AM Announcements - January 29

AM Announcements
January 29, 2009

1. Today is Day 92.

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:

Thursday: January 29
AR Celebration - 8:15-9:00
NCI Training - Powell, Clodfelter and Tuttle off-campus all day

Friday: January 30
Box Tops for Education collected
CI Training - Powell, Clodfelter and Tuttle off-campus all day
Access Testing Meeting - Marston off-campus all day
SolEd Group meets with D. Martin - 3:30-5:00 - Reichert off campus

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

5. Classroom teachers should sign-up for a review conference taking place from February 3-13. The sign-up sheet is in the mail room.

6. Upcoming dates for your calendar:
a. February 02 - Report Cards go home
b. February 02 - Behavior Assemblies
c. February 03 - SIT
d. February 03-13 - Review Conferences
e. February 05 - Group Pictures only
f. February 06 - Honor Roll Assembly - 1:15
g. February 09 - Interim Reports go home
h. February 13 - Pastries for Parents
i. February 17 - Marzano Staff Development
j. February 24 - Technology Staff Development

7. The following are Nancy Martin's comments on her classroom walk-through's yesterday:

Thank you for letting me come to Speas this morning to conduct Teachscape Walkthroughs. I tried to visit classrooms I had not visited before, but did end up in some of the same rooms. I hope the teachers didn't mind. I think I visited every grade level and went into 8 classrooms.
I saw both math and language arts lessons during my visit. Most of the activities were teacher-led, but I did also see students both working independently and in small groups. Every student was on task and I did not see any inappropriate behaviors in any of the classes. That shows that students are very comfortable and engaged. It was good to see one of the teachers using the ActiveBoard. She seemed very comfortable with the new technology. What a bonus to the classroom! One teacher was reviewing the math quarter test. Students were correcting problems they had missed. The students had many questions for the teacher, but I see this as a way to help them have ownership of their test results. Thank you again for letting me come. I plan to visit again sometime in April.

8. If anyone asks you about registering for Kindergarten, remind them that beginning this year, children must turn five (5) on or before August 31.

9. Ms. Powell, Ms. Clodfelter and Mr. Tuttle will be off-campus for the next two (2) days participating in NCI training at the central office.

10. It appears that the ON/OFF for the TV's are now working. Please leave your TV's on at the end of the day.

11. We have placed two of the five WFU education interns. I still need three teachers who would enjoy having someone work with them for the Spring semester. They will observe 2 hours per week for 10 weeks for a total of 2o hours. if we want to get more interns in the future, we need to use these now. Please send me an e-mail this morning if you want an intern.

12. I am still in need of individuals who would like to assist with tutoring in the afternoons on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. The pay is $25 for certified, $17 for classified, and $22 for classified with a master's degree. Please see me today or tomorrow if you are interested.

13. The refreshments on Tuesday were courtesy of Ms. Cathy Smith, a retired teacher who volunteers here. It was her birthday. Those we received yesterday were from Lewisville United Methodist Church.

14. All television is children's television.
Richard P. Adler

If living conditions don't stop improving in this country, we're going to run out of humble beginnings for our great men.
Russell P. Askue

A healthy male adult bore consumes each year one and a half times his own weight in other people's patience.
John Updike (1932 - 2009), Assorted Prose (1965)

The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will contract.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841 - 1935)