AM Announcements - February 15

AM Announcements
February 15, 2010

1. Today is Day 103 or 102.

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: February 15
Access Testing for LEP students continues

Tuesday: February 16
Access Testing for LEP students continues
Technology Staff Development - 2:40-4:15
A's and Bees Tutoring - 6:00-8:00 PM

Wednesday: February 17
Access Testing for LEP students continues
Curriculum Coordinators' meeting - 8:00-3:30 - Marston off-campus

Thursday: February 18
Access Testing for LEP students continues
Job Site meeting - 9:00-10:00 - Powell and Reichert
Field Trip to Salemtowne - Ms. Say's class - 9:30-11:00
Staff Policy Committee meeting - 4:00-5:00 - Reichert off-campus

Friday: February 19
Access Testing for LEP students continues
Move meeting - 8:00-9:00 - Powell and Reichert off-campus
SolEd Partnership meeting - 3:30-5:30 - Reichert off-campus

4. Upcoming Calendar Items:
a. 02/24 - Title-1 Parent Involvement Audit
b. 02/26 - Dollar Dress Down Day
c. 02/26 - Box Tops for Education Due
d. 02/27 - Title-1 Comprehensive Needs Assessment Training - 9:00-1:00

5. CERTL applications are available from Ms. Rhodes. The application deadline is this Thursday, February 18. Should you receive any applications from parents, please note the address on the inside front page of thapplication. They should be sent to that address.

6. Books for the African Book Project can be dropped off in the front lobby. Please encourage your students to participate. You can join them in donating books as well. We have until this Friday, February 19.

7. Remember that students who are not here today ARE to be marked ABSENT.

8. Review Conferences today: None Scheduled - u have not had yours, please see Ms. Powell or me to arrange a time.

9. There will be a 4 hour Title-1 Comprehensive Needs Assessment training here in Winston-Salem on Saturday, February 27 from 9:00-1:00. Interested It pays a $75 stipend. At this point Ms. Miller and Ms. Heyland, and Ms. Hoots have expressed interest in attending. You can join them if you wish. Just let me know by e-mail.

10. There is a sign-up sheet in the mailroom to take food or groceries or a meal to Rose Rusch and Amber. Please see Ms. Higgins if you wish to donate Annual Leave days to Rose. Your support is greatly appreciated.

11. The 2nd Quarter AR Incentive Sessions will take place on the following schedule:

Monday, Feb. 22 - 8:00-8:45 : Grades K/1
Tuesday, Feb. 23 - 8:00-8:45 : Grades 4/5
Wednesday, Feb. 22 - 8:00-8:45 : Grades 2/3

12. The following is from the Department of Technology: Please remind teachers and staff that AlertNow notifications concerning weather are for safety and informational purposes. We are seeing a surge in numbers of staff members who do not wish to be inconvenienced by a phone call and are requesting to be removed from the AlertNow data base. Our data base is a pull of data directly from HR and therefore, we cannot honor such request…even if we wanted to cater to specific requests. Certainly, incorrect numbers need to be removed. With the ease of updating records on HR now we are also seeing an increasing number of employees actually changing their phone numbers in HR. HR data bases are designed for accurate data collection and they too strive for accuracy and efficiency. Please understand that notifications are for all!

13. There seems to be a great deal of concern about being on schedule when walk-throughs occur. There is a fear that something bad will happen if you are discovered to be off schedule. As I said last week in an e-mail to Ms. Gifford that I copied to everyone, schedules guide your day. Teaching in elementary school , however, can be a very fluid activity. We do not want you to adhere so strictly to a schedule that you negatively impact your teaching or miss the "teachable moment." As we do walk-throughs we look for certain things. We may wish to see a specific subject and plan walk-throughs based on your schedules. If you are not on schedule we may ask why just to see if you have changed your schedule or run over for a particular reason. There are no punishments or sanctions for being off schedule. If we have a concern, we'll talk with you about it.

14. In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.
Andre Maurois (1885 - 1967)

Your life story would not make a good book. Don't even try.
Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.
Bernard Bailey

Money doesn't always bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are no happier than people with nine million dollars.
Hobart Brown