Monday Memo
April 30th - May 4th, 2018
“Most of the world will make decisions by either guessing or using their gut. They will be either lucky or wrong.”- Suhail Doshi, CEO
At Ad Council last week, Dr. McDaniel shared that he would like to stop by and visit our campus one day in the next few weeks. It is his practice to visit every campus at least once a year, so please do not read anything into his visit. That being said, I told him that he was welcome at any time, so it is possible that he will pop into your classroom without warning and without an escort. If he does, please feel free to greet him and introduce him to your students.
We will have RTI meetings Tuesday, May 1st. We will meet in the Conference room during your grade level planning period to discuss your grade level Tier 3 students. If time allows, we will then discuss Tier 2 students.
RTI Aware forms must be completed for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students. All required fields must be completed, and you must click “save” for your information to be saved on the form. Upload all completed intervention logs into the RTI form in Aware. Copy and paste the template in the Meeting Summary section at the very bottom of each form. It is imperative that you fill in all information prior to our meeting.
I'm so excited to report that 41 people are planning to go to La Hacienda Ranch. My hope is that they will save the back area where we normally meet, but I won't know until I speak to them tomorrow. I'll let you know what they say as soon as I do.
On Friday, we will be hosting Watch DOG Lunches. We have some feedback that some dads think that this is only open to dads who are participating in the Watch DOG program. Please help us clear up any confusion and let your parents know in your newsletter this week that this opportunity is open to anyone who is available to attend.
Make today count, and take care of each other!
JL
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Welcome, Andrew Noble!
April 23, 2018
7lbs 14 oz
21.5 in
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Start, Stop, Continue
While you do not have to identify yourself on the form, this is not to be used an anonymous personal attack on anyone in this building. Unprofessional documents will be discarded. The goal is to give you an opportunity to be part of a solution. If you identify a problem, please also make a suggestion of how to fix the issue. We will review your input at the Team Leader What's Next Meeting and plan our next steps.
One special note - As in past years, the one thing that I can promise that will remain in place is our current Jeans Passes on Tuesdays. With that in mind, please refrain from requesting more casual days.
Please have this completed by Friday, May 11th.
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Calling All Presenters!!!
The Instructional Technology Team is looking for proposals from every grade level, PK-12 to share some of the innovative things you do every day in the classroom. I think sometimes when teachers are cloistered in their own classrooms they believe everyone knows how to do the things they do and they can’t bring anything new to the table. This could not be further from the truth. Everyone has a story to tell about their journey with innovation! Let me know if you have any questions, and please use this link to submit your proposal.
Enroll Now
Operation Converge 2018 is now listed in Eduphoria for registration! Teachers will receive their 6 hour GT update credit for both days of Converge. We have some exciting things planned for this innovative 2-day event. Check out the CONVERGE WEBSITE for more information on our plan for this summer and the link for breakout session proposals!
Don’t miss out! It’s going to be AMAZING!!
Links for registration:
Day 1-
https://eduphoria.mckinneyisd.net/wshop/default.aspx?cid=17156
Day 2-
https://eduphoria.mckinneyisd.net/wshop/default.aspx?cid=17157
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Instructional Rounds Update
The purpose of this practice is to learn from each other, and sometimes it is the simplest things we observe watching others that can dramatically change our whole world.
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Staff Appreciation on Thursday
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Action Items
- Make sure you have everything updated in Aware for the RtI Meeting by Monday, April 30th.
- Prepare for EOY T-TESS Conference
- If interested, schedule a massage time by 3:30pm on May 2nd.
- Submit Start, Stop, Continue by EOD Friday, May 11th.
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Shoparoo
Did you know that each week I give out jeans passes to the three highest scoring staff members on Shoparoo? I know that many of you have already joined, but if you haven't, it is not too late. Simply go to www.shoparoo.com to create your account. Please feel free to push this information out to your parents as well.
Congratulations to Barbara Peebles, Donna Fabian and Jennifer Little for being the highest three staff contributors to Shoparoo this week!
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Focus for 2017 - 2018
In order to help all children achieve their personal best, McGowen teachers and staff will:
- Knowledgeably speak about our current practices that contribute to McGowen becoming a Level 2 Certified High Reliability School.
- Engage in collaborative team planning and lesson design that addresses the four essential questions of a PLC.
- Present lessons in such a way that students understand and can speak knowledgeably about posted learning and language targets.
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Remind for Staff
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APPRECIATIONS
- Maria & Shana - Thank you for thinking ahead and being so proactive managing campus events. -JL
- JB & Shana - Thanks to already having an SSI plan in place so that you can hit the ground running tomorrow. -JL
- Donna - Thank you for all of the extra efforts you have had to put into closing out our budget this year. -JL
- SL - Thank you for being my partner and friend. I appreciate you so much! -JL
- Thank you 1st Grade Team for your collaboration regarding the chicks, T-TESS, Dyslexia, and RTI all at the same time. Love Laurie
- Kinder friends/Jaime- Thanks for always covering my duty when I get tied up in meetings at the end of the day! SL
- Donna- Thanks so much for your sweet act of kindness! It came at the perfect time! SL
- Shiela, MC, Jean & JL- thank you for all that you have done to help put a process in place for her dyslexia referrals! SL
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End of the Year Information
Duty
Stepping Up
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BAD DUDE
Please join us in congratulating Marley Goodwin as this week's Bad Dude! Marley goes above and beyond to ensure her students’ academic and behavioral success. This year, she has participated in the Apple Innovative Educator Academy, has shared great ideas with her team for I&E and took the lead on managing a plan for social skills lessons for the entire grade level. In addition, she has invested quite a bit of time and energy in helping JL manage the end of day behavior of one student who isn't even in her class. We appreciate all that she brings to not only her team but the campus as well.
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McKinney ISD's Vision, Mission and Beliefs
Any time we have an idea, concern, solution and/or comment, this is the filter through which we should speak. Let's help each other live up to our vision, mission, and beliefs.
Vision:
We are a cohesive, diverse community providing engaging learning experiences for all.
We will provide engaging learning experiences so students can become effective communicators, quality contributors and socially responsible citizens.
Beliefs:
- Partnerships between students, parents, community members and staff are foundational to educational success.
- Positive school culture and a safe environment foster growth.
- Everyone has inherent value and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Learning is an active process requiring engaging tasks and engaging minds.
- Relevant and authentic experiences ignite continuous, deeper learning.
- Meaningful relationships enrich learning.
- Confidence fuels risk taking and higher achievement.
- Financial stewardship ensures a tomorrow for education.