Exciting times!

The excitement of the week caught up with me this morning.  I realized that there was a great deal of planning, flexibility, and pride in two major activities this week- Veterans Day and conferences.
Veterans Day was an emotional day full of smiles, tears, hugs, hand shakes, and high fives.  Thanks to Heather, Megan, and the myriad of staff and student volunteers who made the day a special one for veterans, guests, students, and staff.  Here is a link to Mary's animoto of the day.
Conferences are vital to the success of our students and you all always are prepared with an attitude of teamwork, celebration, and goal setting.  You find the good in every student and every conversation and it doesn't go unnoticed.  Thank you for all that you do every day for our students and each other.

BrightBytes
Please remember to have your students take the BrightBytes survey.  You need to take it as well.  Please find the links in emails that were sent to you by Tina.  Thanks!

Calendar
Monday, November 16th               4:15-5:15  BLT meeting
Tuesday, November 17th               4:30-8:00  Conferences (5th and 6th grade only)
Wednesday, November 18th          1:30-3:30  A-team meeting
                                                         4:00-8:00  Culver's Night (Anyone want to be a server?)
Thursday, November 19th             Tweetdeck Thursday (8:00AM in the Library- Bring Chromebook)                                                              Grade level meeting day (Bring great work to share!)
                                                         4:15-5:15  Practice resumes in the Library

Great things I saw this week
*Students and staff helping out our veterans and guests on Wednesday and the set up crew of volunteers to make our Veterans Day celebration something we will long remember.
*Smiles and tears from our veterans, and an uncountable number of compliments of our students and staff by the veterans and guests during and after the morning.
*Book fair volunteers speaking highly of our students and how nice and respectful they are.
*Parents excited to share conference news with me and the proud look on the faces of the students who attended.

Tweets, blogs, and quotes
Believing in our students, when it's hard to do (from @gcouros, a thought leader in education)
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."- John Shedd, writer
Are you on the bus? (from @benjamingilpin, a principal and friend from Michigan)
"Show class, have pride and display character.  If you do, winning takes care of itself."- Bear Bryant, football coach
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President
"Persistence and determination are always rewarded."- Christine Rice, opera singer
@mertonint on Twitter
#mertonint on Twitter
Merton Intermediate School on Facebook
Family smore for 11.13.15

What do you think?
As you look over this graphic, how often do you do this with our students?  How often do we do this with each other?  How often do I do this with you?  I encourage you to keep this graphic in mind as we continue learning with our students and each other.  Thanks to Dr. Laquita Outlaw (@DrLOutlaw) for sharing the graphic and for George Couros (@gcouros) for creating it.

Thanks for an awesome week!  Enjoy your family and friends this weekend.  Relax and recharge so that you are ready for our last full week of November.

Jay