Sharing with others

This week we had some of our friends sharing their classroom ideas with others down in Illinois.  I'm so proud of all of you who share our Merton story with others.  Wouldn't it be awesome if we didn't need to travel to Illinois to hear about these great ideas.  Or imagine if we could visit someone's classroom while we have a planning period.  Or what if someone would cover your class so you could go and watch a colleague in action.  We joke about this all the time, so what's holding us back?  I'd love for one of you to visit a colleague's classroom and share what you saw.  The conversations would be amazing.  And it could make all of us just a little better.  So, how can I help?

Great things I saw this week...
The excitement for our IdeaCon presenters.
The kids' behavior for our guest teachers.
You all connecting with our guest teachers to make sure that all was going well.
5th grade Social Studies projects connecting them with our community.
Hearing about the conversations you had with families about their kids.
Rube Goldberg projects in 5th and 6th grade.
The artists who shared their art with the School Board.  Wow!
Homework Club kids using their time to get their work done. (Ask Lori)
Lego robotics kids attacking their obstacle course.
Kids reading and writing.
The struggle with rotations and translations and such in Math class.  The struggle is real and the kids are persevering.
Fuel Up to Play 60 kids taking leadership with All-Star week.

Calendar

Please continue to review the Intermediate Special Events Calendar at our weekly grade level and specials meetings, too.

Friday, February 28th
Jeans Day!
Student Senate Carnival  5-8PM

Thursday, March 5th
Arena style family conferences  4:30-8:00PM

Friday, March 6th
Half day- Did you give Barb and I your schedule?

Saturday, March 7th
EdCampElmbrook 8:00-2:30
PTO Trivia Night

Tuesday, March 10th
Choir (5:30) and Band (7:15) concerts

Wednesday, March 11th
WIN Wednesday

Thursday, March 12th
A-team meeting 1:15
NJHS induction ceremony 2:00
PTO meeting 2:30

Friday, March 13th
Art Show

Monday, March 16th
BLT meeting 4:15
School board meeting 7:00

Tuesday, March 17th
Leadership Camp 8-12
SEL meeting all day
Spanish placement test 1:00

Wednesday, March 18th
Yearbook Activity pictures (NJHS and volleyball teams)
Culver's Night 4-8PM

Saturday, March 21st-Sunday, March 29th
Spring Break

Name it.  Claim it.  Explain it.
Thanks to Dave for playing along last week.

Tweets, quotes, and blogs
You Are the Solution (from George Couros)

If a thing's worth doing at all, it's worth doing well.

Evelyn Waugh,

writer

I spent the last few days getting caught up on blog posts and podcasts from George Couros.  Here is a chart he shared in his blog on February 17th.

(Taken from What We Do With What You Know by George Couros)

George causes me to pause, reflect, re-evaluate, and move forward.  The last part is important.  Sometimes the moving forward part means more of the same.  Sometimes the moving forward part can be a small tweak.  Sometimes the moving forward part can be completely different.  Whatever the decision, I know that it impacts more than me.  I also realize what is a small change for me can be a major change for someone else.  The opposite is also true.  So as I think about the changes we are contemplating for next year, whether it's staffing or the schedule or room assignments, and I need to continue to remind myself that any changes also require support.  That support will look different for everyone, myself included.  As we move forward with the remainder of the school year and look to next year, please don't hesitate to reach out to your colleagues, your family, and me so that we can grow together and take another step toward creating a learning environment that benefits even more of our learners.

(from Teacher2Teacher)

Ripples by Dave Burgess (I know Heidi shared this on Wednesday night but it's too good not to share again.  May you one day feel like Van Gogh felt because of the impact you have had on our kids.)

#mertonint on Twitter
#MertonProud on Twitter

Merton Intermediate School Facebook page

mertonint on Instagram
Principals' Report from the School Board meeting 2.24.20
Family smore from 2.28.20

There's plenty in this week's nuts and bolts. If I could have you read and reflect on only two things it would be the opening paragraph and the Ripples blog by Dave Burgess.  I hope that you are able to connect with one of them.
#JustInspire
Jay
Take care of the kids.  Take care of each other.  Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell