team from Quartz Hill. I have worked with her in summer school a number of times, and trust me, we are very fortunate to have her!
- Andie Deschappeles is joining the first grade team this year. She just finished her student teaching at the University of Arizona (took a lot for me to overlook that-Go Devils) and comes to us very highly recommended.
- Janice Ewbank will be our Reading Coach for the 18/19 school year. She has a wealth of coaching experience and was most recently a curriculum and instruction specialist in another district.
- Ryan Agnew will be coming back to join the Pride as a fifth grade teacher this year. We were very fortunate that her husband's job led her back to the valley.
- Lori Henehan will be teaching our primary COPE classroom. She came very highly recommended from a private day school in Tempe.
- Denise Brown will be joining our COPE team as a paraprofessional in Tracey's classroom. She did an amazing job with the students on a substitute basis last year!
- Lacresha Dornes will be joining us as a paraprofessional in Lori's classroom. She has moved from Chicago during the summer and is currently working on her Master's degree in special education.
- Eve Maldonado is joining us as a full time custodian. She just moved with her son from Florida.
Gilbert Fire Code.....
The hyperlinks below will review the regulations (if you are a returning teacher-they have not changed), but ensure that a signed copy of this is in your Fire Drill folder before the first day of school.
Mark your Calendars....
As you set up for the year, ensure to mark important dates, such as the School Carnival, faculty meetings, site PD days and leadership team meetings.
Curriculum Nights...
The way it was scheduled before made many parents have to decide which one of their kids they wanted to attend.
I would like to try giving each grade their own time slot to see if we can increase attendance and again build are parent/teacher partnerships.
Here is the schedule:
Tuesday, August 14
- Preschool: 4:30-5:30
- Kindergarten: 5:30-6:30
- 1st Grade: 6:30-7:30
Wednesday, August 15
- COPE: 4:30-5:15
- 2nd Grade: 5:15-6:15
- 3rd Grade: 6:15-7:15
Thursday, August 16
- ALP: 4:30-5:15
- 4th Grade: 5:15-6:15
- 5th Grade: 6:15-7:15
- 6th Grade: 7:15-8:15
New Spirit Shirt for 18/19
Technology Updates from District
- Our TIEs will connect with new hires and transferred staff to get them up and running as soon as possible with their technology. Here is a great site to get answers quickly. https://sites.google.com/gilbertschools.net/techhelp/
- New elementary certified staff will be receiving their Yoga PC devices at training on July 27th and 30th. They will be signing up for those trainings at the New Teacher orientation on July 26th.