The Triton Tribune - Parent Edition
Be Kind ~ Be Awesome ~ Make The Right Choices
“A teacher affects eternity; he [or she] can never tell where his influence stops.” ~ Henry B. Adams~
HAPPY TEACHER'S APPRECIATION WEEK!
This is one of my favorite weeks in the school year as we intentionally and publicly recognize our teachers for their work and dedication in educating children. Although I am a principal now, I am and always will be, first and foremost, a teacher. Our impact as teachers can never be measured or appreciated. It is even more challenging to measure it [impact] at the middle school where teachers only see students for two years. Matt Miller, author of Ditch That Textbook, said it best about the ripple effects of teachers. Here is the video in which he explains it.
In 1997, I taught science to the top 1/2 percent of the district's gifted seventh grade students in Central Kitsap Junior High School. These students had higher IQs than me and they were very happy to tell me that. That year I introduced science fair projects to them. Of course, there were the typical moans and groans as they visualized the scope magnitude of a year-long project. As with every year, there is always a student who wants to study the wings of airplanes. This was year was no different as Chris, a seventh grader, wanted to study everything about airplane wings. In mentoring him through this project, he eventually won first place at the Washington State Science Fair Competition. Ten years later, in 2008, I received an email from Chris. He just wanted to thank me for encouraging him to persevere in that project. He stated because of that project, the interest in airplanes deepened; now he is a Navy pilot. WOW! I was humbled to know that he attributed his career trajectory to me.
Each of you remembers a teacher who has influenced your life deeply. By the time you graduate from high school, you will have had at around 43 teachers who have poured into your life. This is why they need our appreciation. So I hope that you will join me in this week's celebration.
This whole week, PTSO and the admin team want to shower our teachers with love and appreciation for what they have done for our students, especially this year. With the help of PTSO, we will be able to do something very special for teachers this year. Here is the breakdown of each day:
- Monday, May 3: ASB created a poster for each teacher. Admin will hand-deliver breakfast to each teacher with breakfast donated by Chic-fil-A and coffee donated by Starbucks.
- Tuesday, May 4: Counselors will deliver the teacher appreciation notes from students and parents. They will also give each teacher a red delicious apple donated by Sprouts. Please go on the Teacher/Nurse Appreciation Section below to access the templates. We need as many notes by the end of Monday. PS: I had student submit a note that he wants printed and given to every single teacher on campus. Students, it does not have to be just your teacher for this year; it could be from last year or another teacher who helped you!
- Wednesday, May 5: Each teacher will receive a goodie bag containing a polo shirt donated by PTSO, $10 gift card from parents; laptop/hydroflask stickers, a teacher mug with homemade baked goods and a decorative teacher appreciation cookie.
- Thursday, May 6: Boxed Luncheon celebration sponsored by the district.
As we increase our ELM presence through social media, we want you to subscribe to our latest social media venture: our own ELM Triton TV Channel on YouTube. Click on this link to subscribe. Our goal is to have 500 subscribers before the end of the school year. Let's do this!
We are also in the process of finalizing the purchase of our own ELM Mobile App. We hope to have that out by next week. Be on the lookout for that also.
Many of you have started to ask about end-of-the year activities such as promotion, textbook/IPAD returns and semester finals. All of these are contingent upon the date of promotion, which is dependent on high school graduation dates. Below is a picture of what we know so far, unofficially. We have not received the official memo with the dates and times. But I know that many of you have to plan ahead of time, so I am releasing the unofficial information to you. I hope that we will receive the memo this week.
Additionally, there will be summer school for current 7th graders (incoming 8th graders) and current 6th graders (incoming 7th graders). Most will be credit recovery but there will also be limited acceleration opportunities, especially in math, as well as bridging opportunities for students who want to strengthen their knowledge in math. Summer school is scheduled for June 7 - June 25. Once we have all the details, we will send that out to everyone. For our current 8th graders (incoming 9th graders), summer school opportunities will occur at the high school based on their needs. Please contact your administrators there for summer school.
Finally, the bell schedule for May/June is below. The last two weeks will have schedule changes that we will submit to the district this week.
Please read the newsletter in its entirety as there are a lot of information for the week and the rest of the school year.
Let's have wonderful week!
Mrs. Finley
We are planning a week-celebration of all teachers and nurses at ELM. On Tuesday, May 4th, we would like to give each teacher a pile of thank you notes from each of you. Please download the letter templates below to write a note of appreciation for your teachers and our school nurses: Ms. Flood and Mr. De Los Reyes.
Two ways in which to submit teacher/nurse thank you notes:
- Bring a hard copy of the notes to the school and turn them in to a main office personnel.
- Click on this link to submit the notes electronically. Using this link, you will also be able to submit digital signature for a big virtual banner for all teachers.
Let's surprise the teachers on Tuesday with piles of letters from you!
Staff,
This community support is for you and your families, your students and their families. I encourage you to take advantage of this free testing service as your bubble has increased by being here on campus. You can take this test as often as you like. Also, encourage the students who are physically here on campus. Please complete the forms below if you want to take advantage of this opportunity.
Eastlake Middle School
Email: easter.finley@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: elm.sweetwaterschools.org
Location: 900 Duncan Ranch Road, Chula Vista, CA, USA
Phone: 619.591.4000
Twitter: @erfinleysd