Blue Haze Bulletin
Weekly Staff Newsletter 1/4 - 1/8
Halftime Adjustments
Staff, I do hope the Christmas break provided you plenty of time to enjoy your families and refresh and recharge yourselves. I can't stress enough how important I believe the first couple of weeks coming out of this break can be to the overall success of the school year. It is a time to make the adjustments needed to focus on positive results. While the first couple of weeks in August are about building relationships and establishing routines, now is the time to see what is working and what is not. A tried and true sports analogy is that the best coaches are the ones that make halftime adjustments--based on formative information--and implement them effectively. Remember to be purposeful and intentional with every precious moment of instruction! I hope this first week with your students goes great!
What Do We Do About It?
After our K-4 Data Day at the end of November, and our Instructional Rounds debrief with Shelley in December, we have a good idea of where we are as a campus going into the second semester. We have some exciting, great things happening across campus, and we also have areas we must continue to work on. Now that we have a good amount of student and observational data, the bigger challenge for us is: What do we do about it? Below I am including a link to a great TED talk you may have seen before. It's a humorous look at "30 Day Challenges" but I believe it has a great message. What can you and your team do--including your interventionists, administrators, TAs--over the next 30 days that would directly impact/answer the question "What do we do about it"? If you were able to identify, through your discussion with your colleagues, areas that need to be enhanced, the challenge becomes what can you do in the next 30 days that will allow you and your team to see improved results. Now is the time to capitalize on our renewed sense of purpose as we head into the second semester.
http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days
http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days
Upcoming Dates!
Wednesday, 1/6: No Staff Meeting! In lieu of a full staff meeting, admin will meet with Team Leaders only in the conference room. Teachers, please utilize this usual staff meeting time as additional lesson planning time with your teams.
Thursday, 1/7: Grade Level PLCs
Monday, 1/11: BHE Cowtown Shoe Delivery, MPR
Tuesday, 1/12: Interventionist Meeting 3:05, Conference Room
Wednesday, 1/13: Staff Meeting, 3:05, MPR (All Staff Attends), College Blitz & Jeans Day
Thursday, 1/14: Grade Level PLCs, BHE ELA Alignment Team Mtg, 3:05, Conference Room
Monday, 1/18: HOLIDAY
Thursday, 1/7: Grade Level PLCs
Monday, 1/11: BHE Cowtown Shoe Delivery, MPR
Tuesday, 1/12: Interventionist Meeting 3:05, Conference Room
Wednesday, 1/13: Staff Meeting, 3:05, MPR (All Staff Attends), College Blitz & Jeans Day
Thursday, 1/14: Grade Level PLCs, BHE ELA Alignment Team Mtg, 3:05, Conference Room
Monday, 1/18: HOLIDAY
BHE 30 Day Challenge: Fill a Bucket!
A few weeks ago we placed buckets on the wall outside of each staff member's door. I'm sure you've all read or heard about the book How Full is Your Bucket, explaining the concept of "filling buckets" with positive statements on a daily basis. I am challenging each staff member to "fill a bucket" at least once a day for the next 30 days! Simply write a quick, positive note, a thank you, etc. to someone using a post-it note, and stick it on their bucket. A few kind words often makes someone's day...or week! If you want to write multiple notes each day, please do! Let's do our best to fill buckets over the next 30 days! :)
The First Habit of Highly Successful People
This is just a great blog post I thought I'd share. Have a wonderful week everyone! Happy 2016!
https://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/the-first-habit-of-highly-successful-people/
https://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/the-first-habit-of-highly-successful-people/