Monday Memo
February 8th - 12th
You can't always expect a certain result, but you can expect to do your best. -- Anita Hill
I hope you all found a way to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday. Dad and Lisa came over for dinner and the game. While most of us were more invested in the commercials than the game itself, this was not the case for Lisa. Since my brother lives in North Carolina, she was a Panther fan to the bitter end. Richard, Lauren and Ryan told her they were rooting for the Broncos, and although she was polite, it was obvious she was not happy with their betrayal of family.
As you know, this Friday we will have our Valentine Parties. Without fail, each year we have a parent bring helium balloons for either their child or all of the children in their child's class. It is heartbreaking for us to tell them that they can't be in the building and frustrating for them if they forgot or just didn't know. If you haven't done so already, please remind your parents that we cannot have helium balloons in the building.
Progress Reports are going home on Wednesday. Remember it is never going to work out in your favor if you are sending home a progress report with grades lower than the parents expect. While I always want you to be honest about how a student is performing, it is not okay for parents to be surprised. If you have not done so already, please make sure that you call the parents to discuss the progress report prior to it going home.
Wednesday, February 17th was initially scheduled as a Content PLC meeting day. Because so many of us will be out for ELM training that day, and our current PLC focus is at a team level, we are changing that time to be used for team extended planning. This would be an ideal time to plan flex grouping, differentiation, centers/stations, and/or lit circles. Please plan to meet with your team and/or content team members from 3:15-4:30pm. I would hate for your teams to have this time that you desperately need and for a member to leave early due to a scheduling conflict.
I want to share with you how proud I am of being McGowen Maverick. While I know that you are tired and a little worried about getting a few students across the line, I don't see it when I watch you teach, or participate in your planning, or plan strategic interventions with you for special friends. Your professionalism, dedication, and commitment to our students and our teams continues to shine through in spite of any obstacle that you face. This is what an interdependent team does, and because of you, we are inching our way closer and closer to our goal. With all that I am, I cannot thank you enough.
As we continue to pray for The Prugh Family, count your blessings and make today count!
JL
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Teacher Scales for Reflective Practice
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Warm-Up Wednesdays
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Shoparoo
Did you know that each week I give out jeans passes to those who are one of the top three participants on Shoparoo? I know that many of you have already joined, but if you haven't, it is not too late. Simply go to www.shoparoo.com to create your account. If you use veft4467 as a referral code, McGowen will earn money for you just signing up. Please feel free to push this information out to your parents as well. Once you sign up, Shoparoo will give you a referral code for your parents to use when they sign up. Schools with just 40 supporters are earning an average of $1,000 every year.
Congratulations to Jennifer Little, Donna Fabian and Jen McCartney for being in this week's top three!
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Congratulations to Tara Jackson and the MISD Hockey Team!
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Focus for 2015 - 2016
In order to help every child their personal best, McGowen teachers and staff will:
- Develop a common language needed to become High Reliability School.
- Develop an understanding and process for effective Professional Learning Communities.
- Engage in collaborative team planning and lesson design to promote higher level thinking and student engagement.
- Present lessons in such a way that students understand and can speak knowledgeably about posted learning and language targets.
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Remind for Staff
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Happy Birthday!
February
3rd- Keri Walsh
7th- Marci Caldwell
8th- Tracey Stevens
29th- Kelli Cantu
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APPRECIATIONS
- Michelle C-Thank you so much for always being there to talk with me about some of my kiddos! Your dedication is appreciated! XOXO, Maria
- Shiela-Thank you for always being there to help out with my kiddos:) Maria
- Jennifer-I can’t thank you enough for the words of wisdom! You seem to always have the right thing to say at the right time:) Maria
- 2nd Grade-I can’t put into words how thankful I am for you! Thank you all so much for always coming together and making sure each one of us is “good”!!! Love you all, Maria
- Gaby-Thank you for covering my early morning duty Thursday and Friday so I could spend time with my girls:) Maria
- Barbara - so thankful for my sonic fairy! Donna
- Nick, Holly, Marci, Gaby, Amanda, Stacie - thank you for all your help with the dance! Donna
- Jennifer - thankful for so much but especially the JL cookie on Friday! Donna
- Miss Irma - you are always there when we need you! Thank you for all your help with the dance. Donna
- Sylvia - thanks for the "save" on Monday!! Donna
- Rico - thank you for letting me hijack you to move tables with me! Donna
- Sunshine - great Super Bowl lunch! Donna
- JL – Thank you for putting your time, energy and precision into the Science Cut Ups! I truly appreciate the help! ~Lovell
- MC – Thanks for always hunting down answers for me! ~Lovell
- Melanie – Thank you for taking me to TCEA! It was such an amazing conference and I left with my glass full of great ideas! - Bravo
- 5th Grade Team – Thank you for taking care of my kids and my sub while I was out this week! Love y’all! - Bravo
- Second Grade team—thank you for always being there to answer all my questions and helping when it starts to feel like too much. Thanks especially this week when I had to be out. Chaney
- Tara Jackson. Thank you so much for all your help last week. It was a wonderful event! Hugs!
- Amanda and Nick – I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. Gaby
- Jennifer, Sylvia, Shiela and Michelle for covering my class and making sure I was able to take a very special phone call on Friday! - Tracey
- Tracey, thank you for taking my tutoring kids on Monday! —KWard
- Specials team, you did a fabulous job in making our Heart Hop a blast for everyone!! —Kward
- Jenny, thank you for being flexible with our new 4th grade rotation times. I’m so glad my precious friends can still join us. —KWard
- Barbara, Stacie and Vicky ~ Thank you for thinking of me and spoiling me with all of the treats last week. You are all so thoughtful! ~Love ya, Shiela
- A-team ~ You are all amazing! Thank you for treating me to lunch for Counselor’s Week. Your support helps make my job more manageable. ~Shiela
- Classroom Teachers ~ Thank you for your kind words and cards/notes from your students during Counselor’s Week. I enjoy working with all of you! ~Shiela
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Action Items
- Email parents a reminder that we cannot have helium balloons in the building
- Send Progress Reports home on Wednesday, February 10th
- Submit MVM names by EOD on Thursday, February 18th
- 3rd grade scan ELA DA by EOD on Friday, February 19th
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VOLUNTARY TRANSFER PROCESS
In the past teachers completed a voluntary transfer form and then the current administrator and Human Resources were notified. This process has been eliminated.
If a teacher is interested in transferring to another MISD campus, he/she will need to apply for open positions through WinOcular. Human Resources will not create a transfer list. The deadline for in-district teacher transfers, excluding special education, is June 1.
If you are thinking about a transfer, after you apply, I would encourage you to reach out to principals directly if you see a position you are interested in and copy me and/or Sylvia on the email. This tells the admin you are wanting to transfer in good standing, and that we have already spoken. If you do not copy us and state that we have spoken about the transfer the admin will contact us, and this could give the new admin some suspicion. Keep in mind Sylvia and I are here to support you professionally and will help in any way we can.
McKinney ISD's Vision, Mission and Beliefs
Any time we have an idea, concern, solution and/or comment, this is the filter through which we should speak. Let's help each other live up to our vision, mission, and beliefs.
Vision:
We are a cohesive, diverse community providing engaging learning experiences for all.
We will provide engaging learning experiences so students can become effective communicators, quality contributors and socially responsible citizens.
Beliefs:
- Partnerships between students, parents, community members and staff are foundational to educational success.
- Positive school culture and a safe environment foster growth.
- Everyone has inherent value and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Learning is an active process requiring engaging tasks and engaging minds.
- Relevant and authentic experiences ignite continuous, deeper learning.
- Meaningful relationships enrich learning.
- Confidence fuels risk taking and higher achievement.
- Financial stewardship ensures a tomorrow for education.