BESTeam Tidbits
November 12, 2017
Celebrations!
Veteran’s Day was AWESOME!!!
Dr. Ryan’s chat with the staff was fabulous! It was interesting to hear all of those things and hear how informed our staff already is.
Specials had a great half day of planning!
Turkey time fun! Thank you sunshine for spreading gratitude!
L.I.F.E. Time kick-off was amazing! So excited to see everyone working on self-selected goals!
From 5th Grade: Thank you, Sandy, for translating for Carolyn and Tiffany with a parent.
From 5th Grade: A HUGE thank you to Cathy for getting "the furniture drop off room" cleared out for KBEST. The 5th graders are so excited to get started next week.
Big Rocks
- Technology Tidbit: Recently Technology Services has noticed a large increase in staff sharing their login information with subs or other staff members. It is extremely important to not share your district login information with anyone. The giving of this information seems to be a common occurrence to some subs or other staff members. Your login is connected to student data as well as your personal data within Skyward. Allowing someone to access your computer or any device with your login also allows them access to these other areas of data. Please be mindful of this as someone could use your login for inappropriate activity that would be associated with you. As a general reminder, the sharing of your account information is a violation of the districts Acceptable Use Policy.
Human Resources Hub: As the HR Department continues to work to improve the fill rate each day, there is a continual trend. In addition to the large number of personal business days taken by staff, there are many personal business days with substitutes entered the day before or the day of the absence. This often results in an unfilled absence. Our administrative regulation states, “All campus-based personnel will request discretionary leave from the principal or designated assistant principal 3 days (72 hours) in advance of the requested absence. The request shall be submitted in writing. The campus administrator will consider the impact of the employee’s request on the educational operations of the campus and then respond to the employee within 24 hours of receiving the request. If the employee does not receive a response form the principal, the request in considered granted.” If the employee is submitting the request in accordance with the administration, the request for a substitute should be entered in a timelier manner. There are other specifics pertaining to holidays and testing days.Please consider the impact on the educational operation of the campus as you approve these absences and encourage staff to submit requests early and secure substitutes in a timely manner.
Focus 5: Jennifer will be back with us the week after Thanksgiving. Continue to integrate the one minute challenges into your teaching. We encourage you to plan with these in mind. Let Jamie, Tonya, or Cathy know how we can support you as we slowly integrate the arts.
Small Rocks
Behavior Trainings for Teachers: Based on feedback from principals, the special ed department changed the training dates for teachers. Please share this information with your teachers and encourage attendance. These trainings are open to all teachers.
Elementary 3:30-4:30, Secondary 4:30-5:30
Meetings will be held in the Bronco Bowl.
1/15 - "Visuals"
2/12 - "Differentiated Reinforcement"
3/26 - "The Power of Choice and the Token System"
4/23 -- Topic to be determined soon
Hour of Code: Please see the following presentation regarding Hour of Code in December. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cLwzVXwzq9uAKswdzAcauDFndtJXEIgFVC5VRNFtlnU/edit?usp=sharing
World Kindness Day: On Monday we will be celebrating World Kindness Day! Please show your students this video during Circle Up or any convenient time during the day!
This video is appropriate for all grade levels! Color Your World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwelE8yyY0U
Encourage your kids to spread kindness and scan the Throw Kindness Like Confetti QR Code!
To start a chain reaction of kindness enjoy wearing jeans and ANY shirt on Monday! Phone Upgrade: Over the next 60 days, Technology Services will be performing district-wide phone system upgrades.
Some important things to note with this transition are outlined below once the system is in place on your campus etc:
- Dial 8 for an outside line - we will no longer dial 9 to get an outside line for calls, the transition to dial 8 will drastically decrease our accidentally 911 calls that we currently experience. For emergencies, you will always be able to just dial 911 without dialing 8 etc.
- Voicemail to Email - We will be upgrading to a more advanced voicemail system that will now send your voicemail to your email. You will be able to listen to messages anywhere and forward as needed.
- New Voicemail Setup - Everyone will need to re-record your voicemail greeting. Handouts will be provided at the time of phone upgrade on your location.
Technology Services will send a campus or department-wide email two days prior to the system roll over. There will be no impact to calls during this transition. Based on the number of phones to deploy we will attempt to do a few campus each night. Be on the lookout for more information specific to your location in the coming weeks!
Three Terrific Texan Tweets
Week at a Glance
Monday
Jenna out
Tonya ARD @ 8:00
BES Garden Club 3-3:45pm
CEC 3;15-4:15pm
Chipotle Spirit Night 4-8:00pm
Choir 3-4:00pm
World Kindness Day
Happy World Kindness Day! Enjoy wearing jeans and any shirt of your choice! Thank you for spreading kindness at Bransford!
Tuesday
Brittany at Valor
Lauren at Valor
Raschel at PLC
Jamie to admin in the afternoon
Fifth Grade Reading Benchmark
ALL staff meeting after school in the library at 3:15 p.m.
Wednesday
Lori at PLC
Gifted Specialists at BES
Fitness Force 3-3:45pm
Jamie to principal meeting a.m.
Tonya to AP Meeting @ 1:00
Thursday
Lori out
RtI Tier III Progress Monitoring meeting
The Most Magnificent Thing-4th grade 6:30-7:30pm
The Most Magnificent Thing-dress rehearsal 12:20 pm Cafeteria
Shelly at meeting 1-3:00pm
Abbey at meeting
Library Ambassadors 3:00pm
Knd. GT Info Night 6-7:00pm PDEC
PTA Meeting 6:30-7:30pm
Thankful Thursday! Enjoy wearing jeans and a BES shirt!
Friday
Pre-K Thanksgiving Feast 2-3:00pm
Tonya at meeting 10:00-12:00
Be Proactive ~ A look ahead!
- November 13: Chipotle Spirit Night- 9127 Grapevine Hwy. N. Richland Hills 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- November 16: 4th Grade Music Performance
- November 28: Teddy’s Burgers Spirit Night 4-9:00pm
- December 8: Staff Holiday Party
- December 12: CMS Holiday performance at 10:00 a.m.
- December 19: Staff volunteer opportunity at GRACE Christmas Cottage
- December 21: All school assembly at 9:45 a.m. starting with Portrait of a Texan for November and December, choir performance, and school sing-along (this affords our volunteers to set up for the end of semester celebrations); Celebrations from 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. (please note, we will NOT be signing students out early from the classroom); Early Release at 11:45 a.m.
- December 22: No school for staff and students
BES Forms
- Field Trip Request Form
- PTA Grant Request: All PTA grant requests are due the Wednesday before the executive board meets.
Jamie Halliburton
Email: jamie.halliburton@gcisd.net
Phone: 806-441-6518
Twitter: @BESHalliburton