Wednesday, December 30, 2020

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

No comments:

Post a Comment