Communication possibilities

As we have ended the 1st quarter, and nearly the 1st trimester, one of the things I am proud of is the communication we have with our families.  Although I am proud, there is always room for improvement.  We rely a lot on Skyward and emails, but I encourage you to also use the phone or to have face to face meetings.  The personal nature of these communications is so much more powerful than written communication.  I know that we just finished conferences, so this may seem like a strange request, but reach out again soon.  Reach out because the student you just spoke about at conferences has made a great improvement.  Reach out because the student you just spoke about dropped a letter grade, or more, since the last time grades were entered.  Reach out because the student you spoke about wrote a magnificent paper or taught the class a math concept.  Reach out because the student you spoke about just always does the right thing.  And if you'd like me to make a phone call or two, send some students down to the office this morning.  I'd be happy to make some calls.

Great things I saw this week

• Conferences.  You know our kids and their families.  And it shows.  Lots of smiles and handshakes and fist bumps.
• 7th and 8th graders and their smoothies at lunch time.  Sharing the health.
• Two of our Merton grads coming back to help out in Homework Club.
• November weather that keeps the kids enjoying recess.
• Thank you letters from our veterans to students and staff.  Here's one that's my favorite.

Calendar

Friday, November 18th

• I have a pretty free morning but my afternoon is packed with fun.  Seriously.  I have an observation from 1:08-2:36, a meeting with students from 2:36-3:06, and then I'm covering a class from 3:06-4:00.  That means I'm out of my office and in classrooms with staff and students.  If you need me for anything, don't hesitate to contact Barb.  She knows how to get in touch with me if it's an emergency.

Monday, November 21st

• Coaching  7:30-8:15
• IEP  1:15-2:15
• Observation  2:36-3:06
• IEP  3:15-4:15
• BLT  4:15-5:15

Tuesday, November 22nd

• Staff awards  8:15-8:30 in the Little Theater
• No office day!

Tweets, quotes, and blogs
Cool idea for book commercials (from edutopia)
@mertonint on Twitter
#mertonint on Twitter
Merton Intermediate School Facebook page
Family smore for 11.18.16

*These three quotes about success really struck home with me after our grade level meetings yesterday.  We are successful because we don't settle for what we did yesterday.  We strive to do better.  We prepare, work hard, and learn from our failures.  But don't forget about how we always talk about family first.  That helps us be a public and private success.  We won't rest on our laurels.  We're not that kind of family.  We keep striving to be better.  As James Collins says, "The enemy of great is good."  Let's celebrate what we do well, but then let's set a new goal and reach for it.

Have a great weekend.
Be the one!
Jay
Take care of the kids.  Take care of each other.  Take care of yourself.