Monday Memo
February 1st - 5th
Team,
I hope you all enjoyed the weekend! We spent our time attending Into the Woods Jr. and playing outside in the beautiful weather! The quote this week seemed fitting as my heart was filled with joy compiling all of the appreciations this week and seeing how we support and take care of each other!
Please make sure to check the calendar and read below important tutoring information for all 3-5 teachers. Now that we are back in full swing, this is a good time to remind students about lock down procedures. We will have an unannounced lock down drill in the spring.
Thanks to all of you who have already signed up to work a shift at the dance on February 5th. If you would like to sign up for an additional shift for a jeans pass, please click the link.
As JL would say, please continue to pray for The Prugh Family, count your blessings and make today count!
SL
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Teacher Scales for Reflective Practice
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Jon Gordon's 20 Tips for a Positive New Year (16-20)
16. Don't seek happiness. Instead decide to live with passion and purpose and happiness will find you.
17. Focus on "Get to" vs "Have to." Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.
18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished____________.
19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.
20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.
Tutoring 3-5 ELAR & Math
We are excited to get our 3rd-5th grade tutoring started next week! Below is the information for both the Math and ELAR tutors. Both tutors will be attending Tuesday planning to discuss your team’s plan for them, so please be prepared to meet with them on Tuesday. Wednesday, the tutors will pull students to meet them and then we will be up and running!
Cricket Martin will be our Math Tutor and will be here on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She will be “housed” in the empty Kindergarten room (first one on the right in the kinder hallway).
Jennifer Smith will be our ELAR Tutor and will be here on T/W/Th. She will be “housed” in the empty 5th grade classroom.
While you discuss with your team how to best utilize the tutor, remember, this is your opportunity to think outside of the box and creatively design your instructional blocks with an extra person. Please consider the relationships you have with your students, their specific learning needs and learning styles. What we know to be true is that the success of some of our most needy students depends on the relationship they have with you and some would have a hard time establishing a new relationship with the tutor.
Below is the grade level schedule. Like last year, each grade level will have an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. You can work with your team to best utilize these instructional blocks. The grade level schedule will be identical for both Math and ELAR. Please let me know if you have any questions.
8:15-9:15am: 4th
9:15-10:15am: 5th
10:30-11:30am: 3rd
11:30-12:30pm: 5th
12:30-1:15: Lunch/Prep
1:15-2:00pm: 3rd
2:00-- 2:45pm: 4th
2:45- 3:30: Prep
Texas ASCD is accepting proposal submissions for 90 minute Innovative Highlight sessions at our ignite16 conference! Don't miss the opportunity to share your talents and insight at this exciting professional learning event. This year's conference will be held June 13-15, 2016 at the Irving Convention Center in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Texas ASCD's ignite16 is a conference focused on transforming curriculum with technology. This popular conference is unique in that attendees leave sessions with end products - something they can take with them, to implement or apply in their districts or classrooms. Attendees of the conference choose sessions that cover all interest-areas of education.
When submitting a proposal, please keep in mind that attendees will come with their own devices and will be leaving your session with a product or program to implement/apply in the 2016-2017 school year. Please make sure to indicate what your end product is in your proposal. This year's strands/pathways include:
• Reaching All Learners
• Engaging the Learner
• Advancing Literacy
• Leading Digital Teaching and Learning
Click here to submit your proposal by Leap Day - February 29, 2016.
Proposals will be reviewed by a program committee and the presenters will be notified of the committee's decision before April 30, 2016.
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Warm-Up Wednesdays
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Shoparoo
Did you know that each week I give out jeans passes to those who are one of the top three participants on Shoparoo? I know that many of you have already joined, but if you haven't, it is not too late. Simply go to www.shoparoo.com to create your account. If you use veft4467 as a referral code, McGowen will earn money for you just signing up. Please feel free to push this information out to your parents as well. Once you sign up, Shoparoo will give you a referral code for your parents to use when they sign up. Schools with just 40 supporters are earning an average of $1,000 every year.
Congratulations to Lhauren, Jen McCartney and Donna for being in this week's top three!
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Focus for 2015 - 2016
In order to help every child their personal best, McGowen teachers and staff will:
- Develop a common language needed to become High Reliability School.
- Develop an understanding and process for effective Professional Learning Communities.
- Engage in collaborative team planning and lesson design to promote higher level thinking and student engagement.
- Present lessons in such a way that students understand and can speak knowledgeably about posted learning and language targets.
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Remind for Staff
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Happy Birthday!
February
3rd- Keri Walsh
7th- Marci Caldwell
8th- Tracey Stevens
29th- Kelli Cantu
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APPRECIATIONS
- Sylvia - Thank you so much for writing the newsletter this week. I really appreciate it! -JL
- Krystal thank you for your help this week with potty schedules and daily notebook!!! -Bonnie
- Nicole thanks for being flexible with your schedule and fitting in all our sweet friends. -Bonnie
- Martha thank you for your time this week to get plans in place to help students and parents be successful. -Bonnie
- Sneller you have really sparked an interest other than electronics in students here at McGowen. Thank you for taking your time after school for the Rubiks Cube Club. -Bonnie aka Brase’s mom.
- JD thanks for trying to help me figure out the homeroom rotations. -Bonnie
- Lora L. thank you for having a visual schedule for 5th fan jam rotations :) Bonnie
- Shiela thank you for listening and offering some suggestions on how to best communicate in difficult situations. -Bonnie
- Lori P. your sweet students are lucky to have you! Your daily work with Brayden is amazing! -Bonnie
- Aly – I enjoyed our time together! :) - Michelle C.
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Rhonda – Thank you so much for being a sounding board and for presenting last Wednesday! I appreciate YOU! - Michelle C.
Lisa, Tracey, Melanie, JL & SL – Thank you for the wonderful collaboration and planning on Thursday. I know it was a very long day but working with you all (even when are brains are on “overload”) make it fun —always! - Michelle C.
Lynn – You are always so helpful! Thank you!!!! - Michelle C.
Melanie – I am grateful for your help the other day with my tech questions. Your patience is always appreciated!:) - Michelle C.
Donna – Thank you so much for delivering Shana’s meal for us and for ordering and taking care of the lunch on Thursday. Thank you for helping with my sub questions and well….just everything! You are amazing!!- Michelle C.
5th – I am so grateful for your continued collaboration and all that you are doing to manage each day, each change, each tutoring session, etc. - Michelle C.
JD – Thank you for always being supportive and wonderful to work with. I also am grateful that you helped me look for my calendar the other night (when it was right in my room all along:))! - Michelle C.
Peterson – I can’t thank you enough for the BEST SUPPLY EVER! Ha! I love that you can appreciate and find the same passion in it as I do! Lol! You are so gracious! It meant so much to me! - Michelle C.
Syl – It made my whole day when you got me that surprise snack and drink! You are so thoughtful and always taking care of our hearts. :) - Michelle C.
Relle – Simply put, thank you! McGowen staff and parents are so blessed to have you! - Michelle C.
JL – I sincerely appreciate your kindness and special surprise the other evening!!! You are the BEST baker ever!:) Thank you for ALL you do—it means more than you will ever know!!:) - Michelle C.
Peterson & McCartney – Thank you for always being so kind to cover my duty! You both have been my hero more times than I can count! - Michelle C.
Tracey – Thank you for your help with Kyle. You have gone above and beyond and I can’t thank you enough! Thank you for also always being a needed Sonic Fairy at just the right times!!!:) - Michelle C.
Nicole- thanks for all you do for our kids you have a heart of gold and I think your awesome! - Angie
Sharon- Thank you for being my teammate and friend I love our days working together! - Angie
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Relle – Thanks a ton for your announcements coverage! I can always count on you:) - Melanie
Elwood – I love that you still ask about my baby girl:) Thanks for showing how much you care. - Melanie
Barton – I loved the conversations on Thursday about planning, ELM and everything else:) - Melanie
Lynn – Thanks for everything. Too many things to list here!! - Melanie
Shiela – Thanks for your help with announcements this week. It is greatly appreciated:) - Melanie
Stacie – Thanks for reuniting me with my sippy cup :) ~Lovell
SPED Team – Thank you for bearing with us through our schedule changes and growing pains! ~Lovell
Kristi – Thank you for lending me your play-doh! You are a lifesaver! :) ~Lovell
Lisa, Tracey, JL, MB, MC- Thanks so much for a great day of collaboration! Your passion for student learning is inspiring! SL
Donna- Thanks for always being a step ahead of me and taking care of all the details! SL
Stacie and Peebles- Thanks for helping several friends out this week and being an active part of our students incentives! SL
Cathy- Thanks for taking time to problem solve to help your students be successful! SL
Aly, Tricia, Kristi, JL- I appreciate our collaboration as we work together to help out a group of students! SL
Bonnie- Thanks for working with your team to create alternate plans for when team members are out to support our students! SL
Melanie- Thank you so much for helping with our Polar Bear Newscast! The kids are SO excited! -Krista
Barbara- Thanks for handling my attendance mess up! :/ -Krista
Donna- Thank you for managing all of our field trip stuff! -Krista
My Team- Love y’all to pieces and don’t know what I would do without y’all! -Krista
Amy Arnold, Lovell, Elwood, Dickinson and Garro for helping us conduct our first erupting volcano science lab in our new Integrated Math and Science class! Tara Z
Lynn and Melanie – Thanks so much for helping me out with my mosaics, letting me take over your space, and offering great ideas! - Sneller
Coffin and Flint – Thanks so much for helping me become the best woman that I can be! ;) - Sneller
Relle and Ward – Thanks so much for saving me and my kiddos during Rubik’s cube club! - Sneller
Trisha, thank you for always helping in time of need. You are so selfless and willing to go out of your way to help. I love who you are! — Kward
Michelle, thanks so much for all the time you take with each of us. Your goal is always to help and make sure our students are being taken care of in the best way possible. Also, thanks for taking care of my little 4-legged friend, Buddy!! You were a lifesaver!!— KWard
McGowen Family, thank you for all the congrats, hugs, and love for being voted TOY. We have such an incredible team of teachers at our school, and I am honored to represent us. — KWard
Rico, thank you for offering such a spectacular Rubik’s Cube Club to our 3rd – 5th graders! You are passionate and amazing at getting kids to love learning. You are very valuable to our Mavericks and our team!! — KWard
Sylvia, Jennifer, and Shiela— thank you for your time and collaboration in helping our team figure out a way to make our 4th grade girls more successful. KWard
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Action Items
- Send Report Cards home on Wednesday, January 6th
- 3-5 Grade teachers- Review Tutoring Information
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Bad Dude
McKinney ISD's Vision, Mission and Beliefs
Any time we have an idea, concern, solution and/or comment, this is the filter through which we should speak. Let's help each other live up to our vision, mission, and beliefs.
Vision:
We are a cohesive, diverse community providing engaging learning experiences for all.
We will provide engaging learning experiences so students can become effective communicators, quality contributors and socially responsible citizens.
Beliefs:
- Partnerships between students, parents, community members and staff are foundational to educational success.
- Positive school culture and a safe environment foster growth.
- Everyone has inherent value and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Learning is an active process requiring engaging tasks and engaging minds.
- Relevant and authentic experiences ignite continuous, deeper learning.
- Meaningful relationships enrich learning.
- Confidence fuels risk taking and higher achievement.
- Financial stewardship ensures a tomorrow for education.