Bronco Blast
November 20th Weekly Staff Newsletter
Staff Member of the Month - November
Gail Loftis
A little bit about Gail:
* I moved to Texas from Florida in 1989 with my husband and sons.
* I'm mother to Kyle, 33 and Evan, 29. Both of my sons attended West.
* After many years of teaching pre-school, I gained my alternative certification in Special Ed and began teaching at West.
* As a former West and RHS band parent, I'm proud to say that my grandson, Hayden, is following in his father's and uncle's footsteps by playing the euphonium at Spring Creek.
*In my free time I like reading and loom knitting.
*Being a member of the West family has been an important part of my life for the past 11 years.
Download Shoparoo and Help Earn $$ for West!
A note from Kimberly
Only 3 weeks until another break and I believe it's going to fly by! There are lots of activities planned. It's sure to be a fun December.
Look out for a special Holiday Edition of the Bronco Blast coming this week. We have a lot of fun things in store to celebrate this wonderful time of year. The Holiday Edition Bronco Blast will explain it all! :)
A great way for you to showcase all the wonderful things happening in your classrooms: 1. Invite in other teachers/admin
2. Take pictures and post a couple on twitter - tag @rwestjh and @kimberlykindred
I want to be able to see all the great things going on and would love for you to let me know when you are showcasing so I can be sure to swing by. :)
Thank you to those who have been able to download the Shoparoo app. There are many on the leaderboard! Shoparoo is a simple, fundraiser for West that does not cost us anything. All you do is download the app, take a picture of ANY receipt you have, and we get points! Points equal cash for us! Spread the word! Tell your neighbors, mother(s), brothers, extended family - anyone can help earn money for the school.
My door is always open for you.
Kimberly
PBL in Social Studies
On Friday all 8th grade students met in the large gym during their social studies class. They were greeted with American themed music and had the opportunity to present their pbls and view their peers'. They presented over 50 different projects that were created over a 2 week period in a completely paperless and student led classroom. Our students used various forms of technology to create their final projects, from quizizz, prezi, screencastify, and powtoon, to cliptomize, infographics and of course GAFE. We linked all their projects using thing link, which you can view below. Thanks to Colley, Shollack, Thornal, Chapman, Duty, Kindred, Woolcock, Nobles, Almon, Giesey, and Loftis, for stopping by to view their presentations! We are so proud of our students...West is best!
Click here to see an example of thinglink!
Thank you to all the teachers who were able to swing by!
Presentations!
Student groups!
Blood Drive - American Red Cross
Friday, Dec 4, 2015, 09:00 AM
Richardson West Junior High School, Holly Drive, Richardson, TX, United States
Who's Working at West? Get to know - Jennifer Senter
1.) Tell us a little bit about your teaching experience prior to working at West.
Before West, I taught in Crowley ISD, which is just south of Fort Worth. During my five years there, I taught 5th and 6th grade inclusion, regular, preAP, and GT classes. I liked the variety because each year was something new and challenging. I think I learned more about myself in my first two years of teaching than at any other point in my life.
2.) What are your plans for the Thanksgiving break?
Sleep-in, enjoy my morning coffee on the couch while watching the TODAY show, eat too much, and put up all of our Christmas decorations. It’s the best time of the year!
3.) A long lost aunt approaches you one stormy evening and professes that she wants to make up for all the time she missed in your life. In her time away she accrued an enormous sum of money and decides to fund the wedding of your dreams. She will pay for anything, anywhere. What would your wedding look like?
I’m a pretty simple person, so I really can’t imagine anything too extravagant. Last summer we traveled to Little Corn Island in Nicaragua. After flying into Managua, we took a small plane to Big Corn Island, and then a tiny boat from Big Corn Island to Little Corn Island. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen! So … I think I would pay for all of our family and friends to travel there with us and we would get married on the beach. At the reception, we would all eat amazing, fresh ceviche and the Spazmatics (a super fun 80s band) would play. (We looked into having them at our actual wedding in March and they are crazy expensive!) Then our guests would have their own private bungalows to stay in for the remainder of the weekend.
Sounds good, right? I’ll start taking donations now. J
4.) What grammar error irritates you the most?
You’re/Your
It’s/Its
Who’s/Whose
It’s not that hard to get right, is it?
Walking Warriors
Upcoming Dates - December
December 1 & 2 - Teen Screen
December 1 - Math Twilight Camp
December 2 - Faculty Meeting
December 3 - Progress reports DUE
December 4 - Blood Drive (9-3)
December 8 - ELA Twilight Camp
December 11 - AVID Dance 7pm - 9pm
December 12 - Staff Holiday Party 6pm
December 13 - Duke's Ice House 3pm - 6pm