Week of January 4, 2021

We hope you have enjoyed our Gnome For the Holidays themed December to Remember.  How can it already be done??!!!  Have a REMARKABLE TWO WEEKS away from work, sweet staff.  We wish you nothing short of the most safe, memorable, and restful break and can't wait to hear about your time away from school!

Congratulations to  Hannah, Rikki, and Kristi!  These first year teachers have done an incredible job with their first classes/roles of their own.  With their drive and determination and the help of their mentors, teams, our coaches, and Layne, they do not look or behave like beginning educators.  Kudos to this year's new hires: Peg, Kim, Alli, Kourtney, Kelsie, Josephine, Alex, and Carley.  You have made it to Christmas!  We are so proud of each of you and the journey you are on with us.  I'm confident that onboard training and our FamiLEE have helped you get accustomed to Lee!  Thank you, returning staff, for pouring into our newest FamiLEE members the first two nine weeks and helping them along the way!  I am a proud principal who is blessed to have a staff that I trust and that "gets" the vision of Lee (even during a pandemic where we have to pivot on what feels like a daily basis). Each of you returning staff members are a huge part in actualizing our guiding purpose.  THANK YOU for loving our school and loving our children.  Thank you to each of you, for choosing to be at Lee!  Leadership Team...WOW!  Thank you for being the voice for your grades and houses.  Thank you for the support you have given our Admin Team and campus, this year-more than ever.  You are visionary and continue to grow in immeasurable ways.  Please have the BEST last day of 2020 with our children.  They deserve it!

DID YOU KNOW:

• we will have a BRIEF presentation for the entire school, so please spread out our kids in the media center area and "look up"1:50.  Santa will be on campus and he has an announcement for all who are F2F. 
• class parties will take place from 2:00-3:00 on Friday?  Please make sure you clean up your space and do not leave a huge mess for our custodians.
• CISD expects you to set up your automatic replies before you leave for Winter Break?  Please make time to go in and set this up before leaving on Friday.   
• Angela's S'more is updated?  Check it out here.
• you only have a few more weeks to get your Go Red shirt?  For a link to order your Go Red t-shirt (credit card only) and show your support during the Month of Mondays in February - American Heart Month - simply text DHCCOPPELL to 41444. 
• the CISD Service Center wanted ways to lighten the load of teachers?  They have recorded Friday Reader Videos for teachers to use when they need a few minutes to sit, breathe, or catch their breath.

BEFORE LEAVING ON FRIDAY       

1. Please get any items form the fridge by 2:00.  The office will be tossing anything "suspect."
2. Please, also visit your mailbox by 2:00.  Empty it of all contents. There may be many thank you notes in there. Please make sure these get in learner backpacks.  
3. Custodial does a deep cleaning of the campus these next two weeks.  May I suggest a FRESH START?  I ask that you erase everything on your dry erase boards so that your room gets cleaned as much as possible.  PLEASE take down, send home, and store any holiday displays and decorations before leaving.  
4. If you have pets, please take them home with you or email Chantel your plans for the two weeks. 
5. Make sure all projectors, computers, digital signage and tv's are turned off before leaving.  This includes your Vivatek boards.
6. Shared MacBooks should be plugged in and charging in carts.  

PTO MEETING
We will not host a PTO Meeting the month of January.  Enjoy the gift of time.

JANUARY 5

This day is a scheduled work day for you.  Please be on campus from 7:10-3:35 and work on what YOU need to work on to be ready for the next grading period.  This might be a great day to cross off the new training Angie spoke of in her latest email (Language Proficiency and Trauma).  Just a thought so that you can "free delete" future reminders.  Remember to be socially distanced on this day and wear your masks.  You may dress comfortably and you may leave for a one hour lunch since there is no lunch or recess duty for students.

REMINDERS
Don't forget that grades are due January 6th, the Wednesday after we return from Winter Break.  Please go into e-school, today, 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 on Tuesday (our work day), please remember that they must be back-dated to a date before December 18th, or they will not save.

If you test positive for COVID or have a close contact that tests positive for COVID during the break, please text me and let me know.  I have to keep track of this data and dates.  Please be mindful and practice safety during the break so that ALL of us can stay healthy when we return to work.  

iSTATION
Please take time to resend log in information to the parents/guardians of learners for use at home.  This link will give you directions for enabling the parent portal access to parent letters for accessing iStation at home. 

#ONEWORD2021
Since opening year, we, as a staff, have come back in January and had a word for the year.  Just one word.  My first word was INSPIRE, then LEAD, followed by GRATITUDE, KIND, LISTEN, etc.  This year my word is still being determined  Your word can be something tangible or intangible.  It can be a thought, a feeling, or an action.  The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you.  This word may not make sense to anyone but you, and that is okay.  This is YOUR word!  This little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities.  Sometimes a word will pop into your brain, and it will not make any sense to your right now.  Give it some time.  Let it percolate a bit.  Maybe this is a word you need to hear, but just aren't ready for it yet.  Again, be open to the possibilities.  Between now and Wednesday's staff meeting, please determine what your #oneword2021 will be.  We will have an activity to go along with your word, so come prepared with yours. 

COACH'S CORNER

I hope all of you take time to rest and recover during the break. You have accomplished SO much with virtual and face to face learning. Give yourself time to enjoy the break. Rest is saying, “I am going to take time to heal myself.”

What does rest look like?

I think it can look like a lot of different things. For instance, there is something called The Nap Ministry, which focuses on napping as a form of radical resistance, by saying I am not going to be a part of this society that says that I have to constantly be doing. 

Rest is also the sense of not doing things that are actively seen as productive. Whether that's, I'm going to listen to music, dance around the house, or read a book that's not related to your work. It can also be meditation. It’s important to identify what activities in your life are dedications and what are distractions. 

Distractions can be shopping, binge-watching things on TV, on Netflix, or eating unhealthy food, working more, or going on social media. These are things that feel good at the moment, but you need more of. If I constantly need more of something, I know it’s not actually feeding me. That's where dedications come in. For example, my dedications are reading, listening to good music, exercising, stretching, and discovering easy, healthy options for meal prep.

Enjoy your break sweet friends!

[Background Knowledge]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

It can be a challenge to learn something new without background knowledge. It’s important to directly teach new vocabulary words that you  feel will be difficult to grasp. Pre-teach, use videos, and invite them to make predictions before learning complex concepts.  

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Dec 19- Ayesha's Birthday

Dec 21-Jan 4- NO SCHOOL

Dec 30- Deepa’s Birthday

Jan 1- School Board Appreciation Month

Jan 5- Teacher Workday

Jan 6- College Shirt Day

     3rd 9 weeks grades due (8:00 AM)

     Staff Mtg. (3:15-4:45 Virtual)

Jan 7- May's Birthday

Jan 8- School Resource Officer Day

     Send Report Cards Home

Jan 9- Priscilla's Birthday

     Rikki's Birthday

Week of December 14, 2020

Thank you for the #HourOfCode activities you planned and shared with your learners this week. I am blown away by the problem solving and skills of our children.  How about the incredible MiCocina lunch, dessert, and gifts from our PTO?!  Thank you for shouting them out the way you did on social media.  

Please have the BEST final week of school for 2020.  It has been such a treat to celebrate each of you during December to Remember, and we hope that you know how very much you mean to the school community and us!  

DID YOU KNOW:

• Ayesha updated her S'more?  Check it out here. 
• you might not know your peers as well as you think?  Check out this Kahoot game that was created in Onboarding.  I scored 8,000 points.  I probably should be worried that I believed so many "fictions"! HAVE FUN! 😄
• we had a great lockdown drill today?  You all are doing such a super job on the Navigate app.  SORRY PE- we have adjusted our document so we don't forget to "unlock" you.  Please only pull shades down during a lockdown drill.  Otherwise they should be up and we should have all spaces visible.  
• we need you to bring a single sock to school on Monday?  Maybe your dryer eats random socks like mine?  Please bring one that does not have a hole, any color, any style. 

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE

PLEASE enjoy the extra time given by CISD to get some work done.  We are SO LUCKY to have this extra time!  I'll see some of you BRIEFLY to work through your 3rd 9 weeks plans as a grade level.

Don't forget to swing by and pick up lunches during the time the cafeteria scheduled.  

REMINDER

We would like to have the 3rd 9 weeks Face to Face planning document (shared with you through email today) updated as much as possible before you leave on Friday.  Please make sure your links are accessible to everyone so we do not need to request access.  This is an in house document that was only shared by invitation so you do not need to worry about confidentiality.  Thanks for your effort on this and doing what is best for KIDS when making decisions. 

LEEDERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING

We have a meeting on Tuesday at noon.  I sent the Zoom invite through email.  Please share it with your learners.  They were asked to get feedback from your learners about what is going WELL and what needs IMPROVED.  Please make sure you gave some time during morning meeting for your LEEders to get this information from their peers. 

DONATIONS FOR COPPELL LIONS CLUB

This is our LAST week to accept donations of canned and boxed food.  We also will collect new unwrapped toys/games.  Thank you for the generous contributions for those less fortunate.

(the donation box is inside our front doors)

HOLIDAY PARTIES

Please be planning as a grade what you will be doing for your face to face learners on FRIDAY from 2:00-3:00.  Please keep this information off of social media and your newsletters so that our virtual learners do not feel left out.  Can't wait to hear and see what you have planned.  There will not be Team Time on Friday, December 18.

[PRONOUNCING LEARNER NAMES CORRECTLY]

COACH'S CORNER

We seem to be getting new learners everyday and being part of the Culturally Responsive Teaching book club with Bright Ribbons, I thought I might share something about cultures and names. 

Great educators would never want to do anything that makes a learner feel ashamed or embarrassed. They would never want to do anything that leads learners to distance themselves from their backgrounds. But if educators don’t put in the necessary effort to pronounce learners’ names correctly, that might be exactly what they are doing.

Pronunciation matters! Research has found that learners’ socioemotional well-being and world view can be negatively impacted by educators’ failure to pronounce their names properly, and can even lead learners to shy away from their own cultures and families.

[VIRTUAL/IN-PERSON GAMES]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Looking for a morning meeting game? Play Odd One Out! Pre-select words or pictures of your choice and present them in a set of 2 -4. Then, have students call out which one is the odd one out (different). Challenge them to explain their reasoning. It’s a great way to practice or learn new vocabulary while speaking.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Dec 14- Corinne's Birthday

     Secret Santa 

Dec 15- Ed Foundation Shirt and Jeans

     Secret Santa

     LEEdership Council Lunch and Learn (12:00)

     Safety Team Meeting (3:15)

Dec 16- Secret Santa

     Curbside Pick Up (11:00-1:00)

     Staff Holiday Party

Dec 18- Last Day of School

     Winter Parties (2:00-3:00)

Dec 19- Ayesha's Birthday

Dec 21- Jan 4- WINTER BREAK

Week of December 7, 2020

We hope you are looking forward to another week of fun from your Gnome Girls Leigh Ann and I.  It is SO MUCH FUN planning out ways to show you how much we love you!  If you didn't make it to the lounge for any "projects" or want extras to do with your family at home, we have plenty. Just let us know!!  I will be out on Friday.  I am taking a personal day, so please let Leigh Ann know if you need ANYthing.

DID YOU KNOW:

• our garden is thriving? Thank you to so many of your for being open to join Keiko when there are harvest times. We were so excited to harvest cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, kale, garlic and MORE this week! There will be more opportunities to work in the garden with Keiko next week.
• Social Spurs is still accepting donations and the optional Secret Santa forms are due on Friday?
• we will announce our Teacher of the Year on Wednesday, at 3:15, on the outdoor learning pavilion?  I'm letting you all know, now, because pictures will be taken of many of you.  There will be snacks provided for celebration, so please plan to attend. 
• December 11 is going to be a Day 6?  Yes, that means Day 6 two days in a row.  We will have a different schedule on the 11th, and our talented Specials Team will communicate it to you so that all have a 45 minute break.  Thank you Specials!! You will need to communicate this to your virtual and face to face learners.
• you will be getting an email from ParentSquare to set up an account this week? Remember the email is coming and is not a phishing attempt.
• that we need some of you to update your Vivitek boards in your learning spaces?  Please check and do this before leaving on Friday.  We could use your help with housemates that are absent or have substitutes.  THANK YOU!
• Natalie has updated her S'more and Angela has too?
• that we have TWO NEW baby Spurs coming?  Both are in Yellow House!  Congrats to Meghan and Kristina who are BOTH due in June!!  (Please keep this info off social media so they can tell family.)

REMINDER

The office will start updating the Face to Face document as we get information and numbers from the district.

HOUR OF CODE:

Computer Science Education Week and #HourOfCode are next week! This is a great time to use the coding and robotics resources located in your houses and in our Design and Create studios, while celebrating problem solving and deeper thinking. Check out May's Hour of Code S'more (THANKS MAY!) or the resources curated by the DLCs on the Hour of Code Website. Please use #HourOfCode #CISDCode2Learn in your Tweets!

DECEMBER 11

The cafeteria needs your help to get a count of how many learners will be getting a sack lunch on Early Release Friday.  They need this count by the end of the day, Tuesday, December 8.  There are 2 choices:  PB & J or turkey and cheese sandwiches.  They have also staggered the lunch pick up times.  Please ask your learners and record the count on this link.

OH GNOME YOU DIDN'T
We need your help with an upcoming December to Remember day.  Please complete THIS FORM before leaving on Friday so that we can be prepared on December 15.

SAVE THE DATE

Our wonderful PTO is sponsoring Thursday's December to Remember activity.  Each of you will have a boxed lunch from MiCocina and dessert from Nothing Bundt Cake.  Thank you PTO!

DONATIONS FOR COPPELL LIONS CLUB

We are still accepting donations of canned and boxed food.  Thank you for the generous contributions for those less fortunate.

(the donation box is inside our front doors)

MACY'S BELIEVE LETTERS TO SANTA

Want an authentic writing experience for your learners?  For every letter to Santa receives through Christmas Eve, Macy's will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million. Need inspiration for your letter to Santa? Let Violet's video explain how your letters make a difference.  If you'd like to participate, please have your kids bring their finished letters in the mailbox in the office by 3:05 Friday, December 11th. You can also have learners send letters digitally by clicking here.  Feel free to use the hashtag #MacysBelieve to promote this event.

[CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT]

COACH'S CORNER

We may begin to see more learners returning to school in the third quarter and we need to realize they have not been in a school environment for a while. So here are some tips for classroom management. 

1. Use normal, natural voice: The students will mirror your voice level, so avoid using that semi-shouting voice. If we want kids to talk at a normal, pleasant volume, we must do the same. You want to also differentiate your tone. If you are asking students to put away their notebooks and get into their groups, be sure to use a declarative, matter-of-fact tone. If you are asking a question about a character in a short story, or about contributions made by the Roman Empire, use an inviting, conversational tone.

2. Address behavior issues quickly and wisely: Be sure to address an issue between you and a student or between two students as quickly as possible. Bad feelings—on your part or the students’—can so quickly grow from molehills into mountains.

1. Always have a well designed and engaging lesson: This tip is most important of all. Perhaps you’ve heard that if you don’t have a plan for them, they’ll have one for you. Always over plan. It’s better to run out of time than to run short on a lesson.

[FUN WITH WRITING]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

One way to have fun with writing is using the Random Emoji Generator Website.  Students can write a sentence fore each emoji that is randomized until completing a paragraph.  Have fun seeing what they come up with.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Hour of Code Week

Dec 7- 3rd Grade and Create Go GNOME Early

Dec 8- CISD Education Foundation shirt day

     Onboarding Meeting (3:15)

Dec 9- Kourtney's Birthday

     Library Curbside Pick Up (11:00-1:00)

Dec 10- April's Birthday

     Kindergarten and Art Go GNOME Early

Dec 11- Julie's Birthday

     Early Release (12:30) for learners