Week of October 21, 2019

We are super excited to host Sasha and Elida for their student teaching experience.  They are going to do such a great job with Cassie and May!  If you haven't had a chance yet, please introduce yourself and make time to welcome them to our FamiLEE!  We are going to learn as much from them as they will from us.  Thank you for a great job sharing learning during our Board Walk on Wednesday.  YOU make our school the showplace it is!  Leigh Ann and I are so grateful for the love and appreciation each of you have shown us this week.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity.  There is NO PLACE we would rather be than right here at Lee!

DID YOU KNOW:

• that Leigh Ann and Chantel will be visiting each space, Friday morning, with a special announcement?  Please excuse the brief interruption!
• there are 20 emojis that teachers use most and here is what they REALLY mean?
• there is a cool infographic about how school librarians are helping to transform learning?  We are so lucky to have Natalie in our Media Center and that she is invested in collaborating with classes and houses.  A friendly reminder: I expect for you to be engaged and invested in the learning experience when your class is there.  This is a great opportunity to co-teach and learn about media resources in CISD.  
• that we have been invited by a School Board member to donate Veteran's Day letters to the Greater Dallas Veteran's Foundation.  Please incorporate this request into your writing plans the next few weeks and send your published letters to the office by November 1.
• you can "BOO" a staff member?  If you want to participate, copy an image of the BOO sign (from one of the mailboxes) and tape it to the mailbox of the person you BOO.  Thanks, Beth, for starting this holiday fun.  What a great way to build community!

ECO POND UPDATE

We found out today that our EcoPond is going under repair, starting tomorrow.  This means that we will be moving water, plants, and fish into temporary kiddie pools while the work is being completed.  This will be a delicate process, and we want to keep as many plants and animals alive as possible.  We need to ask for everyone's help in making sure that ALL learners understand and do not disturb or bother the temp ponds or the EcoPond while this work is done.  Thank you to Sam and Dee for tackling this project with our learners.

REPORT CARDS
Don't forget to send report cards home on Friday.  Remember, if you have learners below a 70, or who have IPS's, that you are required to offer tutoring.  We will pay you $25 an hour for tutoring your learners before or after contract hours.


WRITE A CHECK

Write a Check is one week underway.  Please turn in your WAC Acknowledgement Forms to the front office, daily.  Good luck, and thank you for pumping this up with your learners!

RED RIBBON WEEK

Red Ribbon Week is here!  Please share this information with your FamiLEEs.  We hope you will have fun participating each day.  If you participate, you can wear jeans.  THANK YOU, Angela, and 5th grade LEEdership Council members for your vision.

MAGIC SHOW

PTO is sponsoring magician, Mike Wand, for Red Ribbon Week.  His magic show will be from 1:15-2:00 for grades 3-5 and 2:15-3:00 for grades K-2.  Thank you, Purple House, for eating in your house on Monday, so that we can get the cafeteria prepped for our guest.  K-2 Designers, you will want to make sure to have learner backpacks ready before heading down.  We will send you back to your houses for dismissal, but there will not be time to pack them up.  Thank you, Angela, for getting this scheduled and coordinated!

LEE FEEDER NIGHT

Please invite learners and their families to join the CHS Volleyball team at the CHS Arena.  Our Lee Feeder Night event on Tuesday Night and we will be joined by CRE and VRE.  Every learner that wears a Lee shirt gets in for free.

TEAM TIME

I think we can all agree that we have one mighty Specials team.  Thank you to each of them for the way that they are "all in" with incorporating Restorative Practices and Challenge Based Learning into their learning experiences with our children.  Please remind parents that our Specials Team has a Specials website and a 2nd Quarter Update showcasing what Big Idea, Essential Question, and Challenge our learners are choosing to be invested in for this round of Team Time. 

BOOK CHARACTER PARADE
Learners can dress up this day and parade as their favorite book character.  If parents would like to attend, please have them sign up here and we will have a visitor's badge preprinted for them.  

DESIGN DAYS
Stay tuned for more information, but...we will most likely host grade level Design Days, starting on November 1, with First Grade.  Leadership, please let me know, by end of day Friday, if we need to adjust our plans.  

SCHOOL DANCE

Our Fall School Dance is approaching.  Please mark your calendars and plan to bring your family to this FUN school event.

DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH

What are some signs of Dyslexia?

The problems displayed by individuals with dyslexia involve difficulties in acquiring and using written language. It is a myth that individuals with dyslexia “read backwards,” although spelling can look quite jumbled at times because students have trouble remembering letter symbols for sounds. Other problems experienced by people with dyslexia include the following:

·         Learning to speak

·         Learning letters and their sounds- difficulty saying alphabet without singing

·         Organizing written and spoken language

·         Memorizing math facts

·         Reading quickly enough to comprehend

·         Bizarre Spelling

Not all students who have difficulties with these skills have dyslexia. Formal testing of reading, language, and writing skills is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of suspected dyslexia. The important thing to remember is that EVERY child is different when it comes to testing. (IDA-https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-basics/).

CISD FOCUSED WALKTHROUGH
This week, we will give feedback on Domain 3 Dimension 2:  Student Behavior.  We will be looking for evidence of praise and positivity as management strategies.  We will listen for encouragement of learners and how you monitor and respond to learners while teaching and learning.  Learners should manage themselves with minimal teacher redirection.  We should see evidence in your space of class respect agreements and view high expectations for ALL. 

ESSENTIAL TRUTHS BOOK STUDY
Keep up the responding and reflecting on Twitter!  We appreciate those of you responding to posts by your peers!  

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

We have SO MUCH TALENT on campus.  Please take time to nominate someone.   If you need admin to cover your class so you can observe your nominee, to help you better answer the questions, please arrange that with us.  We are happy to help.  Nominations are due November 8.

ESL FOR THE WEEK

DATES TO REMEMBER:
National School Bus Safety Week
Red Ribbon Week
Write a Check
October 19- L'Oreal's Birthday
October 21- Magic Show with Mr. Wand to kick off Red Ribbon Week (1:15 and 2:15)
October 22- Lee Feeder Night for Volleyball
October 23- School Shirt with Jeans
     Staff Meeting (3:30-5:00 Sam's Space)
October 24-  Spurs Savings (7:20-7:40 Cafe)
     Lee Learning Walk (8:00-9:00)
     Tour Day (9:00 and 1:00)
October 25- LEEdership Meeting (8:00-9:00)