Monday Memo
August 17, 2015
From the Principals' Desk.......
The remainder of this Monday Memo contains several Staff Spotlights! We have a large Pre-K team! You will also find information about the LEAPS social skills curriculum that can be used as part of any behavior management or positive intervention plan. I have also included the next two focus strategies from Marzano's Nine Essential Strategies. Finally, at the end you can click on the button to take you to the faculty master calendar. It will be updated on a regular basis.
Staff Spotlight Pre-K
Nycole Blakley, Pre-K Teacher
This is my seventh year at Arthur Elementary. My first two years I taught Kindergarten. This is my fifth year in Pre-K. I love working with our little owls. I have a daughter, Meghan, who is starting her sophomore year at Westmoore High School and a son, Austin, who is starting his freshman year at York College in Nebraska. I'll be traveling a lot this year to watch him play soccer. When I do have a moment to myself, I love to relax with a good book.
Kara Waller- Pre-K Assistant
I am starting my sixth year here at Arthur, fourth in Pre-K.
I am a mother of one son and two daughters. In September, my husband and I will be celebrating 16 years of marriage.
Laura Butler, Pre-K Teacher
I’m Laura Butler and this is my 14th year in teaching and 3rd year at Arthur. Teaching Pre-K is very rewarding, and entertaining. I’ve been married to my husband Ken for 36 years. We have 1 son, 4 daughters, and 5 grandchildren. I enjoy reading, gardening and raising chickens.
Melissa Parker, Pre-K Assistant
My name is Melissa Parker. This is my third year as a Pre-K teaching assistant. This is my seventh year being a part of Arthur - first as a parent, then as a PTA officer and volunteer, and then finally as a staff member. I have spent the past 17 years with my wonderful husband John. We have one amazing 10 year old son Johnny. We also have two cats, Lily and Pepper. We spend most of our time at home as a family enjoying movies, books, gaming, and being creative with as many forms of art as possible.
Debra Nation, Pre-K Assistant
Mrs. Nation is starting her third year at Arthur as a pre-k assistant but she has many years of experience working with children at OKCPS as Kindergarten assistant, parent liason, and YMCA after school program among other jobs. She is a mother of two former Arthur owls and a great artist! One of her hobbies is to make real life looking dolls, called reborns (and a monkey that Mrs. Blakley has kept). She’s also the loving mother of two dogs, including a teacup chihuahua that makes you go awww!!
Angela Martinez, Pre-K Teacher
This is my third year in Oklahoma teaching pre-k at Arthur. I’m originally from Chile but I lived in the beautiful Orlando for a long time, where I enjoyed going to Disney world, and riding roller coasters. I have loved teaching so much that I’m currently pursuing an M.Ed. deegree to stay in the education field. When I get some free time from studying I like to go to the movies, walk my dog, read books, and travel.
Karyn Hutchens, PAR/Instructional Coach
Angela Smith, PAR Instructional Coach
LEAPS (Social Skills Curriculum)
Every educator in our school can sign up and use Leaps just by signing up and logging into their account. To get registered for an account, simply go www.goleaps.com/okcity and complete the online registration form using your school email, this is a onetime process. From that point on to access Leaps, is quick and easy! You login by going to our website at www.goleaps.com, click on the "Sign In" button, and enter your account name and password.
For your convenience, training to use Leaps is free online and we have tools in your Leaps account as well! Training includes how to use our PBS tool “Classrooms Challenges” to improve overall classroom performance, Individual assessments to reduce problem behaviors, how to use the comparison reports to monitor progress and many other aspects of Leaps.
We offer training in a number of different ways:
- Choose a convenient date and time (with 5 or more attendees) then request a free online Leaps training at www.goleaps.com/onlinetraining
- Click on your “Curriculum” Tab and access our short training videos in the first module.
- Watch Training on our You Tube Channel
If you have any questions or need anything further, 877-775-3277 or by email at jgrayson@goleaps.com.