Mustang Minutes
Nurture. Collaborate. Own
Scarborough's Summary
Black History Month
Conferences are coming soon!
See information from Kyla about translators
Inspiration for Your Week
Kudos Korner from the Admin Team
Kudos to the First Grade Team for their energetic participation in creating assessment items during collaborative learning.
Kudos to the Fourth Grade Team for their collaborative efforts during planning!
Welcome to our new K Para, Natosha Powell, who will be working with Ms. Stewart.
Media Center News
Black History Month
The media center staff has pulled books from the "everybody" section related to Black History Month. Many of these books have great stories with black main characters, but they are often overlooked by the kids because the covers lack an "oooh, ahhh" factor. Please encourage your students to try some of these books or share them as a read aloud with your whole class. Many students just don't know what they are missing unless, we, the teachers give them a little push.
My two personal favorites from the group are The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is based on the real life story of the author. William is an African boy, not an American, but he is black and good example of a young, black boy demonstrating ingenuity and scientific thinking. I also like that the story shows that black people have stories and experiences that encompass more than the civil rights movement. Additionally, the book supports the science standard of " the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in the science and exhibit these traits in efforts to understand how the world works” and "knowledge of scientific processes and inquiry methods"
Chicken Sunday is a great book about an ordinary American black family with extraordinary matriarch. She teaches her grandchildren and their white friend how to overcome a suspicious old man’s fears and in turn, help build a sense of community among all the people in the neighborhood.
Please take a look at these and the others that are on display.
Counselors' Corner
Congratulations to the January Perfect Attendance Winners!!!
Teachers remind your students to come to school everyday this month to win a "SNACK PARTY"!
Custodian Closet
No news this week
Technology Tips
Reminder
3rd-5th grade teachers please have your students complete the student health survey when the log on to the C&I Tool. The survey link is located on school landing page in the news tool. The survey closes on Friday 2/26. Thanks for all that you do!
Coaches' corner
Thoughts on Anchor Charts:
You can easily visit your favorite school supply store to stock up on lots of charts to decorate the walls of your classroom. Those charts may be attractive, but do they really impact instruction? How many times have you seen a student use one of those commercial charts? Five? Ten? Make one chart with your students, and watch how many more times they use the chart!
Chart Sense for Writing
By Rozlyn Linder
The Literacy Coaches would like to send a huge SHOUT OUT to the following:
K - Ms. Cailor and Ms. Ruhl
1 - Ms. Ritter and Mrs. Rowe
3 - Mr. Dennis
4 - Ms. Berry
5 - Ms. Hallick
for participating in Model Thursday! Thanks for all you do!
Parent Connection
You can sign-up for translators for conferences in the Parent Center
Monday will be the last day to sign up so I can begin to make assignments
Please review the email that I sent yesterday for directions and expectations for signing-up! Thanks in advance!
Please make sure that you ask for and confirm a translator when scheduling conferences before or after school hours and on days other than conference days.
Please remember that we cannot guarantee a translator for every meeting and all translators will have a very full schedule on conference days.
We have some wonderful resources in a variety of languages that can be used as another way to communicate effectively.
Please let me know by this Friday if you need any resources in other languages (Report Card Comments, Reading & Writing Continuum, Progress Reports etc)
Thanks
Calendar of Events
2/27- ELT
2/29- RLT with Dr. Walker 3-4 in the PL room
3/2- County Principal meeting
3/3- March FTE day
3/5- ELT
3/9- County AP meeting
3/11- Student/Teacher Holiday
3/14- Faculty Meeting (3-4 pm)
3/22- Principal Cluster Meeting
3/23- Parent Teacher Team Meetings 3rd-5th
3/24- Parent Teacher Team Meetings K-2nd
3/28- Data Talks with Admin
3/31- Data Talks with Admin
RES Birthdays
February
2/5 Marsha Duval
2/9 Evelyn Davila
2/14 Vikki Ganger
2/16 Kathryn Crownover
2/19 Cheryl Whitfield
2/20 Bethany Ammons
2/22 Sarah Folsom
2/23 Kenzie Bentz
2/24 TV Smith
2/26 Sheri Brown
2/27 Donnica Martin