Week of February 2

Thank you for joining Todd and I for your mid year goal setting conferences.  What a wonderful time to celebrate all that you have accomplished and to get feedback from you.  We have six of you that we still need to schedule with, so look for calendar invites to come.  You all did an INCREDIBLE JOB of taking advantage of the beautiful weather this week and bringing learning outside and around the building.  Your creative ideas for delivering instruction never cease to amaze!!  Enjoy your weekend!

DID YOU KNOW?

• that our Math Educator Academy has links to a blog that goes along nicely with your Number Talks books?  Check out it out!
• that our Literacy Library is unpacked (thank you Courtney and Roxann).  Be looking for info to come from these ladies SOON!
• that we have had 20 new learners and 5 reenrolled learners since Winter Break!!  THANK YOU for welcoming our new famiLEEs.
• Dallas Fire Station #58 located at 3015 Chapel Oaks Drive will be placed in-service on January 30, 2015. The Cypress Waters area fire station will include a Fire Engine fully staffed with four members. They will be housed at the temporary facility, until a permanent fire department facility is constructed. DFW International Airport Fire Services will provide response assistance to the area.

“Everyone in a successful organization must be willing to risk. Risk is like change; it’s not a choice.” – Max DePree

LIVING WELL IN COPPELL
On February 1, Coppell ISD starts participating in the HEB Community Challenge.  Please participate and talk to your families about participating on this site.  If you are physical with learners, please post so that we can get our community points.  

"LEE"DERSHIP COUNCIL

Please send learners to the Pre K room at 9:00 on Monday.  They need to bring an iPad with them.  Also, please allow your learners a brief amount of time to come back and share after our Leedership Meeting. (I will remind them to keep this BRIEF)  THANK YOU!

BROADCAST STUDIO

We are excited to get our learners in front of the cameras.  Please allow those who are scheduled to work to come to the studio when they arrive at school.  We cannot wait to see some of the learner ideas come to fruition!

VALENTINES AND VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES

Our PTO Room Parent Coordinator is aware that we will have house Valentine parties.  Parties will be the last hour of the day.  Please talk with your grades/houses about how you will handle valentines in your classroom.  Will you have decorated boxes?  Will you have decorated bags?  Please provide a list of first names to each learner so that they can participate in exchanging valentines.  We have extra Valentines in Angela's office for those learners who may not have any.  


STUDENT LIFE CHALLENGE
I challenge you to participate in a global movement on Thursday, February 5.  You or your learners can share pictures from their regular day using the hashtag #studentlife #rjlyear.  

YEARBOOKS

Please get your class picture in to the yearbook mom.  THANK YOU!

REMINDER

Please update your digital signage by Wednesday, February 4, so that your television shows updated and different work from learners.  Here are the steps Alli sent out.

"LEE" QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” -George Bernard Shaw

"LEE"DERSHIP TIP OF THE WEEK:  Make eye contact. When someone is speaking, keep your eyes on him or her at all times. If someone makes a comment, turn and face that person.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

February 2-6- Counselor Appreciation Week

February 2- Groundhog Day

February 4- Walk at School Wednesday (7:30-7:45)

                    House Shirt Day with Jeans

                    2nd Grade Author Skype (9:00 Media Center)

                    Staff Meeting (3:30-5:00)

February 5- 100th Day of School

February 6- Jumprope Performances

                    Jump Rope For Heart Donations Due
Week of February 9-13- Book Fair Week
February 9- Kylie's Birthday
February 10- Rachel's Birthday
                      Transformation in Action Visits
February 11- Walk At School Wednesday
                      Jeans with iCreate Shirt 
                      Curriculum Meeting (3:30)
February 12- Kindergarten Field Trip
February 13- Valentine Parties (2:00-3:00)

Week of January 26

TISSUE ALERT!  What an incredible four day week this has been!!  I cannot thank each and every one of you, enough, for the work you do at our school.  It takes ALL of us working together, and I am honored that we have such an amazing team!  The lessons and experiences you are designing for your learners are some of the BEST I have EVER seen.  There is great enthusiasm in our learners and THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU! I have been super impressed with the Google Classrooms set up, the CBL challenges, the Guided Reading and Interactive Read Alouds, the tweets, the singing, jumping, and artwork, the planting in our garden, and the recycling in our school and cafeteria.  Multiple times this week I have reflected about how much we have GROWN!!  Just like our learners, we deserve feedback at the end of the nine weeks, and you deserve the highest praise.  Thank you for a job well done!! Imagine where we will be at the end of the third nine weeks! 

DID YOU KNOW?

• we can water the garden with hoses. We will be picking up hoses and will let you know when they are connected to the hose bib out by the garden.
• we will begin composting soon.  We will be purchasing a turning bin that our lunch foods can be placed in to create compost for our garden.  Stay tuned.
• that Number Talks books are in for each of you?  Please go check one out from Courtney so you can use it to support your math curriculum.

Here is a great quote that I received from Daily Impact Journal that reminded me of YOU:

“Never judge your strength by comparison, because there is always going to be someone who is more experienced than you. Judge by your dedication to what you do, and your ability to make progress. And even if there is someone better than you, use that as motivation, and strive to become better, because that’s what they did.” – Aaron DeCamp

LIVING WELL IN COPPELL
Coppell ISD is participating in the HEB Community Challenge.  I emailed you information about this on Wednesday.  Thank you Elisa and Nicole for already earning 2000 pts for the city of Coppell for downloading the app and posting a picture of it on the site.  

"LEE"DERSHIP COUNCIL

Please allow your learners a brief amount of time to come back and share after our Leedership Meeting on Friday.  THANK YOU!

BROADCAST STUDIO

We will be interviewing 4th and 5th grade learners for leadership opportunities in our broadcast studio.  We want to get them running the studio as quickly as possible, so thank you, designers for tolerating our interruptions when we pull learners to interview them.

VALENTINES AND VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES

Our PTO Room Parent Coordinator is aware that we will have house Valentine parties.  Parties will be the last hour of the day.  Please talk with your grades/houses about how you will handle valentines in your classroom.  Will you have decorated boxes?  Will you have decorated bags?  Please provide a list of first names to each learner so that they can participate in exchanging valentines.  We have extra Valentines in Angela's office for those learners who may not have any.  

MID YEAR GOAL SETTING MEETINGS

We have blocked out time from 8:00-1:00 and 3:00-5:00 on Tuesday and 1:00-2:30 on Thursday for you to start having your mid year meetings with Todd and I.  These will be VERY BRIEF check ins with you.  Please sign up for a time to attend on this Google doc. 

CLUB 21

We have our final scheduled Club 21 Meeting on Monday afternoon.  THANK YOU, 4/5 designers (and Alli) for your dedication to these learning sessions.  Your positive attitudes and willingness to share and learn from one another are exemplars for others!!  We will meet in the Pre K room at 3:30.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

Thank you for completing your school supply lists on this Google Doc by the end of the day Friday.  I will get with Jessica to add up to $2 in Art supplies to each list.  Please keep your list under $48.  Also, please add 1- 1" binder to your lists for a CBL binder for each learner school-wide.  

YEARBOOKS

Please stress to your learners and families that yearbooks must be ordered by the 26th.  They can order these online or send in a paper order from PeachJar.  If they do not order one, there will not be extras to sell when they come in.  I would hate for any of our learners to miss out on our inaugural yearbook.  We will schedule a yearbook signing date and event at our next Leadership meeting.

REMINDER

Please update your digital signage in your house (by putting in a help desk ticket for network connectivity) so that your television shows updated work from learners. 

"LEE" QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  “All our dreams can come true...if we have the courage to pursue them.” ~Walt Disney

"LEE"DERSHIP TIP OF THE WEEK:  During discussions, respect other learners’ comments, opinions, and ideas. Never laugh at another learner’s contribution.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

January 26- Club 21 Meeting with VRE @Lee
January 27- Mid Year Goal Setting Meetings
                    NWISD Tour of Lee (1:00)

January 28- Red and Black Attack Shirt Day

                   Walk at School Wednesday (7:30-7:45)

                   Birthday Luncheon (Social Spurs)

                   Fed Ex Day (3:30-4:30)

January 29- Honor Choir out all day

                    Mid Year Goal Setting Meetings

                    Learn About Lee (8:00) NEW TIME!

                    Nacho Bar (PTO Hospitality)

                    Honor Choir Performance (CHS- 7:00)

February 2-6- Counselor Appreciation Week

February 2- Groundhog Day

February 4- Walk at School Wednesday (7:30-7:45)

                    House Shirt Day with Jeans

                    2nd Grade Author Skype (9:00 Media Center)

                    Staff Meeting (3:30-5:00)

February 5- 100th Day of School

February 6- Jumprope Performances

                    Jump Rope For Heart Donations Due

Week of January 19

Enjoy your THREE DAY WEEKEND!

DID YOU KNOW?

• we have a new network engineer.  Her name is Jennifer Rezinecek.  She will be James' replacement.  Jennifer is a Coppell resident and has a daughter in 4th grade at CCE and another daughter in 8th grade at CMSW.  Please continue to send in your help desk tickets so that she can process them quickly.  She is awesome, a hard worker, and you probably already noticed all that she is getting done when she is here.  Welcome, Jennifer!
• that we are designing a form for PTO Grants? Look for more information to come!
• that Kid President has a MLK video?  Check it out!

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

DATA DASHBOARD CONSISTENTLY RUNNING NOW

Please feel free to start using the data dashboard for some of your authentic math experiences for learners. The pen is velcroed to the wall and if you want a live demo or tutorial, please ask Alli for a five minute demonstration.

LIVING WELL IN COPPELL
Coppell ISD will be participating in the HEB Community Challenge.  More information will be coming soon.

CAMPUS FUNDRAISING
I need to be aware of all campus fundraising.  If you will be collecting any funds, you must complete the Authorization to Conduct a Fundraiser Form from Diana.  All fundraising MUST be approved by me beforehand.  This is not negotiable.  Thank you for your help.

"LEE"DERSHIP COUNCIL
We will have a LEEdership Council meeting on Friday at 9:00.  We will be learn more about Spirit Sticks and how we will advertise selling these for Valentine's Day.


BROADCAST STUDIO
We will be recruiting 4th and 5th grade learners for leadership opportunities in our broadcast studio.  If you have learners interested, please share this Google form with them.  Deadline for applicants is Friday, January 23.  Learners must ask permission from a designer to recommend them.


VALENTINES AND VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES
Our PTO Room Parent Coordinator is aware that we will have house Valentine parties.  Parties will be the last hour of the day.  Please talk with your grades/houses about how you will handle valentines in your classroom.  Will you have decorated boxes?  Will you have decorated bags? Remember our conversation about consistency.  Please provide a list of first names to each learner so that they can participate in exchanging valentines.


GOAL SETTING MEETINGS
Todd and I will be scheduling mid year conferences soon.  This will give us time to touch base with each of you in regards to your goals.


SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Please be working as grades and houses to finalize your lists by Friday.   Thank you for your efforts to streamline these!


"LEE" QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  “Courage doesn’t always roar, sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” ~Mary Anne Radmacher

"LEE"DERSHIP TIP OF THE WEEK:  No matter what the circumstances, always be honest. Even if you have done something wrong, it is best to be honest.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

January 19- NO SCHOOL/ MLK Day

                    Lauren's Birthday (wear black)

January 20- Report Card Grades Due (8:00 am)

January 21- College Shirt Day

                    Walk at School Wednesday (7:30-7:45)

                    Staff Meeting- Balanced Literacy (3:30) 

January 22- Purple CBL Planning Day

January 23- Angela's Birthday

                    Report Card Day

January 26- Club 21 Meeting with VRE @Lee

January 28- Red and Black Attack Shirt Day

                   Walk at School Wednesday (7:30-7:45)

                   Birthday Luncheon (Social Spurs)

                   Fed Ex Day (3:30-4:30)

January 29- Honor Choir out all day
                    Learn About Lee (9:00)
                    Honor Choir Performance (CHS- 7:00)

Week of January 12

YOU DID IT!  You survived the first week back from Winter Break.  It was a weird week with cold weather and earthquakes.  How do I deal with the puzzling earthquakes we have been experiencing?  I joke about them.  Please enjoy:

DID YOU KNOW?

• that our enrollment (as of Wednesday) is 551 learners?  We have been told by the district that they are trying to keep K and 1st at 22, 2nd and 3rd at 23, 4th at 24, and 5th at 26.  I will continue to keep you updated.  I have been advocating for NO MORE after this for you.
• that we may have a new paraprofessional in our Active Learning class?  So that you are informed, Talat Khan resigned on Friday, before Winter Break.  Starting Wednesday, of this week, Viana Martinez will be at Lee.  When you see her, please introduce yourself and welcome her.  She is going to let us know on Friday if RJL is the place for her.  Wendy, Suzanne and I believe it IS!!!  
• Janell's email is now active in CISD.  Please include her in school wide communication since she is not on the Lee Distribution list.  Her email is jbunt@coppellisd.com  She has done a wonderful job this first week at Lee.  Thank you yellow house and third grade for your welcoming spirit!

CBL PLANNING DAYS (REPEATED TO EMPHASIZE IMPORTANCE)
Todd and I are excited to see the CBL units you created put into action in the new year.  Please post on Twitter and take lots of pictures so that your efforts can be documented! 

You will have ONE MORE CBL Planning Day before the 4th 9 weeks.  Please look at your house calendar and get these scheduled.  Wednesdays and Thursdays are days that I will approve for these design days.

BOARD MEETING MONDAY NIGHT
If your schedule permits, please feel free to join us at the Board Meeting as they recognize Stacey as our Teacher of the Year.  

SUPER TEACHERS
You have, without question, witnessed incredible lessons at RJL.  Please take time to nominate a person or team for Super Teacher.  This link will give you a place to acknowledge your peers.  Dr. Waldrip will personally award Super Teachers and provide them with lunch.  Let's get Lee designers recognized.  The next round of Super Teacher nominations ends January 12, 2015.   


LEADERSHIP TEAM
All other Leadership Meetings for the year will be on Wednesdays, but we need to have one this month on a Tuesday.  I apologize in advance for causing you to have two meetings after school in a row, but it is important we meet.  Please email Todd your Sonic drink order so that we can have a little something to show you how grateful we are you can be there.  Please bring any concerns/questions from your houses and grade levels to this meeting.


WALK AT SCHOOL WEDNESDAYS
Walk AT School Wednesdays will continue every Wednesday morning.  If you choose to participate by walking in the gym, before school, on these Wednesdays, you may wear sweatpants and sneakers with the Spirit Shirt of that day.  Learners will be sent straight to your spaces on Wednesdays.


REPORT CARDS
We are getting information from Kathy Creek regarding report cards for all of the new enrollees.  As soon as we hear back what the district wants us to do, we will communicate that with you.

"LEE" QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” ~John F. Kennedy

"LEE"DERSHIP TIP OF THE WEEK:  Never cut line. If someone cuts in front of you, do not say or do anything about it. Let it happen, but let a teacher know about it. They will handle the situation.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

January 12- Board Meeting Recognizing Stacey (6:00 pm)
January 13- Leadership Meeting (3:30 pm)
                    PTO Meeting (6:30 pm)
January 14- iCreate Shirt Day with Jeans

                    Walk at School Wednesday (7:30-7:45)
                    Curriculum Meetings (3:30 Content Specialists' Spaces)
January 15- 3/4 Dress Rehearsal (8:30 Cafe)
                    3/4 Music Performance (7:00 pm)
                    Jean's Birthday
January 16- End of 2nd 9 Weeks
                    Spirit Assembly (8:00 Gym)
January 19- NO SCHOOL/ MLK Day
                    Lauren's Birthday
January 20- Report Card Grades Due (8:00 am)
January 21- College Shirt Day
                    Walk at School Wednesday (7:30-7:45)
                    Staff Meeting (3:30) 
January 22- Purple CBL Planning Day
January 23- Angela's Birthday
                    Report Card Day

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that you have enjoyed your two weeks off of school.  I am excited to return to school to see everyone and hear about the two weeks we have been apart.

Here is one of my first thoughts:

I spent way too many days in my pj pants and LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.  I ate WAY TOO MUCH, stayed up WAY TOO LATE, and slept in EACH MORNING.  I hope you did the same!

We celebrate Elisa (now Genco) as she was married on December 27.  She was a stunning bride and she will be back to school on Tuesday.

I am happy to share these pictures of Jamye's beautiful baby, Finley, that was born via c-section on December 28.  We will have Jamye back either right before or after Spring Break.  In the meantime, I cannot wait until she brings him up to see his famiLEE!

I hope you have been thinking about your ONE WORD to bring to our Staff Meeting on Wednesday. If you have forgotten what this is, please look at our last post. 

Our school is growing as the houses in our neighborhoods are beginning to finish construction.  We have 8, YES EIGHT, new learners enrolling on our first day back.  This will only continue.  Please know that we recognize how tough this is.  I have appealed to the district that we not go over the state mandated 22 in K-4 and 25 in 5th.  They are doing their best to reroute learners to other campuses that have room in the district.  Unfortunately, we will soon be out of options to do that.  Our second grade will already be at 23 in each room after Monday's registration.  I have instructed Diana to try and place siblings in the same houses if there is room and to try and start with classes with lower numbers.  Please know, that it is likely that all of our classrooms will get new learners in the near future.  If there are supplies that you need for your learners, please ask the parents to assist you.  If they are not able to help, please get with Diana or Chantel so that we can get you the necessary supplies for your learners. 

I was invited by our Asst. Superintendent to go listen to John Hattie in Westlake.  I'm excited to learn more from him since I heard a small dose of him at Learning Forward.  The unfortunate timing of his visit is January 5-6.  That is right- TOMORROW and Tuesday.  I will be at school in the mornings and back in the afternoons, but wanted you to know that this was not planned on my part.  I recognize that I have been gone quite a bit for professional learning lately.  I am eager to share what I learn at Wednesday's staff meeting.  If you need ANYthing, Todd is here and I am a text away.  I find comfort in being gone, when I read this on my Daily Impact Journal:    

“Set your expectations high; find men and women whose integrity and values you respect; get their agreement on a course of action; and give them your ultimate trust.”– John Akers

Get a good night's rest...tomorrow is only a day away (thank you Kylie!)  Click Here