Virtual Staff Meeting - March

Upcoming Dates:

• 3/11 - 3/15 - Spring Break!
• 3/11 - GermBlast on Campus - see info below
• 3/26 - School Custodian's Day! (Our awesome guys weren't here to celebrate them on Oct 2)
• 3/28 - 3 Hr Early Dismissal for MS District Track
• 3/29 - OSD Day - Good Friday
• 3/31 - Easter
• 4/1 - OSD - No School
• 4/2 - Teacher Work Day - - help host HS UIL Meet
• 4/3 - Paraprofessional's Day!
• 4/16 - Librarian's Day!
• 4/20 - Spring Spectacular
• 4/24 - Secretary's Day!
• 4/26 - Staff Development Day
• 5/1 - 5/3 - Spring Book Fair
• 5/1 - Principal's Day
• 5/3 - School Lunch Hero's Day!
• 5/3 - 4th and 5th Grade Track Meet
• 5/6-5/10 - Teacher Appreciation Week
• 5/8 - School Nurse's Day!
• 5/9 - 6th Grade Art Show and Peformance
• 5/16 - AR Field Trip
• 5/22-5/23 - Early Release and Last Day of School!
• 5/24 - Work Day

STAAR Testing Dates

• 4/9 - STAAR Testing - 4th Grade Reading
• 4/10 - STAAR Testing - 5th Grade Reading
• 4/11 - STAAR Testing - 6th Grade Reading
• 4/17 - STAAR Testing - 5th Grade Science
• 4/23 - STAAR Testing - 4th Grade Math
• 4/24 - STAAR Testing - 5th Grade Math
• 4/25 - STAAR Testing - 6th Grade Math

Staffing Updates:

We have another JNI family member taking on a new journey after this year. Kami Winter, our wonderful counselor, will be joining the ESC 14 in the curriculum and instruction department this summer. As you all know, Kami played a HUGE role in getting our campus up and going and in keeping us moving in the right direction this year. She will be missed and will leave pretty big shoes to fill! While we will all miss her dearly, I am excited to have another great advocate for us at the ESC and to still get to work with her in that capacity. There is no question that she will be great in her new role but we will sure miss her at JNI!

Current Positions Open:

• Counselor
• Technology Teacher
• 6th Grade Math
• Instructional aide

Please pray that we find the right people to join our JNI Family. If you know of someone intersted in any of our positions, please have them reach out to me or fill out an application online.

We are on the downhill slide of TTESS! Hallelujah! Thank you for all being patient as I have navigated this role and all of the duties it comes with.

We will be looking at starting EOY meetings/summatives in the next month (wow! that happened fast!).

I would like to meet with all instructional support staff the week after we return from spring break. I will send out information to those staff members the Monday we return.

Last day to submit a requisition for teachers is April 22. Please make sure you have those in by then.

I had the pleasure of hearing Kevin Tutt speak at an event yesterday. If you've never heard this fantastic JN native speak - he's a fun one! He shared a great message to our group of educators.

You get to choose how you finish.

This time of the year is always hard and the days seem long but you get to decide how you are going to navigate your classroom through the end of this semester. Don't let other steal your joy in what you do or drive you in a different direction. You are the driver!

A few things to keep in mind -

- Use your words wisely. Kids become what we say they are. Breathe positivity into your classroom and the students you work with. I know they are frustrating and you want to shake them some days but they look to you to believe in them.

- Make good choices. Pick your battles and the hills you choose to die on. I'm not saying to throw caution into the wind because it easier but I am encouraging you to find balance. If you didn't accept behaviors in October, you shouldn't be accepting them in March. The same goes if you did accept behavior in October, you shouldn't suddenly stop accepting them in March.

- Make every moment matter. The spring is tough! We are all spread thin trying to do all of the things. Take advantage of the time you have with your students and maximize the opportunities you have with them.

Gym - The gym will have some work done on the floor starting this Friday right after school. They will work through the weekend and finish up on Monday afternoon.

Deputy Training - Taylor County Sheriff's Office will be conducting a deputy training at our campus on Monday (3/11) and Tuesday (3/12) from 8am -5pm. The building will be closed to allow for them to host this training. Please avoid the campus during this time.

Don't be alarmed to see lots of deputy vehicles in the parking lot!

GermBlast - They will be here to spray our building on Monday (3/11). Please see the information below for preparing your space.

Please make sure you are having students put up chairs in the afternoon before they leave. This helps our custodial staff tremendously!

We are seeing lots of 'little friends' and will probably see more as the warmer weather comes. If you have any food in your classroom or eat in the pod spaces, please make sure we are cleaning up on a daily basis. With a week long break coming, please stop by the lounge and clean out any items from the fridge that are yours and check out the sink for any containers that belong to you.

Hopefully we are seeing less building issues within our spaces but please continue to reach out to me as things comes up. We are still watching for leaks and for anything that is not working properly.

The picture below was on our September Virtual Staff newsletter. I think it is a great reminder of why we all do this job - to create a space for everyone to learn! Be the person that students want to see everyday. If you made it this far and read everything above - email me with a recent challenge you've had and how you overcame it or how you are working towards oversoming it! First 5 will have a treat in their box later this week!