Welcome Back!
Looking forward to the new year
We have a lot to be proud of here at LaCreole. We are in a unique place right now in Wildcat Land! I say this all the time, but our staff is amazing! We have done a lot of work together in the past couple years to set us up to do some amazing things for kids. Our work on engagement strategies, integration of technology, upping rigor and relevance on student tasks, and learning about project-based and deeper learning for our students is very exciting, and I believe this has set a strong base to continue our march toward excellence as a school!
Narrow our Focus
Creating a school that works for kids!
I feel very blessed to be a part of such a group of people who are willing to look at what kids will need for their future success. Last year we grew immensely in our pursuit of connecting with kids in challenging ways. We will continue to make this work a priority and build upon our success.
How do we create a fun place to grow as professionals?
Your feedback from the recent TELL Survey provided input for the need of ongoing, meaningful staff development. I have observed that our staff at LaCreole is perhaps one of the most untapped resources around. What can we do to share strategies more and learn from one another more often? With this in mind we will discuss how we grow together as professionals, which is definitely nothing new through our PLC process, but I have some ideas on how we can emphasize a bit more the "learning" in the professional learning of our PLCs.
I look forward to seeing each of you and welcoming our new staff as we begin some really hard but important work this year! We have a very unique school, and I so appreciate each of you and your commitment to our kids.
Our Inservice Week Together
Brief outline of the first couple of days:
Monday, August 29, beginning at 8 a.m. we will have a brief welcome-back staff meeting in the library, at which time I will provide you an overview of the week. Light refreshments will be provided.
Tuesday, August 30 (morning), will be our first staff professional development session for the year from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the library. I want this time to be useful. With our limited time, we will try to solidify our focus for the year with some fun activities.
Tuesday, August 30 (afternoon), we will meet together as a staff to focus on how we continue to improve our PBIS process. Having reviewed our TELL Survey results from this past year, we would like to make sure we start the year with a good understanding of philosophy and process of our PBIS system, what I believe has been one of the driving forces in establishing our positive school culture.
Wildcat Fiesta
Following our staff meeting on Tuesday, we will have our annual Wildcat Fiesta welcome-back potluck! Thanks once again to Roger for heading up this endeavor. It is nice to see old friends and colleagues and sit and enjoy each other’s company. We will be serving about 45 people, Please contribute as follows:
- Office - meat and taco shells
- 7th Grade - side salads , chips/dip
- Elective/Exploratory - desserts
- PE - plates, silverware, napkins
- 6th Grade - sides for tacos
- 8th Grade - drinks (cups if needed)
Welcome new Wildcat staff!
Marianne Hatch, 8th Grade ELA
Jim Moran, 7th/8th Social Studies
Sylvia Lawson, District Nurse
Tami White, PASSroom
Jennifer Oace, DLC
Stephanie Reed, DLC
Linda Visuano, DLC
Brittany Talley, SLP
Shelby Wildman, DLC
Britta Centoni, Polk Co. Counselor