The Gator Tales
The weekly staff newsletter for Glenwood Elementary School
Important upcoming dates and events
Monday, December 4- Grades 2-4 Gifted Testing
Friday, December 8- PTA Winter Wonderland
Wednesday December 13- Grades due for progress reports
Wednesday December 13- 5th grade holiday performance 6:30 pm
Friday, December 15- Progress Reports Issued
Monday, December 18- PIRATE DAY
Wednesday- December 20- POLAR EXPRESS DAY (adjusted dismissal)
Thursday, December 21 through Monday January 1- Winter Holidays, schools closed
Grateful Gators!
Thank you to Pam Buchardt for her constant support and guidance in my classroom. She continually provides new ideas and strategies for me to grow as an educator, and I am thankful for her passion for our students! Kalya vanWerkhoven
Kudos to Diane Dykes for consistently finding, creating, and sharing digital resources for second grade in all subject areas. Kudos to John McFarland and Jen Malit for organizing and overseeing the SCA events and food/toy drives. Kudos to Teri Ennis, Rebekah Goshert, Donna Faini, and Susan Bowers for being in the lead for the Achieve 3000 Read to Succeed contest. Elisabeth Arroyo
Kudos to Matt Rouse and Michelle Jackson for being flexible with scheduling while others were out.Major Kudos to Amy Doss who worked after school to help a fellow teacher. Also to Josh Cake and Michelle Jackson for donating items and ideas. Tammy Moore
Thanks to Nancy Munson for offering her room for testing! It's the little things that help us get through the day, and that helped out a lot! Scott
Kudos to Mr. Thietje for letting me use his phone and helping my during a difficult situation. Kudos to Ms. Buchardt for working with our first graders. We really appreciate it. Sarah Staie
Kudos to Mrs. Bowers' class for responding to the Literature Flipgrid. What an amazing opportunity to share responses to literature, even with a librarian who is stuck in a children's hospital. Loved seeing and responding to their videos! Tammie Soccio
Heartfelt thanks & Kudos to : Sandra Kechter, Mary Arrington, Diane Dykes, Tara Pfiefer, Ashley Smith, Angelique Acorn, Barbara Kimpan, Team Kindergarten, Team 1st Grade, Team 4th Grade & our awesome Office Ladies, for their generous gifts to make dreary hospital days a bit more bearable for #TeamSoccio. Thank you also for those of you generous enough to donate leave so that I could be here at CHKD with my Baby Girl with one less worry.
We are hoping to break free from this place this week, and finish our journey to wellness at home. Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Despite all that we've experienced, we're feeling thankful for the support, and the baby steps our girl is making towards being healthy again. Miss you! Tammie Soccio
What Great Teachers Do Differently- 17 Things That Matter Most Todd Whitaker
12. Don't Need to Repair- Always Do Repair
We have discussed treating everyone with respect and dignity every day. This is the standard that we must all work toward, and the very best teachers come close. By the same token, most of us have worked with or for someone who was nice most of the time but would let the volcano erupt now and then. Unfortunately some of these tantrums may have resulted in personal hurts that never totally healed.
Then we, as educators, lapse into such behaviors, we may never know the damage we have caused. If we become impatient and unprofessional, we are much more likely to throw darts. Though we may get over it, our targets may not. Sure, the students may still act polite to us. After all, what choice do they have?- especially if they fear being treated like that again. However, the relationship may never be the same. Effective teachers understand this, so they aim to treat people with respect ten days out of ten. They know that a relationship, once damaged, may never be the same. That is one reason that effective teachers are so acutely sensitive to every single thing they say and do. They work to avoid actions that cause hurt feelings. The most effective among us go beyond that.
One of the things that I notice about the best teachers is that they seldom engage in the behaviors that cause harm to students. Yet, the best teachers seldom need to do any emotional repairing in their classrooms, they are continually working to repair, just in case.
Think about the less skilled teachers in your building. Think of how they tread on students feelings and self-worth. Yet these individuals seldom recognize the need to repair. And more significantly, they seldom work to repair. Effective teachers don't wait for problems or confrontations to arise before they begin this endeavor. When effective teachers bring this to the classroom, they do more to alleviate classroom discipline problems and prepare their students for success in the work environment.
Todd Whitaker
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Joan Lewis 11-29
Shirley Haywood12-02
Donna Carrow12-04
John McFarland12-05
Regina Johnson12-10
Jessica Domalewski12-14
Tina Hood12-14
Virginia Fields12-14
Jessica Palmer12-14
Hilary Truman12-17
Mary Betsy Thorn12-19
Elizabeth Merce12-19
Rebekah, Goshert12-21
Andrea Neal12-25
Jessica Denham12-26