Skyland Peek at the Week
Week of October 7 - 11 (B WEEK)
Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry
This weekend at church we were having a great discussion in our serving small group and one of our leaders brought up a Christian philosopher who wrote an article about "Ruthlessly eliminating hurry" from your life. You know how sometimes you hear things and it immediately pulls on your heart. So of course, I had to go home and track down the article. (If you are interested in reading it, let me know and I'll email you the link.)
The article discussed that we live in a time period that is rich in things, but poor in time. Do you ever feel "time-poor?" Yall, this is me. And I have a feeling it is many of you, too! I think education in general is rich in things and poor in time. I don't care how many manipulatives or computer programs/technology or curriculum kits you buy me, I have found myself saying time and again, "I wish I just had one more hour each day with these kids to get everything done!"
But, so what? Do we just say that this is now just the way of the world or the state of education? What are the dangers of living a hurried life?
"For most of us, the great danger is ... that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them."
Phew. Talk about a moment of self-reflection for me. I can relate to this both personally and professionally. Do you ever feel like we are "skimming the surface" with our students, both academically and emotionally? How about with your own personal families?
So now is the bigger question. What can we do about it? Ruthlessly eliminate hurry. Think about this multiple times throughout your day. Is this a moment I need to slow down? Am I leaving anyone behind? Am I missing out on any joy this moment is supposed to provide? Do I need to say no to something in order to eliminate future hurry from my life?
I know this is all easier said than done. But I think that admitting we have a problem is the first step to recovery. (Wink, wink!) I challenge you to take some time to slow down and look for areas of your life to ruthlessly eliminate hurry. Is it here at school or at home? Little changes may be the difference between skimming the surface of our lives and living the life you all so deeply deserve!
Have a wonderful week and slow down and smell the pumpkin spice! :)
Dates Stafford is super duper sad that she will be out of the building
10/2 - Principal's Meeting
10/8 - State Board of Education Meeting in Columbia (Anyone have anything you want me to bring up to Molly Spearman? Wink, wink!)
10/11 - New Principal Meeting
10/15 - Principal IC Meeting
Reminders
SLOs
PTA Meeting
* Book Fair will be open from 2:30 - 6.
* 5th Grade DC trip meeting at 5:30.
* General PTA meeting at 6:00
* Beta Club Induction at 6:30
We could really use a few extra hands to stay for the Beta Club induction if possible to hand out cake and punch. We are inducting 54 5th graders into Beta Club for maintaining an A or A/B average during 4th grade. I am sure there will be a lot of parents and family members, so we would love any staff that would be willing to stay and help after the short induction ceremony.
Read Your Way to the Big Game - Clemson v. Carolina Reading Log Contest
To kickoff our competition for Read your way to the Big Game, we have a silly promo video to show your students on Monday. (See link below.) Please make sure you show it before Monday afternoon, as we will be coming around to hand out reading logs in the afternoon.
VIP and Me Breakfast
Y'all... I am really stressed out about how many people I think will be coming! If you are available to help that morning, even if it is only until 7:45, we really could use some extra hands directing our visitors, helping in the book fair/gym/cafeteria, assisting outside, and probably a million more things that will come up those two days. Thank you in advance for those of you that will be willing to help!
Guided Reading Groups
Educating Students About 911
Educating Students About 911
MEDCOM is now offering a 911 public education presentation to all schools in Greenville County. Participation is optional. If you are interested in a 911 public education presentation please contact Bob Mihalic bmihalic @greenvillecounty.org or 864-467-7055 to schedule a presentation. See attachment for additional information.
TypeTastic
Vision and Hearing Screenings (Repeat)
Vision Screenings will be in the Nurse's Office the week of Oct 7-Oct 11 during the hours of 0815-1115.
The Nurse will be available for emergencies only during these times.
To help things run smoothly please arrive on time and have your class in alphabetical order. Also, please have students bring books with them to quietly read to help with the noise in the atrium. Or, for the lower grades, consider bringing a few read alouds to do while you're waiting.
Noise in the atrium (REPEAT)
Hallway Displays (REPEAT)
So you're going to be out... (REPEAT)
* Text Leah and Holli ASAP (Leah - 719-640-0788, Holli 864-561-6225)
* Call the sub list if you are feeling up to it.
* Put it into the Sub Find system as soon as possible.
* Contact your grade level chair to make arrangements for plans and AM coverage.
EDP for Wednesday Meetings (REPEAT)
Reminders from Mase
-Please learn more about the numerous resources that are available to GCS employees through our Employee Assistance Program. It (ESPYR) offers a wide range of services. A few of the topics include relationship issues, financial matters, parenting, emotional issues and work problems. They also provide helpful articles and videos on less critical subjects such as healthy lifestyles, weight control, and recipes.
The website is ESPYR.com. The password for GCS employees is “GCS”. After logging in there are several categories of services listed. Click on the area of interest for more information.
ESPYR also offers professional development training for supervisors and employees. The classes are taught by certified individuals who are local to our area. Please let me know if you would like to view the 2019 training catalog.
-Just a reminder to teachers of grades 3-5. This year the walkie for recess is being stored and charged in my outer office room. The charger is on top of one of the file cabinets. Please remind your students that the walkie should not be returned to the front office. I hope this will save you time.
Reminders from Kenna
There will be a MasteryConnect PD opportunity on building and managing assessments on Tuesday, October 29 (2nd Tchr Workday/Exchange day) at Mauldin High School from 8:00-3:00. This will also count towards tech proficiency renewal credits! Here's the link to register:
https://pd.greenville.k12.sc.us/myPD.aspx?action=register&sessionid=162951
Verification Reports for grades 2-5 and Related Arts will be due the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 23. (With the end of Q1 being on Tuesday, Oct. 22, please plan ahead to have grades entered so that verification reports will be completed by 8:00am on Wednesday, Oct. 23.) Don't forget to insert the floor of 50 when needed and to use a comment stating that the grading floor has been applied. Directions for entering handwriting, printing verification reports, etc. can be found using this link. Please let me know if you need anything!
https://sites.google.com/a/greenvilleschools.us/powerteacher/
Reminders from Katelin
- The Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment window opens on September 16 and closes on December 6
- Grades K-5 - Enter fall instructional reading levels in RAS in the fall column.
- Grades K-5 - Replace the previous year's spring benchmark form with the updated fall instructional form.
- Kindergarten Teachers - Do not benchmark your students until they are a level A. If they are not reading at a level A, please wait and benchmark them as close to December 6th as possible.
Counselor's Corner - Reminders from Caitlyn and Chelsea
Please have all Terrific Kid names submitted to Mrs. Grigg by October, 11th (link below). This is open to ALL grades! 😊
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A9oeF2V6o23Z5KOXO5V63KLEBEj8UHZfVfTtwvmzGao/edit?usp=sharing
Important Upcoming Dates
October
10/7-10/11 - Book Fair
10/7 - 5th Grade DC Meeting (5:30), PTA General Meeting (6:00), Beta Club Induction (6:30)
10/7 - 10/18 - Basket Donations and Candy/Soda Wars
10/9 - Faculty Council
10/10 - VIP and Me Breakfast (Last names A-M)
10/11 - VIP and Me Breakfast (Last names N-Z)
10/14 - United Way Campaign at Skyland starts!
10/15 - Skate Night from 6-8 pm
10/16 - PD/Faculty Meeting
10/19 - Fall Festival 11 - 3 pm
10/21-25 - Red Ribbon Week
10/23 - No Meeting
10/25 - Best Day Ever Event
10/30 - PD/Faculty Meeting
Important Documents
Happy Birthday
October
14- Kathy Ensley, Special Education
15- Susan Menard, 3rd
16-Courtney Hagan, K5
16- Andrea Thomason, Nurse
18- Kenna Brannon, IC
19- Leah Stafford, Principal
19- Alice Prentice, Cafeteria
22- Sara LaPage, 2nd
Mrs. Stafford's Contact Information
Email: lstafford@greenville.k12.sc.us
Website: https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/skyland/
Phone: 8643557210
Twitter: @leahcstafford