Tiger Times
Week 22: February 3-7
Picking Dandelions
So...this story may be a bit unseasonable--although, all this recent rain and warmish weather has made a few daffodils peek out of the dirt in my yard. Regardless, it's a story from last spring that made an impression on me. As I participated in my first Tiger Pride Awards, and with our upcoming honors assemblies, it made me think about it again.
We came home from a weekend away last April and the first thing that caught our attention as we pulled into the driveway was the peppering of dandelions throughout the front yard. My husband made some grumbling noises about the weeds in the yard, and, ever the fixers, Ben and Owen immediately set out to pick everyone of those tiny white puffs from the yard. It was a tremendous improvement that lasted the remaining hours of that Sunday.
The next afternoon, we were graced with at least double the dandelions that had been there before.
You see, Ben and Owen, with the best of intentions, set out to focus their energy on picking every one of those weeds out of our yard. And ya'll...what we focus on...GROWS. With every dandelion they picked, seeds scattered and quickly took root. Those dandelions, dotting our yard in an unattractive way, commanded our attention. We allowed them to become the most important thing, the focus of our energy, and in so doing, we created more.
Sometimes dandelions sprout in our life. They come in the form of challenging co-workers, difficult parents, negative student behaviors, self-defeating thoughts, and things we cannot control. There will be dandelions that require a response, but we always have the choice to emphasize the good in our lives. We have choices about who and what surrounds us. We have the choice to foster and promote the positive, so that it continues to take root and multiply, and we have the choice to ignore the negative, and though it won't happen overnight, those dandelions eventually wither. My challenge to myself and to you as well, is to actively focus on the good around us and encourage our students and colleagues to do the same.
I am grateful for all the examples of this positive focus I have witnessed here at Randleman.
Honored to do this work alongside you,
-Ashley
Need to Knows
TAX TIME: Don't forget to pick up your W-2 from Tracey, or print it off from your employee portal if you selected to receive it electronically.
BOOKROOM BOOKS: At this time, when books are returned to the bookroom,please place them on the book cart in front of the bookroom door. It has a sign that says return ALL books here.
Weekly Events
School Counselor Week this week
Istation ISIP assessment this week-all students K-3 and 4th transitional kiddos
WIDA ACCESS Testing begins this week
- Timesheets Due to Tracey
Tuesday, February 4
- BETA Club Convention
- Staff Meeting
- Bojangles Night-all staff who attend will receive a $5 gift card
Wednesday, February 5
- Principals Meeting, Barr
- SGA
Thursday, February 6
Friday, February 7
- Instructional Rounds (We are the 2nd School for that day)
- Webmaster Training (Routh)
- Sub Management Workshop (Adams)
- Duty Free Lunch
- K-2 Dance (3pm)
- 3-5 Dance (5pm)
Looking Ahead
Monday, February 10
The Ned Show:
8:30-9:15 Grades 3 and 4
9:45-10:30, Grades K-2
Tuesday, February 11
Wednesday, February 12
- AIG Meeting at Central Services, Myers
Thursday, February 13
Friday, February 14
- Happy Valentine's Day!
Paperless Pointer Strategy: "The Question is..."
What is it? A formative assessment strategy that will give you a bettere idea of student understanding around a topic.
What do I need? Sticky notes, writing implements, a board or anchor chart
When should I use it? This strategy could be used at all points of a lesson. As a pre-assessment, it would be a great way to gauge student's prior knowledge. In the middle of your lesson, this could be a temperature check to see how students are processing their learning. At the conclusion of a lesson or unit, student answers would help you determine if they successfully accomplished their learning target.
How do I do it? Think of a question related to the material at hand. Write only the answer to the question on an anchor chart or board. Have students consider the answer they see and use sticky notes or turn and talk with a partner to formulate what they believe is the question that matches the answer.
This is a great strategy to help with content, reading comprehension, and is super easy for math-just give them a number.
February Morning Announcements Schedule
February 3-7: Malhotra
February 10-14: Dodd
February 17-21: Garner
February 24-28: Fay
March 3-7: S. Price
March 10-14: Coble
March 17-21: Dorman
March 24-28: