Principal's Newsletter
May 12th, 2017
WOWs
WOW to Cheryl O'Brien, you have the patience of a Saint! You are awesome working with some of our challenging students.--Linda Carr
WOW to Christina Pliske you are an excellent role model for teaching students to be responsible and respectful. You rock!!--Linda Carr
WOW to all the interventionist for being so flexible at the last minute on Friday to help cover classrooms when we had a bunch of no fills.--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Maggie McCarthy. When we decided to have teachers stand at buses this year there were two goals. We wanted to make sure we knew who was getting on the buses and we were hoping that teachers would take the time to build relationships with the kids on the bus and with the drivers. Thanks for taking the time to do that. Your request to keep your same bus made me smile.--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Shelly Gotsch and Shanna Bradley for completing changing their schedules and allowing a group of people use your space for a video studio.--Dr.DeWeese
WOW first grade for the great conversations this week about the literacy block.--Dr.DeWeese
WOW to Chris Rector. You are doing an awesome job communicating and getting everything organized for Field Day!--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Stacey Schuette for all of your amazing ideas! You are such a great resource to have in our building.--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to everyone who took the time to show the administrative team your appreciation for Principal Appreciation Day. You filled our cups!--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Jodi Fitzgerald, Angie Reagan, and Megan Brown for all your great ideas to improve parent volunteers for next year. --Dr. DeWeese
I would like to give a huge Wow for the awesome Camp Read A lot. The kids had a blast! The hot dogs & S'mores were delicious and the various activities were creative and fun.--Linda Carr
Thank you to Natalie, Angeline, and Katie for the treats this week for Teacher Appreciation Week! --Alicia Baehler
Thank you to the counselors for the Starbursts for Teacher Appreciation Week!--Alicia Baehler
Wow to Ms. Barth and her kindergarten class for being an AWESOME buddy class during MAP testing. You are so creative and kind, my kids loved it!--Betsy Arnold
Wow to Kristen Cuneo for taking on all the planning of our 3rd grade field trip. She did fantastic with all the details.--Betsy Arnold
Wow to admin, PTO, counselors, and interventionists for making teacher appreciation week incredible last week!--Angie Regan
Thank you to the principals for everything you all did for counselor and teacher appreciation week! It is a nice boost at the end of the year.--Sherry Reagan
Wow to Mrs. Fazio!!! I was super busy and she stepped right up to laminate items for Field Day that were needed asap!! Love our Office Team!!!--Tessa Golden
A huge shout out to Rob S, Laura P, Shanna B, and Kelly E for your help with putting all of the chairs away from last Thursday’s staff meeting!!!!--Jane Hepler
WOW to the 5th grade team for a great DARE graduation and celebration BBQ. I received a number of positive compliments from parents. --Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Jane for getting all of the supplies for the 5th Grade BBQ and helping with the set up for the DARE graduation!!! Thank you so much! ~5th Grade Team
WOW to Ruth, Tessa, and Jane for helping get parents signed in for the 5th grade event. We really appreciate all that you do for our grade level functions! ~5th Grade Team
WOW to Rita Lupo and Lauren Goodall for covering my bus when needed for meetings and a sick kiddo. Thank you! Megan Brown
WOW to Julie Myers for doing so much "behind the scenes" for field day! You are appreciated! Megan Brown
WOW to Tony Beer for regulating those who are struggling in or near their daily environment, thus keeping them out of the jungle , aka Room 5. Megan Brown
WOW to everyone who has been so welcoming this year. You have made my first year back into teaching/school worth the transition. Thank you! Megan Brown
WOW to Ruth and Megan Baker for helping with bus tickets this morning while the students went to visit Hollenbeck!!--Tessa
WOW Julia, Anne, Penny, Laura, Lindsey and Megan! Thank you for letting me have your adorable camping door décor for my summer school camping theme.--Melissa Barth
WOW to Julie Coombs! Thanks for seeking out duck eggs, taking your time to go and get them, and sharing two with me. QUACK QUACK!!--Melissa Barth
WOW to Megan Baker! Thank you for taking my bus duty so I could ready for the Off To Kindergarten night.--Melissa Barth
WOW to Lindsey, Greg, Angie and Megan for attending our 5th grade field trip so we would have enough chaperones!!! Thank you!
WOW to Cheri for organizing such a great field trip~fifth grade
WOW to Greg and Chris for helping with our 5th grade BBQ and grilling all of those hot dogs!~fifth grade
WOW to Special area for being so flexible to help accommodate the DARE graduation~fifth grade
WOW to Chris and Erica for setting up the sound system for DARE graduation~fifth grade
WOW to Greg Vest and Mrs. Mack for putting up with their room being a "time bomb" zone and spending extra time with a student after hours until they could be picked up. Megan Brown
WOW to every staff member who asked if help was needed Thursday. We appreciate you not just walking by and ignoring that serious disregulation was occurring. You are the ones who help to change the climate in the building. Thank you! Megan Brown
WOW to Chris Rector for all the hard work he has done and is doing for Field Day! The first one is always the hardest J. Swope
WOW to Susan Gorris, Julie Coombs, Melissa McCarthy, Shelly Gotsch and Melissa Barth: Thank you for all your work this year. You all go above and beyond to help your students. You are always willing to problem solve to find solutions. You go to extra meetings to make sure kindergarten has a voice. You work on writing and curriculum meetings to make sure we are aware of what is happening in the district. You go to sped meetings for incoming kindergarten students to share with the team. You help clean up the work room counter when making copies to make sure the room always looks clean. You eat lunch with your students to make them feel special. You send home extra items for your students so you and the parents work as a team to help them learn. You give up your Friday evenings to plan as a team and make sure everything is ready for the next week. You make being a kindergarten teacher fun. You are an AMAZING group of people to work with. Thank you for an awesome school year and here we come 2017-2018. –Kristen Schrameyer
WOW to Anne Behrens, I want you know that I appreciate all you do. You are always willing to help in every way. You help assess students to find out what they are missing and then make a plan to help them achieve their goal. You will jump in whenever needed to help and do it with a smile. No task is ever to small or too big. Thank you for being amazing and fun to work with. Have a relaxing summer and get rested for the next year. –Kristen Schrameyer
WOW to the Field Day Committee for planning an awesome day for everyone!--Dr. O-H
WOW to Stacey, Karen, and Jamie for getting together to plan an adaptive schedule for Field Day!--Dr. O-H
WOW to all the EDCs who took time to go through the work room closet this week so that I could inventory, surplus, and organize supplies this summer!--Dr. O-H
WOW to the office staff for keeping calm and supporting all during this busy season!----Dr. O-H
WOW to Brandy Leffeler for organizing the food trucks all year! They make my day.-----Dr. O-H
WOW to the climate committee who helped come up with action steps for our 17-18 SIP!--Dr. O-H
WOW to everyone for sticking to the schedule as much as possible during these last two weeks. For several of our kids who thrive on routine this is a comfort to them during a time of uncertainty.---Dr. O-H
WOW to all our intermediate teachers and support staff for a job well done getting through our testing season – it was In Tents! Katie- thank you for your leadership!--------Dr. O-H
WOW to Susan Bayne who quickly cleared her room when I needed a safe space for a student!--Dr. O-H
WOW to everyone’s teamwork the last two weeks! You all have really stepped up to help each other out!--Dr. O-H
Oops
As best as I can write this---Can we please lower the volume or excitement of the Friday Funny Joke? It gets my students wound up to start the day.
Response
Thank you for your concern. The purpose of the Friday joke is to get kids excited to start the day. It is a way to celebrate that it is Friday and it is supposed to be funny. If your class is getting to excited or wound up it would be okay to go over some expectations with your students on how to respond to the joke in a different way. It is my hope that even in the classroom we find ways to get our kids excited to be at school and find ways to channel that positive energy into learning.
Oops
I pooped myself.
Response
Clearly our staff is getting just as squirrely as our students. In an effort to show that we really do check the box we included this oops in the newsletter. Thank you for your humor you made us laugh!
Feedback from Carrie's Visit
We saw some great things taking place during the reading and writing block during our visits. There were a few things that we feel like are opportunities for growth and will lead to us clearly defining our expectations for next year.
- Teacher/Student engagement during independent reading and writing
- Evidence of volume reading and writing
- Clean space for reading groups
- Clear systems for meeting with groups and accountability for independent work
- Rigor in the independent work
- Inviting classroom libraries with easy access to rich literature
- Students have a clear understanding of the expectations
Meeting Minutes
Character Committee
Parent Involvement Team
EDC Meeting
Climate Committee
FHEA
Administration and building leadership did not meet. There were no building concerns to discuss.
Staffing Update
The reading position that we will share with Fairmont has been re-opened. We will interview for this again soon.
The BIS position closed this week. We will be scheduling interviews once school gets out.
Step Up Day
Last Day of School Lunch
Check Out
Please make sure you are signed up for your end of the year check out. You can refer to Jane's original email for all the other documents and checklists.
Summer Book Study - Help for Billy
I have split it into 4 different assignments. I will start the discussion on the following dates.
June 2nd- Chapters 1-3
June 16th- Chapters 4-6
June 30th- Chapters 7-9
July 14th- Chapters 10-12
Join the discussion as you can. This will help us know what to have Heather really focus on when she visits with us on August 4th. Please let me know if you need any help getting a schoology account set up or accessing the course.
Dates to Remember
- July 25th, 26th, and 27th- Kindergarten Success Program
- July 19th- Kindergarten Balloon Drop, 3:30
- July 27th- Back to School Bash, 5:30-7:30
- August 2nd- Full Work Day
- August 3rd- Half Work Day, 1st- 5th Open House, 5:30-7:30
- August 4th- Full Day PD with Heather Forbes, 8:30-3:30 (lunch provided)
- August 7th- Kick Off with Building Meetings in the Afternoon, Kindergarten Open House, 6:00-6:00
- August 8th- Half Day Work Day
- August 9th- First Day of School, Boo Hoo, Yahoo Breakfast for Kindergarten
- August 21st- Solar Eclipse Day
Next Year
Next year we will meet with each PLC at one of the first PLC meetings to review Beginning of the Year data. This information will help you know where your current students are and how they finished the year before coming to you.
PD Calendar
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1heHKL8112DSZALfFbulM5FuHzDRamSmT-jNLEBaELDc/edit?usp=sharing
District Teacher Work Calendar
https://drive.google.com/a/g.fhsdschools.org/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLX0dWNE9CQkRjYjA/view?usp=sharing
Administration Responsibilities
Heather Forbes
Scrub Schedule
Below is a link to the scrub schedule. Jane will email staff as rooms are completed.
Summer Homework
Please upload a picture of your own kids to the Staff Family Pictures folder using the link below. We will be using the pictures for an activity during our August 7th building meetings.