Galloping Gazette
A newsletter for the Faculty and Staff - August Edition
Put Students First • Seek Growth • Be Open to Change . Do Great Work Together • Value Differences
Principal's Message
Can you believe it is August?! Summer is flying by. If you are like me, you were waiting anxiously for the Fall 2020 plan to be released. Now, you might still be waiting anxiously because there are so many unknowns in the air. Are you picking option 1 or option 2? What will virtual learning look like in option 1? Who is in my class? When can I set up my classroom? The questions go on and on!
Recently, I watched a few videos of Neil Pasricha speak about his "Happiness Equation." If you haven't heard him speak, you really should google him and check him out. Here are a few tidbits that I think are truly relevant -
Do you feel overwhelmed right now? You might feel like you are in a washing machine, like the rest of us! When I'm spinning in the heavy duty cycle, I find myself reaching out to touchstones that have helped ground and center myself again and again. Like what? Like revisiting the 7 science-backed ways to be happy right now.
What's the first thing that you must do before you can be happy? Be happy. Be happy first.
Being happy opens up your learning centers. Your brain will light up like Manhattan skyscrapers at dusk, sparkle like diamonds under jewelry store lights, glow like the stars in the black sky above a farmer’s field. But let's be real, it's not that easy. I recommend The Big 7 ways to train your brain to be happy. These activities are simple, shareable, and short. Here they are:
- 3 Short Walks
- The 20-Minute Replay
- 5 Conscious Acts
- High-Challenge, High-Skill Tasks
- Ten Long Deep Breaths
- Five Gratitudes
- 20 Pages of Fiction
Want to read more about this? Check out the full article or watch this YouTube video about the ways to be happy! The first 6 minutes discuss the Big 7.
-Robyn
Classroom Set Up
I know you are anxiously awaiting information on setting up your classrooms! I want to first give a HUGE shout out to Ms. Mercy, Sandra, and Isaiah!! This custodial team is hands down the best in Virginia Beach. They have been working hard all summer to prepare the building for you. The floors and rooms look fabulous!
As of now, if your classroom is on the 3rd grade hallway or 4th/5th grade hallway, you can come on in. Since classrooms on the K/1/2 hallway were used for ESY, they have a projected finish date of August 17th. However, if they finish earlier, I will email you and add more slots. Please sign up for a time to come in to start setting up your classroom! You may sign up for more than one slot. You may sign up for a full day. We have limited the number of staff and the time of day in the building because the custodians are still responsible for cleaning and disinfecting each room in the evenings. Please sign up below. Remember, there are different tabs at the bottom for each week. Don't stop reading here. Please read the rest of the instructions below.
Remember, if you are going to come into school, please keep in mind the following requirements:
- Do not enter the building if you have experienced COVID-like symptoms or have had a fever in the last 24 hours.
- Children are still NOT permitted in the building at this time.
- Enter through the front door of the building; check in and check out in the main office.
- Wear a mask when you are in the building. You may remove your mask once you get to your classroom and are able to maintain a 6 foot distance between you and others in your room.
As you can see from the schedule, we will close the building to visitors at 3:30 PM. This will ensure that our custodial team will have time to clean your room each evening, after you have finished setting up. If you have trash, please place these items right outside of your classroom. They will be disposed each evening.
You will be setting up your room for a return to school with social distancing protocols in place. I have added a picture below of a sample classroom set-up for when we return to school. As you are putting your desks/tables in place, please adhere to the social distancing guidelines. Students must remain a minimum of 3 feet apart and all desks should face the same direction. Some extra furniture might need to be taken home for the time being in order to account for social distancing. If you have shared furniture in your room (couches, bean bag chairs, etc.), they should be taken home to make room for desks. Flexible seating will not be feasible at this time.Please see Mrs. Porter and Ms. Backer when you come in to set up your room.
Please note, during the school year, the custodial team will continue to work extremely hard. They will make sure that all surfaces are clean and safe for staff and students. They will not have additional time to clean items and/or furniture that are not provided by the school division. If you have a question, please ask!
School Happenings...
Over the past couple of weeks, we have had two staff members resign their position in order to support their family during this time. Mrs. Sinnen and Ms. Phillips will both be missed dearly. Please join me in wishing them all of the best.
Don't forget to get your 2020-2021 PLP Sessions in! I wanted to pass along the link to the 2020-2021 Professional Learning Sessions for Elementary teachers. For those of you who are new to VB or not familiar, teachers are required to take essential sessions every summer. This is professional development and typically provides you with curricular updates. Again, these are required and I’d like for you to have the sessions complete before teacher work week. If you have any questions about your required session, let me know. If you have technical difficulties, please reach out to Robin.
Welcome to The Farm!
Amanda Espinda- 2nd/3rd Grade Special Ed Assistant
- I was born and raised in Hawaii, and the Military brought my family and I to Virginia.
- I have a 4th grader @ CFES, and a daughter in 8th grade.
- I am very excited to be a part of the Christopher Farm’s family!
Victoria Sandridge- 1st Grade Teacher
I am a recent graduate of Regent University but have been in classrooms teaching for 6 years. I have also worked at a preschool for the past 4 years. Some fun facts about me:
- I lived in England for a while when I was a child and I spend as much time as I can reading.
- My favorite thing about me though is that I am a new mom! I have a beautiful 3-month-old little boy at home named Dominic and I couldn’t be happier!
Roshunda Smith- Pre-K Assistant
I am originally from Jacksonville, Florida and attended college in North Carolina before meeting my navy husband and moving all over the United States.
- I have worked In Early Education mostly as a lead preschool teacher and a teacher assistant in public school since 1998.
- Some of my favorite things include reading, the beach, Vermont in the fall, the entire Hamilton soundtrack, anything on Bravo and winning the lottery. I love all things 80s and dancing while making dinner.
Phishing Emails
Questions about this? See Robin!
Sick Leave Bank Enrollment
Open enrollment for all eligible employees begins August 1, 2020 and continues through October 15, 2020. Employees who are unsure whether they are already bank members may access this information on their paycheck stub on Employee Self Service (ESS). The note “Leave Bank: SLB” will appear for those who are already members.
The Office of Employee Relations will contact all timekeepers about the process and will provide them with the attached informational flyer. Additionally, this information will be posted on VCBPS’ Intranet homepage under, “Hot Topics.” For specific details regarding the various sick leave banks, please refer to School Board Regulation 4-45.2, Sick Leave Bank.
Please note that for current members a reassessment is not currently required. Members are only assessed an additional contribution of two (2) workdays at such time as the Sick Leave Bank is depleted to five hundred (500) workdays.
PALS certification for ALL teachers at CFES Prek - 5!!!
PALS offers online tutorials for PALS certification in Pre-K, K, and 1-3. These can be accessed through your PALS account. You can register for the tutorials in Frontline to receive points for participation. Here is a brief video from Monica Bennett on how to access the tutorials:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bXD3bSfzc-RhnbjTUQZQ6JypvMkH0W_S/view?usp=sharing
Here is a document that provides directions for how to search for your PALS account, reset your password, and create an account (if one doesn’t already exist) using a VBCPS registration code: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_JV_HpWj_8zf86YtdSe9lk0yrt4iSve1HdlQMP7rkgA/edit?usp=sharing
Other Professional Development Opportunities
Check out this trauma and resilience course that is being offered for FREE for a limited time only! Click here if you are interested to register. If you do take this course, you may print your certificate off and submit it to administration for license renewal points in Frontline for your participation. I've included a quick YouTube video below to get you interested!
Trauma-Informed SEL: Supporting Students and Adults
Please consider taking this course, as it is directly aligned with our goals and focus for the 2020-2021 school year.
Digital Learning Summit- August 18!
Participants will NOT need to sign up on Frontline this year. They will need to use this Sched link, attend the virtual session, and complete the exit ticket for each session they attend.