Winslow's Words
February 16, 2016
Information you want to know!!
- Start thinking about your fieldtrips! We will need to get buses reserved. Each class has approximately $360 to spend on the bus fees. Let me know projected plans and dates. We will then check with Justin Browning, from the high school, to coordinate the bus with the bus company and get it on the district calendar.
- We will have an all school Pajama Day on Wednesday, February 17th! Our always thinking, super counselor Joyce, came to me with this idea because we have breakfast for lunch! We will celebrate all day long!
- Reading textbooks - the samples are all in the conference room. Make sure you go and check them out and get some ideas on what you like and do not like. We will be having some representatives come from the companies to share more with us soon. I have talked and am in the process of getting dates lined up. I hope to do this on Wednesday afternoons to no interfere with other activities.
Thought for the day-----
"Let go of grudges. Forgiving people and moving on with life feels so much better than holding on to anger and resentment."
Character Trait for February
Our February Character Trait is Honesty. We will look for honest students all month and talk about honesty during morning assembly each day.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, February 17
~All school Pajama Day
~PD time - AR Math - live PD remote
Thursday, February 18
~Grade level meetings K,1,2
Friday, February 26
~Delta Dental Presentation for PreK-3 in gym at 10am
Tuesday, March 1
~Kindergarten Round-Up 6:30pm
Wednesday, March 2
~Read Across America
Friday, March 4
~Kindergarten Screening
~PTO Movie Night
Tuesday, March 8
~End of quarter
Thursday, March 10
~Principal Advisory Committee
Saturday, March 12
PTO 5K Run
Thursday, March 17
~12:30pm Dismissal
Friday, March 18
~No School
Tuesday, March 22
~Spring pictures
~Staff Meeting
Thursday, March 24
~12:30pm Dismissal
Friday, March 25
~No School
Monday, March 28
~No School
Article I wanted to share ........ we must make connections
A couple of days ago, I attended an IEP meeting at the end of the day. The beginning of this meeting with parents was typical as present levels of performance were presented, goals set and instructional supports discussed. IEP meetings are predictable as they follow a particular format, but something out of the ordinary took place near the end that left me thinking about what matters most in our profession.
After the family was informed of their son's progress and plans moving forward, they shared how satisfied they are with the support that our school has been able to provide. It is always great to hear comments like this because there are times when family support is not nearly as prevalent in these types of gatherings. The mother continued to thank her son's teacher for her commitment and making an intentional effort to connect with him. She said, "We love our son dearly, but also realize that he is a handful to say the least." "You understand him and he connects with you more than any of his teachers in the past; that makes all the difference in the world." "My son has not enjoyed school in the past several years, but now cannot wait to come each day because of you."
Our staff members work extremely hard preparing engaging lessons, designing appropriate interventions to meet a variety of needs and spend countless hours analyzing data to make the best instructional decisions. This work is critical to the success of our schools, but does not mean much if there are not connections with children. When we are able to establish positive relationships with students and discover what makes them tick, the possibilities of learning are endless. On the flip side, if there is no relationship, we can spend a great deal of time planning, instructing and assessing, but it will not carry nearly the same amount of weight.
This is my thirteenth year in education and my first group of students are now in their early twenties. I will run into these young adults from time to time and the conversations are always fantastic. They never talk about the engaging math lessons that I was able to deliver or the results that they were able to achieve on standardized assessments. What they remember from more than a dozen years ago are their baseball games that I attended, the time we spent playing together at recess or the stories that I told filled with lessons learned from my time in school. I am not discounting the academic content that we teach students; however, this material is not nearly as impactful without a true connection.