AM Announcements - October 09

AM Announcements
October 09, 2009

1. Today is Day 33.

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:

Friday: October 09
On-demand writing samples due in the Moodle
Dibels Window closes for BOY benchmark

4. Upcoming Calendar Items:
a. 10 12-16 Pennies for Patients penny drive
b. 10/12 - United Way Kickoff - Media Center - 2:45
c. 10/15 - Ident-A-Kid at Speas
d. 10/21 - Junior League Puppet Show - 9:45 - Third Grade

5. The vote regarding annual leave on October 30 was 41 in favor and 1 opposed. As a result, certified staff members will be able to take annual leave on that Friday.

6. "The NED Show" items are on sale each morning in room #7 up until 7:55 AM. Many of the children came with insufficient funds. Please remind your students that the basic Butterfly Ned yo-yo sells for $6.50. The Boomerang Ned yo-yo sells for $10 and the Ball Bearing yo-yo sells for $15. All the accessories (a package of extra strings, the DVD's and holster sell for $3.50).

7. Ms. Badarin will offer a Smart Board workshop in her room on Thursday, October 22 from 2:40-3:40. Ms. Jewell will provide snacks.

8. I would like a committee of 4-5 volunteers who would be willing to design a lesson plan format that would meet our needs and make things easier for staff members. It is my intent that this form will eliminate the problem of teachers doing double work. Send me an e-mail if you are interested.

9. The following came through by e-mail yesterday afternoon:

This is an important message about the professional days scheduled at the end of October and March. At the request of the Forsyth Principals' Association and after a majority vote by principals, we have switched the days so that the RSV days will now fall on Friday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, March 30. If you have completed all tasks related to the end-of-quarter grading period, and your school does not require you to be present for training, you can use earned annual leave. In October, that means you could have a three-day weekend. In March, that means you will need to work on the RC day, Monday, March 29, and then you could be off the rest of the week, assuming inclement weather does not alter the calendar.

The calendar found online has been changed to reflect these new dates:
Reserved for Central Office: Oct. 29 and March 29
Reserved for school vote: Oct. 30 and March 30

Please ask your principal if you have questions.

10. Bids for our renovation must be submitted by 10/27 with construction to start in mid to late November. Ms. Powell and I toured the building with our construction folks and discussed the phasing of the project and how we would move around the building during construction. This will be a time for each of us to be flexible because there will be inconveniences we will have to live with.

11. Student Council will be selling Starbucks coffee out front for $2.00 a cup this morning. Don't for get to purchase yours and support our school.

12. An afternoon bus duty schedule will be handed out to the folks who work buses as soon as the new bus is added to our afternoon line-up.

13. Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It's called 'rain'.
Michael McClary

The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid.
Art Spander

She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon.
Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)

If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)