BARBER BULLETIN
January 7-11, 2019 Creating Joyful Leaders and Learners!
WHEN KIDS LEAD....from George Couros
I remember I was about to speak at a conference and before things started, the crowd of educators was loud as they were connecting and having conversations with each other. Educators don’t get the chance to talk to each other on a personal or professional level as much as I am sure many would appreciate so starting an event can be tough. But then I saw a student who was maybe in Grade 2 stand up to the mic and welcome everyone. Within about one second, there was silence and the student commanded attention in a way that I have never seen any adult receive so quickly. After that, I have always advocated for students to speak and especially start our professional learning days. This reminds us of why we do what we do and a great way to show the results educators have on our students.
I was reminded of this story for two reasons. The first was this awesome video from not Joe Sanfelippo. Joe is a good friend of mine, and I know he was sick this week, so he had his incredible daughter Alena give the weekly leadership message, and she is unbelievable in the message and delivery. Find it here on this blog
Preparing kids to lead when they leave us means letting them lead when they’re with us. We’re all in this together.
I then saw this 4-year-old, Caleb Stewart, talk about the importance and benefits of reading, and again, the message and the delivery are powerful:
These were great reminders of the importance of giving our students the opportunity to lead.
As Alena stated, “The more students own it the better they’ll like it.” I couldn’t agree more.
Sooooooo, make your NEW YEARS resolution to SPONSOR a Student Leadership Role at Pontiac if you haven't already done so! We certainly can't expect 100% of our students to hold jobs if we don't have our staff #allin! Thank you for your leadership!
Hard to believe - It's Yearbook Time!
LETTERS OF INTENT
As we begin to assess our staffing needs for the 2019-2020 school year, you are being asked to inform the district of your intent to return to Richland School District Two for the 2019-2020 school year. We ask that all employees complete the form that was emailed to you by January 15, 2019.
Retirement
If you plan to retire, the letter of intent will direct you to complete the HR Employee Separation Form after you submit your letter of intent. Please email Stephanie McCarter Frederick, Benefits Manager, at sfrederi@richland2.org before submitting your HR Employee Separation Form for more information on the retirement process and so she can explain which dates you need to include in your resignation.
PERSONAL UPDATES AND PERSONNEL UPDATES
First, please join me in sympathy as I recently learned that Jenn Polson, a special education assistant, lost her father in law over break after a massive stroke. What a difficult time for this family to lose such a special gentleman during the holidays. Thank you for keeping this family close in prayer.
Courtney Lybrand had an exciting New Years as she announced the arrival of a new baby parrot in JUNE! Her and James are thrilled to be a #partyofthree in the New Year! We are so happy for Courtney on her soon to-be Mommyhood!
It's time to WELCOME BACK Christy Morrabal who joins us on Monday after a long maternity leave with baby Kennedy!
NEW FACES have joined us --- please welcome our newest staff members:
Tina Avery - Tina joined us before the break and is a huge asset to our special education team, particularly Mr. L's class!
Cathy Nowlin, parent of Lillian Nowlin, will join us soon as our newest Primary Montessori assistant, partnering with Kim Diroff.
Rebecca Struthers will join us as we sadly say goodbye to Lena Brown in Lower Montessori. Lena's husband accepted a wonderful opportunity that will involve traveling, particularly to Australia, for months at a time so Lena and the kids will join his travels. Rebecca will become the new Montessori Lower Assistant with Casey Avant.
Riddhi Doshi will happily complete our RTI team in January, coming to us from the middle school world of math! Her previous experience as a classroom teacher will serve her and the children well in this new role! Stay tuned for a schedule for her from LaShon Bookman!
Sonya Ramsue's reading coach position has been posted. If you or someone you know might be interested in serving in this role, please talk to me about it in the coming days!
I will be interviewing for our MEDIA SPECIALIST vacancy soon. If this position is important to you and you would like to join the interview panel, I'd love to have you! We have two strong candidates to talk to this month. Let me know if you would like to serve on this interview team. The position vacancy will be filled for 2019-2020.
Loren Carmon has STILL not delivered HALLIE but has plans to be induced this week. Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Czekalski to Loren's classroom as the long term sub. She previously taught under our assistant superintendent, James Ann Sheley, in the Kershaw County School District and has been doing long term sub leaves for many years in R2.
LOTS OF INFORMATION to keep you informed. If I have unintentionally left any updates off, please forgive me!
A LOOK AT OUR FIRST WEEK TOGETHER OF 2019
GO TIGERS! National Championship Game! Wear your purple and orange if you are a Tiger fan!
2:30pm - Pull from birdcage on NewsShow for December LEADER IN ME tickets.
3:30pm - Staff meeting in media center
TUESDAY:
No Schoolwide events scheduled
WEDNESDAY:
K.Barber off campus at Key Leaders meeting
3:30pm Parrot Prep Academy
THURSDAY:
Grade level meetings in BrainForest with APs
Class Pictures
3pm-4pm Coke and Conversation in BrainForest
6:30pm PTO meeting
FRIDAY:
7:30am Coffee and Conversation