Staff Smore
Weekly Bulletin - Week of Sept. 28th
Weekly Principal's Note: Thoughts from the Retreat
I want to thank all of you, especially La Jefa (Amparo), for making sure that everything went swimmingly last week while I was away. The retreat was nice and we spent a lot of time reflecting on how Catholic Schools evangelize the faith to their students. I think it is a good reminder to all of us that our number one focus in a Catholic school should be our Catholic identity. We must live our faith everyday, through words and actions, for our students. We are their role models...at all times. Beyond this, we must teach them about their faith through Scripture and traditions of the Catholic Faith. Whether or not they are Catholic, this is what our school is about and we want to do our best to impart this knowledge to all of the children in our care.
Another item that came up at the retreat was having high academic standards and making sure that we are all doing our best to help students achieve success in all aspects of their lives. Engaging, focused instruction, with specific outcomes is the way to achieve this in the classroom. I have not been in the rooms as much as I had hoped, in the past few weeks, as things have been a little hectic. I intend to spend much more time in your rooms this week. I just want to be present to see the instruction going on, witness the Catholic Identity present in the rooms, and feel the classroom environment. This is by no means a formal evaluation. I just want to spend some time (30 min?) getting a better feel for what amazing things are happening in each classroom. There is no need to do anything differently. I will just find a space to sit and, perhaps, be working on my laptop.
If there is anything I can do to support you in bringing high-quality Catholic education to your students, please let me know. I am here to help.
Have a wonderful week!
Important Survey for this Week's Professional Development!!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HNPXT8Y
This will help her tailor the PD to meet our staff's needs. Your honest appraisal of your needs is necessary for a successful PD experience.
This Week:
Sunday:
CYO Cross Country Meet for P.K. - 8th grade at Bellarmine (in the back, near the "bowl") from 2 pm - 4 pm.
Monday:
I will be in the classrooms throughout the day.
I will be in the classrooms throughout the day.
Wednesday:
3:30 pm - 5 pm P.D. on Lesson Planning with Dr. Yaden. All teachers required to attend.
6- 7:30 pm Bilingual Information Night. Staff attendance is optional.
Movie will begin at 6 and Q & A session will be from 7 - 7:30.
Thursday:
Mass at 9 am - Awards will be given out immediately after Mass.
Friday:
Reminder to Students: No School on Friday!!
- Teacher Excellence Day at St. Charles. I have your names badges and room assignments. All teachers are required to attend this event. Here is the agenda and additional info on this event: http://www.ocsww.org/site/content.php?r=3667-Teacher-Excellence-Day-Agenda-Information
Curriculum Resources - Order
Please remember, meeting your standards is the important piece. Textbooks and workbooks are just one way to get there. You can also get creative with online resources and hands-on activities. We want to make sure that we understand the standards we are responsible for in each grade and find a way to cover all of those. The textbooks, Foss Kits, workbooks, etc. are all just the vehicle for meeting those requirements. The Foss Kits are all in and I would like to see them in action beginning this week. Let me know when you have exciting investigations, so I can check them out.
Professional Development - Upcoming Events!
Lesson Planning, Objectives, Outcomes:
We have lined up Dr. Bridget Yaden to come on Wed, Sept. 30th to do some work with lesson planning, objectives/outcomes. The PD will be held at the school from 3:30 pm - 5 pm. Please make sure to adjust your schedule for that afternoon, so that you can attend the entire session. It is very important information and we are lucky to have Bridget!!
Foss Kits:
Foss Kits PD has been lined up for Wed, Oct 14th (our half day). We are lining up additional classes on this topic and I should know more about that schedule this week.
Teacher Evaluations - Danielson Framework
https://danielsongroup.org/framework/
I will be lining up meeting dates for each teacher in the coming weeks. We will be discussing goal setting for the year. I would like each teacher to pick 2 goals that they would like to work on this year. The goals must relate to aspects contained in the Danielson framework. One must be an instructional goal. Here is a quick image of the areas: http://www.ciu20.org/Page/465
The goal setting should be thorough, well planned, measurable, and focused on an area of improvement that is necessary in the classroom. I have a packet that I will be giving to all of you to assist in this process.
Virtus - Safe Environment Course for Staff
AESOP Online Substitute System
I spoke with Krista Van Dyke at the retreat and she will be making sure that all teachers are in the system on Monday (9/28). She (or the AESOP system) will be emailing all teachers their log in info. Please look for this to arrive in your inbox early this week. You must use it to schedule subs for absences. Thank you!!
Field Trips - Reminders
- All parents/chaperones must take the 3 hour Virtus class before volunteering. If they have taken the class through Safe Environment/SetaNet in a prior year (and taken the annual renewals online), they are fine for this year. If they have questions on this, please direct them to Colleen Thomson at casmt@comcast.net.
- Leon Sanders is available to take kids on the bus, as long as we give him proper notice and don't overwhelm his schedule. You can reach him directly at: Lsanders@thermaline.com or 253.377.2105 (texts are great).
- Please make sure that field trips correlate to lesson plans/standards.
- Field trips are excellent ways to get kids engaged in topics and make families feel more connected to our school community.
- Please email Berenice and myself with the dates of the field trips (after approval), so that we can include them on the calendar of events.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS!!
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THESE ON YOUR CALENDAR AND IN YOUR PARENT NEWSLETTER!
Lesson Planning, Outcomes/Objectives Professional Development - For Teachers Only
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015, 03:30 PM
Holy Rosary School, South 30th Street, Tacoma, WA, United States
Bilingual/Immersion Education Information Night
Please put this in your newsletters...
For Teachers:
If you have any questions regarding bilingual education, teaching, etc., feel free to contact Bridget directly at: byaden@plu.edu. She is a wonderful resource and happy to help. Teachers are welcome to attend this event, but attendance is optional.
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015, 06:00 PM
Holy Rosary School, South 30th Street, Tacoma, WA, United States
Chocolate Sale - All Money is Due This Thursday Oct 1st!
Shanan O'Driscoll-Hedges is in charge of this event. Her email is sohedges@gmail.com.
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015, 08:00 AM
Holy Rosary School, South 30th Street, Tacoma, WA, United States
Teacher Excellence Day - No School for Students
Friday, Oct 2, 2015, 08:15 AM
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School, South 12th Street, Tacoma, WA, United States
Pay to Dress Date Changed!!
Friday, Oct 9, 2015, 08:00 AM
Holy Rosary School, South 30th Street, Tacoma, WA, United States
Noon Dismissal - Foss Professional Development
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2015, 01:00 PM
Holy Rosary School, South 30th Street, Tacoma, WA, United States
First Grade Field Trip - Pumpkin Patch
Tuesday, Oct 20, 2015, 08:30 AM
Spooner Farms Inc, Puyallup, WA, United States
Halloween Carnival
Sunday, Oct 25, 2015, 01:00 PM
Holy Rosary School, South 30th Street, Tacoma, WA, United States
Picture Day - New Date!!
Volunteers Needed - Contact Colleen Thomson at casmt@comcast.net