Cool Cat News
Principal Brief
December 11-15
Cool Cats,
Thanks so much for Dropping Everything and Relating on Wednesday at the Relationship Tea Party! I know building relationships is something that you do EVERYDAY but having a designated time to just talk without the hustle and bustle of a lesson can be very valuable! Just listening can be more important to do than talking. Thank you for putting your Ritzy accessories on and making the students feel special. The most important part of RITZ is Relationships!
Vanessa and I learned a lot at the Learning Forward Conference. Next year, the conference will be in Grapevine. If you are interested in attending, I need to know ASAP. I am already in the process of budgeting for next year, can you believe it? I have two teachers interested in attending the PLC Conference in June. If you are interested in attending this, please let me know by Friday. If your team is needing any resouces, guided reading books, manipulatives, etc. please let me know that as well.
One of our sessions we attended was giving feedback to teachers. This is an area of focus for Vanessa and I. I want to be sure we are giving you the feedback that you need to grow. This was a three hour session - but the cliffnote version is that our feedback should mostly be descriptive (about 80% or higher!). In the past, I have posed questions or given suggestions for feedback but I am going to try (and have asked Vanessa to do the same) and stick to just describing what I observe for about 80% or more of the time. I wanted to let you know because the feedback part might look a little different and wanted you to know why. The session focused on giving feedback to Rock Star Teachers. You are all such a talented group and I want to make sure I am doing the best job I can with walkthrough and TTESS feedback. I will discuss this further with the team leaders at our next team leader meeting.
At my last staff meeting with Dr. Vinson, he asked principals to remind our staffs of professional dress. We want to make sure we look our best for our students and families! His reminders were to stay in professional dress code and when wearing jeans to please maintain a professional look. I know our staff does a great job with this!
On Wednesday, 12/13, Vanessa, Amberly and I will be spending some festive time with our Cool Cats! We will be on a tight schedule. Please take a few minutes to review the time an location. We will have crafts for third and fourth grade during lunch.
We have had teams attend PLC's at other schools, observe other teachers and attend many professional developments this semester. If you are needing something in the PD area, let me know and we can make arrangements for you in the second semester. Our new reading consultant, Kristen Babovec, will be here January 5th and 12th. She will work with grades K-2. Kara B. will be a making a schedule for both days. Kristen can work in any area - she can model, observe or meet with your team during your conference period. Please take time to think about what your literacy goals are for the second semester.
Your PROUD principal,
Shawna #hartmanpride #nbrs2017
Upcoming Dates:
Jeans Days for all of December! You are not required to wear a Hartman shirt with jeans but please maintain a professional look.
12/8 Holiday Fun With PTA
12/11 McDonald's Night 5-7pm (G1)
12/12 Shelter in Place at 9am for Crisis team, WEHS Band Visit @9:30am, Marco's Spirit PTA Day 11am-10pm
12/13 Storytime and Holiday Crafts with Admin
12/14 G4 Musical "The Nutcracker" @ 9am & 7pm, PTA Board Meeting @6pm,
12/15Prancer Movie/Teacher Planning 8:30-10:30am, WEHS Prestige Choir @1:30pm,Christmas Party 6-8 @ the Klingbeil's home (no kids)
12/16 Chase Oaks Toy Zone in Gym
12/18 Manatee Presentation for 4th Grade 8:30-12:30
12/19 Wear Pajamas! Polar Express Day/Teacher planning 8:30-10:10, PPCD PM Party 1:50-2:30
12/20 Term 2 ends/grades & awards due, Holiday rotation Sing-Along/ Teacher planning 8:30-10:10am., Christmas Parties @11:45am, Pre-K Am 9:30am, Early Release at 12:30 K-2 lunches at 10:30-11:00, 3-4 lunches 11:00-11:30
12-21-1-2 Christmas Break
1/3 - Professional Development Day - I am giving you all day to plan with your team and work in your rooms! You need the time! Please take time to review norms for PLC's and set agendas for the upcoming 9 nine weeks.
R- Time Every Wednesday!
Rtime for Better Relationships! 10 minutes every Wednesday!
- Show good manners and respect at all times.
- Care for everyone and everything.
- Follow instructions with thought and care.