Principal's Newsletter
April 5th, 2019
WOWs
Shout out to all staff especially Mr. Moersch during dismissal on Thursday in the rain. It was rough doing bus by bus at the front door but you nailed it!!--Jennifer
WOW to Nikki! Girl you are my food truck Goddess! You are a great friend and keep real when I need it. I’m lucky to have you as a coworker and friend! --Tessa
WOW to Brandy just for being you! You make my dark days brighter! ~ Tessa
WOW to Matt!! Matt is always so friendly and when he has a spare moment in between lunches he is stopping in the office to deliver boxes where they need to go and he is always willing to help wherever needed! It’s no wonder you are Support Staff of Year! ~ Tessa
WOW to Jane and Jennifer you girls have been a huge support as I’m trying to get myself back together. Love my squad! ~ Tessa
WOW to Dione and Christina for all the extra work they took on while I was out! You ladies are the best! --Makenzie
Thank you to my First Grade team and Stefanie McCoy for everything they did for me while I was recovering from foot surgery. I appreciate you all so much! ~JoAnn
WOW to Megan, Brittany, Ronna, Linda, Cyndy, Rita, and Cheryl for being so flexible and helping support students while I was out recovering from surgery. I really appreciate each and every one of you! --Carrie
WOW to Angeline for always acknowledging and saying hello no matter how busy you are! Your smile makes our hallways brighter!--Megan
Thanks to Heather Persons for always texting and checking on me. I think the stress shows a little more than I would like to admit. ~ Tessa
WOW to Cassie for making MAP testing posters and door signs! Your assistance is greatly appreciated- I donut know what I would have done without itJ Dr. OH
WOW to Katelyn, Cassie, Ayesha, and VS for working together to support a student. Thank you! Dr. OH
WOW to the office ladies- you all go above and beyond to help us all! Thanks for all you doJ Dr. OH
WOW to the Heplers for making our Cardinals luncheon available. Jane thanks for contacting staff, collecting money, and picking up food. Clark, thanks for volunteering your time to cook the dogs on the grill! Dr. OH
WOW to Shelly Gotsch and Kristen Cuneo for having some reflective conversations with me around One Year’s Growth data! Thanks- Dr. OH
WOW to Dione for being supportive and encouraging a work-life balance! Dr. OH
WOW to Chris for organizing Field Day! I am excited to see the kids cut loose and have fun- Dr. OH
WOW to Shanna for jumping in with me on making some changes to the Learning Commons! I can’t wait to see the transformation! Thanks for all your hard work and vision J Dr. OH
WOW to the recess teachers for helping 1st grade students learn how to get in line quickly and quietly! You are AWESOME and we appreciate you! Angie Regan
WOW to our EDCs for helping to lead out our first Blue Sky meeting.--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Cassie and Greg for attending a great day of learning. It was great conversation and ideas to help our students and staff. --Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Greg Vest for advocating for transportation for a student. --Dr. DeWeese
Class List
As shared with the EDCs at our last meeting teachers will need to create a post it for any student on your current class roster who has not been placed on a list for next year. You are only making a post it for students who have not been placed. Below are the requirements for the post its.
Post It Expectations
- Blue post it for boys and pink for girls
- For reading and math please indicate the student's level with H-high, A- Average, L-Low
Please bring the post its to PLC on April 17th. Administration will create post its for the students who have already been placed. You can view the list with the link below. If there is anything you think needs to be addressed on the list we will do that at the April 17th PLC meeting.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13tUJN0N6w_ghNIR6n_koBdLggAJ8uriiYnHZ0VujQAA/edit?usp=sharing
Classroom Environment
Today I had the opportunity to hear from an expert who has spent the last year researching the 15 best ways take a proactive approach to student behavior and to the mental health crisis in our nation. One of the practices that he has spent time researching was the classroom environment and what he called, highly decorated classrooms. He shared that during a study of 6 different kindergarten classrooms the children were taught science lessons on material that had not been previously taught. At the conclusion of the study they found that children in highly decorated classrooms were more distracted, spent more time off task, and learned less than if they were in classrooms with minimal decorations. The percentage of time off task in the decorated classroom was 38.6% and in the non-decorated classroom it was 28.4%. That is a BIG difference! He spoke about how the physical space can actually trigger students rather than comfort students.
I thought as we start to wind the year down and begin to pack, reorganize, or move rooms it was perfect timing to share his research. The photo above is an example of what he also shared. I want to encourage you to really think about your classroom environment.
- Are there clear paths for students to move?
- Are the materials easy to access?
- Are the kids using all the anchor charts?
- Did your students get any say in how the room is decorated?
- Is your room culturally relevant?
- Would you want to be a student in your classroom?
He shared what he called a classroom audit checklist. I had to recreate it because he didn't give it to us in a format that was easy to share so I have linked it below. I have also linked a few articles that have come my way in the past few weeks. I LOVE to organize and clean and there are others in the building who love that too. I know cleaning and organizing can seem daunting, but if you want help or if you want someone to come and audit your classroom using the checklist let me know.
You all typically spend a TON of time decorating your classrooms so take some to reflect. Could you spend that time in other ways? Could the wall to wall decor be put on your "stop doing" list for next year? Do you want to see some classrooms that have a calm and clutter free environment? Reach out. We are happy to help you weed through the things that you don't need.
Room for Improvement
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Gqof09_Df2EVWNr-sOoKBw7fj_v5d2rI
Declutter Your Classroom
Classroom Audit Checklist
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19838YyVpbHxfdiJtgk_68ynfFJDvLKh4KGm_7Qnh6Lk/edit?usp=sharing
Student Survey
Adults at my school listen to me I feel included in decisions at my school I feel included in my classroom I feel respected and valued in my school One thing that would make my school better is…. One thing I would want my teacher/principal to know is….
EDC, STUCO, ITS Position
This year an extra duty committee was formed and there are changes going to the Board of Education on April 11th around extra duty. I will keep you posted on those changes pending board approval.
Save the Date for May 18th- End of the Year Staff Celebration
Positive Parent Email
Ms. Barth,
When we were first getting Eli ready for kindergarten I was sure that the screenings were just him being silly and that he was fully prepared for the journey ahead. I was appalled when you helped me come to the realization that he certainly wasn’t ready and was in fact behind. I was so angry at the pre-K teachers and at myself for not being more on top of what was going on with him and I was terrified that he would never catch up.
Our first parent/teacher conference was rough for me. It was further affirmation that we had a lot of work to do to set him up for success in later grades and I left almost in tears thinking about how hard this was going to be for both him and I, but I remember something that you told me in that conference. Eli had been crying in class because it was hard and I remember you telling me that you had told him that, we weren’t going to cry because something was hard if it was hard that meant our brain was growing and that was what we were here for so we certainly weren’t going to cry about it…and you were right, tears from him or me were not going to fix this.
After that meeting we made a great team, you were amazing at giving us exercises, tips, tricks, extra worksheets to supplement his growth at home. You also provided continuous encouragement and praise to Eli and, by proxy, us as we moved through the quarter. When second quarter report cards came out there was progress, but not as much as we as parents had been hoping to see. This time you assured us that this was great progress and that with as far behind as he had started, he was doing great. So, we stayed the course and continued to work with him.
As third quarter was ending, things seemed to be getting easier for him. He was able to count to 100 and knew all three quarters of sight words. Still, I braced myself for conferences and tried to set my expectations realistically. This time, I was again on the verge of tears, but for a very different reason. Eli had 3s in every single category. He was reading on grade level and doing great in math. He was right where he was supposed to be. We were shocked and thrilled.
People always talk about how teachers change the world and are the creators of the future. These statements are so true and in a mere matter of months I watched you change our world and shape Eli’s future. Unfortunately, there is not a word I can find in the English language which can express the immense amount of gratitude we have for you. Grateful and thankful just pale in comparison to the feeling that we have when we think of all that you have done for Eli.
I wish that there was a way to reward teachers like you in the education system. As our family well knows, teachers like you are not compensated nearly enough for the time, energy, effort, and ultimately results (high functioning smart humans) that they produce.
We received bonuses in the corporate world this month for a great year of revenue growth and market share increases, but we never would have been able to produce those results without teachers like you in the world. It’s not much and it certainly is not enough, but we wanted to share in some of that bonus with you. We are happy to fund your project as a small token of our appreciation for everything that you have done for Eli and our family this year.
Sincerely,
Jason and Brittany Woods
Surplus and Summer Room Usage
The district Summer School Program and the district Extended School Year Program will be housed at Harvest Ridge this summer. At this time we are working with the summer school administrators to determine the space needed for both programs. We are also working on the scrub schedule based on the use of these classrooms. We will keep you posted as we know more about the room usage and scrub.
Room assignments will be complete once we finish certified staff hiring.