Warner Update
Making a difference, one person at a time
Knowing is Half the Battle (January 18-25)
- Shannon Alder
If you happened to walk into the Warner Office on Friday you likely saw an abundance of food boxes covering most of the floor space. The food boxes are part of the Love The Kids program that SAFMC and Western Schools partner with to support our local families.
Several families came in and picked up their boxes, which left a few to be delivered.
For starters, I'm extremely grateful for the additional help with Love The Kids. Kevin Ganton and Kaye Kolde have provided a TON of resources for our families. Mrs. Dockery's ability to touch base with families is priceless. Plus the handful of staff that deliver and help, makes a HUGE difference.
As Friday's school day came to a close some of the busiest times of the week started.
There were three stops that occurred Friday night. Each stop taught me something.
Stop number one took me exactly one step inside the home. With that one step it also showed me three faces. The first face looked like a mixture of relief, appreciation and defeat. The second face had a gigantic grin and was extremely happy to see me. The third face simply looked sad. I'm guilty of often times thinking to myself, we need families to be better for their own kids. And then reality hits you and you realize you want them to be better when they desperately need help themselves.
Stop number two and three took me to two families that are living in trauma. Your heart goes out to a family that deals with attempted suicide, alcoholism, unemployment, abuse and anger.
As I got back in my car and headed for home I felt a different heaviness than normal. This was one that got me thinking that I've been wrong. I've been wrong to want families to fix kids. I've been wrong to assume families have the wherewithal to get the resources our students need.
Instead I started thinking, how can we better support our families? Food helps, but what's truly important is providing avenues for assistance.
This brings me to an opportunity for all of us.
In approximately two weeks we have our second round of conferences for the 2019-2020 school year. Over the years some have viewed these as optional, but what if we put a different spin on conferences? What if the goal was twofold:
First, inform families about the progress of their child. Give specific strengths and points to areas that need to grow.
Second, what if we took this as a chance to talk to families about what they need? What would help them better care and provide for their kids?
Sure I would expect some to be guarded, that's okay. Maybe the first step is educational resources. Maybe simply asking, what more can the school do for your family? Even if the response is nothing, intently asking is an act of kindness and caring.
Think about it...what if conferences were about supporting and reporting on student progress and also about finding ways to lift up the families that need us most.
Next Week At A Glance:
8:30 - 9:00 Welcome and flash assessments in the Cafeteria (coffee and tea provided)
9:05 - 11:00 PLC Time to complete checklist
11:00 - 12:00 Lunch Provided (Steve Rice is catering salad bar and soup)
12:00 - 1:00 Finish PLC Checklist
1:15 - 2:00 Session #1 (see options shared)
2:15 - 3:00 Session #2 (see options shared)
Tuesday, January 21st: Admin Meeting 9am
Wednesday, January 22nd: Assembly for grades K-2
- PLC Early Release
- Collaborate with grade level partners on students most at-risk: Are the interventions working? What different strategies could be attempted?
- Collaborate with grade level partners on students exceeding standards: How can students be challenged?
Wednesday, January 22nd: Panther Pride Luncheon
Thursday, January 23rd: County Wide Principal Meeting 7:30am
Thursday, January 23rd: Warner TEAM meeting 9am
Friday, January 24th: Staff Meeting in Mrs. Brugger's room (Mr. Cole will be sharing information on ACES, Help for Billy, and our Warner PBIS.)
Friday, January 24th: Warner Fun Night 3:30pm - 6pm
* Conferences are scheduled the week of February 3 - 7. Dinners will be provided on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week.
* Just in case you missed it...Annette Adams and Sara Pienta have done quite the overhaul to the Warner lounge. If you get the chance send them a shout out or note of thanks!