Skyland Peek at the Week
Week of September 30- October 4 (A WEEK)
It's so true!!
I truly believe the quote above is what makes Skyland Elementary such an incredible place to teach and learn! It has been one of my greatest blessing to be able to see you all in action, watching how deeply you care about your students and their families beyond just the lesson plans and standards. You can ask anyone who has come from outside this building from a different school, it is almost palpable here. I've never seen anything like it. Thank you for all you do, but especially for how much you care about our students (and each other).
One of my rainbow moments from the past few weeks was hearing about the great ideas that the committees are coming up with! Y'all had some great ideas and I can't wait to see how you bring them to life. Please let me know what I can do to support your committee and your plans. Also consider taking a few moments during your grade level planning to share the ideas from your committees so they can get as excited about all of it, too!
Make sure you read through the SMORE closely. There is a TON of information that is very important.
Dates Stafford is super duper sad that she will be out of the building
10/2 - Principal's Meeting
10/8 - State Board of Education Meeting in Columbia (Anyone have anything you want me to bring up to Molly Spearman? Wink, wink!)
10/11 - New Principal Meeting
10/15 - Principal IC Meeting
Parent Teacher Conferences are upon us! Here's a little humor to get you through!
Reminders
Have you seen it?? What do you think it could be??
More to come.... :)
Want to attend an amazing PD conference? Click the button below to share your interest with the Leadership Team!
Vision and Hearing Screenings
Hearing Screenings will be in the Nurse's Office the week of Sept 30-Oct 4 during the hours of 0815-1115
Vision Screenings will be in the Nurse's Office the week of Oct 7-Oct 11 during the hours of 0815-1115.
The Nurse will be available for emergencies only during these times.
To help things run smoothly please arrive on time and have your class in alphabetical order. Also, please have students bring books with them to quietly read to help with the noise in the atrium. Or, for the lower grades, consider bringing a few read alouds to do while you're waiting.
Noise in the atrium
Hallway Displays
Committee Meetings on Wednesday
I was so excited and encouraged after reading your meeting minutes from the last committee meetings! We have some amazing ideas in the works!
So you're going to be out...
* Text Leah and Holli ASAP (Leah - 719-640-0788, Holli 864-561-6225)
* Call the sub list if you are feeling up to it.
* Put it into the Sub Find system as soon as possible.
* Contact your grade level chair to make arrangements for plans and AM coverage.
Field Trip Volunteer Reminders
* Send your list of volunteers/chaperones to Ginnifer as soon as possible, but at the very least a week before your trip. She will check to make sure they are volunteer 2 cleared. No parent may attend that is not Volunteer 2 certified.
* All parents must have a yellow badge to chaperone a field trip. Even if they are not riding the bus, they must come to the school and get their yellow badge. If they are meeting you there, if you get Ginnifer this information ahead of time, she will print your yellow badges to be distributed to parents on location the day of the trip.
* We don't want to advertise to parents that they can just "meet you there" without a yellow badge. Obviously at public places we can't tell them they can't go, but they may not be with the group, including lunch, special activities, taking kids to the bathroom, or even being a part of the large group. We want to make sure we are keeping our students safe at all times.
Also, don't forget to give the cafeteria and nurse a heads up on all trips. We know it is on the google calendar, but a reminder would be very helpful to them!
EDP for Wednesday Meetings
Skyland Singers
Skyland Singers will practice on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30-3:15.
Please send them with early bird car riders each week.
Technology Time with Stephanie Williams (Repeat)
Please add these dates to your calendar:
October 21st
January 13th
March 9th
RA teachers: She has some great ideas for you as well! Plan on meeting with her during your planning period as well!
Specialist/Special Ed: Please try to work out some time in your schedule to attend with a grade level that you serve for some ideas.
K4: We are going to try to work on some coverage for you to come during Kindergarten time.
VIP and Me Breakfast (Repeat)
Just for your information, the event will be Oct. 10 for students with last names A-M and Oct. 11 for students with last names N-Z. (Of course, if they can't make one day, they are welcomed at the other day!) After checking in, students and their VIP can go through the breakfast line to receive a free breakfast. We will have tables set up in the gym for them to enjoy their breakfast. After that we will encourage them to visit our book fair. Please be patient with us on these days as we have no idea what the response will be! Students may arrive tardy, but we will try to have some type of pass for them so that you know they were at the book fair with their VIP.
Thank you for help making this event a success! We are hoping to provide a fun event for our families, as well as drive some extra business to our book fair!
Reminders from Mase
Safety Reminders
Please take a minute to read our district safety mission.
GCS is dedicated to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all district personnel by reducing the frequency and severity of accidental injuries through education and implementation of safety programs and procedures.
Our goal is to have every employee return home in the same physical condition as when he/she began the day.
Thank you to all who have watched the safety videos this year. I know they often seem unnecessary and redundant, but they do remind us of simple steps we can take to help prevent injuries. Do not forget there are numerous additional/suggested training videos that may be worth viewing depending on your job or role at Skyland. Please take some time view the video selection and reflect on what you could do differently to prevent an accident. Should you arrive earlier so you do not have to rush? Should you make two trips instead of one to help lessen the load/weight? Should a wet floor sign be used to let others know of a spill? Am I wearing the proper clothing or safety equipment to do a particular job?
Whenever an accident happens, I perform an investigation to determine the root cause of the incident and to see what I can do to help prevent it from reoccurring. You may be asked to watch a safety video again or a building or grounds repair may be necessary. Even though your medical bills may be paid, your pain or discomfort may be a lifelong condition.Reminders from Kenna
Reminders from Katelin
- The Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment window opens on September 16 and closes on December 6
- Grades K-5 - Enter fall instructional reading levels in RAS in the fall column.
- Grades K-5 - Replace the previous year's spring benchmark form with the updated fall instructional form.
- Kindergarten Teachers - Do not benchmark your students until they are a level A. If they are not reading at a level A, please wait and benchmark them as close to December 6th as possible.
Counselor's Corner - Reminders from Caitlyn and Chelsea
Please have all Terrific Kid names submitted to Mrs. Grigg by October, 11th (link below). This is open to ALL grades! 😊
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A9oeF2V6o23Z5KOXO5V63KLEBEj8UHZfVfTtwvmzGao/edit?usp=sharing
Important Upcoming Dates
October
10/1 - Free cinnamon rolls!! Thank you FANS!
10/2 - Committee Meetings
10/4 - First SIC meeting
10/7-10/14 - Book Fair
10/9 - Faculty Council
10/10 - VIP and Me Breakfast (Last names A-M)
10/11 - VIP and Me Breakfast (Last names N-Z)
10/14 - United Way Campaign at Skyland starts!
10/16 - PD/Faculty Meeting
10/19 - Fall Festival 11 - 3 pm
10/21-25 - Red Ribbon Week
10/23 - No Meeting
10/30 - PD/Faculty Meeting
The below meeting schedule will start in October!
Important Documents
Happy Birthday
October
14- Kathy Ensley, Special Education
15- Susan Menard, 3rd
16-Courtney Hagan, K5
16- Andrea Thomason, Nurse
18- Kenna Brannon, IC
19- Leah Stafford, Principal
19- Alice Prentice, Cafeteria
22- Sara LaPage, 2nd
Mrs. Stafford's Contact Information
Email: lstafford@greenville.k12.sc.us
Website: https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/skyland/
Phone: 8643557210
Twitter: @leahcstafford