You amaze me. I can stop in and watch a lesson and see the amount of thought and preparation you put into what you are doing. That's the curriculum part of your class. But the real amazement is the connections that you make with the kids. Just think about it. I could ask you about any of your kids and you could tell me something that no one might know about them- their successes, their struggles, their interests, their dreams. Those connections are where the learning starts. Please keep making those connections with our kids, and with each other.
Calendar
Friday, December 11th Wear flannel/ Material pickup
Monday, December 14th Holiday Colors Day/ BLT meeting 4:15PM/ Board meeting 6PM
Tuesday, December 15th Holiday Hat Day/ PTO brunch
Wednesday, December 16th Homeroom Pride Day/ Workout Wednesday/8th grade PreACT at 9:15AM in the gym
Thursday, December 17th Throwback Thursday
Friday, December 18th Polar Express Pajama Day/Raffle drawing/ Material pickup
Saturday, December 19th-Sunday, January 3rd Winter Break
Tweets, quotes, and blogs
Fake it until you make it or Face it until you make it? (from Allyson Apsey)
"For me, being an innovator doesn't mean being more intelligent, more rich, it's not a word, it's an action."
Ornette Coleman, jazz musician
(from @Toups_J. He thinks about this as he creates lessons for his kids, and I know you do, too!)
This is a link to a new resource, Education Blueprint, shared by the Teach Better Team. Looks pretty cool, and it's free!
"I never decide if an idea is good or bad until I try it."
Rick Rubin, record producer
"If you want to grow old as a pilot, you've got to know when to push it, and when to back off."
Chuck Yeagar, US Air Forcce officer, test pilot, first pilot to break the sound barrier
A couple of nuggets from George Couros- the quote and the short video. Please know this will be my focus with each of you next week, and I hope that you are able to do the same for and with each other and our students next week, too.
Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act Extensions for COVID FMLA/Sick time
The bill ends on December 31, 2020, and the federal government has not agreed upon an extension. If you have a determined school-based exposure, Merton SD will continue to provide COVID sick time. More to come on other non-school based exposures due to the expiring federal laws.
Here are some suggestions from our guest teachers.
Please consider adding these items to your guest teacher plans.
- Sign in info (Envisions, 2nd Step, etc..)
- Links in the lesson plans are AWESOME!
- Mark places in texts that they want to highlight or to be discussed in the lesson
- Provide examples in the lesson when applicable
- Provide names of teacher helpers
- Note any students that may need extra guidance/support
- Include classroom behavior plan or incentives (punch cards, clip charts, fill jar, etc...) I like to use positive reinforcements!
It's been such a wonderful experience working with the awesome staff and students in this district so far this year!
Global Awareness Committee
The Student Achievement Committee met to discuss how to bring Global Awareness to our staff and students. The end result of the work will be to make staff and students more Globally Aware. Global awareness encompasses many aspects and the work will continue to be refined. Our first step is to identify how to begin developing our staff. The team of admin, specialists, guidance, and board members will be examining different ways to engage our staff in this work. Later in January, we will be engaging other staff members to assist in learning more before bringing something to the entire staff. Our next meeting is set for January 11. More to come!
Thanks for another great week. Enjoy the weekend, and maybe some snow, relax, and come back next Monday ready to take on one more week before Winter Break. We've got this!
Jay
Take care of the kids. Take care of each other. Take care of yourself.- John Gunnell
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