Team Thomson News & Notes
March 18, 2018
Important Information for You!
The Books That Megan and I Ordered Are IN!
I hope that you have been thinking about the organization of your classroom libraries because the books that Megan C. and I ordered with school improvement money arrived Friday. We have a big job ahead of us in getting them labeled and inventoried and I will be asking for volunteers to help with this task. However, as I have been sharing, the organization of these books is just as important as having them. Please be ready to share where you are at in the organization process and our next steps at our staff meeting this week.
March is Reading Month
Our planning committee has planned the following special days to keep the focus on Reading Month. The activities are as follows:
- March 19th-Snuggle Up to a Good Book-Students and staff are encouraged to wear their pj's to school.
- March 26th-Read a Shirt Day-Students and staff are encouraged to wear clothing with words on it.
Also, don't forget to continue to encourage students and parents to read and record their minutes on their reading calendars.
Internal Review
The Gates School Improvement Internal Review is Monday, March 19th and I will be spending the day there. I look forward to sharing this experience with you as we prepare for our own visit next Tuesday, March 27th. On Wednesday morning we will be discussing this and the 'look fors' that we would like our peers to be mindful of. Please take time to review the School Improvement Plan summary given at the beginning of the year and be prepared to share what you think are important 'look fors' for our building.
School Safety
As the topic of school safety remains in the forefront of our minds and many discussions in various arenas, it is important that we take a close look at what we do everyday here at Thomson. In the morning, are we truly supervising and greeting kids or, as I heard it put, is it 'AYSO soccer' where teachers are standing in groups getting caught up? When you see a visitor in the hall, regardless of whether you know them or not, are you looking for the yellow visitor badge and sending them back to the office if you don't see it or do you let them walk past? The first to things that come to my mind are relationships with kids and families and supervision of students and the environment. From there, we need to think and wonder about the things that we might do to make our school building even safer than it already is...which I strongly believe that it is! What would we add or do differently if we could. Again, we will explore this topic on Wednesday morning, but please think about it and come with any ideas you may have.
5D+
As we get back into the observation process, please remember to respond to noticing and wonderings within 48 hours of receiving the email from PIVOT. My favorite parts of my days are those spent in your classrooms observing teaching and learning.
Cardinal Code Focus of the Week:
This week the Cardinal Code focus is BUS STOP. Please review the appropriate behavior at the bus stop or during parent pick-up and dismissal. Can the students tell you all the things that they should be doing?
High School Graduation
Although the deadline has passed, I would like to ask one more time if there are any teachers that would like to participate in graduation. If you have not already signed up, but would like to participate, please let me know right away. I strongly believe that once you have, you will always want to.
Quotes Worth Reading
"You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having."
-Unknown
"Dreams don't work unless you do."
-Unknown
Let's make this week amazing for our students, go and give them your very best everyday!
Thomson Elementary
Home of the Thomson Teddies!
And..
Where Kids Come First and Futures Begin!
Email: nmiller@davisonschools.org
Website: www.davisonschools.org
Location: 617 East Clark Street, Davison, MI, United States
Phone: 810-591-0911
Celebrations & Announcements
DRA Window: The DRA window runs through March 23rd
Important Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, March 19th-Math Curriculum Meeting 4:15-6:15 p.m.; PTO Meeting, 6:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 20th-Child Study Day (please send names to Jason & I), Cardinal Nest Visits 9:45 a.m. & 12:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 21st-Staff Meeting, 7:35 a.m. (Agenda: School Safety, Internal Review, Independent Reading Libraries)
- Thursday, March 22nd-Kindergarten Math Learning Labs
- Friday, March 23rd-Rep. Ruth Johnson visits to read to Early 5's Classrooms
- Tuesday, March 27th-Lockdown; Thomson Internal Review 12-3:15 p.m.
- Thursday, March 29th-Half-day for students; Half-day PD (specific times to come, agenda: School Improvement Planning)
- Friday, March 30th-Good Friday, No School
- April 2nd-April 6th-Spring Break, No School