BARBER BULLETIN
Week of Sept 24-28 CREATING JOYFUL LEADERS AND LEARNERS
GRADE LEVEL CELEBRATIONS ARE THIS WEEK!
SO...we haven't quite started our WIG tracking. What in the world are we celebrating this week?? At this point, all of our classes have created CLASS MISSION STATEMENTS. Let's celebrate!!
What you do at your celebration is completely up to your grade level, and we know that each one will have it's own personality, and that's great!
We had envisioned an assembly-type format, at least initially, and keep in mind that since it's during habit huddle, it will be SHORT. 10 Minutes!
Here are some ideas for your grade level celebration:
Welcome to our first grade level celebration! We are so excited for all that our grade is going to accomplish this year! We have been practicing Habit 2 by working on our classroom mission statements. Let's hear these awesome mission statements.
Ms. ___'s class, please stand and recite your mission statement. (yay, clap, clap)
Ms. ___'s class, please stand and recite your mission statement.
After everyone shares, you could do a short "fun" activity as a grade level. Some suggestions:
dance to a song
synergy activity- how long can we keep the beach ball up?
chant or a cheer
or do your own thing!
We are excited about celebrating our students. We don't want this to be stressful--it is to have fun and celebrate together!
If you have any questions or concerns, please see a member of the Lighthouse Team.
The celebration schedule is on the Habit Huddle calendar, but just for easy reference, here's the schedule:
Monday, Sept. 24
2nd grade- Gym
LM- Cafeteria
Tuesday, Sept. 25
UM- Gym
3rd- Cafeteria
Wednesday, Sept. 26
4th- Cafeteria
Thursday, Sept. 27
5th- Cafeteria
(Primary, Kindergarten, and 1st grade, we did not schedule a grade-level celebration for you for September since some kiddos are still learning how to do school. We are excited for you to join us at our schoolwide celebration on Nov. 1st. If your grade level feels ready for a grade level celebration, we can schedule you in the Gym during Habit Huddle on Thursday or Friday.)
LOG ENTRIES
GAMECOCK TEACHER APPRECIATION TICKETS
It's Extra Yard for Teachers Week! South Carolina Athletics is once again participating in the College Football Playoff Foundation's week long recognition of teachers with a reminder about our Teacher Appreciation Day.
The University of South Carolina College of Education and South Carolina Athletics will be having Teacher Appreciation Day at the Gamecock Football Game on October 13th.
The Gamecocks would like to thank all school teachers and staff by offering a discounted $30 ticket to a Gamecock Football game.
The discount is available for teachers, staff, and their guests to enjoy a day at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Gamecock Football Game: October 13th vs. Texas A&M
- Discounted $30 football ticket to the game. $25 off the regular price.
- Cheer for the Gamecocks with a free rally towel at the game.
- Special presentation for Teacher Appreciation Day.
For more information on Gamecock Football tickets and assistance ordering Teacher Appreciation day tickets contact Blake at 803-777-7318 or via email at woodwar8@mailbox.sc.edu
MEET LINDSAY SMITH
A LOOK AT OUR WEEK AHEAD:
Military Monday - Wear your red, white, and blue (jeans, if you'd like!)
3:30pm Lighthouse Team meeting
If you are not a member of Lighthouse, please use this time to finalize your SLO.
Tuesday:
7:30am Homework club to begin in media center!
Teachers can use this document to "assign" students to HW club the following morning. They can also use the document to let Ms. Harki and Ms. Bruns know exactly what they would like them to work on. Ms. Harki and Ms. Bruns will also make notes on the sheet as needed. The student should eat breakfast before going to HW club. Students can also choose to go to HW club if they weren't able to do homework at home.
3:30pm MAPping our Path to Success PD
So you've MAP tested all of your students, now what? Please join us for an optional PD Tuesday, Sept. 25th from 3:30-4:30. Mrs. Savage and Mrs. Cerra are going to show you some wonderful tools on the NWEA website that you can use to inform instruction. We'll also give you some strategies to organize your data. Make sure you bring a device and meet us in Mrs. Cerra's classroom at 3:30.
Wednesday:
Fall Book Fair opens!
K.Barber off campus at a Principal Meeting
11:30am Q1 Lunch N Learn for Cluster teachers
Thursday:
Interim grades should be updated for parents to check!
Grade Level collaboration in Brainforest for Grades 2-5 with Ramsue/Turner during planning
12pm IAT
2:30pm Birdcage names to be pulled
5pm-7pm Open House (Sessions to be held at 5:30pm and 6:00pm for parents)
Friday:
College Colors Day
Social Dues - due
8:30am Covey Clubs meet
11:30am Early Dismissal
12:30pm-3pm Dana Penick onsite from Leader in Me for PD
PTO Fundraiser deadline
A MESSAGE FROM OUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
The school year is off to a great start! Thanks to many of you for already welcoming me into your classrooms for our first guidance lesson. I love working with your students. Please take a moment to read through the following information about our Comprehensive School Counseling Program. And PLEASE PLEASE complete the Needs Assessment at the bottom so that I can best support you and our students this year.
Classroom Guidance: As you are aware, I will come to your classroom each month, at our scheduled time, to share a lesson that addresses the South Carolina Guidance Curriculum Standards. During these lessons, I request that the teacher remain in the room as much as possible. (A quick bathroom break is A-OK- I completely understand!) This is for two reasons. First, each class has their own classroom management program. Your presence communicates to your students that typical expectations and procedures will be followed. This saves valuable time for all of us. Second, I would LOVE it if topics discussed in guidance lessons were reinforced by you throughout the year as it fits naturally into classroom discussions (especially when we talk about things like conflict resolution- Kelso's Choices). My time in each room is limited, so reinforcement from the classroom teacher helps the students master the concepts presented. Thank you for your help with this!
Small Group Counseling: Small counseling groups are formed throughout the year as needs arise. These are typically run by me or the school social worker. You will have the opportunity to refer students for small group counseling on the needs assessment below.
Individual Counseling: Please email me or speak with me if you have a student who could benefit from individual counseling. School-based counseling services are short-term and solution focused (i.e. not therapy). If a student has significant needs that go beyond the scope of school counseling services, I can work with the family to provide referrals for appropriate services.
If a student would like to make an appointment with me (grades 3+), they are learning how to fill out a request through my website during classroom guidance. Grades 2 and younger will rely on the teacher to let me know. Thanks for your help with this.
Additional Programs/Information:
- New Student Lunch: My lunch groups with students who are new to Pontiac have been rescheduled to next week. You can find an updated schedule here. Thanks so much for your flexibility!
- Stars & Stripes: This is our club that supports our students from military families. We meet once a month on Military Mondays. Our first meeting will be held next Monday, Sept. 24th. I am behind schedule due to our days out, but will have permission forms to send home with students in your boxes by tomorrow. We send these home based on information parents provide when they register their students. If you have a military-connected student who does not receive a form, PLEASE let me know. We don't want anyone to be left out!
- Extra Support Backpacks: The counseling office has special backpacks filled with books for students, and a folder of resources of parents that can be borrowed. These backpacks are for students experiencing: death of a loved one, divorce, a hospital stay, or a new baby in the family. Please let me know if you have a student/family who could benefit from borrowing one of these backpacks. I will reach out to the family and see if they are interested. I am in the process of replacing some of our items that were not returned last year, but we should be up and running again soon!
- Minute Meetings: Each year, I set a goal of having at least one "minute meeting" with each student K-5. This is a brief, individual check in with each student, in order to provide individual student planning. This brief meeting really gives some great insight into our students' triumphs and struggles at school. I have scheduled these in different ways each year, but my plan for this year is for Minute Meetings to take the place of your December guidance lesson. Thanks for your flexibility!
- Mentoring Program: Our Mentoring Steering Committee is excited to be building a stronger mentoring program for our 5th grade students this year. We are prepared to provide extra support to students so that they may meet their personal and academic goals. If you would like to refer a 5th grade student for this program, please do so here.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Please, please, follow the link to complete this year's School Counseling Needs Assessment. This data is SO important and is NOT just limited to classroom teachers. I would love feedback from anyone who works with children at Pontiac! As you can see below, my number of responses has decreased each year. I would really love to have as much information as possible in order to best help our students. Let's beat last year's 22 responses and I'll have chocolate for everyone's box on Monday. THANK YOU for all that you do!