Monday Morning Motivation
Central Elementary Staff News----September 5--September 9
High Five for Heroes
Dear Staff,
It is impossible to be married to a first responder and not pause to remember the sacrifices made on September 11th. Men and women all over this country and abroad respond every day and night to dangerous situations. Just last night my husband and son were around a radio listening to a run come out as a house fire with my husband ready to sprint out the door to help a family.
Each day when you come to school and look out over your classroom, you are teaching our future heroes, modeling for them what it means to care about other people more than yourself. So this week in a small way here at Central we are going to honor our heroes.
After announcements on Friday, I will read a short reflection on 9/11. Next, please have your children line (seated in) the hallways (much like we did for our fifth grade students) to cheer, applaud as our heroes walk by-even giving high-fives as long as students stay seated. :) Please have your students take a moment this week to remember Patriot day by making signs or flags to hold as heroes walk past.
We will have fire, police, and parents in the military walk our halls. Tomorrow I will send a message to parents serving either in the military or as first responders to join us. They will begin in the cafeteria and end there with a small reception.
In your mailbox, you will find the route and where you should have your children sit. We will play patriotic music over the paging system. Also, let's plan on wearing Red, White, and Blue.
Have a great week!
Julie
Remembering September 11th
Remember our goal on Friday is not to bring fear to our students, but to recognize those individuals who work each day to keep us safe. It is a day to be thankful for our freedom and the opportunities that are open to us because we live in this great country.
Here are age specific lesson plans from the 9/11 Memorial. There are lessons for k-5 focusing on what is a hero. There is no pressure to do a big lesson just make sure you talk with your students about why we are honoring our heroes.
Talking with Children about 9/11
http://www.911memorial.org/sites/all/files/TalkingtoChildren.pdf
Lesson Plans
http://www.911memorial.org/lesson-plans
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/911/teachers/lesson_plans.htm
For our older students, here is an article from Scholastic
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3756477Emphasize hope. The attacks of 9/11 showed us the worst in people. But it was also a time when many wonderful, compassionate, and heroic deeds occurred. “Heroes” were everywhere on 9/11 and in the days afterwards. The shock and the sadness also brought people — families, friends, and strangers alike — together in a way that felt special. It is important to remind your children that we are also remembering those heroes and those times. Help your children recognize how their own compassion can prevent future acts of intolerance and violence by reminding them to express their ideas respectfully and to treat people who are different from themselves with kindness---from the 9/11 memorial website http://www.911memorial.org/sites/all/files/TalkingtoChildren.pdf
Two Weeks at a Glance
Central Calendar
MONDAY, September 5
- No School
TUESDAY, September 6
- ELL Certified Teacher meeting 7:30 a.m. Central Office
- Running Club Begins
WEDNESDAY, September 7
- Bus Evacuation Drill
- Academic Team Meeting
- 6:30 Parent Forum at PHS
THURSDAY, September 8
- Faculty Meeting
- School Board Meeting
FRIDAY, September 9
- Homecoming Carnival 4:30-5:30
MONDAY, September 12
TUESDAY, September 13
- ELL WIDA Meeting Clarks Creek
WEDNESDAY, September 14
- Cabinet
THURSDAY, September 15
- RTI Meeting to Positive Behavior Supports
FRIDAY, September 16
- Central Science Day
Announcements and Reminders
- Continue to talk with boys about bathroom etiquette
- Academic Team Callout--Thank you Didi Harris
- Fire Escape Routes will be in your mailbox
- Observations You can send an invitation to me to sign up for your long observation or you can get with Karen. Please sign up this week. My goal is to have everyone signed up by the end of the week. Observations will begin September 12th.
- Science Day September 16th-This is an all day event. The schedule will be in your mailbox this week.
High School Spanish IV Class to visit on Friday, November 4. The students will teach a 30 minute lesson to grades 1 – 5. I appreciate your help and willingness to host my students. 9:00 – 9:30 – Central Visit
November 11 we are having a Veteran's Day program. April Miller is working hard to put this together. Just putting this on your radar.
Bus Evacuation
Front and Rear Bus Evacuations (Weather Permitting)
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY--Wednesday 9/07/16
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
At our last ELA meeting, you may recall it was agreed that teachers could deviate from the grade-level district novel choices if they found a novel that had similar text complexity, vocabulary strategies were incorporated, written expression was emphasized, and teachers were intentional about the standards taught and assessed during this time. Teachers asked to have a little latitude so that they could sometimes choose an alternative novel that was thought to be more engaging to student groups that vary in interest and ability. As a grade level you must ask for permission to use an alternative. Be prepared to give a reason for the deviation and what value the alternative brings to the table.
All of us want to push rigor during guided reading, so be sure the novel is a bit of a struggle for the group intended. Novels used during this time should have complex text and complex ideas that force students to improve their comprehension skills. If students are reading novels during this time that are too easy, then we are wasting precious guided reading minutes.
Professional Development on Rocket Math September 8th @ Faculty Meeting
Staff Celebrations!
- Excellent work on our data team meetings! People are coming to visit because they hear we do this very well. Thank you for getting right on sending letters and designing interventions.
- Thank you to Diana and Shonda for the Character Company videos. The music is always so happy! So glad to see people in the library and the topic so timely with students doing the right thing in all areas of our school :)
- Gina Atkins (15th)
- Mike Underwood (18th)
- Krista Bullington (28)
Central Elementary Fun Fact of the Week
There have been several bat sightings since school started. Guess how many? See Margaret for answer and chocolate for correct guesses. FYI, we did have a man come out last week to address this problem.