The Dream Team
Weekly Memo 27
INSPECT WHAT YOU EXPECT! ALWAYS HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS!
Uplift Hampton Middle School Strategic Priorities
School Learning Climate
Professional Capacity
Parent, School, and Community Ties
Table of Contents
- Good Things
- Meet Our Social Counselor
- A Message from the Director
- Momentous Blast!
- Video of the Week
- Admin Corner
- Week at a Glance
- Action Items
- Month at a Glance
- Updated Duty Schedule
Good Things!
Mrs. Parks says...
- Shout out to the 7th grade team for stepping up and covering classes in the absence of various team members! Way to RISE Together!!
- Shout out to the Science team for sending your goals for the week!!
- Shout out to Jackie for managing a scholar situation gracefully!
- Shout out to our new social counselor! We are so happy to have you join us!
MEET OUR NEW SOCIAL COUNSELOR
Hello Hampton Secondary Faculty and Staff!
My name is Ebonii Nelson and I’m excited to come on board as the Social Counselor for the Secondary Scholars. Prior to Uplift I most recently served as the Assistant Provost of Strategic Initiatives and Director of Student Retention at Southern Methodist University. The foray into K-12 is a welcomed change of pace, and I could not be more honored to join the Uplift family. I’ve just officially arrived on campus and am eager to engage with you all as well as the Scholars. In the coming weeks I plan to visit with all Middle and High School faculty, and I will also visit classrooms to formally introduce myself to the scholars. Until those meetings I’ll attempt to not-so-creepily introduce myself as I rove the hallways and common meeting spaces. I look forward to partnering and supporting your efforts in the classroom and the social-emotional development of the wonderful scholars we develop each day.
Ebonii
A Message From the Director
Hello Dream Team,
This week I leave you with this note from a teacher down the hall!
Dear Young Teacher Down the Hall,
I saw you as you rushed past me in the lunch room. Urgent. In a hurry to catch a bite before the final bell would ring calling all the students back inside. I noticed that your eyes showed tension. There were faint creases in your forehead. And I asked you how your day was going and you sighed.
“Oh, fine,” you replied.
But I knew it was anything but fine. I noticed that the stress was getting to you. I could tell that the pressure was rising. And I looked at you and made an intentional decision to stop you right then and there. To ask you how things were really going. Was it that I saw in you a glimpse of myself that made me take the moment?
You told me how busy you were, how much there was to do. How little time there was to get it all done. I listened. And then I told you this:
I told you to remember that at the end of the day, it’s not about the lesson plan. It’s not about the fancy stuff we teachers make -- the crafts we do, the stories we read, the papers we laminate. No, that’s not really it. That’s not what matters most.
And as I looked at you, wearing all that worry and under all that strain, I said it’s about being there for your kids. Because at the end of the day, most students won’t remember what amazing lesson plans you’ve created. They won’t remember how organized your bulletin boards are. How straight and neat are the desk rows.
No, they’ll not remember that amazing decor you’ve designed.
But they will remember you.
Your kindness. Your empathy. Your care and concern. They’ll remember that you took the time to listen. That you stopped to ask them how they were. How they really were. They’ll remember the personal stories you tell about your life: your home, your pets, your kids. They’ll remember your laugh. They’ll remember that you sat and talked with them while they ate their lunch.
Because at the end of the day, what really matters is YOU. What matters to those kids that sit before you in those little chairs, legs pressed up tight under tables oft too small -- what matters to them is you.
You are that difference in their lives.
And when I looked at you then with tears in your eyes, emotions rising to the surface, and I told you gently to stop trying so hard -- I also reminded you that your own expectations were partly where the stress stemmed. For we who truly care are often far harder on ourselves than our students are willing to be. Because we who truly care are often our own worst enemy. We mentally beat ourselves up for trivial failures. We tell ourselves we’re not enough. We compare ourselves to others. We work ourselves to the bone in the hopes of achieving the perfect lesson plan. The most dynamic activities. The most engaging lecture. The brightest, fanciest furnishings.
Because we want our students to think we’re the very best at what we do and we believe that this status of excellence is achieved merely by doing. But we forget -- and often. Excellence is more readily attained by being.
Being available.
Being kind.
Being compassionate.
Being transparent.
Being real.
Being thoughtful.
Being ourselves.
And of all the students I know who have lauded teachers with the laurels of the highest acclaim, those students have said of those teachers that they cared.
You see, kids can see through to the truth of the matter. And while the flashy stuff can entertain them for a while, it’s the steady constant of empathy that keeps them connected to us. It’s the relationships we build with them. It’s the time we invest. It’s all the little ways we stop and show concern. It’s the love we share with them: of learning. Of life. And most importantly, of people.
And while we continually strive for excellence in our profession as these days of fiscal restraint and heavy top-down demands keep coming at us -- relentless and quick. We need to stay the course. For ourselves and for our students. Because it’s the human touch that really matters.
It’s you, their teacher, that really matters.
So go back to your class and really take a look. See past the behaviors, the issues and the concerns, pressing as they might be. Look beyond the stack of papers on your desk, the line of emails in your queue. Look further than the classrooms of seasoned teachers down the hall. Look. And you will see that it’s there- right inside you. The ability to make an impact. The chance of a lifetime to make a difference in a child’s life. And you can do this now.
Right where you are, just as you are.
Because all you are right now is all you ever need to be for them today. And who you are tomorrow will depend much on who and what you decide to be today.
It’s in you. I know it is.
Fondly,
That Other Teacher Down the Hall
The Dream Team Will Fight!
Sincerely,
Andrea
FREE PERKS FOR UPLIFT EMPLOYEES!
Momentous Blast: 10 MINDFULNESS STRATEGIES
Key Points:
· There are a variety of opportunities to practice mindfulness, even (and particularly) at times when you feel your time is “being wasted.”
Takeaways:
· Spending just a few extra moments dedicated to mindfulness and remaining in the present can make a massive impact on your levels of stress as a teacher
· Don’t forget to tune into your body and your personal needs! Eat lunch and use the restroom when you need to!
Week at a Glance
IT IS SPIRIT WEEK!!!
Monday, February 12th: A Day
"Rep Your Squad Day” (3 or more teachers dress alike) or Business Casual
Morning Meeting at 7:20am
Tuesday,February 13th: B Day
“Frozen Heart Day” – Dress “chill” – pajamas or Business Casual
Wednesday,February 14th: A Day (Happy Valentines Day)
“COLOR WAR” – 6th grade wears white, 7th grade wears pink, 8th grade wears red
WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
Thursday, February 15th: B Day
“Duo Day” – Dress like your favorite duo or pair or Business Casual
Friday, February 16th: A Day
BLACKOUT DAY
“Dress to Impress Day”
Morning Meeting at 7:20am
Homecoming Dance 6-9pm
Monday, February 19th: NO SCHOOL! HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY!!
DUTY SCHEDULE
Put this on your radar!
9-Feb Friday Morning Meeting at 7:20/Progress Reports go home Big Rock 3: Parent, School, and Community Ties
10-Feb Saturday Reading Enrichment
11-Feb Sunday
12-Feb Monday Morning Meeting at 7:20 A
13-Feb TuesdayB
14-Feb Wednesday/Wellness Wednesday/Valentines Day A Performance Task 3 Executed
15-Feb Thursday B
16-Feb Friday Morning Meeting at 7:20/Winter Dance (Black Out Day)/Bi-Weekly Data Meeting Completed Big Rock 1: School Learning Climate
17-Feb Saturday
18-Feb Sunday
19-Feb Monday Presidents Day No School
20-Feb Tuesday Morning Meeting at 7:20 (Black Out Day) B
21-Feb Wednesday/Group Development at 3:05pm A CA 3 Prediction Protocol Due by 5pm Big Rock 1: School Learning Climate Big Rock 2: Professional Capacity
22-Feb Thursday B Humanities and the Arts Night 5pm-7pm Big Rock 3: Parent, School, and Community Ties
23-Feb Friday Morning Meeting at 7:20 A Minimum total of 21 grades
24-Feb Saturday Math Enrichment
25-Feb Sunday
26-Feb Monday Morning Meeting at 7:20 B
27-Feb Tuesday A
28-Feb Wednesday Group Development at 3:05pm B Big Rock 2: Professional Capacity
1-Mar Thursday A
2-Mar Friday Morning Meeting at 7:20 B Minimum total of 24 grades/Bi-Weekly Data Meeting Completed/Reading and Spanish Night Big Rock 1: School Learning Climate