Monday Memo
Week of November 4th, 2019
In case you missed it.....
Halloween Door Decorating
Reading in Grade One
Baker's Bistro
Important Dates
Monday, November 4th - Day 3
- 8:15am - Howson team meeting (Heather, Kathy, Katie, Jenn)
- 3:30pm - Staff meeting in Holly's room; thank you to Holly and Noel for providing snacks
Tuesday, November 5th - Day 4
- All day - Jenn out on a personal day; Heather is teacher in charge
- am - Photo retakes in the gym (the gym will be unavailable for the first hour or so while this is happening)
- 3:20pm - feel free to drop in to the library after school to connect with your colleagues about setting up family interview times.
Wednesday, November 6th - Day 5
- All day - Noel and Jenn out at Equity training; Heather is teacher in charge
Thursday, November 7th - Day 1
- 9:30am - Lockdown practice with Constable McCurdy
Friday, November 8th - Day 2
- Progress reports/IEP's/Safety Plans sent home; PLEASE ALSO SEND HOME INTERVIEW TIMES FOR EACH STUDENT WITH THE PROGRESS REPORT.
Some important information for this week....
Edsby, Twitter and Instagram
Thank you again for all you are doing to communicate with parents using Edsby! As you have probably seen, I love to post pictures as often as I can. Given that in order to publish on Edsby you have already screened for any students that can't be posted, with your permission I may "steal" some of the pictures you post on your home page for Twitter and Instagram. If you'd rather I didn't post them in a more public way, please let me know.
Math PLC's
At our staff meeting on Monday, we will be reviewing the final Math School Improvement Plan that your SIT has put together. It's very exciting - I think you'll appreciate their hard work. We have also put together a comprehensive plan that involves professional learning for the year. Our first Math PLC will take place on November 15th. Each homeroom teacher and ECE will be released for 100 minutes. I have done my best to keep you in grade alike groups (as per your preference), but it wasn't always possible when it came to avoiding prep times. Please see the attached schedule and let me know as soon as possible if there are any issues. Thanks!
School Morale
Thank you to everyone for your terrific school spirit in decorating the doors for Halloween! Congratulations to Room 05 for your winning door. Now that we're heading into November, our committee has a few other things planned. Later this month, there will be the chance to get together after school (for those interested) to be involved in Sign Making (with support from Heather). More details and the date to follow soon. As well, we would like to host our first Pedal for Hope fundraising lunch on Thursday, November 14th (at 1pm). For $10, you can join in on pizza and Caesar salad fun :) I will place a poll on Edsby for you to choose either Pepperoni, Vegetarian or Hawaian pizza. After the cost of food has been paid - all extra funds will be placed in a "Pedal for Hope" account. This will support our overall fundraising total when the team comes to visit in May. If this lunch goes well, we'll try to do one fundraising pizza/salad lunch each month.
Can you help ME with MY professional learning?
Now that you've all submitted your Annual Learning Plans, I wanted to let you know that I am focusing on my professional learning as well. There is always so much new to learn! This year, I am involved in Positive School Discipline online learning with Christina Cook, as well as a project with Superintendent Joe Tompkins, to learn more about how I can grow and improve as a Principal. As you know, one of my key roles is to support you in all the work you do! My focus with Supt. Tompkins is learning more about Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) which refers to a staff's shared belief that through your collective actions, you can positively influence student outcomes. I am asking for your support in completing a short survey (it will only take you about 2 minutes - I promise!). Your answers are completely confidential.... I have no idea who responds (I promise it is all anonymous!). Please know each question is about ME - helping ME to know what I need to learn more about to help you. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them! The link to the survey is: https://forms.gle/QnGKTs21ebSdPaYZ9. Thanks for helping me to grow :)
IEP's
Now that we're through the initial writing of IEP's, the hard work is here....teaching to the IEP's. At the staff meeting we will be talking about tracking goals (in non-academic areas). If you have checked "PWD" on the report card, this MAY mean we need to look at starting an IEP or moving from ACC to MOD. This is not always the case, but if a child is having difficulty at this time we should be putting a plan in place to support their learning from now until February. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you will be starting or changing an IEP.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
Thanks to everyone for working on getting your interview schedules up and running. On Monday, November 18th, I will order pizza and drinks to be delivered at 5pm for those staying late to interview. Please feel free to come down and get something to eat when you can. A reminder I will also be at school until 6:30pm on November 20th, and am available before and after school most days from 7:45am to 5pm.
In order to support booking family times close together, you are invited to come to the library on Tuesday after school. This will give you time to connect with others and plan sibling interviews closer together. If this time doesn't work for you, please find a way to connect with the teachers of siblings. Please hand in a copy of your interview schedule as soon as you have it complete.
Lockdown Drill
On November 7th at 9:30am, we will be having our first Lock down drill. Please review the Emergency Preparedness Plan you were given in your start up package for specific procedures - there is also one in the emergency bags on the doors. If you have any questions about the protocol, please let me know before November 7th.
“Touch base” students
Just a reminder to ensure that you take the time to say hi, have a little chat and/or check in with your special “touch base” student that you selected back on the PA day at the end of September. Checking in with these students regularly can make a HUGE difference!
Capital budget requests for furniture
This is your last chance to let me know if you have any requests from capital budget for furniture!
SERT Schedule
Attached to this Monday Memo, please see Heather's SERT Schedule. You will see she has blocked in time for the four roles of the SERT: Targeted Withdrawal (intervention groups), Coaching/Co-teaching, Case Management and School Team Meetings. Right now you'll notice that we have Empower (Grades 3 - 6) and LLI (Grade 2 -3) up and running in the targeted withdrawal time. Currently, Heather is coaching/co-teaching in Grade 1 and Grade 3/4. This will continue for another few weeks and then she will switch to other classes. Please let us know if you have any questions!
School Improvement Plan
Here comes measurement! Time sure is flying, isn't it?! Just a reminder that along with the strand focus, ensuring a number focus is in place daily is also really important. We will be talking more about this during our PLC time.
Now that measurement is here, are you ready with your new learning goal and success criteria? Have you considered touching base with a grade alike partner to align your thinking? Remember learning goals and success criteria are critical for students to understand what they are learning as well as the foundation for your feedback and peer to peer feedback.
In the next few days, I'll prepare a measurement "Mrs. Sampson's Excellent Adventure". Please feel free to use it however it best suits you. If I can be involved in any way (coming by to hear the results, receiving student work so that I give written feedback, etc.) I am more than happy to support!
Upcoming Dates to Keep in Mind...
November 11th - Remembrance Day
November 18th - 22nd - Bully Prevention and Intervention Week
November 21st - School Council Meeting with Supt. Mangold re: proposed Crestwood Intermediate (6:30pm in the library)
November 22nd - PA Day (morning Math, afternoon Equity and Diversity)
November 28th - Meeting at Crestwood SS at 6:30pm regarding the proposed Crestwood Intermediate School
Just one more thing.....
Jennifer Sampson
Email: jennifer_sampson@kprdsb.ca
Website: https://kawarthaheights.kprdsb.ca/
Location: 11 Kawartha Heights Boulevard, Peterborough, ON, Canada
Phone: 705-742-7521
Twitter: @KawarthaHPS