Monday Minutes (on Tuesday)
September 5, 2017
The Fun Now Begins
Thanks to all for doing such a fantastic job of setting expectations and routines for your students. You have set the stage for an amazing year of student learning. As a reminder, we have two major focuses for this school year -- differentiated instruction (which puts an emphasis on how we plan) and Social Emotional Learning best practices (which includes utilizing restorative practices). Wendy and I look forward to meeting with your teams more regularly at planning and supporting you in progressing in these two areas.
For those of us who were here last year, we had an opportunity to study a book that seemed to challenge each of us to think outside the box. This years book study, The Gifts of Imperfection, will be great in supporting each of our social/emotional needs and translate into actions we take with the students.
In preparation for the staff meeting on September 13th, please make sure you have read to page 21 in The Gifts of Imperfection and completed the following Google Classroom assignments (if you have yet to sign up, please do so by going to Google Classrooms and entering the code ntgud5v) :
- 1. Welcome and Introduction -- accepting the norms
- 2. Launch and Learn -- we watched the video previously, but please write about the Big Ideas you got from the video
- 2. Learn -- Courage
- 2. Learn -- Compassion
By doing these assignments before the meeting, we will be better prepared for a rich conversation at the faculty meeting.
Sometime before the end of school tomorrow, you will receive an email from either Wendy or me to sign up for your T-TESS goal setting meeting (unless you are a paraprofessional and I will be doing your evaluations the same as in previous years). We are excited to hear about the great goals you are planning and the positive impact they will have on student learning.
Finally, as we move forward with the year, I hope that we all remember that we are on the same team pulling together for the success of students and each other. One of my goals this year is to rebuild the camaraderie and unity of the staff. In almost every interview I hold with potential teachers for Bethany, I share with candidates that one of the three most important pillars for our staff is that we are a family. We laugh together. We cry together. Sometimes, we even fight together. The bottom line though, is we are family and we pull together during the rough times and celebrate during the good times. This year, I hope that each of us makes it a priority to make our Bethany staff and community one that is inclusive and seeks out the best in everyone. I have confidence that this is going to be a great year as we work together!!
Have an awesome four day week!!
Upcoming Events
- September 6th -- Team Leader Meeting
- September 8th -- PTA Budget and Bagels (8:00 a.m.)
- September 11th -- Monday Morning Assembly
- September 13th -- Staff Meeting
- September 14th -- School Pictures -- On Stage
- September 15th -- PTA Game Night (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)
- September 18th -- T-TESS goals deadline
- September 20th -- Team Leader Meeting
- September 21st -- CMIT Meetings
- September 27th -- IWK Meetings
- September 28th -- Progress Reports Go Home
- September 30th -- Tier 2 Documentation Submitted on Edugence
- October 2nd -- Monday Assembly
- October 2nd -- Third Grade to Outdoor Learning Center
- October 4th -- Team Leader Meeting
- October 10th -- Parent / Teacher Conferences
“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”
~Marian Wright Edelman