Warner Update
Making a difference, one person at a time
The Difference We Can All Make (Sept. 6 - 13)
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
We all have the opportunity to help create positive change, but if you’re like me, you sometimes find yourself thinking, “I’m already really busy, and how much of a difference can I really make?” I think this is especially true when we’re talking about addressing State or National issues. So when I catch myself thinking that way, it helps to remember this story. You might not be able to change the entire world, but at least you can change a small part of it, for someone.
I often remind myself to focus on the things I can change.
They say that one of the most common reasons we procrastinate is because we see the challenge before us as overwhelming, and that a good way to counter that is to break the big challenge down into smaller pieces and then take those one at a time–like one starfish at a time. And to that one starfish, it can make a world of difference.
Next Week At A Glance:
Monday, Sept. 9th: 5th Grade to Bright Walls
Monday, Sept. 9th: Board Work Session 6pmTuesday, Sept. 10th: 9am Meeting with Heather Holshoe (Admin)
Wednesday, Sept. 11th: 8:45am Grades 3-5 Assembly
Wednesday, Sept. 11th: PLC
- At this point Tier 1 Interventions have begun. Teachers have discovered strengths and weaknesses.
- Focus on Essential Standards (Q1) What do we want students to know? (Q2) How will we formatively assess?
- Q3 - What do we do when students don't learn?
Friday, Sept. 13th: 9am Grandparents Day (1st grade in cafeteria)
Friday, Sept. 13th: 9am String Team Presentations in 4th & 5th Grade Classrooms
- 9am - Shearer
- 9:30 - Oliver
- 10am - Gibbs
- 10:30 - Lenhart
Friday, Sept. 13th: Fun Night after school
* Math Academy Dates and Link- https://www.jcisd.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=2664
* If you have not scheduled your 15 minute meeting please do so.
* TEAM Meeting Schedule will be shared this week. Remember, if you are thinking of bringing a student to TEAM you must complete the TAT form and we must have a TAT meeting first.
* Next Staff Meeting is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 20th. We will be discussing chapters 1 & 2 of Help For Billy. If you need a copy please contact Ben.
* Reminder on Tokens:
- Tokens should be given for doing the right thing. The day to day positives.
- Tokens are for effort, attitude, behavior...NOT academics.
- Tokens should not be taken away (unless the student stole them).
- Staff goal of giving 10 tokens a day.