Monday Memo
February 24, 2020
Great Things!
Fantastic job with fire drills again everyone! We are consistent with our time, and are locating students that are not with their classes quickly.
Dino O'Dell brought a fun and interactive show once again to HGECC! It is always so fun to watch the kids dance and sing and play their belly bongos! He did leave a couple of CDs and his Zar book if you would like to borrow them!
The food drive is going great! Thank you to all who have donated to our students! We have already had to empty the barrel once to make room for more donations! We appreciate your help with this!
Freda Markley enjoyed walking through the building on Friday! It was a surprise tour, and she noticed evidence of student writing, engaging center materials, and books throughout the classrooms and hallways.
SB-6 Story time and gross motor time was a hit this week! They had fun with parachutes, making a fox craft that went along with their story, and having a healthy snack!
Challenge: Power of intention
The Power of Intention states: "Mistakes are opportunities to learn". When you view a situation or an "oops" in the classroom - do you look at it as a missing skill and an opportunity to teach? Our students are learning all of the time, and so are we. We have to be willing to make mistakes and then grow and change while learning from our mistakes.
Are you willing to commit to seeing mistakes as opportunities to change?
Dates to remember:
February 22: Happy Birthday to Caiti!
February 23: Happy Birthday to Chelsea!
February 23: Happy Birthday to Kristin!
February 24: Happy Birthday to Kim McGaugh!
February 26: DIAL screening training 8:45-9:45 a.m. (library)
February 26: Staff meeting in Library-4:00 p.m. (see N&B below for information)
February 27: Lunch provided by Commerce Bank (11:00-1:00-lounge)
March 3: 10:00-7:00 p.m. DIAL screenings
March 4: 8:00-5:00 p.m. DIAL screenings
March 6: Fire Drills
Nuts-n-Bolts:
*Announcements are uploaded and ready to go-Krystal's EHS class this week
*Please remember to complete the CD survey for our CDAT team. We are utilizing the results to help plan the next PD.
*There will be a short "Q&A with the Superintendent" in the library on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. this week. This is a time for you to ask any questions you may have that have come up on GV10 surveys, things that you have sent to Potpurri with Sarah J, etc. If you have any questions about the Q&A time, please see Sarah J. Please plan to attend.
*Thursday, the 27th, one of our community partners through Caring for Kids, Commerce Bank, will be bringing in a light lunch for staff. Please swing through and grab a bite!
*Spoiler Alert: we will be bringing back Marvelous Mondays in March.... Stay tuned.....
*Lesson Plan reminder: please make sure lesson plans are up to date and posted in rooms. Teachers: also please make sure plans are including specific vocabulary for read alouds, and distancing prompts for the read aloud you have selected for the week.
*Reminder: if a student is absent or goes home early, please remember to let that child's bus point person know. We are starting to forget about that piece again, and staff are having to look for/ask around about students when they don't see them in their lines.
*Websites are due to be updated by end of the day February 28. Please email me to let me know you have done this.
*February book shelving duty: Lyndsey. (March: Connie)
Speech and Language Tip of the Week:
Read a book several times during the week. At the end of the week, see if the kids can act out the story. They will enjoy using props and it is a good way to see if they can comprehend the sequence of events that happened in the story. This develops a sense of story elements, as well as what happens “first/last”.
Fine Motor Tip of the Week:
Pencil Grasp
If you have a student that is holding a marker in their fingers (tripod or quadropod) but in a vertical position (not resting in the webspace), teach them to position the shaft of the marker in their open webspace. This is important for a mature grasp and efficient writing and will help reduce motor fatigue. They may need a dot drawn on the webspace for a visual reminder of where to position the marker.