AM Announcements

August 25, 2008

1. Today is Day 1.

2. It is the mission of Speas elementary School to provide its students with the tools necessary to successfully meet the challenges they will face in a diverse world.

3. Calendar items for this week:

Monday: August 25

Building opens for students at 7:00 AM
Kindergarten – All students from 8:00-10:00
Kindergarten – Group A remains all day
Dismissal begins 10 minutes early. Classes leave for buses and cars at 2:10
Staff Meeting – 2:45 PM - Media Center

Tuesday: August 26

Building opens for students at 7:25 AM for remainder of school year
Kindergarten – Group B attends
Specials begin
Behavior Assembly – 1-2 - 8:45-9:15, 3-5 - 9:30-10:00 (Gym)

Wednesday: August 27

Kindergarten Screening – All day

Thursday: August 28

Kindergarten – All students attend
Behavior Assembly – K - 8:15-8:45 (Gym)
Classified staff leaves 30 minutes early

Friday: August 29

Classified staff leaves 30 minutes early

4. We ask that you keep Laura Young and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Laura taught Spanish here at Speas prior to her retirement. She is a close friend of Ms. Fussell and has volunteered here on a number of occasions. Her grandson, Matthew Gfeller, was the young football player injured Friday evening in the Reynold’s v. Page game. He has been declared brain dead and, as of Sunday afternoon, was on life support at Baptist Hospital. This is truly a tragedy for Laura’s family, the Reynold’s school family and for our school system.

5. Remind your students and parents that because of the Labor Day Holiday, there is no school next Monday, September 1. Classified staff members qualify for an hour of released time prior to the holiday. Our classified staff voted two years ago to take the time in two ½ hour increments on the two days prior to the holiday. Therefore, classified staff members are to leave at 3:00 PM on Thursday and Friday.

6. Magnet Express bus students will board from the gym as they did last year. Central Office and HR have placed surplus personnel in the positions of monitoring Express Bus Stops in the morning and afternoon. No local personnel will be used this year. Our new individual is Mr. Morris Hart who was an EC bus assistant last year. He will be with us each day from 6:30-8:30 AM and 2:45-6:00 PM.

7. There will be brief staff meeting in the media center at 2:45 to determine is there are any issues we must resolve before school opens Tuesday morning. If there are none, we’ll dismiss immediately.

8. As many of you are aware we have been dealing with Indoor Air Quality issues in the media center and the second grade hallway. We have had a number individuals from maintenance here attempting to work out a solution. We ask your patience as we resolve this issue.

9. I am a Marxist--of the Groucho tendency. - Anonymous, French slogan

I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is two weeks. - Totie Fields

She had an unequalled gift... of squeezing big mistakes into small opportunities. -
Henry James (1843 - 1916)

My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists. -
Jean Rostand (1894 - 1977), Journal of a Character, 1931