BME Staff Update
February 3, 2019
Team Meadow -
What a difference a week makes with the weather. Approximately a 90 degree difference from the wind chills we experienced just a few days ago to today. Amazing.
This week will prove to be busy, nonetheless. Please be sure to note the following items:
- Monday's RtI Redesign Team Meeting is postponed as we prepare for our Global School Play Day. We will have a coffee talk for interested staff members to come and share thoughts and ideas as we prepare for this new BME experience. We will meet in the Family Room immediately following dismissal. Come prepared to share thoughts and ideas.
- On Tuesday, Lauren and I will host the Elementary Admin meeting here at BME. You will likely see familiar faces from across the district. Our meeting will last from 8:30-11:00ish.
- Since we missed our pitch in this past week, how about we have one this coming Friday, February 8th? We'll get a sign up out on Monday.
- Boone Meadow Mixer is on the calendar for Friday, March 22nd. It's time to begin planning those teacher experiences for auction. More info to come soon.
Once again looking forward to another wonderful week with a fantastic team!
Go Rams!
Tom
Calendar Items & Information
February
4th - Coffee Talk for those interested in attending for dialogue regarding Global School Play Day
5th - Elementary Admin meeting (hosted here at BME) 8:30-11:00
6th - Global School Play Day
11th - ILEARN Roadshow (Devereaux and Squier to meet with Intermediate teachers after school)
14th - Valentine's Day (& parties)
18th - Presidents Day - No School
19th - PD Day at PVE
25th - Family Gathering @ 1:30
26th - Reject - Documentary Film @ PAC @ 6:45 w/ Dr. Kip Williams (see info below)
March
8th-22nd - DigiLab at BME
21st - Holi; BME Wellness Night (6:00-7:30)
22nd - PTO Boone Meadow Mixer (Cardinal Room @ Golf Club of Indiana)
26th - Kindergarten Round-Up (Pre-registration info will be available for families in mid-February)
29th - April 7th - Spring Break
Boone Meadow Mixer - Friday Evening, March 22nd
It may seem early, but now's the time to get March 22nd on your calendar. Please consider attending this special PTO sponsored event on the evening of March 22nd. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy each other and connect in a relaxed atmosphere. Based on last year's experience, I believe many of you found the evening quite enjoyable.
Keep in mind:
- Begin thinking about teacher experiences to make available for the auction.
- PTO will have (one) free ticket set aside for each BME staff member should you attend.
- Additional tickets for spouses or any additional staff guests will be available.
Valentine's Day
- Valentines Parties on Thursday, February 14th. You select the hour window you prefer for your Valentines Day celebration.
- Please communicate your V-Day time to Beth and Barb so we can prepare accordingly (times expected for volunteer arrival, etc…)
- As always, parents planning the parties need to share the snack plan with you at least a week in advance for your approval. Please keep in mind that this might include food items that are used in a craft. If items are not cleared with you in advance they are NOT allowed at the party.
- Pre-registration of volunteers is needed. Beth will send an email soon with the pre-registration link and information.
- Not required, but worth considering: Class parties are an excellent opportunity for classroom communities to engage in service projects. How can your students promote love, kindness, friendship, and care to those around them? (classmates, family, friends, others in community,…)
Please communicate the following in your classroom newsletters soon as we know many are already planning.
Blurb for your newsletters:
We look forward to celebrating Valentine's Day with our students at their classroom parties on Thursday, February 14th. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to emphasize the Lifelines of friendship and kindness with all of our students.
As you are preparing Valentine cards to share with classmates, please prepare cards void of candy. Due to many students with food sensitivities and allergies, we will be unable to distribute candy. We appreciate your cooperation as our main goal is to keep everyone safe.
If you elect to purchase cards that have contain something extra attached to them, please ensure they are inedible. This could include pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. Thank you for ensuring that all students can have a safe and fun celebration.
Let us know if you have questions
Black History Month - February
As we approach Black History month, I wanted to reiterate the email that Christine Squier sent a couple of weeks ago in case you missed it!
Ideas: Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History
How do you ensure students get the most out of black history and Black History Month? Here are some suggestions.
DO...
- Incorporate black history year-round, not just in February. Use the month of February to dig deeper into history and make connections with the past.
- Continue Learning. Explore how to provide an in-depth and thorough understanding of black history. Textbooks are notorious for omitting information about the struggles of communities, and what they include is limited, so use the textbook as one of many resources. While exploring multiple resources, allow for opportunities to learn along with your students.
- Reinforce to students that "black" history is American history. Make black history relevant to allstudents.
- Relate lessons to other parts of your curriculum, so that focusing on a leader, like Fred Shuttlesworth, expands upon rather than diverts from your curriculum. By the time February comes around, the context of the struggle for civil rights and social justice should be familiar to students if you have already addressed such issues across the curriculum.
- Connect issues in the past to current issues to make history relevant to students' lives. For example, ask students to gather information with a focus on what social disparities exist today and how a particular leader has worked to change society.
- Include the political and social context of the community's struggle for social justice. For example, talk about Daisy Bates' political affiliations and her political ideologies. You see her bravery not as just a personal act but as coming out of community determination.
DO NOT...
- Stop your "regular" curriculum, to do a separate lesson on Rosa Parks, on the Civil Rights Act or on Martin Luther King Jr. This trivializes and marginalizes anything you are teaching, making these leaders a token of their culture and ethnicity. Students will get the message that the diversion it is not as important as the "regular" curriculum.
- Decontextualize heroes or holidays, separating them from the larger social movement or historical place. Great leaders don't make history all by themselves. For example, if you teach about James Farmer, you must also address the work of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Freedom Rides.
- Focus on superficial cultural traits based on stereotypes. It's ok to celebrate black music, but teachers should also explore the political and social contexts that give rise to musical forms like hip hop.
- Talk about black history in solely "feel-good" language, or as a thing of the past. This fails to help students examine how racism manifests itself today.
- Limit the presentation to lectures and reading. Be sure to allow students an opportunity for discussion and reflection.
- Teach with little or inaccurate information. Review resources to make sure they don't promote a Eurocentric perspective, which may misrepresent historic figures and social movements.
- Shy away from controversial, ambiguous, or unresolved issues. Share the real-life experiences about racial realities in developmentally appropriate ways.
Adapted from material by Pat Russo of the Curriculum & Instruction Department at SUNY Oswego.
Resources:
- k-12 lessons: https://www.tolerance.org/search?query=black%20history%20month&f%5B0%5D=facet_content_type%3Alesson
- Black History Month is celebrated each year in the United States during the month of February to coincide with the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and Frederick Douglass on February 14. Here are 10 resources to help teach students about the significant events and people in African-American history in the United States: http://www.gpb.org/blogs/education-matters/2017/02/01/teaching-black-history-resources-for-all-ages
- African-American studies: http://ecuip.lib.uchicago.edu/diglib/afam/
- Opportunities: MLK Day activities in Indianapolis- https://indywithkids.com/martin-luther-king-day-free-admission/
Free Event- REJECT Documentary Film
Personal Business Leave Requests
For Certified Team Members:
To requests "personal business days," please complete the following process.- Go to the following link, and complete the "personal business request" form. https://goo.gl/forms/CycfilABEUyILbh83
- Once the form is completed, please send a brief email to me (Tom) that includes the date(s) of your request(s).
- Enter your upcoming absence in AESOP as soon as possible. (It can always be deleted later should plans change.)
Thanks -
Contact Us
Email: thundley@zcs.k12.in.us
Website: http://www.zcs.k12.in.us/bme/
Location: 5555 S Main St, Whitestown, IN, United States
Phone: 3178732226
Twitter: @ZCSBoone_Meadow