Monday Memo
February 20th - 24th
Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. -George Washington Carver
Grade level teachers will be meeting tomorrow for professional development. We will be serving Taco Cabana breakfast tacos from 7:45-8:00am. Please feel free to join us at that time if you are interested in eating breakfast. If not, we ask that you be seated and ready to begin the day promptly at 8:00am. We have a packed schedule and do not have a moment to lose. A detailed agenda is included below so that you can better plan your day.
We will be taking our staff picture at 7:15am Tuesday morning. This means that you need to plan to be in the gym at 7:10am. Please know that nobody is more stressed about this than I am. If you do not know why, ask someone who has been here a few years. As best as you can, help each other achieve the goal of being in this picture. I would hate for anyone to miss out.
Our next round of Content PLCs will take place on Wednesday. Michelle Caballero sent an email last week informing everyone of what will be discussed in each meeting. Please work with your teams to make sure that each PLC is appropriately covered and that everyone knows where they are going on Wednesday.
Our 10th Anniversary Celebration will be on Sunday, April 2nd. We would like to put together a photomontage of McGowen's first ten years. If you have any photos to contribute, please submit them to this link by Friday, March 17th.
Make today count,
JL
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
T-TESS End-of-Year Conferences
For teachers evaluated this year, you can provide evidence to challenge post-conference ratings based on the rubric, but must also have Domain IV evidence and personal goals.
Attached you will find the T-TESS End-of-Year Conference Overview For Teachers. This will give you further information about what to expect.
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
Professional Development Day Agenda
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
Shoparoo
Did you know that each week I give out jeans passes to the three highest scoring staff members on Shoparoo? I know that many of you have already joined, but if you haven't, it is not too late. Simply go to www.shoparoo.com to create your account. If you use veft4467 as a referral code, McGowen will earn money for you just signing up. Please feel free to push this information out to your parents as well. Once you sign up, Shoparoo will give you a referral code for your parents to use when they sign up. Schools with just 40 supporters are earning an average of $1,000 every year.
Congratulations to Krista Daniel, Barbara Peebles and Jennifer Little for being the highest three staff contributors to Shoparoo this week!
---------------------------------------
Focus for 2016 - 2017
In order to help every child their personal best, McGowen teachers and staff will:
- Knowledgeably speak about our current practices that contribute to McGowen becoming a Level 1 Certified High Reliability School.
- Actively participate in grade level and content Professional Learning Communities.
- Engage in collaborative team planning and lesson design that addresses the four essential questions of a PLC.
- Present lessons in such a way that students understand and can speak knowledgeably about posted learning and language targets.
---------------------------------------
Remind for Staff
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
Bad Dude
Thanks for all you do, Rico. We appreciate all that you bring to McGowen!
---------------------------------------
GT UPDATE OPPORTUNITIES - TAGT
The district is providing you access to the TAGT Learning On-Demand, a library of online courses for professional development. You will be able to select six hours of courses. Please note that the library includes 1-hour, 3-hour, and 6-hour courses.
To begin, you will need to acquire a username and password. To do this, click the link below and use the registration code to complete the form.
Registration Code: 5491mck9544
Link: http://txgiftedcourses.responsivelearning.com/SelfRegistration/
IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is essential that you disable your popup blocker. The courses are not compatible with smartphones.
We find that Google Chrome tends to provide the best user experience. You may download Google Chrome here: https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/.
If you need assistance, email support@responsivelearning.com and a support team member will be happy to assist you.
---------------------------------------
McKinney ISD's Vision, Mission and Beliefs
Any time we have an idea, concern, solution and/or comment, this is the filter through which we should speak. Let's help each other live up to our vision, mission, and beliefs.
Vision:
We are a cohesive, diverse community providing engaging learning experiences for all.
We will provide engaging learning experiences so students can become effective communicators, quality contributors and socially responsible citizens.
Beliefs:
- Partnerships between students, parents, community members and staff are foundational to educational success.
- Positive school culture and a safe environment foster growth.
- Everyone has inherent value and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Learning is an active process requiring engaging tasks and engaging minds.
- Relevant and authentic experiences ignite continuous, deeper learning.
- Meaningful relationships enrich learning.
- Confidence fuels risk taking and higher achievement.
- Financial stewardship ensures a tomorrow for education.