Springhill Style
Springhill Elementary Staff Announcements
October 7, 2019
Vision
Standout: with Strong Hearts and Strong Minds
Mission Statement
"Think Opportunity, Not Obligation" -Principal Brewer
I have had several interactions this week with a parent who was for lack of better words, just not very nice to us. Now, I thought in my mind that she had no right to be, not so nice, to me and that we or I was doing her a favor and we or I was helping her and how dare she be upset with us. I quickly figured out though that the only thing that mattered here was the child/children involved. I/we needed to have a relationship with this parent in order to be able to help the student. So no matter how I felt or what I really wanted to say to her that wouldn't really help anyone but me.
I decided to call her back and I discovered a much bigger issue at play and realized that her, not so niceness, had nothing to do with us and it was about much bigger things that were going on. After visiting with her for a while, I now believe she will let us help her family. I just think how differently this situation could have went if we or I had responded to her with defensiveness and argued with her if we had ruined that relationship with her. We have to be very careful and remember that ALL of our families and students have very different needs and that sometimes a cry for help comes in unexpected ways.
My chapter this week from Principal Brewer was titled, "Think Opportunity, Not Obligation."
He discussed a lot in this chapter and one of the points was that while our world has changed so much our schools in relation have not. He talked about our students' needs and the opponents that they encounter these days. He encouraged us as educators to think outside the box and do things differently to reach them and help them, even if it isn't what we have always done or what we think SHOULD be done ... to do this regardless of their circumstances or what we THINK will happen ... I made several connections to my experiences this past week.
"You don't get to pick and choose children you will teach today. You don't get to decide who comes through the door. You can't know who will succeed and who will not. I've heard far too many times from adults that "This student has no chance in my accelerated class," or "I can't connect with that child," or "That child won't listen!" "Those children." ... Our job, our mission, our legacy is to advocate for every single one of them and ensure that all children have the opportunity to succeed in fulfilling their goals and dreams. Our students deserve our best -- every day. We must not accept excuses from ourselves or others for giving anything less. Business leaders and sports coaches often say they don't ask anything from their employees or athletes that they wouldn't give or do themselves. As educators, do we hold ourselves accountable to that same standard? Do you model the expectation of excellence for students?"
pg. 89 Principal Brewer
Important
The line will begin to form around 6:50pm for the 7:00pm game. Each school will have a section to fill for the spirit line. Please let me know who would like to make a banner with SES on it. We are working on some free stuff for the kids that come out for the spirit line and maybe some prizes throughout the night. We are hoping that it is a big turnout with lots of Blue and White for those football players to run through! We will send out a map of where each school's section will be soon.
StandOUT Award
Ms. Henry passed the StandOUT to Mrs. Wilson.
"I am giving this award to someone who always goes the extra mile to help her kids. She is very receptive to suggestions and flexible when I have to pull her kids. She is a team player and does whatever it takes to help her kids become champions. Thank you Mrs. Wilson"
Announcements
Announcements:
- Just a reminder to please be mindful of the systems in our building and the importance of being on time. I know you all are working so hard and sometimes you get busy in the moment. However, in order for all our systems to run smoothly this is a critical piece. It is in these small (but crucial) details that champion schools are made and run!
- Annual Title 1 Report to the Public at 5:00 PM is on Tuesday at Central Office
- Fall Festival Jean week. Pay Ms. Sharon! $5 a day or $20 for the week.
- PTO meeting is Tuesday and PAC will meet at 3:15 if you are on that committee then we will meet in the conference room. We will need to figure our coverage for you room so please email Mrs. West and myself possible solutions for this and if you have afternoon duty then please arrange to have that covered.
- Attendance Reward Friday- Students who missed 2 or less days for the nine weeks will have extra recess with the Principals on Friday. We will send out a schedule for this and Panther Store this week! Please ensure that your students are graphing their attendance each day and reviewing their attendance goals.
- Harding University Pied Pipers will perform for K and 1 on Wednesday the 9th. 1:30-2:00 for Kindergarten and 2:20-2:50 for first grade
- Exciting News- Through a partnership with the Museum of Discovery we are going to get to host a STEAM parent night on November 4th. This is an extra parent night in addition to our Christmas Open house and Wellness Night. The good news is that the Museum of Discovery will be doing the event for us. They will do a 30 min science show and then have some hands on stations set up for parents and students to do as well. You are NOT required to work this night as it is an extra night. The leadership team will be helping to facilitate with set up and take down and could use a few volunteers to help if you are able. Please email Mrs. West and myself if you are available to volunteer. We will be sending out more details closer to the event but please go ahead and put this on your news!
- Pineapple Board! -
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z0We4cQiMVJk4OtgV0LZ_ByqZHE2dFYnwQSJl-xiHrE/edit?ts=5d8e8048
- SIT will meet on Tuesday. 3-5 it is your week to update and 3-5 will progress monitor.
- Don't forget to see ways you can earn points for your team! - They are listed below.
- Sign Up for Fall Festival - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MsryG0L1smhgwgQ9UzB7vXlozFFWvE35eQrOt_x9Zzo/edit#gid=0
- Team meetings will be Wednesday. Agendas are on the Springhill Site and we will be Vertical for 3-5.
- Student Conversations on Friday during your lunch recess. We will be finishing up assessment wall updates and sharing out of focus students.
- Shuttle Bus will leave at 3:10. Ms. Sharon will call for them at 3:08 ... make sure you are aware of which students will be leaving at this time! Set an alarm on your phone if you have trouble remembering to send them.
- Westside Kids Day Out Van will pick up at 3:20pm- Please send them at 3:18
- Kiddieville Van will pick up after busses at 3:35pm- Send them out with our bus riders
- Please make sure your I Can statements are posted and you are referring to them during your lesson and ensuring your students understand the success criteria.
- Don't forget to post lesson plans and newsletter to the shared google classroom
Springhill Olympics - Ways to Earn Points
Congrats to our Winning Teams! Let the games continue!
- Attendance Challenge for StandOUT teams: The StandOUT team with the best percentage of attendance for the month of October will earn points for their team! First place earns 5 points, Second Place earns 3 points, and Third Place earns 1 point.
- At the end of the month we will add up the points to award medals for the month! We will award medals each month and will have an end of year medal count as well! These Olympic Games will last ALL school year!!
TOOL BOX
Save the Dates
October 7-11 - Fall Festival Jean Week - $5 a day or $20 for the week
October 8th - PAC meeting @ 3:15
October 8th - PTO meeting @ 3:45
October 10th - Lil Dribbler Parent Meeting @ 6:00
October 10th - 5th Grade Field Trip
Oct 11 - End of first nine weeks
Oct. 11 - Panther Store
Oct. 11 - Homecoming - Pack the Panther Pathway!!
Oct 14 - 18 - ACT Aspire Interim 1
Oct. 15- 1st Nine Weeks Awards Ceremony
October 19th - Fall Festival Games
Oct 22 - 1:30 Dismissal time (Elementary PD in buildings)
Oct 24 - 1:30 Dismissal Time - P/T Conferences 2:00 - 7:00 PM
October 26th - Fall Festival Coronation
Oct. 29- K Pumpkin Patch Trip
Oct. 28-Nov. 1 - Red Ribbon Week
Oct. 30th - Flu Shot Clinic
Oct. 31- Book Character Parade, Kona Ice purchase
Nov. 4 - Museum of Discovery STEAM Night