Union Weekly Staff Update
Volume 32- April 10, 2016
Our Mission
A Message from Jen
We have another jam-packed week ahead! Please be aware of the various events occurring this week. On Tuesday, we will be hosting kindergarten round-up. It will be an exciting day with many guests in the building. We will be utilizing the project room, gym and conference room throughout the school day. Thank you in advance to our kindy team as they begin building relationships with our newest STARS and their families.
Jen
This Week's Events
FitKidz during PE- the entire month of April- Yippee!!
Trish will be out for STEM this week. Jackie Abbot will be in for her. 3rd and 4th grade teachers, please bring your partner sheet for Robotics to STEM class.
NWEA Continues- Check Schedule from Maggie
Monday, April 11th
Maggie Out
ZMS Music Visits for 4th grade
8:00, ACR in Conference Room- Meyer, Beiermann, Van Curen, Kay
7:30-9:30, Jen at INALI Meeting
6:00, Board of Trustees Meeting at ESC
Tuesday, April 12th
NO STAFF MEETING
8:00-5:00, Kindergarten Round Up in Gym, Project Room, and Conference Room
Wednesday, April 13th
Jen at ESC for 4th grade SBRC Meeting
3:40-4:30, Union University Book Club, Next Steps in Guided Reading in Green Lab
7:00, PTO General Meeting in Cafeteria
Thursday, April 14th
8:00, ACR in Conference Room- Andrus, Sorgen, Van Curen, Lockhart, Ioannacci
8:00, ACR in Conference Room 2- Meyer, L. Smith, Lockhart, Kay
10:00, Office Meeting
Friday, April 15th
60s Spirit Day
Jump Rope for Heart Kick Off during lunches
8:00, Staffing in Conference Room- Andrus, Steward, Van Curen, Lockhart, Raycroft
9:30, ABM Meeting
April Birthdays
The happiest of birthdays to the following STARS who will be celebrating another year during the month of April:
Courtney Beiermann, April 2
Tonya Clark, April 27
Cyneka Hooks, April 27
‘60s Spirit Day Announcement
The Swinging ‘60s are back! Our next Spirit day is on Friday, April 15th. The ‘60s fashion trend is coming back baby and we have decided to bring the trend to Union Elementary! Please dress in paisley prints, bell-bottom jeans, tie-dye shirts, tunics, skirts/dresses, headbands, fringe shirts, and any bright colors. Also, we are asking for quarter donations to go towards Relay For Life! We can’t wait to see the groovy style from our student body! Thank you for showing school spirit.
Peace,
Your UE Student Council Members
Teacher of the Year
Article to Read and Discuss
It you have not already, please send me your thoughts...
As we look ahead to next year and the addition of a wellness teacher to our staff, I am excited about the possibilities that exist to develop students that are "strong in every way."
The article below provides examples of how a group of schools in Texas are integrating more movement into their school day through multiple, shorter recesses. It came across my Twitter feed on the same day as an article in the Harvard Business Review article about looking critically at the "why" behind practices. It made me question our traditional lunch/recess block. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Can you please put this discussion item on the agenda of your next team meeting? Please chat about what you like about the idea of multiple, shorter recesses throughout the day, what concerns you have, what questions you still need answered, what other creative ideas that expand upon this, and what solutions that you have to potential problems. You are welcome to send me your thoughts as a team and/or as an individual. Below is a link for using DeBono's 6 Thinking Hats as a way to structure your conversation. This is certainly not something you have to use, but is a nice resource. I first came across this in master's classes, then again when taking courses for teaching high ability learners and find it a useful way to think critically about an issue.