AM Announcements - March 17

AM Announcements
March 17, 2010

1. Today is Day 123. HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY


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 17
Curriculum Coordinators' meeting - 8:30-3:30 - Ms. Marston off-campus
SolEd Meeting - Reichert - 5:30-7:30

Thursday: March 18
Job site meeting - 9:00-10:00 - Powell and Reichert attending
Staff Policy Committee - 4:00-5:00 - Reichert off-campus

Friday: March 19
Move meeting - 8:00-9:00 - Powell and Reichert attending - #169 downtown

4. Upcoming Calendar Items:
a. 03/22-26 - Third Quarter testing
b. 03/23 - Student Council Talent Show
c. 03/26 - Box Tops for Education collected
d. 03/26 - Dollar Dress Down Day
e. 03/30 - Spring Break begins

5. If you or your grade level have not taken your visit to teacher(s) at another school, please schedule it for some time before March 29. If it must go into April, that's OK. See Ms. Higgins for the paperwork so we can pay for your 1/2 day sub out of Title-1 funds. Those groups that have been already have found it very valuable.

6. Staff members should have received invitations to participate in the Governor's Working Conditions Survey. This is an on-line survey and will be open from March 15-April 16. We do this survey every other year, alternating with the local FCAE survey. The information garnered from this survey is used at the school, district and state level to improve working conditions and address problems. This is a chance to have your voice heard on issues that are important to you.

7. Since it is St. Patrick's Day, please make sure your students who do not have green on have something like a green shamrock or even a green piece of construction paper pinned to them so they don't invite other to pinch them. While the tradition's origins are murky, the wearing of green on St. Patrick's Day is really more of an American custom than an Irish one. Green is representative of the Catholic population in Ireland while orange represents the protestant population. Green is also the color of "the Emerald Isle." You can thank the Gulf Stream for this. Once it says good-bye to the North Carolina coast, it heads across the Atlantic and next touches land with its warm waters in Ireland. In some places the St. Patrick's Day celebrations actually differentiate by color, green or orange. Suffice it to say, on March 17, everyone is Irish and all can wear green.

8. The Annual Enrollment Period for the State Health Plan continues and will run through April 9. ALL EMPLOYEES MUST ENROLL ON-LINE through the following website:

http://wsfcs.hrintouch.com/

If you have questions about login or site navigation please call 1-866-239-1055. If you have questions about State Health Plan benefits call 1-888-234-2416.

There is also a button on the WS/FCS web site that you can use to access the enrollment web site.

9. Last night at A's and Bees tutoring we had 4 students and 4 tutors.

10.  Paradise is exactly like where you are right now... only much, much better.
Laurie Anderson, Language Is A Virus

The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 - 1882)

The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)