AM Announcements - January 21

AM Announcements
January 21, 2009

1. Today is Day 87.

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:

Wednesday: January 21
EOQ Testing Continues
AR Benchmarks due to Ms. Fussell today

Thursday: January 22
EOQ Testing - Make-ups

Friday: January 23
EOQ Testing - Make-ups

4. At the end of each day, please do the following:
a. CLOSE ALL BLINDS
b. TURN ALL TV's OFF
c. TURN OFF ALL MONITORS and COMPUTERS (CPU's)

5. I have had only one volunteer to participate in Dr. Nash's multicultural education walk through. She would like to visit at least 5 classrooms. We will draw additional names out of a hat to give us five unless volunteers are forthcoming by 3:30 tomorrow.

6. Upcoming dates for your calendar:
a. January 26 - No School - RS day for report cards
b. January 27 - Technology Staff Development - 2:30-5:00
c. January 27-29 - AR Celebrations - (27/K; 28/1-2; 29/ 3-5)

7. On Monday January 26th from 9 am – 1 pm a Winter Education Symposium will be held at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. This event has been approved by Dr. Martin as 0.3 continuing education units. The symposium is titled "Connecting with you Students, Impacting your Community" and will include the following presenters: author and educator Dr. Gary Chapman, Salem College professor Krishauna Hines-Gaither, and educator and professional dancer Shawn Bowman-Hicks. The event will focus on teachers’ value to the community and will equip teachers to connect and communicate effectively with all their students. The symposium agenda and registration material have been posted in the lounge.

8. Individuals wishing to donate Annual Leave (AL) days to Rose Rusch may pick up the form from Ms. Higgins. We need to send these in as a group. We will be sending them in tomorrow morning. You may only donate sick days to immediate family members but you can donate annual leave days to anyone. We all know that Rose would deeply appreciate it.

9. "Books Are Fun" books are in the media center and the order will be placed on Wednesday and delivered Thursday?

10. Please follow the testing update from Ms. Marston that went out via e-mail on Monday afternoon. Note that testing ends at 11:00 so that all staff members and students have an opportunity to watch the Inauguration of President Obama.

11. Please take some time this morning to discuss the events of yesterday with your students. They were able to witness history yesterday and that will take some processing to help them understand the significance of what took place.

12. Yesterday's snow day will be made up on March 30. It becomes a student day. June 15 becomes a RS day and yesterday, January 20 is now a Leave Day (L).

13. A number of bulletin boards are blank around the building. I trust that this will be resolved by those responsible before they go home today.

14. I phoned my dad to tell him I had stopped smoking. He called me a quitter.
Steven Pearl

Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

One should absorb the colour of life, but one should never remember its details. Details are always vulgar.
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

Nothing so fortifies a friendship as a belief on the part of one friend that he is superior to the other.
Honore de Balzac (1799 - 1850)