Week of January 27, 2020

Happy Thursday!  We hope you felt some love with your Glow and Grow posters today.  I heard from many of you that you wanted to continue to spread gratitude, so please leave your posters up for at least a few more days so that you can receive words of affirmation from your FamiLEE.  When you are ready to take your posters down, feel free to add your post its to your gratitude jars because YOU MATTER and deserve to know it!

DID YOU KNOW:

• that staff that participates in the Kids Heart Challenge for at least 20 minutes will be able to wear sweats/athletic gear?  
• the office is happy to do all of our laminating moving forward?  Please put your items in the bin by the laminator marked "to be laminated" and they will laminate twice a week.  THANK YOU!
• congratulations are in order for Suzi?  Her newest grandson arrived today.  Nathan Ezekiel arrived at 4:19!! He's 21.5 in and 7.15 lb of pure perfection! 
  

100TH DAY OF SCHOOL

Feel free to dress up as a hundred year old or decorate a shirt with 100 items, whichever suits your fancy for this FUN day!  Thank you, May, for sharing this 100th Day resources created by Mary Kemper.

KINDNESS SPIRIT DAYS
We will participate in the following spirit days this week:

• Tues:  Dream of Kindness Day.  Wear your pajamas to school.
• Wed:  Team Kindness Day.  Wear your sports team attire.
• Thurs:  Peace, Love and Kindness Day.  Wear tie-dye or 60's attire
• Fri:  School Spirit Shirt Day

GREAT KINDNESS PARADE

We will start the parade at 8:10 at the cafeteria by lost and found.  We will begin by having guests line up in the cafe in parallel lines and along the walls by CREATE and DESIGN ending toward the front office doors (not passing into yellow house).  Guests will cheer our kids on as they parade one lap and return to your houses.  

The order of the parade will be:  Green House -> Purple House -> Blue House -> Red House -> Yellow House.  Go right after the house in front of you with a couple of learners carrying the class banner. (Talk to learners about how to participate in a parade.)  Downstairs will stay in spaces and watch until it is their turn to go.  Make a full loop back to your space, then line the railings of your house to cheer the others on.  Don't forget to pass out your Kindness checklists and encourage your famiLEEs to sign up for The Great Kindness Challenge App to be able to participate at home.  Class Kindness Banners need to be ready for Monday morning.

SPREADING KINDNESS

We will support Metrocrest Services as we give back during Kindness week.  Please consider sending in some of the following items with your children.

LEEDERSHIP COUNCIL
LEEdership Council will have their last week of hot chocolate sales on Friday.  Thank you for supporting them!  Stay tuned for their February fundraiser.

SPRING BOOK FAIR

Parents can sign up to volunteer at our Spring Book Fair here.  

WEEKLY WALKTHROUGH FOCUS
For our focused walkthroughs the next four weeks we will be focusing on Domain 2 Dimension 2 Content Knowledge and Expertise.  We will be looking for things like cross curricular connections, strategies to avoid learning pitfalls, learners analyzing, creating and evaluating, and learner-directed learning.

ESL THIS WEEK

PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATIVE WORK: Learning is social.  ELs especially benefit from collaborating with other students and not just other ELs.  They need to discuss, communicate, listen to, read with, negotiate, problem solve with students of all types.  Groups should be fluid and flexible.  Sometimes partners and other times groups.  This type of setting also lowers the affective filter for ELs while allowing everyone an opportunity to participate.  The old, traditional way of the classroom was that the teacher stood in front, lectured while students listened, and then the teacher asked a few questions and called on a couple of students.  Only those few students who were called on actually participated, everyone else zoned out. 

DATES TO REMEMBER:
MAP Window
Kids Heart Challenge
Great Kindness Challenge Week
Jan 27- 100th Day of School
     Kindness KickOff Parade (8:10 am)
Jan 28- Guest Principal for 1/2 Day (Elvina)
Jan 29- House Shirt with Jeans
     5th Grade Elly Swartz Author Visit (1:00)
     Staff Mtg.  (3:30 - 5:00) Flex Space / Melissa's Shower
Jan 30- Maddie's Birthday
     School Geo Bee Day
     Spur Savings (7:20-7:40- Cafe)
     Lee Learning Walk (8:00)
     Parent Book Study (6:00 pm Cafe)
Jan 31- LEEdership Hot Cocoa Sale

Week of January 20, 2020

THANK YOU, everyone, for a fabulous week together.  I hope that you take time for yourself this three day weekend to do something you love.  The way you have lifted and supported everyone in their new roles this week fills my heart and I am reminded of the special place that we have, here, at Lee.  THANK YOU!

DID YOU KNOW:

• that hashtags help connect you on Twitter? Don't forget to use #AppleDistinguishedSchools #scientificLEEspeaking and #mathmaticLEEspeaking when you post.  Great job telling your story on social media, girls!
• that CISD adopted the Option 1 calendar for the next two years?
• that you should already have evidence in Strive for your annual goals?  Don't forget to be adding links and images so that you are prepared for your post conferences in April.
• the purpose of flex hours is for employees to meet the expectation for professional learning by attending workshops, conferences, seminars, and courses?  Designers, make sure you are on your way to earning your 18 hours of flex time by April 30.  You can check your flex time in Eduphoria Strive.

LEEDERSHIP COUNCIL

Please support our LEEdership Council fundraising by sharing this information with your class and parents.   Our first sale is tomorrow during recess time.  Please permit your LEEdership Council members to come down to serve during this time.

TECHNOLOGY REMINDERS
Please make sure that your learners have their face, name and house on their iPad home screen.  This will help Specials and other staff members get iPads to their rightful owners.  Also, you are advised to check the history on your learner devices.  They should have history viewable for the last month.  If they do not, and they are deleting their history, you will need to address this with them.


ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
This is a great way to intentionally visit new spaces and learn from one another.  Don't forget to visit Specials and Special programs.  Now each of you will have compliments for Friday's National Compliment Day.

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE
We will be participating in the Great Kindness Challenge for our third year. Be thinking about how you can incorporate KINDNESS into your lesson design the last week of January.  Don't forget you need a banner for your class for our Kindness Kickoff Parade, first thing Monday morning, January 27.  Angela has created this information page for you.

NEWSLETTER REMINDERS

Please share the following 2 announcements with your parents: 

When arriving and departing school, please follow our Lee Arrival and Dismissal Procedures.  

• Drop off begins at 7:15.  Only learners attending tutoring, participating in Chess Club, or a Sunshine Spur should come in before 7:15.  
• Drop learners off in the car loop only.  The back lot is for staff parking, daycare, special education, and busses.
• Car pool lane is for carpoolers only, not those wanting to bypass the drop off line.
• Walk learners in after 7:38 (our staff walks in at this time).  For your child's safety, and per the Elementary Student Handbook, learners should walk in accompanied by an adult.

CISD is offering FREE parent classes.  Check out the CISD ESL Website for more information.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

You will be getting an email from CISD, on Friday, to register for February 14.

100TH DAY OF SCHOOL

Start letting parents know, now, that the 100th Day of School is approaching on 1/27.  Feel free to use this flier (thanks Layne).  This is the same day as our Kindness KickOff Parade.  Thank you, May, for also sharing this 100th Day resources created by Mary Kemper.

WEEKLY WALKTHROUGH FOCUS

Our focused walkthroughs for the next four weeks, will be focusing on Domain 2 Dimension 2:  Content Knowledge and Expertise.  We will be looking for things like cross curricular connections, strategies to help your learners avoid learning pitfalls, learners analyzing, creating and evaluating, and learner-directed learning.

ESL THIS WEEK

Value and encourage native language.  Honoring a child's native language has many benefits both for a child's self esteem and academically.  Language is part of who we are.  Encouraging their native language sends a message that their identity is valued and respected in your classroom and our world.  If a student has a language other than English that they can tap into and refer back to, we should let them! This is big. Literacy is literacy in any language.  Bridging the languages helps to build the target language. 

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Kids Heart Challenge
Jan 20- NO SCHOOL
Jan 21- CISD Education Foundation t-shirt and Jeans
Jan 22- RJL Shirt and Jeans
     Brooklyn's Birthday
     Leadership Meeting (3:30 Samira's Room)
Jan 23- Angela's Birthday
     Spurs Savings (7:20 Cafe)
Jan 24- National Compliment Day

Week of January 13, 2020

WOW!  This has been a fabulous first week of the year at Lee!  I hope you can see and feel how excited I am to be your leader.  If not...just wait...Leigh Ann and I will be "popping" by to show you some love tomorrow morning.  We have so much to celebrate being at Lee Elementary!

THANK YOU for the experiences you designed for our children this week.  It has been wonderful seeing learners set goals, review resolutions, and vision for the new year.  THANK YOU for being an inspiration to them!

We also THANK YOU for the flexibility you have demonstrated with our new learners enrolling.  YOU ARE APPRECIATED and it does not go unnoticed.

DID YOU KNOW:

• that I have informed technology that we are 27 devices short (with our new enrollments)? They are putting an order in and it will be a few weeks at the earliest.  THANK YOU for your patience and flexibility while we wait.
• TELPAS is just around the corner?  Claudia, Stormy and Leigh Ann put together a timeline of all TELPAS related trainings and the testing schedule for the learners.  Please ask any of these ladies if you have questions. 

FED EX DAY
Enjoy your one hour, on Wednesday, where you learn about a topic of YOUR choice related to YOUR goals, and earn Flex credit for it.  Please complete this form at the conclusion of your learning session.  The form will open at 4:30.  

MAP TESTING

It is time for the Winter MAP Testing sessions.  Claudia, Stormy and Leigh Ann have updated the Fall presentation with all the updated testing information.  Sessions codes have been created for you and we will also create all of your testing rosters for you!  If you wold like one of us to help you during a testing session, please reach out before the day of your testing so that we can make sure we have the day and time scheduled on our calendar.  We will also review the MAP testing information during our next round of RTI.

CLOTHES BIN
Please share this graphic with parents in this week's newsletter.  Our school earns money for every pound donated.

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE
Did you know that we will be participating in the Great Kindness Challenge again this year?  This is our third year to take part in this wonderful event. Be thinking about how you can incorporate KINDNESS into your lesson design the last week of January.  You will need a banner for your class for our Kindness Kickoff Parade, first thing Monday morning, January 27.  Angela has created this information page for you.

KIDS HEART CHALLENGE
(Please remind your parents)

• Online donations accepted now 
• Collection envelopes accepted starting Jan 27
• Checks made payable to American Heart Association
• Last day accepting donations is Jan 31
• Participate in 20 minutes of PE activities with your class between Jan 27 and Jan 31 and you can wear warm ups on that day
• Parents who are background checked are invited to participate with their child between Jan 27 and Jan 31

SOCIAL SPURS
Social Spurs needs your help!  If you would like to volunteer to provide snacks for one of the remaining staff meetings, please sign up HERE.  There are enough slots for someone from each house to sign up.  You will take your receipts to Shanna for reimbursement.  Thank you!


MOY GOAL SETTING
If you are a paraprofessional, instructional aide, or office support staff,  I would like to set up a middle of the year goal setting appointment with you.  Please have Shanna schedule you on my calendar for 15 minutes.  This is a time for us to check in and see how we can support you and your professional goals in Strive.  For all others that are evaluated under TTESS, Leigh Ann and I hosted your formal TTESS Observation Post Conferences. This conference serves as your middle of the year check-in.  If you would like an additional meeting, please email your evaluator.  We are happy to have one on one time with you.  Don't forget to be adding your evidence in Strive for your goals, now!

WEEKLY WALKTHROUGH FOCUS
It is time for our walkthroughs to start back up now that most of our formal observations are completed.  For our focused walkthroughs the next four weeks,  Leigh Ann and I will be focusing on Domain 2 Dimension 2:  Content Knowledge and Expertise.  We will be looking for things like cross curricular connections, strategies to help your learners avoid learning pitfalls, learners analyzing, creating and evaluating, and learner-directed learning.

THIS WEEK IN ESL

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Month of January- Kids Heart Challenge
Jan 11- Ruby's Birthday
Jan 12- Aparna's Birthday
Jan 13- School Board Meeting (6:45 pm- Recognize TOY)
Jan 14- Mentor/Mentee Meeting (3:35) Wear your shirts and jeans!
Jan 15- Kaitlin's Birthday
     ADI Training (Shari, Laura, Stormi)
     Convocation Shirt and Jeans
     Fed Ex Day (3:35-4:35)
Jan 16- Spurs Savings (7:20-7:40)
     ADI Training (L'Oreal, Corinne, Megan)
Jan 17- Active EL Monitoring forms due to Claudia and Stormy
Jan 19- NO SCHOOL