Week of April 27

We survived STAAR testing this week!  Thank you for the excellent job of keeping learners quiet and for the active monitoring and the preparation of our learners.  We know that all of them have tried their best. 

“Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away.”– James B. Stockdale

DID YOU KNOW?

• that there is a rock in the basket of the eco-pond that must stay there?  The rock keeps the basket working if the electricity turns off.  If the rock is not in there, the contents of the basket float back into the eco-pond.  Please let learners know this, so when they are "helping" to clean out the straining basket, that the rock remains. 
• your Mac has built in settings that can assist learners with reading and writing? Check out more information on text to speech and dictation tools for the Mac here. (thanks, Alli!)
• there is optional insurance for your iPad and MacBook?  You don't want to have to pay for damages.  See Diana for details.

EDUPHORIA

Please go into Eduphoria and make sure that you have electronically signed all of your Walkthroughs and Observations.  THANK YOU!

iPADS
Please remember that apps that are downloaded on our campus iPads are for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  We have some "games" that are on devices that we need to ask ourselves about.  Please make sure your learners are downloading apps with your permission only.


YEARBOOKS

The final deadline for yearbook ordering is next Friday, May 1st.  Staff and parents can order on the Balfour website www.balfour.com.  They will need to type in Richard J. Lee Elementary.  The cost is $30.

REMINDERS (you might wonder why this is in the blog again??)
Please continue to review expectations and hold our learners to high standards.  It is an excellent time of the year to remind our learners of the many privileges we have here at Lee.  (Furniture, building, resources, technology)  Just as we remind learners, a friendly reminder to the staff about arriving to school on time, supervising learners at ALL TIMES, transitioning with HALL expectations, not texting during the work day for personal reasons, staying on campus during your conference time, and watching your clocks to dismiss and transition on time.  I'm posting this, again, because we have people not doing these things.  In addition, we just spent $800 on MacBooks with water damage and key damage.  FROM THIS BLOG FORWARD: there is to be NO FOOD OR DRINK near technology.  Water bottles should, AT ALL TIMES, be on the floor.  Snack should be eaten AWAY from technology- including iPads.  Further damage will be at the expense of designers who the technology is checked out to.

SUMMATIVE CONFERENCES
On Sunday, you received an invitation to sign up for your summative conference.  Please make sure you have signed up.  This includes all positions at RJL. You must turn in your summative reflections in Eduphoria by Friday, April 24. That is tomorrow!

EOY LITERACY IN AWARE

At the end of the school year, you should scan and upload into Aware: 

• For every learner: 
  • EOY writing sample 

• For Learners not on grade level, or being monitored for Reading RtI
  • EOY writing sample 
  • EOY DRA (running record / written response)  
  • EOY spelling test 

- Educators should keep BOY/MOY/EOY as part of their personal documentation and anecdotal records for the year, but as long as the scores and and EOY documentation have been scanned and uploaded into Aware, the paperwork can be discarded after the school year has concluded. 

"LEE" QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is NO cure for curiosity." -Ellen Parr

"LEE"DERSHIP TIP OF THE WEEK:  Do not talk with your mouth full.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

April 25- Dad's Club Golf Tournament
April 28- Rachel S's Birthday
April 29- Jeans and iCreate Shirt
                Amanda's Birthday
                Leadership Meeting (3:30)
April 30- Learn About Lee (8:00)
May 1- Yellow House Field Trip
             Progress Reports Go Home
             Project Aces Day
May 4-5- Central Office in PreK Room
May 6- Jeans and House Shirt Day
             Staff Mtg. / Shower (3:30)
May 7- Kindergarten Round Up (8:30)
             Second Grade Mother's Day Program (2:15)
May 8- Spirit Assembly Schedule
             Drama Performance (8:15 and 7:00)
             Kindergarten Mother's Day Program (2:00)
May 10- Mother's Day