BARBER BULLETIN
FEBRUARY 6-10
LEADER IN ME
This week we will begin recognizing students that demonstrate the 7 Habits. Each staff member will find a student recognition pad in his/her box. Please use this ticket to celebrate students! Here's how we hope it might look.....
Collins was having a tough time having all of her materials for instruction. Therefore, in an effort to be better prepared, she gathered everything she needed to be successful before she went to bed. She remembered to pack a pencil in her bookbag and make sure her mom signed her agenda. She also completed all of her homework and put her clothes out the night before - remembering to wear tennis shoes because she had PE the next day. At school, she showed that she was in charge of herself by having a great day! Way to be proactive!
The teacher notices that Collins was prepared for class and affirms her by writing a ticket and giving it to Collins to take to the office. Collins brings the ticket and slides it into the birdcage that is hanging in the lobby. When Mrs. Khouri and/or Mrs. Janice notice Collins with the ticket, they also give her immediate affirmation by sharing a pencil with her! The pencil says, "I was caught being a leader today!" At the end of the month, Collins is in the running for her name to be pulled from the birdcage for a special prize!
Also, don't forget to think about what student you would like to nominate for the upcoming Pancakes with the Principal! Your team leader can share more - a google doc is already available for you to share this student's name! The event will be held at the end of each month, the first event being Monday, February 27 at 8:30am for students and their parents.
Thank you for teaching and living the habits with fidelity!
Meet Ms. Jeeter, our new Career Development Facilitator!
Ms. Jeeter has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Social Work with a minor in leadership from Columbia College and a Master of Social Work from the University of South Carolina. She recently obtained her certification as a Global Career Development Facilitator from Coastal Carolina in 2014 and has been serving a variety of industries from business to nonprofit sector doing professional development. Professionally, she has served as a Career Coach at Columbia College and the Goodwill Job Connection for the last 4 years. Her dedication to the world of work and professional development awarded her the Top 20 under 40 in 2015. Currently, she is pursuing an Education Specialist Degree in Adult Education with emphasis on teaching and learning with hopes of entering my Doctorate of Education in 2018.
As an Elementary Career Development Facilitator, the opportunities for collaboration and innovation are endless and she looks forward to working with you.
Building Empathy
We know how important empathy is to building inclusive, safe and supportive classrooms for all learners. The district has partnered with The Teachers Guild, a nonprofit free online community for educators, to design new solutions to questions they care about. Richland Two is the core partner in this collaboration. With The Guild’s creative problem-solving process, we’re hoping we can generate many new ideas on building empathy across the district.
The goal is to have 5-10 teachers from each school to participate, particularly those who are interested in social emotional learning and creating inclusive learning spaces.
What does participation look like?
Teachers who participate commit to submitting a solution in the first phase of the project, called Ideate, and then building it out further in the next phase, called Build. They also have the option to implement an exciting project called This Is Me and I Matter, a national campaign for empathy brought to us through The Guild, Michelle Obama’s Better Make Room initiative, and Facebook’s inspirEd initiative. All of the in-person events will be held after school dismissals and teachers may post their ideas online at their convenience. Further details are listed below:
Phase one: IDEATE:
When: Feb. 14 - Mar.7
What: Post a contribution during the Ideate phase; participate in in-person brainstorming events
Time involved: 2-7hrs
Phase two: BUILD:
When: Mar.7- Mar. 28
What: Refine ideas; attend in-person prototyping events. (Participation in Ideate is required in order to participate in this phase.)
Time involved: 5-10hrs
Ongoing: This Is Me and I Matter
When: Feb.1-April 15
What: Pull out students to share 10-20 second videos sharing details about who they are and what they want others to know. Submit videos via the hashtag #KnowMyStory
Time involved: Max 1 hour with students
Why participate?
Teachers who jump in will have the opportunity to have their idea funded by the district, their work showcased through The Guild, and they’ll learn new methods to support their practice.
Do they have come up with new ideas to share?
Teaches may submit ideas they’ve already been working on or design a new idea.
Teams?
Teachers can work collaboratively in teams or, if it’s easier, they can approach this project on an individual basis.
Are you interested? Please notify K.Barber and sign up using this link https://goo.gl/B4j0SF. It is my hope that Pontiac will have strong participation and we are excited about the new ideas and strategies that will come from this project!
Techie Time with Turner
Cheryl will be visiting classrooms each week. The purpose of her visits is to have a better understanding of what is going on in the classroom at each grade level and determine professional development needs. During grade level meetings, she will be able to better serve your needs, knowing the content and pedagogy. She will be filling out a form that will give you feedback and suggestions on an individual basis, allowing for a more personalized approach to PD.
She will be sending you an invite for the time she will be visiting. Thank you for welcoming her into your classroom!
A LOOK AT OUR WEEK AHEAD
Ms. Turner will visit grade level planning to help support content and technology.
HAVE YOU SIGNED YOUR LETTER OF INTENT TO RETURN TO THE DISTRICT FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR? Remember, it is online this year!
SOUPER Bowl Monday!
Please consider making a donation to support (6) Rice Creek families devastated by a recent apartment fire. A donation opportunity will be in the lounge with the soups.
Each grade level/department will share a soup for everyone to enjoy!
Leader in Me student recognition begins!
3rd grade field study to Freedom Train
3:30pm Staff Meeting
Tuesday:
Club Pictures!
Jennifer Gillespie and Sonya Ramsue will be off campus at a Differentiated Instruction workshop.
Technology Audit - please make sure all devices are on campus and easy to locate!
7:30am Tech Team meeting
6:00pm Montessori Advisory Council meeting
Wednesday:
4th grade field study to Philharmonic
8:30am-11:30am APs at a meeting off campus
Thursday:
Interims - Grades should be updated in Parent Portal
Barber, Swick, and Whitney off campus at a Leader in Me workshop
PDS conference (Morgan, Johnson, Price are presenting!)
Friday:
6:00pm Daddy/Daughter Dance
Saturday:
11:00am LEGO Robotics presents at the Richland County Library