CIS Summer Update
July 2016
Hello!
My wife and I have had a busy summer. This week marks our second week in our new house on the NW side of Goshen just outside of town. We have two wonderful children, Ada (8) and Ryne (4). Ryne just celebrated his birthday about a week ago. Ada is going to be a third grader this coming school year at Orchard View Elementary in Middlebury. My wife, Erin, is an eighth grade science teacher at Northridge Middle School.
Professionally I have spent the last two years as principal of North Side Elementary in Kendallville, IN. North Side is a K-6 building of about 375 students. Prior to that I was assistant principal at Goshen Middle School, TAP master teacher at Chandler Elementary, and fourth and fifth grade teacher at Woodland Elementary in Elkhart.
Personally I love sports (Cubs, Irish, Hoosiers), history, science, psychology, reading, Excel (yes, the computer software), and office supplies (that's right - I'm a nerd). There's nothing better than a nice pen.
What the Future Holds
It is natural for things to change year to year, and this is exaggerated with a change in leadership so I cannot say, "Nothing will change." However, my plan for the future is to spend the first several months learning about our strengths, challenges, needs and NOT making major changes. That's not to say change won't occur. I am sure you will notice little changes in how things are done but this is only natural.
My focus will be this:
Ensuring all students reach mastery by focusing like a laser on WHAT WE TEACH, HOW WE TEACH, and consistently CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING.
I know, what does that mean, right? I will dig more into this at our retreat but know that I want to dig deeper not wider, teach smarter not harder, and hold ourselves accountable for student learning.
New Staff
Kristy Lichtenbarger - 5th grade
Miranda Rozhon - 6th grade math/ science
Staci Short - 5th grade
Kati Vedder - 5th grade
Jennifer Outlaw - 6th grade ELA/SS
Linda Eby - filling in for Anna Miller
Dates to Know
August 9 - 1/2 day work day in AM (afternoon optional)
August 9 - Back 2 School Night
August 10 - FIRST DAY WITH STUDENTS
September 5 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
October 25 - Parent Teacher Conferences
October 26 - Parent Teacher Conferences
October 27 - Fall Break Begins
Staff Retreat
Bring an internet enabled device (if you have one). Smartphones will suffice - if you have a laptop that will work too.
Attire will be business casual (jeans or shorts are totally fine).
Back 2 School Open House
5th grade: 5:30 - 6:45
6th grade: 7:00 - 8:15
Camp Eberhart Dates
5th grade S Team (Chapman, Rach, Cassady, Ulick) – Tuesday, September 13
5th grade I Team (Short, Herkenroder, S. Miller, Shears, Doty, Aukerman, Briganti) – Monday, September 19
5th grade C Team (Burkett, Vedder, Weldy, Yoder, Cox, Wise) – Tuesday, September 20
6th grade S Team (Slovinski, Burkley, Rach, Cassady) – Monday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 11
6th grade I Team (Meranda, New teacher, A. Miller, Helvey, Franks, Reed) – Monday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 18
6th grade C Team (Sands, Lechlitner, Outlaw, Freeze, Teall, Summers) – Monday, May 8 and Tuesday, May 9
Schedule for Next Year
Take a look and give him your feedback.
1 on 1s
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1joLwrzmRgOaB-Vrrzg0A46uAPqEtFTyAa8-WhCTahkI/edit#gid=0
This is completely optional.