CNP News

I saw this posted this week and it really caught my attention. This couldn't be more true! We don't have to best friends "although it really helps" but we have to be professional in our actions and with our words to our teammates. Is everything going to be rainbows and unicorns all the time? Nope! Are we always going to agree? Nope! Are we always going to be right? Nope! We have to remember that on great teams people know their roles. Some roles change daily, some weekly, and other roles never change. Great teams don't talk bad about one another in the halls or lounge. Great teams don't bad mouth one another outside of school! Great teams have civil discourse and make decisions together. We can no longer make decisions based on "we've always done it this way," or "I just know." Decisions need to be made based on data, research, best practices, and what is best for ALL students, not just one class or one teacher. This line of work is too important for us to not get along and work together. I see 254 smiling faces every morning ready to be here because for some of them it's the best 5 days they have! When we are down, they know it and it affects the kids! Remember this isn't about US, it's about THEM! They are the reason we are here, and THEY are the reason we need to work together! THEY are our future, let's not ever forget that!!!!

I want to take a minute to give a shout out to all our classified staff! They work tirelessly day in and day out to help our students in one way or another! Here are just a few reasons why I appreciate them!

*Mrs. Hurst, goes above and beyond teaching library class as well as a life skills class. She took it upon herself to find lessons or skills to teach to students that will serve them all later in life! If you haven't stopped in to watch during one of these lessons ie.... shoe tying I'd encourage you too!

*Mandy and Susie, if you haven't noticed they are the brains and heart beat of this operation! They deflect so much from parents, and shelter all of us from things we have no idea that parents are upset about! They do things for all of us that we should probably do ourselves and never complain about it! If it weren't for them we'd all be up a creek without a paddle! So many people compliment us on how friendly and nice these two are, and it sets the tone for all interactions we have with community members and parents!

*Paula, Doreen, and Karen, if this was a war they would be our Special Forces! They are asked to do a million different tasks daily and have things change on them constantly! These three make it possible for us give small group instruction to students, to get breaks from recess duty, and function daily as a school! I've heard people at other schools say "well they are just assistants!" That kind of thinking boils my blood! They are just as much teachers as the rest of us! Newsflash........We couldn't operate without them!!!!!!!

*Beth Spencer, you want to talk about someone who is ALL IN look no further. She works with some of our neediest kiddos, gets hit, yelled at, stomped on, called names.....etc and just keeps on loving kids! Want to know why? Because she knows that they aren't giving her a hard time, they are having a hard time! HUGE DIFFERENCE! Then there is our PTO that is amazing and guess who heads it up! Yep the same lady that loves our kids so much, loves our staff just as much and puts on amazing events so they can shower us with gifts, and lunches, and notes of encouragement!

*Rhoda and Craig, have you seen our building?!?!? Have you been to other schools? Without a doubt 100%, hands down, we have the cleanest, best decorated building in the state of Indiana! They are amazing and take so much pride in providing us a clean and inviting environment to learn and work in. I get comments all the time at how nice our building looks and they are the reason!

*Nurse Natalie, has stepped in and done an amazing job filling in for Nurse Megan! She gives our students the best care we could ask for, and gives some tough love when needed! She has been up to her neck in, well you can guess, and handled it like a trooper. She loves our kiddos and makes tough calls for their well being! She is a great asset to us!

*Melissa Slone and her kitchen staff, they are only two people and serve and clean up after 254 plus some adults! I don't know about you but, I couldn't do it! They interact with our students and help make breakfast and lunch time go smooth day in and day out!

*Officer Koontz and Roxy, proved their weight in gold a couple of weeks ago. They are the protector and comforter we need and I feel safer and more secure daily because they are here! I'd like to say more about Officer Koontz, but let's face it Roxy is so much more cute and cuddly than he is! Ok in all seriousness Jason is a jack of all trades and is willing to fill in where ever he is needed. He's loves our kids and they love him!

*Mrs. Cole, last but not least (well probably shortest!) She has been an amazing addition to our school family. I have never, not once seen her not smiling! She comes in does her job and if she has down time finds something to do to help others! She is so kind and caring with our kids and has made the transition of our speech program go so much better than it could have!

I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you for your contributions to make CNP the BEST place in Northern Indiana to work!

I will be here but will be teaching CPI both days to staff in our corporation that need their licenses renewed. Jason will be available to handle issues on the 19th. On the 20th we will need to come up with a plan for issues as Jason will be in class and I'll be teaching it. Just a heads up!

Kindergarten will be using the gym on Tuesday, November 26 from 8:30-12:00. The gym will be off limits for this time frame for them to do their annual feast!

Tuesday the 19th @ 7:50 in my office. Bring ideas for Roxy, and be ready to view a video on how to give Dibels progress monitoring.

11/19&11/20: Mobile Dentist

11/20: KinderForest

12/10: 2nd Grade Music Program

12/23-1/3: Christmas Break (No School)

1/17: First Grade Science Central in Gym

2/3: First Grade Science Central in Gym

3/25: First Grade Science Central in Gym

4/6-4/10: Spring Break (No School)

4/22: First Grade Science Central in Gym

5/5: First Grade Science Central in Gym

6/5: Graduation (It's what we all work for)

*Please send me any dates that need to be added here!