Week of December 17, 2018

We want you to have the BEST final week of school for 2018 and to ENJOY an incredible two weeks off as you take time to celebrate the happiness of the giving season and make memories with those you love.  We will miss you during the break, and be happy to catch up in the new year!  Happy Holidays from your Lee Spurs (thank you Jessica!).

DID YOU KNOW:

• we have TWO GEMS being recognized at Monday night's Board Meeting?  Congratulations to Samira and Rikki for being Great Educators that Matter!  Please come to the Board Room at  5:30 to cheer them on!
• that Lee got a $500 donation for hosting the 40 person tour about a month ago?  THANKS, again, to those that participated and shared their spaces.  We will have to find something wonderful to get for our school!
• Kasey has updated her Bulb?  Check out her resources page.  She has shared information on different tools for building digital portfolio content and publishing work in Bulb.
• Purple 2 is heading up our Box Top collections?  Please share this collection form with your parents. 
• we have extra long sleeve Spur shirts from last year's December to Remember?  If you would like one, they are on the chairs in Leigh Ann's office.  Please don't blame the Babe's luncheon if you have to go up a couple of sizes.  (I think they were made for toddlers.)  We suggest you try it on before you take one.
• speaking of Babe's...there are some leftovers if you would like to have some for lunch?
• we have learners who are collecting stuffed animals and cards for children at Shriner's Hospital as part of their "Spark a Movement" challenge?  Please share this flyer they created and encourage your learners to bring a stuffed animal to school, next week, that they can donate to a child having surgery.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

Please plan on going to the CISD Open House during your conference time on Friday.  If you are an hourly employee, please work with your supervising teacher to arrange a time to go over.  You will NOT want to miss this fun event! 

LEEDERSHIP COUNCIL HOT COCOA SALE

Please remind learners to bring their dollars to recess time tomorrow so they can get their cup of hot cocoa from LEEdership Council.


DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
Congratulations, Bethany, for finding our Selfie Elfie on the first day and tweeting out.  Good luck!!! She has hidden it for day two.  I have to admit is was funny watching some of you competitive ones search and have fun this morning.

SECRET SANTA

Thank you to Social Spurs for organizing our Secret Santa gift exchange.  Drawing of names will happen on Friday, after school, and gift giving will occur December 17-21.  Click here to sign up to participate. 

ECONOMICS FAIR
Third grade will host their Economic's Fair on Wednesday.  Please let parents know that this is an entrepreneurial experience for our children that also supports their financial literacy objectives.  Check out the schedule they have designed for that morning.

STAFF HOLIDAY PARTY

You may remember how much FUN this was last year.  We hope everyone can join us for some time together outside of school.  This is NOT a school sponsored event, so you are free to have "tea."

GRINCH MOVIE DATE

What FUN it will be to take our learners to the movie on Thursday.  If you have a learner not attending, please let Chantel know so we can work out supervision for the child.  We will plan on loading the buses between 11:00-11:15.  The movie start time is 11:45, and the movie should end at 1:15.  We will load the buses as we plan to be back for our parties right at 2:00.  Learners will eat lunches in your spaces from 10:30-11:00 and need to be packed up for the end of the day, before we leave for the movies.  If you are a Specialist or Support Staff member, we are excited to have you join your house for the movie.  Please get with your Leadership member to see if there are any learners in the house that they need extra help with.  Those staff members with children, please help in your child's house so you can enjoy the movie with them.  Our Admin Team is happy to lend a hand, too, if you have friends who need to sit next to one of us.

SPIRIT ASSEMBLY
Please invite parents to attend our event on Friday.  We will start at 8:15.  Red and Black Superstars (I am having the office email you, if you have a winner) and Yearbook winners (Jessica will inform you) will be announced.  We also have some festive games for you to join in- BE READY!

LUNCHES ON DECEMBER 21:

We will have lunches in your spaces on December 21.

EARLY RELEASE 

Friday is a half day of school.  The elementary school early release time is 12:15.  Please communicate this to your parents.  You may leave once the office is clear of ALL learners.  We will need all hands on deck to make sure learners get home the proper way so EVERYONE can leave early.  

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES
Please make sure you participate in the Twitter Slow Chat so you can get flex credit for our Book Study.  Also, you should have your class Respect/Trust Agreements completed and posted before leaving for the Winter Break.


SMART WATCHES AND DEVICES
Please share this with your parents in this week's newsletter:  As stated in our Elementary Student Handbook:
Possession and Use of Personal Telecommunications Devices, Including Mobile Telephones.  For safety purposes, the district permits students to possess personal mobile telephones; however, these devices must remain turned off during the instructional day, including during all testing, unless they are being used for approved instructional purposes. A student must have approval to possess other telecommunications devices such as netbooks, laptops, tablets, or other portable computers.  

This includes smart watches with cameras, video recorders, texting and gaming capabilities.  We kindly request these stay home ore remain in your learner's backpack during the school day. 

REMINDER

Don't forget!  Grades are due January 7th, the Monday we return from winter break.  Please go into e-school this week to make sure you are able to enter grades, have all of your learners, etc. so that if Leigh Ann needs to correct anything, it can be done before the holiday.  Also, if you enter grades over the break, please remember that they must be back-dated to a date before December 21st or they will not save.

LEE LIFE PRINCIPLE:

Trustworthiness- keeping your word; doing what is right for yourself and others.

LESSON IN LEADERSHIP:

People trust you when your attitudes, words and motives align with what you actually choose to do.  This includes being honest about mistakes, refusing to gossip and shift blame, and doing things that ethical way (even if it's quicker to do otherwise).

LEE QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"Stand with anybody that stands right.  Stand with him while he is right, and part with him when e goes wrong." -Abraham Lincoln

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Dec 13-Dec 19- Stuffed Animal Drive
Dec 15- #rjlcares Volunteer Opportunity (8:30)
Dec 17- Teddy Bear Drive Day (Purple Solution)
     Winter Choir Performance (8:10 Cafe)
     GEMS Recognized (5:30 Admin Bldg.)
     School Board Mtg (7:00 Admin Bldg.)
Dec 18- Breakfast from Yellow House Family
     "Toasty Tuesday" (wear your PJs)
     Winter Choir Performance (6:30 Cafe)
Dec 19- Ayesha's Birthday
     Economic's Fair
     New Learner Lunches
     PTO Holiday Luncheon!!!
     Staff Holiday Party (4:00-6:00)
Dec 20- Grinch Day (Wear your Grinch Green)
     Spurs Savings (7:10-7:40)
     Lee Learning Walk (8:00)
     Grinch Movie Date (12:00-2:00)
     Winter Parties (2:00-3:00)
Dec 21- Breakfast from IBC
     Spirit Rally (8:15 Gym)
     Early Release (12:15)
Dec 22-Jan 6- WINTER BREAK
Jan 7- Day 1