Monday Memo
January 4, 2016
From the Principal......
Hello Everyone! I hope you all have enjoyed your break and made many special memories with your friends and family! The new year always brings about new commitments, new goals, and the general feeling of wanting to start a new. The glorious thing about human nature is that we are resilient! Some of you may have seen my post this weekend about my word for the new year. This year my word is Resilient. It's appropriate for both my personal and my professional life at this time.. I happen to think it also describes you all as a staff! This month will mark my 4th year at Arthur. In the past 4 years, we've made through some incredible changes. You have demonstrated your professionalism and your resiliency time and time again. I am so proud of you all, and I am especially honored to be a part of the great things that you do everyday for students! As we go into the new year, please know that my wish and hope for you all is that you'll always know how appreciated you are, that you'll always feel that you belong and are a part of something special. I also want to take a moment to say thank you!. Thank you for the the encouragement and support so many of you have expressed as I worked to finish my dissertation. Thank you to all of you who constantly ask what you can do to help. Thank you to those who stop in just to give or get a hug of encouragement for the day. You have no idea, how much that is often needed and appreciated. Thank you, for understanding that this year has been stressful and quite a test of endurance for all of us as we adjust to our new environment and expectations. Thank you for being there for each other as friends and colleagues. I see the support and encouragement you give to one another and it is simply amazing! Here's to a great 2016....lets make it our best yet!
Returning from Break...
- Review and reinforce common area school-wide procedures
- Take time to repeat and hold accountable
- Incentivize, Recognize and Reward students who are meeting expectations
- Model the behaviors you want students to emulate
Urban Teacher Preparation Academy & Field Experiences
The Urban Teacher Preparation Academy (UTPA) prepares pre-service teachers to better serve diverse students in high need Oklahoma City urban public schools. The program places selected upper-level education majors in Oklahoma City Public elementary, middle, and high schools for a yearlong student teaching experience. This is followed by a two-year induction process that includes monthly specialized professional development opportunities and ongoing mentoring by specially trained OKCPS teachers and administrators. We are excited to host our first UTPA Intern/Student Teacher this semester. Taylor Neal is a student teacher from the University of Oklahoma. She will be working with Carrie Price as her cooperating teacher. Please welcome her as you meet her around campus in this week.
We also anticipate field experience students from both UCO and OU this spring. We will keep you posted as these students are assigned. Thank you for always being willing to host and mentor our future educators!
Report Card Posting
Grades should be posted by close of business on Thursday January 7, 2016. There are 44 days in Quarter 2. We will print report cards on Friday, January 8th for administrator review. Report cards will be sent home in the following Thursday Folders.
Dreambox Learning
Our site license has been set up with Dreambox Learning. Ms. Wood and I will have the welcome conference call this week. We are expecting a 90 minute training webinar for next week so that we can implement quickly. You all might have received an email from Dreambox Learning with login directions, please wait for instructions about using your single sign on credentials provided by the district. This will prevent any confusion later with having two different login procedures. At this time all of our students will have accounts set up. IF your class is faithfully using Think Through Math, you may choose to wait on using Dreambox Learning until after testing. We will discuss implementation ideas with each grade level during PLC's on January 12 and develop a plan that make sense for each grade based on your needs.
Reminders and Information
- Faculty Meetings Resume January 5, 2016
- PLC's Resume January 12, 2016
- Safey Drills ~ Fire, Tornado, & Intruder (Thursday/Friday)
- February 9, 2016 Family Literacy Night
- Technology Show Case Febuary 19 8:30-11:30am
Results of School Climate Survey for Teachers
Thanks you for your feedback! It is much appreciated!