AM Announcements - March 10

AM Announcements
March 10, 2010

1. Today is Day 118.

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: March 10
Book Fair
Leadership Winston-Salem Education Day - Reichert off-campus all day

Thursday: March 11
Book Fair
Elementary Principals' meeting - 7:15-12:00 - Reichert off-campus

Friday: March 12
Book Fair

4. Upcoming Calendar Items:
a. 03/15 - Interim Reports go home
b. 03/16 - Technology Staff Development
c. 03/22-26 - Third Quarter testing
d. 03/23 - Student Council Talent Show
e. 03/26 - Box Tops for Education collected
f. 03/26 - Dollar Dress Down Day
g. 03/30 - Spring Break begins

5. Open enrollment for Health Insurcance coverage will impact ALL employees this year. They are automatically moving everyone down to 70/30 coverage from 80/20, so all employees who wish to maintain their 80/20 levels of coverage will HAVE to complete the open enrollment form. Since folks are starting to receive their packets in the mail, Human Resources is getting LOTS of questions. Here are answers to the three most common:

1) You MUST WAIT until March 15th to complete the open enrollment process. Open enrollment will run from March 15 to April 9, so everyone will need to electronically enroll between these dates.

2) You MUST complete the enrollment process electronically. There will be NO PAPER FORMS. We will have the link prominently displayed on the home page during the open enrollment period. Since this will require everyone to register and create a user name and password, we will be hosting some help sessions in the admin center IRC for those who need assistance with the process. The first will be next Monday, March 15th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. The second will be on April 5th -- same time and place. These will be drop in sessions, so employees don't need to be there promptly at 4:-00.

3) FOR TOBACCO USERS: The only way to be eligible for 80/20 coverage is if you sign an electronic attestation that you and your covered spouse/dependents either don't use tobacco, or are participating in a tobacco cessation plan. There are some detailed rules and potentially large penalties for tobacco users associated with this, so we are hosting information sessions for any employees who use tobacco or who have a covered family members that uses tobacco. These sessions are this week -- Thursday and Friday, March 11 and 12, from 5:00 - 6:00 PM in the admin center auditorium.

HR will send an Alert Now to all employees about this today.

6. News from Student Council:

a. The Speas American Idol Talent Show would love to have staff participation. Please notfiy Mr. Cokley, Ms. Mincer, or Mrs. Fletcher if you would like to participate.

b. Please encourage your students to attend the show. The admission cost is a $1.00. There will be a hotdog and hamburger dinner before the show.

7. There are boxes in the front lobby for donations of cereal to Crisis Control Ministry. We will be collecting full unopened boxes throughout the month.

8. Rooms 21-28 should be in the final stages of packing and purging in preparation for their move to the pod which is 3 weeks away. If you need additional boxes, please let Mr. Ireland know so he can bring them to your room. All other classes in rooms 1-6A and 9-20 should be working on packing as well. You will be moving out immediately following the last day of school. A construction dumpster has been placed by the fence outside the door at the end of the hallway at rooms 27-28. Purge everything you haven't used in several years and toss it over the fence into the dumpster. It has been placed there just for your use.

9. I will be off-campus all day at the Career Center for Leadership Winston-Salem's Education Day. If you need office assistance, please contact Ms. Powell.

10. Thanks to everyone for all their time and effort with last night's activities. Thanks especially to Ms. Thyompson-Totten for her work with the students on the program.
 
11. Ms. Higgins will be out today.

12. We are desperately in need of individuals to help with the K-2 tutoring today and tomorrow due to the gigantic numbers. If you can assist, please let Ms. Powell know.

13. Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness, can be trained to do most things.
Jilly Cooper

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

Behind every great fortune there is a crime.
Honore de Balzac (1799 - 1850)