Galloping Gazette
A newsletter for the Faculty and Staff - Week of 2/17
Put Students First • Seek Growth • Be Open to Change . Do Great Work Together • Value Differences
Principal's Message
You know you work in an elementary school when you are gluing 100 of the same object to your t-shirt one day, then dressing up like Cruella de Vil the next, and finally finishing off the week riding the ebs and flows of the sugar rush wave from a million Valentines.
Recently, during one of my twitter scrolling, I came across a journal post from my fav. Brene Brown. This post nailed home a key pillar from Love and Logic that we discussed in Chapters 1 and 2.
1. It is all about relationships
2.The difference between a good day and a bad day could come down to the first interaction between you and the student.
Brene describes about how Toni Morrison taught her a very important and valuable tip about parenting. Her advice was simple, but paradigm-shifting for me. She said:
“Let your face speak what’s in your heart. When they walk in the room my face says I’m glad to see them. It’s just as small as that, you see?”
She later goes on to describe how she put this small piece of advice into action with her own children, "I literally think about that advice every day—it’s become a practice. Before Ellen left for college, when she would come bounding down the stairs dressed for school, I didn’t want my first comment to be “Pull your hair back” or “Those shoes don’t match your dress.” I wanted my face to convey how happy I was to see her—to be with her. Now that she’s building her own life, my prayer is that she finds people in her life that light up when they see her. I hope I helped her set that expectation. Today, when Charlie comes in the back door and he’s dripping wet from swimming, I want to flash a smile before I say, “Back out please. Dry off before you come inside.”
We often get so busy and caught up with our to do lists that can forget about the simple, yet powerful things. I know that I sure am guilty of this. Therefore, I am setting a goal for myself that I keep the idea of lighting up my face before verbally saying anything; especially with my Philip.
If you want to read the entire journal post check it out here- https://brenebrown.com/blog/2019/08/07/what-toni-morrison-taught-me-about-parenting/ and if you want a teaching perspective check this one out - https://info.montroseschool.org/blog/does-your-face-light-up-five-words-that-changed-my-teaching-and-parenting?fbclid=IwAR3QvcDdC63thiON0oskPUhAzgm2xLLoU7_XVDOyMIHCjwNE_Z1POJi6N4Q
Enjoy your three day weekend - bundle up it is going to be a cold one.
-Robyn
Congratulations to Mrs. Wisotzkey - our 2020 Teacher Assistant of the Year!
Frindle School-wide Activities
- · Week of 17th- Bud Lawrence will notify classes of how many shirts he wants to purchase. The class will record the transactions.
- · Week of 17th- Each student will make up a nonsense word to stand for a common object. They will need to write and illustrate their word. Collect these and have students vote for 1 class word. (If they all vote for their own words, switch with another class and have them vote for you) BE SURE TO KEEP ALL WORDS. STUDENTS WILL NEED THEM FOR THE WORD PARADE and CLASS DICTIONARY THE NEXT WEEK!
- · Each grade level needs to try and convince the other kids on the grade level to use their word. Let’s see who can really make a new word. All grade level pages will be collected and made into a “___ grade’s New Word Dictionary.”
- · On Friday, February 21, we will have an SCA Book Character Dress Up Day.
- · On Friday, February 28, we will have our “New Word” parade. Students need to dress or wear something that explains and displays their new word.
Class Connections:
This is a great story for character traits, how a character changes over time, plot mountains, summarizing, and theme. The characters are rich!
I will be putting chapter summaries in your box along with some lesson ideas. You can do as much as you would like with this book. I really hope you use it and wring all the goodness out of it. It is truly a delightful story.
If you come up with some fun activities, please share them with us.
Shout Outs...
- A BIG thank you to Firefighter Ann Featherston!! Patti C.
- Karen & Jennifer- Thank you for making teachers lives so much easier! Danielle
- Thank you, Jackie Cochran, for finding and making the 3-5 digital escape for Frindle. You’re a life-saver! Patti C.
- Berkley, thank you so much for your patience and flexibility! I am so very grateful for your help and support!! Amy
- Shout out to every hard-working teacher in this building for what they do for their students every day. Anne Young
- Thank you to Lauren Griffin, Ally Crouch, and Kimberly Zaleski for all your help this week. I know having just one more task is a burden but thank you for helping with a joyful spirit! Alainya
- Thank you Danielle & Michelle N. for being flexible with our lesson schedule-Nicole
- Shout out to Karen R. and Patti P. for helping with gifted testing. Deb
- Thank you to Cynthia Doyle for the beautiful flowers that she’s place on the counter in the office over the last 2 weeks. They’re beautiful! Karen
- Thank you, Tina, Amanda, and Hailey for making the cute Frindle bulletin boards. Patti C.
- Thank you math tutors (Allie, Fatima, Kelly, Anna, Liz, Jackie, and Christine) for working hard with our kids at O’Dark Thirty. Deb
- Thank you Tennys for being my pilot class with Junior Great Books in K! Deb
- Thank you to Deb Vickery for helping me out when I was stuck behind an accident! Ally
- Thank you Travis for getting my videos on to the morning news last week, even when you were out of the building!-Nicole
- Whitney, Tennys, and Stacey, I cannot thank you enough for all of the support, guidance, and sharing of materials over the past month! Thank you for being so patient with me when I asked you millions of questions about report cards!! Amy
- Thank you to Debbie and Travis for helping my kids create their own 3 Act Task! - Ana
- Shout out to Greer, Dorbin, Pascual, Armada, and Bagnall for welcoming the New Castle math specialist and me into their classrooms for our learning walks! Jenny
- Shout out to Kim Jacobs, Robin Mounce, and Amy Goodman for working with a sad student on the 100th day of school and coming up with a creative idea to make him happy. Kim’s creativity is amazing! Patti P.
- Kim J, thanks for all the laughs and help! Ally
- Jackie – Thanks for lunching and quizzing our Battle of the Books teams! Patti C.
- Shout out to all of the amazing teachers at the farm who wrote the best teacher forms ever seen! Deb
- Michelene, thank you for sharing an awesome lesson with my class. You truly inspired my students. Danielle
- Thank you, Michelle and Shawnie Greene for making the beautiful Frindle display case! Patti C.
- Sharon and Marissa, thank you so much for helping me put together a picture schedule for one of my students!! Amy
- Claire, thank you for always being my coffee loving neighbor. I don’t know what I would do without you. Danielle
- Zip- You really know how to make our Friday amazing. Thank you for the scones!!!! love, team 2
- Glenna – thanks for working so hard with Megan’s class while she was out! Patti C.
- Thank you Jennifer for offering to help with Tuesday folders! You are a lifesaver! Ally
- Thanks to our Frindle readers: Karen R., September, Jill, Saulo, Robyn, Nicole, Mercy, and Travis! Patti C.
- Glenna, you have been an amazing addition to the team. We will miss you! Team 2
- Thank you Ms. Mercy’d for preparing the tables on the stage the first Friday of each month for our Citizen of the Month lunches-Nicole
- Travis – thanks for all your help with the Frindle activities! Patti C.
Schedule for upcoming weeks
February 16-23 is Random Acts of Kindness week! Check out some sample lessons on kindness.
PLC/Collab Focus: Content/Technology
Monday, February 17th
- No school for staff and students- President's Day
Tuesday, February 18th
- "Sweat it Out" Day
- Math Tutoring-4th/5th Grade, 7:00am Library
- 4th Grade Field Trip to the Planetaruim- Kesner, Dorbin, and Cucuzza 9:30-11:00
- Chapter 12- Frindle
- Faculty Meeting 3:00, Library
- Zoup Cashola Night 5:00-8:00
Wednesday, February 19th
- Colt's Store 7:55-8:20 Foyer
- Chapter 13- Frindle
- PLC/Collab:
- 2nd 11:00-11:45
- 1st 12:45-1:30
- 4th 1:35-2:20
- Newspaper Club 2:45-4:00
Thursday, February 20th
- Math Tutoring- 4th/5th Grade, 7:00am Library
- Chapter 14- Frindle
- 4th Grade Field Trip to the Planetarium 9:30-11:00- Mcneely and Nicolosi
- PLC/Collab:
- 5th 8:30-9:15
- 3rd 9:20-10:05
- Knd 10:10-10:55
- Robotics 2:45-4:00
- PTA Meeting 3:00 Library
- Reflections Ceremony @ Cox HS 6:30-8:30
Friday, February 21st
- Frindle Character Dress-Up Day
- Chapter 15-Frindle
PLC/Collab Focus: PD Based on grade level needs (SEL)
** School Book Drive Feb 24th-28th **
Monday, February 24th
- School Spirit Day- "Think Snow/Blizzard Bliss"
- VOYA Retirement Meetings- Guidance Conference Room, 7:30-4:30
Tuesday, February 25th
- Math Tutoring-4th/5th Grade 7AM
Wednesday, February 26th
- PLC/Collab:
- 2nd 11:00-11:45
- 1st 12:45-1:30
- 4th 1:35-2:20
Thursday, February 27th
- Math Tutoring-4th/5th Grade 7AM
- PLC/Collab:
- 5th 8:30-9:15
- 3rd 9:20-10:05
- Knd 10:10-10:55
- Robotics 2:45-4:00
Friday, February 28th
- "New Word" Frindle Parade
- Watch Dog Dad Rudy Sandoval
- 2nd Grade Native American Program- Room 15
10 AM- Zipprich and Greer
12:30- Bullard
- Mother/Son Dance- "Wild, Wild West" 6:00-8:00, Cafeteria
Counseling Corner
Mediation is a process of dissolving disputes and conflicts with the help of a mediator, a neutral third party, who facilitates the process. Mediation allows disputing parties to bring their problem to the mediation table in order to work out their differences cooperatively. Student mediators allow students to develop trust in one another, and also mold other students into becoming leaders in their communities. Our student mediation program will focus on developing mediating skills within twelve 4th and 5th grade students. The students equipped with these skills will be used as a resource to help other students with their disputes. These mediators will not be used as a tool to justify bullying or an imbalance of power. But will be used as an anchor to dissolve conflict and stabilize their community.
Babies, Babies, Babies.....
News and Notes....
- Everyone has done a great job submitting leave forms, both personal and professional. Thank you for putting absences in AESOP when you are unable to find someone to cover for you. We definitely understand that certain things pop up unexpectedly overnight or during the day. When this happens, please just make sure that you notify someone in the office that you will be leaving.
Nominations for the 2020 Standards of Learning Item and Test Review Committees-Due March 6
Digital Learning Day
Morning Meeting Moment - Problem Solving/Black History Month
Black History Month Resources
As our nation observes Black History Month, VDOE is pleased to provide school divisions with Black History Month resources that honor African Americans and celebrate their achievements and contributions to America. Local school divisions are encouraged to seek and develop instructional and community programming that highlights Black history not only during February, but also throughout the entire year. See Superintendent’s Memo 020-20 for resources and information.