Galloping Gazette
A newsletter for the Faculty and Staff - Week of 9/30
Put Students First • Seek Growth • Be Open to Change . Do Great Work Together • Value Differences
It is hard to believe that this past week celebrated the first day of Fall! If you haven't heard, fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. The perfect weather, the abundance of pumpkin spice lattes, the yummy apple cider donuts.... I could go on and on. As I was driving yesterday and drinking my PSL, I reflected on something, that is not only a core value of mine, but something that draws us all at CFES together - genuine relationships.
If you haven't heard Rita Pierson's Ted Talk entitled, "Every Child Needs a Champion," you should take a few minutes to listen to it. Pierson shares that "One of the things that we never discuss, or we rarely discuss, is the value and importance of human connection. Relationships." Engaging with students may come naturally to you. It may also be difficult to engage with some of your students. That is okay. Building and fostering relationships is not an easy task. You have to spend the time to find new ways to connect deeply with your students. One of the most important things to remember is that it not about us, when establishing these relationships. When working with elementary students, if you fail to recognize, acknowledge, or show empathy towards a student's issues, you will cause your relationship to quickly crumble.
While I have been reflecting on building relationships this past week, I ran across a timely article called "Students Learn from People They Love." I immediately assumed the article was about K-12 education. I was wrong. It is actually about a college professor teaching to his undergraduate students at Yale. He spends time describing the impact of being vulnerable with his students and the impact this had on his relationships. Take a few moments to read it when you have a second - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/learning-emotion-education.html.
Have a great week!
-Robyn
Tell me something good
- Ms. Mercy’d- I’m always cheering you on! Danielle
- Huge thank you to Moriah for all of her help! Ally
- Thank you to Wende for helping out with Colt TV while Debbie and I were out! Travis
- Thank you to Kindergarten for letting me come get your kiddos started on their Chromebooks! Travis
- Shout out to Beth O'Brian for taking over on Monday and Tuesday while I was home with my sick girls. Whitney
- Shout out to Travis for being awesome and teaching the kindergartners how to log on to their chromebooks... that is no easy task! Whitney
- Shout out to my night custodian, Jacob! He wipes down my desks and tables each night. Thanks, Jacob! Tammy
- I am fortunate to have an amazing second grade team who is supportive and always wiling to collaborate with me. Adriana
Megan Zipprich whose positive warm personality makes teaming a great experience. Appreciate you very much. Adriana
Shout out to Cindy Matney for her attention to student detail and building relationships with parents and students as evidenced in a meeting. Patti P.
Shout out to Mrs. W for her patience and kind heart. Karen R.
Shoutout to Katie Burok for your daily check-ins; they’re very much appreciated! -Stacey
- Shoutout to the k team for sharing great ideas resources!-Stacey
Fatima Dorbin, gracias por todas las sugerencias. Adriana
A big shout out to Jennifer Pleasant for being so organized with the bus forms . Also, thank you for being so Advance Proficient (AP) with our substitute teacher requests ~ you are always serving us with a smile! May
Thank you Kelly Z. for all of your hard work! Donna
Thank you Travis for all of your help with SCA candidate speeches on Colt TV, for creating the ballot and tallying votes! Jackie and Ally
- Thank you Patti P. for fun times at the air show, and all of your help this week! Jackie
- Thank you Francis for all you have done for our classes this year! Jackie
- Thank you Alainya for your kind note. You are so very thoughtful. Jackie
- Travis Bowman, thank you for your patience and cheerful attitude while I navigate new technology. Adrian Greer
- Megan Bullard, thank you for taking your time to help me create a planning template! You are a true teammate! Megan Z.
- Claire Love, thank you for spreading JOY everyday but especially as you worked to coordinate our first Happy Hour!!! Megan Z.
- Ann Featherston, sorry for disrupting your groove in the hallway... but those little faces are just too adorable!!! You make life here at the farm more fun!!! Megan Z.
- Shout out to Kelly McNeely for her thoughtful design of our weekly math homework sheet. It provides a great practice, a review, as well as a chance to show skill in the upcoming objective(s). Thank you, Kelly. This design serves our mathematicians so well!!!! Susan
- Susan Cucuzza - I enjoy being across the hall from you and your class is always following the Colt's code! Anna S.
- Shout out to Kelly McNeely for her efforts to figure out a system for math centers that makes everyone successful (only took 2 or 3 tries ) Anna
Schedule for upcoming weeks
**National Bullying Awareness Prevention Month**
** VA Disability History and Awareness Month**
** PLC- Math this Week - please bring your exemplars**
Monday, September 30th
- Ms. Porter out all day at SPED training
- #GetthatMondayMotivation
- Watch DOG Dad Calvin Durrett
- GOTR 3:00
- Coaches Meeting 9:15-10:15 room 36
Tuesday, October 1st
- Ms. Porter out all day at SPED training
- PAC/Leadership Meeting 3:00 Library
Wednesday ,October 2nd
- Lifetouch Picture Day
- Watch DOG Dad Mike Kennedy
- 11:00 2nd PLC
- 12:45 1st PLC
- 1:35 4th PLC
- GOTR 3:00
Thursday, October 3rd
- 8:30 5th PLC
- 9:20 3rd PLC
- 10:10 PreK/K PLC
- Math Training (Optional) with Jenny Rockwell K-5 3:00-4:00 Room 36
Friday, October 4th
- Citizen of the Month Lunches
- Watch DOG Dad Arcilio Diaz
** Fire Prevention Week **
Monday, October 7th
- GOTR 3:00
Tuesday, October 8th
- 1/2 day Spanish Collaboration 11:30-3:00 Room 34B
- PBIS Meeting 3:00 Library
Wednesday, October 9th
- Progress Reports Quarter 1
- IPT Testing 4th Grade 8:30-10:30
- 11:00 2nd PLC
- 12:45 1st PLC
- 1:35 4th PLC
- 5th Grade Amusement Park Expo 1:30-2:15
- GOTR 3:00
Thursday, October 10th
- 5th Grade Gifted Screening
- 8:30 5th PLC
- 9:20 3rd PLC
- 10:10 PreK/K PLC
- PBIS Training 12:30-4:30 Plaza Annex
Friday, October 11th
- PTA Fall Festival 6:00-8:00
News and Notes....
Our scheduled professional development for the Virtual Learning Day will take the place of the October faculty meeting. The schedule for Virtual Learning Day will be released soon. You should plan for professional development in the morning. Lunch will be on your own.
Morning Meeting Moment
This week's morning meeting motivation is a kid-friendly video about "why we lose control of our emotions." The video highlights what is called flipping your lid, or when students lose the ability to regulate their emotions. Watch it during morning meeting with your students. There are question stems that can serve as stopping points and conversation points for morning meeting. For example, how can we stop from flipping our lid?" OR "how can we realize when it is about to happen?" It teaches students the importance of using I statements. Enjoy! :)
VIRGINIA BEACH READING COUNCIL (VBRC) - FALL READING CONFERENCE
America's Safe Schools Week, Oct. 20-26.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools will observe these dates to again highlight and reinforce school safety. In appreciation of their important contributions to school safety, Wednesday, Oct. 23, is designated as School Resource Officer and Security Assistant Day. Let's celebrate Mrs. Fantano to show her appreciation for keeping us safe at CFES!
Social Studies Textbook Login Information
New textbook - this does not become the curriculum, but to serve as a resource! Chad Gangwer is an excellent resource if you have any questions.
Teachers:
- Username: VBCPSteacher
- Password: 23456T
Students:
- Username: VaBeach
- Password: 23456S
Changes to your 403b and 457 Deferred Compensation Plans
Be on the lookout for more information coming from Benefits office. We will be scheduling time with VOYA Financial to meet with teachers. VOYA is the only company that you can use IF you choose to move your 403 B to their company and have payroll deductions. You can continue with your current provider, if you choose to do so, but it will not be deducted from your paycheck because the VBCPS contract for tax shelter accounts is with VOYA.
It's important to start thinking and talking to your current financial advisers and consider your options.
Important dates to know:
- October 15: Last day to make changes to current election on VBCPS online enrollment platform through Benefitfocus
- November 2019: Transition education meetings begin
- Week of November 25, 2019: New account PIN mailed from VOYA
- Week of December 1, 2019 and after 8am: VOYA account access begins using new PIN available through website or 800 number
- Week of December 16: First contributions from December 15th pay cycle to new investments in your VOYA account
- January 2019: First quarterly statement issued by VOYA (paperless)
Do you have an idea? Here is a chance for FREE MONEY!
For the 2019 – 2020 school year, $200,000 will be awarded to Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) in Virginia Beach Education Foundation (VBEF) grants. VBCPS staff members are encouraged to apply for the Innovative Learning Grants if they have ideas for innovative projects they wish to implement to engage students in hands-on learning activities not already funded by the school division.
The Innovative Learning Grant application is available on vbcps.com under Hot Topics and is
due October 18, 2019, by 4 p.m. Each approved grant awards up to $2,000 for innovative learning projects that benefit students. Please see the link below for more information.