Monclova Primary
Weekly Bulletin
Events for Week of January 1 - January 7
Monday, January 1
HAPPY NEW YEAR
WINTER BREAK
Tuesday, January 2
WINTER BREAK
Wednesday, January 3
WELCOME BACK
Social Meeting - 8:00 am
Wellness Day - see shared sign up for the wellness activity
Thursday, January 4
Friday, January 5
Announcements
Thank you:
Reminders:
The end of the 2nd quarter is January 11. 2nd quarter grades, IEP progress reports and RIMP updates are due/sent home on January 18. Please make sure you have these dates in your plans and reports ready to send home.
Teacher workday is Friday, January 12 to help you complete grades and reports. The day will start at 8:00 am at the high school with a message from Dr. Fritz.
An email was sent before break to sign up for 2nd semester observations, formal and informal. Please send your dates and times as soon as possible!
The district technology survey was sent out this week. ALL staff members need to complete this survey. The information will only make our access to technology and services better. It also collects the information on the device you are currently using. This information is needed if you want a device update in the near future!
Let me know as soon as possible if you are interested in signing up for the Gifted Article study professional development. An email was sent to you before break with the details.
Words of Wisdom and Action..............................
The turn of the calendar always makes us reflect and think what we might do differently. I want you to think about how you will continue to improve your teaching, what new strategy you will risk trying, new book you might read, an observation of a colleague you complete to see how he/she teaches a skill, or whatever else it might be for you to improve.
Learning as We Go
Allison Behne
A DirecTV commercial shows a man on his computer. As he works, you hear, “Stop! You have reached the end of the Internet. You have seen all there is to see. Please go back now.” This commercial makes me consider the unattainability of that task. The amount of information on the Internet makes it impossible to surf every page and reach “the end.” In fact, there are more than 1 billion websites, and that number only continues to grow. There is always something new to see or read on the World Wide Web—much like there is always more to learn about teaching.
No two students are alike, and therefore, we’ll never have a single program or practice that always works. We are not able to finish reading a text and say, “We have reached the end of all there is to know about teaching” because that is simply not possible. There is always something new to learn that will help us better meet the needs of our students. Because of this, we cannot afford to “stop” and become complacent. Instead, we must actively pursue new knowledge that will strengthen our practice. We can do this in many ways:
- Collaborate with colleagues and inquire about what they are doing.
- Read the latest literature and research to uncover new thinking.
- Read the “best” literature. Although it is important to stay up to date with the latest, we must also remember that many great books are not new.
- Ask questions and seek answers that aid in our instructional decision making.
- Challenge practices that are not producing the results our students deserve.
- Attend conferences to reenergize, meet new colleagues, and gain new information.
True growth happens when we step outside our comfort zones and are brave enough to make changes we know we should. It also happens when we seek personal growth and deeper learning in well-known areas. As we open our minds to learn from other teachers, from our students, from our students’ parents, and from the community at large, we grow in our practice. It is advantageous that we will never reach “the end,” because that means that under our instruction, our students won’t either.